I probably shouldn't post this as I'm not sure how happy I am with it. This was not at all what I was planning on writing when I sat down, but this is what came out. I'm not sure this is all that good and I couldn't find a good place to end it. So, feel free to let me know what you think (or even more free than normal). If it's awful, or good but incongruous with the rest of the story, or worse, both, please let me know and I'll try again.
“It really is going to be okay,” I said.
Lucy sniffled. “I know. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm so emotional.”
“It's okay,” I smiled at her. “It's normal.”
Lucy sighed. “Thanks for coming, Lois. I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, it's not a problem,” I assured her. “I'm happy to help and you know I can fly really cheaply.”
“Very funny,” she said as she reached for a tissue. “How long does this last?”
“I'm not sure. I think it depends on the person, but I stopped being so emotional after a couple of weeks.”
“Mommy! Mommy!” Larissa said as she came running in.
“What is it, sweetheart?” I asked as I leaned over to scoop her up.
“Daddy and Uncle Ben got poop on their hands,” she announced.
“Were they changing Ethan's diaper?” Lucy asked, leaning over to run her hands quickly through Larissa's hair.
“Yes, and it was poopy! And smelly!” Larissa declared.
“Well, I'm sure they'll wash their hands very well before making dinner,” I assured her.
“I'm gonna go help them clean up,” she told me as she slid off my lap, running into the next room.
I watched her go, thinking of those few weeks when we never thought she would make it. She seemed like a miracle after all that we went through, after being sure so many times that we could not have children and then thinking that there was something wrong.
Miracle or not, though, she was ours. She had the dark hair and brown eyes that Clark and I share. The gold flecks in her eyes distinguished her eyes as more like Clark's than mine. She had my nose, though, and my chin.
She also had what I thought was the perfect blend of our personalities. Like me, she was rarely shy, even at first meeting new people, but like Clark, she was innately kind to everyone, making friends easily.
Clark said she was too young to know if she inherited any of his powers, as at four even he had appeared to be normal. I knew, though, that she had. Even if Larissa would never be impervious to bombs, never was able to freeze or heat things with her breath, or never flew, she had some of Superman's best qualities. She always seemed eager to help people and had real empathy for others.
She was the one who came to tell me that Lucy was crying earlier, worried as she had not been able to help calm her aunt down. When I turned to Lucy now, though, she was smiling.
“You think Ethan will be like her?” Lucy asked me. “I mean, I doubt he'll look like her, given Ben's blonde hair and blue eyes, but I mean, personality wise. She's so sweet.”
“Oh, I don't know. I see Larissa as a combination of my traits and Clark's. So, I would think Ethan will be some mix of you and Ben, but maybe not. I'm not sure either of us are so much like Mom and Dad.”
“Good point,” Lucy said. “So, you really think I'll stop feeling so depressed in a couple of weeks?” she asked.
“I hope so. You're no fun like this,” I teased her.
She reached out and swatted at me. “It's so weird. I mean, I don't feel depressed,” Lucy said, sounding frustrated.
“I know. It's just the hormones,” I assured her. “You just need to wait for them to make their way through your system.”
Lucy smirked at me as she wiped at her eyes again with her tissue. “Easy for you to say,” she said as she got up.
We went out to the living room, but Clark and Ben had moved into the kitchen. Even from out here, I could hear the sound of sizzling as one of them sautéed something.
“Garlic?” I asked as I entered the kitchen.
“Yup, for the red potatoes,” Ben answered.
“Red potatoes?” Larissa asked from the table where she was watching over Ethan in his cradle.
Ben held one up to show her. “Red potatoes,” he repeated.
“Those aren't potatoes,” she said suspiciously. “Potatoes are brown on the outside.”
“Not these,” Ben said. “Come here. I'll show you.” He took a knife and cut one of them in half. “See?” he asked. “It looks like a potato inside, doesn't it?”
Larissa moved closer, sniffing the potato. “It doesn't look like a potato,” she insisted.
“This doesn't look like a potato?” he asked, showing her the inside again.
“Well, that does, but not that,” she repeated, pointing to the skin.
“Just wait until you taste them, Lar,” Clark said. “They'll taste just like potatoes.”
Larissa looked at Clark carefully. “Are those really potatoes, Daddy?” she asked.
“Sure are, pumpkin.”
“So, what else are we having?” Lucy asked.
Clark held up the honey. “I'm making barbeque sauce for the chicken.” His eyes lit up. Clark's favorite part of visiting Lucy and Ben was the ability to grill nearly any night we visited.
Lucy laughed. “I should have figured. You'd think someone who can start a fire with their eyes would not be so enamored with grilling.”
“Go figure,” Ben said. “The things the public never knew they wanted to know about Superman.”
“Superman?” Larissa asked. “Where?”
“No where, sweetie,” I assured her. “Uncle Ben was just talking. Why don't you go set the table?” I asked as I passed her the forks.
“I'm sorry,” Ben said as she left. “I wasn't thinking.”
“I know,” Clark replied. “Lois and I are guilty of it ourselves. It seems like in the last couple of months she's suddenly picking up and understanding so much more of what's said around her. It's hard to remember to edit what you say.”
Ethan suddenly started crying and Lucy walked over to the cradle to pick him up. She had the typical uncomfortable hold of a new mother, but already in the three days since he was born, I could see her developing those skills.
“Is Ethan okay?” Larissa poked her head in.
“Sure is, Lar,” Lucy told her as she bounced Ethan up and down.
“Why's he crying then?” Larissa asked.
Clark moved over to squat in front of her. “Remember we talked about this?” he asked her. “Babies cry a lot. It's just their way of communicating.”
She looked over at me, giving my stomach a meaningful stare. “Does that mean our baby is going to cry all the time, too?”
I placed a hand on my stomach as I replied. “Not yet, sweetie. But once it's born, yes.”
“How am I gonna sleep?” she asked Clark.
He laughed, running a hand lightly over her head. “We'll give you earplugs. You'll be fine.”
Looking dubious, she headed back out to the living room to finish placing the forks out. Clark came over to kiss my cheek as he ran a hand over my stomach. Leaning down, he mock whispered, “You'll have to remember to try to keep quiet at night. Your sister's worried about her beauty sleep.”
We all laughed while Clark moved back over to the barbeque sauce.
“So, Lois, how are you feeling?” Ben asked.
“Good,” I told him. “Overall, being pregnant has been so much easier this time.”
“Of course, it is,” Lucy said. “I mean, the first time around, how could you have known that Kryptonian babies are slow growers at first? I mean who would have guessed.”
“Lara,” I suggested.
“Maybe,” Clark said. “But maybe not. She was never pregnant with a half-human baby, and she was never pregnant on Earth.”
“I guess I'm a true pioneer,” I said.
“What's a pion'r?” Larissa asked as she came in.
“Did you finish putting the forks out?” I asked her.
“All done,” she said proudly.
“Well, then why don't you come outside and help me with the chicken?” Clark asked.
She smiled as she walked over to him, holding her hands up. Clark immediately understood her sign language and bent down to pick her up and put her on his shoulders. “Okay, you hold the chicken,” he told her handing her the plate.
She looked somber as she held the plate as flat as possible while Clark walked outside.
“You think you'll have more?” Lucy asked as she placed a now sleeping Ethan back in his cradle.
“No, I think this is it,” I said. “I'm just not sure… I mean, if they have superpowers, that's going to be a lot to deal with as they get older. Martha actually was the one that suggested keeping our family small. She said that as good as Clark was, he was still challenging because of his differences. Clark and I don't know that we could handle more than two. I mean, it's not like their powers will come in at the same time.”
Ben smiled at me, “I have to admit, as much as I hope Ethan ends up as a Nobel Prize winner or something, I'll be happy if he's 100% average.”
“Yeah, he is really enough alone,” Lucy agreed.
“It will get easier,” I told her. “You'll get used to having this little person around. So what about the two of you?”
Ben and Lucy exchanged glances. “We're not sure,” Lucy said. “I'd kind of like a big family. Like maybe four.”
“Four?” I asked astonished.
“That's what I said,” Ben laughed. “I think two is plenty.”
“I guess I just feel like… like we're much closer to each other than Mom and Dad,” Lucy said to me. “I just want our kids to have a big family network to fall back on.”
Ben abandoned the potatoes, which had been added to the sizzling skillet, to come over and wrap his arms around Lucy.
“Luce, our kids are going to have a very different life than you and Lois did. We're not the same type of parents, and they'll have their cousins as well.
It's going to be different for them, don't you think?”
“Yeah,” Lucy said, glancing outside to see Clark swinging Larissa around by her arms. Larissa was smiling and laughing almost as much as her father.
