I did decide to go ahead and split this into two. In part because I want to do some editing on what is now 19 [rather than the second half of 18]. Given that, this is a bit shorter than most have been, but still not SHORT, I don't think.
Thanks, as always, to the usual suspects for their fabulous beta-ry.
.
*****
Chapter 18
*****
"I'm honored," Alice whispered as she held the baby girl for the first time. "Abigail Alice." They'd kept her middle name to themselves until Alice and Perry were able to make a quick visit to Smallville four days after she was born.
"You've meant a lot to us," Lucy told her. Alice had made a beeline for the living room where Lucy and Lois sat with baby Abbie. "It was one of the first things that occurred to us."
"Would you have used Perry for a middle name if she'd been a boy?" Lois asked.
Lucy bit her bottom lip but didn't answer.
Alice laughed. "I won't tell if you don't."
"Where is Perry?" Lucy asked.
"He's talking to Clark and Jimmy – probably either about the investigation or the Superman merchandise."
"Superman merchandise?" There was shock in Lois' voice.
Alice smiled as she continued to look at the baby she held. "You should see my new collection. T-shirts, coffee mugs, action figures..."
"Dolls? There's dolls that look like Clark?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"Action figures," Alice corrected.
"Same thing," muttered Lois. "Women ogling my husband."
"No, dear," Alice told her. "That's what the life-size cardboard cutouts are for."
Lois groaned and glared at Lucy who barely managed to stifle a giggle. With another dirty look, Lois moved to the kitchen to check on the guys.
A minute later Perry walked in. "Hey, Darlin'. How ya feelin'?"
Lucy reached up as he leaned over to hug her. "A bit sore still, but not too bad really."
He moved to sit next to Alice on the couch. "Look at this little beauty." Alice carefully handed her over. "Hi, Abigail," he whispered.
"Abigail Alice Olsen," Lucy told him.
He looked up, his eyes wide. "That's... Wow." He smiled at Alice. "I can't think of anything more fitting." He paused for a second before looking back at Lucy. "Just promise me you won't give a little guy the middle name 'Perry', would ya?"
Lucy laughed and shared a look with Alice as Perry turned his attention back to the baby. "Promise."
*****
September 1990
*****
"Lois? Clark?" Jimmy called as he and Lucy walked in the front door.
"Up here," Clark called back.
Lucy had unbuckled Abbie from her car seat when she heard Jimmy call back down.
"Lucy! It's a boy!"
Lucy stared at the staircase for a minute, before hurrying up them. "Did I hear that right?"
She saw Jimmy sitting on the bed next to Lois who was holding a small blanket-wrapped bundle. "Yep," he said with a smile. "A boy."
Lucy hurried to the side of the bed, handing Abbie to Jimmy. "Move, honey. I've got to see this little man." She sat down in the spot Jimmy had vacated. "Oh, Lois, he's beautiful," she whispered. "And he looks just like Clark."
Her sister grimaced. "I think he looks more like a California Raisin right now."
Lucy laughed. "You delivered him, Clark?"
Clark nodded. "Lois did all the hard work," he answered quietly, kissing the side of Lois' head. "She was a trooper."
"I'm just glad you got here when you did or I would have had to deliver him myself," Lois whispered.
"You still shouldn't have waited so long to call me," he admonished.
"Where were you?" Lucy asked, holding her arms out in silent request. Lois carefully passed the baby over.
"There was an airliner that needed help with its landing gear. I *could* have left a lot earlier than I did if I'd known I was needed," he said giving Lois a stern look. "Laura was here a little while ago and said that everything looks good."
Lucy handed him back to Lois. "What's his name?"
There was a catch in Clark's voice as he answered. "Jonathan Joel, after my dads."
"That's perfect," Lucy whispered. "Are you going to call him Jon then?"
"I think so," Lois told them. "I guess we could go with JJ or something though."
Clark shook his head. "He's a Jon."
Lois smiled. "Jon it is then." She yawned.
"Let me take him and you get some sleep." Clark took Jon from Lois' arms and handed him to the now-standing Lucy. "You did great, honey," he said as he kissed Lois' hair. "Get some rest."
Lois nodded and was asleep before they left the room.
*****
"The fates are conspiring against us," Jimmy whispered.
"What do you mean?" Lucy whispered back around her yawn.
"Your doctor gave us the okay to make love again and Abbie and Jon were up all night last night," he said, kissing her neck.
"I know, honey and I want to, really I do, but..." Her voice trailed off as she dozed.
"I know. You're exhausted."
Lucy hovered in that land between awake and asleep. She could hear Jimmy talking about something but wasn't quite sure what it was. She thought she heard herself responding but figured that it was just her imagination. Her mind was working but her body was exhausted.
And her mind wasn't exactly being coherent. She thought he said something about going home, but she couldn't quite make it out.
She finally mustered enough energy to roll over and rest her head on Jimmy's chest. "L'v 'ou," she murmured and didn’t remember anything else until the sun crept in through the window.
"Jimmy!" She sat straight up and looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She wrapped her robe around her and headed out into the house. "Jimmy?" she called quietly, when she noticed Lois and Clark's door still closed.
"Down here," she heard from the living room.
"Did I sleep all night?" she asked, yawning as she padded down the stairs.
He nodded. "Abbie slept most of the night, believe it or not. Nearly seven hours."
"Thank God." She sat on the couch next to him.
He was holding their daughter but handed her over. "I was warming a bottle up for her so you could sleep, but I'm sure she'd prefer you."
Lucy winced slightly at the discomfort in her breasts. "I'd prefer it, too." In just a minute, Abbie was suckling contentedly, a blanket nearby in case her uncle decided to put in an appearance. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure abated on one side.
"I talked to Clark last night," Jimmy finally said as Abbie burped and Lucy switched sides.
"About?"
"Going home."
Lucy's brow furrowed. "Did you say something about that last night?"
"Yeah. You said only if we could make love the minute we walked in the door."
"I did?"
"Yep."
"Well, that *does* sound like something I'd say and we never have fallen in the door and gone for it."
"And we have said that's something on our 'to do someday' list," Jimmy added suggestively.
"Maybe going home is a good idea." She bit her lip. "But what about Luthor? He may still be after me thinking that I could identify him."
"Well, Abbie will be in the Planet daycare. You won't go anywhere alone, even if it means you spend the day at Perry and Alice's or hanging out in the conference room. It's still well known that Superman is looking out for you and that he wants to find out who it was that kidnapped you." Her head rested on his shoulder. "Clark and I talked about it last night and we think you'll be okay."
"If you guys think it's okay..."
"We do." He kissed her head. "And Clark said they'd watch Abbie for us for a couple hours when he takes us home."
Lucy sat up and looked at him. "What exactly did you tell him, James Olsen?"
He shrugged. "That I've missed making love to my wife. He *offered* to keep her for a while."
"Well, then. When do we leave?"
Jimmy laughed. "After lunch, probably."
Lucy groaned. "That long?"
He laughed again. "Think of it as anticipation."
"I've been anticipating for six weeks, thank you."
"Then a few more hours won't hurt." Jimmy jumped up and walked off, taking advantage of the still-nursing baby to keep her mother in place.
"Keep that up and you'll be waiting a few more hours, James Bartholomew Olsen," she called.
"No, I won't," he said sticking his head out of the kitchen. "You won't be able to wait that long."
Lucy threw a pillow in his general direction but missed by a mile, scowling as he headed into the kitchen. "He's right, you know," she whispered to her daughter. "I won't be able to wait that long."
*****
Lucy pulled Lois into a long hug. "I can't believe you're leaving."
"I know, but I can't stay any longer. Jimmy's got to go back to work and so do I. I've managed to make it to most of my classes because of Clark but I can't take the S-Express to school forever." Clark had provided transportation for both of them to school and from for the last couple of weeks.
"At least you only have classes two days a week."
"I know. Besides," Lucy whispered. "My six-week check-up was yesterday so... thanks for keeping Abbie for a couple hours for us. I'll give you a call in a little while so Clark can bring her home."
Lois rolled her eyes. "Do you two ever stop?"
Lucy's eyes gleamed wickedly. "Not unless we have to." She bit her lip thinking of what was going to be happening in the next few minutes before her voice dropped conspiratorially. "And your check up isn't too far off either is it?"
Lois glared at her. "Don’t go there, Lucy."
"Sorry." Lucy wasn't the least bit contrite.
"Right. I'm sure you are." She hugged Lucy again. "I'm still going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you, too."
"Are you sure it's safe for you to go back?" Lois asked concerned.
"As safe as it can be. Luthor knows we're on to him and that Superman is keeping an eye on me. Jimmy has class the same time I do and I'm *never* alone right now. Even if it means keeping Abbie with me and hanging out in a conference room for a while. And I can stay with Perry and Alice if I need to."
"Luthor really doesn't like Superman, does he?" Lois said biting her lip.
"No, but there's nothing to worry about. Clark's invulnerable."
"I know but..."
"You still worry about him," Lucy said gently.
"And not just physically. Even though I know he can't be hurt, I worry about what's going to happen if he's not fast enough or can't save someone. It was one thing when he knew he couldn't jeopardize us, but now that he can help openly... I think he might take it a lot harder."
"That's what he has you for. To make him realize that he *can't* do it all."
Just then Clark landed back in the farmyard. "Ready, Luce? Jimmy's waiting for you."
She nodded before hugging Lois one more time. "Love you, sis."
"Love you."
Lucy watched the ground go by but didn't say much as they flew.
"You okay?" Clark asked quietly.
"Huh?" Lucy looked at him in surprise. "I'm fine."
"Really?"
Lucy blushed. "Sorry. I just can't wait to get home, that's all. And thanks for taking Abbie for a couple hours."
Clark chuckled. "I think Jimmy might have found a way to disembowel me if we didn't. I think he wants you all to himself for a little bit."
"I know he does." Lucy refused to look at him, certain her face matched his cape. They were nearing Metropolis before she spoke again. "Would you mind dropping me off on the street rather than the balcony?"
Clark shrugged. "No problem."
*****
"How long do we have?" Jimmy asked, his voice muffled by the side of her neck as he pressed her against the door.
Lucy put her hands on his chest and pushed him slightly away. "Not like this."
"I don't think I can wait any longer." He pulled her to the floor on top of him.
She kissed him fervently. "I didn't want our first time after my check up to be like this."
He tugged her shirt up and over her head. "Then our second time can be different. It's been too long."
She groaned and pulled his shirt over his head. "I can live with that."
He undid the snap on her jeans with one hand. "You told me last night we were going to fall in the door and make love on the landing."
She giggled and kissed him again. "I bought something special for today."
"You can put it on in a few minutes. We don’t have to call Clark until we're ready for him to bring Abbie and I told him it would be a couple hours."
"Good," she whispered, kissing him one more time.
It wasn't very much later when she went to the bathroom to put on her new purchase. She stared at her reflection in the mirror – grateful it only showed from about the waist up – and tears came to her eyes. She loved her daughter, but pregnancy had taken a toll on her body. She had believed Jimmy when he said he had found her extremely attractive when she was pregnant but she wasn't pregnant anymore. She suddenly wished she had bought something that covered a bit more. The bra was solid but the rest of the black baby doll style gown was sheer and split down the front. A year ago, she would have looked great. Even seven months earlier before her stomach started growing.
But now...
The stretch marks were very noticeable and her stomach muscles weren't even close to where they were not too long before.
Maybe Jimmy wouldn't notice. Maybe... except it was mid-afternoon in Metropolis so there was no way that she could manage to get some mood lighting to hide her changed figure.
"You okay in there?" her husband finally called.
She took a deep breath and opened the door, walking through the short hallway and leaning on the brick between the hall and the bedroom. She wanted to ask what he thought, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Jimmy was stretched out on the bed, propped up on one arm. He looked her up and down but didn't say anything. She'd heard his sharp intake of breath when he'd first seen her but was that a good intake or a bad one? The longer he waited, the more afraid she was. Finally, he spoke. "You look..." He looked her up and down again. "Beautiful."
Tears filled her eyes again, as self-doubt crept in. She ran her hands along her stomach, showing between the two sides of the sheer fabric. "I've got stretch marks and my stomach muscles are shot," she whispered.
He stood up and walked towards her. When he got close enough, he framed her face with his hands and kissed her gently. His hands moved to her stomach and he traced her stretch marks with his fingers. "You carried my baby. You *made* my daughter in here. The stretch marks and stomach muscles are badges of honor because you protected her and kept her safe for almost nine months." He took her hand and led her to their bed, motioning for her to lie down. He stretched out next to her, his head at her abdomen and he gently kissed each of the stretch marks. "They're your Abbie marks, Babe. And they're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're even more attractive now than you ever were. I love you more every day. How could you doubt that I find you attractive after what happened the second you walked in the door?"
"You haven't really seen me since Abbie was born. I mean, not really. And – let's face it – we barely got our clothes off a few minutes ago."
He moved up next to her, one hand brushing hair off her face. "But you're beautiful. You always have been. And you don't care that I'm not in quite the shape I used to be in. My six-pack is more like a 2-Liter these days." He lightly traced the stretch marks again. "You could gain 400 lbs or shrink down to nearly nothing and I would still only have eyes for you because I love you."
Tears slid down her cheeks. "And I love you."
He moved up to kiss her again. "Let me show you."
*****
TBC
