Thanks, as always, to Alisha, Beth and Nancy.
Per repeated request, there are previews in the FDK thread
.
Thanks also to Mellie for helping with the whole 'try to put something in from every ep' thing, even if I've not been successful yet:).
I've completed NANO! WOOHOO! I can't believe it! That said, I decided to try to finish Unanswered Prayers while I'm on a roll with it and it's 2/3 or more done as is I think. Then back to finishing OTOH [that and Clark's more likable in UP than he currently is in what you're reading of OTOH so Nancy likes that
].
Last time:
Lois
A minute later, Leslie and another nurse came in and switched out the now wet bedding on the bottom half of the bed for dry, being careful to keep me appropriately covered. Still doing so, Leslie checked again to see if the water breaking had sped up the progress of my labor.
She smiled up at me. "It's almost time. I'm going to call Dr. McConnell. By the time she gets over here, you'll be ready to push." She looked at Daddy and Vicki. "You two will have to wait outside."
They both gave me a hug and a kiss before they left.
Clark shifted uncomfortably and moved back to my side. "I guess this is it."
"I guess so," I said, shifting slightly. I closed my eyes. Something felt weird again and this time it was just Clark and me in the room. "Something feels weird, Clark," I whispered, tears filling my eyes again. "And not good weird."
He pressed the call button repeatedly and I could only wait for someone to come in and tell us what was going on.
*~*60*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
Was there something wrong? Or did Lois just not know what was happening because she'd never given birth before?
I punched the button a few more times.
"Yes?" came the disembodied voice.
"Something feels weird," Lois said, a tear streaking down her cheek. "Really weird."
Just then the door opened and Dr. McConnell walked in accompanied by about six nurses. The flurry of activity began.
I could only describe it as something resembling a NASCAR pit crew.
The bottom of the bed dropped away and Lois' feet were propped up. She managed to glare at me anyway as one of the nurses showed me how to help hold one of her legs. Lights came out of the ceiling. A baby warmer was turned on.
And other things I couldn't even begin to catalogue.
Dr. McConnell looked up from her seat at the foot of the bed. "Okay, Lois," she smiled. "It's time. Use the muscles we talked about and push, okay?"
Lois nodded and I helped prop her up as she pushed. There was a ten count and then she relaxed for a minute.
She repeated the process for another fifteen minutes before Dr. McConnell announced that one more big push should do it.
Lois closed her eyes and concentrated as she pushed again.
On the previous threat of dismemberment, I didn't look to see what had happened.
Before I knew it, she was pushing again.
Dr. McConnell looked at Lois and smiled, standing slightly to lay the baby on Lois' stomach. "It's a boy," she told us quietly.
She knew.
Lois had told her at some point.
I could tell by the way she looked at Lois. She couldn’t tell anyone, of course. It was illegal for her to. But now Lois had someone she could confide in about everything and I didn’t. I wanted to resent her for that but I just couldn't. Not when she was holding the baby who was essentially my son.
The nurse and I had helped lower her back to the bed while Dr. McConnell did... other stuff. The baby was taken by one of the nurses to do whatever it was they do with new babies. I remembered the camera and took a bunch of pictures.
"Want me to go tell your Dad?" I finally asked her.
She laid there with her eyes closed and nodded slightly. "Thanks."
I quietly slid out the door. Sam and Vicki looked at me expectantly. "It's a boy," I told them with a grin.
"How's Lois?" Vicki asked.
"She seems to be okay. Tired."
"Well, yeah," Sam said. "How long has she been in labor anyway?"
I shrugged. "She said she's been having Braxton-Hicks for a couple days, but apparently they were more than just those. When we got to the office for her check-up, she was already dilated to a three and Dr. McConnell sent us over." It started to hit me a bit more and I leaned against the wall. "It went pretty fast for a first delivery I guess."
"Definitely. From a three to a baby in a couple hours is fast, *especially* for a first baby," Sam told me.
"Oh, here." I held out the camera. "There's a few pictures on there."
They quickly scrolled through the pictures and made appropriate noises.
"He's beautiful, Clark," Vicki told me as she handed the camera back.
"Thanks," I said with a forced grin. I couldn't... take credit for how he did or didn't look. "Have you talked to my folks yet?"
Sam nodded. "Your mom and dad and his mom are on their way to Kansas City right now. The flights out of Tulsa and Wichita all had layovers." He looked at his watch. "Their flight leaves in about an hour. It's just under a three hour flight, so... Ollie's going to pick them up at the airport and bring them straight here."
"Thank you so much," I told him sincerely. "They're so glad to be able to come."
"It's my pleasure, really." He clapped me on the shoulder. "Now, I bet your wife is wondering where you are."
I hesitated but quickly recovered. "I bet she is."
Just then the door opened slightly. "I thought I heard you out here, Sam." Dr. McConnell came out of the room. "Lois said you guys can come on in."
"Hi, Kristi." Sam put his arm around her as we headed into the room. "How's that grandson of mine?"
"He looks great, even for being a month early."
"Great."
I hung back and let Sam and Vicki greet Lois and her son.
My son.
For all intents and purposes, my son.
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
All I wanted to do was go to sleep.
I hadn't slept well in several days – at least now I knew why I'd been restless – and I'd just given birth, much faster than I ever would have thought possible.
And I still couldn't really feel my legs.
Jenny – the nurse who'd helped support the side Clark wasn't on – had handed my son to me. I wanted to hold him, to cuddle him close, to try to nurse him, but my arms were weak and I was just so wiped out that I didn't think I could do much. She'd promised that we'd help him nurse soon.
I breathed a sigh of relief when Clark left.
"Are you okay, Lois?" Dr. McConnell asked, and I knew she wasn't talking about the delivery.
I shrugged slightly. "Am tired," I answered.
"That's not what I mean," she responded so only I could hear.
"I know. I can't talk about it," I said quietly. "But I'm okay." Or as okay as I could be.
I thought.
Jenny moved to help me try to nurse my son and I winced a bit as he managed to latch on. A few minutes later, we were done with our first lesson.
"He'll get the hang of it, but he just had a bottle because his blood sugar was a little low. The nurses upstairs will help you all you need."
"Thanks," I said as she finished swaddling him and placed him back in my arms.
The nurses finished reassembling the end of the bed and covered me up with another warm blanket.
"Are you ready?" Dr. McConnell asked me.
I sighed and nodded.
She headed to the door and a minute later, Vicki led the small group in. Dad had his arm around Dr. McConnell and Clark brought up the rear.
"Can I?" Vicki whispered, holding her arms out, with tears in her eyes.
I nodded. "Of course, but you'll have to pick him up. My arms aren't working quite right."
"You're tired," she said matter-of-factly. "That's not surprising. You just had a baby." She carefully took him from me. "He's beautiful, Lois."
"He looks like a California Raisin," I whispered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clark glance up at that. He looked slightly shocked, but then a smirk crossed his face.
Vicki smiled. "Lots of babies are a bit wrinkled and red at first. For a month early though... he looks great."
"Okay," Jenny said. "We're ready to move these two upstairs. Who's coming with us?" She took the baby from Vicki and put him in one of the clear hospital bassinets.
"We all are," Daddy said.
Jenny and Daddy helped me slide over to a different bed. I still had very little use of my legs – I could move them, but they felt very heavy. The rails were put up on the sides and someone else came in to steer me. Jenny covered me up with another blanket from the warmer and I cuddled down under it, nearly dozing as we moved through the halls, even though I was half sitting up.
I could hear Daddy, Clark and Vicki chatting as we walked through the halls to the elevator.
Ten minutes later, the baby had been taken to the nursery and I was in the private room I'd requested. Dad and Vicki were told they needed to be elsewhere while the nurse checked me in and I suggested that Clark go grab a bite to eat. He took the suggestion and ran.
It wasn't too much longer before the nurse was done poking at me and I finally settled into an exhausted nap.
I didn't know how long I'd been dozing, when the door opening woke me up.
"Hey, Princess," Daddy said quietly. I smiled at him as he came to sit next to me, wrapping an arm around me. He kissed the side of my head. "I'm so proud of you. You did great."
I leaned my head against him. "I didn't have much choice. He was coming whether I was ready or not."
He chuckled lightly. "Your mom said the exact same thing about you." I could hear the tears in his voice, even though I couldn't see his face. "She'd have been so happy today."
"She'd be a grandma. She wouldn't like that – not this young."
"She'd have been happy," he said again. "And so proud of you."
We sat in silence for a few minutes. "Do you think she ever would have told us if she'd lived?" I finally asked quietly.
He sighed deeply. "I hope so."
"I still want to meet them," I told him. "I know I said I wanted to a long time ago, but I just wasn't ready this spring."
"Too much else going on."
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to make the call?"
I nodded. "I don't know when I'll actually be up for it – I'm sure it's going to be a very emotional meeting – but I would like to set it up pretty soon. Before school starts for sure."
"I'll take care of it." We sat there for a few more minutes before he spoke again. "So does that little guy have a name yet?"
"Yeah, but we wanted to wait until Clark's parents are here." Well, Clark had asked if we could.
He looked at his watch. "Their flight lands in a couple hours and Ollie's bringing them straight here."
"I think you'll like them, Daddy."
"I talked to Martha for a few minutes earlier and she seemed very nice."
"She's great. So is Jonathan. And Granny Kent reminds me a lot of Gram, actually."
Before he could respond, the door opened again. Clark and Vicki came in, both carrying trays of food.
"I brought you some," Clark said, handing me a Styrofoam box. "I didn't think they'd bring dinner around for a while and if you didn't have time to actually order it, you never know what you're going to get." He shrugged. "At least that's what Vicki told me."
"Well, thanks." I opened the box and found a cheeseburger and fries with ketchup packets and a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
I started with that.
Daddy had moved to the couch by the window, laughing as I pulled the cellophane off of the plate. "I should have known. You and your chocolate, Princess."
I took a bite and closed my eyes as the fork slid out. "This is much better than I would have expected from a hospital," I told them after I finished the bite. I switched to the cheeseburger and fries – they'd get cold if I didn't hurry. Sure, Clark probably could have warmed them up with his eye thingy, but not with other people around and that would mean talking more than absolutely necessary.
I tried desperately to keep the tears from my eyes. This was *not* how I pictured the day my first child was born.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I stood nervously outside the back entrance to the building. Ollie would be here with my parents and Granny any minute.
I had to make myself act more excited than I was.
It was cool – I admitted that to myself – to see a baby being born. I'd long understood the general process and had assisted at a birth or two on the farm, but...
The whole time I'd been helping Lois, two thoughts kept running through my head.
First – that I couldn't let Navance get his hands on Lois or this baby.
Second – that I wished I was with Lana who was giving birth to *our* child.
I had tried to push the thoughts out of my head – both of them.
I guessed it was fortunate that the labor and delivery went so quickly because we didn't have to sit in the room together for hours and hours trying to pretend that we were happy and in love and she wanted me to be there holding her hand and feeding her ice chips and all that kind of stuff.
I pushed off from the wall where I'd been leaning as the car pulled around the corner. A bare minute later, three of my family members were piling out.
Mom was giving me a big hug and Dad was smacking my shoulder. Granny hung back slightly and as soon as Mom let go, I gave her a big hug.
Ollie had left to go park the car. He and Vicki were practically family and he had every reason to want to be a part of this.
Mom and Granny were inundating me with questions, all of which I refused to answer until we got upstairs, telling them that Lois wanted to be a part of all of this. Ollie jogged up a minute later and we headed inside. A short elevator ride later, I showed my wrist band to the volunteer manning the door and we were buzzed into the post partum ward.
I led the way down the hall and around the corner. Sam and Vicki were standing outside the room.
"She's nursing," Sam told us. "Or they're trying to anyway, so they kicked us out for a few more minutes." He held out a hand towards my parents. "I'm Sam Lane."
I quickly introduced everyone and sort of stood there while everyone chatted. The door opened a minute later. "You guys can come back in," the nurse told us.
Lois was propped up on the bed, holding the baby and giving him a bottle. "Hi," she said a bit shyly.
"How's the nursing going?" Mom asked her first.
"He's figuring it out, but his blood sugar's still a bit low so we have to make sure he's getting enough," she told us. "There's not much in here so it'll only take a minute."
Mom glanced at me. "Aren't you two going to tell us if we have a grandson or a granddaughter?"
I grinned at her. "Oh, eventually."
She grumbled. "They would have to put a pink and blue striped hat on so we can't tell."
Lois smiled and pulled the bottle out of his mouth, carefully maneuvering him onto her shoulder. He burped quickly and spit up a bit at the same time.
"Do you mind?" I asked, moving to her side and reaching for him.
"Go ahead." She handed him over carefully before reaching for a cloth to wipe her shoulder off.
I held him carefully and turned to the assembled masses. "Mom, Dad, everybody... I'd like you to meet Christopher Jonathan Kent."
*****
TBC
