From last time:
With a slight knock, the door opened. “Are you two okay?” Bernie asked, the concern evident in his voice.
Clark looked up, unable to stop smiling. “We’re fine,” he assured the doctor.
“We are,” Lois confirmed with a nod.
Bernie regarded them with a look of confusion. “Oh, okay, good. Good,” he stammered. “I uh, I realized I’d forgotten to congratulate you,” he said with a half smile. “Mom, Dad, it’s a girl.”
“A girl,” Clark murmured in wonderment. His words of a few minutes before had already indicated that he’d started thinking of the baby as a girl, but now that he had confirmation…wow. ‘Wow’ didn’t even begin to describe it. He grinned like an idiot as he squeezed Lois’s shoulders. “We’re going to have a little girl,” he whispered. He could already see his daughter in his mind’s eye. Wide, luminous, brown eyes, ringlets of soft, raven dark hair, and a mischievous streak a mile wide, her tiny chin jutting out in stubborn defiance, just like her mother’s did. His heart swelled until he thought it might burst in his chest. How could one body, even large and invulnerable like his, be expected to contain emotions this immense? He didn’t know and it didn’t matter, because he was soon wrapped up in a feeling of contentment and bliss so powerful he had to just let it carry him wherever it wanted to. He wasn’t in control of his emotions anymore and he was thankful he didn’t have to be.
New stuff:
********
They stepped out of STAR Labs and into the sharp wind of a cold, early February day. “Yes, Mom, everything is fine… the baby is great, Lois is great, I’m great.” Clark held his cell phone to his ear as he assured his mother that they had nothing but good news. “Bernie said she’s doing just fine. Yes…it’s a girl,” he said proudly. “I know, we’re thrilled. Mom, we’ll see you when you guys get home…love you, too. Bye.”
As he hung up the phone, he smiled at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Home?” he asked simply. Apparently he’d had the same thought she’d had – there was no way they’d get any work done today. She wanted the chance to simply share her relief with him. To be happy and content and at peace for a little while. Surely the world could wait a day for them?
She nodded. “I want to fly with you,” she said softly. “The way we used to.” The smile that reached his eyes told her he understood what she meant. He disappeared into a nearby alley and returned in the suit. Picking her up in his arms, he cradled her securely against his chest and took off for home.
He flew more slowly than he needed to; she imagined he was savoring the flight just as she was. It soothed her soul to hang onto him as they passed all the familiar sights that made Metropolis home. She took in the city’s heroic skyline, forever reaching toward the heavens, a bold statement of progress, and industry, and an eye always firmly fixed on the future. And its quiet, stately, terra cotta brownstones on tree-lined streets that spoke of an elegant and refined Metropolis. They flew over the massive expanse of Centennial Park, dressed in the white gowns of winter, her trees barren and gray.
At last, he descended on Sullivan Lane and flew them through the window to the annex to their library. Her husband set her gently on her feet, but she didn’t let him go. Pulling him closer, she continued to draw comfort from his solid, reassuring presence. For months now, he’d been her anchor, keeping her tethered to the world when fear had threatened to sweep her away. With the burden of her anxieties having been lifted, she could finally appreciate just how much she’d relied on his strength. She never would have survived this if he hadn’t been strong enough for both of them. He kissed her softly and she could feel him smile against her lips. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you,” she whispered breathlessly as she closed her eyes and tucked her head under his chin.
“I would have been thrilled if the baby were a boy,” he began. “But I’m really, really excited it’s a girl. I know I’m not supposed to care, I mean, all that really matters is our baby’s healthy. But it’ll be really nice to have a little girl.”
She stepped back so she could smile at him. “She already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she?”
“You know it,” he admitted as he sank to his knees. He kissed the slight swell of her abdomen and let his head rest against her body. Her arms came up to wrap around him, holding him close. Her heart filled with love for the both of them—for the husband she couldn’t live without and the tiny little life they’d created that was growing inside her. She ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair and thanked whatever fates were involved in making sure their child was all right. They were going to be okay. All of them.
He stood up and swiftly swept her into his arms. Looking deeply into her eyes, he declared, “I want to make love with you.”
Her pulse raced. She caressed his cheek and whispered softly, breathlessly, “please.” She could already imagine the feeling of his hands and his lips on her body. The familiar excitement and tension of anticipation built deep inside her. She wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon showing her husband how much she loved him. She wanted to make love with him without the specters of fear and grief haunting them. She wanted to find with him that all too rare sense of uncomplicated joy.
Clark carried her to their bedroom and laid her down reverently on the soft mattress. With exquisite care, he undressed her slowly, lavishing every inch of newly exposed skin with worshipful attention. His languid, unhurried movements conveyed that he too, intended to savor the afternoon, to spend it completely wrapped up in her. As he stared down at her with passion darkened eyes, she reached up to carefully trace the beautiful features of his face. Her thumb brushed the outline of his lips. He caught her hand in his and kissed the tip of each of her fingers. Turning her hand, he kissed the soft skin on the inside of her wrist, sending a shiver through her. He rained a trail of kisses across her arm, her shoulder, the hollow at the base of her neck, and down her body, as his lips paid silent homage to her.
He joined with her in that most primitive and perfect and eternal way. As their bodies moved as one, they found in each other that sense of rightness, of belonging, of a deeper and more permanent connectedness, that only being together brought them. She captured and held her husband’s gaze in a moment so intimate it stunned her. Making love with him was about so much more than bringing each other pleasure—though she had to admit with a self-satisfied smile, he was quite the expert in that area—it was a powerful reaffirmation of the love that bound them together. Each time they made love was a renewal of the vows they’d made to one another.
He would always put her happiness above his own.
She would love him, and only him, until the end of time.
He would stand shoulder to shoulder with her and face down whatever life could throw at them.
She would ensure that he would never again walk through life alone.
Conscious thought fled her and she could focus only on the remarkable things her husband was doing to her. She cried out his name in a sob, a prayer, a joyful exclamation of a love that could not be contained.
“Lois…I…love…you…” he whispered harshly. Her arms wrapped around him even tighter. No matter how close he was, it wasn’t close enough. Her name escaped his lips in a breathless cry and he collapsed next to her on the bed, immediately pulling her back into his arms. His powerful chest rose and fell with heavy, labored breaths and she could hear his heart still pounding out a furious rhythm. But as he curved his body protectively around hers, she could feel his contentment. His pulse and his breathing finally slowed and she heard him sigh softly.
“You’re amazing, you know that Ms. Lane?” he asked as he kissed her shoulder.
“Ditto, Mr. Kent,” she replied as she stretched lazily, letting her legs tangle with his.
********
Clark pulled on a pair of sweat pants as he turned back to look at his sleeping wife, his heart bursting with tenderness. Even as she lay there, dozing contentedly, her body was nurturing and sustaining their child. Talk about impressive multitasking, he thought to himself with a smile. He heard her sigh as her lips turned up in a small smile. She shifted slightly, causing the sheets to fall away from her body. It didn’t matter how many times he’d seen her like this, or the fact that he was as familiar with her body as he was with his own, just seeing her was intoxicating. God, she was beautiful. He couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her. ‘I’ve touched her there. I’ve felt her pulse race under my lips. I know just how to make her sigh. And shiver. And moan. And cry out my name,’ he thought to himself, the sentiment suffused with a certain possessiveness. But the feeling had nothing to do with domination. How could he even think himself above her when she owned him completely—body and soul?
He shook his head wistfully. While he could have spent the rest of the afternoon and evening just watching her sleep peacefully, he had a paper to put to bed. He tugged a t-shirt over his head and found his cell phone, dialing Perry’s number as he retreated silently from the bedroom. Clark closed the door softly as he stepped out into the hallway.
“Hi, Perry,” he said as his boss answered the phone.
“You two all right, son?” came the gruff reply.
Clark smiled. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Dr. Klein said the test results look great. And it’s a girl.”
He heard Perry laugh heartily. “That’s wonderful news!”
“I know, we’re over the moon,” Clark replied.
“I’ll bet. So I don’t suppose I’ll see either one of you in here for the rest of the day.”
“Lois is asleep,” he began. “It was a pretty emotional morning and I figure I should let her rest, but I’ll come back in.”
“Don’t you dare,” Perry replied. “Stay at home with your wife. Celebrate. Just be happy. There will be a whole ‘nother paper to put out on Monday.”
“Thanks, Perry,” Clark said gratefully. “We both appreciate it.”
“Have a good weekend, son,” Perry said. “Tell Lois we love her. And by the way, when you two do come back next week, I’m expecting you to be your old selves again.”
Clark grimaced. Of course, there was no way Perry wasn’t going to notice the marked drop off in the quality of their work that week. “I’m sorry; I know we were pretty much useless around the office this week.”
“It’s entirely understandable, given the stress you were under. Just try to take the weekend and relax. Get your focus back.”
“Of course, Chief,” Clark promised his boss, before saying his goodbyes. He hung up the phone and looked down at his watch, or where his watch would have been, had he been wearing one. He looked through the bedroom wall at the clock on the nightstand. Just after three. It was almost time to pick up Jon. Grandpa Sam and Grandma Ellen had taken him to the Natural History Museum as an early birthday present. The museum was his little boy’s favorite and Clark imagined Jon was going to come home bursting with excitement to tell stories about the dinosaur bones and the huge Whale that hung over the Hall of Aquatic Life.
He tuned in his hearing – his mother was sculpting something in her studio. He could hear his father’s heartbeat as well. They were definitely home earlier than he’d expected. But hearing his mother’s voice on the phone, how thrilled and relieved she was, he wasn’t terribly surprised. Clark made his way down the stairs and knocked on their door. “Mom? Dad?”
His father opened the door almost immediately, grinning from ear to ear. “Boy, are we ever happy for the two of you,” Jonathan said as he pulled his son into a fierce hug.
“Thanks, Dad,” Clark replied. As soon as he’d stepped back, his mother was flinging her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
“Honey, we’re so relieved!” his mother exclaimed. “How’s Lois? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, Mom,” he assured her. “Just a little tired, it’s been a rough week for us.”
“We know,” Martha replied.
“Thank you both, for being so understand, for helping out with Jon,” he said, knowing the words were inadequate.
“Honey, it was no big deal,” his mother replied casually, gesturing with the towel she’d used to clean the sculpting clay from her hands. “You know how much we love to spend time with Jon.”
He smiled. “Speaking of the little guy, I should go pick him up.”
“Why don’t you take your father, too? We can order Chinese for dinner and once Jon’s in bed, we can talk about his birthday party.”
“Sounds good,” Clark said with a genuine grin. Now that Jon was in nursery school, he was going to have a real party with other kids, complete with pizza and ice cream and games. He couldn’t help but feel guilty about the fact that during the last week of their tortuous wait in limbo, they’d been too distracted to make sure that Jon got sufficient quality—not just quantity—time with his parents. They’d still taken the time to play with him, to eat all together as a family and to go through Jon’s nightly bedtime ritual together, but half the time, he and Lois had been a million miles away. And while he was only (almost) five years old, Jon had to have noticed how distant and distracted his parents were.
Jon was going to get the sort of parental doting and indulgence every little boy was entitled to the week of his fifth birthday. And while they hadn’t been able to deliver on his request for a little brother for his birthday, by the summer, he would have a little sister. He would get to be a big brother. Jon would know what it was like to have a sibling who loved him and looked up to him, who was always going to be a part of his life. It was a relationship fate had cruelly denied Clark when his older sister had died years before he was born. And while he’d always had his parents, he’d always known somehow that the bond between siblings was different. He saw it between Lois and Lucy. Even though the two sisters were diametric opposites in temperament, there was a visceral connection between them. There was nothing Lois wouldn’t have done to protect her kid sister.
“I’m just gonna run up and change,” Clark said. “Dad, will you be ready to go in a few?”
“Just let me grab my coat,” Jonathan replied.
********
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they both stared expectantly at the elevator doors, waiting for them to open onto the newsroom floor. “So how do you want to go about telling people?” he asked.
“This will be easier than you think,” she said. Clark tended to believe her, since she was the one who’d done this before. As the elevator chimed and the doors slid open, they stepped out onto the landing and headed down into the bullpen. “Coffee?” she asked.
“Sure, thanks,” he replied.
Lois made her way toward the coffee station, where Stephanie, the society columnist was brewing a fresh pot. He watched as she poured herself a cup from the orange handled ‘decaf’ pot.
“I thought you drank the real stuff?” Stephanie asked with an arched brow.
“Well, sure, before I was pregnant, but you know caffeine isn’t great for the baby,” Lois replied nonchalantly as she added creamer to her coffee.
Clark shook his head as he watched the paper’s professional gossip’s jaw land somewhere near her expensive Italian stilettos. “So you are pregnant?” Stephanie stammered.
“Of course,” Lois replied as though she were surprised by the other woman’s reaction. “Did you think I gained ten pounds for no reason?”
“No, I mean…you just never said anything to anyone…did you?” Clark had to stifle a grin as he watched the society columnist suffer an existential freak out. Her business was knowing other people’s business and Lois had just employed the first defense against gossip mongering: treat the gossip like it wasn’t gossip.
“Well, our doctor was a little concerned, but we got great news at the checkup on Friday,” Lois explained calmly. Clark couldn’t even begin to fathom how she could talk about the last few months as though they hadn’t been a form of long, drawn out torture.
“So you two must be thrilled,” Stephanie said, recovering nicely to try to pry more information from Lois.
“Ecstatic,” Lois replied. “I mean, Clark is just basically on cloud nine. And it’s so cute how he’s gotten wrapped up in baby books and paint samples for the nursery.” Lois leaned over and grabbed the pot of regular coffee which had finished brewing, but which Stephanie seemed to have forgotten about. She poured a cup of coffee and added the full fat cream and three sugars he liked. She mixed it with the stirrer from her own cup before tossing the little bit of plastic into the trash can. “I’ll see you later,” she said casually as she picked up the two cups of coffee. When her back was turned to the other woman she smiled smugly at her husband. She walked over toward him and handed him his coffee.
“Taken care of,” she declared.
“That’s it?” he asked, impressed by the simplicity of her plan.
She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. “Sure, you tell the biggest gossip in a newsroom something and you don’t even have to bother telling anyone else. By lunch, the entire paper, including the printing operations and the executive board, will know.”
********
“Lois! Clark! My office, now!” Perry’s voice boomed as he called his two top journalists into his office. Lois smiled inwardly. She couldn’t really recall Perry having done this since the two of them were partners, investigating hot stories, what felt like centuries ago. Her husband followed a step behind as they made their way to the editor in chief’s office. During the morning staff meeting, it had been nothing but words of congratulations and slaps on the back for Clark. Stephanie was even better at spreading gossip than Lois had thought.
She could feel the eyes of their colleagues on them as they crossed the bullpen to Perry’s office. Lois figured Clark had to notice it, too, but he stared straight ahead as though he was completely unaware. He held the door to the editor’s office open for her, letting his hand come to rest on the small of her back as she walked into the office in front of him.
Perry grinned from ear to ear. “Congratulations, you two,” he said heartily as he stepped around his desk.
“Thanks, Chief,” she replied as her editor pulled her into a warm hug.
Perry turned to clap Clark on the shoulder and vigorously shake his hand. “I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. Alice and I always wanted a girl, but ah, well….” He looked away for a moment, as though the nostalgia had derailed his train of thought. “Anyway, this is just great news. Speaking of news…”
“We know, Perry, we have a paper to put out,” she finished the thought for her editor.
“That’s my girl,” Perry replied with a wink. “You two having any luck with the authorities in China?”
“The list of suspects has been narrowed to one,” Clark explained. “And I think the authorities in Macau are really hoping to coordinate the arrest with Superman – it’ll be good PR for them. But with what they’ve got so far, I doubt they could keep the guy in jail for more than five years.” She watched as her husband’s jaw clenched.
“What about trying to murder a building full of people?”
“Macau isn’t exactly looking to turn Jiang over to foreign powers. Unless some elements of those crimes were committed in Macau, he won’t be charged there for them.”
“Judas Priest,” Perry muttered. “But if anyone can nail this piece of garbage to the wall, it’s the two of you.”
“We hope so, Chief,” Lois replied.
********
“Lois, what can I do for you?” Dave Brewer asked as he held open the door to his office.
“I’ve been talking to Superman,” she began as she took a seat across from the Special Agent in Charge’s desk. “He mentioned the authorities in Macau don’t have much to work with, at least not in their jurisdiction.”
Brewer unbuttoned his suit jacket as he sat down at his desk. “They’ve got Jiang under a pretty tight surveillance ring, but they’re not likely to turn up anything new. The guy has been completely frozen out. The Triads wouldn’t even spit on him if he were on fire.” He picked up a pencil from his blotter and began twirling it absently.
She smiled at the unusually colorful expression from the staid agent. “The first major organized crime story I covered, the prosecutor told me the trick was to find the broadest, most expansive law you could, and then cram your case into it somehow.”
Brewer nodded thoughtfully. “That’s the general theory behind RICO prosecutions. In organized crime cases, the feds build up as broad of a conspiracy as the evidence will bear and then hook everything into a mail or wire fraud charge. You ride its coattails all the way to a conviction.”
“So what are the broadest laws that could possibly apply in this case?”
He merely shrugged in response. “I’m the wrong guy to ask. I’m not an expert in Macau law.”
“But what about transnational crimes? Something he could have done in Macau that could be linked to the attempted bombing.”
Brewer kept twirling the pencil. “There’s money laundering, bribery maybe, trafficking in persons, terror…. Lane, you’re a genius,” he said abruptly as threw the pencil into the FBI mug on his desk and practically leaped out of his chair.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Terrorism financing. That police chief, Wan, was going on about how strict their terrorism financing laws are.”
“And you can get a terrorism financing charge to stick?”
“The U.S. Attorney certainly can. The bombing was a deliberate attack against innocent civilians for the purpose of intimidation and of course, to kill Superman and Ultrawoman. They might not be governmental actors, but the message was pretty clear – the Triads were telling the government not to mess with them and they decided to use innocent civilians as their medium of communication. The money to fund the attack, to buy the Kryptonite, I’m betting dollars to donuts it passed through Macau at some point, even if it was just a correspondent bank somewhere. I’ll call the Assistant U.S. Attorney. If we coordinate with Macau, we can have Jiang indicted on terrorism charges here in New Troy. We’ll defer prosecution, assuming he’s indicted and convicted on charges of terrorism financing in Macau.”
“Macau gets the glory; the FBI does most of the heavy lifting.”
“So long as Jiang spends the rest of his life in prison I couldn’t care less whether it’s in Macau, Metropolis, or on Mars,” Brewer replied with a grin.
“Dave, has anyone ever told you you’re way too competent to be a government employee?”
“Lois, has anyone ever told you you’re way too useful to be a reporter?” he retorted.
