Nine
by Wanda Detroit
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A very special thanks to Julie Stars and Stopquitdont who BR’ed for me, and helped me brainstorm! Feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!
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Clark Kent had proudly announced that he was done with his Christmas shopping. It was only Thanksgiving.
Lois had barely begun.
Sure, she had picked out some creative neckties for Clark to add to his collection, but that was the extent of her shopping thus far. This would be their second Christmas together, and Lois wanted to make it special. From the nature of his playful jabs, Lois gathered that she would be receiving something major from her husband.
Three silk ties were not going to cut it.
The trouble was, nothing was catching her eye this year. She’d been out shopping, looking in all of the usual places. She’d considered a new watch, but they had all looked the same to her. Nothing screamed ‘Clark.’ She thought of having a gold money clip engraved, and sat for hours trying to compose the perfect phrase. Nothing came.
Money was a non-issue. If she could have given him the moon, she would have. What she wanted was something creative and wonderful. Something that expressed her love for him, more than words ever could. Something eternal.
She would find that special something in a most unusual place.
* * * * *
December in Metropolis was bitterly cold. There were snow flurries during the first week of the month. Everyone at the Daily Planet was calling in sick with the flu. Clark, of course, was not affected, and neither was Lois so far. The epidemic was getting worse, though, so finally Lois bit the bullet and decided to get the flu shot.
She scheduled a regular physical because it had been so long since she’d had one and the doctor had insisted. She was as healthy as ever. Lois refused to get sick; getting sick meant missing work. She justified her visit, rationalizing that the flu shot was definitely a good idea. Anything that kept her from missing work was worth the sacrifice.
Yet there was one little thing she wanted to discuss with her doctor before the shot was even administered. It was nothing, really. Just a tiny little idea swimming around in her head. There were barely any symptoms. Still, something made her wonder.
‘Could I? Possibly? Could it be?’
Dr. Sanger took some tests. She determined that Lois was, indeed, in excellent health. She also confirmed Lois’ minute suspicion. When hearing the doctor’s words, a shiver ran through her body. She was moved to tears.
“You’re sure there’s no mistake?” Lois murmured, her voice shaky with emotion.
“These tests are absolutely accurate, Mrs. Kent,” Dr. Sanger replied softly, handing her patient a tissue.
Lois wiped away her joyful tears, smiling ear to ear. She had found her Christmas gift to Clark. She was pregnant.
* * * * *
It was the hardest two weeks, hiding the news from her husband. She was so excited to tell him, but she decided that waiting until Christmas would be well worth it.
Lois marveled at how her concept of the holiday season had changed since she met Clark. Her childhood memories of Christmas were not always pleasant. There was often a lot of fighting between her parents. She and her sister Lucy would hide and pretend that everything was all right. Truth be told, it wasn’t; Lois never quite got over it. Until she met Clark, that is.
Clark had taught her so much about the season. He showed her how to love it again. Even before they began dating, his simple gesture of being the only person at her Christmas party warmed her heart more than she could express at the time.
Lois was filled with anticipation: eager anticipation for Christmas to come, excitement over seeing Clark’s reaction to the news, and hope for the new life that was beginning to form within her body.
At times, she found herself to be more emotional about things in general. She secretly blamed it on her changing hormones. Still, she knew what the real reason was: being pregnant again reminded her of her first pregnancy. It had only lasted three months. That sense of loss was still with her, even though she never got a chance to meet the baby she’d carried. Part of her feared that something might happen to this baby.
For the most part, she was filled with joy. Clark noticed it, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He believed his wife when she told him she had completed her Christmas shopping (it was not a lie, after all, even though Clark’s big present was not bought at a store). Lois was radiant; she entered the apartment, her cheeks rosy red from the fierce wind. She unwound a scarf from her neck and disappeared to hide some last-minute stocking stuffers in her closet along with Clark’s other gifts.
It was Christmas Eve. Clark simmered some homemade hot chocolate on the stove top. He had even made it the old-fashioned way (no heat vision)! He poured his creation into two mugs and added marshmallows. He placed some gingerbread cookies on a small plate. Lois had made (and burned) them the previous day. Clark ate them to feed her ego more than his stomach.
When Lois descended the staircase, Clark was sitting on the couch with the two mugs and cookie plate on the coffee table. Clark had cleared a space beside him for his wife. The only light in the room were the tiny colored Christmas lights that lit their tree and the TV set, which was just beginning to play a black-and-white version of “A Christmas Carol.”
Lois snuggled beside Clark, an knit afghan covering both of their laps. She sipped hot chocolate and appreciated the moment, taking in all of the sights and sounds and smells. Next Christmas, she knew, would be very different. Their family of two would become a family of three. Right now, Lois just wanted to relish this perfect moment for what it was. She raised the mug to her lips and drank. Clark’s cocoa was delicious; it made her feel bad that he was eating her poor excuse for cookies.
“You don’t have to eat those, you know,” Lois said, cringing at the hard crunch of her husband’s teeth on a burnt gingerbread man.
“They’re really not *that* bad, Lois,“ Clark smiled and brushed the crumbs from his lips with a napkin.
Lois beamed. “You know, Alastair Sim really is the best Ebeneezer Scrooge,” she commented as the movie began.
“I agree,” Clark replied. He looked into Lois’ eyes, tilted her chin up with gentle fingertips, and their lips met in a spicy-sweet, Christmas-flavored kiss.
Somehow, although they never quite left the couch, Lois and Clark managed to miss the entire movie, until--
“God bless us, every one,” proclaimed Tiny Tim.
* * * * *
Christmas morning. The Christmas tree had a decent pile of gifts beneath it! Both Lois and Clark had individually taken a turn at placing presents under the tree on Christmas Eve. Clark plugged in the lights, and the room was radiant!
Coffee was made and presents were opened. There were old editions of science-fiction classics, complete with pulp art covers, for Clark. A tiny box contained a tiny silk negligee for Lois (“Sorry, Lois, that one was more for *me* than for you!” Clark laughed). Clark loved his ties; he insisted on trying one on over his t-shirt. Lois enjoyed such gifts as Belgian chocolate, a Japanese porcelain vase, and tickets for two to the Russian Ballet... in Russia--all imported courtesy of Superman Express.
When the pile of packages dwindled, there were only two left. Clark wanted to give his gift to Lois first. The box was about the size of a bar of soap. Lois unwrapped the shiny paper gingerly, revealing a small velvet box.
Her brown eyes grew huge when she opened the box. The necklace was a heart-shape outline made completely out of the most radiant diamonds she’d ever seen. Clark took the necklace from her hands and fastened the clasp around her neck. Standing back, he admired his wife. Lois was speechless.
“I hope you like it, I made it myself,” Clark admitted proudly. “Well, the diamonds I mean--I had a jeweler set them for me. But, I went to this coal mine, and I--”
“You pressed coal into diamonds? For me?” She threw her arms around Clark’s neck. “I love it. I love it so much, Clark!”
“I’m so glad!” Clark beamed, thrilled that she loved his gift as much as he hoped she would.
“Well, there’s one more present, and it’s for you,” Lois stated calmly. “I don’t know if it’ll top this,” she ran a fingertip over her diamond pendant.
The box was small and flat. It was light as a feather. Clark peeled the paper away to reveal a nondescript brown box. He lifted the lid to reveal a small official-looking piece of paper. It looked almost like a prescription. He studied it, deciphering the scrawling handwriting that was not his wife’s. He read aloud:
“’Let it be known that Lois Lane-Kent is’--*Oh my God!*”
“Keep reading,” Lois said, her smile widening.
“...’Lois Lane-Kent is pregnant, and due to deliver in early August. Signed, Doctor Amanda Sanger.’ Lois! Oh my God!” Clark gathered his wife in his arms, and soon both of them were laughing and crying joyfully at the same time. “Lois, this is the greatest gift--” he murmured into her hair. He drew her close for a tender kiss.
“You like it, Clark?”
“Like it?! I *love* it--I love *you!*”
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The end?! Nope! Look for "Eight" in early January! -W.D.
