Lori and Clark – The New, New Adventures of Superman – MMC V 6 29/32
By Ken Janney
Warning: This story is rated PG-13.
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Previously:
They strolled down to the beach and put out some towels. Lois lathered CJ up with sun screen and put him down to play. Clark took his turn and lathered Lois up with the sunscreen. He was on a towel on one side in his Speedos and Lois was on the other side in her brown bikini. After a time Lois picked up CJ and took him down to where the waves made it up the beach. She sat him down where the wave would wash up to him and knelt down next to him while Clark stood by. When the first wave hit him he was startled and watched it retreat. When the next one hit him he tried to pat it and succeeded in splashing some of the water on his legs. When the next wave came in he hit it harder. This time he managed to splash Lois. When she giggled he knew that what he was doing was okay so he decided that he wasn’t just going to sit there. He got onto his hands and knees and started to crawl out toward the water. Lois allowed him to get just so far before she said, “CJ, no.”
He stopped and looked back at her. He contemplated what she had said for a few seconds and then crept one step further. Lois said, “CJ, no!”
CJ stopped again and looked back at Lois and then very deliberately took another step forward while continuing to watch her. She stood and stepped up to him and picking him up gave him a little swat on his wet diaper and said, “CJ, Momma said, no!”
Seeing her anger CJ was repentant and put his hands out to her and said, “Momma, Momma?”
Lois pulled him into a hug and said, “Momma loves CJ, but if Momma says no, CJ must obey.”
Lois sat him down in the light surf again. He looked up at her and then turned over on his hands and knees and started to crawl into deeper water again. Lois said, “CJ, no.”
This time he stopped and turning plopped down on his bottom and repeated what she had said, “CJ, no.”
Lois was startled. She looked at Clark and said, “Did you hear that? He said something other than Momma or Dadda and it’s like he really knew what I meant. He stopped!” She stooped down and picked CJ up and gave him a big hug and kiss and twirled him around almost dancing with him in her arms. Clark came over and wrapped his arms around both of them.
CJ started babbling, “Momma, Dadda, CJ, no. Momma, Dadda, CJ, no.”
Lois said, “That’s right, Darling CJ. Momma loves CJ.”
CJ repeated, “Momma lubs CJ.”
With tears of joy streaming down her face Lois said, “Yes, Momma loves CJ. Momma loves her baby boy, CJ.”
Lois continued crying, but, Clark could tell from the look on her face that they were no longer tears of joy, but sorrow. Sorrow that it wouldn’t be too much longer until Herb showed up to take CJ away from them and back to his parents. He enclosed both her and CJ in his arms standing there in the surf and comforted his wife even though his own heart was also breaking.
And now:
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Chapter 28 – March Madness
Sunday, March 1, 1998
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 local designation - Prime
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Spending a lazy Sunday afternoon at home Lois was on the couch next to Clark nursing CJ while Clark was going over his picks for the brackets for the College Basketball Playoffs which were affectionately called March Madness. As CJ was finishing up Clark made one final entry on his bracket and gave it a final perusal. Satisfied he put it down and accepted CJ when Lois handed him over to his father to burp.
Lois had just finished readjusting her clothing when there was a knock on the door. She looked at Clark with fear on her face. Clark slipped his glasses down a bit and checked. He said, “Jimmy,” and got up to answer the door. When he opened the door he said, “Hi Jimmy, what brings you over today?”
Holding out his hands to CJ to see if he wanted to come to him, Jimmy said, “I just finished my brackets and thought I’d see if you were done and how we matched up.” CJ held out his hands to Jimmy and Clark handed him over. Jimmy said, “How are you today, CJ? Boy, you’re getting big. What’s your Momma feedin’ you, huh?”
Laughing, Lois chimed in from the couch, “You know what I’m feeding him. It’s a good thing I started supplementing with solid foods, I don’t think my body could produce enough milk to keep up with his appetite.”
Jimmy bounced CJ a few times which elicited squeals of delight from CJ before turning him over to his Momma. Jimmy turned to Clark and said, “Okay, let’s see what’ca got.”
Clark and Jimmy headed into the dining room so that they could lay out their brackets to compare them.
Lois got up off the couch and was about to head into the kitchen when there was another knock on the door. She shouted, “I’ll get it.,” and proceeded to open the door. Lucy was on the threshold. Lois said, “Hi, Sis! What brings you over today?”
“Oh, I just had a feeling that I should come over today. Hi, CJ! Want to come to Auntie Lucy?” She asked as she held out her hands to him. CJ reached for her and Lois handed him off.
Lucy started nuzzling him and picking up his shirt started giving him raspberries while he squealed in delight.
Lois asked Lucy, “Do you want to feed him his carrots while I express some more milk?”
Looking up from CJ’s belly, Lucy said, “Sure, glad to help.”
Lois said, “Let’s go into the kitchen.” As they were passing by she said to the guys, “Lucy and I are going into the kitchen and I’m going to be expressing some milk so the kitchen is off limits. If you want a snack or a drink, you’d better get it now.”
Clark looked at Jimmy and Jimmy said, “Nah, I’m good.”
Clark said, “Maybe when you’re done.”
Lois arched an eyebrow and said, “Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
They moved into the kitchen and Lucy put CJ into his highchair and buckled him in. He knew what was coming and started banging on the tray anxious to have his carrots.
Lois got out her pump and started using it while Lucy started feeding CJ. They both finished up about the same time and Lois got herself decent again. Lois put the milk in the refrigerator while Lucy used a cloth to clean CJ up. Lois unbuckled him and put him down on the floor. He crawled over to Aunt Lucy and held onto her leg to help himself vertical and then he started to toddle around. He would manage a few steps and then plop down on his butt, get up and try again. Lucy said, “He’s getting better all the time. Before you know it he will be walking all over the house. Good thing you baby proofed.”
Chuckling, Lois said, “Yeah, it’s an entirely different mindset. He’s really becoming the little man,” as she leaned down and scooped him up. She put him over her shoulder to burp him, rubbing his back in small circles. After he burped he started yawning so Lois said, “Looks like I’ve got a sleepy boy here. Lucy, let’s go put him down for his nap.”
“Okay sis.”
As they passed through the dining room Lois said, “Kitchen’s free now.”
Clark was pointing at an entry in a bracket and looking up said, “Thanks Honey.” He turned to Jimmy and asked, “Thirsty?”
Jimmy thought for a second and then said, “Sure, what’ca got?”
“Coke, Mountain Dew or cream soda.”
“I’ll have a Dew, thanks.”
Lois and Lucy went upstairs to the nursery and Lois put CJ down for his nap. After she covered him up he fell asleep almost immediately, holding his bunny. She just stood there looking at him. After a couple of minutes Lucy saw that she was crying. Lucy moved over next to her and put an arm around her sister. She asked, “What’s the problem Sis?”
Lois turned to her and tried to control her emotions as she said, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Lucy wasn’t buying it and said, “Let’s go sit down.” She led Lois out of the nursery and into the master bedroom where they sat down on the bed, before she said, “Sis, you may try to lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me. I know you too well. Give, what’s the problem? Are you and Clark fighting?”
With a shocked expression Lois looked at Lucy and asked, “No, Clark and I are NOT fighting. How could you think such a thing?”
“Okay, if that’s not it, what’s got you so upset?”
“Oh, Lucy, it’s CJ,” and she started to cry.
Worried now, Lucy asked, “Why, what’s the matter with CJ? He looks happy and healthy.”
“That’s not it, I mean, yes, he is happy and healthy. It’s something else.”
“What is it then that has you so upset?”
“Oh, Lucy, it won’t be too much longer until he will be going back to his parents.”
“What? Why? I thought you were keeping him.”
“No, we were only keeping him while his parents were on a mission trip.”
Suddenly remembering the story, Lucy said, “Oh, that’s right. They’re medical missionaries. They’ll be coming home soon?” Trying to mitigate the problem somewhat Lucy asked, “Won’t you be able to visit him? I mean, it isn’t like he’ll be going to the space station or something.”
Lois started crying harder. When she had regained some control she said, “No, Luce, we won’t be able to visit him. He’s going too far away and we won’t have any means of getting there.”
Lucy was dumbfounded, “What do you mean, ‘too far away’ and ‘no means of getting there’? With what Clark can do, how can that be?”
Lois was happy that her sister had been brought in on the family secret so she was able to discuss problems like this with her. “Luce, that was just the cover story. CJ is really from the future ... he is the child of a super couple from the future. Any day, Herb is going to come and pick him up to take him home. He’s going to take my baby away.” A fresh flood of tears left her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me this story earlier Sis?”
“It was for his safety. That’s why I had to breast feed. He needed the special nutrients only my body could provide.”
“Shouldn’t you have some say in the matter? You’re more of a mother to him than the woman that gave him birth!”
“That’s the problem Luce, you see, first, she didn’t give him up willingly. They were going on a dangerous mission and they sent him to us to care for and protect him until they returned. It’s complicated. He couldn’t go with them but, Herb couldn’t just move him forward in time because he had to age appropriately for the amount of time they would be gone and second, I could very well be the woman that gave him birth. He could really *be* my child. How could I keep him away from myself?”
“Sis, since that is a possibility, you will have to give him up when Herb comes for him. If he is yours then you know that you can have children.”
“That’s the problem Luce, Herb wouldn’t confirm that he was mine and Clark’s child. All he would say was that he was the child of a super couple. I really don’t know what he meant by that either. Did he mean that both of them were super? If that was the case, why is he only three quarters Kryptonian and not fully? We have so many questions and very few answers.”
“Well, Sis, all I can say is, enjoy what time you have with him and hope that Herb takes his time about getting here.”
Lois let out an unladylike snort and as she almost literally spat out her next statement the bitterness and pain were clearly evident, “Time! Time?? Takes his *time* getting here! Herb has all of the time in the world! All the time in time! Herb is a time traveler! He moves through time the way we move through the house! Whenever or wherever he wants to be he just pulls out his little box, hits a few keys, a doorway opens in front of him and zap, he steps through and he’s there, whenever and wherever he pleases. His doorway could open up right here in this room a minute from now and we’d have no warning and no recourse. He could be in CJ’s room right now picking him up to take him home and I wouldn’t know it until I went in there to feed him.”
Lucy had been shaken by the emotion Lois had been revealing and also by concern for the situations she had described. She asked, “Lo, would he really do something like that to you?”
Lois was overwrought and replied hastily, “Yes, no, I don’t know, I really don’t think he would, but he could, that’s the worst part. He could take him and I wouldn’t know it. I wouldn’t even be given the chance to say goodbye to my baby.”
Lucy threw her arms around Lois and pulled her into a hug as she started crying like her heart was being ripped out.
In a matter of seconds Clark was there by her side. Sensing his presence Lois pulled away from Lucy and threw her arms around Clark’s neck and the floodgates opened.
Lucy could see that this needed to be a personal time for the two of them so she quietly got up and went downstairs.
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She found Jimmy in the dining room. He looked at her and asked, “What’s going on? Suddenly, Clark got this concerned look on his face and he left without saying a word.”
Lucy said, “It’s a long story, Jimmy. Why don’t you take me out for lunch and we can talk about it?”
Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth and loathe to turn down such an invitation Jimmy grabbed his brackets sheet and stuffed it into his pocket. “Do you have any place special in mind?”
Lucy replied, “Yeah, Travaglini’s, they have the best pasta in town.”
Jimmy led the way to the door and escorted Lucy to his car.
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Lois cried for a time drawing a measure of comfort from Clark’s solid presence. Eventually she pulled back and asked, “Oh, Clark, what are we going to do? The longer we have him the more I love him and the harder it’s going to be to give him up and the longer we have him the closer we get to the time when we have to do just that.”
Clark was very somber as he replied, “All we can do is love him while we have him and miss him when he leaves and hope that someday, some way we’ll see him again.
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