Sanguine Sequel to Gravidity

by Jack-El49

Lois and Clark face the challenge of a life together with an unexpected surprise that upends their normal existence. This is a sequel to Gravidity.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the second story in a two-part series written for the Season 10 Smallville winter hiatus. The first story, Gravidity, should be read to understand the setting and events leading up to this story.

Chapter One

In the ensuing weeks since her fainting spell at the Planet, the nighttime morning sickness had subsided and Lois felt even more confident that she would carry their baby to term and she would deliver a healthy, special child. Better yet, she realized that since learning she was pregnant, she had not been revisited by the hideous and gripping dreams that had plagued her for the last two years.

At the end the third month, Clark accompanied Lois to her obstetric appointment and stood in the examining room listening closely to Dr. Walker and gauging her reactions. They seemed normal; there were no signs, visible or audible that might convey the doctor thought their baby was anything other than a normal, developing human child.

"Are you ready to see your baby?" the doctor asked. She applied the cold, clear gel on Lois' almost imperceptibly swollen abdomen. The doctor took an ultrasonic wand and moved it around, locating the developing child. "There's your baby," she announced.

Clark stood next to Lois, holding her hand. To her, the image reminded her of sand swirling at a lightly turbulent shoreline. Lois squinted and made a face. "Where?" she asked.

Dr. Walker smiled and pointed to the center of the monitor while moving the wand. "Wait…right there! You can see your baby's heart beating." She circled the small grainy figure with her finger.

Suddenly, the image took form and Lois saw their baby. "Look, Honey!" was all she could manage. She looked at Clark and his eyes were glued to the monitor while a smile was glued to his face. He looked away and his eyes met hers. He bent down and kissed her, squeezing her hand a little tighter.

"Do you want to know the gender of the child?" Dr. Walker asked.

"No," Lois answered quickly before she changed her mind. She cleared her throat. "We want it to be a surprise."

"Well, all appears to be normal." The doctor printed off several images of the baby and handed them to Clark. "The first pictures of your baby, Mr. Kent." She then wiped the gel off Lois' stomach. "We're done for another month, Lois. Continue following the prenatal care plan and everything should continue just fine. You can get dressed."

They thanked the doctor and she left the examination room as Lois disrobed and then began dressing. For the first time she could remember, Clark did not steal a glance at her while she was undressed. Instead, he stared at the pictures the entire time and under any other circumstances she would have felt a twinge of resentment. The only word he uttered was, "Amazing!"

"Okay, Smallville; time to go shopping," Lois announced as Clark entered the bedroom with a cup of decaffeinated coffee for her. After trying desperately to clasp her slacks but failing, Lois stripped off her pants, threw them on the bed and turned to the closet. "I fit in those slacks last week," she remarked as she surveyed her wardrobe. "I'm not saying they weren't tight but they were still comfortable enough to wear."

"Lois, you're going on four months pregnant; what did you expect?" Clark had been trying to encourage her to go shopping for some maternity clothing but Lois loathed the idea. "I was surprised that you went this long without wearing maternity clothes."

"Pants with stretchy panels and blouses in one style: baby-doll;" she rolled her eyes, "I can't wait," she muttered. She emerged from the closet with a skirt that allowed for her expansion. Her blouses were getting tight as well but she found one she could wear. She dressed and stood in the mirror. "Oy!" she exclaimed and grimaced.

Clark chuckled. "Not your usual style but if anyone can pull off that look, Lois Lane-Kent can!"

Lois wasn't amused. She looked at herself and began to cry. "Oh my God; this looks terrible." She buried her face in her hands.

"No you don't," he replied matter-of-factly, somewhat alarmed by Lois' reaction to her unflattering apparel. He moved up behind her and put his arms around her, making eye contact with her reflection. "You're fine, Lois. You're beautiful no matter what you're wearing," he said. He kissed her on the neck, "…and even more beautiful when you're wearing nothing at all," he whispered.

She regained her composure. "Sure, you say that now," she replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Wait until I blow up like a blimp!" She said in a half-laugh, half-sob. Staring at her reflection, took a deep breath. "God, I don't know what came over me! Can you say 'hormone overload'?" Lois smiled bravely, turned in his arms and kissed him. He let her go and she went back into the closet to find some shoes. "We're going out after work so don't even think of finding something else to do," she declared. "I can't make anything work in here anymore. This closet is tapped out," she added as she emerged with a pair of shoes. Lois slid her feet in them. "Even these feel tight." She stood up. "I guess it's all for a good cause," she concluded and smiled. "I just have to steer clear of Cat today; she'll definitely have something to say if she sees me wearing this."

He smiled. "You look fine, Lois. Come on; let's go." He helped her on with her overcoat and they headed out the door for the Daily Planet.

After they got situated in their office, Lois started a pot of herbal tea that she had begun to drink under duress, having given up coffee. She had tried decaffeinated coffee first but judged it to be as unappealing to her as non-alcoholic beer. Clark dashed out for some donuts. When he returned he found Lois talking on the phone and a concerned look on her face. "When did you last have contact with her?" She scowled. "And she hasn't called anyone to cancel her appointments?" She nodded absently. "Okay, I'll see what I can find out. Thanks, Janet." She hung up the phone and looked at Clark. "My doctor has gone missing. That was her assistant, Janet."

"What do you mean by missing?" Clark said, pulling a maple donut out of the bag and handing it to Lois. He walked to his desk and sat.

"Janet says that she didn't come in yesterday and didn't call to reschedule appointments. She didn't show up today, either."

"Has anyone gone by her home to see if she's okay?"

Lois nodded. "Janet said she stopped by there yesterday on her way home but there was no answer at the door. She did say that it did not appear that anything was amiss; no broken windows or doors."

"Did she call the police?"

"Yes, but they won't even take a report until 48 hours has passed when it's an adult and there is no history of any disturbances or domestic problems." She looked at Clark with a look of dismay. "You don't think it has anything to do with me, do you?"

"With you? Why would you think that, Lois?"

Lois became teary-eyed. "I don't know why I think that. It's just that we're having this special baby and why would anyone do something to her if it didn't have to do with me?" She wiped her eyes. "Damnit," she hissed. "I'm going to pieces."

Clark suppressed a smile. "The only one who knows this baby is special is a handful of trusted friends, Lois. I'm sure it's nothing." He paused. "But if you'd like, I'll take a spin over there and I'll look around. I'm sure it's nothing but if it will make you feel better…"

"It would, Clark," Lois interrupted. "It's not like her to just bail on her patients like this." She took a huge bite of her donut. Clark stared at her and smiled this time. "Wha?" she asked through a mouthful of donut.

"Hungry?" he asked.

She nodded, took a sip of tea to help her swallow the mouthful of donut. "Yes," she said emphatically. "And these things just taste extra good this morning." To punctuate her comment, she took another bite, albeit smaller than her first bite.

"Okay then, I'll take a trip over there and see what I can see." He paused. "I don't particularly like spying on people like this," Clark admitted.

"She may need help, Clark. It's not like you're buzzing around like some voyeur."

He nodded. "But what if she's like…" he trailed off and Lois gave him an exasperated look.

"What…naked? Then don't stare, Farmer John! Now will you just go?" she asked rhetorically, cocking her head.

"Okay," he relented. "I'll be back in a little bit."

He left the office and Lois got up, shaking her head and went over to the bag of donuts. Inside she found two more maple ones and smiled.

"I don't think she knows any more than she's already told us, Sir," the hulking man said. "She's not some special operative trained to resist; she's just a doctor. We've had her for nearly 48 hours and she hasn't changed her story yet."

Lex Luthor sat back in his chair, frustrated by the news. "And she told you that it's a normal pregnancy?"

"Yes, Sir. That's been her story from the beginning."

"That's impossible," Lex hissed. "You've missed something. Try harder."

"What is it that I am supposed to be looking for, Mr. Luthor?" the man protested. "A reporter is pregnant; how much more of the story could there be? I'm in the dark here."

Lex got up and walked around the desk, meeting the burly man face-to-face. "I hired you because you told me that you get results, Mr. Steele." His eyes narrowed. "Now go back there and get me some results or you'll be in the dark for eternity! Do I make myself clear?"

Even though Steele outweighed Lex by at least fifty pounds, something in Luthor's eyes conveyed such unbridled malevolence that the big man felt threatened. Lex Luthor was dangerous and someone who was not to be trifled with or crossed. "Yes, Mr. Luthor."

"And she is not to be left with a single mark on her; is that clear?"

"Yes, Mr. Luthor."

Lex moved closer. "And when she finally concedes that there is something unusual about Mrs. Kent's pregnancy, I want to know what it is immediately. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Now go before I change my mind and find someone who can get me results," he shouted. "Believe me; you don't ever want me to consider you worthless."

The man abruptly left the office and Lex returned to his desk. He plopped into his chair, opened a drawer and extracted a seven-week old Daily Planet. He opened it to the local section, stared at the column that announced Lois' pregnancy and slammed his fist down on the paper. How could it be? There is no way that Lane is pregnant with a normal child, Lex thought. And there is no way that doctor doesn't know it. Aliens with superhuman powers are now propagating on Earth. Before long,he imagined, humans could become their slaves.

He opened his desk drawer and removed a ring with a piece of green kryptonite. He twisted it on to his finger, made a fist and drove it into the palm of his other hand. Not as long as I can do something about it, he said to himself.

He thought back to eleven years earlier when the Vigilante Registration Act held so much potential for ending Clark's budding career as the world's savior. Lex had given the government all the information it needed to stop Clark. But they had overreached and instead of simply targeting the greatest threat to humanity, they expanded it to include humans. Queen, their poster boy for the VRA, was a human with nothing more than exceptional archery skills and a lot of money; not exactly a threat to mankind. But because they so badly overreached, their plan collapsed from the hubris of its own leaders. Clark and his team turned the tables on the government by exposing their clandestine operations and turning the public against it.

It was Lois Lane that exposed the torture and civil liberties violations by the VRA agents, earning her a Pulitzer Prize in the process. She was the one who also exposed his past and because of that, his second foray into politics ended with a thud.

Lex knew that to try and bring down Superman was futile. He could not change the public's adoration for 'the world's greatest superhero'. But what he could do is convince people that Earth's indigenous inhabitants were being transformed by this alien. He would expose the truth that Superman had reproduced with a human and created a new species of being; part human, part alien and far more powerful than Earth's population. Once they knew that, the pedestal that Superman stood upon would crumble. Lane would not be able to come to his defense because her credibility would be ruined; exposed as part of the scheme. All he had to do was get conclusive evidence that Lois Lane-Kent was carrying Superman's child.

He smiled to himself. Whether it was the innate fear of mutant humans or it was exposing Lois Lane for carrying a child from what he would characterize as an extramarital affair between her and Superman; Clark and Superman's downfall would be all but certain. With one single act, he could neutralize Superman and Lane. The Kent family would be disgraced and driven into hiding. Without them, he could clear his name and then resume his political pursuits.

I just need the evidence, he thought. This doctor is the key.

"Lois," Cat called out. She'd spotted Lois coming out of the archives and immediately saw an opportunity to needle her. Lois tried to ignore her but Cat made a beeline to intercept her before she could get on the elevator. "That's a bold fashion statement you're making, Lois. Let me guess; you haven't gotten to your laundry yet this year."

She exhaled her dismay. "Can you give it a rest, Cat?" Lois said, unable to come up with a snarky reply.

She chuckled. "Why should I do that?"

"Because as a woman who has been through this, I thought you'd understand that at some point in a pregnancy, you run out of clothes that fit. That because you're a woman, you'd be sympathetic and realize that if I'm not exactly in style it's probably due to a condition that nearly every woman could find herself at some point in her life. And that you'd respect the sanctity of motherhood enough to withhold your sarcasm for this one single instance when I'm clearly not at my best."

Cat stared at her oddly. "You really thought that?" She smirked. "You don't know me at all, do you Lois?"

"Oh; better than you think," Lois shot back. "Here's what I know about you: you're a great reporter, Cat; probably the second-best female reporter on this paper but your self-esteem is so low that the only way you feel good about yourself is making others feel worse. You have all the skills, all the sources, all the instincts to be a serious journalist but you waste those talents going through peoples' dirty laundry to try and make them feel as vulnerable, insignificant and powerless as you do." Cat's cheeks burned with humiliation. "So instead of doing something that lifts people up or protects them from those who prey on them, you do just the opposite. Why? Because there are scores of others who are just as insecure as you are and shallow enough to find your column interesting and strangely reassuring." The elevator pinged as the car reached the floor. "I'd say that's about covers it; don't you think?"

The elevator door opened and Lois stepped inside, pushing the button for her floor. She turned around and stared at a stunned and visibly wounded Cat Grant as the doors closed.

Before the elevator arrived at her floor, Lois felt ashamed for the things she had said to Cat. Chiding one another was one thing; hurtfully belittling her was quite another and Lois regretted having done it. There was no love lost between the two but they had always kept the sniping on a superficial and oddly personal, yet impersonal level. Lois had just leapt across the line though and she immediately began to wonder if she should do something to make it up to Cat.

She sat at her computer, absently checking her email and something else crossed her mind. I wonder what's taking Clark so long, she thought. Did he find something and had widened his search? She began thinking about potential reasons why anyone would kidnap Dr. Walker if she had indeed been kidnapped. Clark had probably been right; it had nothing to do with her.

She opened a public records site and entered 'Dr. Joyce Walker' in the search field. Within seconds, a report began appearing on Lois' screen. The report concluded rather abruptly. Nothing, she thought. She's clean. No ex-spouses; no criminal history or links to any criminal element.

Lois' attention was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," she called.

The door opened and Cat stood there. "Lois, you got a minute to talk?"

"Sure, come in."

Cat entered and sat in Clark's chair. "Look, I thought about what you said and I wanted to apologize for what I said about your clothes. That was really juvenile of me. And even though you don't respect what I do here, I was really touched that you think so highly of my talents to suggest that I'm wasting them."

Lois was moved by Cat's act of contrition. "You know; who am I to pass judgment on your work?" she admitted. "I'm not the editor of this paper. Look, I know you're a great reporter and that's where my judgment should have ended. I made it personal and that's something that we've never done. I crossed the line with the things I said and I'm sorry for doing that."

Cat stood up, smiled and nodded. "Apology accepted. So we're okay?"

"Are you kidding," Lois replied with an arched eyebrow. "We're not okay, Cat…but we're back to normal."

Chapter Two

Clark flew over Dr. Walker's residence just outside the city limits of Metropolis, nestled in an upper class neighborhood with meticulously landscaped properties and gated access. He scanned her neatly-maintained Tudor-style home. Dr. Walker was nowhere to be found in the structure. An expensive sedan and an older SUV was parked in the garage.

The master bedroom was disheveled and Clark couldn't tell whether a struggle had ensued in the room or it was just unkempt. There was no evidence of lamps overturned or furniture knocked out of place. He scanned the master bath and found a vanity drawer opened and makeup splayed out on the vanity top. He repositioned and saw a word written on the inside wall of the bathroom in lipstick. It read, Help.

He flew down and landed in the backyard and entered the home with a key he spotted in a concealed location beneath unused gardening pots. He carefully walked in through a mud room, the kitchen and into a large great room. He examined the entryway floor. It was typical wood flooring with a high gloss finish. There he found several sets of footprints too large to be Dr. Walker's. The prints led to the stairwell that accessed the master bedroom.

Clark retreated from the home, secured it and flew to the access gate. After a minute of explanation and checking with his boss, the guard surrendered the video disks for the last 48 hours to Clark on the promise that they would be returned when he finished. Disks in hand, he flew back to the Planet and returned to his office.

"Did you find anything?" Lois asked anxiously.

"Yes. I think Dr. Walker may have been kidnapped sometime between yesterday morning and the time she left work the day before." He showed her the disks. "I got these videos from the gate guard at the development she lives in. They record all traffic in and out for the last 48 hours. Luckily, there is only one access point to the entire neighborhood." Clark unlocked the bottom drawer of a file cabinet in the corner. In the back, he removed a small USB device that he plugged in to his laptop. Once plugged in, the screen went black and then a logon panel appeared. He logged on and a chat panel appeared with the splash banner, Watchtower.

Clark typed 'Good morning, J'onn. I am going to upload 48 hours of video files from gated access point at a residential neighborhood. I believe the doctor that is attending to Lois was forcibly taken from her home sometime during this time frame. Can you review and identify possible abductors and then track them to where they went if possible using archived satellite footage?'

'Hello Kal-El. Send the files and I'll get right on it. It should not take too long.'

'Thanks J'onn,' Clark typed. 'Call me with any leads.'

'Will do. Watchtower out.'

Clark slid each disk and depressed a function key that flashed the entire contents to Watchtower. Once he finished, he logged off and unplugged the USB device. He returned it to the secluded spot in the file cabinet and secured it. "J'onn's going to run the videos. He'll call me with any leads he gets."

Lois looked nervous. "Why would anyone take her if it wasn't connected to my pregnancy?"

"I don't know but as soon as we find her, we'll find out why she was taken," Clark replied. "Just try to relax, Lois. J'onn's on top of it and as soon as he comes up with something, we'll launch the JL to safely rescue her."

"You're going to launch the JL to rescue her? Why not just do it yourself?"

He paused. "In the event it does have something to do with your pregnancy, I don't think I should be involved in the rescue. If they are asking about your pregnancy that means someone has tied you to Superman. There are a handful of people who know that connection but only one of them would kidnap a doctor."

"Lex!"

He nodded. "If they were asking about you and Superman, it probably wouldn't be wise for me to show up to rescue her. Her assistant called you and reported her missing. There are just too few degrees of separation there."

"You're right. Even though you're connected with the JL, not being there is probably a good idea. From my articles, most people suspect that I have a way to contact you or the JL and that's probably why she called me."

"Plus," he added, "you'll have a story to break, too."

"I just hope it has a happy ending."

"Lois," Clark began, "if this happened because of your pregnancy, then I think you need to quit seeing Dr. Walker. As much as I know you don't like seeing Emil professionally, I think it would safer for you and any other doctor if you were cared for by Emil."

"Really?" she replied, grimacing. "What about Emil's safety?" Lois countered.

"He's in no danger. Lex knows Emil's protected by the JL and even Lex isn't foolish enough to go after him." He paused. "Just like Lex would not go after you or anyone in the JL directly."

Lois groaned but reluctantly agreed to see Emil if the reason Dr. Walker was kidnapped had to do with her. "What will they tell Dr. Walker?"

Clark thought for a second. "I'll have them tell her that her kidnappers were hired by some former acquaintance of mine that for some reason is obsessed with some conspiracy theory involving me. They'll say the guy suffered a break from reality a long time ago and never recovered."

Lois nodded. "That's not far from the truth." She paused, thinking for a moment. "Okay. That would give me a good reason to quit seeing her while I'm having our baby. I'll tell her it's for her own protection."

"Exactly." He hesitated then added, "You had to cut ties with her anyway, Lois. There's no way she could be there when the baby was born. We don't know exactly how the delivery would occur and if something unusual happens, it might cause some problems later on."

"Yeah, I thought about that too. If she took a blood sample or something, it definitely would cause problems when they went to type it." She groaned. "But Emil?" She exhaled loudly and Clark grinned.

Three hours later, J'onn called Clark. "Kal-El; I've pinpointed where she's at."

"Great, J'onn. I can't afford to be involved; it might raise too many questions in Dr. Walker's mind."

"I agree. I'll alert the team and have them go pull her out," J'onn said.

They talked for a moment or two more and Clark made sure he passed on to the team what to tell the doctor if it seemed that she had been taken because of Lois' pregnancy. He added that if asked by the doctor, they should tell her that Lois had contacted Oliver in Star City and asked for his help. "Let me know what the team has to say when they debrief her, okay?"

J'onn indicated that he would provide Clark a full report when the team secured Dr. Walker and had a chance to identify those involved.

Clark disconnected. "J'onn located her and the team is going to go get her. He's going to send me a report on what happened to her which will give us a good indication why she was taken."

"That's great news. I hope she's okay."

"Lois," Clark began, "this may have nothing to do with you or the baby. For all we know, this could be some ex-boyfriend or maybe she's involved in something else entirely."

"I know," Lois replied. "But I have a gut feeling it's because of our baby and Lex is behind this. It's something he would do." She hesitated. "You know, if he found evidence that our baby was half-Kryptonian, he would try to publicly smear you and me."

"Which is why we should talk to Emil about delivering the baby in his office or someplace other than a hospital," Clark added. "That way, Emil could control the information and any reports of samples taken from the baby."

"That's fine with me," she said. "I hate hospitals anyway!"

"For someone who hates hospitals, you sure used to spend a lot of time in them," he quipped.

"That's because of you!" she shot back. "I was always getting in a jam because I was trying to figure you out!" Lois winked. "Hey," she said, changing the subject, "let's go get some lunch. It's been a hell of a day already and I'm starving."

Clark agreed and they rose, grabbed jackets and headed out the door. They exited the elevator in the lobby and passed Cat on their way out the door. The two women nodded at one another. "Enjoy your lunch you two," Cat called after they passed.

Once they got outside, Clark put his arm around Lois. "You see, I told you; you look fine. Cat didn't say anything about how you're dressed today. You're just too critical about how you look, Lois."

"Sir, the only thing she's added is that Kent has some rare form of cervical cancer; so rare that there's no known procedure to treat it." He paused. "Is that the information you were looking for?"

Lex smiled. "Interesting; but no. I didn't hire you to extract information about Lane; I want information about the child she is carrying. That's what I meant when I instructed you to ask about her pregnancy, Mr. Steele."

"The doctor said that there is nothing unusual about her pregnancy. The baby appears healthy and normal."

"She's half right, Steele. I want the other half."

"Mr. Luthor; I've asked her every way that I can think of to get her to change her story. There is no change in anything she said. The doctor said that she's in her second trimester, the baby shows no signs of ill-health or abnormalities and aside from the cervical cancer that she discovered, Mrs. Kent is experiencing a very normal pregnancy." He paused. "Sir; again, if you would give me some indication of…"

"What I'll give you Mr. Steele," Lex bellowed, "is about one more hour to get me the answers I'm looking for. She's holding out on you and if you can't make her give up what she's holding back, then you are useless to me." He slammed his fist on his desk. "Now get back there and get me what I'm paying you to get. You have one hour, Steele."

The burly man left the office, regretting that he had taken the job. His hands were tied and he didn't even know what he was seeking from the doctor.

Twenty-five minutes after Steele had left the office, Lex received a call. "Sir, she's gone. I returned as instructed and found the two guards incapacitated and the doctor missing. I've done a sweep of the warehouse area and she's nowhere to be found."

"That's quite disappointing, Mr. Steele. The only thing more disappointing is your pitiful lack of results." He paused. "Any indication of how she escaped and overpowered your guards?" he asked coolly.

"The guards were attacked by an unseen force that apparently advanced on them so rapidly they didn't know they were being attacked. They were rendered unconscious and were that way when I arrived."

"What about the containment room you had her in, Mr. Steele?"

"It was breached from the outside, Mr. Luthor." He paused. "Sir, what are your instructions?"

Lex thought for a moment. "Release the guards; pay them and then return here so we can begin looking at a back-up plan." He paused. "The sooner; the better, Mr. Steele."

"I'll be there shortly, Sir."

Lex disconnected the call. The JLA, Lex thought. Damnit!

"Okay, thanks J'onn," Clark said and disconnected the call. "They rescued her and she's fine."

"Oh!" Lois exclaimed, "Thank God. Did they say who had her?"

Clark swallowed his bite of sandwich. "She said the guy identified himself as an agent with the Department of Domestic Security. Clearly, that wasn't true but they have a pretty good description of him and they turned her over to the Metropolis PD to file a report."

She swallowed a sip of hot tea. "Did she say what they wanted?"

Clark nodded solemnly. "She said the man was asking about you and your pregnancy." He paused and shook his head slowly. "Lex. You were right. He's found out you're pregnant and he's trying to get information on our baby to discredit me with."

"Us," Lois added. "He would love to paint me as some two-timing groupie of Superman's. That would totally ruin my credibility, you know."

"It would," Clark agreed. "As well as destroy Superman's public image; having an affair with a married woman." He shook his head again and took another bite of his sandwich.

"Well, if the JL can find the guy who kidnapped her, then we can turn it around on Lex, right?"

Clark nodded. "But that's a big 'if'."

"Was there anyone else involved?"

"No. There were some guards outside but I doubt they knew what was happening inside the facility. For all they knew, he was a DDS agent, too." Clark took a final bite of his sandwich and washed it down with iced tea. "Bart is going to find them and question them. But I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope on that going anywhere. They were probably legitimate contract security guards working a side job."

"And there's no way to find out if this 'agent' was working for Lex? If he wasn't there at the time, maybe he was meeting with Lex."

"They already tried that. The satellite video didn't cover much beyond the warehouse area that she was being held at. J'onn said that they saw the vehicle leave and arrive several times but it's a main road and he went different directions when he came and went. The warehouse was not rented and it's been abandoned for a while so there's no paper trail." He sat back. "The only hope is that we can find this guy who posed as an agent and tie him to Lex. That would put Lex away where he belongs for a few years."

"Are you taking any bets that the team will ever find him?" Lois asked skeptically.

"Nope," Clark replied definitively. "I'm pretty sure this guy will disappear and we'll never see him again." He considered adding 'alive' but withheld that opinion. He stared out the window at Metropolis. "Lex is nearby and that troubles me." He looked back at Lois. "I know you always think I'm being overprotective but please, for all of our sakes…"

"I will," Lois interrupted. "I'll be careful, Smallville." She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. She leaned over and kissed him chastely. "I'm not going to take any chances with this baby of ours. You can be sure of that."

Chapter Three

This is ridiculous, Lois thought as she left the stall in the ladies' restroom. This is the third time today and it's only ten-thirty, she crabbed. "I'm not even drinking coffee anymore," she said to her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands. It's only going to get worse, she reminded herself.

She emerged from the restroom, carrying a few files on Lex that she had pulled from the archive room. She had not even been able to return to the eighth floor before the urge hit her to use the ladies room.

"Lois," Cat said approaching Lois from behind while she stood waiting for the elevator. "What are you doing slumming on this floor?"

"Research," Lois replied, holding up the files she had found in the archive room. "I'm surprised that you even know this floor exists, Cat. I don't think there are any men working on this floor."

Cat made a little noise. "You might be surprised what you find in the archive room now and then," she replied. "Oh! Is that a gray hair I see or is it a reflection? Hmm. You know what? I think it is a gray hair!" she exclaimed. "Oh yes, there's another one!"

Lois turned around and gave Cat a deadpan stare. "Don't even start, Cat?"

She put on a mock pout. "I guess it's only going to get worse. You can't dye your hair any longer, seeing as how you're with child now."

The elevator door opened and both women climbed aboard. "I don't dye my hair now and never have had to."

"At your age? Ooo, does Clark have a cougar fantasy?" Cat quipped with a cocked head. "Wow! Talk about a Jekyll and Hyde; not exactly the way I pictured him at home based on the way he seems around here." She snickered. "For years I wondered if you'd even gotten him past second base yet. Then bang; you're pregnant and now I learn about a cougar fetish!"

Lois sighed. "For the record Cat, and that means it's quotable; I don't need to dye my hair and again, I don't because it isn't gray." The elevator door opened and Lois got out.

"Uh huh," Cat replied skeptically.

"You on the other hand," she began as the elevator door closed, "Do you even remember your original color?"

Before the car left the floor, Cat let out a loud cat-like growl and followed it with giggling. Lois rolled her eyes and headed for her office. She spotted Jimmy turning the corner. "Jimmy, come here," she called.

"Yes, Mrs. Kent?" he replied, hurrying over to her.

"I need you to be honest with me," Lois began. "Look at the back of my head and tell me if you see any gray hair." Jimmy swallowed hard and looked hesitant. "Relax Olsen; I just want to know because of a comment Cat made."

"Um," he said as he examined the back, "Well, there are some lighter hairs…"

"Jimmy!" she barked. "Are they gray or not?"

"Yes, Mrs. Kent," he replied. "But only a couple; you can hardly see them," he added.

"Damnit!" she hissed and stormed off, leaving Jimmy standing alone in the hallway. She made her way to the office, opened the door and found Clark on the phone.

"I see," he said. "And it was a positive ID?" He paused listening to the caller. "Okay, I guess it ends there." He hung up and looked up at Lois. "The police found Dr. Walker's abductor."

"Two weeks. I'm surprised it took this long for the guy to surface. Let me see," she said, anticipating the news. "It's either the landfill or river."

"River," Clark said solemnly. He cocked his head. "Are you okay?"

Lois plopped down in her chair. "I've got gray hair, Clark. No; I'm not okay. I can't dye it because of the baby either."

"Where?"

Lois turned around. "Back here somewhere," she said, gesturing to the very back of the crown of her head. "Of course, Cat noticed it first."

"I'm sure it's just the side effect of you being pregnant, Lois. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Why; do you think it's going to go away after I have this baby?" she said incredulously. "Clark; it's gray hair, not a bug bite. It multiplies; it doesn't go away. I'm going to look like an old lady and you don't age!" she fumed. "And there's nothing I can do about it," she added.

"Then there's even less reason to be upset, Lois." Clark stared at her sincerely. "It changes nothing; you know that."

She sat in silence for a few minutes and reconciled herself to the fact that she'd have to withstand Cat's little barbs until the baby was born. But the issue of aging began nagging her. She heard the little voice in her head that told her she would be old and gray someday while Clark would still look the same. The little voice reminded her that the day was growing closer and her gray hair was proof of that. She banished the thought and redirected her attention elsewhere. "So what were you saying about Dr. Walker's abductor?"

"We'll never find out for certain who was behind the kidnapping but there's really only one person who would be. Apparently this guy never mentioned the name Superman when he was questioning her." He paused. "She was savvy enough to realize fairly soon after she was abducted that the guy wasn't from the Department of Domestic Security though. She told Victor when he debriefed her was that the guy kept asking her about your pregnancy over and over again. This guy apparently held her in a room and never physically harmed her or even really mistreated her; he simply questioned her for hours on end. He didn't mention me or Superman at all. She was at a loss over what he was trying to find out or what he thought she might know."

Lois nodded. "I'm guessing Lex withheld that tidbit from this guy." Lois leaned forward on her desk. "Clark, he's sending you a message that he's still out there and he's not going away." Clark nodded. She sat down in her chair. "I've been putting this off because I know it means from here on out I'll be dealing solely with Emil. I guess I should call Dr. Walker, now."

"That would be a good idea. She's been through a lot and while it's still fresh in her mind, she probably will have no objection to you leaving her care."

Lois called Dr. Walker and went through the same litany that the JL had told her. She told the doctor that an acquaintance of Clark's had some delusional obsession with him. Because he was from the town of Smallville where the meteor showers occurred years ago, this former friend had always believed Clark was meteor-infected. After telling her how badly she felt about the abduction, Lois suggested it would be safer for Dr. Walker and her staff members if she was under the care of Dr. Hamilton exclusively.

After hanging up the phone, she told Clark that Walker had actually sounded relieved at Lois' suggestion and said she would forward all medical files to Emil. "Good," he responded. "That's one less thing to worry about."

"I'm a little surprised that Lex didn't have someone break in and steal the medical files," she said.

Clark grunted. "Don't be so sure that he didn't. It was about seven weeks after the article hit the newspaper that Dr. Walker was kidnapped and interrogated. I wouldn't be surprised if Lex had a copy of your medical file for a few weeks and when he couldn't find anything in them that indicated an abnormal pregnancy, he took the next step by kidnapping the doctor."

Leaning forward in her chair, Lois replied, "You don't think he'll try me next, do you?"

"I doubt that," he replied. "Lex is bold but I think even he'd stop short of grabbing you. If he did, that would be the end of him. He'd spend the rest of his life in jail." He paused. "If you're worried though…"

"Of Lex?" Lois cried, "Please! I'd kick his ass if he got close to me."

Clark smiled. "You see, grabbing you wouldn't make sense. Forget for a moment that he'd have me to deal with. You're the evidence he needs but abducting you would do him no good. He'd have to dispose of you to keep from being arrested and by disposing of you also…"

"Disposes of his evidence," Lois finished.

"Right. But in the case of your medical file, all he has to do is leak them to enough sources and it would generate attention." He paused. "Lex can be myopic sometimes. The doctor said she was repeatedly asked about the baby and anything unusual about it; nothing about you except as it related to the baby. To Lex, the baby being different is the proof he's looking for. Anything in your records that indicates the baby is different is what he would want. If there's nothing in the medical record, kidnap the doctor and get her to go on record saying the baby you're carrying is not purely human has the same effect."

"What about Emil? Is he in any danger?"

"I'm sure Lex is well aware of the fact that Emil works closely with the JL and going after him is like going after one of the team; it's not a plan that Lex would endorse."

"Good," Lois said cheerily. "I guess that means I'm safe."

"I didn't say that," Clark rebutted.

"Do you think that after all she's been through, Dr. Walker might begin digging into the pregnancy? I mean if someone kidnapped me and started asking me questions that implied I knew something that I didn't, as soon as I got free I'd be scouring over records to see what I missed."

"I don't think so, Lois. That's what you would do. I think Dr. Walker will be relieved that she's not involved any further and will probably want to put it all behind her."

Nodding, Lois replied, "You're probably right. Still, I think even if she did start digging, the only thing she has that indicated any abnormality was the mutated cells." She paused. "Yep, beyond that, there wasn't any other thing that was unusual. At least she didn't tell me if there was."

"I think the story she heard from Victor would explain things well enough in her mind." He looked at her. "At least I hope so."

Lois sat back in her chair and looked out the window. "Would you mind doing the follow-up story, Clark? I don't feel like revisiting the whole thing."

"Sure," he replied, opening a new page on his computer and beginning to type.

Clark finished the story and sent off the draft to Perry. Lois was sitting back in her chair and still gazing out at Metropolis. "What are you thinking about, Lois?"

"Names," she said, turning to him with a smile. "Baby names."

"Well, that's still a ways off, don't you think? We don't even know what sex the baby is."

"That's why we should pick two; one boy and one girl name," Lois replied. "If it's a boy, what do you think about Jonathan Clark Kent?

Clark smiled sadly. "I think if Dad were alive, he'd probably get tears in his eyes over that suggestion. I like it."

"Me too," she said. "The General already has a namesake thanks to Lucy but even if he didn't, I'd still want our son to be named Jonathan. Something about the name 'Jonathan Kent' always sounded right to me. It's a rock solid name, you know; strong, honest. How could you not trust someone named Jonathan Kent?" Clark smiled and she leaned forward. "I think I miss him as much as you do, Clark. I really loved him; I mean it. When I needed a father the most, he was more of a Dad to me than my own was." She grew misty-eyed. "I've made my peace with the General and him with me. I'll always love him and he'll always be my father, but your Dad was what I needed when I needed a Dad the most." She flashed a sad smile. "I think he knew it too; like when he made me his Chief of Staff for his senate campaign. I'm sure that he knew that I needed a boost of self-confidence and gave me a chance to prove to myself that I wasn't a failure." She brushed away a tear that had formed in her eye.

Clark nodded. "He was always there when I needed him. It's funny, Lois; looking back, I can see the times I didn't think I needed him turned out to be the times I needed him the most. I guess that's not unusual between parents and children." He sat quietly for a moment. "But you're right; he loved you and he knew you needed him."

Lois cleared her voice. "Okay, so Jonathan C. Kent, it will be…if it's a boy. A girl? Well," she began, "I think that's a little more problematic."

Clark frowned. "How so?"

"I wanted to have my Mom's name in there if you agree." She grimaced.

"Ella Kent? I think it sounds perfect."

She smiled. "But what about your Mom? She's been my Mom ever since she calmed down after finding us in the bathroom showering together."

Clark looked over top of his glasses. "We weren't showering together, Lois. Not then, at least."

"I know but try to convince her of that!" Lois snickered. "I'll never forget the look on her face that day. It was priceless. Your Dad was pure gold, too." She snorted. "Anyway, Ella Martha or Martha Ella just doesn't sound right. It's awkward, you know?"

"Yeah, that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?"

"No, it's awkward as hell," she replied and chuckled. "I love Mom so much and I'd just love to be able to name our child after her."

"If the baby's a girl, of course," Clark added. He was silent for a moment. "Hey, what about using her maiden name?"

"Ella Clark Kent?" Lois asked, making a face and suppressing a laugh. "Let me think about that one for a while." She turned back to the window. "Maybe you should just go back to what you were doing, Clark." He smiled at her jab. "By the way, how is the baby doing today, Honey?" she asked staring contently out the window.

Clark focused and heard their child's heartbeat; steady, strong and in perfectly rhythm. "The baby's fine," he replied and watched as a reassuring smile spread across her face.

She put her hands over the baby bump that seemed to be growing larger every day. He secretly watched her and in those few brief moments, she had never seemed so beautiful to him. It was a sight he never dreamed he would see: Lois as a mother and more so, the mother of his child.

There were plenty of moments with Lois that had been tattooed in his mind and he was sure that there would be plenty more in the future. But this moment was one that he knew could never be recaptured. The sight of his wife fulfilled by her life, her husband and the child growing inside her would be a special memory that he would guard for the rest of his life. The memory of this moment would be a salve for his soul in the inevitable days ahead when he no longer could hear the lilt of her voice, feel the touch of her hand, be restored by the passion in her lips, explore the warm softness of her body or find refuge in her soothing melodic heartbeat. The memory of this moment would be his talisman against despair; a permanent reminder of just how fortunate he was to have had Lois Lane in his life and as his soul mate.

Chapter Four

Clark!" she called angrily from the bedroom. "Did you do the laundry last weekend?"

"Yes," he called from the kitchen where he was pouring her a cup of tea, "I did it while you were napping." He heard her mutter. "Why?" he asked as he brought the tea to her.

"Because, Honey; you shrunk my new maternity clothes," she complained.

"I don't think you could shrink those things," he replied. "In fact, it's a good thing they used birthing matrices on Krypton because they never would have been able to get Kandor into that bottle with all the maternity clothes laying around there." He grinned.

Lois glared at him. "Oh wait! Was that…? I think it was. Alert the media: Clark Kent has a sense of humor now." She threw her slacks on the bed. "Pity! Leno was just replaced for the third time; bad timing for you, huh?" She stormed into her closet. "We spent $1400 on these stupid clothes just two weeks ago, Clark, and now they hardly fit at all."

"Well you are getting bigger, Lois," he said as she rifled through her clothes.

"Thanks for noticing, Clark. But I'm not getting that much bigger," Lois barked, emerging with another pair of slacks. She put her hands on her hips. "Well, it looks like you're going to have to crack open that wallet of yours again because these clothes are way too tight now."

"Sure; we can get you more clothes but this time don't you think you should consider getting them with a little more room, Lois?" She glowered at him. "It's just that we can't afford to be buying you a new wardrobe every two weeks for the next three months."

"No kidding, Sherlock! But…" She began and then stopped. "Damnit," she exclaimed, "I have to pee again." She scurried past him to the bathroom. "Don't you go anywhere, Farmer John because we're going to finish this conversation," she called out as the bathroom door closed behind her.

Moments later he heard the toilet flush and there was a period of silence before Lois reentered the bedroom. "I'm sorry, Clark," she said, her voice full of remorse and with watery eyes. "I am getting bigger; I know I am." She took a deep breath. "It's scaring me how quickly my stomach is growing and I'm kind of freaked out by it, okay?" She walked slowly to him. "Just bear with me, Honey."

He pulled her close. "I'm with you forever, Lois; you know that." He gave her a passionate kiss. "And if something's scaring you, then let's talk about it, okay?"

She began to cry. "I don't know why I feel like this. It's like I can't control my emotions. I get furious, I get sad, I get worried, I get happy and it's one emotion right after another."

He held her tenderly, brushing her hair away from her face. "Emil told us to expect mood swings, Sweetheart. I realize it's the hormones. I understand it and I know they're causing these emotions in you; don't worry about apologizing."

She sobbed. "But you didn't deserve that," she said through her tears.

"When you signed up to be with me, I signed up to be with you, Lois. I deserve every bit of it and I don't regret a single second of it." He held her until she stopped crying. "You don't deserve to be left alone at important times in your life but it happens," he admitted. "And I feel terrible every time it happens. I know that you understand and I know that you've always said that you signed up to be with me but that doesn't make me feel less bad about it. So I know exactly how you feel, Sweetheart." He paused. "In your case, you can't help it; I know that."

She held on to him, feeling his warmth and his strong arms holding her close. "Okay, I feel better now," she said, wiping the tears from her face. "But I think you'll have to change now," Lois added, looking at the tear stains on the chest of his dress shirt. "Sorry," she added, giggling through the remains of her tears.

"Don't worry about that," he replied and blurred into the closet and reappeared with a fresh shirt and tie on. "No harm done," he declared.

She smiled. "If only I could change that fast." She headed back to the bathroom. "I have to wash off this mascara and do it again. I'll hurry, Clark. We won't be late."

"How many months along are you?" Cat asked, a slight smirk on her face.

"Just about five months," Lois replied warily, wondering what her coworker's angle would be this time.

"Hmm," Cat replied. "Just one baby, right," she asked, head slightly cocked while evaluating Lois.

"Yes, one baby. What's your angle, Cat?"

"Oh nothing. I was thinking back to my pregnancy and I don't think I really showed very much until the fourth month and even then, it could have been mistaken for a little pudginess." She shrugged. "That must be a big baby," she added, nodding at Lois' belly. "That will make your first delivery fun," she said as she started to walk off. "As well as trying to lose it all afterwards," she called out, looking back over her shoulder. "Talk to you later, Lois."

Lois looked down at her stomach. Am I really getting that big, she wondered. She had done some research on pregnancy via that internet but Emil had already warned her not to place too much stock in the information there. This was a very unique and special pregnancy, he had told her, and the information on the net would likely be irrelevant. But she was growing quickly.

She walked in to the office. "Do you think I'm bigger than I should be, Clark?" she asked before sitting down.

He looked up. "No."

"Cat seems to think I am."

"Since when did you start putting any credibility into anything that Cat says to you? You two spend most of your time together trying to get each other's goat," Clark replied, turning back to the article he was working on. "It's funny to listen to but I don't think you should put any stock into her saying you look bigger than you should."

Lois sat down. "I know," she said. "But I'd feel better if we went up North for a little while after work and see what your Father has to say. You haven't been back there since he told you that you were mistaken about the pregnancy." She began writing out a 'to-do' list of things she had to take care of that week. "Maybe given the fact that I have two heartbeats now, he'll have to acknowledge that it's not just wishful thinking."

Clark looked up at her. "You don't know Jor-El like I do. He's stubborn when it comes to challenging those things that are beyond his frame of reference. He's not a person, Lois; that's what you have to remember. Technically, he can learn but his main function is to teach." He quickly finished his article at super-speed. "For him to learn it takes concrete, empirical evidence."

Lois pointed to her stomach. "And this isn't it?"

He smiled. "It is to me and you," he replied. "It probably will be for Jor-El, too. But since there is no data in existence, it is complex for that artificial intelligence program to make assumptions without empirical data."

"What other evidence would he need? He can detect the other heartbeat in me, can't he?"

"Sure. But that won't necessarily be concrete evidence that you are carrying a half-Kryptonian baby; only that you're carrying a baby."

Lois leaned forward and cocked her head. "Well if it's not half-Kryptonian, what is it that Jor-El would then be suggesting?"

"Lois, relax," he said. "Remember, it's an artificial intelligence program; not my actual father. It would not suggest anything. It would only make a choice of believing we conceived a child together or not. That's all." He leaned forward to catch her gaze. "You've heard him say it before, Lois; he believes you are a noble and worthy mate for me. He's not casting aspersions by not accepting what he knew at the time was not possible." Clark winked. "Just try to remember that, okay?"

Clark and Lois arrived at the Fortress seconds after they left the apartment. The lightning fast travel caused Lois to become nauseated; a familiar condition that she had recovered from in the last month. Until now.

Clark noticed her pallid complexion before she spoke and said that she felt like she was going to throw up. He carried her to a bathroom and stayed with her until she regained her equilibrium and the nausea dissipated.

They walked into the grand chamber and Clark activated the console using the primary crystal. The lighting dimmed and Jor-El's voice filled the cavernous chamber. "Welcome my Son. What is it you seek of me?"

"Father; I have come to ask you again about the details of a Kryptonian gestation."

"Kal-El, what you ask is folly. Kryptonians cannot propagate with humans. It is biologically impossible."

"Jor-El; you should sense that there are three heartbeats in this chamber; mine, Lois', and our child's. There is no other explanation for the third heartbeat. I hear it and I know you can as well."

"I hear the heartbeat of an unborn child but that of a human child. The explanation is that at some point in time, your wife conceived a child. However, this is not a Kryptonian child."

"Wait just a minute, Buddy," Lois began. "I don't particularly like the inference you are making…" Clark grabbed her arm to calm her.

"I make no such inference, LoisKent," Jor-El boomed. "It is merely fact upon which I base my comment. The heartbeat of an unborn Kryptonian child is far slower than that of an unborn human child. An unborn Kryptonian child's heartbeats at the rate of between 32 and 44 times each Earth minute. The unborn child's heartbeat I detect is beating at a rate of 98 beats per Earth minute, approximately triple that of a Kryptonian fetus. That heartbeat is approximately the normal range for that of a human fetus."

"And if the child is hybrid, could that not explain a higher rate than a Kryptonian baby?" Clark asked.

"But again, I remind you that the biology simply cannot reconcile itself, Kal-El. The heartbeat of the unborn child is not that of a Kryptonian child. You may want to believe that it is but I assure you, it is not."

"Then how you would you explain it?" Lois shouted.

"There was a Kryptonian on Earth who chose to live as a human. His name was Dax Ur. He fell in love with an Earth woman during his travel to Earth and remained. Only by the use of Blue Kryptonite that altered his DNA to that of a human's could he father children," Jor-El replied softly, "but they were human children, Lois; not Kryptonian. Only under the extended influence of Blue Kryptonite could it be biologically possible for a Kryptonian to successfully mate with a human."

"But Jor-El," Clark replied, "I have not been under the influence of Blue Kryptonite since the clone of Zod was transported away over thirteen years ago."

"Then I leave any further explanation to you, my son." Jor-El paused and then continued. "However, you should know that a Kryptonian pregnancy is much different than a human pregnancy. The manner in which a Kryptonian child develops within its host is far different than that of a human child. It develops its bodily vessel first and its mind and senses second. Humans develop those pieces simultaneously.

"On Krypton, birthing matrices were used for a millennium before our world was destroyed. Kryptonian women did not carry infants as they do on Earth and therefore, accurate details would require my further review of archived historical scientific materials that are dormant in this system. If this is the information that you seek, I must first unarchive the information and review it. I cannot provide the details you seek at this time.

"However, I urge you to seek a more plausible explanation, my Son."

"We would like the information, Jor-El," Clark replied without emotion. "It will be useful to us."

"Then I will acquire it, my Son. In Earth time, it will take approximately two days. During that time, the demands of accessing and reviewing the material will leave this system inaccessible for additional queries."

"Thank you, Jor-El," Clark replied. "Please proceed."

"As you wish," Jor-El answered.

Clark removed the primary crystal and the lighting in the chamber did not increase. The temperature began to drop inside the Fortress. He turned to Lois. "We should probably leave. The process it's going through is using all the stored energy resources and this place is going to get cold pretty fast."

Lois nodded. "Yeah, I can feel it already. Take me home, Honey," she said with a wink. "Just take it a little slower this time."

"Wanna fly?"

"I'd love to fly," she replied.

Clark flew them to Buffalo, landed and they ate at a favorite grill and microbrewery on Pearl Street. Lois ordered the Shepherd's Pie and Clark dined on the Burger Maximus with cheddar cheese. "God, I wish I could have a beer; I love their beer here," Lois commented while browsing the menu.

Lois also loved their Shepherd's Pie. It warmed her up inside, was filling and it was delicious. "God, why can't they open a restaurant in Metropolis," exclaimed. "You just can't get a good Shepherd's Pie in Metropolis."

Clark smiled. He secretly watched her consume her dinner, taking great pleasure in seeing her enjoy the food so much. During the entire meal, they hardly spoke because both were so focused on the savory items they had ordered. After finishing their dinner, they strolled to a deserted area of the town where Clark lifted Lois and took off. By the time they arrived home in Metropolis, it was past 9 PM. He landed on their terrace and they went inside. She shed her jacket as he picked up the remote for the television and paused. "News, entertainment or sports?" he asked.

Lois smiled, took the remote from his hand and placed it back on the coffee table. "Sports," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself close to him. "It's still early; I think we have enough time for a marathon." She pulled him into a kiss and began lightly grinding against him, feeling him respond to the suggestion. "It's just a shame I can't fit in to my cheerleader outfit." She grinned lasciviously. "I seem to remember you always had a thing for cheerleaders."

Clark blushed at the inference. "Well, only the cheerleaders that were willing to take those outfits off at just the right time," he added.

"You mean like now?"

"Yep," he replied as he picked her up in his arms and carried Lois into the bedroom.

Chapter Five

Three weeks had passed since they returned to the Fortress to obtain additional information about Kryptonian pregnancies. They learned that within the first five and a half months of a pregnancy, the baby grew to its full size and in the remaining one and a half months, the baby's neural development occurred. Jor-El had reported that very little scientific evidence still existed, even in archives since the information was considered arcane and no longer of use in Kryptonian society. Jor-El also reported that evidence existed to indicate the archival information may have been corrupted at some point and was not easily retrievable.

The information Jor-El did provide reassured Lois that the rapid growth in size was normal. Emil was pleased but asked Clark if he would permit him to visit the Fortress and ask additional questions of Jor-El.

"It wouldn't do any good, Emil," Clark replied. "Jor-El does not accept that this is our baby. He refuses to accept the possibility of Lois' DNA being altered and making her fertile for a Kryptonian child since there is no evidence of it ever having occurred."

Emil frowned. "How does he account for Lois' baby then?"

Clark looked uneasily at Lois and back at Emil. "He doesn't make any suppositions."

"And by making no suppositions, he's inferring it's someone else's baby," Lois said bluntly with a hint of exasperation. "In his assessment, I'm a slut."

Emil raised an eyebrow. "It must be chillier up there than I imagined." Lois rolled her eyes, smiled and nodded.

"Lois," Clark rebuffed, "that's not at all what Jor-El implied."

"Really?" she chafed. "What other explanation did he expect you to seek; Immaculate Conception?"

Emil could not suppress a smirk and intervened. "But at least we know some facts now, Lois," he began, "and the very positive news is that you shouldn't expect the baby to grow much larger than it already has. You are at the stage where physical development ends and now your baby is developing its mental faculties. I can only assume that the human half is developing within the parameters of the Kryptonian half." He paused. "Fascinating," he added with a look of wonderment in his eyes.

"So you think everything seems normal?" Lois asked.

"I believe so. Other than looking like you're nine months pregnant, Lois, everything else seems quite normal. The rate of the baby's heartbeat seems a little low but as you explained, it's more than triple the rate of that of a Kryptonian fetus which clearly implies the baby will be influenced by both parent's genetics." He paused. "Have you felt the baby move yet?"

"Not really," she replied. "I have never felt it move; even when I was sitting or lying down. When I move sometimes, I think I can feel the baby moving but I don't know if it is just shifting around inside me and not really moving."

"That's because the baby's neurological development has just recently begun. It's central nervous system is part of that development and without a nervous system, voluntary or involuntary movement is impossible. You should be able to feel some fairly soon."

Lois placed her hand on her stomach imagining how exciting it will be once she can feel the baby begin to move inside her.

It was early February when Superman flew to Vancouver where an ill-advised late-night stunt by some teenagers had left them trapped on the Capilano Suspension Bridge that had been closed off for the season.

After too much beer and too little common sense, the teens had come up with the idea of risking a trip across the 450-foot suspension bridge and found themselves trapped 230 feet above the Capilano River gorge by a thick layer of ice. The weight of the ice had increased the natural sag in the foot bridge, causing it to become steeper. The thick ice guaranteed that once they reached the center of the bridge, they could not ascend to the other end nor could they find sufficient traction to retreat back to where they began.

After rescuing the teens, Superman remained for a brief interview with the local media and the Vancouver mayor cajoled him in to an impromptu visit of a local elementary school to talk with the children about civics and being a good citizen.

Back in Metropolis, another potential disaster was brewing.

Lois smiled as she watched live footage of Superman flying to the center of the iced-over bridge and lifting each teen to safety. She knew Clark loved doing those things. Fighting crime was one thing; saving people who were in peril was quite another and that was what gave him the greatest sense of fulfillment. He would be in a good mood when he returned.

She sent a request to the Vancouver Sun for information about the bridge, the names and ages of the five teens, and permission to reprint any quotes they had received from Superman in her own article. After sending it, she made a trip to the ladies room and went downstairs to get a late-morning snack from the Metro Cafe. When she returned, she found Cat prowling around in the lobby. "Hi Lois," Cat said with a slight smile. She stared at Lois' stomach and then at the bag. "I hear an old friend of yours is interviewing for the Business Editor position." She paused and looked up. "Or is it one of Clark's old friends? I can't remember."

Lois walked past Cat and headed for the elevator. "Really? Since I don't have any old friends that live in Metropolis anymore, I'm guessing it is one of Clark's," she replied dismissively.

"You know what," Cat countered, following Lois to the elevator. "I think you're right. It is an old friend of Clark's," she said with a raised eyebrow. She boarded the elevator.

"Does this old friend have a name, Cat? Pete Ross, perhaps?"

"No," she said. "Officially, the last name is Luthor."

"Lex?" she asked, shocked at the mere mention of his name.

"I think the first name is actually, Lana," Cat replied, watching for Lois' reaction.

The name hit Lois like a hammer. She had not thought about Lana in years and had not considered her a threat to their relationship since before they got engaged. Lana had contacted Clark more than just a few times in the past twelve years. While she never complained about it, she never liked the fact that Lana felt so compelled to call Clark every time she had a failed relationship and she sensed that Clark was embarrassed by it too. Even though she trusted Clark implicitly, she never really trusted her. Lana had been friends with her a long time ago; had never openly said or done anything to come between them and had always treated Lois kindly and with respect. However, Lana always had a certain air about her; an air of superiority over Lois. Not superiority in terms of status but in her past relationship with Clark. And even though Lana never gave her a concrete reason to be distrustful of her, Lois still didn't trust her.

"That would make things really interesting around here, wouldn't it? Clark's first love working two floors above you; it would have to be simply agonizing for the poor woman seeing him with you every day." She paused. "I know how it makes me feel…such a waste!"

"Uh, that's my husband you're talking about," Lois bluntly reminded Cat.

"And that's my point. I'll never understand why he set the bar so low," she said with a snicker. "Lana Luthor could probably loosen that buttoned-up shirt of his too. She's so incredibly beautiful and…well-toned. Not an ounce of fat on her."

"Cute, Cat. That was a pretty cheap shot," Lois replied, "even for you."

"Okay," she admitted. "But sister-to-sister, Lois; all I'm saying is, 'Watch your man'. I'm sure as big as you've gotten, you probably haven't been very…'interesting' in the bedroom in the last month or so." She paused. "Even as decent as Clark is, he's still a man after all and it's always the quiet ones that surprise you the most."

She didn't respond immediately because she wasn't sure whether Cat was trying to push her buttons or was truly sincere, albeit off base. "Thanks, Cat but I don't have anything to worry about. Clark isn't like that and their relationship was over a long, long time ago." She paused. "I don't even know why you suddenly care about my marriage."

"Lois! That's a horrible thing to say," Cat cried, feigning injury. "Of course I care. The last thing I want to see is a broken, whiny Lois Lane wandering around the building blubbering. Your hormonal outbursts are bad enough but I know they're temporary." She paused. "Besides, if your husband decided to stray, there's only one person I'd want to see him stray with." Lois gave her an exasperated look. "Oh come now, Lois; Clark is a hottie. There isn't a woman at the Planet who wouldn't love to snuggle up with that gorgeous farm boy." She giggled. "They just aren't as up-front about it as I am."

The elevator opened on the eighth floor and both women got out. "You're not making me feel any better, Cat; if that was your intention." Cat smirked and Lois raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Lois opened the door to her office and abruptly stopped. Cat craned her neck around Lois' shoulder to see Lana sitting at Clark's desk writing a note. "Lois!" Lana said cheerily and stood up. She walked over and gave her a debutant hug and kiss. "It's so good to see you."

Lois responded with a half-hug. "What a surprise," she uttered, trying to sound convincing. "What brings you here…at Clark's desk?"

"Oh, I was just leaving Clark a note saying hi and that I was sorry I missed him," Lana replied. She looked down at Lois' stomach. "My gosh; you're getting huge!" she exclaimed.

"She's pregnant," Cat said in a deadpan tone from behind.

"Oh, hello," Lana said politely. "Yes, I know she is."

"Lana, this is Cat Grant. She's a reporter here…"

"Oh yes! I've read your articles," Lana interrupted. "You write the gossip column, don't you?"

"Why yes I do," Cat replied, pushing forward and entering the office, standing next to Lois with a pasted-on smile, "Although we refer to it as the Society Column at the paper. Do you have any juicy tidbit for me?" Lana shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Cat tells me that you interviewed for the Business Editor position," Lois interjected. "How did it go?"

"Yes. I finished the interview about ten minutes ago. I think it went well. I thought I'd stop in and see if you two wanted to go have lunch and catch up a little bit."

"Isn't that thoughtful," Cat said, looking at Lois. "I think Lois already has her lunch though," she added, nodding at the bag in Lois' hand.

Lana frowned. "Oh. Well, maybe when Clark gets in, he'll…"

"Clark is out of the office. We're not sure when he'll be back," Cat interrupted. "Bummer, huh?" Lana smiled warily.

Lois moved to her desk and sat while Lana sat back down in Clark's chair. Cat took a seat on the corner of Lois' desk.

"So when is the baby due?" Lana asked.

"Not for another few months; around the end of April or beginning of May."

"Not until then?" she replied, stunned. "You look like you're ready to deliver any day. That must be a huge baby!"

Lois tensed a bit. "I guess so. The doctor says everything is normal though so…"

"Well you're the last person I expected to see pregnant, Lois," she said with a knowing smile.

Cat snorted. "Isn't that the truth! Lois is always chained to her desk drilling to China for some lead on a story." She leaned over to Lois and put her arm around her shoulders. "Who would have thought she had time to even be the one being drilled, right?" She chuckled at her own comment. "And given the hunk that she's married to, everyone else around here is green with envy just imagining it."

Lois felt uncomfortable, grimaced and cleared her throat. "So what brings you to Metropolis, Lana? Last I heard you were working in Chicago; I think it was," Lois asked.

Lana's smile faded. "I was. But some things didn't work out so well there," she admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lana," Lois replied.

"It happens," she replied. "So anyway, I thought I'd move back to the Metropolis area. My Aunt Nell got remarried and moved to Atlanta. She still has a house just outside of town that I was going to buy from her if I got the job here. I thought maybe you and Clark could put in a good word for me with Mr. White."

"Of course; Clark and I would be…" Lois began.

"Didn't I see an engagement announcement in the Chicago Sun-Times not too long ago, Lana?" Cat blurted out, wearing the same pasted-on smile.

Lana blushed. "Yes," she said sullenly, "Unfortunately, that's really the one thing that didn't work out in Chicago," she added with a half-smile.

"So why Metropolis? With your money and background, why not Boston, New York, or Washington? Surely there are better opportunities in those cities." Cat slid off her desk.

She shrugged. "I don't know; I guess Metropolis feels like home to me," Lana replied.

"Wow!" Cat replied. "You know, it seems that every couple of years, an engagement announcement pops up with your name on it but never a wedding announcement. And before you know it, Lana Lang shows up in Metropolis still single and ready to mingle." She continued wearing her fake smile. "I'm just curious why you're always drawn back here; especially now since you've said your Aunt remarried and moved away? It doesn't have anything to do with Clark being here, does it?"

"Cat!" Lois said, mortified at her brazenness.

Lana scowled. "Now just a minute," she began. "Clark, Lois and I are old friends. We have a lot of history between us and my reasons for coming here to Metropolis are..."

Cat continued. "Your name is still quite well-known in this town, Lana; as are the rest of the Luthors. And because that name is connected to you, any published article involving you pops up on my screen." She walked behind and rested her hands on Lois' shoulders. "I've seen some very complimentary articles about being selected to executive business positions in the past. I've also read some of the business articles you've published in some financial magazines. Very impressive!"

"And your point?" Lana asked warily.

"But because something didn't work out with a guy, you throw all that away and come back here for what?" Cat asked, narrowing her eyes. "For a job that's not only in the same city as your old boyfriend, but in the same building?" she added. "To serve as some kind of an alternative to this old workaholic here?" She smiled broadly and lightly jostled Lois by the shoulders. Cat cocked her head. "Just curious; that's all."

Lana was visibly angry. "I won't dignify that with an answer," she hissed. "Who do you think you are?" She rose to her feet and grabbed her valise. "Lois, it was nice seeing you again; please tell Clark I said hello." She glared at Cat as she moved to the door. "I wish you and Clark the best with the baby, Lois," she called as she opened the door.

Lois tried to stand but Cat applied pressure to her shoulders and did not allow her to get up. "Thanks, Lana," Lois called. "I'll tell Clark you stopped by."

Lana disappeared into the hallway as the door closed behind her. "Buh-bye," Cat said softly, smirking. She released Lois' shoulders saying, "What a ho!" She walked over to Clark's chair and sat. Lois stared at her, somewhat shocked by Cat's boldness. "What?" Cat said, "Do you think you're the only person that can act bitchy around here?"

"That was pretty harsh, don't you think? She has been a friend of ours for at least twenty years."

"Correction," she replied officiously. "Lana is a friend of Clark's. I don't get the feeling that she's much of a friend of yours. And I know you well enough to know that you don't like the fact that she's trying to leverage some past friendship with you just to stay close to her old boyfriend. Am I wrong?"

Lois didn't answer and shifted in her chair.

"It's sleazy if you ask me." She paused. "She knows you trust Clark; why wouldn't you? And because of that, she knows that she can get away with things that less-trusting wives would never allow."

Lois nodded and shrugged. "Still, that was pretty…"

"Honest? It was honest; don't you agree?" She arched an eyebrow, laughed and stood back up, heading for the door. "You owe me one, Sister!"

Chapter Six

"Well, everything seems to be going just fine, Lois," Emil said as she dressed. He looked at Clark. "You're past the six-month point and if the information you got for me applies, you've probably reached the maximum size you're going to get. In fact," he added, "you're two pounds lighter than you were last month. So your body is stabilizing and has begun adjusting to the rapid growth. How do you feel?"

"Tired most of the time," she replied from behind the modesty screen that never quite made sense to her. Emil had now seen every inch of her but it was a nice gesture. She wondered whether it was for her sake or his. "Other than that, I just can't wait for the baby to be born and I can get rid of this fat suit I'm wearing."

Emil smiled. "Actually, that will come off pretty fast because based on the measurements I took of your neck, upper arms and legs, you haven't really put on much weight; less than five pounds is what I estimate. It's all baby and it will be gone once you deliver."

She walked out from behind the screen, buttoning the top few buttons on her blouse. "That's reassuring but there are a couple of babies here that have grown and I don't think they're going away as soon as the baby is born." She winked at Clark. Emil smirked, blushed and shook his head.

"Thanks Emil," Clark said. "We'll be back next month." He took Lois' hand and looked at her. "We need to be getting back," he said and led her out of the office and into the hallway.

When they got to the front door, Lois turned as she walked through. "Can we stop for lunch first?" she asked with a cute smile.

"Let's get takeout when we get back. Perry gave me a short-fuse assignment that I have to get done." He sensed disappointment in her face. "How about if we go out for dinner instead?"

Her face brightened at the suggestion. "You're on, Smallville." She bit her bottom lip and punched him in the shoulder. "Make it a nice place and maybe you'll get lucky tonight, sailor."

"You mean luckier than last night?" he quipped with a slight grin, holding the door for her as they left the building.

They returned to the Planet and rode the elevator up to the eighth floor. When they got in to the door of their office, a note was affixed to the frosted window that read: Emergency Staff Meeting, 12 noon, sharp. Ninth floor conference room.

Clark looked at his watch. "It's already a little past noon; we better get up there." He pulled her back to the elevator and they climbed in.

"What in the world could be the emergency?" Lois asked. "It's lunchtime and I'm starving." She rolled her eyes. "I love Perry to death but sometimes he just doesn't realize that the rest of the staff doesn't share his enthusiasm for skipping meals to work on the paper."

The shades were uncharacteristically pulled as they approached that conference room and a lot of voices could be heard coming from it. "Oh no; you're kidding," Lois exclaimed as she reached for the doorknob. She looked at Clark; he smiled and nodded.

"Let's go," he said and Lois pushed the door open.

"Surprise!" the occupants of the room yelled as they spotted Lois. She was speechless and tears welled in her eyes. She looked around the room, surprised by several of the faces she saw. Lucy, Alice White and Martha Kent were there, mixed among the Daily Planet employees. Perry ushered her in the room, handing her off to Alice while he moved over to the table set up for finger foods and mini-sandwiches. There were a couple cakes, baked no doubt by Martha and Alice.

As she was swarmed by the small crowd in the room, Perry called out, "Okay! Now Clark, Jimmy and I are going to man the food and drink table here. We have an hour to get this done and back to work so everyone hustle up! Lois; you have a seat at the head of the table, Sweetheart and Clark will get you a plate. Everyone else can kind of cycle through the line up here."

Amazingly, Perry orchestrated the party very efficiently and after 30 minutes into it, everyone had eaten plates full of food and they had begun to cut the sheet cake adorned with little red baby booties. Martha had made the sheet cake and the red booties did not go unnoticed by Lois.

Within 40 minutes, Lois began opening presents with Clark seated at her side and Jimmy hovering around snapping pictures. Many of the members had pooled their money and bought an infant carrier, playpen and swing set for Lois and Clark. Alice and Perry had purchased a pricey, elaborate stroller. Cat made a point of personally handing her gift to Lois. "It's more for you and Clark than the baby, Lois," she said.

"For Clark and me? I didn't know Fredrick's of Hollywood had a maternity section, Cat," Lois quipped, eliciting a laugh from most of the Planet workers. Opening the box she found a silver-framed photo album with 'Lane-Kent' engraved on it. "This is beautiful," Lois exclaimed.

"I took the liberty of getting it start," Cat said. Lois opened it and found candid pictures of her and Clark taken at the Planet over the last few months mounted on the first two pages. "Jimmy gets credit for those," she added.

"It's really great, Cat; thank you," Clark said when he realized Lois was too choked up to say anything. He looked around. "You too, Jimmy; thanks. This is really special."

Lois fanned a breeze into her face to keep her tears from cresting the lids, eliciting an 'aw' from those in the room and a hug from Alice. Eventually, she was able to thank everyone and gave hugs to those in attendance as Perry began barking at people to get back to work. Clark shook hands as people filed out and thanked Alice for putting it all together. Martha and Alice remained behind to pick up.

"Martha; Alice, please," Perry cried. "We have cleaning staff that can take care of that."

"Oh Perry, simmer down! We just wanted to make sure that Lois has some cake to take home," Alice replied.

"Well, okay; but just that!" He looked around. "Jimmy, give Clark a hand with those gifts. Get a hold of the Storage Room guys and get a dolly up here."

Lois said good-bye to Lucy then turned around and approached Perry from behind. "Perry," she said and he spun around. She put her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much for doing this, Chief. You don't know what it means to me."

He chuckled. "You're like the daughter we never had, Lois; we were happy to do this for you and Clark," he replied. "All we ask is that you bring that baby around for Alice and me to hold once in a while so we can feel like grandparents."

"Hey," Martha called out. "She is my daughter! Don't get any ideas. It took me 56 years to get a daughter and another 12 to get a grandchild. I'll share but no hijacking, Perry!"

Lois lifted the corner of the aluminum foil that had Martha had used to cover the sheet cake, swiped a finger across the icing and held it up for display. "This was delicious; I can't stop eating it," she said.

"So does that mean I'm off the hook for dinner?" Clark asked.

"Almost but not quite, Smallville." She stuck her icing-covered finger in her mouth. "By the time we get home, I'll be hungry again."

Clark looked at the corner of the office that had a dolly with opened presents stacked on it. "That was really a nice thing Perry and Alice did."

"It was," Lois agreed. "You know after looking at all this stuff, we need to start thinking about putting together a nursery. I'm guessing we have about a month and a half to go; maybe two months at best."

"What color do you think we should paint the walls or don't you want to paint?" Clark asked.

"I do! Maybe a really light yellow or green since we don't know whether it is a boy or girl we're having," Lois replied. "I know," she added, "a light celery color! It's a contemporary color, it's gender-neutral, and afterwards we won't have to change it." She closed her eyes to envision the color. "Yes, that would be perfect." She swiveled in her chair and began pecking at her keyboard. Seconds later, a paint company website appeared. "I'm going to find one," she announced.

After a few minutes of going through all the light shades of green, she settled on three that she thought would be good. "Come take a look and tell me which one you like best." Clark walked over and looked at the three, picking the lightest of the three yellow-green colors. "That was my favorite too," Lois announced. She scribbled down the name and number of the color and then handed it to Clark. "If you get bored this weekend, here's something you can do," she said with a facetious smile.

"Okay," he replied, taking the slip of paper and putting it in his wallet. "It's probably a good idea to do it now so that any paint smell will be gone by the time the baby arrives."

She frowned a bit. "You know if the baby is born at the eighth month or earlier, we'll have to say that the doctor fouled up the delivery date."

He sat back down at his desk. "Everyone says that you look like you're ready to deliver any day now so I don't know if they will think anything is out of the ordinary," Clark replied.

"True," Lois agreed. "Carrying around a fully-developed baby for a month and a half or two is a pain. No wonder they used birthing matrices on Krypton. Who in their right mind would want to carry around a full-grown baby for that long?"

"You," Clark replied and winked. "Or was 'in their right mind' a disqualifier?"

Clark piled the gifts into the elevator and together they rode up to the apartment. Once there, Clark stopped the elevator, unloaded it and sent the car on its way. Lois held the door as Clark sped the gifts into the apartment, putting them in the spare room that little Sam used when he stayed with them. "Let's get changed and go to dinner," Clark said.

"Already?" she asked.

He looked at his watch. "It's after six. Aren't you hungry yet?"

She made a face. "You're asking me that question?"

"Okay," he said, "then let's get ready and go."

They began changing their clothes. "This mad rush we're in wouldn't have anything to do with the 'getting lucky tonight' comment I made earlier today would it, Farmer John?" She put her arms around his neck. "If last night was any proof, I think you know that you don't need to take me to dinner to get lucky," she said with a sly smile.

Clark leaned in and kissed her. "No, I know that I don't have to; I just want to. It's just easier and there's no mess to clean up."

She kissed him in response. "That's good. There aren't any pre-conditions for getting lucky in this household and there never will be."

They finished dressing, put on coats and walked out of the apartment. They headed for their special little bistro and before they got to the end of the block, a screeching of tires, loud bang and shouting filled the air. Clark vanished from Lois' side and she stopped on the sidewalk at the intersection, craning to see.

On the next block to her right, a collision had occurred at the intersection. The drivers had exited their vehicles and become involved in a verbal altercation that threatened to turn in to a physical one. Before that could happen, a red and blue image blurred past her and stopped at the site of the traffic accident, separating the two men and calming them both down.

A nearby police siren wailed as it turned onto the street leading to the accident site. She saw Superman rise up above the crowd that had assembled and rocket upward into the darkening evening sky. She stepped into the intersection, still looking at the tangled mess a block over, when screeching tires filled the air again. This time though, they were within feet of Lois. A thud was audible but Lois could only sense the feeling of flying back the direction she had come.

The car came to a stop and a panicked driver emerged to see Lois standing on the corner a few feet from the intersection looking dazed. Clark quickly approached her from behind. "Are you okay, Lady?" the driver asked.

"Yes," Lois replied, shaken but unharmed. "I guess I got out of the way before you hit me."

"Are you okay, Lois?" Clark asked.

The driver walked around to the corner of his car and saw a small indentation in his front quarter panel, just above the tire. "I hit somethin'," he said, looking at her with bewilderment.

Clark walked over to the frazzled driver. "I'm not sure what you hit, Sir but it looks like something that can be popped right out." He reached in to the fender well and gently popped the indentation out. "Just like that," he added.

"Thanks Buddy. I could've sworn I hit your wife…she stepped right out without looking," the man said. He looked at Clark and then at Lois. "You sure you're okay, Miss?"

"I'm fine," Lois replied. "Just a little startled; that's all."

"Well, as long as you're okay; no harm done, I guess," he replied. The man got back in his car, shaking his head while Clark returned to Lois.

"Good save," she said, watching the driver continue into the intersection and turn down the street. "Maybe the best one of the week," she added.

"Thanks. You were lucky I was near," he replied. His eyes narrowed. "I remember you saying something about being careful," he added. Lois smiled sheepishly.

They walked on to the bistro and were greeted by the hostess. "Do you have a quiet area where we can go?" Clark asked.

The hostess smiled politely and grabbed two menus. "Follow me," she said.

Lois made a face. "There's no one here; the place is like a morgue, Smallville. To get any quieter, you'd have to eat alone at the Ice Palace."

The hostess led them to a small private room in the back of the bistro where parties were usually held. When they entered, Lois could hardly believe her eyes. "Oh my God," she uttered and tears came to her eyes.

A long table had been set in the center of the small room. Standing quietly at the perimeter were Oliver, Dinah, Bart, Victor, AC, Mera, Courtney, Kara, Emil and J'onn. A smaller table had been placed at the end of the room that was littered with brightly wrapped gifts. They all walked over to greet Lois, offering their congratulations and best wishes.

"This is unbelievable!" Lois gushed. "Everyone is here!"

"Not everyone," Oliver replied. "Scott said he and Big Barda were tied up and couldn't make it.

Emil raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Tied up; that's rather ironic, don't you think?" and Lois snickered.

She turned to Clark, wiping tears from her eyes. "Was this your idea?"

"Nope," he replied, suppressing a smile and shaking his head.

She turned to Oliver and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Ollie; you don't know how much this means to me."

He smiled and returned her kiss. "I wish I could take credit for setting this up but I can't." He released her and shrugged his shoulders. In response to the confused look on her face, Oliver said, "They did," nodding his head to someone in the doorway behind her.

She turned around and smiled broadly. In the doorway through which they had just entered stood Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince.

Chapter Seven

"Bruce…Diana! Oh my God," Lois exclaimed. "This is the first I've seen you both since I learned we were pregnant." She hugged them both and thanked them for putting the surprise dinner together.

Bruce shook hands with Clark. "This is the first chance I've had to congratulate you in person, Clark," he said. "I think I'm as anxious to see this happen as you two are," Bruce added.

Diana leaned in and gave Clark a hug and kiss. "You two are going to make such great parents," she said. "I think it's going to be fun to watch you two with a baby." She turned to Lois. "Do you know if it's a boy or girl…there seemed to be a lack of consensus when I asked?"

She shook her head. "We decided we'd just wait and find out when the baby is born."

"And you don't think Clark has peeked?" Diana whispered with a smirk.

Lois snapped her head around to Clark, who was talking with Bruce and now, Oliver. She looked back to Diana and shrugged. "I don't know," she responded. Lois leaned closer. "He listens to the heartbeat all the time but I never wondered if he was checking out the baby." She chuckled. "I never even considered that he might have done that but now that you ask, I don't know. If he has, he hasn't given any indication that he knows if it's a boy or girl." She paused. "But he has lots of practice keeping secrets."

Diana laughed. "Don't we all!" Courtney and Dinah approached and the two expanded their conversation. "Has the baby started to kick yet?"

"No, not yet," Lois replied. "Emil can give you the details but it's the way the Clark's side develops. But I expect to feel them any day now."

"Are you worried about that; the baby hurting you?" Dinah asked.

"No, it's no problem while he or she's inside me. The baby won't develop the typical abilities Clark has until after it is born." Lois replied. "Even then, they won't be exactly like Clark's because it's half me, too."

"So it will be a super-powered liberal with a nasty disposition?" Dinah quipped and then smiled. "Sorry," she said. "Don't mind me; I'm living with something close to that right now." She leaned over to Lois and whispered. "And it's driving me crazy!" Lois looked over at Oliver and snickered.

"Oh…the sunlight!" Courtney exclaimed. "Of course; it needs to have sunlight for it to have it's abilities, right?"

She nodded. "Yes. That and the baby will develop them over time like Clark did, we presume. But that won't start until after he or she is exposed to sunlight."

"Latent abilities," Emil announced as he stepped forward. "The baby will predominately have Clark's physical composition but not the physical powers he has." He smirked, "Like an uncharged solar battery. Of course, how Lois' genes will influence that remains to be seen."

They all sat down to the table for an elaborate meal. Lois sat at the corner of the table with Emil next to her. Bruce sat at the head with Diana next to him; across from Lois. Oliver and Dinah faced Emil with Clark next to them and Kara across from Clark and next to Emil. J'onn sat at the other end of the table with Victor, Bart and Courtney on either side of him.

During the dinner, Emil kept Lois amused with his quips. Kara leaned over to him, "I'm fascinated with the idea that Clark and Lois can have children. Jor-El says it's impossible but clearly it isn't."

"Your uncle is quite closed-minded on the subject it seems," he replied. "Was he that way in life?"

"Oh no! In life, Jor-El would have been enthralled with her pregnancy and what it meant for Kryptonians. I think if he knew it was possible, there would have been more Kryptonians here than just Clark and me." She paused, staring at him. "Do you think it's possible that I could successfully produce a child with a human?" she asked quietly.

"Anything's possible, I suppose," Emil replied, softly. "But I believe it's much more challenging for you, Kara. You would have to be in a long term relationship and be able to alter a human male's DNA through the exchange of DNA." He squirmed a little. "I don't know if sufficient amounts of your DNA could be…um, deposited," he said, clearing his throat, "in a human male to effect the necessary mutation."

Lois quietly watched Emil. She could hear bits of what he was saying but she could tell by his body language that a DNA discussion was occurring between the two and she suppressed a giggle.

"Once the baby is born," Bruce began, "you two must visit Gotham. Get away from Metropolis once you're feeling up to it and spend a weekend with me."

Clark looked at Lois and nodded his approval of the idea. "I think that would be great, Bruce; thanks," Lois replied.

"Great. You pick the weekend; I'll make myself available," he replied. He patted Lois' hand and leaned over to her. "I think this is probably the greatest thing that has happened to Clark since you two got married," he said softly. "You may not realize how important that is to all of us."

"Thanks, Bruce. You…" then she looked around the table and back to Bruce, "all of you. It has made such a difference for Clark and for us. It's like having another family. You've always been there to turn to when he needed help or we needed a friend. You have been our…" Lois screwed her face up and flinched. "Ooo!" she moaned and grabbed her stomach.

Clark was kneeling by her side before her voice died out. "Lois; what's wrong?" he said.

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach. "Leave it there and you'll find out," she said, smiling now. "The baby just moved."

Diana let out a little cheer and everyone smiled. "Is that the first time it moved?" Victor asked.

"Yes," Clark replied, then leaned over and kissed Lois.

Bruce clapped Clark on the back. "Congratulations, my friend; another milestone reached." He picked up his glass. "I think this moment deserves a toast."

The baby had not moved again and Lois recovered. Clark returned to his seat and picked up his glass. "I can't wait until I can have a real one of these," Lois quipped.

"What's stopping you?" Emil asked inquisitively.

Her mouth gaped, along with an expression of disbelief. "Hello? I'm having a baby, Emil."

He grinned. "And you're worried about alcohol hurting your baby? Nuclear fallout wouldn't hurt this baby," Emil replied and Oliver snorted.

"Huh?" she asked. "Are you telling me that all this time I've been drinking herbal tea instead of coffee or having only a sip out of Clark's glass of wine at dinner for no good reason?"

Emil raised an eyebrow. "There are plenty of good reasons not to consume an abundance of coffee or alcohol, Lois; but none of those reasons have anything to do with this baby." He cocked his head and frowned. "Did I forget to mention that when we first discovered you were pregnant?"

"What a great time," Lois said as she held the door for Clark. He was moving a large box in that contained a crib and mattress that Oliver and Dinah had bought them. In addition to buying out the bistro for the night, Bruce had purchased an expensive but very traditional rocking chair for Lois as a gift from Diana and him. "Are Bruce and Diana an item?"

"Not like you and I are," he replied. "But they're informally dating. Bruce isn't the type to settle down but they enjoy each other's company."

"It looked like they enjoyed more than just their company tonight," she quipped. "I was thinking; do you think Bruce would agree to be the baby's godfather if anything happened to us?"

"Yes. In fact, I think he would consider it an honor."

"I was going to mention it tonight but decided against it with Oliver sitting there. I'd feel bad if it hurt Ollie's feelings that we asked Bruce."

"Lois," Clark began, "Oliver is my oldest friend on the team even though he's not exactly on the team anymore. But Bruce is my closest friend and the one I can count on. He's the closest thing I have to a brother." He paused. "What about a godmother? Diana?"

"I was thinking that we should ask Kara. I think she was asking Emil about getting pregnant so she is probably interested. I think she would rock that job!"

"Perfect! I didn't even think about her," he replied, setting the remaining boxes in the spare room. "I think she'd be thrilled to do that."

"Plus, she's your cousin," she added, "and God forbid if something happened to us before our baby starting getting your powers; she could be about the only one to handle him or her. She'd certainly understand and explain what was happening to the child."

"Nothing is going to happen to us," Clark reassured her. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "We're going to be this baby's parents for a long, long time. I'm not worried…" he stopped and Lois squirmed. "Hey! I just felt that!" he exclaimed, grinning. "That was the baby moving, right?"

"Yes," she said, turning in his arms with a wide smile. "It'salive!" she mimicked and chuckled. She stared into his eyes and saw nothing but pure love and amazement. Lois loved looking into his eyes at moments like that. Every burden he ever carried was gone in those moments. It was if history had been erased and the world had stopped just briefly to give him a chance to absorb the love and wonderment that life had to offer. "Let's go to bed," she whispered.

Three weeks later, following a late day staff meeting called by Perry, Lois was filing out the door of the conference room. Cat followed her out.

"Where's Clark this afternoon?" Cat asked.

"He's running down some leads on a story at the Metropolis docks; some allegations of organized crime figures involved with the longshoremen union."

"Sounds dangerous," she opined. "Is that something that Clark should be doing on his own?"

"Clark's a big boy; he can take care of himself," Lois replied.

"He's huge but he's still pretty mild-mannered. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable with him meddling with stories about the mob on his own," she replied.

"Under normal circumstances, I would be with him but…" she trailed off.

"So," she began, "is the baby kicking yet?"

"Yes; it's been kicking up a storm," Lois replied hastily. "At first, it just moved around a lot. But over the past week and a half, it's like the baby's playing soccer with my kidneys." Sensing Cat was preparing a jab, she said, "Excuse me," and pushed through a gaggle of staff that had clustered in the hallway outside the conference room. She ducked into the ladies room to escape. A minute later, she emerged from the stall to find Cat sitting on the vanity awaiting her emergence.

She groaned. "What are you now; a stalker?" Lois asked, annoyed to find her sitting there. She moved to the sink furthest from where Cat was sitting and washed her hands.

Cat watched her, nonplussed. "I'm not stalking; I'm talking, Lois."

"No; you're annoying," Lois replied. She dried her hands and walked past her coworker, who slipped off the vanity and followed her to the door.

"So…" she began as they cleared the bathroom door and headed down the hall, "I guess you feel that the baby is far enough along to start dying your hair again?"

Lois stopped and spun around. "I told you before, I don't dye my hair, Cat. Why do you care, anyway?"

"Liar!" she said with an impish grin. "Gray hair isn't like the flu, Lois; it just doesn't eventually go away. Your gray hair is gone and there's just one explanation; you've dyed your hair," Cat said loud enough for others to look oddly at her as they walked around the two of them and continued on their way.

Lois exhaled loudly, exasperated. "A little louder, Cat; I don't think they heard you in the basement." Cat giggled and Lois leaned closer. "For the last time; no, I did not dye my hair," she said deliberately. "I'm pregnant. You know you can't dye your hair when you're pregnant."

"Really? So what did you do; color them with a Sharpie or pluck them out?" She snickered. "You know Lois; pull out one and two grow back."

"That sounds like the voice of experience I'm hearing," Lois replied.

"We'll see," Cat replied with a snicker and walked off, leaving a perplexed Lois standing in the hallway watching her departure.

"Jesus," Lois muttered under her breath and continued down the hall. She reached the elevator and rode it to the eighth floor. With a strange sense of déjà vu, she spotted Jimmy. "Olsen," she called. "Come here!"

Before Jimmy could reach her, a sharp pain hit her, causing her knees to buckle. She yelped and reached out to steady herself against the wall while clutching her stomach with her other hand. The pain was so sharp it brought tears to her eyes.

"Mrs. K!" Jimmy shouted and raced to help Lois. He grabbed her arm and helped stabilize her. "Are you okay?"

Lois exhaled a deep breath and drew another one in. "Yeah, Jimmy. Thanks," she said unsteadily. "That was a hell of a kick!"

Jimmy looked panicked. "Is there something I can do? Should I call CK?"

"No; I'll be fine," Lois replied. "But if you don't mind, can you walk me to my office?"

"Sure Mrs. Kent," he replied. He gently held her upper arm as they walked back to her office. "You sure you don't want me to call CK?"

"I'm sure, Jimmy. It was just the baby kicking. It caught me by surprise; that's all." Jimmy gently held her arm and guided her to her chair. She sat. "Whew!" Lois exclaimed. "But that was a hard one! I don't need too many more of those," she quipped with a half grin.

Jimmy still looked scared. "Do you want me to stay here with you until Mr. Kent comes back?"

Lois chuckled. "No, Jimmy. The baby kicked; that's all. That's what they do."

"But what if it happens again?"

"Jimmy; it will happen again and I'll be fine. I just wasn't expecting it to be that sharp, that's all."

"Okay," he replied. "If you're sure, I'll leave you alone."

"Before you go, Jimmy," she began, "I want you to take a look and see if you see those strands of gray hair you told me about before." She spun around in her chair so that her back faced the young photographer.

He studied the back of her head at the very crown and could not spot them. "I don't see them, Mrs. Kent. Maybe it was just the way the light reflected off your hair before."

She frowned. "You're sure? Don't tell me what you think I want to hear; I want the truth, Jimmy!"

"Yeah, I'm sure, Mrs. K; nothing but your normal hair color." He paused. "Did someone…Miss Grant tell you your hair was turning gray?"

She spun around in her chair. "Yes, but I didn't believe her."

"Why does she do that, Mrs. Kent?"

Lois arched an eyebrow. "She just enjoys getting under my skin, Jimbo. I don't know why," she added. Before she could say another word, a second sharp pain coursed through her. Lois yelped, grabbed her stomach and doubled over.

The blood raced from Jimmy's face. "Mrs. K!" he cried. "I'm calling an ambulance."

She tried to laugh it off but the pain lingered. "No," she managed. "I just…" Yet another sharp pain stopped her in mid-sentence, nearly taking her breath away and she winced.

Jimmy picked up the phone and dialed Perry's direct extension. He answered. "Chief; Mrs. K is…well, she's in really bad pain. Should I call an ambulance or Mr. Kent?"

"Call an ambulance, Jimmy!" Perry barked.

"Right, Chief." He disconnected. "Mr. White said to call an ambulance," he reported and began to dial 9-1-1.

"No!" Lois shouted. "Call Dr. Hamilton." She rattled off the number and Jimmy dialed it. Emil answered and Jimmy told him what was happening with Lois.

"I'll have a medical team pick her up immediately," Emil replied. "Thank you for calling."

Perry rushed into the office and over to her side. "Lois! Are you okay, Honey?" he asked, kneeling next to her.

"I'm okay, Chief. I think it's just…the baby's just kicking really hard," she replied. Another sharp pain hit her.

Perry turned to Jimmy. "Did you call an ambulance?" he barked.

"She told me to call her doctor; he's sending a medical team here."

Perry scowled, grabbed her hand and patted it. "Okay…well, just hang on, Lois; help is on the way." He looked up at Jimmy. "Call Clark's cell phone; let him know what's going on. And then call the front desk and let them know that an ambulance team is on the way and to send them to the eighth floor."

Chapter Eight

Clark never received the phone call from Jimmy. He had flown high above the city and was hovering, listening to the activity at the docks. Something was brewing and he intended on preempting it.

Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim was still on the loose and although the JL had defeated Intergang years before, Mannheim had escaped capture. His involvement was never clear enough for the district attorney to swear out a warrant for him and Mannheim had been underground for years, quietly reassembling key components of his organization. Ugly was just an incredibly brutal street thug that lacked the subtlety and finesse to remain secluded very long. But under the tutelage of Lex Luthor, he had begun to learn the nuances of strategy that he had previously lacked. With Lex as his benefactor, Ugly became far more dangerous.

To Luthor, Mannheim had become a pawn who put into motion a plan that would he believed would expose the weaknesses of global security systems and discredit the intelligence and federal law enforcement authorities so vividly that he could exploit those failures for his own political gain.

Somehow, Clark knew, the Metropolis docks were involved. And hovering a mile above Metropolis, he focused his hearing on activities at the docks in an attempt to learn what role the docks played in Mannheim's scheme. But while monitoring the conversations, another sound that he constantly monitored alarmed him: the sudden rapid beating of Lois' heart. Something's wrong!

He immediately flew back to the Planet, quickly changed and walked in to the office to find Perry, Lois and Jimmy there, just as his cell phone began to ring.

"CK!" Jimmy cried out and disconnected.

"What's the matter?" he asked, rushing over to where Lois sat and kneeling down next to her, taking her hand in his.

Perry stood up. "She's in distress, Clark. We've called for medical help," he replied.

"Thanks, Chief," Clark said, glancing up.

Lois looked at him. "It's the baby; it's kicking really hard, Clark," she said.

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital right now," Clark replied.

"Her doctor has a team on the way, Clark. It would be better just to wait for them," Perry replied. Lois looked at Clark and nodded.

"Okay," he said. He looked at Jimmy. "Can you go downstairs and direct the medical crew up here, Jimmy?"

"Sure thing, CK," Jimmy said and raced out of the room.

"And hold the elevator once they get up here!" Perry shouted. He paused, looking back at Clark. "I'll leave you two alone," he said. I'll keep an eye out for the medical team and direct them in here."

"Thanks, Perry," Lois said. "Thanks for being here with me," she added as he walked out.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked quietly.

She nodded. "Of course; I think they just overreacted," she replied and then added, "But those were some really hard kicks." She smiled weakly. "You got here fast; Jimmy didn't even get your number dialed."

"I could tell you were in trouble," he replied, smiling and tapping at his ear. "You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Lois replied. "Just a little shaken up. Those kicks were more than I expected."

Emil met them in a small foyer area that looked like an ordinary doctor's office waiting room. "I'll take her from here," he said and directed the medical team to return to Metropolis General. "How are you feeling?" he asked Lois.

"Like crap," she replied. The baby had delivered another strong kick on the way to the clinic and each one felt progressively harder. She saw the worry on Clark's face and added, "But nothing I wasn't anticipating."

Emil wheeled Lois through the secure door into a short hallway that appeared to be lined with several ordinary examination rooms and a small adjoining business area. Clark took over as Emil quickly moved ahead. He wheeled Lois to the end of the hall, and turned into a room that appeared to be his personal office. A palm-reader disguised as an ordinary anatomy illustration on the wall next to his desk activated a sliding panel at the end of the office. The heavy sliding panel led to a modest adjoining room with steel double vault doors that opened into a large, sophisticated operating room. Beyond the operating room were a technologically-advanced laboratory and several recovery rooms.

Oliver originally funded the creation of a special medical facility when Bruce Wayne joined the JL and paid for the space-borne Watchtower platform. Once both facilities were operational, more emphasis was placed on upgrading the medical facility with robotics and cutting-edge technology, allowing a single physician to perform everything from intricate surgeries to routine suturing.

Lois felt weak; expended of her energy and strength but otherwise comfortable. Clark stood beside Lois, holding her hand and speaking softly to comfort her. "I'm just glad you're here," she said. "I was more frightened than injured."

Emil began affixing a fetal monitor to Lois' midsection. He cocked his head, looking at her abdomen. "You have been eating, right?"

"Yes. I've been eating for two." She smirked. "Just ask Clark."

He nodded absently. "Have you been shedding a lot of water, Lois?"

"Shedding water?" she said, puzzled by the question. "You mean like in the ladies room? It seems like I've been peeing every ten minutes for the last two months if that's what you mean."

Emil chuckled. "That's not at all uncommon, I'm sure you know. It's the pressure your baby exerts on your bladder. Women at your stage of pregnancy urinate frequently but each event is a small amount. Has that been your experience?"

"Yes…and it's maddening!" she replied.

He examined her stomach. "You look like you've lost weight," he said. "Have your clothes felt loose?"

"I sure don't feel like I've lost weight. But ever since I had to replace my first maternity wardrobe, they have always felt loose," Lois said. She looked at Clark and smirked.

Emil nodded but said nothing and turned to activate the fetal monitor but it failed to detect the heartbeat after a few seconds. "It's just past the seventh month," he said as he adjusted the band around her midsection, tightening it ever so slightly. "I don't know for sure whether your baby is starting to be born or they are just strong kicks." He looked back at Lois. "92 beats per minute," he reported. "If it was a purely Kryptonian baby, it would have been born about a week ago, I think. That's what makes this time period so critical."

"Won't her water break when the baby is ready to be born?" Clark asked.

"For a human baby; yes. Most of the time that signals the beginning of the delivery process. For a Kryptonian baby, I don't know. Your baby is neither and both." Emil turned to the monitor once again. It displayed 87 beats per minute. "87; that's very low for a human but very high for a Kryptonian according to your father." He paused when the sound of the beeping representing the baby's heartbeat stopped. Emil frowned and moved the band once again. "It's loose again. Can you roll onto your side, Lois; maybe the band broke."

She rolled and Emil found that the band was intact but loose. He instructed Lois to roll back over and he tightened it again. A moment later, the steady beeping began again. "I just wish we had more information." He looked at the monitor. "Hmm; the heart rate has just dropped to 85," he said, trying to sound calm but they both heard the trepidation in his voice.

Clark looked at Lois. "Do you think you'll be okay if I go to the Fortress and see if I can get more information from Jor-El?"

She nodded. "Emil is here; I feel very safe being here with him." She paused. "Go! I'd rather know that Emil has the information he needs."

He leaned down and kissed her and a tear pooled in the corner of her eye and traveled down her temple. Clark knew she was scared and simply trying to wear a brave face. He had to hurry.

In all the times that he ran or flew to the Fortress, he couldn't remember a time when it seemed to take so long. He was there in the blink of an eye but to him, it seemed to take an eternity. "Jor-El!" he called out, putting the primary crystal in the console.

"Welcome, my son. What is it you seek?"

"I need more specific information on the birthing sequence for Kryptonians."

"Kal-El; the birthing process is quite unusual compared to the actual sequence on Earth. I know that you believe your mate is carrying your child but there would be tell-tale signs of a Kryptonian fetus being born. No such evidence of that exists in the things you have told me in the past."

"Father; I did not come here to debate the matter," Clark said forcefully. "Lois is experiencing some strange phenomenon with her pregnancy and it is my intention to determine if that is consistent with Kryptonian births."

"Strange in what way,my son?"

"The child inside her; has begun violently kicking and the physician attending to her has noticed her abdomen has been shrinking."

There was a pause. "The prenatal expansion accompanying the physical development of a Kryptonian fetus vastly diminishes one day prior to the arrival of the infant. It is a facet of the release of amniotic fluid surrounding the child."

"And how is that release evident, Jor-El?"

"Unlike a human child, the amniotic fluid is not immediately discharged from a Kryptonian mother. The kicking fetus bursts an inner sac releasing the fluid which is contained in a thin outer membrane that serves as a mechanism for dispersing the fluid back in to the mother over the one day period. It is dispersed within her body and subsequently eliminated over the span of several weeks."

"Then what are the signs of impending delivery of a Kryptonian child?"

"Beyond the normal kicking, there are two primary indicators: the rapid reduction in the size of the mother's abdomen and reduced heartbeat of the fetus. A Kryptonian fetus goes in to a dormant period during the birthing process. That dormancy lessens any trauma to the infant being born and to its host."

"Jor-El; Lois has had all of those indicators. Her abdomen has begun to shrink. The baby's heartbeat has steadily declined; in the ten minutes after we arrived at the clinic; the baby's heartbeat declined ten percent." He paused and there was no response from Jor-El. "Father! This baby is part Kryptonian. All the signs of a Kryptonian baby have existed: the rapid growth to full size in the first five and a half months; no involuntary movement until after the first five and a half months; the rapid shrinking of Lois' abdomen; the steady slowing of the heartbeat. There is no other explanation for it."

Again, there was silence until Jor-El spoke. "The conditions your mate has experienced with this pregnancy is very compelling information,Kal-El. While there may be an explanation for one or more of the conditions you have described, I can find no single explanation for all of them. However, without empirical evidence to examine, it is difficult for me to render an opinion. There is one way to confirm or dispute your conclusions with absolute certainty. Bring a small sample of your mate's blood; it can be quickly analyzed and a conclusive determination could be reached. At that point, I can advise you further, my son."

"I will return soon, Father," Clark replied; removed the primary crystal and flew to Smallville.

Clark raced inside the farmhouse. "Mom!" he called out.

"In here, Clark," she called from the kitchen. She emerged to see him in the hall. "Are you leaving too?"

"Leaving?"

"Yes; Conner just left. Are you going with him?" Martha replied.

"No, I'm looking for you. I think Lois is having the baby but I have to take a sample of her blood up to Jor-El for him to analyze it to be sure."

Her face lit up. 'She is? Oh my God…what are you doing here then?"

"I want to take Emil with me so he can ask for the details that he needs and I would like you to stay with Lois while we're up there. I don't know how long it will take but it shouldn't take too long."

"Heavens! I don't care how long it takes," she said. "Let me get my jacket and purse," she added and disappeared. Moments later, she emerged. "I'm ready!" Clark carried Martha to Metropolis, setting her down outside of the clinic. "Good Lord, Clark; does Lois ever travel with you like that?"

Clark grinned. "Not lately; it causes her to get sick."

"I can see why!"

They entered the office and made their way to the clinic. Emil smiled worriedly as Clark entered and Lois' face lit up when she saw Martha. "How is she?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Lois is fine but the baby's heart rate keeps declining."

"That's normal," Clark blurted out. "Jor-El told me that a Kryptonian baby's heart rate drops prior to delivery." He looked at Lois. "So I guess the event is on! But I want to take you up to the Fortress so you can get your questions answered." He looked at Lois. "Mom is going to stay with you if that's okay?"

She smiled, clearly scared but relieved at the thought that she was not going to be left alone. She nodded and smiled at Martha. "I'm glad you're here, Mom."

"I think I should be getting Emil up there as quickly as I can." He looked at the doctor. "Can you bring one of her blood samples with us? Jor-El will analyze it so he can reach a definitive conclusion on the nature of the baby and provide you better information."

"Sure," he said and disappeared into the lab.

Looking at Clark, "So Jor-El now believes this baby is yours too?" Lois asked.

"Well whose baby did he think it was?" Martha asked, frowning.

Lois chuckled. "I guess he thought I was stepping out on Clark while he was out saving mankind." She began to giggle. "He thinks I'm a floozy!" Clark grinned with an exasperated look on his face.

"Oh! That's awful!" Martha glowered and shook her head. "He had some kind words for me once but the things I know that he's said and done over the years…why, I'd be tempted to wring his neck if he were alive."

Emil emerged from the lab with a small tube of blood he had drawn from Lois. He encased it in a hard plastic sleeve. "Ready!" he said.

Clark leaned down and kissed Lois. "We'll be back as quickly as we can."

Chapter Nine

"Incredible!" Emil stood in the grand chamber of the Fortress, wide-eyed and awestruck. He scanned the creation and reached out to touch the massive crystalline support posts. "Crystal," he muttered to himself and smiled. He felt humbled by the massive structure and the mere thought of the technology that produced it.

Clark slid the primary crystal into the console, activating the artificial intelligence program. "Welcome, my son. What is it you seek?" Jor-El's voice echoed through the cavernous Fortress.

"Cool!" was all that Emil could think of to say and his eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"Father; I have returned with a sample of Lois' blood for you to analyze. I have also brought Doctor Emil Hamilton; our physician to ask questions of you."

"Welcome, Doctor Hamilton," Jor-El said cordially.

"Th..Thank you," Emil stuttered, still struggling to overcome his awe at finally seeing the Fortress of Solitude he had heard about for so many years. He turned to Clark. "How do I address him?"

"As Jor-El; that's all."

As Clark loaded the blood sample into a specimen container that would be inserted into the console, Emil was regaining his bearing. "As a man of science myself, I must say this is a magnificent structure; it's absolutely intriguing to me, Jor-El." He smiled politely and waited but there was no reply. The silence grew awkward and Emil suddenly felt dismissed by the AI program. He put his hands behind his back, embarrassed, and turned to Clark, raising an eyebrow.

Clark closed the specimen container. "I forgot to tell you Emil; when you are addressing Jor-El, you must use his name first so he understands that you are addressing a question or comment to him. Once you begin a conversation, you don't have to keep repeating it because he'll understand that you're talking to him; not about him. Over time, he will learn when you are addressing him and when you are not."

Emil smiled and nodded his understanding. "Of course; that is quite logical." He turned and repeated his previous statement, but this time used Jor-El's name first.

"Thank you, Dr. Hamilton. It is a replication of Kryptonian crystalline architecture that was prevalent in Kryptonian society at the conclusion of its existence. It has unmatched strength while providing exceptional solar storage properties that permit unlimited renewablepower."

Emil turned to Clark, grinning with excitement and then turned back to the source of Jor-El's voice. "I would very much like to study it more someday but I fear that today is not that day," Emil said.

"A fellow man of science is always welcome here," Jor-El said and Clark frowned slightly as he slipped the container into the console. He was somewhat shocked to hear those words from Jor-El. "There are solutions to be had Dr. Hamilton; solutions through science for the good of mankind. As a man of science, a human rather than my son would be most appropriate to bring those solutions to humanity."

"Jor-El, I would be honored to have that privilege and hope that I might be able to return in the near future and explore those solutions with you," Emil replied.

Clark intervened. "Father; we have an urgent need for you to analyze the blood specimen that we have brought. Please hurry."

"I will proceed with the analysis at once." The port in which the blood sample had been placed glowed faintly.

"Jor-El; based on your analysis of the sample, I will have likely have some questions for you regarding the findings."

"Of course, Doctor."

Clark looked at his watch. They had been there longer than he wanted to be away and he was anxious to return to Lois.

After an hour of waiting, Clark offered to show Emil around the Fortress, never straying far from the grand chamber.

"Kal-El," Jor-El spoke after more than an hour of analysis. "This is the specimen of your mate's blood?"

"It is, Father."

"ItisprovingmorecomplexanddifficulttoanalyzethanIhadimagined.ItwilltakemoretimethanIsurmised.Pleaseremainpatient."

"Please hurry, Jor-El."

"You know," Emil offered, "this would take mankind weeks of continuous analysis to figure out."

Another ninety minutes passed before Jor-El concluded his analysis. During the interim, he occasionally asked questions of Clark and Emil.

"You have proved me wrong, Kal-El. On the surface, the DNA in this specimen nearly resembles that of a New Genesian's more than that of a human's DNA. There are more than triple the number of nucleotides that are present in normal human DNA. In further analysis, the dipeptides clearly indicate the source of the specimen is a carbon-based life-form, yet there is a clear lack of ubiquitin; the absence of which is a principal characteristic of Kryptonian blood. That is the easiest characteristic to deduce there is Kryptonian influence in her blood. On the whole, the specimen shares the most characteristic commonality with that of a human being."

"So you have confirmed that her DNA has changed, Jor-El?" Clark asked.

"Yes, my son."

"And that change supports the ability for Lois to have a baby that can indeed be a hybrid child; part Kryptonian and part human?"

"Yes, Kal-El. That conclusion is now indisputable with the evidence you have provided. A blood specimen of the child will provide a complete picture of just what percentage of Kryptonian attributes it will have."

"Jor-El, you mentioned a lack of ubiquitin. Is it completely absent or just diminished?"

"By percentage, only trace amounts exist in this specimen, Doctor Hamilton; approximately one percent of that expected to be found in human blood is present in this sample."

"Extraordinary!" Emil exclaimed. "Jor-El; may I now ask some further questions of you?"

Martha held Lois hand as an excruciating pain wracked her body. Lois squeezed her hand painfully, while Martha stroked her head. "I'm sure they will be back sooner than you think, Dear. Just a little while longer." The old woman felt her throat tighten. She had seen women in labor before and this wasn't labor; there were no contractions. The pain was a result of exceptionally forceful kicks by the baby. At times she could see the bulge occur when Lois was violently kicked.

As soon as Clark and Emil left, she had helped Lois move out of the emergency operating room and into a recovery room where she felt Lois would be more comfortable. Wheeling the fetal monitor that was tethered to Lois proved to be a chore and before Lois climbed in to the bed, tightened the rubber band that held it in place. The heartbeat registered 79 beats per minute.

Lois' heavy breathing slowed and perspiration formed a misty sheen on her forehead. "God," she said, collecting herself, "that was the hardest one yet. Jor-El said that the baby would not have powers that could harm me while I was carrying it but this might be something else he was wrong about." She looked at Martha and released her hand. "Do you think you'll ever be able to use that hand again?"

Martha tried to laugh but was on the verge of tears. Seeing Lois in such pain was devastating to her. She shook the blood back into her hand and got up. "I'll be fine," she managed and walked to the private bathroom. Looking at her watch she found Clark and Emil had been gone twenty minutes already. Moments later she emerged with a moist, cool towel folded up and used it to wipe Lois' face. "Maybe this will help you feel better," she said.

Lois looked at the baby monitor and there was no reading; no beeping. "The sensor must have moved again because there is no way that kid isn't alive and kicking," she said and then began to laugh weakly at her pun. She tried to adjust the monitor on her stomach but the band was far too loose to accurately read the heartbeat. "It's getting smaller," she said aloud.

"Your stomach?" Martha asked. "That has to be the baby repositioning himself; I'm sure. Why would it shrink?" Lois paused, staring at her mother-in-law for a few moments and Martha saw a look of terror building in Lois' eyes. "What is it, Sweetheart?" she asked.

Swallowing hard, Lois began telling Martha about the dream she had months ago. So many things were similar to that dream. Instead of a doctor, Martha was there. There was no border at the ceiling with sneering teddy bears with black, menacing eyes and bearing autopsy-stitching but the room was drab, barren and cell-like. There were no windows or attending nurse but there was no reading on the monitor and her stomach was shrinking. It was not as pronounced as in her dream but it created a terrifying sense of déjà vu.

Martha leaned over and kissed her forehead. "This baby is not going anywhere that it isn't supposed to go, Lois. You know that and so do I. Don't let those dreams worry you." She smoothed her hair back. "Dreams are just that; dreams. They don't foretell the future."

Lois nodded and then smiled. "I once had a dream about Clark…years and years ago when I first lived with you. Actually, at the time I thought it was a nightmare. At the time I didn't know it was about Clark." She giggled. "I thought it was about some deranged cross-dressing pilot because I remembered from the dream that he was chasing me and that he wore tights and flew."

Martha laughed. "Good Lord! I think I remember you mentioning that." She sat back down. "You see, dreams aren't always what they seem; even if there is a grain of truth in them, Sweetheart. They…" The sound of a heavy panel sliding filtered into the room, interrupting her. "Thank God; they're back," Martha said.

The double vault doors opened. "Lois!" a voice other than Clark's called out.

"In here!" Martha hollered and got up and went to the door. "Mr. Wayne?" she said, surprised to see the Dark Knight in full regalia standing in the emergency operating room.

"Mrs. Kent! We thought you'd be here," Batman replied. "Is Lois okay?"

"She's doing okay," Martha replied guardedly.

"You must go," Bruce replied.

She shook her head furiously. "I'm not leaving her alone."

"She won't be alone, Martha. I'm staying with her until Clark gets back," he replied. "But Conner and Kara need you."

"What's wrong with them? Why me?"

"Conner and Kara were exposed to a weaponized form of Kryptonite. Both ingested it. They're in bad shape but they'll survive. They're both very sick and in pain. They don't have their powers right now so they're of no use to us."

"Well…why aren't they here in the clinic?" Martha asked, frowning.

"Neither would step foot into the clinic. We all knew Lois was here and has been here for about an hour. I called Perry White looking for Clark and he told me that Lois had been rushed to the doctor's office because with severe pains. Neither Kara nor Conner want to be anywhere near Lois and the baby with the Kryptonite in their system."

"Well what's going on?"

"I'll let Diana explain that. She's outside with both of them. They need to go to the farm and recuperate. Diana will take them and I'll stay with Lois until Clark returns." Martha looked unsure. "Please; they need someone to care for them. I will stay with Lois."

Martha took a deep breath. "Okay…let me say good bye to Lois." She disappeared into the recovery room and emerged a minute or so later. Bruce had removed his cowl and escorted her to front lobby. From there, Martha exited the facility, spotted Diana and accompanied her, Conner and Kara back to Smallville.

"What's going on, Bruce?" Lois asked when he entered her room.

"It's the remnants of Intergang. They've begun a multi-city operation bringing nuclear material in to quite a few port cities all around the country simultaneously. From San Diego to Miami, up to New York and over to Seattle; just about every major port has ships carrying this material. The other ports have decoy cargo ships coming it and it's all arriving at exactly the same time. The JL is stretched to the limit; even Oliver suited up and is engaged with elements of Intergang at the Port of Los Angeles. The Teen Titans got overwhelmed pretty quickly in Charleston after Conner and Kara were exposed. Diana had to pull them out and help them back here."

Lois bit her lip. "Why hasn't Clark been told about this?"

Bruce shook his head. "I wouldn't allow it. He needs to be with you right now. There's nothing more important than that; for both of you."

"The safety of the world isn't more important?"

"No," he replied unequivocally. "He needs to be here. We're taking care of it," Bruce replied firmly.

"He's not going to be happy when he finds out," Lois said with a slight grin.

"Yes he will. He knows you need him," Bruce reached out took her hand, "as much as he needs you." He leaned forward. "How are you doing?"

"I won't lie; this has been pretty miserable." She took a breath and swallowed. "I wouldn't tell Clark this but I'm frightened. There's no record for what's happening to me. I'm thrilled at the idea we'll have a baby soon and it's not that I'm afraid of dying giving birth or anything, but when you're here alone, everything crosses your mind. I'm scared that if anything happens to me, the baby will grow up without a mother and Clark's needed so often; the baby would be without a mother or a full-time father. Clark's a target; just like you. But if anything happens to me, he's going to need help and if anything happened to him, I'd need help." She paused and chewed on her bottom lip. "It's why Clark and I were hoping you'd agree to be the baby's godfather if anything did happen to us."

Bruce's jaw muscles flexed; he swallowed hard and smiled. "I didn't expect that. Of course I would, Lois; it would be…an honor for me." He smiled. "I never had a brother or sister. You and Clark are the closest thing I have; you're my family and it's family that you should be able to count on for things like this. You can count on me." He nodded. "I'd be proud to be his godfather." Bruce paused. "And the godmother?"

"Kara," Lois replied and Bruce nodded his approval of the choice. "We thought she would understand what's happening to the baby as he grows up. Although," she began with a smirk, "Diana was also in the race." She arched an eyebrow. "So what's up with you two?"

"Diana? Oh," Bruce replied, "we're just friends. We…" A communicator beeped and interrupted him. "What is it J'onn?"

"Has Clark returned?"

"No…not yet."

"We need someone in New York. They've successfully offloaded the material and are on the verge of trans-loading it onto trucks. From there it will disperse quicker than we can stop it, Bruce." There was a long pause and the silence spoke loudly that the team needed Batman in New York. But Bruce did not yield and finally J'onn acknowledged that. "Well…call me as soon as you're free. Diana will pick you up."

"I will," Bruce replied and put his communicator away.

"You should go," Lois urged. "You should go now, Bruce."

"No, Lois. I won't do that."

"Clark does it all the time and you can too." She squeezed his hand. "Bruce…this is important."

He shook his head. "No; I won't even consider it, Lois. I'd hate myself for doing it and I would feel like I was letting Clark down. It's more important that I…"

"It's more important that you do your job. Bruce; if these people succeed, what do you think will happen? What will become of this country and this world if Intergang obtains this stuff and is able to use it across the globe? Do you think that's a world that I want my child growing up in?" She paused. "I'm sure Clark and Emil will be back any minute. Don't you think that for the few moments that I'll be here alone would be nothing compared to what it will like if they get this stuff and spread it all over?" Bruce sat silently and Lois propped herself up on one elbow. "Bruce, by going now you're going to be ensuring that our child will have Clark around in his life instead of responding with the rest of the team all over the world every day because Intergang has set off some dirty bomb somewhere."

"I'm willing to spend the rest of my days doing that than leaving you here alone, Lois."

"That's sweet, Bruce but it's not just you. It would be Clark and everyone else. If Clark was here, I'd be telling him the same thing." She frowned. "Go! For all of our sakes; go now!"

He stared at her and then reluctantly pulled out the communicator, paused and then called J'onn. After doing it, he stood up, bent over and kissed Lois on the forehead. "I've always known Clark was a lucky guy but I just didn't know how lucky until now." He patted her hand. "You take care of yourself; everything will turn out fine."

"Thanks, Bruce…now go!" she said sincerely. "And bring me back the story…I want details, Bruce!"

He smirked, nodded, pulled his cowl back on and walked to the door. "It's a deal. I'll be back as soon as I can," he said and disappeared.

Lois lay back down and listened as she heard heavy doors close, panels slide and close and then absolute silence. She tried to adjust the band on her stomach to no avail. Instead, she pressed the receiver against her stomach and held it there. Finally, the monitor began to beep.

62 beats per minute.

She knew that was normal for a Kryptonian baby but wondered what effect the reduced blood flow would have on the human half of the baby. She lay there in almost absolute silence trying not to think "What if" questions but couldn't stop doing so. The silence was morgue-like, triggering thoughts that she didn't want to think. The air seemed hot and cloying. She looked down at her stomach and it appeared even smaller than it had been before Martha left and the memory of her dream took control; she was powerless to reject it from her consciousness. The terror of that dream slammed into her like a tidal wave and took hold. Lois rolled on to her side, pulled her knees up as far as her stomach would allow, closed her eyes and began to cry.

Chapter Ten

There were no more kicks and Lois began feeling what she believed were contractions. They weren't strong ones but she felt the cramps coming. She rolled onto her back, wiping the tears from her eyes. Lois told herself that she had done the right thing by sending Bruce away but she was scared. She was alone and since being with Clark, she had learned that there would be times when she had to be alone. But none of those times was like this one and she hated it. Lois hated herself for being afraid but she couldn't help it. There were no distractions; nothing to occupy her mind except her fears.

She wished that she could call Lucy but knew that her sister would want to come see and stay with her. She would have no explanation for Clark's absence and Lucy would not be able to get in to the clinic even if she knew everyone's secret. Lois considered calling the General but they had spoken just two days before and she didn't want to give him the idea that she was afraid. He too would wonder where Clark was.

The watershed moment that had occurred for her and Sam had been thirteen years earlier. Ever since that Thanksgiving visit, something had changed among the family. They had grown closer and Sam was more forthcoming about his own fears and failed dreams. And though he never said that he knew Clark was Superman, there was something in the way he spoke to Clark and always stopped short of asking the next question that led her to believe that perhaps he did know. The fact that he had never asked the next question made her love and respect him more than she ever had.

Lois rightly convinced herself that the General was probably somehow involved in operations to recover all the nuclear material that was pouring into the country and threatening to fall into the hands of Intergang. Even though the General had retired from active duty, he was still in Washington as a high-paid contractor for the Department of Domestic Security. Sam Lane was one of the few that survived the aftermath of the VRA; thanks in large part to Superman standing up for him during the Congressional hearings.

Lois would love to hear his deep and reassuring voice right now but she knew that he would be up to his eyeballs in work. Trying to call him now would certainly be a disservice to him and the relationship they had nurtured over the last 13 years.

Tears began to fill her eyes and she stared at the ceiling, trying to keep them from falling. Instead, they leaked down the sides of her temple and disappeared into her dark, thick hair. Lois fought the urge to cry and just as another wave of tears seemed imminent, she heard the heavy steel panel activate, slide and then close; followed by the sound of the heavy vault doors opening.

"Thank God," she murmured softly, sniffed and quickly dried her eyes on the sheets. She heard no voices and now feared that maybe Emil was by himself; that Clark had joined the fight.

A figure appeared at the doorway. The room was so dimly lit in comparison to the glare from emergency operating room that all she could see was a silhouette. But there was no mistaking that silhouette; it was Clark and her heart leapt. "Oh Honey; I'm so glad you made it back," she said, new tears forming in her eyes. "I think the baby must be on his way," she said. Clark didn't move. He stood statue-like at the doorway. "Get in here," she said and he slowly began to move forward. "Where's Emil? You didn't leave…"

The sight of Clark silenced her in mid-sentence. She squinted. "Who are you?" Fear overtook her in an instant and suddenly she wondered if she had fallen asleep and was again trapped in a horrible nightmare. Before her stood some Clark; but not her Clark. The Clark that stood before her looked twice his age. He was still handsome and had a formidable look but he no longer had his youthful appearance. His ever-youthful visage had given way to a rugged, weathered face reminiscent of old actors from the golden age of westerns. His aged face was not the most troubling part; the most troubling were his eyes. Gone from them was the spark that had been a source of attraction to her for so many years. His eyes now looked tired, old and empty.

Clark moved closer. "Don't be afraid, Lois," he said softly. "It is me."

"Clark? What…wha…what's happened to you?" She searched his face for answers but all she could see were the deep lines that had not been there when he left.

"I've aged, Lois. I'm Clark but not the same Clark that left here." He reached out his hand and she hesitated. "It's okay," he said and she tentatively took hold of it. Suddenly, she spotted the Legion Ring on his right hand.

"That's the Legion Ring!" she exclaimed and a feeling of relief washed over her. "You…you're from the future?" she asked, wondering what a visitor from the future portended.

He smiled sadly while lovingly scanning her face and nodding. "Yes, Lois; I'm Clark but from the future." Clark sat in the chair that Bruce had sat in just twenty minutes before and pulled it closer to the bed.

They spent time staring at one another. Lois stared trying to reconcile the face of the man sitting so close was the same face that she bid farewell to less than an hour ago. Clark stared lovingly at her with his sad eyes and smile, taking her hand at times to reassure her. "I just came to keep you company, Lois," he finally said.

She took a deep breath and let it go. "All I could think of is 'Here we go…what now?'" She snorted and he smiled, yet there was still an incredible sadness in his eyes. "But why are you here now? Not that I'm unhappy that you're here because, to tell you the truth, I was getting kind of lonely," she chattered nervously, paused and then added, "and I was getting a little scared. Mom had to leave…oh, but I guess you already knew that, right?" she added and rolled her eyes. "But why show up now, Clark?"

He set his jaw. "Lois, there were so many times in my life that I had to leave you. There were times when the needs of the world took priority over your needs and it always bothered me," he began.

She squeezed his hand. "I know it has Clark. But I knew that's the way it was going to be in to this relationship and I wouldn't have it any other way." She reached out and touched the side of his face. "Honey, all the times that you are with me make up for the times that you can't be. I know you don't leave because you want to go; it's because you must go and I accept that as the price I pay for having you. I know you'll always return to me."

"Yes; I always will. But right now; this time is different, Lois." He leaned closer. "This time you need me more than you ever have and I realize that you sent Bruce away because you've always been selfless that way; but I couldn't live with the idea of you laying here by yourself waiting for me to return. I know you're scared. You told that many times how scared you were laying here alone. You were afraid of what was happening to you and what was going to happen with the baby. But let me tell you, it all works out, Lo."

"Our baby?" she asked, with tears forming in her eyes.

He nodded. He took her hand and pulled it to his lips and kissed it. "Yes. Our baby is fine and grows up to carry on someday when I'm too old to be the world's protector anymore." He paused and a far away look was in his eyes. "We work together sometimes and sometimes we work apart but I know our child is always doing the right thing because it has your heart."

She smiled as tears pooled and overflowed. "Well I hope he or she has your good disposition." She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

He smiled. "And your personality," Clark added.

"Oh God!" she said and laughed through her tears.

He reached out and stroked her head. "Lois, in a short while, you'll deliver the most amazing, most beautiful child the world will ever see. Our child will become a symbol in itself. It won't ever have to live in the shadow of fear that I did because as a society we are wiser than our parents, just as our child has become wiser than we are. Our child will be accepted and loved for it's special heritage; not feared or rejected because of it." He paused. "Our kid will inspire people in a way that I never could because it has your heart."

Tears streamed down her face. "Clark; don't say that. You have the biggest heart of anyone on the planet. There isn't a…"

He put a finger to her lips. "But our child has yours, Lois and it makes all the difference. Your heart is a human heart and while I was raised a human, I will never be a human." He looked at the floor. "I love the human race and in time, it will truly love me back but never the same way that you loved me from the beginning." He looked up and his eyes grew watery. "And never the way they loved you or our child."

"Me? But how can you say that…" she swallowed, sniffed and continued. "People of the world admire you, Clark. They practically revere you."

"Yes, Lois. But admiration and love are two different things, aren't they? They love our child because…" he paused, "because our child is something I never was: born in this world and human." He paused. "Well, at least part human," he added, with a slight smile. "And the world loves you, Lois. Because in the future, everyone will know that you are my wife; that you're the wife of Superman. And it won't be something to be afraid of because when it happens, they know how important you were in my life. They know that it was you and your love that helped me to become what I have become. They will know how much you sacrificed being my wife and they adore you for it. And they realize exactly what it cost you; what it cost our child." He stroked her hair again. "That's why of all the times I've left you alone to attend to the world's problems; I know this is not a time that the world should take precedence. I realize now just how important it is that I am with you at this very moment." He smiled sadly again.

"The things that are going on right now that occupy the team; those will be taken care of. They didn't need me to stop what's happening but you needed me," said softly. "And I wasn't here and you were left all alone. You laid here growing more and more frightened that what's happening with the baby right now was the same thing that happened in your dreams." He took her hand. "Being here to protect you from your fears; being here so that you aren't alone right now is what the world owes you, Lois."

She wiped her eyes again. "What happens when you and Emil come back?"

"They'll be back in a few hours, Lois and I'll leave just before they get here," he replied. "Analyzing your blood was more complicated for Jor-El than we expected. It took three hours for him to analyze it and about another hour for Emil to ask all the questions he needed to make sure he did the right things during the delivery and post-natal care. You were left alone for nearly four hours."

They sat in silence for a while and Clark stared at her with such powerful love in his eyes that she almost felt self-conscious. He held her hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. Lois had another contraction. This one was stronger than her previous ones. Finally, Lois spoke. "So is the world where you come from a better place than it is now, Clark?"

He nodded. "You understand that I can't say much but, yes. People have evolved, Lo. They respect one another now and you can be proud knowing that you're a big part of the reason why. The thought of using violence or exploiting others just doesn't exist anymore. You touched them, Lois," he said reverently. "You touched them with your words and your thoughts. And you touched them with your selflessness; by your actions. For so many years you stood up for what was right; you stood for justice and equality. Your uncompromising stand on human rights and mutual respect changed society." He smiled proudly. "You are as much a part of that future as I have been. I have always been the symbol, Lois but you were their example."

They continued talking in general terms about the future. Clark would not give any specifics but it was clear that the world he came from was vastly different than the world they lived in today. Lois felt the twinge of another oncoming contraction. "No violence; no exploitation. It must be pretty boring for you then," she said, grimacing slightly from the contraction.

He looked down and wrung his hands. "There are still accidents everyday; there are natural disasters around the world too. That hasn't changed. People still need to be saved." He paused. "But life is different for me now."

The contraction caused her to stop talking. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth before it ended almost as quickly as it began. When it passed, she relaxed. "So you spend most of the time saving people; then you should be happy, Honey." She reached out and put her hand on top of his. "Saving people is what you enjoy most about having these powers. Stopping crimes, thwarting plots and intergalactic threats; those are things you do to protect people but I can always tell when you've gone out and saved people."

"You can?"

"Sure I can, Clark." She smiled. "You come home after stopping a bridge from collapsing or saving people from a burning building and I know that's what you've done. I can tell that you weren't out stopping some bank robber or some alien threat because you are more at peace with the world."

They talked for an hour about the past as Lois knew it. Her chatter about her first days in Smallville after finding him in the field was uplifting to both of them. Recounting the times that he had intervened and saved her without her knowing was particularly interesting to Lois. They had never truly talked about their early beginnings in much detail and it proved immersive for her.

More contractions occurred during their conversation and he comforted her as they seemed to be growing stronger and beginning to occur more frequent.

Eventually, the conversation shifted to the world he had just left. He began to grow quieter. Lois tried to draw him out with questions about events he was involved with currently in his life. She revisited the theme of how evident it was when he had saved people. She hesitated and then continued more softly. "Even those times you couldn't save everyone; knowing that you saved everyone you could and that so many more would have been lost without you – that has always been the saving grace for you."

"I suppose you're right, Lo. But…" he hesitated. He took a deep breath and it came in a series of short gulps. He slowly shook his head. "I don't know if I can keep doing it anymore."

"Oh Sweetie; why would you say that? What's happened, Clark?"

He looked up at the ceiling, blinked repeatedly and swallowed. "I can't…" he started, stopped and then buried his head in his hands, sobbing.

"My God…Clark," she cried out, frightened by his anguish. Her entire life she had only seen him cry twice; when his Dad died and when Lana left him. But neither of those times was as pitiful as he seemed now.

She wriggled out of bed and put her arms around him, holding his head close to her stomach. He reached around her and gently pulled her to him, sobbing harder. "What is it, Baby? What is the matter?" She stroked the side of his head and lightly kissed the top of it. Tears filled her eyes. "Sshhh," she said soothingly. "It's going to be okay, Sweetheart. Sshhh. Whatever it is; it'll be okay, Clark." Lois held him until his sobs diminished and he began to regain his composure. "Please, Honey; tell me what's wrong."

He regained his ability to speak. "Lay…back down…Lo," he said and helped her get back into the bed. He looked at her with a lost look in his eyes. "No," he choked. "It will never be the same." He brushed the hair from her brow and stared into her eyes. Through the remnants of tears, he managed to say, "You. I lost…" he struggled. "Lois; you…last week…you died last week," he said. His chest began to heave again. "And I don't know…how I'm going to go on…without you," he said before his tears started anew. He laid his head in the crook of her neck and wept. "Oh Lo…I'm so lost," he said, voice quivering. "I feel…so empty…like…" he trailed off and sobbed once more. "So many years left…you won't be there…with me to…"

"Sshhh," she said, stroking his head, tears filling her eyes at his grief. "Sshhh."

Another two contractions hit while comforting him but Lois was so preoccupied that she knew her pain was nothing compared to the pain Clark felt. She did not allow the contractions to interfere with comforting him. She tensed as they hit, squeezed her eyes shut, softly breathed small breaths and let them pass. She held him for what seemed an eternity until he had gathered himself.

"I'm sorry, Lois," he managed and cleared his throat. "I didn't come here to tell you that; I wasn't going to tell you." He wiped the tears from his face. "Now is when you needed me the most and I wasn't here the first time. But I wanted to be with you again; I just needed to be with you once more and now seemed the best time." He paused. "I've always needed you, you know."

Lois smiled sadly, wiped her own tears and sniffed. "I know, Honey. You told me that; remember?"

He forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah…I guess I did," he replied. "I needed you then Lois and I still need you now." He sat back in the chair and looked at his watch. "I just needed to remind you of that; I wanted you to know and never forget how much I needed you in my life." He swallowed hard and managed a smile. "Don't ever forget that, okay?"

"I won't, Baby," she said, reaching out and taking his hand. "But you can go on, Clark; you must. The world knows you're hurting but it still needs you. And our child needs you, too…needs you to be strong; needs you to be an example of courage even in loss. You can do it, Clark. I know you can. People are counting on you; I'm counting on you," she added with a brave smile.

He looked at his watch once more. "I wish I had more time but I have to be going now, Lois." He stood, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his flannel shirt. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "All this," he said, motioning to the room, "it won't be as hard as you fear it will be, Lois. You always told me that."

"You mean delivering the baby?"

"Yes," he said and smiled. "It goes smoothly and quickly for you. You always said that the hardest part for you was being alone for so long." He paused. "We have the most amazing life together, Lois. There were challenges along the way but none of them ever threatened the way we felt about each other or the bond we shared. Every day with you was a blessing and I know you felt the same way. We disagreed on things occasionally like everyone else but we always ended up more secure in the way we loved one another." He looked down and then back up. "I wouldn't be what I am if I hadn't had you in my life, Lois. It's why not having you with me anymore is like not having air to breathe. I don't know how to live without you in my life; never being able to hold your hand or hear your laugh again."

She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Then come back when you need to, Honey. Come back whenever you want if it helps."

"I do want to," he replied. "And I will."

She squeezed his hand. "But you need to go on without me, Smallville. You must."

He nodded and glanced once more at his watch. He turned to leave but stopped at the door and turned back around. "Lois; something I never said often enough when you were alive is how much I love you…I do love you and I'm sorry I never said it to you enough. Just never doubt that I'll always love you."

Tears came to her eyes. "I love you too, Clark and I will until the day I die," she replied earnestly. "I promise."

"I already know that," he replied, sniffed and said, "Good bye, Lois."

He turned to leave and something struck her as odd. She called out. "Wait…Clark!"

He spun around, "Yes?"

She cocked her head. "How old are you now?"

He closed his eyes, smiled sadly and nodded; hoping that she wouldn't ask but knowing that she would. He opened them again and arched an eyebrow. "I'm 647 years old," he said and watched as the meaning of that registered on her face. She saw a sparkle in his eyes in that moment all the way from across the room. Clark cocked his head. "I'll come back and we can celebrate my 650th birthday. But let's keep it between us, Lois; don't tell 'the youngster'," he added, winked and then dashed to the double vault doors, opened them and left the building.

A contraction started as Lois lay back down, smiling incredulously at what he had just told her. As the pain built, she heard the sliding steel panel activate, followed by the double vault doors opening. "Lois?" Clark yelled out.

"In here, Smallville," she said, wincing at the contraction. "Hurry…this is a strong one."

Chapter Eleven

"Where's Mom?" Clark asked as he looked around in the otherwise empty room.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw. "Uhhh," she groaned. "Wait!" she squeaked. Her hands were balled into fists.

"Breathe Lois," Emil instructed. "Short little breaths. Try to relax."

The contraction passed and Lois released a deep breath and sucked in a fresh one. Clark moved the chair and leaned over, kissing her on the head. "I didn't know it would take that long…I'm sorry," he said. When she had relaxed he asked, "So what happened to Mom?"

Lois recounted the events since his departure, opting to leave the details of his future self visiting out of the story. "Bruce told me that he forbid J'onn to call you but the team is short-handed, Clark. You should call J'onn and go. Emil's here."

He stared at her for a moment and then shook his head. "I can't leave you like this Lois. Not now."

"That's what Bruce said, too but I don't want you to be absent half of our baby's first few years chasing down these guys or having to try to clean up after they make a mess." She paused. "It's just a few hours now to prevent having years of time away from our child, Clark."

Clark's jaw tightened and he took a deep breath. He reached for his communicator and Emil grabbed his arm. "Don't," he said. "You need to be here for her and you'll never forgive yourself if you leave right now. We don't know how this is going to play out and she needs your support, Kal-El."

"It's going to be a piece of cake, Emil," Lois said. "I know there's nothing to worry about as long as you're here."

"Me?" he replied, arching his eyebrows and cocking his head.

"You're my doctor, Emil. Yes, you," she replied matter-of-factly.

"I meant for moral support, Lois. Clark needs to be here," he replied.

"It's okay; let him go where he's needed most, Emil. We'll keep each other amused," she said with a wink.

"I don't want to leave you right now, Lois…"

"I know, Clark but you must. Just get back here as quickly as you can. You're not going to want to miss this, Farmer John!"

Emil frowned. "Who's Farmer John?" he asked and Lois snorted.

Clark called Watchtower. J'onn told him that the team was gradually getting things under control; the AC and Mera had disabled several of the targeted freighters off coast and had pulled the ships in port back out to sea awaiting the Navy and Coast Guard counter-terrorist forces to take charge of them. Only in New York had Intergang actually begun off-loading the material but Batman had intervened and disrupted that. He reported that the Intergang remnants were being rounded up by the Teen Titans and the remainder of the JL was tracking down those who slipped away during the most critical phase. "How is Lois, Kal-El? I felt terrible that Lois was left there for so long but it was simply unavoidable."

"How long was she left alone?" Clark asked.

"At least three hours…I'm sorry, Kal-El. If Bruce hadn't left when he did, there would be nuclear material making its way across the Northeastern US and Canada right now and we simply wouldn't be able to get it all."

He said nothing but instead nodded. "Lois is okay, J'onn. She's still feeling well enough to order me around," he said, smiling at her.

"It's reassuring that someone still can," J'onn responded. "Give her my best wishes and I'll want to visit whenever you two are ready for visitors."

"Okay, J'onn; thank you." He disconnected and looked at Lois. "I thought you said you were only left alone for a few minutes."

Lois shrugged her shoulders. "Three hours is a few minutes in the span of a lifetime, Smallville. I must have dozed off after Bruce left because it was like you were hardly even gone."

"How long have you been having contractions?" Emil asked.

"They started about a half hour after you left," she replied.

"And has the time interval between each contraction become shorter?"

She nodded. "Yes. And one is coming right now," she added.

He smiled. "Excellent. Everything's on track then." Emil looked at Clark and nodded. "It shouldn't be long now."

She moaned and gritted her teeth again. Clark felt helpless seeing her suffer and he looked at Emil. "Can't you do something for her pain?"

"Yes…if she wants me to," he replied. He waited until she relaxed, signaling the passing of the contraction. "Lois, do you want the epidural?"

She frowned. "It's safe, right?" He nodded. "Okay then. Wait…isn't my water supposed to break or something first?"

"Technically yes," Emil replied. "But it won't be exactly like a human delivery. When it does, there won't be much amniotic fluid remaining. It is being absorbed back into your body and dispersing. It's why your stomach is getting smaller. An inner membrane is broken with the baby's kicks and nearly all the fluid is absorbed before the outer membrane ruptures." He moved to take the fetal monitoring band off her. "This won't work for you," he said. He looked back at her face. "Over the next two weeks, you're body will flush the dispersed fluid."

"Great; another two weeks of peeing every ten minutes," Lois carped.

Emil smirked and pulled the band from beneath her. "Not that dramatically, Lois. You may find yourself using the restroom more frequently than normal but nothing like your prenatal urges."

"So my stomach shrinking is normal?" Lois asked. Emil nodded. "And the kicks too?"

"Yes; it's all part of the process," Clark said as Emil left to get the anesthesia. "Other than a higher than normal heartbeat, the baby appears to have developed the way Kryptonian babies developed."

"No wonder they used birthing matrices," she quipped. "Hey, I forgot to ask. How did Jor-El sound after he analyzed my blood. Was he contrite or was he snippy?"

Clark grinned. "Contrite…or as contrite as an artificial intelligence program can be," he added.

Emil returned with the anesthesia, administered it and they waited for it to take effect. "I think I'm having a contraction right now," she said.

Emil placed his hands on her lower abdomen. "You are," he said. "Any discomfort?"

She shook her head. "Not really. It feels different but doesn't hurt."

"Good," he said. "We'll give it a little while and then check to see how much you've dilated." Emil looked at Clark. "I'm going to go catch up on my notes," he said and left the room.

Clark sat in the chair his future self had sat in minutes before. After spending hours with the older Clark, seeing her Clark sitting in the same place seemed surreal to Lois. The mannerisms and the voice were the same; the face and especially, the eyes were not. His eyes sparked with excitement and anticipation. He took her hand. "So have you come up with some ideas for the name if we have a little girl?"

"I have but I don't think we're going to need it," she said. "My intuition tells me that our baby will be named Jonathan."

"Is that so? You're sure about that?"

"Yeah; pretty sure," she replied confidently. Lois cocked her head. "Why? Did you sneak a peek?"

"No," he said. "Did Emil tell you the baby's gender?"

"No," she replied. "But you sound pretty sure it's not a boy. I'm just using my highly-developed intuition from being a reporter for so many years," Lois said suppressing a smile.

"Well," he replied playfully, "I guess whatever girl's name you settled on isn't important, is it?"

"Not in the least," Lois answered, then added, "Unless we have another child someday," and winked. Another contraction began and it made her squirm a bit. "Ooo, I feel that one…it really doesn't hurt but I do feel pressure." She sat for a moment. "Uh oh," she grimaced, "I think my water finally broke. At least I hope that's what it is," she added and then started giggling.

"Push Lois," Emil said. Clark stooped by her side, holding her hand while comforting and urging her on. They had moved back into the emergency operating room because the table was higher than the bed and it afforded Emil a better position to deliver the baby. "Okay," he said. "You can relax and wait for the next contraction. You're almost there, Lois."

Even though the room was cool, Lois' hair was damp with perspiration. Clark fed her chips of ice between the contractions and she gladly took them; her throat was parched from the heavy breathing. "Are you okay, Sweetheart? How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Exhausted," she admitted as she crunched the chips of ice. "Did I say something about having another child an hour ago? That must have been the pain-killer making me loopy." She rolled her eyes and Clark smiled.

"Okay," Emil said, "get ready. One is coming, Lois. Ready…start pushing." He stayed quiet for a moment and then said, "Almost there; keep pushing!" Lois strained, pushing as hard as she could. "Okay, stop!" he exclaimed. Emil reached to a small table and took a suctioning bulb from it. "The baby's head is out; I have to suction it's mouth. Don't push, Lois." Without looking up he said, "Clark, do you want to come down here and help me?"

Clark stood up and moved quickly to his side. He looked at the baby and looked up at Lois. "It has black hair…a lot of it," he said smiling wildly. She smiled back at him and nodded.

"Okay, Clark; you grab those swaddling towels. When the baby comes out, I'll hand him to you."

"You said, 'him'," Lois said, laughing exhaustedly. "I told you, Clark."

"I always say him," Emil replied. "Okay now, Lois; one more big push and you'll be through. Ready? Push!"

Exhausted but still excited, Lois bore down and gave one final push and the baby slipped from her body and Emil handed the baby to Clark. He stared at the child with unparalleled amazement. He looked up at Lois, smiling broadly and there were tears in his eyes. "It's a girl, Lois. A beautiful little girl…just like her mother."

"It's a girl, Mom," Clark said.

"Oh my heavens," she cried, "that's so wonderful, Sweetheart. Congratulations, Son. Oh Lord, I can't wait to hold my little granddaughter." Her voice quivered. "How's Lois?"

"She's fine, Mom…tired but fine."

"What are the details? How much does she weigh and how long is she?"

"She is seven pounds, two ounces and is 21 and a-half inches long. She has black hair and a little bit of a dimple in her chin; she looks just like Lois."

"Oh, then she's got to be beautiful. And that's a good-size; not too big and not too small! I wish I could come right now because I know I won't be able to sleep tonight. You need to come get me tomorrow morning."

"I will, Mom; I'll be there first thing in the morning." He paused. "How are Kara and Conner?"

"Oh they're much better. It was nothing a little Blue Kryptonite couldn't cure. They're just wrung out and they're sleeping right now. They'll be themselves by morning."

"That's good to hear. Look, Mom, I've got…"

"Yes, I'm sure you do. You make your calls and you give Lois a big hug and kiss for me,too. And make sure you get here early!"

He went back into the room where Lois was holding their little girl, Lara Ella Kent. "You look beautiful," he said and paused. "Lois, I'm so sorry that you were here by yourself …"

"Oh stop, Clark! Just get your butt over here and look at what we made." Clark walked over, leaned down and kissed her. "I love you, Lois."

She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him in for a second kiss. "I love you too, Smallville."

Two weeks had passed since that night. Lois had fully recovered and showed very little sign of even being pregnant. Her post-partum soreness was gone when she awakened the next day. Life had begun to calm down for them and they began to settle into a routine.

In the last two weeks, their apartment had been a revolving door of visitors from both the Justice League and the Daily Planet. Perry made Lois laugh watching him holding little Lara. He was so careful with her that he acted like he was handling fragile crystal. If only he knew, Lois thought.

Lucy visited several times but Little Sam had a bad cold and she didn't want to get too close to Lara. The General called every couple of days to check on Lois and his newest grandchild. He promised to come there as soon as the mess with some nuclear material illegally entering the country was cleared up and he could spend some uninterrupted time with his granddaughter.

Martha had stayed with Lois for a few days and promised to return but she worried about Conner so Kara came in her place. Kara was a big help to Lois and slept on their couch a few nights even though going home would not have presented a problem for her. She doted on the baby as much as Clark did. Lois and Clark brought tears to her eyes when they asked her if she'd agree to be named Lara's godmother.

But when two weeks had passed, the visits by well-wishers and colleagues had concluded and they finally had quiet time to themselves. Lara was scheduled for a checkup with Emil and he did a check up on Lois too. "You both appear to be incredibly healthy," he opined. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? Happy," Lois replied matter-of-factly. "You know Emil, there've been times in my life when I thought I couldn't ever be happier but then something always came along that trumped it." She shifted Lara on her lap. "When I learned Clark was the Blur, all the things that caused me to question our relationship before suddenly made sense. It took away all the little doubts, the fears I had about him. At the time, learning his secret was the happiest moment of my life and I didn't think I could ever be happier. But then he asked me to marry him. I never really expected it at the time and I was swept off my feet, feeling that life just couldn't get any better than that." She looked down and pulled the light blanket away from Lara's face and tickled her cheek. Lara cracked her eyes open and she seemed to smile. "Now, I don't know what could make me happier, Emil. I've finally found the last piece I needed to balance my life; the last bit of fulfillment I could ever imagine is literally sitting in my lap."

Chapter Twelve

It was 7 PM and Lois had finished feeding Lara her bottle. "I think we should take Lara up to the Fortress," Lois suggested. "I'd like to hear what Jor-El has to say about her," she added with a wry smile.

"You just want to hear him say he was wrong," Clark countered.

She nodded. "Okay; there's a lot of truth in that statement, Smallville. I think he deserves to know that I'm not some two-timing tramp."

"Lois!" he admonished. "He offered blue Kryptonite as an explanation."

"And left any other explanation up to you," she added. "In other words, if you weren't under the influence of blue K, 'you're wife's been stepping out on you Kal-El'," she said in a baritone parody.

He smiled and shook his head. "Well, I suppose he didn't leave me with many other explanations, did he?" She arched one eyebrow and cocked her head. "I guess we should take Lara though," he agreed. "Jor-El did want me to bring a blood sample so he could determine the percentage of Kryptonian heritage she has. That will give us an idea of what to expect as she grows up. I asked Emil to draw a sample just after she was delivered."

"Good thinking," Lois responded.

"After analyzing your blood, he informed me that it would beneficial that he speak to you about the analysis results. He didn't indicate that there was any urgency but as long as we're up there, maybe that would be the time to speak to him."

She frowned. "He didn't say, 'Bring her to me so I can apologize for the last seven months of implying that she's a slut'?" Lois replied with an impish grin.

He unsuccessfully tried to suppress a smile. "Let me run and get that sample from the clinic and I'll be right back."

Clark disappeared and returned five minutes later. In that time, Lois changed Lara's diaper and put her in warmer clothing. She honestly didn't know whether the baby would be susceptible to being cold but there was no need to take a chance.

"Got it," Clark replied, walking into the nursery.

She handed Lara to Clark, grabbed a coat for herself and stuffed several diapers into the zippered pocket. The May night air was still cool as they went out on their terrace. "How is this going to work?"

"You hold, Lara," he said as he handed the baby to Lois. "And I'll hold you," he concluded. He picked her up and launched them straight up gaining speed and altitude into the darkening sky, high enough to escape notice from below. He then banked into a wide arc and headed north to the Fortress.

He flew quickly until they left the metropolitan area and then slowed to take a more leisurely speed. Even at the slower speed, they arrived at the Fortress in less than an hour.

He slowed and flew inside the entryway, landing well beyond the mouth of the Fortress where the temperature was warmer. He set Lois on her feet and they walked to the grand chamber. Clark activated the main console while Lois checked Lara. Jor-El's voice welcomed Clark and they began a dialog about Lara's blood sample.

Lois left Clark to his task and took Lara on a stroll, ending up in the bedroom. She laid their daughter on the bed and then lay next to her. Lara stared at Lois, her deep blue eyes and chubby face was framed by thin black hair. Lois smiled, pulled the baby to her and kissed her cheek. Lara smiled.

She could hear the soft, muffled sound of Jor-El speaking to Clark but it was far too distant to understand the words. Lara closed her eyes and slept on the large bed; Lois gently pushed herself up and walked along the labyrinth crystalline corridors until she reached the grand chamber.

"Where's Lara; sleeping?" Clark asked.

"Yes, she fell asleep on the bed."

"What if she rolls off?"

"Clark, she's less than three weeks old! Babies don't start turning over for a while yet." She smiled at his concern. "So what does Jor-El have to say about her?"

"It's not precise but he projects that Lara will have my powers, but a step below the level that I possess them. She will be impervious to most things like I am but not as susceptible to Kryptonite. It will make her sick but it won't kill her. Someday she'll be able to fly but not as fast as I can; she'll be strong but not as strong as I, she'll have my others powers but on a slightly lower level."

"LoisKent, we must speak," Jor-El said. "What I must tell you is for you alone."

She looked at Clark. She arched an eyebrow and smiled. "A private audience! I guess that means it's time for you to lay with the baby."

"Remember, Lois; it's an AI program, not a person. It does not intentionally make implica…"

"Yeah, yeah…I got it, Smallville," she said, gently turning him toward the corridor leading to the bedroom. "I won't be too harsh with your AI program. I understand the concept of maintaining peace in the family."

Clark was wary of leaving Lois alone with Jor-El. There was no mistaking that she had an axe to grind and rightly so, but he felt that he should remain there to mediate their discussion in order to temper her remarks. But Jor-El had indicated that the information he had was only for Lois and knew that as long as he was in Jor-El's presence, Jor-El would not speak. He reluctantly headed to the bedroom.

"LoisKent," Jor-El began. "It is imperative that I inform you of my findings after analyzing your blood specimen. These are matters of great importance not only to you but to your relationship with Kal-El and your daughter, Lara, as well."

"You are referring to our part-human, part-Kryptonian daughter?" Lois replied.

"Yes. Inasmuch as I had no basis upon which I could logically conceive propagation between humans and Kryptonians, I found no reason to believe that your child was anything but human. It is simply not possible."

"Yet she's sleeping in a chamber not far from here," Lois replied.

"That is correct. However, that does not change the fact that humans and Kryptonians cannot propagate. The fact is, LoisKent; you are no longer purely human. You have become a hybrid being. The mutation of your DNA and making you capable of propagation with a Kryptonian was not a natural phenomenon. Nor was it my intention at the time to leave you susceptible to such mutation."

"Your intention?" Lois asked.

"Yes. Many Earth years ago, you confronted me questioning the love I have for my son and my faith in him. There had been two others of your species who had similarly voiced such sentiments in this chamber, LoisKent. Your admonishment of my actions forced me to examine you. I found that unlike the others, your feelings for my son and your intentions were pure, unwavering and unambiguous. The inner strength I found in you was the strength of conviction that my son's destiny could best be filled with you to give him the companionship and support that he needed to fulfill the purpose for which I sent him.

"Upon realizing that, I irradiated you. My intent was to merely slow the destructive processes of the human body; doubling your lifespan so that my son could keep a companion longer than the normal human existence. But by doing so, I put into motion certain changes in your biological composition that I had not foreseen. It enabled the mutation of your DNA by that of Kal-El's. Once mutated, you became biologically compatible for propagation."

"So ten years ago, you suspended me in a beam of light and that's the reason I got pregnant?" Lois clarified.

"Correct. The unintended consequence of extending your lifespan was the weakening of the natural physical barriers that prevent DNA mutation."

"So will we be able to conceive more children?"

"Yes, and that is the reason I speak to you and you alone, LoisKent; you must make a decision."

"Go ahead," she said warily.

"The human race has not evolved sufficiently on an emotional level to make further propagation between you and Kal-El safe. Your race is controlled by emotions far more often than by reason. Humans are too emotionally unstable to create a new race of super-powered beings. Consider the consequences of such emotionally-charged beings reproducing on Earth with the powers that Kal-El possesses. Conceivably, you could create an entire race of Zods on Earth."

Lois frowned. "What about our daughter? Are you saying that she poses a risk to mankind?"

"Lara El's…"

"Lara Ella," Lois corrected.

"Yes, Lara Ella is approximately ninety-two percent Kryptonian. This percentage of Kryptonian influence will ensure that she will be guided more by Kryptonian reason than by human emotion."

"So why is having further children unsafe if their Kryptonian makeup will be that high? I don't understand, Jor-El."

"Your mutating DNA would have a greater influence on the physical composition of an additional child. In the process of developing as a fetus, Lara Ella's blood mixed with your own and yours with her. Kal-El's dominant DNA ensured that her composition remained a high percentage of Kryptonian. That percentage would not be possible in additional children since your DNA would exert more dominance than when Lara Ella was conceived. You have inherited certain Kryptonian attributes through the blood exchange with your child, thus giving you certain characteristics that are Kryptonian in nature.

"You will have no evident powers however your body will be able to regenerate much faster than human bodies repair themselves. You will age considerably slower than I intended and evidence of any premature aging that currently exists may reverse. You will be nearly insusceptible to disease or degenerative human conditions.

"By assuming these Kryptonian attributes, your DNA is less subordinate and the human component of it is more likely to have a greater influence in the biological composition of any additional children. Thus, additional children would have a progressively greater propensity for rash emotions controlling his or her actions rather than logic and reasoning.

"This complex situation requires you to make a difficult decision LoisKent and it is your decision alone. There are only two ways to prevent further propagation between you and Kal-El."

"Go on," Lois ordered.

"With your permission, I can once again irradiate you to neutralize your ability to reproduce. The process would be painless, take only a few moments but it would be irreversible."

"You're suggesting permanent sterilization," Lois said incredulously. She frowned. "I'm not sure I like the idea of you nuking my ovaries. What is the other choice?"

"The only other choice is abstaining from further physical contact that could conceivably lead to the production of offspring with Kal-El. Due to your mutation, human contraceptives simply would be ineffective on you, LoisKent."

"Abstinence?" she cried. "With all the knowledge and technology at your disposal, that's the only other alternative?"

"Yes,Lois."

"Beam me up, Jor-El; abstinence is not an option," she said without hesitation.

"I realize that you may have conflicting feelings about such a process LoisKent but I assure you, that choice is by far the most selfless and rational decision you could make. You have chosen wisely."

"I'm ready, Jor-El. Do what you have to do," she said and was instantly bathed in a silver beam of light for thirty seconds. She felt no pain during the process and no different after the light disappeared. She did feel oddly conflicted though, neither happy nor regretful of the decision she made.

"It is done," Jor-El said. "You are no longer capable of further reproduction, LoisKent. You have conceived a child…one that can someday replace Kal-El in keeping your world safe. If it is of any consolation to you, you should know that perhaps when that time comes, the human race will have evolved sufficiently to allow Lara Ella to safely propagate with a companion of her choice."

"I understand, Jor-El," she said solemnly. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Only that I know your decision was not an easy one but it was the correct one, LoisKent." Jor-El paused and then added, "And that your decision to name your child in honor of Kal-El's mother is an honor to me as well. For that, we thank you."

The light in the grand chamber increased, signaling the end of their conversation. Lois walked back to the bedroom and found Clark dozing next to Lara. She watched him in silence for a moment, capturing the moment in her mind forever. Lois smiled, awakened him and they all flew back home.

Chapter Thirteen

The day following Lara's third birthday, Clark and Lois took her to the park near their home. It was a beautiful spring day; the first truly beautiful day of the year thus far. The sun was shining; the sky was a spectacular azure blue with the occasional white, billowy cloud sailing by. Bright green leaves had begun to appear on the limbs of barren trees, tickled by a soft warm breeze. Lara squealed with delight that melted into laughter each time Clark pushed her on the swing and Lois smiled at the sight of them. He was a doting father and the protective streak that he once had with Lois was resurrected with Lara. That streak of protectiveness she did not mind at all.

Lara had exhibited few powers but clearly had extraordinary strength and a resistance to injury. She had once crushed a glass bottle filled with infant formula that sent shards of bottle and the thick formula flying. However, not a scratch could be found on her. Lara had also effortlessly flipped their coffee table to retrieve a toy that was beneath it. Beyond those two occurrences, however, she seemed as normal as any other two-year old.

Her hair was thick and wavy. She retained the deep blue eyes of her father and the full lips and pleasantly-dimpled chin of her mother. Aside from her eye color, she was the spitting image of Lois. Perry often pressured Lois and Clark to let him use Lara's pictures for advertising but they resisted his pressuring, finally citing their concerns for her safety given the enemies that Lois had made over the years with her stories. Once Perry made that connection, he agreed and quit suggesting it.

She sat watching her special husband and special daughter thinking just how average they looked on the playground. She was so engrossed in thought that she did not notice the young woman who approached until she took a seat at the opposite end of the park bench.

"Beautiful day," she said. "Is that your daughter?"

Lois smiled at the beautiful brunette in sunglasses who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. "Yes."

"She's cute," the young woman said.

"Thank you," Lois replied, staring at the woman. "Do I know you? You look so familiar."

"No; but I grew up here," the woman replied. "I used to play in this park when I was younger but that was ages ago. I don't live in Metropolis anymore."

"Really? What brings you back?" Lois asked, inexplicably intrigued by the woman.

"I came back to attend my father's funeral," she replied solemnly. "It was yesterday," she said and looked out at Clark and Lara.

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry," Lois replied, embarrassed by her forwardness. "My condolences over your loss," she added.

"Thank you," the woman said.

"Does your mother still live in Metropolis?"

"No," she replied. "She died years before my father passed." The woman paused. "But I have some wonderful memories of her though." She looked at Lois. "She was so much fun and so full of life."

Lois shifted towards the intriguing woman and was about to introduce herself when Clark carried Lara over to where they were sitting. The young woman stared at Clark and at Lara, smiling as he approached. "Hello," Clark said and nodded at the woman, handing Lara to Lois. "I think she's had enough," he said. Lara yawned.

"It looks that way," Lois replied. "It's about time for her nap anyway," she added.

"All the fresh air has tired her out," the woman said. "She sure is a pretty little girl."

"Thank you," Clark replied.

Lois stood up and handed Lara back to Clark as she gathered articles and put them in the diaper bag she carried. "Go ahead; I'll catch up," she said.

Clark smiled at the young woman. "Have a nice day," he said, hoisted Lara onto his shoulders and began walking toward the entrance of the small park.

Lois stared curiously at the young woman. "I'm Lois," she said, thrusting her hand out.

The young woman took it. "I know," she said, gently shaking Lois' hand. "You're a quite famous reporter," she quickly added. She reached up and removed her sunglasses, revealing a striking pair of deep blue eyes. As she did, Lois spotted the unique ring on the finger of her left hand. She had seen the ring before; a rather plain gold ring with a circular emblem containing the letter 'L' within the circle. "I go by Elle," she replied and cocked her head slightly with an arched eyebrow.

The two stared at one another for a moment, each smiling. Finally Lois replied, "Elle; I like that. It's a beautiful name."

"It's in tribute to my mother," Elle replied. She got a far away look in her eyes. "I really miss having her to talk to," she added. "My Dad was really smart and we talked all the time. But Mom's are different." She chewed on her lower lip. "She always seemed to have the right answers but unfortunately she passed away before I knew what all the questions were."

Lois glanced over and spotted Clark waiting for her near the entrance of the park. She looked back at Elle, bit on her lower lip wanting to stay but knowing that she had to leave. She took a deep breath. "Look, I have to be going right now but hopefully we can meet again soon when we have more time to talk. Maybe I can help you find the answers you need, Elle."

Elle nodded. "I'd like that very much…Lois. You can count on seeing me again," she added.

"I look forward to it then," Lois said and turned to leave. She took a few steps toward the exit where Clark was waiting then looked back to find that Elle had literally vanished. Lois nodded, smiled and began jogging until she reached Clark. "Let's go home, Smallville," she said. "I'm hungry."

"Now there's a surprise," Clark quipped and she hip-checked him playfully and then wrapped an arm around his waist. They walked out of the park, down the sidewalk together and disappeared into the thin crowd of other people who had flocked outdoors to enjoy that first beautiful day of the year.

End of Story

Watch for the next sequel in this story line: Divergence! Coming sometime in November 2011.