TITLE: Something Perfect
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing (dammit)
SPOILERS: Promise, S6
SUMMARY: Lex and Lana see their baby on a sonogram for the first time. Lana POV.
PAIRINGS: Lex & Lana of course!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The sonogram scene in Promise was weird because it was like just "stuck there" for no real reason. We have no idea what was supposed to come before or after it, so I decided to fill that in. You should also know that I personally reject the bad stuff that happened in Promise, so . . . yeah.
=======

Lana squirmed in her seat and checked the clock. Five more minutes to go. She'd been politely ordered by the nurse to drink an entire liter of water before getting her sonogram done, because it would make the baby more visible. She did, and now she really had to pee.

"Miss Lang?" the nurse called. Lana and Lex both stood up and walked awkwardly to the door. Lex held it open for her, and she smiled at him.

Thanks," she mumbled. Truthfully, she wasn't sure how she felt about this. Lex had accused her of pretending that the baby didn't exist, and in part she had. Not so much because she didn't want it, but because she didn't know the first thing about what to do with it. How do you become a mother if you never had one? How do you know what to do if you were never taught?

Lex smiled back at her, and Lana's belly fluttered a little. That was a problem as well. She wanted to be a good wife, to be completely devoted and deserving of devotion, but she just wasn't sure. She'd always had doubts where Lex was concerned and. . .

"Let's get your weight first," the nurse said, pointing to a large scale. Lana grimaced at her weight loss. The upcoming wedding wasn't helping her appetite one bit. Not that she had one to begin with. Because of the baby everything tasted funny, the smell of coffee made her sick and forcing down more than toast in the morning was a chore. Thank goodness for multi-vitamins.

The trio walked silently down the hall and into room number three where Lana was given a hospital gown and asked to change. She undressed in the bathroom, and once sure that her hiney wasn't hanging out for everyone to see, she re-emerged. "It'll be nice when I don't have to wear one of these again," she joked stiffly.

"Go ahead and jump on up here," the nurse said as she patted the examination table. Lana did carefully, groaning at the painful ache coming from her bladder. "The doctor will be right in," she said sweetly, and left, closing the door behind her.

Lex walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nervous?" he asked.

Yes.

"No, not really," she said, smiling up at him. She tried to be warm, but since she didn't feel that way she just looked down at her feet.

"Miss Lang," Dr. Langston said, walking into the room. "Mr. Luthor," he nodded to Lex. "And how are you feeling today?"

"Tired. Okay," Lana answered. He smiled, and turned on the machine to her left.

"Fatigue is a perfectly normal symptom at this stage. Should go away soon." He clicked a few keys on the keyboard, and then picked up a small squirt bottle. "Lie down," he said as he placed a sheet over her bottom half and pulled up her gown. "The baby hasn't risen out of the pelvis yet, so we have to go low to find it."

She shouldn't have felt awkward considering Dr. Langston had pretty much seen everything before, but she did anyway. She always did. "This won't take too long will it?" she asked, fearing bladder control issues. She just wanted it over and done with.

"It'll be over before you know it," he said as he squirted some of the warm goo onto her belly. At least it wasn't cold. He had the monitor of the machine turned away from her at first, so Lana just lay there, looking up at the ceiling as he moved the wand around. Every so often he would press down, making her bite her lip from the ache.

Lex walked over to stand behind the doctor, and Lana watched a myriad of expressions cross his face. Excitement. Wonder. Pride. A wave of shame came over her suddenly for not being as enthusiastic as he so obviously was about the baby. He looked over at her and another emotion came pouring out. Love.

Curiosity gripped her, and Lana leaned up in an effort to see what they were looking at. "Just a moment," Dr. Langston said, noticing her impatience. Finally, he turned the monitor around and Lana's heart skipped a beat. Her brain quit functioning and she held her breath, her eyes wide and unblinking.

The blue, 3-D image of a baby filled the screen. Her baby. She exhaled slowly, and didn't even notice Lex walk back over to stand beside her again. She saw nothing but the screen, and could hear nothing but her own heartbeat. The doctor moved the wand a little, and her eyes caught view of the baby's heart. The tiny organ was fluttering very fast, and Lana watched it, her eyes transfixed.

"It's heart is beating," she said without thinking. Lex placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly, and this time she didn't shrink away. Something inside of her spread like a warm glow, traveling through her body and up to his hand, like a bridge. It started as a thin string and in every second that passed, she felt it grow, thicken and become stronger.

Her mind clicked on again, and she finally made the powerful realization that this wasn't just her baby, it was their baby. During some random act of lovemaking they created this being. She would never remember when it happened, not even if she tried, but she would remember this forever. The moment she fell in love with the being inside of her.

Pure, raw emotion filled Lana as she watched the tiny bundle bend and twist its body. For the first time, she could see herself holding it in her arms, smelling its hair and kissing its fat little cheeks. She felt like a mother.

Lex moved to her side, and took her hand gently. She looked up at him with watery eyes and all she could think was "you did this. You gave me this baby." She felt an appreciation for him suddenly that she'd never felt before. No matter what their problems were, or how she felt about his politics or practices or any other issue, she would always know that he helped her to create something beautiful. Something perfect.

"I love you," he said softly, meeting her eyes. She smiled then, a genuine smile that came from deep inside her. "I love you too," she whispered. And she was telling the truth.

THE END

~ Britt, 16 March 2007