Looking For Home
Chapter One
February 13, 2026
Matthew bounded down the stairs two at a time. He had just had the most incredible dream and he was just dying to tell his parents all about it. However, the sight he saw in the kitchen stopped him dead in his tracks. His mom was sitting at the table crying and his father had his arms wrapped around her protectively. His mother was looking at something he couldn't see.
Matt timidly entered the kitchen unsure of what else to do and sat in the chair next to his mom. She was looking at some fuzzy black and white pictures of a baby. He had seen some before and knew they had a funny name. Something starting with a S.
"Is that me?" Matt asked.
Lois and Clark looked over to their son. They hadn't even realized he had come in.
"No son. That isn't you." Clark replied solemnly while Lois just let out a small whimper.
"Is it Charlie?" Matt asked naming his older cousin and the only other logical choice in his mind.
Clark stepped to the side of Lois's chair and knelt down so he was at eye level with his son.
"Do you remember when you were four?" Clark asked.
Matthew thought for a second and then shook his head no. He didn't really remember a lot from when he was four even though it was only three years earlier.
"Do you remember when Mommy had a big belly?" Clark asked.
Lois shut the photo album closed and rushed out of the kitchen.
"Kinda," Matt said, "Why is Mommy so sad?"
"Mommy and me had another baby for a little while when you were four." Clark answered.
"I don't remember." Matt admitted.
"That's because she didn't come home. She was just in Mommy's tummy for awhile, but then she was gone."
"Did she die like Grandpa Jon?" Matt asked quietly. His Daddy didn't like to talk about his Grandpa too much.
"Yeah she did." Clark said, "And it makes Mommy sad to think about the other baby, so she tries not to."
"Then why was she looking at the pictures?" Matt asked. It seemed perfectly logical to him to not look at something that makes you sad. Just like he doesn't like to look at pictures of his friend Ben who moved away.
"It's her birthday today that's why." Clark said, "We always think about her on her birthday."
"That looks like Mommy's name." Matt said pointing to the front of the album.
"It is. This says Eloise, but if you take out the e's it says Lois, which is Mommy's name."
"So the baby was Eloise?"
"Yes. We named her Eloise."
"And Eloise is my sister?"
"She was Matt. She's not anymore. She's gone now."
"Dead."
Clark nodded. His composure was waning. He was surprised it had lasted this long. He stood up and went over to the cabinets. He grabbed out some cereal and poured it in a bowl along with some milk.
"Here," Clark said handing the bowl to his son, "Why don't you go watch some cartoons."
"But I'm not supposed to eat in the living room."
"Just this once," Clark replied, "It's okay just this once."
Matt walked off to the living room confused at his luck, but not questioning it.
Clark waited until he heard the TV turn on then let out a stiff sob and fell to the floor crying.
()()()()()()()
Three Years Ago
"Two months isn't that much," Clark thought trying to rationalize it to himself. He was trying not to worry, but it wasn't working. He wanted to be with his wife. He wanted to be with his baby, but they wouldn't let him in the operating room. This wasn't a standard caesarian and they needed everyone in the room calm. Calm and ready.
"How is she?" Chloe asked rushing over to Clark being swallowed by his big embrace.
"I don't know. I've been trying to listen in, but I can't focus." Clark replied soberly.
"They're going to be okay Clark," Chloe replied, "Lois is strong and your kid is too."
Clark started shaking and Chloe tightened her grip on him. She had never seen Clark loose it like this before. He was utterly shaken to the core and nothing, not even her presence, seemed to ground him.
()()()()()()()
There is no more foreign feeling than someone cutting your baby out from inside you. Or at least Lois could think of none. Granted the area was desensitized so she could feel no pain, but Lois's overactive imagination and rich vocabulary were providing her with a crystal clear picture of what the doctor's were doing. Lois shut her eyes tight. She wished that Clark was here with her. This seemed to be taking forever.
"Alright, let's close her up." A Doctor said and Lois's ears perked to attention. She could hear doctors talking, but no crying.
"Is she okay?" Lois asked desperate for an answer, "Is my baby okay?"
"Calm down Mrs. Kent." One doctor told her. He was watching her heart rate spiking as she worried.
But Lois couldn't calm down. Her baby wasn't crying.
The next thing Lois knew she heard a lot of beeping and saw red.
()()()()()()()
The last surgery Sarah Colt should have been assisting was the Kent caesarian, but right before she came in so did three shot victims and Sarah was moved where her expertise could be of use. She had been a nurse at Metropolis General Hospital for five years and she was great at aiding in emergency deliveries.
However, the staff didn't know that she had gotten back her test results today. Sarah and her husband Eric had been trying for a baby for 4 years to no avail and today she learned why. It was a combination of factors really, but to put it simply Sarah was incapable of bearing children. In a way she was looking forward to dealing with someone else's problems for awhile, but she hadn't expected this.
Mrs. Kent's heart rate was increasing worrying Doctor Hanson, but just as Sarah was about to react Doctor Adams motioned her to come over to the baby. Adams just shook her head and Sarah looked down at the small baby. At 28 weeks that little girl had a good chance of survival, but sometimes babies just died and there was nothing you could do.
Sarah wrapped the baby up and carried it out of the room. She hated this part of the job, but someone had to take the baby to be…well…disposed of. And as she turned into the room and placed the baby down she heard a muffled noise. Sarah pulled the blanket off of the baby's face and it started to cry a healthy baby cry. It made no sense. It was a miracle. Sarah gathered the baby back up in her arms and she cooed contentedly. And as Sarah was about to reach for the door handle she stopped herself. No one knew this baby was alive. As far as they knew she was gone. The Kent's would be heartbroken, but they had a chance. They could try again. They could have another kid. Sarah couldn't have any.
So, Sarah grabbed a doctor's coat from a rack nearby and tucked the baby under her arm. When they asked her tomorrow she would say that it was just too much and she had to run out. And in a week or so she would request a transfer to another city. She could fake some paperwork and go to a place where no one knew the baby wasn't hers.
A gut feeling caught Sarah right in the chest as she walked out the door of the hospital. However, she pushed it down and kept going.
