Clark's heart sank as he saw the results of the test. Lois could tell by the way his shoulders dropped that they were not expecting. She let go of Clark's hand and headed out of the bathroom.
"I am so sorry," Clark said pulling Lois back to him. Lois buried her head in his shoulder as she began to sob.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this, Clark," Lois said.
"If you want to stop trying, we can," Clark said as he brushed the hair from Lois's face. "There are other options." he said rocking her back and forth.
"I am not saying I give up, Clark, but this hurts so much," Lois felt so secure wrapped tightly in Clark's big arms. He had to be the most compassionate man on Earth. She wanted more than anything, for him to have a child to give some of that compassion to.
"I know. We can take a break. Maybe we just need a little more practice," he teased with a cheesy grin.
"Stop it," Lois said laughing as she smacked Clark in the chest. She loved that no matter how crappy she felt, Clark could make her laugh.
"I love you, Lois," Clark said. "And one day you are going to make an amazing mother. Whether you carry our child or we adopt, there will be no child more loved in the entire world."
"I love you too, Clark," Lois said smiling at her husband. "We should get to work. Those deadlines are not going to wait for us."
Clark followed Lois out of their apartment. He was glad they had work to keep them busy after they read the results every month.
"What are we doing for lunch?" Clark asked Lois as they sat down at their desks. They had just returned from a press conference at the Mayor's office and Clark was ready for some quiet time with his wife.
"I am having lunch with your mom. I don't know what you are doing," Lois said as she pulled her phone out to text Martha that she was on her way.
"I will come with you. I haven't had lunch with Mom in weeks," Clark said standing back up.
"Uh-huh. No this is a girls lunch date. No husbands or sons allowed. That eliminates you twice, Smallville."
"Lois, I wanted to spend some time with you. After this morning I-"
"I am fine, Clark. I was upset, but I realize it will happen if it is meant to happen. Now I need some girl talk. Why don't you call the guys and see what they are doing," Lois said as she left her husband standing alone in their office.
Lois hugged Martha as and they took their seats in the small café. The waitress greeted them and right away and brought them their drinks.
"I see I am still not a grandma," Martha said once they were alone.
Lois shook her head sadly. "How did you know?"
"Lois, I will know when it happens. I recognize the sadness in your eyes. I had that sadness in my eyes for too long not to recognize it in my daughter.
Lois smiled. It did not matter how many times Martha called her, her daughter she would never get tired of hearing it. There was something so special for her about having that bond with a woman she thought she had lost the chance for when her own mother died.
"How did you do it? Stand the disappointment time after time, I mean," Lois asked.
"It is hard. I don't think I ever got used to it. It was all worth the wait though, when Clark came into our lives, with those big blue eyes and that messy head of hair."
"Clark and I have sort of started talking about adopting. Well…hinted at it anyway and I actually want to adopt one day, even if we are able to have our own children. It just seems right with Clark being adopted and all, but…"
"You want a child of your own," Martha finished.
"I want a little Clark," Lois smiled. "I want a little boy or girl with those big blue eyes and that enormous heart. Clark has such amazing qualities his heart, his compassion, that huge charming grin are all reasons I fell in love with him."
"Lois, where did Clark get his big heart and that compassion?" Martha said. "Those are the same qualities that made me fall in love with in his father."
Lois smiled. Martha was right. Clark may not look much like Jonathan Kent, but he had a lot of his qualities.
"You always teach me something, Mom," Lois said
"That is my job," Martha smiled.
"There you are," Clark peeking out of the kitchen as Lois walked in the door. "You must have found a hot lead after I saw you last."
"I did," Lois said as she kicked her shoes off and joined her husband in the kitchen. "It turns out that source of mine that said the Mayor was in the know about the child slave ring that was busted a few weeks back, may not be as crazy as we thought," she said as he walked up behind Clark resting her head against his back as she hugged him from behind.
"Really?" Clark said.
"Yeah I got an anonymous tape of him talking about it today. It was definitely the mayor and he is says that they need to eliminate anyone that could tie him to it," Lois said. "Mmm…Turkey Tetrazzini"
"Lois you do realize that if you try to run this story you would be someone that needs to be eliminated," Clark said his voice full of concern.
"Don't start on my, Smallville. When have you ever known a threat to keep me from following a lead?" Lois asked as she stole a green bean from the cutting board Clark was preparing them on. She bit into it with a crunch.
"Lois, it is different now. We are trying to start a family," Clark said turning to face Lois.
"Trying be the key word," Lois said.
"Yes well you should start practicing restraint now," Clark said. "It is going to take a lot of practice for you to learn to say no to dangerous stories."
"You think that just because we have kids I am not going to go after the tough stories?" Lois laughed.
"Lois I am serious."
"Okay does that mean that once we have a little Clark or a mini me you are going to stop putting yourself in danger?" Lois asked raising an eyebrow.
Clark turned back to his green beans. "That is different."
"Why because you are the man?" Lois said in a deep mocking voice.
"Lois you know that is not why," Clark grumbled.
"No it is because you think you are invincible, but I have memories of pulling daggers from your heart, and applying pressure to your gunshot wounds that tells me you are not so impenetrable. This goes both ways."
"Lois-"
"Don't Lois me Mr. I knew when I decided I wanted to start a family with you that you could go off on one of your Justice League missions and never come home and you knew that I am a crime reporter that will do what needs to be done to get the truth on the front page of the paper," Lois said as she walked away from Clark to sit down at the table.
Clark finished cooking dinner in silence while Lois worked on her laptop. Neither one of spoke during their meal. Their after work fight was as much a part of their monthly routine as the pregnancy test. Both of them went to work feeling disappointed and came home agitated to the point where the smallest thing would set them off.
After dinner Lois started the dishes while Clark went to the fortress to change into his Superman gear. He appeared in the kitchen a moment later.
"I am going to go now. I will see you later," Clark said. He wanted to say more, but knew Lois was still angry with him.
"Okay," Lois said without turning around. She wanted him to stay and fight it out with her, but she knew he had his duties. As soon as she heard Clark gush out of the room she regretted letting him leave without a proper goodbye.
"Come back, Clark," she whispered and a second later her husband's arms were around her waist.
"You called," Clark said looking into her eyes.
"I am sorry I got so angry. I love you," Lois said kissing Clark's lips sweetly.
"I love you too," Clark said as he pulled back from her lips.
"Go on get out of here. I will leave a light on and keep the bed warm," Lois promised.
Clark kissed her forehead and disappeared. The only sign of him were the drapes that blew in the night breeze on the window he had flown out.
"Go save the world," Lois whispered as she closed the window and went back to work on her article.
Lois woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She looked around and realized she was still at the kitchen table with her laptop in front of her. Her face hurt from laying on the keyboard.
"Lo, it's me," Chloe's voice said from the other side of the door.
Lois stood up and stumbled to the door unlocking it and letting her cousin in.
"You are alive. I have tried calling you like five times," Chloe said as she came into the apartment.
"Sorry I must have dozed off. What's up?"
"Well the League intercepted a delivery of two children in the that child slave ring tonight," Chloe explained.
"What? They were busted two weeks ago," Lois said shocked as she sat down on her couch patting the seat next to her.
"Yes…well someone has some major connections because not only are the major players already out with no formal charges they are already back in business. Anyway the point is we have two little girls who are in need of a place to stay for the night. Superman has already contacted social services and they know the girls will be staying with his friends Lois and Clark for the night. A social worker will be here first thing in the morning to track down their parents or find a foster family for them.
"Um…okay," Lois said a little overwhelmed at the thought of having two traumatized little girls in her care with no warning.
Chloe hit the ear piece in her ear and spoke into it
"Bring them on up Jimmy," she said smiling.
Lois let out a gasp as a moment later to young girls stood in her doorway with Jimmy. The smallest one looked to be between five and six. She had dark brown hair and equally dark eyes. Her face was dirty and tear stained. She clutched the blanket she was holding tightly around her small form as she trembled.
The older girl, who appeared to Lois to be around eleven or twelve was also dirty, but she did not seem as frightened. She carried the blanket Chloe had given her folded up in her arms. Her eyes were big and bright blue and were staking out her home for the night. She had dark hair like her little sisters that was pulled back in a messy tangled ponytail.
"Hi girls," Lois said softly as she knelt in front of them. "My name is Lois what is yours?"
"I am Faith and this is my little sister Hope. If you show us to the bathroom I will help my sister get cleaned up and we will go to sleep and get out of your hair," the older girl said coldly.
"Faith you don't have to worry about being a bother. My husband and I love children," Lois said reaching out to touch the young girl, but she pulled away quickly.
"You like good kids from nice families. Not rejects like me and my sister. Nobody wants us," Faith said.
"I will show you to the bathroom, Chloe said taking the two girls to Lois and Clark's bathroom and returning a moment later.
"She seems so hurt," Lois said broken hearted by the young girls demeanor.
"It seems like she has had a rough life. She is very overprotective of her sister as well. Jimmy tried to pick her up and she bit his arm."
"You might have mentioned this before I agreed to take them in," Lois said a little worried about how she would handle them until Clark got home.
Once Chloe and Jimmy were gone Lois realized the girls would have nothing to put on after their baths besides their dirty clothes. She went to the closet and pulled out a couple of old t-shirts and took them to the bathroom door.
"Are you girls all right in there?" she asked knocking.
"Fine Lady. We are not going to steal your stuff and sneak out the window," Faith said her voice slightly muffled by the door.
Lois opened the door a crack and handed the two shirts in.
"I did not think you were. I thought you might want something clean to wear to bed," Lois offered.
Faith snatched the clothes from her without speaking.
"Please come home soon," Lois whispered as she walked into her kitchen turning on an pot of water. She picked her laptop up and put it into its carrier and sat three cups out on the table.
A moment later Lois looked up to find Hope watching her with her big dark eyes.
"Hi Hope," Lois said sitting down at the table. "I am making some hot chocolate. Do you like hot chocolate."
Hope nodded as a toothy grin spread across her face.
"Come here," Lois said patting the chair next to her.
That was all the encouragement Hope needed. She ran across the hardwood floor of the apartment the pitter patter of her feet making Lois smile.
The girl's smile was still wide with anticipation as she looked up at Lois.
"How old are you, Hope?" Lois asked.
"Five," the girl said with pride as if her age was a milestone in her life.
"Wow! You are such a big girl," Lois beamed patting the girl on the end of the nose with the pad of her index finger.
"Hope, I told you to stay in the bathroom," Faith scolded her sister as she came into the kitchen. "I am sorry she bothered you ma'am," Faith said grabbing her sister by the hand.
"Faith, your sister is not bothering me. She is going to have some hot chocolate with me. Would you like some?"
Faith looked at Lois and for a moment Lois could see the joy in her eyes. It was just a fleeting moment though, and it was gone again.
"No ma'am. I don't want to be a bother," Faith said.
"Actually, it would really help me if you would drink it. You see I have been trying to get rid of this chocolate powder for months now. There is a new white chocolate kind I want to buy, but my husband is one of those funny guys that thinks you should finish one box before you buy another. So will you help me drink it?" Lois asked smiling at the girl.
The girl nodded, but did not return Lois's smile. She only stared down at her feet.
"Have a seat, Faith," Lois said pointing to the chair next to her sister.
Lois made each child and herself a cup of hot chocolate and sat down next to them. They all quietly enjoying their hot chocolate. Once they were finished Lois pulled out the sofa bed and put fresh sheets and a comforter on it.
"Do you sleep with the light on or off?" Lois asked the girls.
They looked at each other and then at Lois confused.
"Is everything okay?" Lois asked. She hoped she had not done something wrong.
"Nobody ever gave us the choice," Faith said quietly.
"Well…since it is the first night in a new place I will leave the kitchen light on. That way it is not so much that it bothers you, but you can see where you are going if you need to get up."
Faith nodded at Lois and almost cracked a smile.
Lois pulled the blanket up over the girls and went to the kitchen to clean up the hot chocolate mess. Once she had the mess cleaned up Lois walked back through the living room and into her bedroom, turning the balcony light on for Clark and unlocking its door so he could get in.
Lois sat down in the rocking chair next to the doors and took her book from the table beside her she turned on the lamp and started to read. A moment later, Lois heard the pitter patter of little feet and once again Hope was standing across the room staring at her. This time though, she had a sleepy grin on her face.
"Come here," Lois said setting down the book.
The little girl ran across the room and climbed up into Lois's lap. She curled up against Lois laying her head on Lois's chest and curling her legs up under her. Lois pulled the throw blanket from the back of the chair and draped it over them. She held the little girl as she began to rock gently.
Clark smiled as he flew toward the lighted balcony high over Metropolis. Even with all of the excitement of the evening, Lois had not forgotten to leave a light on for him. Clark hovered over the balcony making a gentle landing. He looked in the window to find his wife fast asleep with a young girl curled up in her lap.
Clark's heart swelled at the sight. He could not remember a time when he had not wanted to come home to that very sight. His entire life he had wanted a family and it did not matter that the girl in his wife's arms was not theirs. It was then that he decided it was time to give serious consideration to adoption.