Collateral Damage
Folc4evernaday | Rated: M | Chapter 6

"Well, that was one of the more interesting birthdays I've had." Clark laughed as they made their way through the corridors of their townhome.

"You sure you didn't want a big birthday party… everyone singing happy birthday… blowing out candles," she teased as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Clark laughed as he struggled to unlock the door. She was nuzzling his neck. "No, I like this much better. You all to myself… no distractions." He kissed her lightly.

"Wow, I'm your birthday present… That's a lot of pressure for a girl, Mr. Kent," she teased.

"I'm sure you're up to the task, Mrs. Kent," he replied, capturing her mouth in a fiery kiss.

"Oh, Clark, right there," she urged as he began caressing her body. He struggled to remain focused on unlocking the door. "Clark, we need to unlock the door, honey."

"Why?" he complained.

"Because you can't unwrap your gift in the middle of the hallway," she murmured as she molded her body against his.

A moment later they were inside. He rolled them gently across the floor and kicked the door closed. "Lois," he moaned in pleasure as he felt her tug at his dress shirt to remove it from its neatly tucked home. "God, you're so beautiful," he murmured against her lips.

"Oh, yes, Clark," she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"SURPRISE!" Lois and Clark were broken from their reverie by the presence of the entire Daily Planet staff. A banner displaying, 'Happy Birthday, Clark,' hung from the ceiling, and Perry stood in the middle of the living room along with Jimmy, Martha, and Jonathan. They all wore an amused look on their faces.

Clark lifted them up from their position on the floor. He stood, helped Lois to her feet, and hurriedly moved to cover his wife from being seen in a state of undress. She worked quickly to button her blouse, while he adjusted his dress shirt.

"I figured the only way I would be able to throw a surprise party for you would be to surprise both of you," Perry said with a glint in his eyes. "So, did it work? Are you surprised?" he teased, winking at the couple.

Lois and Clark wore embarrassed expressions as they struggled to find the nerve to speak. "Uh, yeah."

"Stunned!" Lois added.

"Good. Let's have some cake." Perry grinned at the couple. "Don't worry. We'll only be here for an hour. Then, you two can pick up where you left off." He winked at them, causing Lois and Clark to turn even more red with embarrassment. It was going to be a long night.

Lois and Clark sat at the counter in the kitchen, trying to avoid the rest of the staff. They were embarrassed about being caught in the act by their co-workers. The party was in full swing with music and dancing in the living room. "I cannot believe Perry did this," Lois groaned. "I mean, if he was going to plan a surprise party for you, he could have at least included me."

"Well, we have been pretty busy lately," Clark acknowledged.

"Do you think if we hide in here long enough they'll just forget about us?" Lois asked, yawning. It had been three hours. Perry had promised they'd only be here for an hour, but that had turned into three.

"I don't know. Are you okay, honey?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm just getting tired," Lois admitted.

"Hey, you two, what are you doing in here?" Perry asked, poking his head through the double doors. "The party's out here!"

"We're coming, Chief." Clark sighed. "So much for hiding," he muttered under his breath.

They reluctantly followed Perry into the living room. Everyone was dancing and having a good time. They tried to join in with the festivities, but it was a bit hard. Lois was exhausted; she didn't look good. None of this was lost on Clark.

"Honey, you okay?" Clark asked, pulling Lois into his arms.

She sleepily glanced at him and nodded. "I think I'm just tired. I guess you'll have to take a rain check on your birthday present," she apologized.

"Honey, I'm not worried about that. You just look like you're kinda out of it. Do you want to go lie down?"

"Hey, Lois, CK, great party!" Jimmy slapped Clark on the back, "Sorry about the timing. I guess it could have been better, huh?"

"Yeah." Lois began to feel a bit dizzy; she tightened her grip around Clark's waist.

"Honey?"

"Hey, Lois, wait until everyone leaves before you start canoodling with your husband, would ya? We see enough at the office," Ralph said, walking up to the couple.

The room began to spin. She felt tightness in her throat as she struggled to breathe.

"Hey, Lois, are you okay?" Jimmy asked, his voice echoing.

"Lois… Hey, honey, look at me." Clark held her as the room spun. She could barely hear the voices around her. She wasn't sure what was happening. The colors continued to spin; she felt her knees give out and fell into her husband's arms. "Lois?" The echo of Clark's voice penetrated through the chaos swarming through her mind before everything went black.

The pain; it was everywhere. She felt like her insides were on fire. The echo of a monotonous beeping penetrated her unconscious mind. Where was she? In a bed… Okay, she knew that much. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She spotted her husband, sitting in a chair next to her. There were monitors everywhere. She was in a hospital. "Clark?" she croaked. Her throat was dry. Why was her throat dry? It hurt to talk.

"Lois?" Clark moved closer to the bed and took her hand. "Honey, are you okay?"

"What happened?" she asked.

"You don't remember?"

"I remember that you were holding me and then the room began to spin." She paused. "I'm really thirsty."

"Here." He poured her a cup of water and handed it to her. She gratefully drank it then took a deep breath. "Better?" Clark asked. She nodded mutely. "Yeah, the doctor should be in here any minute."

"What happened?"

"You passed out; I brought you to the hospital. Honey, are you sure you're okay? You really scared me."

"I'm fine. It was weird. I was tired and I started getting blurry vision. The room began to spin; then everything went black. Next thing I knew I had woken up here."

A knock at the door interrupted them; they turned their attention to the tall man in a white coat. He was about six foot; he had light brown hair and a short goatee. He looked like he wasn't a day over twenty-five. "Mrs. Kent? I'm Dr. Patel." The man extended his hand to Lois. "You must be going for a record," he muttered as he looked through her chart and checked her vitals.

"What do you mean?"

"Tempting fate? Your blood pressure was off the charts, Mrs. Kent. You have to slow down. You can't be chasing after criminals the way you're used to."

"We weren't chasing after criminals, doctor," Clark argued.

"Well, something has to change or your baby is going to suffer for it. I'm keeping you here overnight until Dr. Pierce is able to make it over here. No visitors – except your husband of course."

"I can't stay here overnight," Lois argued. "I hate hospitals."

"Could have fooled me… No work. Bed rest." Dr. Patel left the room and closed the door behind him.

"This is insane." Lois defiantly crossed her arms over her chest. "They're keeping me here against my will until Dr. Pierce arrives. Who knows when that will be?"

"Well, that will give you a chance to practice something you need to work on," Clark said, gently squeezing her hand.

"What's that?" she asked curiously.

"Patience," he replied solemnly.

"Mr. Peters, it's a pleasure." Leslie extended his hand to the man before him.

"Mr. Luckabee. Thank you for taking care of my bond," Peters said graciously.

"Not a problem," Leslie said. "So, I assume you took care of everything?"

"Yes, Mr. Grady's books read of deposits from the Cayman Islands. All the business dealings he made with O'Neal are marked and tagged. I placed them in plain sight."

"Excellent. So, O'Neal's holdings will go under investigation." Leslie puffed on his cigar lightly. He turned to his assistant. "Mr. Smith, why don't you get Mr. Peters a cigar?"

"Of course, sir." Mr. Smith returned with a box of Cuban cigars. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Mr. Peters looks a bit tired. Why don't you take care of him?" Leslie suggested.

"Of course." Mr. Smith opened the box of cigars and pulled out a gun. He aimed it at Peters.

"What is this? I thought we were a team?"

"I'm not much of a team player," Leslie remarked. Mr. Smith fired the weapon and the echo of the gunshot rang through the tunnels.

Peters body slumped over, and Mr. Smith kicked his body into the sewer water behind him. "I'm sure the rats will feast tonight."

"Lois, come on, try and get some sleep, please?" Clark begged.

"No. I am not going to sleep here," Lois said defiantly. "I'll go to sleep when I am in my own bed."

"Lois," Clark warned.

"Mrs. Kent?" There was a knock at the door. Lois and Clark were both relieved to see the familiar face of the obstetrician. She had a large machine with her that she was wheeling into the room. "I understand you've had a bit of a problem lately with your preeclampsia?"

"I had a problem with my blood pressure going up a little bit. I had a dizzy spell and passed out," Lois explained. "I was not chasing criminals or running marathons."

Dr. Pierce smiled. "Dr. Patel doesn't have the best bedside manner, but he means well."

"Is he this charming with all his patients or am I just special?" Lois asked.

"This is, after all, your second visit to the emergency room during your pregnancy," Dr. Pierce pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not like Lois is out looking for trouble, Doctor; she and I just seem to be targeted for drawing out Superman, I guess," Clark interjected.

"Understood," Dr. Pierce said, making a note in the chart that she was holding. "Did you have any pain when you fainted?"

"No." Lois shook her head. "Just very dizzy…"

"Any recent nausea?"

"Not recently. I had it about a month ago though."

"But it's passed since?"

"Yeah, it seems to have," Lois said.

"And then tonight you just passed out?" Dr. Pierce asked.

"Yeah. I got dizzy; then I just blacked out."

"But no nausea?"

"No."

"Hmmm, what had you been doing earlier this evening?"

"Um, we went out to dinner… met up with our friend Jimmy. Then Jimmy and I left. That's when I got held up at gunpoint," Lois said, mumbling the last part.

"Pardon?" Dr. Pierce asked.

"Jimmy and I went to help a friend of his that was in trouble; then while I was waiting outside, minding my own business and TRYING to stay out of danger, I had a gun pulled on me. Just another day of being held hostage as bait for Superman."

"Did it work?"

Lois shook her head. "No. We were able to break free and get out of there thanks to our friend Jimmy giving them a bit of a distraction."

Dr. Pierce just shook her head as she wrote in her notebook. "Okay, anything else that was stressful tonight?"

"Um, the entire staff of the Daily Planet decided to surprise us with a party. That was… unexpected." Lois blushed at the memory.

"It was a few hours later that Lois began to get really tired, and she then started having the dizzy spell," Clark explained.

"Mmmm hmm. Okay, why don't you lie back and lift up your gown," Dr. Pierce instructed. "We're going to do an ultrasound." She squeezed the gel onto Lois' abdomen, prompting a squeal of surprise from her. "Sorry. This stuff is a bit cold."

"No kidding," Lois muttered.

"Okay, let's see here." She pulled out a small round device that was attached to the ultrasound machine and placed it on Lois' abdomen. Immediately, a quick thumping could be heard throughout the room.

Clark smiled at Lois. "Nice and strong,"

"Yes, baby boy Kent is raring to go in there," Dr. Pierce agreed. She turned her attention to the monitors in front of her. "Let's see, your measurements look to be about twenty-five weeks along. So right on target. Baby seems to be growing at a normal rate. No signs of any problems in the placenta. Honestly, I think you should be okay. The preeclampsia appears to be in the mild range. Your blood pressure is very high, but there are no signs of any damage to the placenta."

"So, how do we keep the blood pressure down? I am going out of my way to stay out of danger but it just keeps finding me. I don't know what to do. I had no idea I was pregnant for twelve weeks. For twelve weeks, I still took birth control. What if that hurt him? What if that's what's causing the preeclampsia," Lois rambled as all of her inner insecurities poured out.

Dr. Pierce held up a hand for her to calm down. "Easy. It is nothing you have done. Sometimes it just happens. Usually, in more serious cases of preeclampsia, there are signs of placenta abruption. Your blood pressure is high, but it's not dangerously high. You can reduce the amount of stress – both physically and mentally. When you're trying to do work, and you feel like you're getting stressed, do breathing exercises or yoga. There are some great prenatal yoga exercises that you can do. There is Lamaze to help prepare you for birth." She turned to the printer and removed a roll of black and white pictures. "Here are your baby pictures. You've only got a few months left. Just try and relax. Everything will be fine. I've delivered babies at 28 weeks that have lived to be healthy, but I'd prefer not to. Everyone seems to make things out a lot worse than they are. Take care of yourself and keep your stress level down as much as possible. That's all you can do."

She handed Lois a few wipes. Lois quickly removed the gunk from her abdomen and sat up. "Okay. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to put you on a common prescription: Magnesium Sulfate. It's supposed to help level out both your hormone levels and your blood pressure. We're going to have to do constant fetal monitoring. That means every week without fail you need to be in my office. No excuses." Dr. Pierce handed them the prescription, along with a few fliers from her briefcase. "These are some classes for Lamaze and other stress relief techniques that may help as well. The key is to reduce the stress level. When possible, prop your feet up and reduce the amount of time you're on your feet. You should not be on your feet for more than 1 hour at a time. Gravity is not your friend. Especially when the baby gets bigger."

"Okay, thank you." Clark took the brochures.

"When can I get out of here?" Lois asked impatiently.

"As soon as I sign your discharge papers, which will be after I get a blood and urine sample from you. The nurse will be back in just a few minutes." Dr. Pierce smiled. "I'll see you next week." She checked her Blackberry. "Wednesday at six?"

"Sounds good," Lois replied. "When can we leave?"

Dr. Pierce just laughed and headed towards the door. "Don't worry; you'll be home within the hour."

The next day, Clark browsed through his laptop, studying the information he had regarding the missing CEOs. Lois was still asleep, and his mom had gone shopping for baby clothes to surprise her when she woke up. Meanwhile, he was trying to make some headway on the missing CEOs. Another one had disappeared last night during the fiasco with Grady. He knew they had to be connected. He was on the phone with Jimmy, discussing the investigation. "Where have you gotten with that ATM tape, Jimmy?"

"Uh, I've got a call into Inspector Henderson. The FBI keeps giving me the runaround," Jimmy explained.

"Okay, let me know what you turn up."

"Sure. Hey, CK, how's Lois doing?"

Clark smiled. "She's fine," he reassured his friend. "She's still asleep. We didn't get back until late.

"Yeah, well, I guess this will be one birthday you won't forget," Jimmy said. "Tell Lois to take it easy. We'll see you guys later."

"All right. Call me as soon as you hear something about that tape."

"You got it."

Clark hung up the phone and then turned his attention to the background of the missing CEOs. What was he missing?

"Hey, son, where's Lois?" Jonathan asked, clambering in the room with several shopping bags.

"She's still asleep." Clark stood and moved to help his father with the bags. "Here. Let me." He looked at all the bags and laughed. "Is there anything left at the store?"

"Well, you know your mother likes to stock up on everything while we're in Metropolis."

"Clark, you have got to see some of the stuff we found." Martha pulled out some of the items she had bought. "Isn't it adorable?" She pulled out a yellow blanket with a white bunny rabbit's head on it. Clark smiled sadly. "It's a security blanket. I was reading this book, and they said it's important for the mother to sleep with it while she's pregnant. Then, when the baby is born, it will have her scent on it and help comfort the baby when he or she's asleep."

"It's adorable, Mom. Thanks." Clark smiled at his mother. Only she would consider everything but the preeclampsia. She was convinced the baby would be fine. He just hoped she was right.

"What's adorable?" Lois asked as she approached them. Clark noticed that she was dressed casually. He hoped that she didn't try to go into work today.

"This." Martha handed her the security blanket.

"Oh, Martha," Lois cooed, stroking the blanket.

"I figured you would like it. It's a neutral color so it can be for a boy or a girl. That way it can be passed down from one child to the next." She winked at them.

Lois laughed as Martha went into a full ramble about baby clothes and feedings. She could ramble just as well as Lois could when she got going. "Did Clark show you the latest sonogram pictures?"

"Oh, they're right here." Clark retrieved the sonogram from the coffee table.

Martha and Jonathan crowded around Lois and Clark to see the picture. "Oh, my," Martha remarked.

"It's hard to believe that in just a few months this will be our little boy." Lois gestured to the sonogram.

"How are you feeling?" Martha asked gently.

"I'm better… I feel a lot better," Lois reasoned.

"You gave everyone quite a scare last night," Jonathan chimed in.

"Sorry." Lois shrugged her shoulders, unsure of what else to say.

Martha gave her a brief hug. "You need to just relax and take care of yourself. Everything else will work itself out."

Lois smiled back at her mother-in-law. This woman had so much faith. She wished she felt as confident as she did. "It's just hard."

"Anything worth having usually is," Jonathan interjected. "Any word on why that Grady fella was trying to use that satellite?"

Clark shook his head. "No, he claims it was for 'world peace,' but I'm not buying it."

"Well, you two will figure it out," Martha added. "We're gonna get out of your hair so you can get some work done." Martha looked at Lois. "Get some rest. We've got an afternoon flight back to Smallville."

"Mom, you don't have to do that," Clark argued.

"We've got to head back," Jonathan stated, "and you need to stay with Lois. We'll be back to visit in a few weeks." He patted Lois on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself and that grandson of ours."

Lois smiled. "I will."

Inspector Henderson cautiously walked down the dock on Hobbs Bay. The stench was intolerable; he covered his face with a handkerchief. "What have we got here?"

The officer on scene had a grim look on his face. "Four dead bodies. The fourth one looks like it's been here only a few hours. We should be able to get an easy ID on him."

"And the others?"

"They're gonna be a bit longer. They've already begun to decompose, and there are pieces missing from where the fish had begun to… eat away at them."

"Okay… Get 'em down to forensics…"

"Will do, Inspector."

After seeing the Kents off, Clark updated Lois on everything he'd been working on while she'd been resting. "Jimmy's got a call into Bill Henderson about that tape. Hopefully, we can get a copy by tomorrow."

"More and more CEOs are coming up missing," Lois muttered, shaking her head. "Any word on that missing assistant of Garret Grady's?"

"No," Clark sighed. "It's weird. It's like he just disappeared after he was bonded out. I've scanned the entire city, nothing."

"Well, who got him out?" Lois asked.

"A company called Caribbean Imports."

Jimmy was on the phone with Metropolis P.D., holding for Inspector Henderson. "Yes, this is Jimmy Olsen. I'm still holding for Inspector Henderson. No, please don't put me on hold… I just want to…" The music began to play in his ear once more. "Why do they hate me?" he muttered to himself. "I hate this job!"

"Better not say that too loud. The owner might overhear you." Leslie Luckabee smiled at Jimmy as he perched himself on Jimmy's desk.

"Mr. Luckabee, I didn't see you coming or else I wouldn't have stuck my foot in my mouth," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. Sometimes I'm not that crazy about my job either."

"Really?" Jimmy asked in disbelief.

"Someone giving you a hard time?" Leslie asked, changing the subject.

"I've been trying to get a copy of the ATM tape from the Metropolis Bank for the past few days. I've called the FBI; now I'm trying to get a hold of Inspector Henderson. It's insane how many times they can transfer you to the operator on accident."

"What do you need a copy of the ATM tape for?"

"Oh, it's for Lois and CK. They need it for their investigation into those missing CEOs. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem, but in investigations like this FBI usually stands for 'forget about it.'"

"I see," Leslie mumbled, nodding. "So, tell me, what's it like working with such a celebrated reporter like Lois Lane day in and day out?"

"Lois? She's great! I'm the luckiest guy I know. Well except for CK. He's uh… WAY luckier than me if you know what I mean."

Leslie smiled. "Yes, I think I do. They must have a very special relationship, being married and working together."

"Yeah, no kidding. It took 'em long enough to get together. People were placing bets the first couple months the Chief partnered them up."

"Bets?" Leslie asked, momentarily confused.

"Well, you see it was extremely evident that Lois liked CK; she just wouldn't admit it. Then, if you just looked at CK and the way he looked at Lois, you could tell he liked her too. We were just betting on how long it would take for the two of them to get together."

"Ah… Well, I sure hope their relationship lasts. Anyway, carry on Jimmy."

"Okay, see you around, Mr. Luckabee."

Jimmy turned his attention to the phone that was still against his ear. "This is Metropolis P.D. – where can I direct your call?"

Clark watched Lois as she fixed a cup of coffee and walked back into the living room. "So, how are you really feeling?"

"I'm better. I still feel a little sore from where baby boy has been kicking my ribs, but I'm okay," Lois acknowledged. She sat down on the couch and began sifting through the papers Clark had been studying.

Clark sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Honey, we don't have to do this right now. I already called Perry and told him we were working from home today."

"I just wanted to go through this once more. I keep hoping I'll spot something I didn't before… a clue maybe?" Lois began sifting through the papers once more. "Has Jimmy gotten a copy of that ATM tape yet?"

"No, he's still trying to get a hold of Inspector Henderson, but he hasn't been able to touch base with him."

"So, we're still at clue zero," Lois summarized.

"Unless clue one is somewhere in here." Clark motioned to the stack of papers on the table. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something?"

"I'm fine." Lois sighed and leaned back into his embrace. "This is all just so frustrating."

"Tell me about it."

"There's got to be something we're missing here, Clark."

The doorbell rang, interrupting her train of thought. They got up and answered the door. "Bill?" Clark was surprised to see Inspector Henderson on the other side of the door.

"Can I come in?" Inspector Henderson asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." Clark motioned for him to enter.

"What's going on?" Lois asked.

"We pulled out four bodies from Hobbs Bay this morning."

"What?" Lois and Clark asked in unison.

"Three of them were the missing CEOs. The other one was our missing guy from Diticom." He tossed the police file to them. "We just got an ID on him a few minutes ago."

"Okay, why are you telling us?" Lois asked curiously. "I usually have to pry information out of you."

"I knew you two were covering the investigation, and since you two helped bag this guy last night, I figured you'd want to know." Lois gave him an 'I don't believe you' look and he continued, "And maybe I'm hoping you two can help me find what my guys can't." At Lois' dubious look, he retorted, "Don't look at me like that. I may be a cop, but I also know you two are damn good at finding the skunk in the rose garden so to speak."

"Thank you," Clark replied sincerely, sifting through the file. "This says the bodies were already decomposing?"

"Yeah, it kinda happens when fish begin eating at you," Inspector Henderson remarked, smiling humorlessly. "Anyway, the cause of death is still undetermined except on that Peters guy. He was shot. Kinda makes you wonder where that new superhero was."

"What do you mean?" Lois asked.

"She's been stopping crime all over the place; then, yesterday, no one had seen or heard from her. It's like she just vanished. Right around the same time, this Grady guy decides to put the Annihilator into orbit."

"Hmmm." Clark glanced at Lois warily then turned his attention back to Henderson. "Anything else?"

"We've got Forensics going over the scene right now. I should have something later this afternoon."

"Bill, is there any way you could help us out with something?" Lois asked.

"Depends on what it is."

"The FBI has been giving us a hard time about getting a copy of that ATM tape from the bank chairman's disappearance; can you see if you can get us a copy of that tape? It would really help with our investigation." Lois smiled warmly, placing a hand on her abdomen for emphasis, knowing it would tug just hard enough on Henderson's heart strings to help them.

He just snorted. "You've been trying to get a copy of the tape from the FBI?" He shook his head and picked up his phone that was vibrating in his pocket. "We have a copy of the tape down at the precinct. I'll have it couriered over to you by this afternoon," he assured.

"Great; thanks, Bill," Clark said.

"No problem." He noticed a text of '911' on the screen. "Listen, I gotta go. I'll see you later."

Lois and Clark watched him leave then stared at the file in their hands. "Well, now we have clue one."

TBC...