SIX
Lois paused to straighten her clothes in front of the mirror hanging on the back of her bedroom door. Placing her hands on her lower back, she looked at her flat stomach in the reflection. It still amazed her to think that there was really a little someone growing inside of her. It was surreal. It was unbelievable.
But it was real.
Lois smirked at her mirror image and flipped her hair back over her shoulders. She felt a certain amount of relief that she no longer had the need to avoid looking herself in the eye. Since she had told Chloe that she no longer believed that she'd been drugged, the disturbing dreams had stopped. It was as if her subconscious was satisfied that she was ready to accept responsibility for her part in the act that had put her in this… delicate position.
Rolling her eyes, Lois opened the door and left the room. She hated it when her subconscious and her reflection ganged up on her.
She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Passing the living room as she went, she noticed the stack of Clark's shirts and pants draped over the back of the futon. Chloe had cleared out the hall coat closet for him so he could hang up his clothes, but it was obvious that he still needed more room for them. A fleeting thought crossed her mind as to how he had been able to fit that much clothing into the two duffle bags he'd brought with him. It was almost as if his wardrobe was expanding on a daily basis.
Walking into the kitchen, Lois spotted Clark standing at the sink washing out the blender.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping in? You know you're not on the farm anymore, right?"
Clark turned to face her with a grin. "Not everyone has the pleasure of scheduling no classes on Fridays. Chloe left over two hours ago."
"You don't even have real classes, Clark. I'll never understand why you get up at the crack of dawn to work on an internet class when you can do that anytime you want."
Clark shrugged. He couldn't really tell her why he got up so early. Doing his chores on the farm in the mornings before his parents got up was a way to avoid the questions that would inevitably arise the next time they were all face to face again.
"Discipline," he offered, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms.
"More like anal retention, if you ask me," Lois retorted. She picked up the tall cup filled with a smoothie mixture from the counter and began to sip through the straw.
Despite Lois's loud objections to the added roommate, the three of them had fallen into a semi-comfortable routine over the past few weeks. For the most part, they were rarely all home at the same time, especially since both Lois and Chloe were splitting their days between classes and part-time jobs.
"Where did you get this recipe anyway?" Lois asked, tilting the cup so she could peer inside. She was reluctant to admit that Clark's concoction for aiding her morning sickness was actually working. Even her daily headaches had stopped.
"The internet," Clark replied with a grin.
"Figures." Shaking her head, Lois drank more of the smoothie. "Well, you and your laptop have a good day."
She turned and headed out of the kitchen with the cup in her hand. As she walked toward the front door, she once again passed the futon. Lois may not have kept the cleanest room but she had always liked the public areas of the apartment to be neat. Her hands itched to pull Clark's clothes off of the futon, but she resisted. Instead, she grabbed her bag from the table next to the door and stepped outside.
Lois idly flipped through a home gardening magazine. She really didn't care about the latest advances in home fertilizer treatments, but it beat looking through the other magazines that littered the Clinic's waiting room. Reading about potty training and separation anxiety for preschoolers was just too damn scary.
She glanced up when someone sat in the seat next to her.
"How did you…?" She scoffed and flipped the magazine shut. "Did you follow me again?"
"No. I was here when you made the appointment, remember?" Clark took the magazine from her and glanced at the title with a frown.
Lois ignored his look. "Yes. I made an appointment… Why are you here?"
"I had a break between classes," he answered with a grin. "And I was kind of hoping that you'd let me come."
Lois rolled her eyes, snatched her magazine back and flipped it open. "Well, I guess if you'll barge into my apartment I shouldn't be surprised that you'll barge into other places unwanted as well," she muttered under her breath.
"Speaking of that, you've been uncharacteristically calm about this whole roommate thing, Lois. Why haven't you tried to kick me out?"
Lois remained quiet for a moment, looking at a picture of a family in front of a large log cabin retreat. She didn't really want to answer his question. "I want to thank you."
"For what?"
"For being there for Chloe. I'm not really doing a great job of being the big sister here…" She sighed, guilt once again taking its place on her shoulders. "She could use a friend right now. So, thank you."
Clark looked down at the picture in her lap that held the focus of her gaze. "What about you?"
"What about me?" Lois asked, lifting her eyes to look at him.
"Could you use a friend?"
Lois prepared to retort with a snide comment, but hesitated.
They had different styles, that was a given. Lois had run off to pull Lucy out of sticky situations enough times to know that she couldn't help anyone unless they wanted to be helped. Her experiences had led her to believe that the best she could do for someone she cared about was to give them their space and be available when they finally came to their senses.
Clark, on the other hand, was the type to latch himself onto the person, always turning up in shadows and underfoot; taking over and jumping in the way whenever he felt the need. He was annoying, overzealous, and often wrong about who needed the actual protection. But overall, he was consistent.
There was once a time when they wouldn't openly admit that they were friends. Neither could deny that there had always been an undercurrent of companionship to their interactions since the fateful thunder-induced first meeting in the cornfields beside Route 45.
She couldn't dismiss the undeniable sense of relief she'd felt earlier when she had looked up to find Clark there. As much as his dogged persistence bothered her, her current circumstance was the exception. Eventually, she would need to do this alone, but right now, sitting in a room made up of stark white walls and linoleum floors… maybe it was time that she was willing to lean just a little. He'd already proven that he could handle the weight.
"Lois, do you guys want to come on back?" a nurse called from the door to the hallway that led to the clinic's examination rooms.
Lois looked up and smiled at Sandy, the nurse, and stood to her feet in preparation to follow. Turning back to Clark, she held out her hand and answered both questions at once. "Yes. Let's go."
"Um, Clark, could you give me a minute?" Lois asked, hopping onto the examination table.
"Sure," Clark responded, closing the door and leaving Lois alone with Sandy.
Sandy looked at her with interest. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes. It's fine… I just, uh… I wanted to clear something up." Lois blew at her bangs and smoothed the front of her shirt down. "He's not the father."
"Oh," Sandy replied lightly. She and the other members of the staff had called that one wrong.
"I just thought that when we came in last time, we may have given the impression that… you know," Lois babbled. "And I figured that it would be easier if we got that out in the open earlier rather than later. I have all these scenarios running through my head about how awkward it would be later on if… well, anyway."
Sandy nodded with a smile. "I understand completely. He seems like a nice guy though. I think you're in good hands."
"Clark and I are just friends," Lois interjected.
"That's all I meant." The nurse bit back a smile as she eyed Lois's chart. "So, you know the drill, I'm going to ask you a few questions for your file, take your blood pressure, and get a urine sample, and then Dr. Hagen will be in to do the ultrasound. Do you want me to bring Clark back in here?"
Lois ran a hand through her hair and fidgeted on the table. She had no idea why doctor's offices always made her jumpy. "Please."
"Hello, Chloe."
Chloe looked up from her notes with a slight frown. "Lex. Hi." She glanced around the Student Center trying to figure out what would have brought the boy billionaire to Met U's campus. Although his age matched the crowd, his Armani suit and Egyptian silk tie made him stand out.
Lex observed her questioning expression and laughed, pushing the tails of his expensive suit coat to the side so he could slide his hands into his pockets. "I was asked to speak to a group of Poli Sci students earlier today. I was told that this was the best place to find a cup of coffee on campus… Seeing you here confirms it."
Chloe's brow furrowed. "Poli Sci?" she repeated.
He nodded. "I've been seriously considering throwing together a campaign for the Senatorial seat since it opened up with Senator Jennings's recent resignation."
"Oh?" Chloe asked in surprise. She wasn't a Political Science student, but she had a feeling that someone didn't just 'throw together' a campaign… especially not a serious one.
"You don't sound convinced. Does that mean I don't have your vote?"
Chloe smiled when she realized that he was teasing her. "I can't say yet. I consider myself to be an educated voter. I'd need to see where you stand."
"True enough." Lex pulled the other chair away from the table so he could sit down.
While a little surprised that he was getting comfortable at her table, Chloe felt better that he was no longer standing over her. With him sitting, she wouldn't have to arch her neck to talk to him.
"Do you not see me as the Senator type?" Lex asked with genuine interest.
Chloe started to reply but decided that tact was in order. "What did the class say?"
Lex smiled, conscious of her avoidance. "They were really quite polite about it. I've got a class load of promissory votes, and Professor West was quite complimentary… perhaps overly complimentary," he finished wryly. "I was just hoping for an unbiased and honest impression from someone who's not intimidated by my money or position."
Chloe smirked. "Well, then… honestly, your motivation would concern me."
"How so?"
"Just, how does becoming Senator of the Sunflower State fit into the whole Lex Luthor grand scheme? Is it just a stepping stone to something else, or is it more of a power trip in the making?"
"I never really saw myself as being on a power trip…"
She smiled that he didn't seem to be offended by her tone of questioning. "So a stepping stone, then. Where does this stairway lead?"
Lex paused in thought. "I'm not sure. I guess I'm just content to take it one step at a time."
"Okay, I think we've beat the whole 'stepping stone' analogy to death," Chloe said laughing. "Why do you want to be a senator? You just got control over LuthorCorp from your father. I would think that you have enough to deal with right now without adding the ratification of national treaties to your plate."
"My father has left a scar on every person and every thing that he has come in contact with throughout his whole life. He made LuthorCorp into the multi-billion dollar enterprise that it is, but the corpses that he has left along the way seem to take all of the joy out of it. It takes a cut-throat business genius to do what he did… but I want more."
Lex sighed and drummed his fingers against the table. "There have been many times when I have wished that I hadn't been born with the silver spoon lodged in my throat… but I've come to realize that you can't chose the skin you're fated with… or the parents. Lionel Luthor may not give a damn about using his power to help the people around him, but I do. I intend to create my own path… not follow the one my father paved."
Chloe was taken aback with the honesty and seriousness of his answer. She wasn't sure if a weighted response was due. "Wow."
Lex blinked and looked at her curiously. "What?"
"I think this is actually the first time we've had a real conversation without one of us seeking an angle."
Lex smiled. "I think you're right." Even when they had worked together to aid the prosecution of his father, they hadn't spent time in general conversation. Lex had been determined to keep her safe, but for that to happen, he mostly had to stay out of the way.
"It's nice to have a conversation where someone is willing to challenge me now and then."
Chloe's eyebrows rose and she drained the remnants of her coffee. "I suppose that you don't get much of a challenge being surrounded by yes-men and blind supporters."
Lex nodded, patting his chest. "Touché. Although I have tried to bring those on board that would keep me honest, it seems that stability and comfort make people less apt to go against the tide."
"Well, I guess I can see how that could happen, but recently I have personally come to the conclusion that it's not really living if you can't live free enough to speak the truth."
"That's refreshing. I'll have to keep that in mind." Lex studied her for a few seconds before sliding his chair away from the table. "I suppose that if I came for coffee, I should place an order."
Standing, he loosened the knot on his tie. "Would you like another?"
Chloe glanced at her empty mug and back up at him. "Actually, I would. Thank you."
"That's amazing," Clark muttered in fascination. He didn't think he had ever heard a sound more beautiful.
Lois gasped softly. "It sounds so fast… Is it supposed to be that fast?"
Dr. Hagan smiled at the young woman and nodded. "It's perfect. The fetal heartbeat is always much faster than an adult's; usually somewhere between 120 and 180 beats per minute."
She paused to make a notation onto the chart, not missing when Lois's hand snaked out to grab hold of Clark's as he moved to stand beside the table.
Sandy had told her about the little bit of information that Lois had revealed earlier in clarification of their relationship, but the doctor wasn't so easily convinced. One of the skills of being a doctor was that of observation. A lot of times, expressions and interactions told you a lot more about a person's condition than their words could.
"We have some pamphlets that I'd like to send home with you." The doctor brushed a few strands of blonde hair from her forehead. "They cover the basic topics: nutrition and diet, weight gain, child birthing classes, prenatal vitamins, and some other interesting stuff. Sandy will put together your packet for you before you leave."
Dr. Hagan reached to adjust a few dials on the Doppler machine to get another reading of the heartbeat as Lois continued to watch the monitor in awe.
"Do you have any more questions for me?"
Lois hesitated to respond. "I don't… feel pregnant," she finally admitted.
The comment caused Clark to pull his attention away from the monitor. He looked at Lois in surprise.
Feeling his eyes on her, Lois kept looking at her doctor. "I mean, I feel different but…" She shrugged and placed a hand against the side of her bare abdomen. "I see the monitor and then I look at my stomach and I haven't started showing… I don't feel anything moving… and to top it off, I think I've gained maybe a pound, that's it."
Dr. Hagan smiled. "That's a normal feeling, Lois. You're not showing yet, and your baby is still extremely tiny. In fact, with your build you might not start showing for quite a while, but even that is nothing to worry about. The truth is, every pregnancy is unique, and with your level of exercise and activity, your weight may not fluctuate until much later on." She glanced down at the chart again. "Are you still running 5 miles a day?"
"Yes, is that not good? Because I don't have to. I've been looking for a good excuse to slack off anyway…"
"No, nothing like that," the older woman interrupted with a chuckle, placing a calming hand on Lois's shoulder. "I think that it's an excellent idea for you to keep up the routine. Just don't push yourself if you feel tired. Listen to your body and make sure you contact us if you have any unusual pain."
Lois released a sigh of relief and nodded. "I will, thank you."
Dr. Hagan smiled and walked toward the door. "Speaking of exercises, the ones that I recommend you do as often as possible are kegels."
Lois frowned. "Kegels?" That wasn't the name of anything she had been taught by her father's drill instructors. "How do I do those?"
"There will be some literature on them in one of the pamphlets, but basically you just contract your muscles as if trying to stop the flow of urine, hold it for a count of five, and then relax. I tell everyone I know to do these, pregnant or not, man or woman. They do wonders for orgasms," she finished nonchalantly, opening the door and stepping outside. "Sandy will be right in."
Looking at her companion, all of Lois's embarrassment over the doctor's last statement dissolved. Clark looked as if he were standing frozen in the path of an oncoming train. His flushed face and wide eyed expression made her laugh.
Squeezing the hand she still held, she winked at him. "Don't worry; you don't have to do those with me."
Clark swallowed and forced a smile in response.
"I can't believe you left it like that!"
Clark glared at her as they walked down the sidewalk toward The Planet. Lois had decided to walk to work from the clinic rather than trying to hunt down another parking spot. Her position didn't rank a spot in the building's garage.
"Would you rather that I'd have told them the truth?"
Lois stopped and faced him. "Of course not! I just thought you would have come up with a better lie."
"I didn't lie," he corrected.
"Well, then, I thought you would have come up with a lie, period." She turned away from him and continued walking.
Clark had just revealed to her that he hadn't left his parents on the best terms. He'd been living in Metropolis for three weeks without his parents knowing where he was, or condoning his absence.
"You left without an explanation, Kent. Now, when they do find out… Argh!" She threw up her hands in frustration. She already had enough guilt concerning Clark's parents with the way she had left Smallville. Clark's distance from his parents because he was helping her only added to her burden.
"I don't understand." Clark couldn't fathom why she was getting so worked up over this.
"No." Lois looked at him as if he were clueless. "You don't." She knew that his parents were going to be even more disappointed in her when they learned that she had dragged their saint of a son into her problems.
"When you leave people without proper goodbyes it leaves too much room for misunderstandings and hurt," she explained heatedly. "You just don't do it that way. Especially not with parents."
"Really?" Clark's pace slowed as he processed her words. It surprised him that she would say something like that to him when she wouldn't even talk to her own father. "So tell me, how would you know? I mean, look at your relationship with your father. You don't even speak truthfully when you're around each other. You are just content to allow him to believe the stories of a happy fairy tale life for you and Lucy…"
Lois stopped abruptly and spun to face him, causing him to stumble as they almost collided.
"Exactly, Smallville. Look at my relationship with my father. It's not what you want to have with your parents. I know what I'm talking about."
Clark softened, wondering how they had gone from the quiet companionship in the doctor's office to this intense exchange so quickly. "I don't want to argue, Lois. I just think you should come, too."
It had all started when Clark had invited her and Chloe to return to Smallville that weekend with him for Jonathan's birthday dinner. Jokingly, he had brought up the fact that it would be the first time in three weeks that they would come face-to-face, and Lois had pounced on his slip.
"I can't," she replied softly, also calming a little. She hated that he would have to face his parents and continue to lie by omission about what he was doing, but she wasn't ready for the revelation to his parental unit or to her own. Lois might not have been showing yet, but she was afraid that Martha would be able to take one look at her and know everything. "Not yet."
Clark sighed and reached out to pull open the front door to the Daily Planet building for her. "Okay."
Flashing him a grim smile, she stepped past him and headed in to work.
"Here."
Chloe took the box Lois was handing her and cocked her head to the side. "What is this?"
Lois plopped down on the futon beside her cousin. "Take a look."
The two women were home alone together for the first time in weeks. Clark had already left for Smallville and Lois had just returned home from work.
Chloe pulled the top off of the box and looked inside. Setting the top aside, she reached in and pulled out a book.
Baby's First Book was scrawled across the yellow cover in bright swirled letters. Cute baby animals paraded around the borders in a single-file line.
Lois watched as Chloe traced the image of an alphabet block with her index finger. "I know I've been a little incommunicado about this whole thing, but it's been a little hard for me to wrap my head around it all."
Chloe opened the cover and looked at the image of a tree. Blank lines extended on all sides, waiting for the names of the child and family members to be entered. Two names were already listed on a couple of lines in Lois's neat script: mother and god-mother.
"Lois…"
"I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I didn't want you involved. I just hated to think of the time when you'd stop looking up to me."
Chloe grinned and reached for her hand. "I'll always look up to you, Lois. You're taller than me."
Lois laughed and shook her head. "There's more, keep going."
Chloe turned a few pages and came to one dedicated to 'Baby's First Photo.' The first ultrasound image was tucked into the little edge holders. Chloe recognized the photo but knew that Lois would expect her to never have seen it.
"It this…?" Chloe began, leaning closer to the page.
"Yeah," Lois replied, tilting her head to take a closer look as well. "The baby is…" She squinted and frowned at the static. "Damn, I lost it again."
Chloe giggled and pointed to a small area. "There, right?"
"Yes." Lois sighed and leaned back against the futon with a groan.
Chloe turned in concern. "What is it?"
"I can't even find a baby on a photo. I suck at this mother stuff," Lois replied sarcastically.
"Lois, I don't think that ultrasound readings are a pre-requisite for motherhood. You'll be great."
"It's not just the ultrasound, Chloe. My track record isn't so great in the raising kids area. Just look at how Lucy turned out."
Chloe frowned. "You didn't raise Lucy."
"At least not very well," Lois muttered.
"No, Lois." Chloe gently closed the book and set it to the side. "Raising Lucy was not your job. You've been trying to protect her since you were six and she was two. At some point you're going to have to stop trying to take responsibility for every one's life… and that includes mine. I look up to you because you are strong, independent, loyal to a fault, bold… vulnerable at times, and a fighter. And I love you because you're you. Nothing changes that. Not even this."
Lois wasn't ready to concede to Chloe's point just yet but she didn't like wallowing in pity parties so she changed the subject.
"I kind of bit your head off when you wanted to talk about how all of this happened…" Lois began, getting a laugh from Chloe. "I just want you to know that I'm not ready to dig yet, but when I am… you'll be the first to know."
"Fair enough," Chloe responded. She ran a hand over the cover of the baby book and smiled. "Thank you."
Lois nodded. "So, I had another appointment today… Have you ever heard of kegels?"
Lois took a final glance in her closet before sliding the door closed. She had finally given in to the urge to clean up the living room. When she had appeared with her bandana and rubber gloves in place, Chloe had made a mad dash for her bedroom. She knew that when Lois got in the mood to clean, nothing and no one was spared.
The last time Chloe had tried to help, Lois had ended up taking Chloe's clothes to the Laundromat… The problem was, they were the clothes she had been wearing at the time.
After vacuuming, dusting and wiping down every inch of public space in the apartment, Lois had eyed Clark's stack of clothes with disdain. Shaking her head, she had grabbed them and begrudgingly made room for them in her closet.
Feeling a twinge of hunger, Lois headed for the kitchen to make a snack before it turned to nausea.
TBC
