Chapter 10
A/N: Clark is having a hard time with his pregnancy. Lois doesn't know who or what she wants & Richard feels infantilized by our gloomy hero the Dark Knight in his guise as Bruce Wayne. It's a messy triangle with two children & two fetuses in the middle. Let's see what happens from there. Since I am Roman Catholic, I've included a section on spirituality with Fr. Daniel Leone. I understand that according to DC canon, Fr. Leone appeared as an advisor to Superman in Superman #204 in 2004. If you are uncomfortable with expressions of spirituality, you can skip that section to be concluded in the next chapter. This chapter is rated "M" because of a mature medical discussion. Again, please review.
Acknowledgements:
To tweets: I promise to complete this story & I'm thinking of writing an AU with Clark & his twins.
To 00 Exia 00: Merci for staying with the story. Enjoy.
To: JamesTKent: please stay with the story. It's not that hairy & I appreciate your feedback.
To: Wan-DaWoman: thank you for the kind words of encouragement. I'll try to live up to your expectations.
To: : thank you for following my fiction.
To: Good-Fellow: Welcome to the universe of What Sacrifices. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I'm having so much fun but I don't own anything just a vivid imagination.
STAR Labs, Break Room
Jason wanted a third glass of chocolate milk but Ceci negotiated with him. They agreed that he had to eat his lunch before getting another drop of chocolate milk. He consumed Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes & green beans before drinking a third glass of chocolate milk. Ceci played with him, "Jason, where did you put all of that food? Under the table? Did you feed it to the dog?"
"No Miss Ceci, it's all in me. See?" lifting his shirt, showing his distended little abdomen.
"Well I'm glad you ate all that food. It looks like your little sister is full too. Do you want to take a nap on your Grandma's bed?"
"No, I'm not sleepy yet." He yawned & stretched, looking as if he would fall asleep at the table.
"Why don't you sit in that chair & I'll put cartoons on for you."
"Okay Miss Ceci," as he crawled into the easy chair, put his head on the arm rest & went to sleep. Ceci covered him with a blanket as he shifted to get more comfortable.
Lois had just completed feeding Joanne. She placed the baby back into the carrier & decided that she would return to Clark's room to complete their talk. She entered the corridor & approached his room to see Clark struggling with the doctors & nurses.
Martha stood at the head of the bed trying unsuccessfully to calm him. "This is his worst seizure yet. I don't know how much more he can take," said Dr. Forester inserting a white oropharyngeal airway into Clark's mouth. "I need 10mg of Valium in two, 5mg doses in two syringes people. What's the duration of this seizure so far?"
"So far, three minutes, 25 seconds," answered a nurse monitoring Clark's vital signs.
"Damn, he's in status epilepticus. "Valium please, now!" A 10ml syringe containing the requested medication was handed to the now anxious anesthesiologist. "Maria, at this rate, he may not complete another four weeks to reach term.
"The babies are too premature. They wouldn't survive if we sectioned him now."
"Do we have much of a choice?" answered the anesthesiologist.
Lois stood at the window watching Clark, tears coursing down her cheeks. Why does he have to suffer so much? Repeated in her head. After the second dose of Valium, Clark's seizure subsided but he was left with fine tremors in his hands. He remained unconscious.
"What are the fetal heart rates?" asked Maria. "Stable at 157 beats/minute each," called back one of the nurses. Maria was pensive & looked up from Clark to see Lois standing at the window. She exited the room & took Lois aside. "What did you see Lois?" she sighed.
"I saw a man suffering but receiving care from a top notch medical team. Don't worry. I'm here as his friend, not a journalist."
"I'm glad to hear that Lois. This must be kept confidential," responded Maria, entering the nurse's station with Lois following her.
"What's going to happen now?" asked Lois urgently.
"I'm going to meet with the consultants in a few minutes to examine the options. We'll present them to Kal when he awakens."
"When do you think he'll awaken?"
"I really don't know Lois. Kryptonians go into a healing sleep when they suffer severe stress. It could be minutes or hours & we allow him to awaken on his own. The other thing is that you might want to postpone your discussion with him until after he has the babies. This is just the beginning of his extract treatments. I anticipate that things will get worse before they get better."
"All right Maria. Tell him that I hope he feels better & I'll say a prayer for him."
"Thanks Lois. He'll appreciate your good wishes. Go home with your children & get some rest."
Lois returned to the break room & said good bye to Ceci who had babysat the children. "Come Jason, let's go home." Jason stood up sleepily, holding her hand & Lois took Joanne in her carrier to go home to Richard.
Maria watched them leave the medical lab & shook her head. What tangled webs they've woven for themselves. Who's going to suffer in the end? Kal? Lois? Richard? The children! She decided to put that thought aside & talk to Kal before Lois returned. She entered the conference room & steeled herself to deal with the experts again. Dr. Halpern the endocrinologist & Dr. Beeman the urologist were in a heated argument.
"Stanley," said Dr. Beeman, "you know as well as I that the male genitourinary system never evolved to support the possibility of the birthing process."
"But Chris, we're not dealing with a human male, he's Kryptonian, a different species. I know that his hormones are nothing like I've ever seen before. We need to do ultrasounds, cat scans, MRIs & pelvic exams. I don't know what he's got below the waist; do you?" said Dr. Halpern. Giggles & smirks coursed the room.
Maria joined the conversation with a serious look on her face. "Gentlemen, thank you for coming to this care meeting. I will to address your questions Stanley & Chris. Again, this is totally confidential & if it becomes known to the public, I will report your names to the Justice League. They take confidentiality & privacy very seriously. Now, you were all chosen because you are the best in your fields. If you cannot be serious & perform your specialties in the most professional way possible, then you can leave. I'll have J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, telepathically wipe your memory of these events before you leave the lobby. This is for your protection as well as Kal-El's. Are we all on the same page where confidentiality is concerned?"
The consultants looked at each other. Maria had always been quiet but reliable at all of their medical staff meetings. Who knew that she was such a tyrant when she advocated for her patients. "Of course Maria" responded all to Maria's challenge.
"Kal-El is definitely male," she said. "He fathered a human-Kryptonian child. The mother & child will remain anonymous. Therefore, he has all of the reproductive equipment of a human male. His pregnancy is the result of advanced Kryptonian genetics which rendered their males capable of producing live offspring. The Kryptonians discovered that the process caused a 60% loss in the host males during the birthing process. We're going to face that problem at time of delivery but we need to get him to that point."
The consultants listened raptly to Maria's explanation of Kal-El's case. They could see that each specialty was vital for a positive outcome to his pregnancy. "Now, to address each specialty. Stanley, you have questions regarding his hormones?"
"Yes Maria. I've examined his blood work & have identified hormones that are bioidentical to human hormones but not produced in the organs that we expect to find them. The hormones, that maintain his pregnancy, were dropping until he started getting the Kryptonian extract. His Prolactin1 levels have now increased so don't be surprised if he starts producing colostrum2 very soon. I suspect that the artificial uterus manufactures the hormones since he does not have ovaries. I'd be interested in seeing if the hormones are affecting his testicles. If so how do we counter that effect?"
"That's my question too Maria," said Chris. "Also does he have vestigial structures analogous to the female cervix or vagina? Does he have ancillary pelvic muscles that will augment pushing during labor? Can we even anticipate that he'll go into labor like a human female."
"That's something that we need to find out. I haven't done a pelvic exam on him yet at his request," said Maria "but these are things we need to find out soon. Why don't you order an ultrasound, cat scans & MRIs. We'll do the non-invasive tests before we proceed with pelvic exams. When Ceci performed the Leopold maneuver3, she determined that one of the twins is transverse & the other is a footling breach. I'm going to order X-ray pelvimetry to determine if his pelvis shape would even allow passage of a baby & a venogram to visualize the blood supply to his artificial uterus."
The meeting adjourned after an hour of discussion. Maria decided to check on Kal & the babies. Kal lay in bed with his head slightly elevated. A man wearing blue surgical scrubs & a black ski mask rose as she entered the room. "Dr. Prenden I presume?" said the outrageous looking figure.
"I see that my nurse midwife got to you. She is a fierce proponent of infection control principles. You are…"
"The Batman" he responded. "I came to visit my friend but your nurse midwife stopped me at the door. Miss Ceci is formidable. She made me go through the entire decontamination process and she had me lock up my suit & belt before coming in here," showing the locker key to Kal & Maria.
"You bet your life Mr. Bat," said Ceci walking past the room. "I'd do the same thing for you if you were in that bed instead of Kal-El."
"I'd let you take care of me any day Miss Ceci," said Batman.
"Only if you're in labor Mr. Bat!" replied Ceci.
"Touché," said Batman, shrugging his shoulders. Everyone laughed at Batman being at a loss for words.
"Kal, I know that you must be getting tired of everything but we'd like to run some diagnostic tests on you," said Maria looking at the floor. "It's up to you if you'll allow them."
Clark took a deep breath, "what are the tests & what will they accomplish?"
"It will let us know if you have the ability to deliver the babies using your body's natural organs or should we plan on performing a cesarean section?"
"When do you plan on doing the tests?" asked the Batman
"We are set up to do them immediately," replied Maria.
They both looked to Clark. "Let's get them over with," he sighed as he relaxed further into his pillows. Maria used her pocket phone & called the X-ray technicians to pick up her patient for his tests.
"All of the tests should be completed in six hours," Maria told Kal & the Batman.
"Don't worry Boy Scout, I'll stay with you through the tests for moral support."
"Thanks Darth, you don't know how comforting that is to me," said Clark sarcastically.
Technicians transferred Clark to a narrow stretcher & wheeled him to the Diagnostic Imaging department with Batman as his escort.
Six Hours Later, Daily Planet Bull Pen
"Going home Richard?" called out Perry from his office. "It's nearly 8:00pm (2000). Shouldn't you be getting home to your family?"
"In a few minutes Perry, work piled up when I was out with Lois when she had the baby." He shuffled papers around then finally decided to just pile them up on a corner of his desk. Everything would wait until the following day. He also knew that he would need to face Lois. He didn't have any information on what happened to Clark Kent. Perry knew something & he needed to get to the bottom of it.
He put on his jacket & met Perry in his office. "Perry, we need to talk!"
Perry turned in his chair, "I know that look Richard. What's eating you?"
"Clark Kent, what's the story on him?"
"I thought I told you to let it go this morning?"
"I know what you told me. Now what's the real story."
"The newspaper man in you, eh? Well, I can't tell you anything." He reached into his desk & pulled out a photograph of Superman & started doodling around the edges.
Richard looked at him & tried to figure it out what he was trying to say. "I've got to go home to Lois. You know how she is. She won't let go until it kills her or me or both of us."
Perry continued his doodling but now he drew eye glasses on Superman's face, "I have information that I am not at liberty to share because I should not have that information myself." He turned the picture to Richard who looked at it in shock. "I have not told you anything & will deny it vehemently if you say anything to anyone. Do you understand what I'm saying to you4?" as he took the photo out of Richard's hands & ran it through the shredder next to his desk.
"How long have you known Perry?" asked Richard looking at Perry in shock.
"For a while and I confronted him when you, Lois & Jason visited the printing presses a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't have him flying around crashing into buildings because he's exhausted. That's why I kept telling you to leave this alone. You can't share this with Lois either."
"I understand Uncle Perry, I'll see you in the morning & thanks. Good night." said Richard perplexed at his new knowledge. He left Perry's office & took the elevators to the parking garage. How has Kent pulled it off all of these years? All he's used is a simple pair of glasses but then his personality is totally different from Superman's. But he is Superman. I'm confused. All I can do is avoid this conversation with Lois. Richard drove home to find that Lois had fed the children, bathed them & they were both sleeping.
"Hi babe, how was your day?" giving her a kiss. He noted that she was less animated than usual. He followed her into the kitchen where she put his dinner into the microwave. "Did you find out anything about Jason's problem?"
She took a deep breath & sat down while he poured himself a glass of wine. "Yeah, Jason's fine & he shouldn't have any more problems. I took him to STAR Labs; that's where Superman is being treated. He's not doing very well though."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What did they do for Jason?" said he taking a sip of Chardonette."
"The Fortress AI created a purified extract of elements & compounds from Kryptonite which was being infused into Superman. They gave a small amount to Jason by mouth. He didn't have any side effects even though Superman had seizures. I had a chance to talk to him for a few minutes before they started the treatment. I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist but I think the man is very depressed. "
"What makes you say that, Lo," said Richard who waited for her response.
"He talked wildly telling me that he regretted having left me for five years. He said that he wished he had died with his people rather than live like this." Lois broke down into tears. Richard took her into his arms. "I didn't know what to tell him,' she gasped between tears.
"You shouldn't feel guilty Lo. It was just fate that this should happen to him."
"But you don't understand Richard. He's so alone & he said he loved me. I rejected him for you. He's always been on the outside & all he ever wanted was a home with a family."
"Do you still love him?" Richard said to her.
"I love you Richard."
"That's not my question Lo. Do you still love him?"
"Richard, don't start this now. I feel sorry for a good man who's suffering horribly. He's the father of my son. I'd be crazy if I denied having some kind of feelings for him. I don't know what I feel. Can't you understand that?" She abruptly got up & ran into the living room, sobbing uncontrollably.
Richard knew better than to push the issue any further. He remained in the kitchen trying to eat his dinner. However he just spent his time pushing the food around the plate with his fork.
STAR Labs
Clark completed all of the tests & awaited the results from Maria. Batman remained with him trying to elevate his spirits.
"You did well Boy Scout. I don't know if I would have tolerated all of that poking & prodding." Batman lowered himself into a chair next to the bed.
"I want to thank you for outfitting this place so well Darth. I don't think there's a facility anywhere that could provide such thorough diagnosis & treatment," said Clark, clearly in pain.
"It's a small investment Buddy. You've pulled my bacon out the fire more than once. But it's obvious that you're in pain right now. Why don't you ask for something?" The Batman tried to help Clark get more comfortable in his bed.
"I read in one of my pregnancy books that anything I ingest will go straight to the babies. The last thing I need is for them to be dependent on a narcotic.
"If you rated your pain right now, what number would you give it?
You're beginning to sound like Maria & Ceci. The only time that I'm pain free is when I sleep. I guess that's why the AI planned to keep me anesthetized for my final month.
"Do you want to go to the Fortress, pal? I could take you there right now, no questions asked."
"No, no. I'm not ready to turn myself over to the Jor-El AI. In its logic, it would anesthetize me but if the choice was between the babies or me, it would sacrifice me for the babies to continue the species. It's the Kryptonian way. At least with Maria & the consultants, I have a better chance to survive along with the babies.
There was a knock at the door. Maria entered with the consultants. "Well Kal, we have some mixed news for you. As of this time, your ultrasounds, cat scans & MRIs indicate that your anatomy is identical to a human male's except for the presence of the artificial uterus. Your bone structure is about 20% denser than a human's but there are signs of mineral depletion in your long bones & hips. I suspect the depletion was caused by the babies. There is no indication that you have any vestigial5 organs like a rudimentary cervix or vagina. There are no fistulas between your gastrointestinal tract & the artificial uterus. The shape of your uterus is ovoid with the longer axis pointing downward. A chicken's egg is a natural occurring ovoid.
"Okay, now I'm a chicken in addition to everything else," smiled Clark faintly through his pain. "What does all of this mean?"
"What it means Kal," interrupted Dr. Beeman, "is that since we don't know the nature of the uterus, it could be designed to project something akin to a cervix & vagina through your pelvic organs to make an opening into your perineum. That would be very destructive to your natural organs. The ultrasound shows that's a distinct possibility."
"What are his alternatives?" asked the Batman when Maria & the consultants paused in the delivery of the results. They looked to each other & Dr. Halpern continued the discussion.
"I've looked at your hormone profile. Fortunately it's dramatically improving since you started receiving the extract. We were afraid that you would have a late term miscarriage or stillbirth. The source of your female hormones is the artificial uterus. The uterus is a composite of living muscle fibers in a crystalline matrix which allows for its growth & hormone production. It seems that it could contract like a natural uterus.
"But …" said Clark.
"We performed X-ray pelvimetry. The shape of your pelvis is android6, which is the normal male pelvis shape. You would not be able to deliver naturally. The babies would not pass through your pelvis because of its shape. The venogram also showed that your uterus has myriad arteries & veins feeding the structure. These vessels are attached to your omentum, stomach, intestines, liver & kidneys. At any one time, about 40% of your blood is coursing through the uterus feeding the babies.
"Which means …" said Clark.
"It means" said Maria, "that we'll need to deliver the babies by Cesarean Section. We're going to wait as long as possible but we'll probably perform the surgery in about 3 to 3.5 weeks. By that time, the babies will weigh between five and six pounds(2268 grams to 2720 grams). The hard part is the going to be the hysterectomy. We want to spare your intestinal organs but we may need to remove parts depending how much the uterus is attached by these vessels. We have three units of banked blood frozen for you in our blood bank, a total of 1.5 liters. You will lose more than two liters of blood when we remove the uterus. That is life threatening. We're going to supplement your banked blood with O negative human blood after we transfuse your own blood. So far, O negative is compatible with your own blood type.
"So I'm damned if I do & damned if I don't," said Clark, glumly. Now I see why there was such a high mortality rate among Kryptonian males.
"One positive point Kal," said Dr. Dublin. We're going to start infusing the extract continuously through small IV cassettes instead of a more concentrated dose over a few minutes. We think that giving you smaller doses continuously will be less toxic to you.
"When are you going to do this? I dread every treatment," replied Clark quietly.
"Tomorrow, after Ceci inserts a PICC7 line. Once inserted, we can give you continuous extract therapy without worrying about sticking you every time we lose an IV site. How many times have we stuck you so far?"
"I've lost count," looking at his bruised forearms & hands, "and it's only been five days. Okay then, tomorrow."
The doctors filed out of his room leaving only the Batman with Clark. They made small talk for a little while. Suddenly Batman asked, "Clark, have you thought about where you plan to live after the babies are born?"
"No, not really," Clark sighed. "I know that I'm not going back to my little apartment. There's not enough space for everything they'll need. I thought of a small house on some farm land outside of Metropolis so that I can continue working. A lot of single parents work; I'll just join the masses if Perry will have me back."
"Don't worry about your job Buddy. You're on unpaid leave," smiled Batman.
"Wow, when did Perry become so magnanimous? I thought for sure he would have terminated me by now for being AWOL."
"Since the day I became your boss, pal. You have a friend on the 35th floor & there will be a Montessori Learning Center on the third floor for my niece & nephew when you return."
Clark took a deep breath as he digested everything Batman told him. "I don't have the words to thank you."
"Just rest Boy Scout. You need to get well enough for us to leave this building to look at some houses." Clark rolled over & slept peacefully for the first time in weeks.
Sacred Heart Church, Metropolis, the following day
Martha slept comfortably through the night for the first time in days. She had breakfast with Maria & decided to follow up on Clark's requests. A taxi dropped her off in front of a large Gothic structure. She was uncomfortable entering this large church. She was use to her small town Methodist church. But, she promised Clark & she would go to the ends of the earth for her child.
The interior of the church was dimly lit from stained glass windows, high ceiling lights & burned down candles. She clutched her purse & the scrap of paper with Fr. Leone's name close to her chest as she walked down the center aisle in awe at the immensity of the church. "May I help you ma'am?" said a quiet voice behind her. She gasped, startled at the sound. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. Could I help you with anything?"
"I, I… stammered Martha. I'm here to see Father Leone," she said in a quiet determined voice.
"Well, I can help you, I'm Fr. Leone." He smiled kindly at her, "are you new to the parish?"
"No sir. My son is a member of your parish. His name is Clark Kent."
Fr. Leone took a deep breath. "You must be Martha," taking her hand. "He told me so much about you. He's also shared his secret with me. Please, let's go to the rectory. It's an honor to finally meet you."
"Thank you very much sir. He asked me to come to see you." They walked together to the rectory. Entering the door from the sacristy, they walked together to the parlor. The secretary came to the door.
"Terry, could you reschedule all of my appointments for the rest of the day," he said. "Miss Martha, would you like some tea or coffee?"
"A cup of tea would be delightful, thank you sir."
"Please Miss Martha. I feel like I've known you for a very long time. Please call me Daniel. You & your husband did such a wonderful service to this planet by raising such a fine, moral, upstanding young man."
"Thank you Daniel. Though, I think that a large part of that was his nature too."
"Tell me how is Clark doing? He's been in my thoughts & prayers a lot lately." They halted their conversation long enough for the secretary to return with two cups of tea & leave, closing the door.
Martha looked at him with tears brimming in her eyes. "He's not doing very well. You know about the pregnancy. The babies sapped almost all of his body's electrolytes & minerals until the Justice League obtained a Kryptonite-based extract to replace what he was losing."
"Kryptonite? Oh, no," he gasped. "That's lethal to him."
"It's been purified & diluted. I didn't think it would work especially since it came from the Fortress but he improved enough for me to leave his side today. He asked me to contact you almost a week ago. Would you go to STAR Labs to see him?"
"Of course Martha. He once asked me that if he should become ill or if he should die, would I make sure he was anointed." He went to his desk, removing a small black case containing a prayer book, consecrated oil & holy water. He removed the two beeswax candles & matches then replaced them with two small battery operated candles. "I don't think STAR Labs wants me to set the place on fire especially if he's getting oxygen." Martha couldn't help but giggle. He retrieved his blessed stole, kissed the cross on it then folded it, making sure that it fit into his black case. My car is in the driveway & my schedule is clear. Let's go to STAR Labs Miss Martha. They left the rectory telling the secretary that he would return in a few hours but could be reached on his cell phone.
Fr. Leone's car, in traffic on the way to STAR Labs
Fr. Leone played gospel music softly on his car radio. There was so much he wanted to ask Martha but she was so sad & quiet. He started the conversation, "it's difficult to see one's child so sick." That opened the flood gates for Martha.
"Daniel, I'm a simple woman. I could never have children of my own but God in His goodness sent me the son I always wanted. Jonathan & I raised him as best we could but we could not make up for a lost civilization. As he developed his powers, he became more frustrated & isolated. He cried with every failed mission but he's tried his best to be a good man as Clark & as Superman. He shouldn't need to suffer so much.
"Martha, Clark & I have discussed this very issue so much. His faith is strong and he's aware that suffering is part of life just as evil is part of this world. Suffering, even in a person who is invulnerable is also part of this world; it was part of Krypton. He's learning that the trick now is he deals with the suffering.
"Then, I fear he's losing that ability to deal with suffering & pain, Daniel. He is very depressed. He's said several times that Jor-El & Lara should have let him die when their planet died. I've never seen him this hopeless."
"If anything, Clark has always been a hopeful person. Don't worry Martha. With a lot of prayer & a little help from his friends, he'll pull through this crisis. We're all rooting for him. Well, here we are. Let's go see your young man." Daniel parked his car in the nearest parking space & they got out entering STAR Labs.
To be continued
A/N: Another small cliffhanger. Again please review & give me feedback.
1 Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland which stimulates milk production during pregnancy.
2 Colostrum is the early highly concentrated low volume milk produced by mammals during late pregnancy & just after a birth.
3 Leopold maneuver determines via an abdominal exam which direction is a baby's head & back.
4 Perry confronted Clark indirectly with knowledge of his secret in Chapter 20, Survival of the Species by Jedi-Bant.
5 A vestigial organ is a primitive remnant organ that no longer has a purpose, i.e. the appendix.
6 Android shape is most common shape of the male pelvis. Gynecoid is the ideal shape for the female pelvis.
7 PICC line is a peripherally inserted central catheter. A line for long term IV therapy.