Chapter 36: Welcome, My Little One
Five Months Later
Perry was on the phone, talking to the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Planet's sister company in London, when he spotted the young brunette reporter walking—more like waddling—to one of the many desks in the office. "Let me call you back, Jansen, something just came up," he said, putting the receiver down. He opened his office door and roared for the whole newsroom to hear, "LANE! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MATERNITY LEAVE!"
Slowly, Lois stood up from her desk with an effort, her small frame carrying the weight of her very round belly. "Chief, It's Lane-Kent," she corrected him. "And if you must know, there's still a few weeks to go before I have that maternity leave."
"I don't care, Lane-Kent," retorted Perry. "You're leaving this office right now and you're staying at home until that kid comes out. Kent! KENT! Where the hell is that reporter you married three months ago, Lois?"
Lois grinned. She woke up alone that morning and found a note scribbled beside her pillow. 'Sorry, sweetheart, duty called—landslide in South America. I'll make it up to you tonight over a home-cooked meal. I love you always. – Clark.' Lois began, "Well, Chief, you see, Clark—"
Lois wasn't able to finish her excuse. She felt a sharp, sudden pain on her side. Her heart rate suddenly increased. Uh oh, she thought to herself.
-oOo-
Clark was evacuating the last of the landslide victims when he heard Lois' heart rate speed up. He immediately put the two teenagers he had saved down on the ground and zoomed to Metropolis. He changed clothes in the alley behind the Daily Planet building and used the stairs to get to their floor—with super-speed, of course.
"Lois?" he called out as soon as he arrived at the bullpen.
He found his wife sitting on her chair, a few co-workers fanning her and offering her water. She was sweating and was obviously in pain. He kissed her forehead. "What happened?"
"Where the hell have you been, Kent?" Perry's voice boomed. The Chief was a few feet away from where they were, watching what was happening.
"I, uh, I was…" Clark stammered, but he was cut short when Lois gasped in pain.
"Clark," she managed to say. "It's time."
"What?"
"It's time!" she exclaimed as another contraction came on. "Your baby's coming, you big dork!"
Clark's eyes widened. "Oh, right. Oh! Uh, okay…" Clark had a mix of emotions running through his system—excitement, anxiety, nervousness, exhilaration. He began to fix Lois' things and get everything packed in Jason's Superman backpack which the boy had accidentally left in the office a few weeks ago. "Right, well…we just have to remember that we're not supposed to be panicking. Panicking isn't what we're supposed to do. Supposedly, we shouldn't be panicking. Okay, we're good, we're calm. We're not panicking."
"Clark, you've managed to construct three different sentences with the same thought in a span of ten seconds," Lois said, smiling in-between the contractions. Some of their officemates were also sniggering behind them.
Clark swallowed. "Right, uh. W-we should, uh, we should g-go, right? Let's, uh, l-let's go."
"Don't worry, C.K., someone already called for an ambulance from Met Gen, they're on their way," Jimmy assured Clark.
"Great, thanks," Clark replied. "Uh, Jimmy, can you call Richard? He's picking up Jason from school. Can you tell him Lois and I will be at the hospital and that he should just follow with Jason and Anna? Lily can come, too."
Jimmy nodded and excused himself to get his phone.
The rest of the office was also supportive of Lois. They offered her water to drink, fanned her with their folders and most of the other women were trying to calm her down.
By the time the paramedics had arrived, the pain Lois was feeling had escalated, and she was already screaming with every contraction. Clark was doing her best to calm her down. "Don't you dare tell me to calm down! You did this, you farm boy!" she snapped at Clark. The paramedics assisted her to the wheelchair and wheeled her down to the waiting ambulance outside the building as their colleagues offered them well wishes for the coming baby.
-oOo-
"AAARRRRGGGHH!" Lois screamed as she lay in her bed. She had been in labor for eleven hours, and she wanted nothing more than to make the pain go away and get over the whole ordeal.
Clark didn't leave his wife's side, letting her hold on to his hand as the pain of the contraction radiated through her body. Clark had to say, though, his wife had a very firm grip on him. He didn't feel the pain, but he could feel just how hard Lois squeezed his hand. "It's okay, honey, it'll be over soon," Clark told her sweetly.
Lois was near tears as the pain swept through her body. She was twisting and turning on the bed, uncomfortable in every position she put herself in. "I…want…this…to…be…over!" she screamed.
Clark did not know what to do. He felt his heart break at the sight of Lois in pain, but the thought of holding his newborn child in his arms kept him strong. He suddenly heard something, and his eyes darted to the door.
Lois saw the look in Clark's eyes. She also noticed him cock his head to the side. Just then, another contraction came on. "Oh, no! You…are…not…AAAHHH!...going anywhere, Kent!" she shrieked.
Clark's attention went back to her. "I'm not going anywhere, love," he said, brushing Lois' hair to the side. "I just heard Ma talking to Richard outside. I called her as soon as we got here. I guess she got on the first flight from Kansas to Metropolis." Upon seeing Lois grimace, he continued, in the hopes of soothing her, "Jason and Anna are talking about names for the baby. Isn't that sweet?"
Lois tried to smile, appreciating for a split second her husband's efforts, but her smile turned into a scowl as another contraction hit her.
A young nurse came to check on Lois two hours later. She palpated Lois' belly and timed the contractions. Just then, a sudden gush of fluid trickled down Lois' bed. The nurse went rushing off to the door when Clark stood up. "Is something wrong with her, miss?" Clark asked, the concern in his voice evident.
The young nurse smiled. "No, sir. She's alright. And your baby is ready to be born. I'm just going to call the doctor."
Dr. Lauren Rowley arrived a minute later, followed by a group of nurses. The young nurse who had checked on Lois offered Clark a disposable scrub suit and instructed him on how to put it over his normal clothes. Dr. Rowley checked Lois. "Okay, Mrs. Lane-Kent, everything's ready—you're fully dilated and a hundred-percent effaced. Let's get this done. You're baby is counting on you."
Lois nodded, and looked at Clark. For a second, she let herself drown in her husband's deep blue eyes, and all the pain was forgotten. "I love you," she whispered.
Clark took her hand and kissed the back of her hand lightly. "I love you, too," he replied.
"Okay, Lois," the doctor said, "when you feel the contraction coming, you take a deep breath and push, okay?"
The pain was tearing her up inside, but Lois nodded in understanding. When the next contraction came, she pushed. Two more pushes later, and still nothing happened. Lois was getting frustrated and tired. "I don't want to do this anymore, Clark," she cried helplessly. Gone was the Lois Lane who always seemed fired up about the latest news around Metropolis. She had been replaced by a vulnerable young woman who was in so much pain. "Please…I can't…I can't do this…" She began to sob as the pain of the contraction hit her again.
Clark looked for his wife to the doctor. Dr. Rowley had seen many women going through the process of birth, and knew from experience that she needed to give a little time to the woman in labor. After a minute, she nodded at Clark, seemingly saying, "Lois has to do this—it's now or never." Clark understood.
He took off his shoes, and, asking assistance from the nurses, helped Lois to sit up. He then climbed onto the bed and sat behind Lois, letting Lois' back rest against his body. He held his wife's hand, and their wedding bands gleamed side by side. With his other hand, he gently stroke Lois' hair. He leaned in to Lois, his lips close to her ear, and began to use his deep baritone voice to talk to her. "Sweetheart, you can do this. You're the strongest person I know, and this is nothing compared to all the experiences you've had in your work. Come on, you can do this, Lois. I know you can."
"I can't!" Lois whimpered.
"Alright, here's a contraction. Push, Lois, push!" Dr. Rowley said as she felt Lois' abdomen.
Clark began to softly recite in Lois' ear the wedding vow he had made to her as she pushed. "My beloved Lois, you are everything I have ever hoped to have in my life—and more. When I was alone, you stood beside me. When I was in the dark, you were my light. When I was weak, you were my strength. When I was powerless, you were my life…"
Lois could barely hear Dr. Rowley saying, "Push, Lois! One more push! Alright, you're doing great—the baby's head is out!" as she listened to the deep, soothing voice of the man she loved.
"…As I stand before you today, to be your husband, I stand with a commitment—to you and to our children. I promise that I will be here for you in every challenge that we face, in every trial that comes into our lives, in every storm that goes our way. I will be here for you, Lois, just as you have been there for me through everything. From now until forever, I will be here for you, my best friend, my love, my joy, my Lois."
Lois gave one strong push and the shrill cry of a newborn echoed through the walls. Lois threw her head back and rested it on Clark's shoulder as Clark whispered, "It's over, honey. You were amazing. Our baby's here."
"Mr. Kent, Mrs. Lane-Kent—would you like to see your baby?" Dr. Rowley said. "Congratulations, you have a healthy and beautiful baby…"
-oOo-
"Baby Boy Lane-Kent!" Clark exclaimed as he went to the waiting room where his family and friends sat.
Jason jumped up and so did Martha. Jason had his arms in the air. "I got a brother! I got a brother!" he announced to everyone around him—Richard, Anna, Lily, Perry, Jimmy, Ella Lane and General Sam Lane. He jumped into his father's arms, and they sported identical grins that looked as if they just won a million-dollar lottery.
Martha embraced his son. "Congratulations, Clark," she said. "Thank you for another grandson."
Everyone else had congratulated Clark, including General Lane—although the general's greeting was merely a handshake and a grunt. Jimmy was immediately clicking away on his camera, capturing all the happiness around the room.
"So, what's the son-of-a-dork's name?" Richard joked.
Clark laughed. "David Richard Lane-Kent."
Richard raised an eyebrow at him. "The spawn of Lane and Kent is named after me, then?"
Clark nodded at his friend. "Would you like to see your godson, Richard? Everyone else can come as well; they put Davey in the nursery and we can still make it to viewing time."
Richard froze in his spot for a moment. He looked at his mild-mannered, bumbling friend with a grateful expression on his face. Clark clapped him gently on the back. "You can thank me by paying for Davey's private school when he turns six," Clark quipped.
They made their way to the nursery. "Baby Boy Lane-Kent, please," Clark told the nurse. A little while later, a baby wrapped in a blue blanket was wheeled close to the glass window. Clark and Richard scooped up their kids to give them a better look at Davey. Everyone stood with their noses almost pressed to the window, admiring the rosy-cheeked, black-haired baby. No sound could be heard, other than the clicking of Jimmy's camera.
"Good job, Kent," General Lane suddenly said, breaking the silence. Everyone turned to look at him. He was not one to give compliments easily, and especially not to the clumsy, shy journalist his eldest daughter had married.
"Thank you, sir," Clark replied.
Richard watched as the newborn woke up and a pair of dark blue eyes greeted him. He nudged Clark with his elbow. "You did good, farm boy."
Clark grinned, pointing to his newborn son through the glass and beaming proudly. "I made that."
A/N: Yes, I skipped the whole Lane-Kent wedding—I didn't think I could come up with a grand wedding idea. We do get a glimpse of what happened, though—they wrote their own vows, and Clark even recited his.
Yes, the Kent family's newest addition is a boy. I was thinking of a girl, first. But then, most other stories have done that. So I thought of them having a boy for a change. And the name...well, I think I might have gone over the top, having Clark's son named after Richard. But these two men have gone through a lot of things together, and the events that led them to where they are now pretty much strengthened their friendship. I've known of parents naming their children after their closest friend or something, so it's not that unusual. :)
Ah, yes. "A Father, First" is coming to a close...