Chapter 3 - Hope

When Martha Kent returned home from work, she found Lois sitting at Clark's grave. Martha grieved her son, but she knew that her pain was different than Lois's. When Martha had lost Jonathan, they had had 30 years together, while Lois mourned, not just the man that she loved, but a future together taken before they had the chance to live it.

When Lois came to the house, Martha had tea steeping. Lois smiled, "That smells good, what kind is that?"

"Peppermint."

"Oh, perfect." Lois sat down across from Martha. When they had their cups of tea, Lois looked up at Martha. "I am here about something happy for once, I just found out that I am pregnant with Clark's child."

Martha nearly dropped her cut at the abrupt announcement. "You're sure?"

"Yes, I went to a doctor today, they confirmed with a blood test and ultrasound."

Martha smiled, reaching across the table to squeeze Lois's hand. "I am so happy for you, and Clark would have been over the moon, he would have made such a wonderful father."

Lois nodded, "Yes, he would have. And this child will have a wonderful Grandmother." She looked at Martha and smiled.

Their moment of happiness was interrupted, when a strange Kryptonian robot that Lois remembered from the Ancient Kryptonian ship in the arctic. "Lois Lane?" The robot asked.

"Yes."

"You are required at the Fortress of Kal El, son or Jor El of Krypton."

"What, why?"

"Kal-El is severely injured. I have placed him in a regenerative stasis pod, but I have had trouble keeping him calm lately."

Lois was shocked, "What are you talking about? Clark's alive? But we buried him?"

"I retrieved his body after the funeral. His vitals were lowered to appear dead by human standards, but he was barely alive. If he keeps fighting me and doesn't remain in the regenerative fluid for at least 3 more months, he will not survive."

"What do you need from me?" Lois asked, holding onto Martha's hand.

"You must come with me to the Fortress and talk to him. He must be calm, and right now, something happened which caused him to resist my efforts."

Lois breathed, "Could he have heard from that far away that I am pregnant, or hear the extra heartbeat?"

The AI paused, considering this development. He now understood the change in Kal-El's behavior. "Yes, that explains it. In this case, you should definitely come to the Fortress. Our medical equipment should give you a full exam, to check for any irregularities, due to the child being part Kryptonian, and part Human."

Lois looked at Martha, who was still in shock, in the news that the Son that she buried was alive. Martha came out of it, and took Lois into her arms, "Go, take care of Clark. Make sure that he comes back to us."

Lois nodded, "How do we explain to the world, how Clark Kent is not dead, without revealing that he is superman?"

Martha sighed, "I will think on it, but don't you worry about this yet. The only thing that you need to worry about is taking care of Clark, yourself, and my grandchild."

"If I am not back by Sunday, call Perry, and tell him…" Lois paused thinking, "Tell him that I'm sick and am not up to flying back yet."

Martha nodded, "You got it, although, from what I have heard of him, he may have figured out the whole secret identity thing and had just kept it to himself these last few years."

Lois smiled, "You may be right, but if he's pretending not to know, let's pretend that he doesn't know."

Lois had once been inside a Kryptonian ship before, and when she was brought into one by the AI, she was struck by how Alien it was. When she was with Clark, even though he was biologically of another world, his actions and thoughts were more human than Kryptonian due to his upbringing.

She was escorted into a room, where there were large tubes of blue liquid. Inside the tubes she could see bubbles floating up, and the light from the tubes reflected off the silver walls. In the tube in the middle she saw, "Clark!" Lois cried as she ran up and put her hands on the tube. "I'm here Clark."

She looked into the thick blue liquid, and saw Clark, who had been struggling to escape his bonds, relax. "You are hurt Clark, and you need to be calm. You need time to heal, and then you will be able to come home to me." She saw Clark's eyes open and look at her. She held up her hand, "Martha gave me the ring that you ordered for me. My answer is yes, Clark, I will marry you. But you need to give your injuries time to heal first."

Lois spent the next few hours sitting next to Clark's healing chamber, and talking to him. The AI was pleased that Clark's body was calmer, and his vitals were improving. "Ms Lane. My programing was designed to ensure the health of the house of El. This now includes you and your unborn child. Would you consent to a full body scan to allow our computers to analyze the status of your pregnancy and your overall health?"

Lois nodded, "You hear that Clark, I'm just going to get a checkup from the Kryptonian side. I'll be right here if you need me."

Clark, who had become mostly conscious in the blue healing liquid, nodded. He watched Lois go to the other side of the room, and step on a glowing platform.

Lois was curious, and a little apprehensive, on getting an option on her pregnancy from a Kryptonian computer. "How's it look doc?" Lois said, half joking.

"You are in overall good health. Your body will need additional nutrition during your pregnancy, has your doctor told you what you would need for a normal human pregnancy?"

"Yes," Lois answered, and explained what the doctor had told her that morning. "What should I add with this child being part Kryptonian?"

"I don't see any difference in the requirements of a developing fetus. This child's combination of human and kryptonian physiology is such that she has the strengths of a kryptonian, and none of their weakness. I would advise you to avoid Kryptonite of any kind, but I don't think that would be a problem."

Lois caught one of the words, "She? We're having a girl?"

"Yes, your unborn child is female."

Lois smiled, "Can I see Clark again?"

"Yes, of course."

Lois followed he AI back to the chamber that Clark was in. "Clark?" Clark's eyes opened, and she smiled at him. "Congratulations, we are going to have a healthy baby girl."

The AI came up, "I have to return you to Kansas now, Ms Lane. The amount of power being used to allow you to stay here risks us being detected by your world's military."

Lois nodded, "Can I come back to visit?"

The AI nodded, "A few hours once a week will be allowable."

"You hear that Clark? I will come and visit you once a week. I need you to be good and listen to the good doctor here. You have to stay in there for three more months, and then you can come home, in plenty of time for you to be there for my last trimester. I will make sure that you have a life to go back to."

She watched as Clark put his hand up against the glass of the healing tank. She put her hand up against his, "I love you, and I will marry you."

TBC…