Here's chapter 5, guys! One more chapter after this...
"I'm pregnant."
Lana stared down at the fifth pregnancy test she had tried, which – like all of the others – had come up with an undeniably pink reading.
"Yeah, Lana, we kinda knew that from the first test," said Lois, "but we're glad you're finally convinced."
She glanced over expectantly at Chloe, who simply shrugged with an apologetic look in her eyes for Lois' blunt answer. The idea of Lana being pregnant had a different meaning for her than it did for Lois. She had known Clark since junior high, and remembered the days when he was a gangly, fumbling pre-teen, too shy to approach the popular cheerleader Lana Lang. In reality, she was barely grasping the fact that Clark was gone forever, and had not yet begun to accept Lana's current state. Everything was surreal. How had her world changed so much in such a short amount of time? I gave him his first kiss, thought Chloe nostalgically. And now Lana is going to have his baby. She wondered if the child would possess any of Clark's abilities, but then realized that he had been human at the time of conception. So, she realized, Lana is unknowingly having the baby of an ALIEN? That would make a good story for the Daily Inquisitor.
Whatever mixed emotions Chloe possessed in regard for the issue, she would be there for Lana, helping her as much as she could throughout the entire pregnancy. Lana was her best friend, but that wasn't the full reason. She had to do it for Clark.
Lana sat down at one of the stools at the Talon, her face pale.
"How am I going to tell the Kents?" she asked her friends hopelessly. "Mr. Kent hated the fact that we slept together...you should have seen his face! And he thought it was just that one time! What's he going to say when he finds out I'm pregnant?"
"Lana, I know the Kents. I've been living in their house. Mr. Kent doesn't hate anybody, except maybe Lionel Luthor. They're the most understanding people in the world. They make the General look like Hitler, and even HE didn't kill me when he found out I hid a boy in my closet that time...although he sure didn't let me forget it...stop me when I start rambling, Chloe! (for Chloe had begun to grin). Anyways, I have this suspicion that they'll be thrilled with the idea of a grandchild."
"Yeah, maybe...", said Lana uncertainly. Her mind had begun to wander, remembering how brilliantly Clark had taken care of Evan after they had both found him in the crater. She had never seen him smile with such joy. She felt hot tears form in her eyes as she realized that Clark could never experience such joy with his own son, their son.
"He would have made a great father," muttered Lana, looking down at her hands.
Chloe and Lois exchanged glances, unsure of how to comfort their friend. They had both been trying to keep the mood somewhat upbeat, not only for Lana's sake, but their own. However, at some point, reality needed to be faced.
"We know, Lana," answered Chloe, grabbing her hand and looking into her tear-filled eyes. "Clark would have been a wonderful dad. I've never met anyone more caring than he was."
"Caring?" retorted Lois. "Smallville? If you say so..." She grinned at Lana, who gave her a small smile in return. "He's never so much as given me a compliment, but whatever."
Lana laughed, the first time she had done so since Clark's death.
SVSVSVSVSV
Lex Luthor sat in his mansion, his laptop sitting in front of him. He stared at it blankly. He was supposed to be finishing a report on the new stock of fertilizer his scientists at LuthorCorp had recently patented, but he haven't even started. Death isn't supposed to affect me like this, he told himself. I'm a Luthor...my father would never had let anything like this affect him. But I'm not my father, persisted a stronger voice inside his head. I'm not. He had tried putting friendships aside, being as ruthless as a Luthor was supposed to be, and attempted to investigate the origins of a certain Clark Kent. And how had that ended? In a horrible fight that ended up being the last time he would ever lay eyes on his best friend. He wouldn't make that same mistake twice. All of the research had been for nothing, anyways. In the end, Clark Kent had proved himself to be no more alien than he was.
To his surprise, he realized that he had tears in his eyes. The last time he had been emotional, he recalled, was when his mother died. He hastily turned on his computer and rubbed his eyed dry upon hearing the familiar footsteps of his father approaching the door.
Lionel Luthor walked into the room regally, his gait emanating that of a king. He strode over to the small bar, as he usually did, and poured himself a glass of champagne.
"I suppose I should be congratulating you, son," said the elder Luthor, between sips, "...on your recent success with the meteor-altered fertilizer. It seems as if crops are now growing at three times the normal rate. I applaud your fortitude through, well, shall we say...your current hardship."
"Thanks for your support, dad," replied Lex unenthusiastically. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish this project."
"Whatever you say, son," answered Lionel with I grin. I daresay I should go check up on the latest proceedings in the lab, anyway. I will like what I find, won't I?"
"Yes dad," said Lex quietly. His father had already left, without so much as a goodbye.
TBC
Yet again, pretty short...I tried to add a bit more, but wasn't all that successful. Keep reading, and please review!
