Superman and Jason landed near Metropolis Hospital behind a row of parked ambulances. A small congregation of EMTs huddled in a circle sipping hot mugs of coffee, unaware that the gust of wind that ruffled their hair was actually the man of steel. In a flash he changed into a taupe suit while Jason slung his backpack over his shoulder.
Clark led him around the corner to the front entrance. Once inside, they walked up to the counter and Clark asked for Lois' room. The sterile white walls and colorless paintings reminded him of his own time spent here, and in a fleeting moment wondered if when he was unconscious he'd been brought down this very hallway.
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't let you in." The young nurse responded, pulling apart her sesame seed bagel into bite-size pieces. "Security is tight around her room. No visitors. Doctor's orders."
"But this is her…" Clark started, pointing to Jason.
"Look, mister. I already kicked one person out of this hospital this morning for being fresh with me. Don't make yourself be the second."
Clark reeled back from her hostile attitude, prepared to fight back but knowing it was futile. The nurse had already turned back to her computer screen. He took a long look around the reception area, focusing his vision through the thick hospital walls searching for Lois. His eyes settled on a small room towards the rear of the building. Sure enough, two armed security guards stood in the doorway. "Come on, Jason."
The boy followed him out back to the parking lot. The EMTs seen earlier were now on the move. Two jumped into an ambulance, hitting the sirens as they sped down the road. Clark scanned in the direction they were headed and found a multi-car accident on the highway about five miles away. He was relieved to find all passengers standing beside the road with mere cuts and bruises, nothing that would require his attention.
Clark transformed back into his famous suit and darted into the air. He hovered about for a moment, scanning the section of building in which he'd earlier found Lois, until his eyes settled on her unmoving form.
With Jason in tow, he flew to the window and peered inside. A lone doctor was at Lois' bedside checking her pulse. He'd not prepared himself for what he'd see. Her face was bruised, half of which was wrapped in a white bandage covering a gash along her cheek. Another bandage was around her abdomen where the knife had pierced her skin. But most heart wrenching was her tranquil face that revealed nothing of the turmoil happening inside her body.
He debated whether to wait for the doctor to leave, seeing as how he'd like to avoid any speculation as to why he was there. But it would not be fair to Jason. He pushed his fingertips into the windowsill, feeling the resistance of a lock.
Dr. Stein immediately turned his head towards the door when he heard the knock, but quickly realized something was amiss when he walked towards it and the noise came again behind him. Through the window he saw Superman suspended in the air on the other side.
Superman waved a shy hello, but it did little to erase the doctor's shocked expression. He walked to the window and slid it open, clearing his throat as he asked, he thought quite dumbly, "Superman?"
Immediately Jason climbed through the window frame and hopped onto the floor. The blunt hit knocked the doctor off balance, his mind barely registering the shimmer the boy made as he sped to his mother's side.
"Mommy?" he said in a high-pitched cry. He climbed onto the bed and sat on his knees, nudging his mother softly. "Mommy?" he repeated, his frustration growing with each refrain when she didn't answer.
Dr. Stein looked back at Superman, who was still hovering outside the window, and back at Jason, before regaining his composure. He walked over to the boy and gently pulled him off his mother, sitting him down on a stool next to the bed. "Your mom needs to rest," he said in a gentle, well-rehearsed tone.
He turned back around to Superman, studying his hovering form. He'd never seen him before in the flesh. He hadn't been at the hospital the day they brought him in, nor had he ever been in need of his rescue. Come to think of it, he wasn't his biggest fan. He was too acutely aware that others in the city had come to rely on him to bust them out of any sort of predicament, so in some ways, however irrational it was to blame him, it made his job harder. "I assume you've got an explanation for this intrusion?"
Dumbstruck, he could only shake his head. "They wouldn't let him in to see her," he said, glancing over at Jason.
The doctor pushed his glasses up on his nose. "And you don't think there was a reason why?" he responded, unable to hide his irritation. "You think because you're Superman the rules don't apply to you?"
"I'm sorry." And he truly was. He couldn't recall ever being chastised like this when in costume. Hearing people yell and complain was nothing new, but none of them had ever spoken with such authority. "How is she?"
"In serious but stable condition. She'll need to be closely monitored for the next few days. She's not out of the woods yet." Dr. Stein caught the raw emotion on the superhero's face and realized he was going to have to tread lightly with him. His transparent emotion caught him off guard; this wasn't a side of him he'd ever heard about in the press, or even in the gossip he'd had the displeasure of hearing from time to time. Why was he always privy to secrets that he'd never wanted to know anything about? "Are you coming in or are you going to stay out there forever?"
"I don't fit, I'll break the frame."
Looking at the proportions of both objects the doctor silently agreed. "And if you come in through that door this place will become a media circus, and I can't allow that," the doctor said as he pointed behind him. "I can't stop you of course, but please understand that my only concern is for Ms. Lane's health."
Superman nodded, understanding.
"Well then, now that you're here I suppose I should ask you the big question." He eyed the boy who was engrossed with his mother and walked to the window so that the men were standing face to face. In a low whisper he asked, "Are you the child's father?"
Shock briefly delayed his retort, "What?" He glued his eyes to the doctor's, not daring to look over at Jason. How could he know?
But if Dr. Stein saw anything amiss in his reaction, he didn't show it. "I suppose you think it's none of my business, but the health of my patient is at stake here and frankly, there are some strange things happening that I can't explain. It could adversely effect how I treat her if I don't have all the facts."
Clark's mind reeled, what did Jason have to do with Lois' health?
Dr. Stein was no dummy. He'd seen that look on many a man's face before. It was one area where even the brightest men habitually failed to connect the dots. That's why he wasn't surprised by his reaction when he spelled it out for him, "She's pregnant, Superman."
"What?" he repeated, his mind failing to conjure up any other word. Looking over at Lois' sleeping form, he scanned her, quickly confirming the doctor's revelation. He gripped the window frame as his body slammed into it, sending a wave of brick dust to the ground.
Professional decorum prevented the doctor from rolling his eyes. "I'll take that as a yes." He picked his chart off the table and flipped through it, making a notation. "Now there are a few questions I need to ask you, preferably not through a window. You think you can come inside and sit down for this part? I have a private office in the east wing. Meet me there in say, half an hour?"
Superman nodded.
"And I'll leave the window open."
During their conversation Jason had left his mother's side and was now next to the doctor. He looked up at him curiously, but the soft, scared expression he'd had on earlier was now unreadable. Instinctively, Dr. Stein lifted him up and handed him through the window to Superman. The boy resisted Superman's grip, and tried to wiggle his way free despite being hundreds of feet off the ground.
Shaking his head, Dr. Stein finished his work with Lois and left the room. He passed by Nurse Gillian and couldn't resist a chuckle when he saw her. She looked up inquisitively, but the doctor was tightlipped and went about his way. So who believes in fairy tales now? He wanted to call out. Why did he always get the weird cases? Man, he needed a cigarette.
As Superman flew away he heard a familiar voice on the street below. Back at the front entrance, a security guard was jostling an irate Perry White. "This is the second time we've kicked you out this morning, sir. The third time will land you in the slammer."
Perry pushed the guard away and was returning a quip equally obnoxious when he saw Clark and Jason rush up beside him.
"Clark! Where the hell have you been?" Perry berated, but his demeanor softened as Jason hugged him. "Have you seen her? This asshole," he pointed to the armed police officer, "won't let me in."
Before he could respond, the glass doors parted and Dr. Stein stepped outside. He lit a cigarette and flicked out the match. He walked right into the middle of a small crowd and into the path of Clark, who looked back at him astonished. To break the tension he laughed nervously, "Yeah, I know. A doctor who smokes, sue me."
But as he said it he noticed the child beside the man. Were it not for the boy, he doubted very much he'd given Clark another thought.
That's when he took note of Clark's appearance. His outdated suit was an eyesore, but his expression, so solemn and helpless, was that of a man not used to being so. He looked so familiar. Could it be?
Clark watched helplessly as the doctor put two and two together. He began jabbering to Perry about his camping trip, why he was so late getting back and how upset he was to hear about Lois. He stuttered as he explained how a forest service agent had to rescue him when he got lost in the woods, using his hands wildly to demonstrate how the helicopter swooped him off the ground. To top off his shenanigan, he tripped over his own feet as he walked, not once, but twice.
His demonstration would have thrown the doctor off track, Clark believed, had it not been for Jason's outburst.
The boy had been silently boiling ever since their visit with Lois. Clark tried to talk to him but he closed up, refusing to speak. Now as Jason released his pent up anger, he could do nothing but watch as the progress he'd made with his son in the last few days vanished. "I hate you! I hate you! You said you'd never let anything bad happen to her. You promised! You're a liar!"
Jason ran into Perry's arms, and he picked him up and hugged him tightly as the boy started weeping. Perry looked at Clark, shocked into silence.
The doctor chimed into the increasingly awkward conversation. "Well, I see you've found someone to watch the boy. That will give us a chance to talk."
Perry stared at the doctor, then back at Clark. "Is this her doctor? You got to see her, Clark? Why didn't you say so? How is she?"
But before Clark could respond, the doctor did so for him. "Yes, uh, Clark and I had a little chat," his voice inflected at the use of his name, hearing its strange sound roll off his tongue. "In fact, we need to talk some more. Why don't you come into my office?" The doctor grabbed his arm and led him back towards the door, calling back to Perry, "I'm sure Clark will fill you in on all the details later."
Dr. Stein pushed Clark inside, ignoring his high-pitched protests. As the walked down the hallway he couldn't resist asking in a low voice, "You don't walk around like that everyday, do you? I mean, all you did was throw on a pair of glasses."
Clark looked at him in unguarded horror. "I'm sorry, doctor. I think you have me mistaken for someone else."
But Dr. Stein had it all figured out. "Yeah, whatever."
As they walked the rest of the way in silence, Clark let the realization of what just occurred sink in. Alone, he never had to work hard to keep his secret. But Lois and Jason had changed all that. They were a crack in his façade that that grown more alarmingly transparent. They were, in essence, a liability, and denying it would not make it any less true. And soon, if Lois survived, there would be a third person to worry about. Through the craziness of the last hour he hadn't had time to think about it. He was going to be a father again. This time, if given the chance, he'd be there from the beginning, and do it right.
Dr. Stein's office was cramped and cluttered, but not in any way messy. Files were strewn about his desk and across the floor in neat piles. His file cabinet was overstuffed, and he'd been asking for a new one for the last six months to no avail. After clearing off the guest chair Clark sat down, preparing himself for the conversation to come.
The doctor removed his lab coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves. "Seeing you with Ms. Lane's son just now, I'm going to assume you're a, uh, friend of Superman's? Is that correct?"
Clark wondered where this was going and replied, "Yes, I am actually."
"Good. Then I don't think he'd mind me talking to you about this, do you?" Not waiting for a response, he pulled up the blinds and opened the window. "I'm an honest man, Super… uh, Clark. All that matters to me is my patient, not tabloids or unwarranted speculation. Frankly I don't care what Superman does in his personal life, nor have I ever stopped long enough to even contemplate him having one. That said, I need him to be honest with me. Lois' condition is serious. Her temperature is abnormally high and if we can't get it down she's going to die." Seeing his reaction wiped away any lingering doubt as to his identity. "But the problem is, if her temperature stabilizes the child's condition worsens. It's like what one needs to live the other can't tolerate. Are you following me so far?"
Clark shut his eyes, absorbing what the doctor was saying. It wasn't the stab wound that was killing her. If it had only been that she would already be in recovery. It was him. He was the cause of her suffering. If he had only just stayed away, listened to what his father told him about putting one person above the rest. He was selfish, and now it was going to get the woman he loved killed.
"I read that, uh, Superman gets his strength from the sun. It's his healing power. I believe that the child is seeking out that energy instinctively."
Dr. Stein took his words under consideration. "I see." An idea was churning in his head. "You don't suppose Superman has any, uh, technology that would be helpful to us in this situation?"
"I don't think so, but I'll ask him." But it was a futile request. He'd ask his father, but he'd lost contact with him, Lex Luthor made sure of that. He also had the feeling that even if he could ask, his father wouldn't know how to help an Earth female carrying a half Kryptonian child.
"Thank you. And please know that I'll do everything I can to see that she gets better. You have my word."
A woman's voice over the intercom called for Dr. Stein. "I have to go. I'll put you and her son on the safe list at the main desk, so that you can see her when you like and I think it's safe to do so."
Shortly thereafter he left Clark alone in his office, and a cold hard realization swept over him. There was nothing he could do for Lois. Her fate was in someone else's hands.
As he got up to leave, his thoughts wandered to another reality he'd not yet considered. Bobby Knightly was still at large, and his M.O. was not to give up until the object of his fixation was dead. But where to begin looking?
Once in the air he worked out his action plan. Since Lois was the expert on Knightly, he'd have to become one too, and the best place to start was to look through all the articles and notes she'd written about the case. He headed to the Daily Planet.
Back at the hospital, a young janitor wearing a blue baseball cap and sunglasses was pushing around a wheeled garbage can. He picked up a broom and started sweeping, timing his strokes to the rhythm of the song he was whistling.
A/N: Thoughts? Comments? Reviews are appreciated!