Name
March 2014
"What about Emma?" Lois shouted as Clark finished up at the sink in the bathroom. As he put the washcloth down he stared into the mirror and grinned at the sound of his wife's voice. She had been shouting names at him for the last five minutes and he was loving every moment of it.
Exiting the bathroom, he walked through the doorway and back into their bedroom. Lois was propped up in bed with her laptop on her tray, scouring baby name sites.
"Emma's nice." He commented as he pulled the comforter back and climbed into bed next to her.
She made a face at the screen and wrinkled her nose. "I don't know. I can't really picture Emma Kent."
His head fell forward as he tried to get on her wavelength. "So, then Emma is out."
"Emma is out." She confirmed.
"Okay."
"Jonathan for a boy?" She questioned as she turned to him.
He gave her a soft smile "It'd be nice to name my son after his grandfather."
"It's a good name." She added.
He nodded as his mind drifted to memories of his father. He was thinking about him often. There were so many things he wanted to ask, advice on being a good father. His heart saddened that he would be going through this milestone without him. However, his father seemed to always be there, watching him, on those important days. He was there on the day of his wedding, when he accepted his destiny, and he was feeling his presence along this journey. He unconsciously grazed his watch, his father's watch, with his hand. Passing along the name 'Jonathan' to his child was something that had crossed his mind and he appreciated that Lois wanted to honor his memory, too.
"Jonathan is definitely on the list." She stated.
Clark was entertained at Lois' vigor on figuring out a name. If someone had told him ten years ago he would be in bed with Lois picking out baby names for their unborn child he would have thought they were on drugs.
When he watched Lois' face go from bliss to sadness in a millisecond he became concerned.
He slid closer and asked, "What is it?"
She turned to him and said mournfully, "They have the name Chloe."
Lois laid her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. He understood all the emotions Lois must be feeling. He had lost his friend, her cousin, a member of their family, only a year and a half before. It left him dejected that Chloe was another person who had found out his secret and he had ended up losing. But, Chloe reminded him that she made her own choices and she had seen her own fate. That she had seen his, too. He hoped that she had seen these moments and got to enjoy this time with them by proxy.
"I know." He said comfortingly.
"Sometimes I forget that she's gone. That's she never going to meet our baby."
"Me, too. But, we have to believe that even those who can't be with us here physically will be watching over us, over our child. Making sure that he or she is safe."
Lois lifted her head and looked into his eyes.
"I think we should put it on the list."
He nodded. "Definitely put it on the list."
She rubbed her hand on his chest and pushed herself to sit up slightly.
"I know we've been going back and forth on this question, but do we want to know tomorrow?" Lois asked regarding the sex of the baby and the appointment they had.
Clark turned and shifted his hand down to her belly. He couldn't go a moment without having his hand planted securely in his designated spot when they were together in private.
"A part of me wants to be surprised, but the other part of me wants to be prepared. You?"
"Smallville, I'm the girl who finds presents, opens them, and then rewraps them. What do you think?"
He chuckled. "You're right. I guess we'll find out tomorrow, then."
"We'll find out tomorrow." She echoed. Her eyes then lit up in curiosity. "So, what do you want it to be?"
Clark thought for a moment and truthfully responded, "I want it to be healthy."
"Good answer." She said, giving him a little pat.
"Besides, you already refer to the little one in here as a she."
She shrugged. "I can't help it. It's what my gut tells me. And then she kicks me there so I assume I'm right. I think she has a future in soccer." She looked up in thought and then back at him with a small smirk on her lips. "Better start saving up for that van you're going to be driving."
Clark's hand rubbed her belly and his look became distant for a moment as he focused on the being growing beneath where his hand laid.
"What is it, Clark?"
He caressed her stomach once more and felt their child kick.
"There are moments in the day that I still can't believe this is happening. That in an odd number of weeks I'm going to be holding a child that is half you and half me. We're going to watch them grow, be there through the good and the bad, set up playdates, comfort him or her when they have a bad dream, teach them to ride a bike, hit a ball, help them study for a test, and remind them of how they come from a great love, a love so strong and valuable that it produced a priceless life."
When he looked up at Lois she had a tear streaming down her cheek. He cupped her face with his free hand and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
"I can't imagine going through any of that without you, Clark. Any of this really."
"I can't imagine this without you either." He smiled and he placed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "We're in this together, forever."
She smiled at him and nodded. "We make a good team."
"Yeah, we do."
He watched as she glanced back at the computer screen. She had a glint of something in her eye and then she closed the lid, moving the laptop to the nightstand and putting the tray on the floor.
"No more searching?"
She turned back and tried to get comfortable on her pillow. "No more for tonight. Time to sleep on the list we already have."
Clark narrowed his eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"
She looked at him innocently. "Nothing."
He gazed at her closely and his lips hovered over hers.
"Are you keeping names from me?"
He could tell her was biting the inside of her cheek and knew he had stumbled on to something.
"You are, aren't you?" He asked, amused.
"I might have some names on the list I didn't tell you about."
"What are they Lois?"
She shook her head. "Not telling."
He stretched over her body, his arms situated on each side and anchoring him as his face hovered above hers.
"We'll see about that." He challenged in a whisper. She giggled against his lips before he closed the distance between them.
Thinking about baby names was far from their minds. As the night wore on, there were moments where they even forgot their own names. The only thing they knew was each other, together, in every sense. Forever.
Lois stifled a yawn as they waited for Emil in their selected room at the hospital. Clark smirked to himself as he remembered why she would be so tired. It had been a long night and an even longer morning since Lois wasn't allowed coffee. He still hadn't found out the information he had set out to, but he figured that after finding out the gender of their baby Lois would tell him. Either that or he could try his interrogation process again.
"Get that look off your face, Smallville."
"What look?" He asked as he adjusted his glasses.
"And don't do that either."
He tilted his head to the side. "Yes, Miss Lane."
Her mouth opened to say something else, but snapped shut when Emil entered the room. She glared at Clark and said in a voice only his ears could hear, "I'll get you for that."
He cleared his throat and watched as Emil set up the medical machines and detached a tablet from them. The doctor looked up and smiled. He sat down in a chair and rolled over to Lois' bedside. The same routine they had been through before was performed and soon they were all looking at a screen. Clark held his breath in anticipation as he saw their baby on the monitor.
"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" Emil asked.
Clark's eyes met Lois' once again. They smiled at each other as he knew they both were recalling their conversation from the night before.
"Sure, Doc. Are we having a little Clark or a little Lois?"
Clark rolled his eyes. Of course she would phrase it that way and deep down he knew what the answer was going to be. They both knew.
"Congratulations, it's going to be a girl!"
He knew it, rather, Lois had known it all along. A daughter. A little Lois. It may have been weird, or against the grain of being a man, but deep down he had been hoping Lois' prediction would be proven true. He would have been just as ecstatic if it had been a boy, but something about having a little girl excited him just a tad bit more. He could only imagine what he was in for...and he couldn't wait.
Lois turned to him and he brushed away a tear that had managed to escape his eye.
"You hear that, Smallville? A little girl."
"A little Lois." He corrected her. "You were right."
She snorted. "Was there really any doubt?"
"We're going to have to pick one of those names we were talking about." He hinted.
Her mouth moved to the side as she was silent in thought. Her eyes brightened as she looked up at him.
"I think I might know."
She didn't say anymore and his curiosity was certainly piqued. He wanted to know what she had come up with.
"Well?" He pressed.
"Not now. Let's wait until we get home."
He saw Emil write something down on the tablet before looking back up at the couple.
"I sent the image to be printed." He smiled. "You can pick it up at the nurses' station."
"Thanks, Doc." Lois said.
"And Lois, I still want you to take it easy. I want you to watch that blood pressure."
"I will."
Clark helped her up and they picked up the photos at the designated area. The walk to the elevator, the ride in the elevator, the walk to the car, and the ride in the car had annoyed Clark. No matter what he tried he couldn't get Lois to spill. Not even a Miss Lane did it, which really surprised him.
On the elevator up to their apartment he could feel his leg starting to bounce. Only Lois could produce this type of reaction.
"So, you're really not going to tell the name you intend for our child?" He asked, his voice exasperated.
"Nope. Not yet." She said casually.
Clark kept glancing at her as they walked down the hallway to their apartment door. She fished the key out of her purse, acting unaware of what she was doing to him. She opened the door and walked over the threshold on their apartment door. She started to continue to walk ahead of him until he grabbed her upper arm and brought her back to him, steadying her with both hands as they stood in their living room.
"This is really getting to you isn't it?" Lois asked, entertained by his actions.
Clark let her go and took off his coat and glasses, setting them aside on the couch. "I'm just curious to know what you came up with, since I think I should have a say and all."
Lois smiled, pulled out a piece of paper from her purse, and handed it to him.
"This is the list I made this morning when I woke up."
Clark unfolded the paper and saw that there was only one name on the paper.
"I thought we had a whole list of names picked out?"
Lois shrugged. "I know, but this came to me this morning. Actually, it came to me in a dream. I had a little help coming up with it."
He glanced down again and read the name. Callista Larella Kent. It was different. His mouth tugged into a grin as he realized how the middle name was created.
"That must have been some dream."
She smiled, though wistful. "I was sitting on the porch at the farm with Chloe. We were laughing about my pregnancy. I was on the porch swing, sure that it was going to break beneath me-and not in the fun way," she said with a wicked look in her eye. Clark started to blush knowing what she was referring to. Lois let out a little laugh and continued, "Anyway, we were having fun imaging different names. I think it was really her, you know? It felt so real."
"I'm sure it was her, Lo." Clark pulled her into a tight hug and began to rub her back comfortingly.
Leaning her forehead into his shoulder, she kept going. "What you said last night was spot on, but our child, our daughter, is not only born out of a great love, but also out of a great hope."
Lois put her hand in the middle of his chest, where the symbol he wore on his suit would be. The symbol that was his family's crest. The symbol that stood for hope.
"I wanted her to be named after her father. And that was the name that was so clear when I woke up. And when I looked up the meaning it said 'most beautiful'. She's the most beautiful miracle, the most beautiful hope."
His eyes snapped down to hers.
"After me? I don't exactly get Callista from Clark."
"Not from Clark." She stated.
He stood perplexed, trying to figure out what he missed. It was when he went over the name a few more times in his mind that he figured out where she had gotten it from. Of course. His Kryptonian name. She wanted to name their daughter after the part of himself that he had always been the most unsure of, until her. It dawned on him over and over. She wanted their daughter to have that connection. Their child would have the opportunity to learn about her lineage, her roots to Krypton, in ways he never had growing up. He would be able to teach her and answer all of her questions. He could feel his heart swelling in size. Krypton would live on through her.
"What do you think?" Lois asked as she bit her bottom lip.
"It's perfect."
They separated slightly and he placed his hands in their designated spot. He leaned in and kissed his wife and felt his daughter kick beneath his fingertips. His daughter. Their daughter. He still couldn't get over that no matter how many times he thought about it. He broke away from the kiss and looked deep into Lois' eyes.
"Callie," he suggested. "For short."
Lois nodded in agreement and he beamed back. He then crouched down to the floor and stared at the precious spot that was cradled in his hands.
"Hello, Callie."
