---- Chapter 47
Lois spun around in her chair, grinning as Clark rolled his eyes at her. She didn't care. She was right, yet again.
"Say it, Smallville."
"You were right. Again."
"How long have we been married now?"
"Over four years."
"And how long have we known each other?"
"Over seventeen years."
"And what in all that time should you have learned by now?"
She stopped her chair spinning and looked him dead in the eye as he let out a sigh. "I should always trust your hunches."
"The man gets it!"
He sat down in his chair, frowning at her. "Come on, Lo! Your hunches have a penchant for getting you into boat loads of trouble. I don't like my wife to be in boat loads of trouble, especially when she's pregnant. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it is the exact OPPOSITE of what I like."
Lois waved her hands in front of herself in a showcasing fashion. "Do I look injured, Smallville? I am fine, as is AJ. No harm came to either of us whilst you were saving somebody and we were doing some journalism. It's like golf; you expose 'em early and their hooked for life. I like the idea of our children being as into uncovering the truth as we are."
"Yes, I know. It doesn't mean I have to like my extremely independent and extremely pregnant wife running off to follow a hunch where there are armed guards very capable of shooting her."
"Hey, I don't have this crazy good healing to sit by and do nothing."
"You're also not invulnerable, Lo. I don't want to find out that you don't heal from anything that could happen by you getting shot in the heart. Yet again, quite the opposite."
Lois looked at him a moment before standing up and walking over to him, putting herself in his lap. She kissed him, feeling him kiss her back for a moment before she pulled away. "I love you, Smallville. Trust me when I say that I would never do anything that I thought could endanger AJ making it into the world."
"But, what about..."
"I may have overstated my effort to get the information."
"What exactly does that mean?"
"I got the papers from Bobby Bigmouth. He'd mentioned a contact at the company last time we talked."
"So all that action you were bragging about was... what, exactly?"
"Bullshit. Well, not bullshit in the technical sense of the word. It's something that happened for an article before the attack that I never told you about apparently. I didn't actually know if you were going to stop me in the middle of my story and tell me you'd heard it before."
Clark frowned at her, and in response she just laid her head down on his shoulder. "Are you trying to stress me out?"
"Isn't that why you married me? A stress free life sounds boring."
"Yes, well, I like boring every now and again. I do tend to have more stressful situations than most people."
"My poor, poor Smallville. Whatever can I do to cure you of your ails?"
Clark turned his head and pressed his lips again hers, and she found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable way to cure his ails. Man alive he was a good kisser.
"Ahem."
Two sets of eyes opened as their lips parted ways, heads turning to find Chloe standing at the door. "Ya know, when Perry gave you two an office, I don't think it was so you two could have a good snog."
"Snog?"
"Yeah, I watched a British movie last night and I had the word stuck in my head. Thanks for getting it out. You never know when you're going to find an outlet for these things."
"Here to help, Chloe. What brings you the few feet from your office?"
"I came to enlist the help of one man and woman, as well as all of their progeny that are obligated by family ties to help those with the surname Wayne move to Metropolis."
Lois rolled her eyes. "That was long and drawn out."
"It seemed like more fun than coming in a saying 'Help us move this weekend and we'll feed you.'"
"Yes, but that is MUCH more effective. We're in."
Clark looked away from Chloe to Lois. "You aren't going to try and get anything more out of it? Seems like your kinda situation, Lo."
Lois looked at Clark, then lightly flicked him on the forehead. "Free food, Smallville. You don't turn down free food for the whole family. And I would never take advantage of family like that."
"And of course, since you're pregnant, you'll only be able to do light work."
"Well, I thought that was obvious."
"Right, of course. So, when does all the stuff get here, Chloe?"
She sat down in Lois's chair, grinning. "Saturday afternoon. I knew the old free food thing would work. One should always start a conversation that involves help moving with free food. It's the only way to ensure involvement, really. Family ties don't mean what they used to."
"Still means Alex P. Keaton to me, cuz."
"You're just all kinds of hilarious."
"I like to think so."
"So, how are you two doing this fine Wednesday afternoon?"
Lois grinned at her cousin. "You are very wordy today, Chlo."
"Yeah, it happened with Jack and the girls, too. Around this time I just get happy for a little while and start using excessive amounts of words. Don't know why, it just happens. Don't really mind it, either, since I do enjoy happiness."
"Don't we all."
"It'll go away once the discomfort overtakes the happiness. Until then, though, Perry is going to be editing the bejesus out of my articles because I am going to be typing three times as many words as he's assigning me, and they'll all seem like they should be there from my perspective. George always rejoiced when I would hit my third trimester, my back would be hurting, swollen ankles, the heartburn and indigestion, the non-stop fun of waddling instead of walking while being out of breath doing so...
Lois interjected. "We get the point, Chloe."
"Right. I would start being ready for the baby to be out and he would be happy because it meant he didn't have to reword all my work."
Frowning, Lois rubbed a hand over her face and sighed. "This whole third trimester thing sounds like a giant pain in the ass."
"It feels that way. As you can tell, I'm looking forward to it ruining my happiness over this new baby. But, ya know, it's what we go through to have a baby and I obviously think it's worth it or else I wouldn't be on my third pregnancy and fourth baby."
Lois shook her head, trying to clear all the anxious out. "Ok, I need something happier to think about. If I dwell on how much pregnancy is going to suck in a couple months I'm just going to be annoyed the rest of the day that I have to go through all that crap just to bring my son into the world."
"Alright then. Chlo, what was the next big thing after the wedding? The twins being born?"
"Since you probably already covered the honeymoon, yeah, I would imagine so. But it wasn't just that, though... didn't something else happen right around that time?"
"Yeah, but that can be a surprise."
Lois swung her head between the two, scowling at each furiously. They were holding back on her? What the hell were they not telling her about what had happened then? God, she really needed the diary to be around right now so she could look at the time line and figure out just what the hell they were talking about. She held her hands up and waved at both of them.
"Alright you two, enough secrecy. Out with the story."
Clark grinned at her and kissed her on the temple, causing her to roll her eyes at his lovey dovey attempts to placate her. "We'd tell it now if we could, but alas, we are at work and Perry would give us a verbal thrashing if we used the time to tell stories instead of write them."
"Yeah, cuz, but I promise we'll tell you at dinner tonight."
Lois sighed and just stared at the wall. "You both suck."
"You were right, Lois. Nothing against The Swallow at the Hollow in Atlanta, which is great, but barbecue from The Salt Lick was definitely the way to go."
"It's just handy that if I had been wrong, as infrequent a happening as that is, we could have had my husband go and get us food from the other."
"It's nice to know that I'm not taken for granted, ladies."
Lois and Chloe both grinned and walked over to Clark, hugging him simultaneously. He wrapped an arm around each, then caught Jordan as she launched herself at the group hug. "Didn't feel like being left out of the action, did ya sweetheart?"
"I like hugging." Jordan laid her head down on his shirt, and Lois had to suppress a laugh when she picked it up again and there was a big sauce stain on his shirt.
"Uh, daddy..." Clark looked over at her, and she pointed to the spot on his shirt. He looked down and shook his head.
"It never fails, does it Jordan? You always find a way to get your old man as messy as you are."
"You love it, daddy."
Clark looked down at her, scowling playfully. "How old are you?"
"Three!"
"You sound older. Are you sure about that?"
She nodded and grinned that grin she'd inherited from him. "There were only three candles on my cake in August."
"Well that settles it, then. You are most certainly three going on twelve."
"I thought four came after three?"
"It does. But you are just so smart that you're skipping four through eleven and going straight to twelve."
Jordan looked and him a second before turning her head towards Lois. "Can I do that, mommy?"
"You most certainly cannot." She walked over to the two of them and pulled Jordan into her arms. "Don't listen to your dad, he's being ridiculous. Plus, if you skip four through eleven I'm going to miss too many years of your life, and I don't like that it will probably happen anyway."
"What?"
"Simple answer: don't be in a hurry to grow up. Being a kid is great, so enjoy it. Plus, I enjoy you being a kid too much for you to grow up."
"Okay."
"Good. Now, I think daddy and aunt Chloe owe the two of us a story. Something about when you cousins Aly and Liz were born. How does that sound?"
"Good. May I have some more corn?"
Lois let Jordan down so she could go back over to the table, figuring food was as good an idea as anything else. She grabbed her plate, loaded up some more food on it and turned to face her fellow adults. They were conversing quietly between each other. She took a bite of chopped beef and watched them quietly, hoping to be able to discern what they were talking about. It obviously pertained to the secret they seemed determined to spring on her.
"So, are you two always so eager to surprise me about this one?"
Both turned to her, eyeing her for a second. Chloe spoke first.
"It's not like we don't want to tell you, Lois. This is just... a life changing thing. I mean, yeah, everything we tell you has some surprise in it, but you always know what we're telling you before we start. This time, we figure you go in blind and come out saying 'Huh. Good time, that one.'"
"Is there really that much difference between telling me now and telling me a little later?"
"You are just going to have to trust your cousin and your husband. We would never do anything detrimental or mean, correct?"
"I'm still debating that one in my head. You didn't used to keep things from me like this... well, aside from Clark's powers and all related material."
Before Chloe could say something in response, Clark stepped in. "Lo, I promise, this is a story that will make you happy. You know very well that neither of us would do anything to ever annoy you unnecessarily."
"Ha!"
"Ok, what we define as unnecessarily. Either way, you're going to be happy when you hear this. Trust me."
Lois eyed him for a second, taking another bite of chopped beef and pairing it with a bite of mashed potatoes. She swallowed both before nodding at him. "Fine, but only because I love you."
"What about me, cousin of mine?"
"I love you too, Chloe. But how about from now on you two tell me what's coming, eh?"
"Fair enough. So, the twins birth. I'm intimately familiar with this story, but as you can imagine my point of view is somewhat slanted towards the two girls that I had to squeeze out of, er..." Lois watched Chloe glance over at Jordan before continuing. "...that made their grand entrance, so to speak. Therefore, I cede the floor to the man with the big 'S' on his chest for that part of the story. First, though, we talked a couple hours before hand, so I can tell you about that. I guess I don't cede then."
Lois took a bite, rolling her eyes at Chloe's failed attempt of ceding the floor bit before looking over to Clark. She frowned when he had that faraway look on his face that meant he needed to be somewhere else. "Are you kidding me, Smallville?"
He looked at her and gave her a small smile. "This won't take long, I promise. Don't start without me!"
With a small gust, he disappeared from the room. Lois took another bite of her food before looking to Chloe. "Does the timing of things like that ever get better than being exactly when you don't want it to be?"
"Not even close. But since he said it won't take long, I am fairly certain I know what this is. He should be back right about... not yet... wait for it... now."
Chloe waved her hand at the air as if to make him appear. When he didn't appear, she shrugged and turned back to Lois. "Guess I was wrong. It was worth a try."
There was a gust of wind and Clark appeared again. "Sorry about that. Cat in a tree."
"I knew it! Just have to work on my timing. I should have added a second not yet."
Lois goggled at Clark. "You pull cats out of trees?"
"Always have, always will. What good is helping people if you don't help everyone, even kids with cats stuck in a tree?"
"Only you, Smallville." She paused a second before a pun popped into her head. "Nice 'S.'"
"Oh, come on..."
She grinned and broke into laughter at her own joke. When it stopped a second later, Chloe was giggling and Clark was looking at both of them with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.
"Oh come on, Clark. It's not like she hasn't made that joke before. Even you laughed the first time."
Lois sighed. "I've done that one before? Damn. I was hoping to do something original."
"Nobody does anything original anymore. It's all a copy of what something else has done. Well, aside from your memory loss and Clark's job involving tights."
"Not exactly the way I prefer to be original, Chloe."
"We all have our roles to play, apparently."
"And I get to be the woman with the crazy brain injury and mother to the second generation of crazy powerful people in the world? As much as I like the latter, I would also like to leave a mark as myself."
There was a gust of wind and Clark walked over and sat down at the table next to Jordan, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Weren't we supposed to be telling you the story of the twin's birth?"
Lois turned a cocked eyebrow on him. "Well, if you two would stop distracting me with other topics we could already be in the middle of it. You keep saying things that require me to respond, though, so it never seems to end."
"That's on way of putting things." Clark stopped talking and started wiping some barbecue sauce off of Jordan's face, much to her chagrin. There was a very familiar discontent look on her daughters face. Apparently she was in there somewhere that wasn't the eyes.
"Of course, one could also say there we're simply telling you facts and you feel the need to refute them. Had you not commented on each one, perhaps we could have been telling you the story now."
Lois glared at him and opened her mouth to say something before closing it again, so as not to prove his point. "Just tell the story, Smallville."
"Chloe starts, remember?"
"Whatever."
---
"How are you feeling, Chloe."
"Rotund. You?"
"Eh, who cares about me."
Chloe rolled her eyes and adjusted the phone. "I care about you, Lois, even if I am 38 weeks pregnant with what is more likely a beach ball than two baby girls."
"Well, I appreciate it. You think today is the day?"
"One can only hope. If not, I'm betting it's soon. I've been Braxton Hicking like crazy the last couple days. Hopefully they'll turn into the real thing and we'll be able to finish this day or week with two fresh bundles of baby instead of the one big bundle of uncomfortable that is me."
"What exactly is going on that makes you so uncomfortable?"
Had this call not come on the heels of Lois saying she might be ready for a baby about six weeks ago, Chloe would have thought her cousin had been drinking to ask such a thing. She sounded genuinely interested, though, and that just made Chloe grin. Then she remembered she had to describe her discomfort and the grin slid away.
"To be honest, it's just annoyances that add up. The lack of bladder control is rough sometimes..."
"Hold on there. Lack of bladder control?"
"Yeah, not something that they advertise about pregnancy. The prerequisite swollen feet, stretch marks like you wouldn't believe, leaky boobs..."
"They leak too? Jesus, I'm afraid to ask if anything else is leaking."
Chloe scratched at her stomach trying to decide just how much she should tell Lois. She decided to be vague so as not to scare her cousin off of pregnancy completely. She had enough problems with her thoughts on motherhood.
"Look, Lo, I know that I've done my fair share of complaining, but when I hold my little girls it will all have been worth it. It takes some mental fortitude to get through the pregnancy and birth, but once you do you have your child, or in my case children, to hold and love. That kind of love will take you by surprise and make you stronger. It's why my complaints aren't half of what they were when I was pregnant with Jack. I know what I'll have once the girls are born, so I'm much more prepared and much less annoyed by what I have to go through for it to happen."
"Just how bad were you when pregnant with Jack?"
"Ask Clark. His forgiving perspective will make me sound a whole lot better than my own will."
Lois laughed and made Chloe laugh a bit too. She quieted down a second and waited for Lois to say something when she did the same.
"Do you mind if I rant a little, Chlo? I feel a little selfish doing so, what with you going through your pregnancy and having more immediate problems than I do."
"I'll feel less like a house and more like Chloe if you do."
"Thank you. So, I kinda feel like I've lost my mind. Not in the way I literally do, where I lose my memory, but it's the way I think. It's like somebody took all my normal thoughts and replaced with these annoying, baby-centric thoughts. Jesus, I think I caught the baby fever from you or something."
Chloe couldn't help but laugh at that. When she calmed herself down, she smiled sheepishly to herself. "Sorry, Lo, but that was pretty funny. And when did I have baby fever?"
"You had baby fever when you were trying to get pregnant. Clark said something about Batman walking a little funny, but that's not the point of all this... well, my baby fever is, not yours. Feel free to laugh whenever you want, though. I like hearing you happy."
"And I probably shouldn't laugh too hard, else you'll be an audio witness to that lack of bladder control." Realizing what she'd said, Chloe wondered if she was leaking words out her mouth. "And having said that, I now realize it probably falls under the too much information area of our relationship. Back to you. You're losing any ranting momentum you once had."
"Right. So, yeah, baby fever. It's the weirdest damn thing. I know that I really shouldn't have a baby, because I will be cursing it with me for a mother. Not only that, but unless there's some miracle cure I will literally forget any child I have at some point. How is that fair to a kid of any age, let alone a baby? It's selfishness on my part, plain and simple.
"On the other hand, though, I want to have a baby with Clark. I don't even know if it's possible but dear lord does it sound like something that I could get on board with. But it makes no sense! Why the hell am I having thoughts like that when I'm having the accompanying thoughts about how I will be a terrible mother that forgets her son or daughter, possibly both every few years. It makes no sense!"
"I think you said that already."
"It bears repeating that sense has no place in this talk. In fact, I think it's a symptom of baby fever. It dulls rational thought. It makes you forget that babies are completely dependent on you, and being dependent on me is something nobody in this world should have to live with, even if one of his or her parents was Clark."
Chloe winced as a supposedly painless Braxton Hick moved across her stomach. The person that wrote they were painless should be hit upside the head. It passed a few seconds later, and she continued their chat.
"Nobody has ever said that the brain is a logical thing, Lois. I think a lot of people doubt that they'll be good parents, yet a fairly sizable part of the population keeps procreating despite it. I blame sex for that, though, because if it didn't feel so damn good there wouldn't be so many people.
"On topic, there's nothing nonsensical about wanting to have a baby with your husband. I actually think that it's pretty normal, no matter how much you think negatively of yourself."
"It's just unsettling. Saying I might be ready to have a baby the night before the wedding didn't have the freeing effect I hoped it would. I'd kinda hoped that saying it out loud, even if I mumbled it at first, would free it up as a reality and allow me to accept my insanity. Unfortunately, it has only pushed me further into it."
"You're not insane. You're just you."
"I still maintain this is all your fault for infecting me with baby fever."
Chloe rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling at her cousin's way of putting things. "You do not have baby fever. Baby fever is made up. What you have is love and the fact that your cousin is soon going to have a total of three children and your sister a total of two come July."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Would you even be thinking about having a baby if I weren't in the end stages of gestating two and Lucy weren't in the beginning of a pregnancy?"
There was silence a second before Lois spoke. "I... how the hell should I know? All I know is that I want to have a baby with Clark, as little sense as me being a mother makes. If that doesn't prove that there is baby fever, I don't know what does."
"It just proves you're human, Lois."
"I like to think I'm above such things."
"And on that ridiculous note, I have to go to the bathroom again, so I'm going to let you go. I love you, you completely not crazy person."
"I love you too, Chloe. Call me the minute anything is happening."
"You know I will. Talk to you later."
---
"My turn, Lo?"
"Yup."
"Alright. One birth story of twin Wayne's, coming up."
---
"Fly. Faster."
Clark looked down at Lois, who was pulled against his body as she sat in his arms as they flew towards Gotham.
"I'm already flying faster than I should be with you, Lo. Hell, you have flying goggles on for that exact reason. But I refuse to fly quickly enough to endanger you. Chloe only went into labor about forty minutes ago, anyway, and you two talked before that. If she conforms to the average, her second labor and delivery will take less time but we'll be there a long time before we're needed."
Clark felt a tap on the side of his head and saw Lois shaking her hand before looking him in the eye. "Don't call Chloe average."
"I'm just saying that unless the babies fall out of her, time should not be a problem. Heck, there will probably be plenty of time for us to just sit around and wait while she and Bruce are in the room."
"We aren't going to be in there with her?"
"With her? Lo, I think our job is going to be to keep Jack occupied, not watch Chloe give birth. Also, why do you want to be in there with her? You had no inklings of being in with her and Bruce when Jack was born. Yeah, you're not the same person now, but there are some things I figured would stay consistent."
Lois looked away from him a moment before answering. "I just, ya know, want to know what goes on during it all."
"I'm sure Chloe will be happy to explain it all. I don't think, though, that she's really wanting to give you a show." He paused for a second. "Or, maybe she will. I can never really tell what you two are going to go for when it comes to the other."
"We're close, Smallville. I consider her my sister, for all intents and purposes, because I'm closer to her than my actual sister. She's not just some cousin that I can see often."
Clark smiled softly as he heard Lois talk about Chloe. "I know, Lois. I consider her a sister, too, when she is in fact a best friend and cousin-in-law."
"Good, then it's settled: if she's all right with it, we'll be in the delivery room with her."
"Whoa there, skippy. How did I end up in the delivery room?"
"It's the miracle of birth, Smallville. Why would you NOT want to be in the delivery room? I mean, if I recall the story correctly of Chloe knocking us out of our funk a few years back, you were extremely nonchalant about her whipping the girls out to feed Jack."
"Giving birth is just as natural as breast feeding, Lo, but I don't think Chloe is going to want me in the room staring at her vagina. Hell, I'm not ashamed to say that I don't want that. That has uncomfortable situation written all over it."
"Well jeez, you make it sound creepy. It's not like you'd be crouched down between her legs making shadow puppets on her while she goes through a contraction or something..."
Clark cringed and shook his head at the mental picture he got of that. Of course, it was shadow puppets on Lois he was seeing in his head because he had never seen Chloe there, but still not normal at all. "And there's a visual I'll never get out of my head."
"All that I'm saying is that if Chloe doesn't mind you in the delivery room, why not take advantage of it? It's not something you see every day."
"I'm kind of thankful for that, actually. Let me adapt an old quote from a tv show to describe it for you: she is going to fart, pee, puke and poop in front of no small number of people in that room, in all likelihood. All are part of birth, and ya know, if I have a choice I don't think I am going to watch her take part in all that. Yay for the girls, because I'll love them like I do Jack, but as far as being in there with her... well, she has a husband for that. I will lend my support by hanging out with Jack."
"I don't know, Smallville. I just like to be informed. I'd rather be a part of all the nitty gritty than just hear about it. I mean, if we can have kids, you are most definitely going to be in the room with me."
"You'll have trouble getting rid of me."
"So why not learn something this time if you can?"
"Because Chloe is not my wife, Lo, you are. If we can have kids and choose to, then I will be there with you for every single step. Kryptonite won't be able to stop me. But this time, since Chloe is having the babies, I am going to do my best impression of an uncle. I'm told it's pretty good since Jack calls me uncle."
When Lois didn't respond, Clark got to thinking on why she was so adamant about being in the room if Chloe would let them. Did she feel invested with the girls because she couldn't remember when Chloe was pregnant with Jack? No, she said that she wanted to see how things work... what was this all about? She'd never shown an ounce of interest in birth before.
When Jack was born she showed up to, in her words, bring ice chips and be nowhere near the business end of the birth. The two of them had waited a good portion of the time together in a tense, uncomfortable silence. Once he'd gotten to hold Jack, it had all kind of faded away, though. Lois looked like she had felt the same way. Not once, though, had she shown any interest in the how of Jack being born.
Clark finally gave up on trying to figure it out on his own and decided to just ask. "Lois, why are you so interested in the inner workings of the twins birth?"
"Like I said, I like to know things. This is something that is pretty integral to life, since it kind of continues it, and so I'm curious. I like to know what happens and how, and the best way to do that is to be in there while it happens."
"Actually, the best way to find out about birth is to do it yourself, but you've always seemed opposed to that theory based on your inane belief that you'll be a bad mother."
"I think you have the phrase 'inane belief' confused with the phrase 'proven theory,' Smallville."
"And I think that you're being ridiculously stubborn, even for you. You were six, Lois. You can't compare having to be a surrogate mother as a young child to being a woman that has a good life and a good support group around her. But you won't need that support group because you will be so good as a mother that you won't let a child want for anything.
"You take care of everybody around you, Lois. You take care of me every day, of Chloe whenever you have the chance and of Jack because you love that little boy like crazy. Hell, you even try to take care of Bruce! It would be no different if we had a child of our own, but I think that love would be so much more intense that you would barely let me even take part."
"Oh, come on..."
"I'm serious. If... no, when we have a baby someday, you are going to be a force to reckon with. You're going to be on top of everything and anticipate problems before they can become just that. You'll be amazing, Lois. I look forward to seeing that."
When Lois leaned her head into his shoulder, he figured that she'd heard enough. Nothing he'd ever said had seemed to have gotten through to her on this topic, no matter how much he poured into it, and he doubted that was changing now. God, he was probably getting his own hopes up that they could even have a biological child together.
Clark spotted the hospital about a mile away and landed not long after in an abandoned alley not far off. He watched Lois pull her flying goggles off and walk over to him. She stood in front of him for a second before grabbing his shirt and pulling him down and kissing him like they weren't going to see each other for years on end.
Not that he was going to complain.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush to him, provoking the kiss to go further, which it did. Clark couldn't recall a kiss this intense since the honeymoon, though. Granted, that was only a few weeks back, but this was one hell of a kiss.
A few seconds later, Lois pulled away from him and started gulping air, taking in big, deep breaths that made her chest heave in an entirely appealing way. He found that he was a bit out of breath too.
"What was that for?"
"I love you."
"Works for me. Ready to go see Chloe?"
She nodded and placed her hand in his, leaning up against him as they walked. He didn't know what it was, but apparently she was feeling affectionate today. Could birth be a turn on? Clark shook his head at that thought, realizing just how ridiculous it seemed. Yeah, there were some women that when they saw a baby had a biological clock moment, but Lois... he almost laughed at the thought. As convinced as she was of her potential awfulness, biological clock thoughts were probably something she'd never even thought about thinking.
They walked into the hospital and Clark guided her to the elevators, which they took up to the third floor. They walked up to the nurses desk to see where Chloe was, and were told room 318. Making their way down the hall, Lois continued to stay in contact with him, and he still wasn't complaining. When they made it to the room, Clark knocked on the door before they walked in.
"Anybody home?"
"Hey, guys!"
Clark smiled as they walked in to find Chloe laying on the bed with her arms crossed across her stomach. Bruce was holding Jack as they sat in a chair next to her bed. Lois was first to speak.
"How ya doing, Chlo? You sound strangely cheery for what's going on."
"Nah. These are the easy contractions. Give me a few hours and there won't be an ounce of cheer left in me. Just gotta remind myself it's all for a good cause."
"Best cause I can think of, cuz. So, what do you need us to do?"
Chloe shook her head. "Nothing yet. Once we start getting into the brunt of it, though, I guess Clark will be the official Jack watchman. Lo, I am hereby appointing you head of ice chips. The name is fairly self explanatory, I think. An added responsibility of this title, though, is leg holder. Well, if you want it, anyway."
Clark looked from Lois to Chloe and decided ask the obvious question since Lois seemed to not be doing it. "So, she'll be in here with you during the birth of the girls?"
"If she wants to be."
"I do!" Clark wasn't surprised by the answer, and when he saw Chloe's face she didn't appear to be either. He figured she would have at least been surprised at the near shout of the answer "I mean, yeah, if that's what you need me to do, Chloe, I'm here to help."
"I don't think you said 'I do' that enthusiastically when we got married, Lo."
She rolled her eyes and Chloe started to speak.
"Well, don't get in any huge rush. Contractions are still six minutes apart and not lasting all that long, though... yep, there's one now." Clark was surprised when Chloe just scrunched up her face for about thirty seconds and did some deep breathing. By this point with Jack she'd been yelling for drugs. She'd also been in labor a fair bit longer.
"You seem to be doing better with them this time, Chloe."
She took a couple deep breaths before smiling at him. "Yeah, well, like I said before, give me a few hours and I'm sure I'll be using the full extent of my vocabulary. Hopefully, though, these girls will start life out as impatient as their mother is and just run towards the light, so to speak."
7 Hours Later
"I want mommy."
Clark looked down at Jack, who'd decided to take up residence in his lap, and smiled. "I know, buddy. Your sisters are being born, though, so mommy has to do that right now. I think you'll be able to see her soon, though."
"Where are my sisters coming from?"
Well, isn't that just the way. Clark thought that Chloe had mentioned Jack asking that when they told him about the twins, but he couldn't remember for the life of him what it had been that they'd told him.
"Well, that's a good question. I think once all is said and done, it's a good thing to ask your dad. He loves answering your questions and really, your uncle Clark doesn't have any kids so he's not entirely sure himself."
He was really going to have to come up with something better if he and Lois ever had kids. He certainly wouldn't have the same excuse.
"Ok. I'm thirsty."
"Would you like to get some water from the water fountain?"
Jack nodded, prompting Clark to stand and carry jack over to the nearest water fountain. He held him up with one arm and pushed the button with the other. Jack drank for a few seconds before pulling his face away. Clark let go of the button and swiped a little water off of Jack's chin as they went back to their chairs.
Clark noticed that Jack's eyes were starting to droop, and he didn't blame the little guy. When Lois had talked to Chloe this morning they'd just gotten to work and she'd called Lois back about two hours later to say that she was in labor. They'd arrived nearly an hour later and had been at the hospital ever since. Clark had spent most of his time with the little boy, who had forgone a nap in the excitement of the day.
He smiled as they sat down and Jack laid his head back against his chest. Clark started telling him a story about one of the times they'd fought a meteor-infected person in Smallville, and lulled him to sleep quickly. He hoped that was just a sign of a tired little boy and not a knock against his story telling. One way or another, the boy was getting some much needed rest.
Clark looked up at one of the clocks, noting the time as he looked back at the television. He'd asked the Justice League to cover Metropolis for the day, and should the need arise Ollie had come to Gotham to handle any business Batman may be needed for.
He'd kept his ear trained on Metropolis, and had only heard one incident where Superman normally would have been needed. J'onn had handled it without problem, though Clark was going to have to ask him to about what he'd told the people that had asked him why he was there instead of Superman.
Allowing his eyes to slide closed, he took in a few long breaths through his nose, taking in the smell of the day. Not surprisingly, it smelled like hospital. He opened his eyes again and looked around the waiting room. There wasn't much to look at; he and Jack had been the only ones there for a good four or five hours now, which he thought odd for a hospital, even if it was more tailored towards the higher income folk of Gotham.
Clark watched the television on the other side of the room, tuning his hearing into it. Unfortunately, it was some show about how to stay healthy. Clark looked down at Jack, still sleeping against him, then back at the television. He spotted a remote on a table not too far away, except for the fact that he didn't want to wake up a certain small child. It was times like these that he really wished telekinesis was a power of his.
Twenty minutes later, as he listened intently to a PSA about not drinking while pregnant, Clark heard footsteps coming towards the waiting room and hoped like crazy it was somebody with news. When a nurse simply walked by, throwing him a smile and a 'How cute!' at Jack's sleeping form, Clark sighed and laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.
"Hey, Smallville."
Clark opened his eyes and blinked a couple times before looking over to his left and spotting Lois. He sat up slowly and wiped a hand over his face before looking down at Jack, finding the boy to still be asleep.
"Hey. Are the girls here?"
"Yes, sir. Aly and Liz Wayne."
Clark smiled and stood up slowly, adjusting Jack so that he was resting his head on his shoulder. "How was it?"
Clark watched as Lois opened her mouth to speak before closing it again, frowning a bit. She took a second before speaking. "It was... well, it was everything you said it would be."
"Four for four, eh?"
"Yep. But, we got two nieces out of the deal so you'll never hear me describe it as anything but a great experience I'll never forget... so to speak, of course."
"I'm glad. When can Jack and I see them?"
"Few minutes. I told Chloe we'd be outside the room then and that she could get us once they were done with the Apgar stuff. Of course, I didn't think you two would be sleeping."
Clark checked a clock and noticed that he'd only been asleep for about fifteen minutes. "I hadn't been asleep very long. I think I was lulled into it by Jack."
Lois rolled her eyes at him and took Jack off him and into her arms. She ran a hand over his back before patting it a few times before starting to speak to him. "Hey, Jack. Jackie boy, time to wake up. Your sisters are here and want to meet you."
Watching her with Jack, Clark was more convinced than ever that Lois would make a good mom. How the hell could she fail at it? She never failed at anything, least of all anything that was truly important to her.
He stirred and turned his head towards Lois, opening his eyes to sleepy slits. "Can I see mommy now?"
"You can in just a couple minutes. They're doing some stuff with the babies, but will be done soon and then you can see mommy, daddy and your new sisters." She looked up at Clark. "Do you think Chloe wants to be the one to tell him their names?"
Clark shrugged, thinking about it a second before answering. "Better safe than sorry. Let's wait until he's in the room and she's there for it."
They started walking towards Chloe's room, slowly making their way through the halls.
"Truthfully, Smallville, I don't know how many decisions Chloe is going to be making. She's the living embodiment of spent." Lois paused and Clark saw her start smiling. "She did great, though. Was a real trooper, going through it all drugless. That said, I think she may have hung around with some questionable folk at some point because I could not believe some of the words coming out of her mouth a few hours ago."
"Yeah, I caught a bit of that when Jack was born. I decided not to listen in this time so as not to get my ears singed. I think you're the questionable folk, though."
"Good call. The not listening part, not the me being questionable folk part. That's just a ridiculous notion no matter how true it probably is."
They got to the room and Clark took Jack from Lois as she peeked her head into the room to see if they could go in. She turned and nodded before opening the door and walking in. Clark followed and found Chloe sitting in the bed, holding one of the girls and Bruce standing next to her, holding the other. It was just about the most familial thing he'd ever seen.
"Mommy!"
Clark looked over at a now wide awake Jack before looking over at Chloe and smiling. "He's been missing his mom. How are you doing?"
"Great. Sore, but great." She looked over at Jack. "You wanna sit with me on the bed?"
He nodded and Clark walked over, putting him down lightly next to Chloe. She turned her upper body so that Jack could get a good view of the baby she was holding. "Jack, I would like to introduce you to Alyson, the first of your two new sisters. We're going to call her Aly for short."
"And this," Bruce said as he walked around to stand next to Jack, "is your second sister Elizabeth, who we'll be calling Liz."
"They're so small."
Clark nearly broke out laughing when Chloe snorted at the statement. "Small is a relative thing, Jack. I'll explain it to you when you're older."
Jack snuggled into Chloe's side and was asleep within a few minutes. Clark noticed this as it was happening and didn't say anything, but figured Chloe might not be all that comfortable without her son keeping her from moving, even if she wasn't moving much herself.
"Chlo, do you want me to move Jack?"
"Nah, he's fine where he is."
Lois moved over and stood next to him, and together they watched as the family was all together. "Kind of a cool scene, isn't it?"
"It really is." He grinned and pulled out the camera he'd grabbed when they were leaving earlier that day from his pocket. He was still surprised the thing could even be called a camera, as small as it was. With a bit of stealth, he got them all lined up well in the picture and took it before any could raise an objection.
"Jeez, Clark, thanks. Couldn't you wait until I didn't look as exhausted?"
"You expect me to wait until the twins are what, two years old?" He grinned when she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Chloe. You've got that new mom beauty to you. The picture will reflect that."
"It better, or I'm coming for you."
A little while later, Clark was holding Liz and smiling down at her when he noticed that Lois wasn't in the room with them. Chloe was getting some well deserved rest after having fed both the girls, which apparently happened a lot quicker than it had with Jack. Bruce looked like he was getting pretty tired too, even with Aly in hand.
"Bruce, why don't we go find Lois. She can take over Aly duties so you can go home with Jack and catch some sleep."
Bruce nodded. "I think a few hours would do me some good right now. Lead the way."
Clark walked out of the room and to the waiting room, where he figured Lois was. That was exactly where he found her, writing in a little diary looking thing he'd never seen before.
"Hey, Lo, what're you doing?"
She looked up and smiled, closing what she was writing in. "Just writing down a few things about today while they're fresh. Want to be able to reference it if I need to so I don't forget how big the girls were at birth and other details of the sort."
Clark shrugged and nodded towards Bruce. "How about you take Aly for a little while so that Bruce can catch a little sleep. Chloe's already snoozing with Jack, but Bruce is going to take him home so he can get some real sleep in his own bed."
Lois nodded, and after packing her little book in her purse, she stood and took Aly from Bruce, getting her cradled into her arms.
"When Chloe wakes up, tell her I'll be back soon and that Jack is sleeping at home now. I'll check in and make sure everything's been quiet, too."
Clark nodded and Bruce walked off. He and Lois stood there, each with a baby in tow. He was the first to speak. "This is nice, isn't it?"
She looked away from Aly and at him, smiling. "It is. Granted, they're currently being peaceful so we're not getting hit with the full force of babyness."
"That is very true. What do they have to cry about, though? They have two great parents that love them like crazy, not to mention an aunt and uncle that are actually second cousins, one of which that's an in-law...
"You're rambling, Smallville."
"Right. They have good family, so they have nothing to cry about in my book."
"I don't think good family accounts for the fact that they go to the bathroom in their pants and have very little muscle control, no to mention they can't feed themselves."
Clark couldn't really argue with that. "I say if you have good family, that'll all be taken care of so you got no worries." Didn't mean he wouldn't. He watched as Lois smiled and just rocked Aly back and forth as they walked small circles around the waiting room.
"You're ridiculous, Smallville. All kinds of cute, but ridiculous none the less."
Clark smiled at her before looking at Liz again. Maybe it was the smushed face she was currently sporting, but one parent did not seem to stand out in her features. With Jack, it had been like looking at a little Chloe. It still was, although it was now a little male Chloe. "I can't tell if either one looks more like on parent or the other."
"All I can see in Aly is that she has her mother's nose. Other than that, I couldn't pick out what she got from who if you paid me to try."
"I'm having the same problem, except I don't even have the nose to work with on Liz. She's like the perfect meld of Chloe and Bruce. Scary kinds of perfect, really."
"I think it's better that way, really. I always think that if you look more like one parent than the other you're going to be compared to that parent more than the other. Look at Jack, for example. The only way he could look more like Chloe would be if he was a girl, and I always compare him to her because when I think about him, I think about their physical similarity."
Clark though about it for a second. Did he do that too? He probably did, but was it necessarily for that reason? "Yeah, but of the two parents you're also Chloe's cousin. Your natural first inclination is going to be to think about Chloe when you think about Jack because of how he's related to you.
"I think the same will happen with Aly and Liz. When you think of them, they'll be Chloe's daughters and therefore you'll probably think about them in terms of Chloe. Now, of course, since you've known Bruce for a long time you will obviously compare them to him, too, just not as much in all likelihood."
They spent the next hour debating on how each would think about the girls, checking in on Chloe to see if she were still asleep every few minutes. She woke up once, making sure that the girls weren't getting fussy and then proceeded to conk out again. It wasn't until a couple hours from then that Chloe woke up and decided to stay up and see if the girls wanted to eat again. She took Aly first. As she was transferred from aunt to mom, she decided to move around and cry out a bit.
"Wiggly little girl you got there, Chloe."
"Yeah. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling Aly is going to be more like me and Liz is going to be more like her father. She's already more calm than her sister." Chloe got Aly situated on her nipple and she started to nurse. "Really, though, I think she just wanted to stay with her aunt Lois."
"Ha! I find that highly unlikely."
Clark smiled down at Liz a second, who was quietly sleeping, before looking back up to find Lois eyeing him. "What?"
"I'm not sure that Liz is calm because of her personality so much as because you're amazing with kids, Smallville. If you were looking for a new job, you could make a bundle as a male nanny."
Clark rolled his eyes before he walked over to Chloe and sat Liz down in her arms on the other side, which seemed to wake her up a bit as she opened her eyes to a squint. Chloe looked up at him before getting her situated on a nipple like she had Aly.
"Ya know, had I not just seen how gently you put her down and how she woke up anyway, I wouldn't have believed Lois. Are you sure you don't have the power of baby calming, too?"
"That's hilarious, Chloe."
"I thought so, though if you guys leave in a few days and can't get the girls to calm down, I'm bringing you back to test the theory." Chloe looked down at herself and let out a small laugh. "I wonder if having two babies means I won't have to use a pump to relieve pressure."
Clark frowned not exactly sure what that meant. Apparently Chloe noticed and started speaking again. "When I had Jack, if he only ate from one breast, the other one could get... full would be the term, I guess, and I'd have to use the breast pump to keep it from getting backed up."
Clark suddenly had the image of what he would find in backed up pipes on the farm related to breast feeding. "Huh. That makes two mental pictures I'll never be able to forget in just one day."
Chloe smiled. "What was the other?"
"Let's just say it involved shadow puppets and me being in the room while you gave birth. I always knew I had a wife that wasn't normal before that, but I never knew that she was downright odd until then."
"Yeah, that's definitely out there."
Just then Bruce walked in with a bouquet of flowers. "Hello, all." He walked up to Chloe and kissed on the forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, now that I got some rest. How did you sleep?"
"Well. Jack's asleep in his own bed and Alfred has been fielding phone calls about if the girls were born yet for half the day. Apparently there was a picture of us coming in today."
"Ah well, word was bound to get out anyway. I think people would have noticed me not looking like a house and two babies with us."
"That does seem likely, yes."
The conversation would have continued, but Clark's and all other eyes went to Lois when she yawned like she hadn't slept in years. "Tired?"
"Me, Smallville? Never. Just need coffee."
"I think you need rest, cuz. Why don't you guys head back to the manor and get some sleep. You can be there for Jack when he wakes up. He always seems to be thrilled when he finds Clark is staying at the manor."
Lois smiled at Chloe. "Don't have to twist my arm. We'll bring Jack by in the morning to see the girls and NOT fall asleep minutes later. Once again, great job, Chloe."
"Thanks, Lois. Bye, guys."
Clark flew Lois to the manor, then made a quick trip back to their place in Metropolis to get the bags she hadn't wanted to take the time to stop for earlier. Walking back into their room at the manor, he found it empty and figured Lois was in the bathroom. He dropped her bag on her side of the bed before sitting down on his and pulling off his shoes and socks.
By the time Lois came out of the bathroom Clark was down to his boxers and yawning. That abruptly stopped when he noticed the complete lack of clothing his wife had chosen to enter the room in.
"What... what's the occasion, Lois?"
"We're newlyweds, Smallville. I think you get the picture."
She walked over to him in a much more swaying style than she usually had, which was entirely unnecessary but entirely enjoyable, and straddled his lap, pushing him back so that he was laying back and she was over him. When she kissed him, it dwarfed the passion he'd felt when they'd kissed earlier in the day.
Man, what if birth actual was a turn on for her? He knew that Lois had some quirks... hell, he'd taken part in some of those quirks. But this... this would take the cake, because it would be downright out there, considering her stance on what she would be like as a mother.
It also might be the most aggressive she'd ever been in going for it, and that was saying something considering that she like to use the 'Clarkie and Sailor' routine, as they called it, for her go to move. Not that she really needed any moves to get him into bed. If that ever became a problem during the entirety of his life, there would be something seriously wrong with him.
Clark soon found himself without boxers and was reaching to find a condom when he felt her grab his arm.
"Don't. Just us tonight, ok?"
"Are you sure, Lo? What if..."
"Just us, Clark."
He smiled and leaned down, kissing her. If she didn't want anything between them, he wasn't going to push things. She was probably at a point in her cycle where she couldn't get pregnant anyway.
He slowly pushed into her, staring straight into her eyes as he did so. They stayed that way for a moment before he started moving, as slowly as he could make himself. She wanted nothing between them tonight, so he was going to make this last as long as he could. He kept going slowly, despite her cues to go faster. He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but both were gasping with the buildup.
He knew he wasn't going to hold out any longer when she started crying out and contracting around him for the second time. He couldn't believe he'd held out through the first. He breathed her name and buried his face in her shoulder as he reached orgasm.
It took a couple minutes to catch his breath fully, and he wasn't sure his brain would ever recover. He couldn't remember ever working so hard without it requiring him to lift a building.
"That was... amazing." He rolled off the top of her and pulled her close.
"Yeah, it really was." He could tell she was smirking at him just from the tone of her voice. "But that was extra amazing."
As much as he disliked it, Clark's inquisitive side won out and he had to figure out why she'd been so affectionate today. "Listen, Lo, I am in no way complaining about anything. Trust me, that will never, ever happen. I just... you've been extra affectionate and generous with the touches today, and I was just wondering... why?"
She didn't answer for a moment, and he worried that he'd worded the question poorly and said it wrong. She liked to complain that he didn't word his questions aggressively enough when they were interviewing people and he'd been working on it, though he doubted he'd ever have the forthright questions in his arsenal Lois seemed to have.
His thought process was interrupted by a hand caressing his face, which prompted him to look down at her.
"I talked to Chloe while she was pregnant, I talked to her through the birth and I talked to her when she was breast feeding to her two newborn daughters for the first time all in one day. I got to witness the births of two little girls that are going to leave a mark on this world, along with their big brother. It's just been a very life affirming day and I wanted it to end with a life affirming activity, Smallville." She sighed, sounding audibly content. "My Smallville."
She stretched up and kissed him softly, effectively blowing his theory out of the water. Hers did make a lot more sense. She still seemed a little... not weird, really, just different. Apparently a life affirming day topped off with a life affirming activity made her all nostalgic or something, because she rarely said 'My Smallville' to him unless she was nostalgic or worried, and she certainly didn't seem worried. Whatever it was, he liked it.
"Good explanation."
"What did you think it was?"
Clark could feel heat rising in his cheeks. "I, uh... well, I didn't want to say it and thinking about it now just makes me feel like an idiot, but I thought you were turned on by Chloe giving birth."
She looked up at him, wearing an unbelieving expression. "You did not."
"I really did."
"That's... wow, Smallville. That's right up there with the shadow puppets visual and your probably disgusting mental image of Chloe having backed up milk ducts on the weird factor."
"In my defense, a logical explanation rarely applies to you." He laughed and wrapped her up in his arms when she smacked him in the chest. "Are you going to refute that?"
"Hell yes I am!"
Before she could get any further, Clark pulled her up and kissed her. So far, it was the only way he'd ever figured out to effectively keep her from refuting his arguments. It was a good thing he enjoyed it so much, else he may never have been right about anything.
- - -
"Ya know, you told the whole story and I still have no idea what you guys were trying to keep from me."
"That night was the only two times we made love without protection, Lo."
"What... wait, Jordan was conceived literally hours after Chloe gave birth to the girls?"
Clark smiled and nodded. "Like you said, it was a life affirming day, and ended up being one of the best in our entire lives, because as a result we have that little girl sleeping in the other room."
"Okay, yeah, good day, that one. I still would have preferred to have been told straight out."
"We know, cuz, and this is the only story we'll do it with. Probably."
"Very helpful."
"I like to think so." Chloe yawned and stretched as she stood up. "Alright kids, time for me to head out. Clark, mind if I catch a ride?"
"Not at all. I need to take a look around the city anyway." After bidding goodbye to her cousin, Lois watched as they flew off. How had that become the norm?
Finally having some time to think things through, she wondered why the hell the diary hadn't said anything about her actually being in the room when the twins were born. What, had she planned to surprise herself with that story when she forgot? That really seemed like pertinent information she wouldn't mind knowing. So far the thing hadn't steered her wrong, and while technically this wasn't must have info, it would have been a good thing to let herself know.
Ah well, no use crying over spilt milk.
Lois went and changed into some looser fitting clothing and sat down on the couch, turning on the television and finding something to occupy her while she waited for Clark to return. She thought about reading a diary entry, but didn't know how long Clark would be gone and didn't feel like getting interrupted.
She yawned and looked at the clock, wondering when Clark would be back so they could hit the sack. 10:30 p.m. God, she was old.
A few minutes later Clark was back and they headed to bed. Lois rested her head on his chest, and smiled when AJ flutter-kicked. They were really starting to get less fluttery and more kicky every day. She grabbed Clark's hand and pulled it down to her stomach.
"Can you feel that yet?"
"Nope. Sorry." He turned his head and kissed her lightly. "Goodnight. Love you."
"Love you, too, and if you don't feel that soon I'm going to kick you myself."
"I won't really feel that either."
"You suck."
