---- Chapter 50
Lois smiled at Terri as she walked away, giving a little wave before rolling her eyes and turning around, walking to her office, where she found Clark and Chloe.
"When did my stomach become community property?"
"About the same time mine did, cuz. Why do you ask?"
"Because as much as I appreciate the well wishes, I prefer not to get my mid-section rubbed every time they're given. What am I, a Buddha statue? A little personal space is never a bad thing."
"You're growing a life inside you, Lois. In a sense, it kind of makes you a part of something bigger than just being an individual. It's something that people want to feel like they're a part of, even if it's only relaying a smile and placing a hand on your stomach, feeling the growing life." Chloe scowled and looked over at Clark. "I think your cheesiness has rubbed off on me. That's not my usual brand of wordy."
"Uh... sorry?"
Chloe then looked down at her stomach. "If it's you making me all cheesy sounding, we're going to have some words about what you're doing to mommy later."
Lois walked over and sat down behind her desk, frowning at anything that came into her sight. "I appreciate that people see me as part of something bigger, but I'm pregnant, not wielding magical powers of healing... ok, not for other people, anyway."
She looked up and watched as Clark stood and walked around to her, leaning on her desk in front of her. "If it helps, a few weeks after you lost your memory last time, you got used to the touching and actually kind of embraced it. You weren't afraid to tell people to not touch the bump, though, when you were in a less than happy mood."
"What about before I forgot?"
He shrugged. "Weren't really showing long enough to get used to it."
"Yeah, well, so far I'm not finding the happiness this time either. I just don't get it. I never felt the need to touch other women's stomachs when they were pregnant!"
"You're far from the norm, Lo."
She couldn't say much to contradict that without just sounding difficult and ornery. Being an ornery pregnant woman sounded like fun, but she didn't know how long it would last. She always ended up feeling happy lately. Lois turned to Chloe. "What about you? Do you enjoy the hand to stomach part of pregnancy?"
"Actually, I do. It's a pretty special experience for me, and if people want to share in my happiness, I let them. Of course, having done this twice before, I had the chance to get used to it. With Jack, I was as perturbed by it as you are throughout my showing months."
"Well, at least I know I'm not annoyed just because I'm me."
"No, it's actually a very common thing. Some women enjoy it, some don't. I don't think it's a big deal to people to ask that they not come up and touch you. I doubt you'd have any problems doing so, what with being you and all."
"Very true. I just about did it with Terri, but held back because she at least had the courtesy to ask." She looked up at Clark when he made a sound. "Yes?"
"She asked, you said yes... yet this has you annoyed?"
"Hey..." She paused, trying to think of something to say, but came up with nothing. She closed her mouth a second before sighing. "All right, so I may be having an irrational moment, but all people should ask before touching, not just Terri! At least then I have the option of saying no."
"I think you just needed to rant since you hadn't done so in a few days. I doubt this whole 'community property' issue would have come up otherwise."
"That very well may be, Smallville, but it did." She raised a hand, holding up one finger. "New rule for those wanting to touch my stomach: ask, or get your hand whacked."
Clark reached down and placed a hand on her stomach, running it across the bump slowly. She looked at him a second before grabbing her stapler and hitting his hand with it to save her own hand some pain. When she looked up at him, he was looking down at her with a cocked eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that! You didn't follow the new rule!"
He laughed, causing her to grin against her will. His laugh was freaking infectious. "I'm the father! One would think I should have unrestricted access, or am I going to have to ask when you want me to feel Almond Joy kick?"
"Oh, fine, but only because I love you. Otherwise you would be outta luck."
"I knew there was some personal gain in having your love." He leaned down and kissed her, making her smile as he did so. For as long as she got to remember all this, that would never get old in her book. He pulled away from her, grinning as well.
"All right, so, slow news day and me being irrational means I want some storytelling."
"What about the Chief?"
Lois waved a hand at Clark. "If he needs us, he'll bellow." She looked around him at Chloe. "What do you say?"
"I say yes, but then again I don't get to tell anything this time around. This one was all you guys right here in Metropolis."
"What story is this?"
"The third time you forgot."
Lois frowned. She was hoping for something upbeat and lighthearted, but then again that did seem to be rare in her life. She was going to have to have to talk to Clark about remembering some good, lighthearted stories for when she next forgot, because she kept hearing serious ones. Well, kind of... she didn't know if she considered Chloe's twins being born lighthearted or not. Seeing as how Jordan was conceived that night, it certainly didn't end in a lighthearted way. And wow was she thinking the word lighthearted a lot. She shook her head and looked up at Clark.
"Ok, let's hear it Smallville. We talking long or short story here?"
He thought a moment before speaking. "Don't know, really. This is the first time I've had to tell the story in full, because you lived it last time. I only had to tell the night before part when you woke up."
"Ooh, uncharted territory. Wow me with untold stories, Smallville."
"I'll do my best. It was March 15th, 2018 when you forgot. We'll start the day before, like I said."
---
"These pants aren't nearly as comfortable as my regular pants."
Clark looked over at Lois out of the corner of his eye as he tightened up his tie, watching as she looked down at herself and messed with her maternity pants. When those had become necessary, she had decided that it was all his fault. A week later, with her looking further along in the pregnancy than she was, she had backed off from that claim and decided to focus on complaining about the clothes.
"I'm sure you can find maternity pants just as comfortable as your regular pants, Lo. Chloe never complained about hers in either pregnancy, that I recall."
"She didn't complain to you, but I bet she did to Bruce and I."
"That very well may be, but when was the last time Chloe decided to hide any of her discomfort from either of us? You being in the room when the twins were born pretty much cements the fact that she won't hide anything from you, and I generally get included in that."
She looked over at him and frowned. Clark just smiled in return. "Your logic has no place in this conversation, Smallville."
"I'm very sorry. The point of me bringing up Chloe, though, is the fact that maybe you two could go shopping and you could find pregnancy pants that you find to be as comfortable as your regular pants. Be a good activity this weekend."
"Better idea: how about you and I go, we sneak into a dressing room and we show the walls just how sexy pregnancy can be."
Clark grinned, unable to hold it back. Not long after she had started showing she had become extremely affectionate, and he was certainly not going to complain about it. He also wasn't going to make love to her in a dressing room, but it was the thought that counted in his book.
"Seeing as how we already... christened a dressing room when we were newlyweds, which I still can't believe you talked me into, I think I'll settle for showing all the walls in our apartment just how sexy my pregnant wife is. In the meantime, though, we should get going."
"You are the only man I know that turns down sex."
"Were you offering for right here and now? Since it's you, Chief will accept some lateness."
"I am always talking about the now, Smallville." She turned to him and unbuttoned her pants, letting them drop to the floor. "That is much more comfortable."
A couple hours later they walked into the bullpen and straight to their desks. He looked up at her over his glasses as he sat down, finding a mischievous grin coming his way. He simply smiled back and attempted to get to work.
"Lois! Clark! Where have you two been?"
Lois was first to answer. "I thought I told you we had a meeting with a source first thing today, Chief? I know I meant to... I guess it must have just slipped my mind." She waved at her head a second. "Guess the baby has me a little off these days."
Man, she was a good liar. Was it bad that she was using the baby as an excuse?
"Alright Lois, just try to keep me in the loop from now on. I tell ya, when Alice was pregnant she forgot everything and then some, so I understand. How about Clark delivers all the messages from now on, though?"
"You got it. Smallville is the messenger boy from now."
Clark grimaced and let his head thump down lightly on his desk. He could tell just from the way she had said it that he had a new nickname, at least in the short term. He lifted his head up and spotted Perry walking away, then looked over at Lois, who was grinning at him.
"Let me guess..."
"It occurs to me, Messenger Boy, that I could use a snack. Would you mind running to the snack machine for me and getting a couple things made almost entirely of chocolate?"
Sighing, Clark stood up and walked across the room, finding himself in front of the snack machines a minute later. She seemed to come up with more temporary nicknames for him these days than she knew what to do with. It had started when she had started to show. It was like something had clicked in her brain that she was really pregnant, that she was really going to have to go through everything she knew was coming and in clothes she didn't think looked very good or comfortable.
First, it was 'Guy Who Did The Impregnating,' which was promptly followed by 'Cause Of All This' and 'Semen Producer.' He didn't even know how or why she'd thought of the last one, and it had only lasted a few hours. He figured she'd realized that it didn't sound as ridiculous aimed at him as it felt to be saying it. Hopefully she wouldn't grow too fond of 'Messenger Boy' but it seemed like one that could stick.
His eyes scanned across the various selections available to him as he tried to find things made up almost entirely of chocolate. Trips to the snack machine were almost an hourly occurrence before lunch these days. When the... the growth spurt, for lack fo a better term, had hit her stomach, food had become something she devoured in a more ravenous manner than usual.
It had started not long after the morning sickness had let up. He'd made dinner one night and she'd been feeling good, so when she asked for a second helping he hadn't thought anything about it. Lois asking for a second helping of Italian food was more or less the norm. Of course, when she asked for a third and a fourth helping he'd been curious. He went back for a little bit more for himself and found that they had eaten almost all of it.
Then the snacking binge hit. A few days after the Italian food gorging and subsequent meals taking on much grander proportions, he'd found that whenever he saw her, she had a snack of some kind in hand. Lois didn't even seem to realize she was doing it. First it was fruit, then she downed a bag of chips, then she ate a big lunch followed not long after by downing the better part of a bowl of grapes.
He had asked her about how much she'd eaten that day when getting ready for bed. When she said she didn't think it was any more than she'd been eating the last few days, he had run down the list. She'd thought about it for a second, grumbled something about losing control of her own body and then turned on him, starting her 'Guy Who Did The Impregnating' nickname and pointing out that she was carrying his child and he didn't get to point out the crazy stuff unless she started eating dirt or something.
What had started out as him doing his best to ask an innocent question about how much food intake she'd had that day had turned into a long rant, once again, on everything she had to go through to bring their child into the world. When he'd attempted to back off, the rant had happened once more, just to make sure he remembered that she had a life inside her, that she had to gain a bunch of weight and get all kinds of uncomfortable, not to mention what pushing a baby out was going to do to her... down there.
That had not been a pleasant conversation.
Shuddering himself out of the memory, Clark slid a dollar into the snack machine and chose a Three Musketeers candy bar as the first item of chocolate for his wife.
Chocolate seemed to have taken on new meaning to her lately. It didn't seem to be a craving so much as the comfort food of choice. He really wished he'd never noticed, because apparently making the off handed comment on such things warranted another spiel, which had led to the unfortunate 'Semen Producer' happenings.
And out of that spiel had come the oddest rant he'd ever heard her make. When using the word burgeoning to describe her stomach, thighs and backside, she'd stopped for a second and gone on a whole separate tangent on how burgeoning held too much of a positive ring to it. According to her, it made her sound like she liked the fact that 'her thighs were exploding and her ass was already puffing out like each cheek had been stung by a ginormous bee.'
He'd ventured into the madness about how he liked the way she looked. Huge mistake.
That had earned an entire addressing of an issue he didn't actually think was an issue. This had been before she had decided that every move he made was a turn on, not that he was complaining, and led to her revealing that she had liked the way her boobs, thighs and ass had looked before she was pregnant. She knew that her boobs had to get bigger so that the baby could eat, but she didn't feel that the thighs or ass needed to change, no matter if it had been the same for women throughout time.
Lois had then said she wouldn't mind all the extra meat as much if it didn't hold stretch marks and droopiness in the time after the baby was born. The prospect of one, the other or both seemed to throw her into dismay and kill her ranting mood and put her into an annoyed mood, which was really not all that different.
He'd done his best to comfort her, pointing out that perhaps the Kryptonian healing would keep her from stretching and droopiness, which had perked her up considerably. He didn't know if she believed it, but the prospect made her hopeful, at least.
Once more, Clark slid a dollar into the snack machine and picked out some chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Picking those and the candy bar out of the bottom of the machine, he made his way over to their desks again, finding Lois with an unsharpened pencil clenched between her teeth. It was, in her words, a thinking pencil. Without it, her articles would only be half as good. She hadn't bothered to explain why.
Clark dropped the cookies on the table and her eyes lit up. She grabbed the pack and tore it open, taking a bite of one of the cookies. She then spotted the candy bar still in his hand and looked up at him.
"Holding out on me?"
"Let's call this a bargaining tool. I will give you this," he said as he held up the candy bar, "in exchange for no more calling me Messenger Boy."
She raised an eyebrow, but looked back down at the candy bar longingly. How she did so while she was starting on a second cookie, he would never understand. She then made a pouty face he was seeing all too often these days. "But... the baby wants it, Smallville."
"That's low, Lo."
"Yeah, well, all's fair in love, war and pregnancy." She swallowed the last bit of cookie and sighed. "Fine, no more calling you Messenger Boy in exchange for that candy bar in your hand. You do know this does not apply to other nicknames since you only brought me the one, right?"
"I figured as much." He tossed the candy bar over to her and watched as she actually hugged it to her chest a second before starting in on it.
"Lois! Clark!"
They both looked over at Perry, who was walking towards them. "You guys need to head over to LexCorp. They've called a press conference about some joint business with the city, starts in fifteen minutes."
"On it, Chief."
Clark helped Lois up as she shoved the rest of her candy bar into her mouth, chewing it and sliding her jacket on as they walked to the elevator. He eyed her chewing as they stepped into the old thing and waited for the doors to close. When they started down alone, he shook his head.
"I could have held it for you. I wouldn't have stolen a bite."
She glared at him a second before swallowing and chewing. "Gimme a break. If I'm getting fat, I'm doing it right."
"You are not getting fat, Lois, you're pregnant. I mean, depending on how big the baby is you'll lose anywhere from six to ten pounds of the weight once labor is done, plus a little more with the placenta. I doubt blood loss will actually make a big difference, but the extra you're producing right now does account for some of the weight gain."
The elevator door opened and they walked out. Lexcorp wasn't far so they decided to walk to the press conference. They'd be there in plenty of time. Once they were on the sidewalk, Lois started speaking.
"First off, if we have a ten pound baby, I am going to find a way to hurt you. Lucy and I were both around seven pounds, if I recall, so ten would be all your fault. Secondly, blood loss? Yeesh. Come on, Smallville. I know you're all into the books and reading part of not quite being a dad yet, but you don't have to get all scientific and bloody on me."
"I'm not getting scientific, I'm just telling you what is going to happen if you have a regular birth."
"And what do you think the chances of that are? My pregnancy is not what most would call regular."
"I have no idea, Lo, but it helps to be prepared."
"I plan on being prepared, Smallville, but I'm fifteen weeks pregnant. I have actually seen a birth in person, though, so I have some idea of what happens. And you know what? It's not pretty, but it gets the baby here, and that's what counts. Really, when have you seen me unprepared anyway?"
Clark did his best to hold back from scoffing at her statement. "Lois, you've gone into so many situations half-cocked that I have no idea how you are still among the living sometimes."
They crossed the street and stopped in front of the LexCorp building. A little platform had been put up so the Lex could make his announcement, and some of the press were already milling about just in front of it. Lois took the lead, pushing through the crowd until they both had prime spots near the front. She looked over at him as she pulled her recorder out of her purse.
"I am still amongst the living, Smallville, because of Superman. He's kept me safe for years, and I don't think he knows how much I appreciate it. I don't go into anything half-cocked, though. I always have a plan of attack, it just doesn't always work out the way I plan it."
"What about the docks, a month before our wedding?"
"That... well, I... ok, that plan was not what one would call fleshed out, but it worked out in the end and we got the story."
"Worked out? You were taken hostage! Again!"
"Eh, mediocre criminals at best. Even after being hit upside the head with kryptonite, Superman had no trouble with 'em."
"You know, I bet if I asked Superman, he would agree with me that you need to think about things more before you jump into them. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I am certain he would agree with me."
She glared at him and was about to say something when he looked over to the platform, finding Lex walking up to the microphone. He heard Lois growl a little, the same way she always did when she saw him anymore. It had been like that ever since he had told her that it was probably men connected to Lex that had attacked her back in 2008.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it pleases me to announce that LexCorp and the City of Metropolis have reached a deal that will ensure our home is one of the safest cities in all of America, if not the world. The newer security measures will show undesirable people that they are not welcome in Metropolis, and if they try to steal from us or hurt us, we will fight back and bring them to justice."
Clark had to hold his eyes back. They were fighting very hard to roll at Lex uttering the word justice.
Forty five minutes later, Lois and Clark were back in the office and sitting at their desks. The rest of the press conference had been a bunch of technical jargon that Clark had tried his best to follow, but found himself wishing he had Chloe to explain it to him. He flipped a page of the packet that had been handed out, going into even further technical detail so people could see just how secure the system was.
Just then, he heard a call for help.
"What is it?"
He looked over at Lois, who was looking at him in the way she always did when he heard somebody calling for help.
"Tour bus turned over the highway. People need medical attention." Clark bounced up out of his chair. "Wait for Perry to send you to the scene before going, Lois. Love you." He didn't say anything more to her before jogging off to the stairs, x-raying them as he went. Finding nobody, he sped up to the roof, shed his suit and took off. He could only imagine how Lois had huffed over his request.
He landed at the scene a second later, immediately setting to the task of pulling people away to a safe place away from the wreckage. When a fire sprang up on the bottom side of the bus, he hit it with a blast of frozen air that made sure it couldn't happen again. After a couple trips of taking injured people to the hospital, press started showing up, Lois one of the earliest. He was grateful that she at least made the appearance of having waited for Perry to say something unless she had driven like a mad woman across town.
After flying the other couple seriously inured people to the hospital, Clark turned the bus back on its wheels. Everybody else that had been involved only had minor scrapes and bruises, fortunately.
"Superman!"
Clark turned and looked at Lois, one of a throng of reporters approaching him. "Superman, what happened here?"
"A semi side swiped this tour bus, turning it over on its side."
"Was anybody killed?"
That was not Lois. He was glad his wife had more tact than to ask that question straight out, though thinking of Lois and tact together did seem odd.
"Fortunately, no. I took the more seriously injured to the hospital, and those that are here or being taken to the hospital currently had only scrapes and bruises." Clark zoned out for a second, hearing another call for help. This one was nowhere near Metropolis. He turned back to the reporters.
"If you'll all excuse me." He took off slowly at first, then shot away at top speed.
Clark landed on the balcony and slipped inside the apartment, exhaling as he did so. After the tour bus, it had been a long day. A mudslide in Indonesia had required hours of his help, and the same had been true for a five alarm fire of a slum type area in eastern Africa. So many people had been burned...
Clark shed his Superman tights, putting on a t-shirt and jeans in their stead. He slipped his glasses on and walked out of the bedroom, finding Lois sitting on the couch and eating pizza. He couldn't have been less shocked to see anything in his life. She spotted him as he walked towards her and sat up.
"Hey! What's been going on to keep you away all day?"
He grabbed a slice of pizza, taking a bite before answering. He nearly groaned in delight as he tasted all the various meats on it. He took a moment to savor before swallowing and answering Lois's question.
"Well, after the tour bus crashed I was needed in Indonesia. There was a mudslide and it took a while to make sure those that could be helped were. Almost immediately after that, while I was flying back to Metropolis, I heard a call for help in east Africa. A slum in one of the cities had caught fire and been burning for hours. I don't know why I hadn't heard anything before then, but I got there when I could."
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I got about fifteen different stories on how it was started, and I think most of those were made up. I was able to put it out without a whole lot of trouble, but the people... there were so many people that had been badly burned that I couldn't help." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hate when I can't help them. I know I can't be everywhere, but...
"Hey, don't do this to yourself." He looked over at her, and she scooted closer to him on the couch and put the pizza box on the coffee table. She then wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her face into his chest. "There was nothing you could have done, Smallville. Simple as that. You helped those you could, which is all you or anybody on Earth can do. You may not be from here, but you are here, and as such are governed by what is and is not possible. Kind of."
Clark took a sullen bite of pizza, wishing he could protest her logic. "I just wish..."
She pushed herself up and kissed him softly. "I know, Smallville, and I love you for it. What happened afterwards?"
Clark swallowed the last bit of his pizza before speaking. "After that, there was a meeting of the League. No major business, just discussion."
"What were you guys discussing?"
"This and that. Mostly seeing if anybody needed help, best way to stay in communication... you know, the usual."
"Still won't wear the ear piece, will you?"
Clark shook his head. "Maybe someday, but with as many pictures I have taken of me, I don't want people seeing the ear piece. It lends itself to a business kind of approach or view on things, and I don't want people to start seeing me that way. I will be here to help people see the good, no matter what."
"And again, I love you for it."
They settled in for a couple hours of television before yawning finally became more common for Lois than blinking. "Want to sack out for the night?"
"Yeah, just let me grab a snack first." He smiled as she got up and walked into the kitchen. He turned the television off and stood up, stretching a little as he did. He looked back and found Lois walking towards him with a peanut butter covered celery stick in hand.
"Good to go?"
She nodded, as apparently having just taken a bite she was unable to form the words for a response. He followed her into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it in the hamper. He dropped his pants and slipped into bed, waiting for Lois to do the same as she finished her food.
She finally slid in next to him and he wrapped her up in his arms, placing a kiss on her head. "Goodnight, Lo. Love you."
"Love you too, Smallville. And I love you, baby girl."
He placed a hand on the one she had rested on her stomach. "As do I."
Clark landed on the balcony and stifled a yawn as he slipped into the apartment, the first rays of daylight touching his back. There had been multiple calls for help during the night, along with a bank robbery attempt. It had been as busy a night as it had a day, for the most part, and now he felt guaranteed to be yawning through work. Everybody was ok, though, so it was worth it.
Closing the door behind him, Clark did his best to walk through the room quietly so he wouldn't wake Lois. As deep a sleeper as she'd been the last few days, though, he doubted he could wake her even if he did make an abundance of noise. Heck, it might take a good shake if the previous day had been any indication.
Her proclivity towards the unhappy and less than flattering nicknames made him want to be careful, though. If he woke her up by being loud, he was liable to be called 'thumper' or some such name that was not all that desirable.
He wasn't angry about it, just slightly annoyed. He understood that she was unhappy about her clothes not fitting and all her future discomfort. He also knew that she loved their baby more than she could express, so instead she expressed her frustration at what it takes to actually get the baby into their arms. Chloe had not been dissimilar when Jack was gestating.
Clark stepped into the closet and stepped out a second later wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He watched Lois sleep for a second, then padded out to the kitchen and started grabbing some pans out of the cupboards., setting them on the stove. Grabbing some eggs out of the fridge, he cracked a few open into the pan and turned the burner on low heat. He grabbed the milk and poured a little in before scrambling them.
He leaned back against the counter, listening to the eggs cook more than watching. He looked out the window, the sun starting to rise above the buildings now. He looked back towards their room, hearing the alarm clock go off and a muffled grunt in response as the snooze button got whacked. Smiling, he moved the eggs around so they wouldn't burn and tossed some bacon in another pan, letting it start to sizzle. He tossed the rest of the package back in the fridge.
A few minutes later, he heard the alarm go off again and another muffled grunt as a hand slammed onto it. He waited a minute for her to appear, drowsy and probably annoyed the she wasn't going to be getting any coffee, but she never appeared. Slightly surprised, he figured it to be one of those mornings where it took a team of Clydesdales to pull her out of bed. Of course, she'd become fond of not wasting the day lately, so he figured he should get to waking her up.
Piling the food onto a couple plates and pouring out a glass of orange juice for her, Clark left his on the table while carrying Lois's to their bedroom. Few things woke her up faster than food not far from her.
When he got into the room, Lois was laying on her back, apparently asleep again. He walked up to the bed and sat down lightly, then held the plate a couple feet in front of her, letting the smell waft. Two seconds later, Lois began to stir, then shot up like a bolt as she took a deep breath through her nose. The only time she ever sat up more quickly was when he was holding coffee for her, and the last time he'd done that had resulted in her moving as quickly as any human he had ever seen. Lois being Lois, though, had thought nothing of it.
He watched as her eyes slid open, fixing themselves on the food in front of her. She started to grin, then looked over at him and her eyes went wide.
"What the hell are you doing, Smallville?"
Nope, not a good morning. "Bringing you breakfast in bed, Lo." He held up the bacon and eggs as proof. "See, food. Breakfast food."
"Great, I love breakfast brought to me, but let me rephrase so you understand my question: what the hell are you doing in my apartment? Well, that's a silly question, since you always seem to be around, so what the HELL are you doing in my room? And when did we get close enough for you to call me Lo?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? I always call you Lo and this is..."
Clark paused as her phrase struck him. Not now. It couldn't be happening now, not with the baby on the way. That would just be a cruel twist of fate, even with Lois's luck when it came to these things. He pushed his negative thoughts aside for the moment, taking a deep breath and steeling himself to check the facts.
"Lois, this is going to sound odd, but what is today's date?"
"June 8th, Smallville, but that is an awful answer to the question I asked. Good thing you want to be asking the questions and not answering them for a living. Now, if you don't mind, leave the food and get out!"
More than he ever had before, Clark cursed. Not out loud, but it was not a pretty picture in his head. When he ran out of phrases he knew, he started using ones that sounded approximately like things Lois would say when extremely upset or annoyed. He rubbed a hand over his face and sat the plate of food down on his bedside table.
He looked up as the covers shifted and watched Lois stand up. "Look, Smallville, it's not that I don't appreciate a guy that can cook. I do. I really do, considering I can't cook to save my life. Just, how about next time you feel like making somebody breakfast you stay in the kitchen and don't get in bed with me. Or, you know, ask so I can tell you no."
Clark watched her open her mouth to say more, frown, and look down. He grimaced, having ignored the fact that she was going to find out about the baby very quickly. This was just not going to be an easy morning. At least last time all he'd had to explain was an engagement ring and her being sore. This time, it was explaining that she was pregnant. And it just had to happen while she was showing.
"What the FUCK is going on with my stomach?"
Clark sighed. No way to ease her into things this time. "Lois, crazy as this sounds, you're pregnant. The date is not June 8th, 2008. It is, however, March 15th, 2018."
She looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. "Have you been smoking something, Smallville? More importantly, have I been smoking something that has me hallucinating you telling me I'm pregnant?" It seemed that she finally noticed that she wasn't in the room she remembered and looked around. "Jesus, where am I?"
Not good. Oh so much not good going on. Clark rubbed at his neck, hoping to rid himself of a bit of the tense feeling that had settled there. It didn't work by any means. He hated this part of it. It hurt her, and he would never like being one to do that.
"Lois, look in the mirror."
"What? Why?"
"Just... please?"
"Fine, but after that you are explaining all this bullshit to me and... what happened?" He watched her bring her hands up to her face and start tracing her fingers along the scars. "What happened to my face?"
"On June 7th, after Chloe left for the Planet in the taxi, you were walking home. A few blocks into the walk, you were attacked. The police think that it was a group of men, and we believe that they were connected to Lex because of your gun running article. The first failed attempt on your life was sloppy, but this was not. That's why we think Lex is behind it."
"But... I would remember that!"
"The doctors best guess is that you have a form of post traumatic stress disorder. Basically, the memory of the attack is in your subconscious. After a period of time, the memory starts to bleed into your dreams. When it starts getting too vivid, your brain pulls a forgetting act so that you won't remember and your memory is reset. Let me ask... is the last thing you remember starting your walk after Chloe took off?"
She nodded, looking at him in the mirror.
"That's how it's always been. This is the third time you've forgotten."
"This is..."
"I know."
"No, you really don't." She stared in the mirror a minute before turning to face him. "So, we're..."
"Married."
She glanced down at her left hand and grimaced, causing him to want to frown. He held back, though; now was not the time for him to take things personally. "I wasn't on your radar due to mopiness, if I recall. Right?"
"Pretty much."
"I got over it."
"I can see that." She stared him in the eye for a moment, then began shaking her head. "No. No! This is not real. I mean, it seems real but it isn't real. This is a big thing to make me royally confused or hurt me or something, anything! Hell, maybe I time traveled in my sleep, but I am not supposed to be here!
"No, not even that. This is 2008. It has to be 2008. I do not have amnesia, because that is something people get when they hit they're heads too hard. Me? I get hit on my head just hard enough to NOT get amnesia! The scars and the stomach? Prosthetics."
Clark about jumped off the bed as Lois started pulling at the scars, trying to pull them off. If he stopped her, though, she was just going to say that it was proof and he was trying to keep her from proving that she was, in fact, in 2008. He sighed in relief when she pulled her hands away from her face and did not start pulling on her stomach.
"Son a bitch, that hurt. What kind of prosthetics are these?"
"The kind that are real scars, Lo."
"No, you do not get to call me that. You have in no way earned use of the nickname Lo, Smallville." Oh, good, he got to go through the not calling her 'Lo' thing again. That had been a task that had taken him far too long to remember last time this had happened. "Hell, I bet you're the one with amnesia and are just being used to get me to buy into all this! You look like you haven't really aged, if it has been ten years."
Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses, slipping them on. "I've aged, Lois. I need glasses now." Damn it, he hated lying to her.
"I bet you use those just to throw me off the trail."
Uncanny statement, considering. "No such luck. You were attacked, you forget at random intervals of time, we're married and have a daughter on the way."
"No... no, I would never do that to a child. I would never curse somebody to have me for a mother. That's where you lose me."
Clark stood up off the bed but didn't move any closer to her. "Lois..."
"NO! I would never do that!" She looked up at him, as fierce and scared as he'd ever seen her look. "I don't care what you say, I would never, EVER put a child through having to deal with me! Never, Clark!"
She turned away and stared off into space, the glint of tears in her eyes. It was like every insecurity and fear she'd had about being a mother had welled up and forced itself into her head all at once. Clark took a step forward then stopped himself, knowing that he couldn't help her. She wouldn't let him, not anymore. He didn't know if she'd let anyone close enough to her so she could be helped through this, but he had to try.
"Do you want me to call Chloe? She could be here in a few hours, and you can talk to her now." Lois simply nodded, still staring into space. He didn't think had ever seen her look so hurt. Clark grabbed his cell phone out of his bedside table and dialed Chloe, hoping she would pick up quickly. Fortunately, she did.
"Hey, Clark. To what do I owe the early call?"
"It's Lois. She... she forgot again last night. She'd like to speak to you."
"Of course. Put her on."
Clark walked over to Lois and held out the phone. She hesitated a second and looked up at him, then wiped at one watery eye as she took the phone and held it up to her ear.
"Chloe? Thank God it's you. Clark said..."
He didn't hear the rest as he walked out of the room, giving her privacy to talk. Sitting down on the couch, he leaned over and rested his face in his hands.
- - -
"Wait, so Chloe can tell part of this." Lois looked over at her cousin. "What was said in the phone call?"
Chloe sat up from her semi-slouched position in the chair and stayed quiet for a minute. "Um... yeah. Sorry, I was trying to remember what exactly was said."
---
Chloe pulled a hand through her hair as she waited for Clark to put Lois on the phone. Why did it have to have happened now? Why couldn't Lois have been able to just remember? Having a baby was supposed to make people happy, for Christ sake.
"Chloe?"
She sighed. She hated these conversations. "I'm here, Lo."
"Thank God it's you. Clark said that he was calling you, but with everything going on, I wasn't sure."
"Lois, Clark would never lie to you. Trust me."
"Chloe, I... what happened? How did this happen?"
"What's Clark told you?"
"He said that I was attacked after you left for the Planet. I mean, I've got the scars on my face to substantiate his claim, but I haven't checked the rest of me." Lois paused, and Chloe just waited. Interrupting wouldn't do any good. "Why is this happening?"
"I don't know. I would fix it if it were in my power."
"I can't be pregnant, Chloe. I just... it's not right. No child should have to be part of me. No child should have to deal with all my issues, not to mention my genes. When I think of how much I'll ruin a child by being its mother..."
"Lois, you'll be an excellent mother, no matter what you say. You will always do what's best for that little girl you're carrying, and that's what it takes. It's what I try to do for Jack, Aly and Liz every minute of every single day."
"Who the hell are they?"
Chloe sighed. Apparently Clark hadn't gotten to that part. "Clark didn't tell you I'm married, did he?"
"We kinda got stuck on other topics, but I could use the momentary distraction."
"I married Bruce Wayne, Lo."
"No way."
"Very way. We have a son, Jack, that turned four in the beginning of February. We have twin daughters, Aly and Liz, that were born this past December 1st. You were actually in the room with me when I delivered them."
"I've always thought delivering babies was an odd statement. It makes me think of some guy carrying around a basket of babies and yelling that he has hot babies for sale, and to get 'em while they're cheap."
"Trust me, babies are never cheap."
"Not that it would be a problem, since you married Bruce."
"Very true." Chloe paused a second, taking in a deep breath before speaking. She'd almost been sucked into the topic change. "You're going to be a good mother, Lois. No matter what your head is telling you, you will be a good mother. You've got too much love in your heart to fail."
"But, I don't..."
"You will. I know you, and you will. And you'll love Clark, too."
"I don't buy that."
"He loves you more than you can possibly imagine, Lois. I can't imagine what this is doing to him, but he loves you. You two have been through so much... it's just one of those things that is meant to be."
"Chloe, I don't get meant to be. My life has always been about what's needed to be done, not what I want. I don't even want Clark, anyway!"
"I've never seen two people as in love as you two, Lois. Twice, and in different ways."
"What does that mean?"
Chloe frowned and sighed. That was stupid of her. Here she was trying to help her cousin and instead she brings things up that may just confuse her further. She pulled the phone away from her ear and switched it to the other, looking up at the sky a second before answering.
"The last time you forgot was the night you and Clark got engaged the first time." No need to mention she had done the proposing. "You two were like something out of a romance novel. It was something special to be around. After you forgot, it took a little while but you two got it right again. It wasn't the same love, because different things had transpired in your mind, but it was just as strong. It's why you decided you wanted to have a baby with him."
"What?"
Well, she was really throwing everything into it. If this didn't work, Clark was going to throw her to the moon. He'd put a space suit on her first, but he'd do it. "It was all you, Lois. You didn't even tell him. You took a chance the night the twins were born and talked him into making love with no protection, and that chance worked out. You're pregnant right now because you wanted it."
"I... I wanted to have a baby?"
Lois said it so quietly that Chloe almost didn't hear it. "You couldn't explain it. You said that being around me while I was pregnant had given you baby fever. It was love, though, and you wanted to start a family with the man you loved more you thought you could."
"This can't be real. Any world where I want to have a baby is not a real world."
"Before you reject reality, try it out. I'm not saying to just accept it all, but live in it for a little while and find out what it's like. Once you get used to it, I think you'll like it more than you think."
"Uh... I... I'm going to let you go, Chloe."
Chloe smiled, hoping she'd gotten through. "I love you, Lo. So does Clark. Remember that."
"Yeah. I'll talk to you later."
---
"Guess I'm up again?"
"You got it, Smallville."
---
Clark stood in the kitchen, staring out the window. He had cleaned up all the breakfast stuff, tossing his food as it had gone cold. It was a beautiful looking morning.
"Smallville?"
Clark looked over at Lois, who was standing just outside their bedroom door. "Hey. Did you have a good talk with Chloe?"
"Yeah. It was... enlightening. She said some things that are hard to believe."
"I thought she might." He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, never taking his eyes off of hers. "I know you probably don't want to hear it, but I do love you and will never lie to you."
"That's what she said. She also said that we had something special. That I was the one that took having a baby into my own hands, so to speak. That I loved you more than I know I am capable of and that I will love this baby."
"She's right."
"She usually is." She sighed, but never looked away from him. "I don't know what I'm doing. I've never felt like this before, felt so lost before."
"I know, and I don't expect you to know what you're doing right now. I can't imagine how difficult this is, especially waking up pregnant this time. All I had to explain a couple years back was an engagement ring."
He watched as Lois finally looked away and walked over to the couch, sitting down. "How is this going to work, Smallville? How can this possibly work out?"
"Because we always work, Lois. Always. You'll see. You'll find the world hasn't changed all that much, you'll adjust and find that happiness isn't very far away."
"I don't need happiness... not for me, anyway." She looked up at him, swallowing and looking scared, which made his heart hurt. She never looked scared. "Don't let me screw up this baby. Please, Clark, promise me that you will make sure that this baby is ok despite me."
He walked over and sat down next to her. He started to reach to take her hand out of habit, but had to pull it back. "You won't do anything that will cause me to have to. You will be a great mother."
"I hope you're right. For this little girl's sake, I hope you're right."
---
"And everything worked out. You are, in fact, a great mother."
Lois eyed Clark. "I don't think I really qualify as great, Smallville. Passable, bordering on good is what I give myself."
"I would never lie to you, Lois, remember? You are great."
Lois rolled her eyes and looked over to Chloe, who was grinning as if she expected it. "Great, cuz."
She sighed, fighting a smile. "You two are insane."
