Paradise - Chapter 18
Lex stared at the nurse and tried not to lose his composure, "Complications?" He followed the nurse down the hall as quickly as she was walking and listened.
"She's at 35 weeks. While that is considered a premature infant, most survive and have few problems once out of the hospital." The nurse stopped in the waiting area outside of double doors that said no admittance. "However, during her beginning labor, the doctor found an umbilical cord prolapse occurred. Basically the cord had worked its way between her cervix and the baby, cutting off the labor canal. The heartrate plummeted. So, she's in surgery right now."
Lex stopped and stared at the double doors. "Can I be there?"
The nurse sighed and shook her head. "She's already been prepped and would not have time to prep you. It's a strenuous situation. I promise to come get you as soon as possible." The nurse showed Lex to a small room with a number on it. "These are private waiting rooms for the fathers. I will call on that phone there."
Lex watched as the double doors flew open as he paced. He stared at the magazines on the table and suddenly realized that all the pictures of her pregnant and the baby's room were just the tip. Dawning on him, he was going to be a father.
Lex sat on the uncomfortable vinyl couch and filed through one of the brochures. 'How is my Child Different, a handbook for Preemie Parents.' As he read, his eyes filled with moisture at the different layers of problems that could occur.
Could occur? His wife was in surgery; he hadn't been there in time to be with her. The words on the page and the pictures didn't help, even if they were painted as rosy as possible. The idea of his child spending time in the hospital scared him. It would be something that he ultimately couldn't control.
The paragraphs on their lack of mental development later in life made him rub his head in agony. He didn't want his father's voice in his head saying he was a Luthor and Luthor children wouldn't have problems. He himself had problems for the longest time. He was treated sadly because of them even before he lost his hair. Illness had been a sign of weakness.
Lex threw the pamphlet back on the table and leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes. Letting out a long sigh, he heard a familiar voice enter the waiting room.
"My grandson was 32 weeks. It's hard to picture what might be coming." Lex peered over across the small room and tried not to show his utter excitement to see someone familiar. "Magnil is with her Lex. And the nurse will come get you when she can."
"Don, I've been a selfish prick and this is all my fault."
"First, everyone that is on the front of TIME magazine for business is a selfish prick and most can't make a family work if they were given a manual. Second, you did not cause Chloe's distress. Preemies are common in younger age women."
Lex leaned forward and took the small water that Don offered him. "What if…"
"No what ifs. Chloe will be fine. Your son is going to be fine. And anything else, you have a network of friends here that you probably haven't had in a long time. Although, your name is pretty much mud as far as your wife's ranting in labor."
Lex chuckled and sat back against he couch, nursing his water. He wanted something stronger, but alcohol was no longer on the menu since Chloe had announced she was breastfeeding. Fortunately, sleeping pills for him were still allowed in their agreement.
Lex sat and flipped through another magazine made for new dads and stared at the pictures of the happy ones carrying their kids around on their shoulders. He grimaced trying to remember when that had ever occurred with him and Lionel. No memory could be recollected.
When Chloe had first started decorating, he wanted the books of substance in the room. Children shouldn't have ideas of fairytales floating uselessly in their brain. Chloe resisted his raised voice and bought books of poetry and pop up books, and soft books and only one book at real life, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Lex had laughed at her but found it actually more interesting than anything his father ever told him.
Lex pulled his buzzing phone out of his coat pocket and looked at the number. Shoving it back in his pocket, Don looked at his concerned look. "Business?"
"Nothing someone else can't handle." Don almost choked and started to sputter laughter.
"Really? You given up?"
"No, just realizing something." Don left it at that as Lex pulled the once again buzzing phone off completely and sat back in the chair and flipped though the magazine some more, actually stopping and reading the articles. He figured he had about an hour to learn everything he could know. Guilt washed over him as he realized how much time he had lost.
The phone rang and Lex stared at Don. Picking up the phone, he listened to the nurse and swiftly headed out of the room. Magnil passed him in the hall and just smiled. Pushing the double doors open, a nurse pointed him into a small corner.
"Your coat needs to stay here. Put on everything in that chair, wash your hands thoroughly and then come see me at the desk." Lex looked at the pile of light blue tarps and booties. His normal reaction of groaning left him when he thought of where he was going.
After covering himself literally head to toe with the blue tarps, the nurse motioned him through a door and closed it behind him. He stepped a couple of steps and heard the voice. "Lex?" she whispered.
She looked ragged and still in pain. He moved gently to Chloe's side and took her outstretched hand. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here. How are you feeling?"
"The drugs are good. I've stopped crying." Her voice was raspy after her several hour ordeal. He pictured her screaming for him, maybe for him to die, and felt a pang in his chest. He wouldn't miss the next one.
"Where is?"
"NICU. He's having some oxygen issues, but they said it's normal." Chloe's haggard body could still notice Lex's immediate stiff response. Pulling on his hand, she tried to comfort him. "It's going to be ok. You're going to have to calm down."
He felt her hand on his face as the words penetrated him. Another child with breathing problems. That would be his fault. "Lex, this has nothing to do with you. He's a preemie. He's 5 pounds, but they say he'll put on weight fast. " Lex silently nodded and Chloe smiled seeing him overwhelmed.
Lex's head turned as the door opened and his hand squeezed Chloe's. "I thought you might want to see Gabriel. We got his oxygen regulated for the time being but we want him on the ventilator as much as possible. The doctor has suggested he stay for a few days."
Lex pushed the chair out of the way to make room next to Chloe. He watched Chloe's eyes well up as the nurse pushed the rolling bassinet up next to the bed. Chloe ran her hand along her tiny son's face and stared at Lex. "Oh God, I don't know how to take care of him."
Standing out of the way, he watched the nurse sit the bed up slightly and pick up Gabriel. "How about we start with a breastfeeding lesson. Typically preemies have issues with sucking and we need to test the reaction." Chloe positioned her hands nervously as the nurse talked her though the steps.
Lex sat in another chair across the room and watched nervously as the nurse recorded the actions from Gabriel. "Is it supposed to hurt?"
"It might, if he's doing it right," the nurse had Chloe pull him off to see liquid drip from the baby's mouth. "I think we have a winner. I would decide whether you are planning to switch of in the middle or do one breast at a time for feeding." Chloe stared at the nurse and she smiled at her. "I'll explain more before you go home." The nurse excused herself.
"You look incredible," Lex whispered across the room.
"Come here then because I'm scared to death." Chloe held Gabriel's head up and barely could breathe from the strange sensation bombarding her chest.
Lex pulled the chair to the other side and ran his hand along his son's leg. He choked at the feeling, so soft and fragile. "He's so small and perfect."
"Like his daddy was," Chloe added. She stared at Gabriel Alexander and felt Lex's smile light up the room even without her looking. His hair was thin and blonde and his eyes were blue; she knew Lex was thanking the heavens. All of which Chloe knew could change.
"Chloe? Look at his face." Chloe looked down at Gabriel and saw Lex sprint out of the room as she pulled Gabe from her chest. Lex ran to the nurse's station and grabbed the arm of the one that had been in the room with them.
"Mr. Luthor?"
"He's turning blue," was all that Lex could get out as the nurse hit a button on the panel in front of her and ran back down the hall.
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Chloe walked into the room and saw only Lex's rear sticking out behind the door and smiled. "You know if that's an invitation, I shouldn't waste it." She slapped his ass as she walked through and sat down on the blanket next to Gabe.
"Ok, then you tell me where the jeans he's supposed to wear are?"
"Don't worry about it. Just denim. I thought you were ok with this idea? You're not flaking out on me thinking that it's lame and will ruin your image?"
"No," Lex snapped as he pulled something suitable out of the drawer and threw it across the room at Chloe. "It's just…odd for me."
He sat next to Chloe as she shed Gabe's pajama bottoms and pulled on the denim bottoms. "Odd in I'm making you wear jeans odd or odd in the family picture odd."
"Both," he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before pulling Gabe up to his chest and standing. "You have the diaper bag?"
"Yeah," Chloe responded as Lex's phone rang. She grabbed Gabe out of his hands and started out of the room. "It's Saturday. Ten minutes and then Magnil cuts in to take a message." Lex nodded as Chloe made her way to the beach.
Lex made his way into the office listening to the person on the other end of the line. "Look, the meeting can be on December 2nd, but I only will be in town for three days." Lex penciled the appointment down and would enter it later on his Blackberry.
Hanging up the phone, he looked at what used to his work area. He barely could find room now to work with the amount of photos that covered this desk and the wall behind him. He smiled thinking about how holding Gabe through the first night home changed things.
He still went away on trips; they couldn't be helped. But Robert had stayed good on his word and Lex rewarded him with several accounts that were overseas and therefore out of the three night rule. That had been the compromise with himself after spending three nights with Gabe; he didn't want to miss little things he was sure his father had never seen him do.
Now seven months old, Gabe had a full head of hair that still had not turned red, thankfully. He was developing as normal except for his small size for his age and a few developmental issues. The doctor was reassuring as Magnil was. Gabe may be a little behind but normal; Lex had finally come to terms with it when Gabe started pulling himself up on the couch albeit a few weeks from the average.
Magnil poked her head in almost ten minutes on the nose. "You know I was sent to check on you?" She looked at Lex's gaze and then at the note on the desk. "That's it for December. You know how Chloe is about the holidays, baby's first everything you know."
"Yeah," he commented quietly, looking at Gabe in his miniature pinstripe suit. They had all gone to the beach Halloween party as Mobsters. The hat stayed on Gabe's head exactly 10 seconds before it was yanked off.
"She's waiting at the beach for you." Lex sighed and figured he would get it over with. He waited for the reaction from everyone connected to Luthorcorp.
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"Clark! Come see the Christmas card from Chloe." Lana screamed through the house in suburban Metropolis. She knew he could hear her from the city. She had gotten used to his being gone, but this was too cute to pass up.
"What?" Clark pulled the card out of her hand and smiled. "Looks like he's finally dealing with selling off the company in chunks. They look good."
.com/albums/e...
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Lex woke to quiet gurgling coming from the lanai and smiled as Chloe had Gabe out in the cool sun with her the morning of Christmas. They had made it almost a year. That would be tomorrow.
Smiling, he stumbled into the bathroom and looked at the cute Christmas card from Chloe. 'Merry Christmas honey,' it simply stated on the front. Opening the card, a small pen-shaped device with a plus sign prominently displayed stared back at him. Merry Christmas indeed. He was in paradise.
THE END