Chapter 14

"Do I just push the dial to automatic and then click?"

"Chloe was supposed to show you but of course she isn't here," Lois said, taking the camera that Jimmy lent Chloe. "Yeah, we don't know all of the fancy tricks but I know a little."

Adjusting the settings she wanted, levels, JPEG and RAW, and setting it to take each photo in color, sepia, and black and white.

"That's about the extent of my knowledge of the camera, but there you go. Be a nazi and take endless photos, but you take one photo of anything going in or out and your face will look about how I feel."

"I wouldn't photograph that angle if you paid me," Lucy replied, completely grossed out.

"Good that we're on the same page because I'm about to be in pain again!"

Trying to breathe evenly, Lois leaned back against the bed and looked at the monitor, viewing her own contraction. Lucy set the camera down gently and took Lois's hand.

"It's going to be okay," she said weakly, as she had every other contraction before.

Lucy kept trying to be comforting, but Lois felt like she was still mothering Lucy as well as trying to give birth all by herself. Lucy was nervous and dressed in bright pink clothes that were making Lois wonder who went to a hospital in an outfit like that.

"How long has it been since the doctor's been in here?" Lois asked.

"Thirty five minutes, why?"

Lois bent her knees a little, grinding her teeth as the contraction began to subside.

"Because I'm having contractions a little bit more but I feel like I'm going to die. I want reassurance that everything is okay. And someone to yell at."

"I'll page the nurse," Lucy said.

Lois closed her eyes and turned her head to the side.

"Thank you," she sighed.

When Lois opened her eyes again the nurse was viewing her vitals and the monitors.

"Is everything okay?" Lois asked.

"Yes, but you're about to have another contraction."

Lois nodded, sitting up.

"I know," she cried.

"Lie back, it'll hurt less," the nurse said.

At that moment, the doctor came in.

"How are we?" she asked gently.

"Oh we're FINE!" Lois replied sarcastically, actually bringing a smile to the doctor's lips.

"Yes, I've had two children, it's wonderful, isn't it?" she smiled, touching Lois's wrist, looking over the monitor herself.

All Lois could do at that particular moment was moan. The doctor did a brief physical examination of her, making sure everything was fine.

"Alright, you're up to four inches. I know we've talked about pain management but I can offer you a bath. Some cases have shown that sitting or kneeling in warm water that covers you up to your abdomen or neck can ease some of the pain by increasing your own control over your body."

"You expect me to walk down the hall and climb into a tub?"

"Stephanie will help you and you will have a wheelchair," the doctor said, gesturing towards the nurse. "But you," she said touching Lois's hand. "You let me know if it doesn't help. I'm here to get you through this."

"Thank you. Thank you…" Lois trailed off.

"You can call me Katherine if you'd prefer. You're a special patient here, Ms. Lane. You and Mr. Kent are very important people to my employer. I know giving birth is a slow and painful process, a lot of waiting but trust me, it's worth it."

"I've never been good at patience."

"Then let's get you some relief!"

Lois squeezed her hand, never remembering feeling more grateful for anything in her life, and Katherine just smiled, used to the gratefulness of someone in labor being offered a way out of pain.

Lois was helped out of bed and into the wheelchair. Wrapped in a blanket she looked at Lucy sitting in front of the television with a magazine.

"Can you please just stay in here and not go anywhere?" Lois asked.

"Depends on how long you're gone."

"Lucy, don't make me worry about you. I'd like to get into the tub before my next contraction. Please, I have two babies moving inside of me. I don't need you making life difficult on me so stay in here, don't touch anything you're not supposed to and don't go anywhere. I won't be that long."

"Fine."

Sometimes Lois seriously wanted to evaluate if she was genetically related to the people she appeared to be.

"I love you, Lucy," Lois offered. "Please just…stay."

The nurse began to wheel her out.

"Wait!" Lucy said. When Lois looked back she said, "Do you want me to go with you? To help you?"

"I'll just be lying there in the quiet, but when I'm done, would you help wheel me back in?"

Lucy smiled a little, nodding. She had a purpose. Lois was wheeled off by the nurse and although the bath felt good to her throbbing body, it did very little to stop the sharp, stabbing contractions. The warm water soothed her for awhile but time passed and she became fed up. With Lucy's help she climbed out, gathered herself into a warm robe and got back into bed.

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed as the nurse hooked Lois back up to the IVs and monitors.

"I'm sorry it didn't help."

"It's alright. Guess I should've listened to dad when he told me not to have sex."

"Oh hell no, sex is a must."

Lois smiled.

"Not right now it's not. And not when you're trying to go natural."

"Well I admire that but it is completely your choice. Hey, what did the doctor mean when she said you and Clark were special to the doctor's employer?"

*Quick lie, Lois*

"She meant the hospital's main money supplier, who owes me because of an article I did awhile back. And Clark helped me with it. So I chose to come here because I knew I'd be treated well."

Lois couldn't tell how much Lucy bought that, but she let it go so Lois did as well.

Lucy touched Lois's stomach lightly.

"You're having babies. It has to be exciting."

"Yeah, it is. And to know that I'm going to see Clark again, it's the best thing."

"Well Lois, not to say anything negative but I have a purse full of makeup that you could badly use."

"Do you have the slightest idea how much pain I'm in right now? Do you have any idea how much worse it's going to get before it gets better and you think I care about lip-gloss?"

"He's been gone for months, I can sit here and do nothing or I can work on your face and talk to you about completely shallow things. It's your call."

"You're crazy, but if that's what you want to do, I'll let you. But when the contractions come, you've got to let me cry, bitch, and scream."

An hour and a half later, Lois's pain was so bad that she asked for a mild narcotic, which was the lightest form of drugs they could offer her. Just as they administered them to her there was a knock on the door.

"Lois?"

"Mrs. Kent!" Lois said, extending her hand out to the red-headed woman.

Martha immediately grabbed a chair and pulled it to the bed and took Lois's hand in hers. There were tubes plugged into Lois's wrist but Martha held it safely and securely. This was something Lucy could finally take photos of. While Lucy snapped photo after photo, Martha comforted the exhausted woman, and neither she nor Lois paid attention to the photographer on the opposite side of the room.

"How fast are they coming?" Martha asked, caressing Lois's brown hair, bending her face down to Lois's.

"A little faster. Last time the doctor checked I was at four inches. What if he misses it? Where is he?"

Before Martha could answer, Lois cried out, thrusting her head back.

"It's okay! It's okay! Squeeze my hand as hard as you can." Martha saw Lois sweating and looked across to where Lucy was sitting. "Lucy, hi sweetheart. There's a hand towel by the sink next to you. Dampen it with water, if you would and hand it to me?"

Lucy set the camera down and did as she was told.

"Here you go, Mrs. Kent."

"Thank you so much, dear," she said taking it. Standing up over Lois, she cooled her face gently. "I'm right here," she whispered.

"I know, thank you," she breathed back, thick tears streaming down her face.

"Okay, looks like the contraction's winding down," Martha said, reading the monitor.

Lois stopped curling her body and relaxed. She also released the death-grip on Martha's hand. She was breathing so heavily that Martha thought she would never catch her breath.

"Easy," she said.

"They always have the women in the movies screaming at the top of their lungs during labor. I have barely enough energy during a contraction to stay alive. I don't have the energy to talk, let alone scream. And I'm screaming at someone most of the time."

Martha kept Lois cool with the towel.

"You just keep your strength up. Rest as much as you can."

"How did you get here so fast?"

"So fast? It's been over two and a half hours. That's all the time it takes to get here."

"Really?"

"Well, I live five minutes from the airport. I didn't have to check a bag because I have everything here from three weeks ago. When you're a senator, security is a different story and there are flights from Reagan National Airport to Metropolis every hour. I was lucky."

Lois smiled a little, her face tilting towards Clark's mother.

"I'm so glad to see you."

"Oh me too. I can't believe you're brave enough to go through all this pain, my goodness. Can I do anything?"

"Just stay here. By the time Clark gets here I'll be in so much pain he won't recognize me anymore. But the photos Lucy's taking will be a nice memory for him. He can show them to the children they'll have had to pull out of me."

"Oh stop. You're going to be fine."

"Do I look like I'm going to be fine? Now I realize why it's such a big deal about the cervix opening. It's SUPPOSED to stay closed."

"Well, as upset as the pain is making you, try to rest and recover as much as you can between contractions. Because the minute and a half you have right now to rest will lessen."

Lois exhaled, lying back.

"You're right. I'm just…scared. I don't want them to miss it."

"Want me to go outside and see if they've called on your cell?" Lucy asked.

Lois didn't want Lucy wondering around this hospital. Still, having her cell phone messages checked would relieve her worries.

"Please. But don't wander the hospital. Just go outside and when you're done come back in here."

"Okay, you seriously need to stop telling me what to do. You're having two children. That's what they're for. I'm an adult, Lois."

When her sister left the room, Lois plopped her head against the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, frustrated.

"I'm not trying to boss her around. I'm trying to keep her from noticing that this is a meteor-freak hospital."

"Don't worry. She doesn't think there is anything different between you two."

"Yeah, but we're driving each other crazy and I don't want that anymore."

"You just concentrate on giving birth right now."

"Would you want the day you give birth for it to be this way with your only sibling?"

"No, but she showed up. Which is so much better than the last few years, isn't it?"

"Must be. But she'll be back in here in a minute and I need to tell you something."

"What, honey?"

Lois tried to turn on her side but being pregnant with twins made her feel like she needed a forklift. As Lois settled herself, Martha noticed her watery eyes.

"I'm really scared that I've gone about this all wrong," she whispered even though there was no one besides the two of them in the room.

"Gone about what all wrong?"

Lois licked her lips, slightly frustrated with herself.

"Okay, Clark is going to be here, hopefully soon, and when he gets here and these babies are born, he's going to be perfect. He's going to hold them, love them and worship them and then he's going to put them in my arms and I'm not going to have a clue."

"Lois-"

"No, I'm serious. They've been inside me, so I felt them. I had a connection to them. I'm scared that once I see Clark with them it's going to be his show because he had you and Jonathan. I would never want that taken from him. I want him to give that to our children. But in case you haven't noticed, I don't know how to be around kids. At all!"

"These are your kids, though."

"That's what he said. But all I know is how to survive on my own and now, thanks to a path given to me, how to be a reporter. And I actually made a deal with my boss that if she gave Clark a position there while I was away on maternity leave, I'd stay there because they want me there."

"That's wonderful! For you and him. Lois, I am so proud of you."

Lois couldn't care less about that right now.

"You're not understanding. If I go through with that, for weeks I'll be home alone with two babies. Me! Lois Lane. Clark, the one who's good with children, people, dogs, everyone will be off in the place I'm good at and I'll be in his place. I didn't think about it at the time but now, possibly minutes before giving birth I'm seriously having a change of heart. And I don't know what to do."

"Okay, you need to breathe, because your contraction's coming on."

"I know," she cried, lying back, shutting her eyes tightly at the blinding pain. "Oh this one's harder," she panted.

Tears shot down immediately as she tried holding her breath to survive the pain.

"Don't, Lois. That might help you but the babies still need oxygen."

Immediately Lois breathed in. She wanted to reply but the pain was so extreme that all she could do was imagine she were somewhere else until it stopped. She imagined reaching her arms up to grab a rope and if she could catch it and climb it, she would be out of pain.

This contraction was longer and harder. Lois thought it would never end and when it did, she felt the damage to her body. Martha kept her conscious with words and cool pressure against her face.

"You just rest and let me try to reply to your concerns. You have spent the last four months working six days a week, eleven to thirteen hours a day. You have been the reporter. You killed yourself with the house and you did take a break and enjoy your pregnancy long enough to let Chloe and me throw you a baby shower. Which, I think you actually enjoyed."

Surprisingly getting a small smile from Lois as she remembered the weeks of planning they both did for her, Lois tried to whisper to her.

"Of course I enjoyed it," her lips moved, but she was too tired to actually speak.

"I know you want to be the strong one and any time you're not, you feel uncomfortable. But you've done everything. Why don't you allow Clark to get out of the house and go learn something while you enjoy the house you've built and the children you've made?"

"But—"

"Sweetie, let me finish. It's perfectly normal for you to be scared right now. You've never been a mother and you haven't had as close a family as you might've liked. But you go the distance for anyone you love and don't ever tell Clark this, but I think you might go farther than even him sometimes. He's such a romantic that he gets blinded by that to a fault. You do not. But I get the feeling that you are going to become a mama lion."

Martha put the damp towel on the bed railing and pushed Lois hair away from her forehead.

"So please, stop worrying. You can decide anything you want. But if I were you, I wouldn't run from being a mother just because it feels awkward. I especially wouldn't make the decision before I'd even seen my children."

Lois nodded, her eyes still filled with worry. Martha just smiled.

"It's okay, you can relax. We're all here for you. Let the muscles in your body rest. It's okay."

"Lois!" Lucy screamed, coming into the room.

"What?" Lois said weakly.

"Dad's coming."

"Great," she said more sarcastically than she meant. "I mean that's…great. How close is he?"

"I don't know, twenty, thirty minutes. Something like that."

"Okay," she breathed. "It's hard for me to talk, so when something happens, let me know."

~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~