Towards the end of his pregnancy, Richard was miserable. He didn't really talk to anyone except Clark, Lois, Perry, Martha and Jason. He spoke to the doctor as well, but as she kept wanting to discuss birthing options, he was trying to avoid her.
Avoiding anyone was difficult, he had discovered. He was the size of a whale and in a good deal of pain. Doctor Crusher kept saying she was going to look into getting a team together to perform the C-section soon, and Richard was torn about this; he couldn't wait to have Cassandra out and have is organs shift back to normal, especially as she had cracked one of his ribs a few days ago. However, he had heard it was better for children to remain in the womb for as long as possible, and he desperately wanted her to be ok.
Clark agreed with their doctor and had spent a large amount of time investigating the various team members Crusher suggested.
Lois refused to talk about Richard giving birth. She knew that his body had not adapted itself into a position to naturally get the child out, but she still struggled with thinking about how it was Superman who had fathered Cassie. She was a good friend though.
She had moved out of the old house and into a smaller house. It still had an upstairs and a downstairs, as well as three bedrooms, a decent bathroom and a comfortable, open-plan downstairs. Richard spent a great deal of his time at hers. He didn't want Clark to compromise his duty to humanity, but he really did not want to be by himself.
Somehow, sitting with his ex-fiancé and watching his son run around had become his new norm. Their time together was far more comfortable than it had been in a long time. She knew she could leave him with Jason while focussing on work and he knew he could shout her in for anything he needed.
Jason was beyond excited. He had helped Clark and Richard pick out a new flat. It had been Martha who had suggested it and she had teamed up with the grandson she had not known about and they had hunted out somewhere for the two men.
It was a beautiful but rather large flat, with four bedrooms, a very large living area with a kitchen diner incorporated into it. The bathroom was large enough for a good sized bath and a separate shower.
Richard loved it. It was one floor up, but by the river and they had their own bit of garden. Best of all, they had a balcony, so Clark was not squeezing in and out of a window whenever he had to fly off.
Jason had had a wonderful time decorating. The master bedroom was still fairly plain, with three white walls and one light blue one. They had a photo of Jason on the wall but not terribly much else except their wardrobe and two chests of drawers.
Jason had made his room green and blue. He had convinced Clark to paint dark green aliens all over the walls though, which Richard anticipated having to change when he grew out of it. His room was full of stuff that young boys played with, like Lego and train sets.
Cassandra's room was purple, because Jason had deemed pink too girly. She had a cot, plenty of storage space as they had already acquired a mass of clothing just from the few people who knew about her. She didn't have much else in, but they would add things as she grew.
The spare room was orange; again, Jason's doing. Richard had been sleeping when they had discussed colours, and they had had the tins of paint when he had woken up. At least it was a subdued orange, not bright and bold. Martha was currently staying in that room, as she was there to keep an eye on Richard when he wasn't with Lois. She was also loving the time she was spending in the city and she was thrilled to spend more time with her son than she had in years.
Martha was making up for lost time with Jason though; she took him out all the time, often leaving Richard with Lois. The man did not mind one bit though because she clearly adored the boy and it was just as obvious their son adored his grandmother.
It was the beginning of April when Richard went to the hospital where his daughter would be born. Clark had driven him there, refusing to let him fly anywhere in case there was some kind of unexpected accident that hurt Cassandra.
They had essentially snuck in the back door, but it was an old town hospital and no one stopped to question them. Doctor Crusher team had been confident, full of smiles and assurances but even so, when he was taken to the theatre, Richard was shaking with nerves.
The whole thing was a blur, but Richard could recall with clarity the first time he heard the pathetic little cry. He didn't get to see Cassandra though, because seconds later he felt like his mind was drifting off and he blacked out.
Clark had been elsewhere when Richard had been in the theatre. Lois had been with him, but he had told Clark to wait outside; it was likely because Richard didn't want Clark to have conflicting duties if something life-threatening came up elsewhere.
His instincts had been right; Clark had had to hurry off to save yet another bus full of children from impending disaster.
When he had arrived back at the hospital, Lois was in a side room in tears. Clark didn't dare look into the operating theatre. He could see a nurse cleaning up Cassandra in another room, but he headed straight to Lois, not even taking the time to put his normal clothing back on.
"How is he?"
"Clark? Oh!" She gasped when she saw his suit, but her attention did not stay focussed on Superman. "He haemorrhaged, I think."
"Oh!" He turned around to look, before changing his mind. He sat heavily down in a chair and shut his eyes.
"Cassandra looked ok. She gave out a good few cries before they took her out."
"Oh good." He managed. She was still happily gurgling away, experienced the outside world for the first time. Clark buried his face again, determined not to look at Richard. He would wait to see him when they had cleaned him up.
"Good... Good. I'll just put a stitch... here..."
"Doctor? Here."
"Thank you. Good... Alright then. I'll close this up and we can get him cleaned up."
"Ok."
"He will need his blood replenished and you will need to strap that rib up. She gave it a good kick on her way out."
"I'll let them know."
"Well then, a few days in hospital and I think he'll be fine."
Clark stopped listening in and relaxed in his seat, relief flooding his entire body.
"Clark?" He looked up to see Lois giving him an odd look. "I am assuming that look means the doctors are on their way. You'll need to..." she gestured to his Super suit "... change."
"Right." He did so even quicker than normal, before sitting back in his seat, eyes focussed on the door.
It was a good twenty minutes before anyone came to see him. The nurse smiled brightly at them, asking them if they would like to come and see Cassandra. Clark jumped to his feet, eager to meet the little girl now that Richard wasn't in any immediate danger.
She was gorgeous. She was a tiny, little thing with miniscule hands and fingers, all perfectly formed. Her skin was pink, and she had a tan coloured birthmark across her right shoulder.
"Wow..." whispered Lois from just behind Clark. He stepped to the side slightly to let her have a better look at his child.
His child... His daughter! She was finally here. He was in love with her already. He didn't want to blink.
"Pass me your phone."
"What?"
"Your cell. I'll get a photo of her."
Numbly, he passed his phone over, not taking his eyes off Cassandra. He heard the click of his camera and Lois started typing something. He had seen this little girl curled up in Richard's body, now she was snuggled up in soft pink blankets.
"I sent your mom a photo. Can I get one to send Jason and Perry?"
"Yeah." He breathed. She could do whatever she wanted, so long as he didn't have to look away from this tiny miracle.
He heard another snap, then Lois was typing away on her own cell. A moment later her listened to her walking over to a nurse and ask about picking Cassandra up.
"Clark? You going to hold her?"
"What?" He squeaked, eyes going wide. Pick her up? She was so small and he was really strong. What if he broke her? "I-I can't!"
"Here." Laughed the nurse, walking over and pulling him with her. "One hand under her neck. She isn't strong enough to hold her head up yet. There... just slide the other one under."
He picked her up, but didn't dare shift her again. Lois laughed happily and snapped a picture of him. He probably looked terrified.
"Don't worry so much. You won't hurt her." Lois stepped closer and rearranged her in his arms. Cassandra now lay in his arms, her head by his elbow. She wasn't even as long as his forearm...
Lois took another picture.
"She's perfect." Whispered the woman. He couldn't agree more. After a few minutes, a doctor popped his head in and told them they could go see Richard. The nurse told Clark to keep Cassandra with them and she would move the cot in a bit.
Richard was pale. He looked pale even against the white hospital blankets. However, he was awake and sitting up.
"Hey." He murmured.
Clark walked straight over to him, carefully leaning down to peck his lips; then he leaned back and introduced the smaller man to their daughter.
"Here. This is Cassandra. Born at 12.14am on the 7th of April 2008. She weighed 5lbs 6."
Richard whole face lit up as his light blue eyes rested on their little girl. He raised his arms, indicating that he wanted to hold her, and Clark grinned. He carefully placed the girl against his love's chest. Richard melted into the blankets, smiling in wonder down at the scrunched up face.
"Fuck..." He breathed.
"Richard..." Lois' voice warned, though it held an amused note in it.
"Sorry." Lois unlocked her phone and took another picture.
"Clark, move next to him." She commanded, and Clark drifted around the bed. She lifted her camera and snapped it again.
"Hey guys." Called a nurse cheerfully as she entered the room. "How are we doing?"
She quickly reminded them of how to feed a child, helping them making up a bottle. Richard's chest may have been puffy, but he wasn't actually producing anything Cassandra could feed off. Lois stepped outside the room to make phone calls, and Richard and Clark watched as their daughter hovered down her bottle.
"You know how to burp her?"
"Yeah." Richard competently moved her into position, softly patting her back. Clark tried to imagine him doing this with a tiny Jason...
"Wonderful." She smiled. "Now, when you're all done just lie her back down to sleep."
"Thank you."
Clark's heart bubbled with joy. He got his own phone out again and took a picture of Richard with Cassandra. He'd get Jason or someone to set it as his background later on.
Jason was fascinated by Cassandra. He stood and stared wide eyed at her, trying to get her little first to close around his fingers.
After about five minutes, he realised she wasn't going to do anything exciting and ran off to play with his cars instead.
His Ma adored her completely. She had stood and cooed gently at her, talking away with love in her eyes. During this time, Clark was on the side of Richard's bed, half sitting half lying down against Richard's chest. It was utterly relaxing.
He was finding it difficult to tear himself away from his little family, but thankfully the hospital had visiting hours. They would only allow him there during those times, so in between he flew about the world; stopping evil, saving people and trying not to talk about his beautiful little girl and his amazing lover.
"I cannot wait to go home." Muttered Richard from his position against Clark. They were out of hospital, but staying at his Ma's. Richard had spent the last half an hour talking to his uncle.
"When you are strong enough." He replied, running his hands through his thick brown hair.
"She doesn't have your eyes yet."
"What?"
"Jason. His eyes were the same dark blue yours are from the moment he was born. Cassandra's are blue, but they aren't the same yet."
"She may be lucky enough to end up with your blue."
"Unlucky, you mean."
"I love you eyes. They are beautiful."
"Well, at least one bit of me is."
"You, Richard, are utterly perfect."
"I now look like a deflated whale. At least I get plenty of painkillers now though."
"You look beautiful. Even more so when I think of what came as a result from this."
"My ankles and feet are still swollen."
"They'll go down."
"I feel so fat."
"It doesn't matter. I love you, no matter what you look like."
Richard finally relaxed completely against him, as though they were the words he had been waiting to hear. Clark smiled gently.
"Love you too." He heard whispered back.
They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of country life; the birds, some cows from a nearby farm, a tractor...
Lois had taken Jason back to Metropolis; he had missed some school to be here, and as they didn't know how to explain the situation to his teacher, he had had to go back. Richard was enjoying the time he could just spend with Clark though. Martha was wonderful about leaving them be. She let the two men settle down together, sometimes leaving them with their little girl, but sometimes taking Cassandra with her so they didn't have to worry about feeding her, burping her, changing her and then settling her.
"Best Mother in Law ever." He slurred into Clark's chest as he began to doze off.
"What?"
"Your mother is brilliant."
"Yeah she is... and you'll have to wait at least a bit longer if you want to call her mother in law."
Clark was grinning, but Richard fell asleep before he could reply.
It turned out that having a little child was more exhausting than Clark had thought possible. He was Superman! He ought to be able to cope with these things. However, Richard kept saying he didn't want to be selfish and keep Superman to himself.
Therefore, Clark still spent time doing his heroic duties. He was so proud of Richard for being able to let him go; he'd been worried that the man would want him around all of the time once Cassandra was actually born.
Richard often left her night time change to Clark. For the first two weeks after they had arrived back home, Richard had been unable to sleep through the night. He had constantly been waking Clark up when he got out of bed to go and check on Cassandra.
Clark didn't object though. He allowed his lover to keep it up as it kept him reassured. After a fortnight though, Richard started sleeping longer, his own exhaustion catching up on him now that he could accept she wasn't likely to accidently suffocate herself in her sleep or anything.
Clark started telling him to go back to sleep when Cassie starting crying in the night. His lover was tired all the time and napped whenever their daughter did, but he was still playing games with Jason when the boy came over and running around outside with him. They still went to the park and fed ducks and played on the swings. He was enjoying it even more now that spring had arrived and the flowers were starting to bud and come back to life.
The only downside was that the fresh air left Richard even more tired than it did Jason. The boy was good though, and he played quietly if Richard did collapse on the sofa and fall asleep after he set Cassie in her cot.
Lois turned out to be a very good friend to have. She informed them that whenever she took Jason, if they needed a night to be together, or a night to just catch up on sleep, then she would occasionally take both of them.
Perry loved Cassandra as well. He had refused to pick her up, the worry that he might accidently drop her or hold her incorrectly too strong for them to talk him out of, but he grinned and whispered to her in a gentle tone Richard have never heard from his uncle.
Richard's life was perfect. Even though his daughter did end up getting his own pale blue eye colour, she was sheer perfection. They had Jason over two nights a week with an agreement that he could stay over more when Cassie got older and Clark slept cuddled up with him every night, at least until he fell asleep. Clark had told him he could easily wait until his sex drive actually came back before they started that up again.
Richard's life was fuller than he could ever remember it being, yet he would change nothing about it. He was both happy and content; despite his sore ribs and aching stomach area, all thanks to his alien making him pregnant.
