An Marie Kent
Chapter 1 Hello baby girl
A/N: When I wrote the PS to "After All These Years" I knew that I couldn't stop there; but that PS would not stay bottled up in my head. So here we go!
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Finally, Superman reaches Metropolis (returning from a humanitarian mission in Vietnam) and their penthouse. He has alerted Lana to his arrival; she has unlocked the balcony sliding doors. He glides in and stands in the middle of their LR.
He stares at Lana, she stares back.
"Lana-
"Clark-
His wife sees the bundle in his arms. She points, mouth open. She is speechless.
"Lana, she was going to die!"
"Clark, we can't-
"We have to, love."
He walks toward her, his arms outstretched holding his precious bundle.
When he reaches Lana, her arms reach out and she takes the tiny girl. Lana is sobbing now, uncontrollably. "Clark," she chokes out. "Did God give us a baby?"
"Yes, my love. He did!"
She clutches the baby girl to her chest and sobs.
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REALITY
"We have nothing to feed or clothe her!" Clark exclaims, coming to his senses. She is swaddled in the same dirty purple cloth that he found her in.
"I'll run and get some things, you hold her. Her name is An by-the-way, it means peace and safety in Vietnamese. You pick a middle name." He is gone!
"An Marie Kent, hi! I love you already! I cannot believe this! This is crazy! Don't listen to me, little girl." Lana speaks softly to the tiny girl in her arms. Lana sits down on a love seat holding An close; she gently rocks her bundle and softly hums a lullaby she remembers from her childhood. Her tears have stopped, her eyes won't leave her baby girl.
Clark speeds to a 24-hour market. He rushes in and sees a lone clerk – her nametag says 'Katelyn'.
"Can you help me, Katelyn? I've got a 2-month-old girl, well I found her and, well I was in Vietnam and, you don't need to hear this-
"Stop, Mr. ah-
"Kent, Clark Kent. I was helping in Vietnam-
"I heard about the environmental disaster there, my uncle served there. I heard it was terrible!"
"it was. Anyway, we need to get through the night, then we'll figure some things out tomorrow. My wife and I. Can you help me?"
"Of course, grab a basket there and follow me." Katelyn grabs a blue basket and leads the way.
"Let's see, you will need formula, bottles & nipples, a bottle warmer, diapers". She is tossing things into her basket or his as they move along. "Wipes, baby wash cloths, towels, a couple onesies, a blanket, baby wash, I think that'll do ya." They head back up to the checkout. Katelyn rings everything up and Clark hands her his credit card. She packs things up and he is off.
He flies home and glides into the LR. He sets his 3 bags down and looks at his new family.
Lana is sleeping on the love seat, An sleeping in her arms. Clark pulls out his phone and snaps three pictures. He immediately sends one to Chloe/Oliver captioned MY NEW FAMILY!
Quietly he takes the stuff to the kitchen; 1st priority is to get a diaper on An, then give her a 1st feeding. He knows enough to be sure and give the baby a small feeding and go from there.
He sets up the bottle warmer, prepares some formula and measures 2 oz. into one of the small bottles. He places the bottle in the warmer and waits for the red light to change to green. He then takes the bottle out of the warmer, checks the temp on the inside of his wrist (Does this work with a Kryptonian?), grabs a diaper and steps into the LR.
He kneels down next to 'his' girls. He gently shakes Lana awake. She looks up at him, "Hi honey."
"Hi babe, we need to get a diaper on An and then get a little food in her. I'm sure she's starved."
"Yeah, I'm sure she is." Lana lays An down on her lap, unwraps the purple rag, and takes a diaper from Clark. She lifts her butt and slips the diaper under her. After fastening the tabs, she wraps An in the blanket Clark hands her.
Lana adjusts her position and tickles the baby's lips with the soft rubber nipple. An reacts, grasps the nipple with her small mouth and begins to suckle. Lana looks up at her husband, a tear escaping her eye; "Thank you Clark! Isn't this beautiful!"
"It is! You and a baby girl are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" A tear escapes his eye too.
Within 5 minutes the 'parents' are asleep, Clark's head laying in Lana's lap. Clark is jolted awake 20 minutes later by the ringing of his phone. Without thinking, or looking, he answers.
"What the hell is this picture? What are you and Lana doing?"
"Chloe?" His sleepy voice is obvious.
"Yes, it's me. What is this picture, farmer Kent?"
"It's a long story Chlo."
"I'm sure it is. Should Ollie and I bring lunch?"
"Um . . . not a bad idea. And bring a cradle."
"WHAT? Are you serious?"
"Yup, we'll see you at 13:00. Oh, by the way, bring a couple baby shower presents too."
"What! Clark-
CALL DISCONNECTED
"Who was that?" A sleepy Lana asks.
"Chloe. She and Ollie are bringing lunch at 13:00."
"Good . . . what?!"
"Just relax. Does she need a diaper change?"
"Not yet. I'm going to try a onesie on her."
"Need help?" He pauses.
"Nope. You going somewhere?"
"I need to go check in at the JL; see if I can get a couple of days coverage. While we sort things out."
"Ah, that reminds me. I need to do some schedule adjusting too. I'll start making calls while you're gone. And then there is the legality of all this. We're in deep doo doo you know!"
"I know, we'll start that soon enough. 1-4-3 X 2!"
"1-4-3 X 1!" Lana grins, and blows him a kiss as he heads out the door.
"It's you and me baby girl, you and me!" Lana is glowing!
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TBC
An (peace & safety) Marie Kent.