The Morning After, Ch. 19

SUMMARY: What if, in "Crimson," Clark/Kal never found the invitation to Lex and Lana's engagement party, and therefore, never decided to crash the party and ditch Lois? Clois AU/babyfic


CHAPTER NINETEEN: SPECIAL DELIVERY

Back at the Kent Farm, Clark escorted Lois through the back door, Kara right behind them. As he helped Lois to the couch, he instructed his cousin to retrieve Chloe from the Isis Foundation, before reminding Lois about the breathing techniques they'd learned in class. Kara, who was just about to close the door, nodded once and was gone in a flash, leaving the door to start closing slowly on its own. However, before it could shut completely, she'd returned, this time accompanied by Lois's cousin.

Immediately, Chloe sprang into action. Striding over to where Clark sat perched on the coffee table, Lois's hands gripping his firmly as she tried to breathe through a contraction, Chloe knelt down next to her cousin, and said, "Okay, Lois, I'm going to need you to tell me how far apart your contractions are, and how intense they are, on a scale of 1 to 10."

Lois finally answered once the contraction had passed. Afterwards, Chloe stood and glanced over at Kara, asking her, "Kara, can you help me get her upstairs please?"

As Kara moved to comply, Chloe turned her attention to the only male in the room and declared, "Well, Clark, it looks like my new cousin's going to be born right here. So, while we get Lois settled in upstairs, I'm going to need you to go get Emil."

"Wait. Right here?" Lois asked with alarm as Clark and Kara helped her up. "But Clark and I were planning on having this baby in a hospital. One with lots and lots of Western medicine."

"Oh, come on, Lois," Chloe chimed in teasingly. "You're a Lane, and Lanes can handle anything, remember?"

After considering that a moment, Lois replied, "Touché."

As Chloe and Kara began ushering Lois up the stairs to her and Clark's bedroom, Chloe looked back and assured her best friend of several years, "We got this, Clark. But we need you to go get Emil, remember?"

"Right," he replied with a nod, before speeding off to Metropolis.

Upon arriving at Met Gen, Clark quickly located Dr. Hamilton, and approached him as he was signing off on some forms.

"Emil!"

"Clark. What is it? Is Lois alright?" Emil asked, concerned yet ever the professional.

"She's fine. It's just, her water just broke."

"Well, where is she right now?"

"She's back in Smallville waiting for us." Looking around, Clark began leading Emil into an empty hallway, before asking, "Do you get motion sickness?"

Emil thought it an odd question to ask under the circumstances, but nonetheless replied, "Not really. Why do you ask?"

Rather than answer, Clark grabbed Emil and sped them both all the way back to Smallville.

"Whoa," Emil quietly exclaimed after they had come to a stop just outside the Kent residence.

"Right this way." As Clark led the way inside and up the stairs, they caught the tail end of a conversation between the three females. Apparently, Lois and Kara had been filling Chloe in on their fight with Maxima.

Lois wrapped up the tale by proudly adding, "One super-charged fembot can't put a serious dent in Lois Lane."

Barging in with Emil, Clark reminded her, "You shouldn't have been anywhere near the 'super-charged fembot' in the first place."

He and Emil found Lois propped up in the middle of the bed, while Kara and Chloe sat on either side of her. As Kara got up to let Clark sit beside Lois, Emil greeted each of the ladies in the room, before taking a seat at the foot of the bed and asking Lois how she was doing.

"Fine," she answered with a shrug.

"Good, good," he said, taking the stethoscope from around his neck. As he put one end in his ears and the other on Lois's belly, he added, "Now, let's just see how the baby's doing, shall we?"

After listening to the baby's heartbeat for a moment or two, he put the stethoscope back around his neck and declared, "Well, the baby seems to be doing just fine."

To Clark, Lois smugly pointed out, "See? You were worried for nothing."

Clark said nothing, so Emil continued, "Now, to find out just how much you've dilated."

"And just how are you going to do that?" Lois asked, afraid of the answer.

Taking a small bottle of hand sanitizer out of his coat pocket and using it on his hands, he explained, "Well, unfortunately, I'm going to have to use my fingers to measure."

Lois said nothing, but instead, made a face as if she could already feel the discomfort. Thankfully, though, the procedure wasn't quite as uncomfortable as she'd feared, due in large part to Emil trying to be as gentle as possible.

When he was done, Emil announced that Lois had already dilated approximately two to three centimeters.

"Wow! Already?" Chloe exclaimed while Emil sanitized his hands again. Turning to the expectant parents, she added, "Looks like this kid's eager to make his arrival."

"Well, he is a Lane, after all," Lois proudly replied.

"Hey, half a Lane," Clark reminded them. "He's also a Kent."

"Not to mention, a member of the House of El," Kara added with a smirk.

"Some family you two have," Emil remarked to Lois and Clark, a slight smile curving his lips. "This baby is already very lucky."

"Yes, he is," the pair agreed, smiling.

"So, Doc," Lois added, a hand on her belly, "what now?"

"Now," he sighed, "we wait."

As if on cue, Lois felt another contraction. Clark automatically offered her his hand, and she gladly took it, squeezing while she tried to breathe through the pain.

Once it had passed, Chloe waited a moment or two, before asking, "So, have you guys finally settled on a name yet?"

Looking over at Lois and then back at Chloe, Clark happily replied, "Yes, I believe we have."

"Well?"

"You'll see," Lois teased.

"I know what it is," Kara boasted, beaming.

"Only because you used your superhearing to eavesdrop," Clark added.

Chloe insisted, "Well, don't keep me in suspense, Kara. What is it?"

"It's — "

"Don't you dare, Kara," Lois quickly interjected. She explained, "We want it to be a surprise until after the baby's born."

"Even from family?"

"Even from family," Lois confirmed.

Chloe said nothing, but just smiled as she shook her head at her cousin.

.....

About ten hours later, Lois was instructed by Emil to push. While Chloe and Kara gave her encouragement from her right side, Clark coached her from the left. Her hands each gripped one of Clark and Kara's as she bore down with each contraction and tried to remember her breathing.

"Push! Push! That's it. You're doing great!" they encouraged.

Every once in a while, Chloe would dab a wet washcloth on Lois's sweaty forehead.

Then, about half an hour into Lois's efforts, Clark informed her, out of nowhere, "Lois...there's something I need to ask you."

"What?!" she replied incredulously. "NOW?! Can't it — unh! — wait?! I'm a little...busy at the moment!"

"Well," Clark began, once her latest contraction had passed, "you know I love you, right? More than words can say, in fact. You mean the world to me, and next to our son, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Okay, Lois," Dr. Hamilton instructed, "I'm going to need you to bear down once more."

Lois did as she was told. Afterwards, she relaxed, and Chloe dabbed at her forehead again.

Clark continued, "I guess what I'm trying to say is...Lois, will you marry me?"

All three females reacted at once: Lois and Chloe turned wide-eyed, open-mouthed gazes on Clark, while Kara happily opined, "Awww..."

However, before Lois could respond, Emil refocused their attention on the task at hand: "Okay, Lois, I'm going to need one more good push from you. Then that ought to do it."

She pushed with all her might, nearly crushing Clark and Kara's hands as she bore down one last time, before finally, the baby slid out into Emil's waiting hands. As soon as the baby was out, Emil got Chloe's help in cutting the umbilical cord, then wrapped the little guy in a towel, cleaned him up a bit, and handed him to Lois.

Sometime during the delivery, tears had started to well up in Lois's eyes. Lois had fought them back, but now that she was holding her newborn son in her arms, she just let go and cried tears of joy.

"He's perfect," Lois remarked through the tears.

"Yes, he is," Clark agreed, kissing her on the head as tears of his own started to glisten in his eyes.

After a moment, Chloe pretended to clear her throat, and asked, "Well, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Sniffling, Lois began, "Chloe, Kara, this is Conner. Conner Kent."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, baby Conner," Chloe said.

"Welcome to the family, Conner," Kara added.

There were smiles all around.

.....

Later, once everything had calmed down enough for Lois to nurse, Lois looked up to see Clark watching her and their infant son.

"What?" she asked, letting out a small laugh.

"Nothing. I was just...marveling at our little miracle."

"Yeah, he is, isn't he? A little miracle."

"Yes, and I'm very fortunate to have you both in my life."

Lois simply smiled at the sentiment. After a moment, her smile faded, and she asked, "So, did you mean what you said earlier? About asking me to...you know, marry you?"

"Lois, I meant it then, and I mean it now: Lois Lane, will you marry me?"

With tears threatening to well up again, Lois happily replied, "Yes. Yes, Clark Kent, I will marry you."

Beaming, Clark planted a kiss on Lois's lips, a kiss she gladly reciprocated.

Returning her attention to their newborn, Lois said, "You hear that, Conner? Mommy and Daddy are getting married!"

From downstairs, they heard Kara let out a gleeful whoop; apparently, she'd been eavesdropping again. Lois and Clark just shook their heads and laughed, Lois being careful not to disturb her son as he fed.

TO BE CONCLUDED...