Carol M <carolmfolc@gmail.com>
Rated: G
Submitted: March 2001
Summary: Clark plans a waffy Valentine's Day treat for his pregnant wife in this sequel to the author's earlier stories, "Lois and Clark and the IRS" and "Lois and Clark and the Early Anniversary."
This is the Valentine's Day sequel to my stories Lois and Clark and the IRS and Lois and Clark and the Early Anniversary. I had no idea that almost the same thing would happen to me the day after I wrote this. It was one of the best days of my life and I can't believe I "predicted" it!
Anyway, the characters are not mine. Well, most of them aren't anyway. They belong to people with a LOT more money than me! I just wanted to have some fun!
***
"Mrs. Kent?"
Lois didn't move.
"Mrs. Kent?"
The voice was more persistent this time.
"Mrs. Kent?"
This time the voice couldn't be ignored.
She looked at the face the voice was coming from.
"What?"
"It's time to get up, sweetheart."
"Clark, I don't want to."
"Sorry, gotta go. Perry will be really mad if we are late AGAIN!"
"Aren't we newlyweds for a year after getting married?" Lois swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"Honey, we've been married almost a year and a half."
"But we've only KNOWN about it for nine months." Clark helped her up. "Whew! Sometimes I wish you had been inadequate!"
Clark grinned. "Haven't we had this conversation a few times recently?"
"As long as I look like a beached whale, I get to wish you were inadequate."
"But, honey, you look beautiful." Clark kissed her forehead and held her as close as he could.
She glared at him. The patented Lane-Kent glare. She waddled towards the bathroom, her hands rubbing her stomach, knowing she wouldn't exchange this child for anything. At the same time, she was moody and she really did feel like a whale. And to make matters worse, Clark and Perry wouldn't let her investigate anything. And on top of all of that, this child was half-Kryptonian. No one knew exactly what kind of delivery this would be. Two more weeks and they'd know.
***
Clark sighed as he watched his wife walk into the bathroom. She *was* beautiful. She just couldn't understand that she was even more beautiful now that she was carrying his child. Today was Valentine's Day and he wanted the first Valentine's Day as a married couple to be special. *Well,* he thought ruefully, *we were married last year, we just didn't know it.* He smiled. He hoped today would be perfect!
***
Some time later, Lois walked into the living room. "Aren't you ready yet?" she asked her partner/best friend/husband/father of her child. He was sitting on the couch in his sleep shorts watching the news. It irritated her to no end that he could be ready in seconds, literally. She tried to watch as he got ready, but her eyes just couldn't keep up. One second he was there, shorts and all. Then he was gone, with a wooshing sound. Then he was back, suit and tie in place. She mumbled, "You know, I'd really like to be able to do that."
"Sorry, honey." He kissed her gently. "Happy Valentine's Day." He handed her a bouquet of a dozen red roses.
She groaned. "Clark, I forgot all about Valentine's Day. And it's our first real Valentine's Day together."
He kissed her softly. "It's okay, sweetie. You are already giving me the best gifts I could ask for. You and that baby of ours. That is all I ever want." He kissed her nose. "We better go or even the S-Express couldn't get us to work on time."
Lois just looked at him, disappointed in herself that she had forgotten such an important day. She'd have to make it up to him later. Much later. Her doctor had said no more 'inadequacy tests' until after the baby was born. She sighed. And no more chocolate either.
***
The day was long and boring for Lois. She didn't want to be at work. She didn't want to be anywhere really. Except maybe in Clark's arms. He had been gone most of the day, making discrete flying motions at her as he left.
Clark smiled as he walked into the newsroom. He could hear their heartbeats from miles away. All three of them. He had debated telling Lois, but she insisted that she didn't want to know if they were having a boy or a girl. He had asked her if she would want to know if they were having more than one baby before he even knew and she had said no. He had been forbidden to use his x-ray vision to see if he could tell the gender of their child — children — but he couldn't keep his hearing from picking up the extra heartbeat several months ago. Of course, the doctor knew, but he had also been told not to tell them anything. Clark couldn't help it. He had almost blurted it out to her when he first realized it and many times since, but he had kept his promise. Every time they bought a crib, or something else for the new baby, he would go back later and purchase another one. The extras were stashed at his parents' house. They knew the secret, of course, and they couldn't be more excited.
He hadn't really been out rescuing people. He had been putting the final touches on his plan for the evening. They were going to have a romantic candlelit dinner. And maybe some dancing. If Lois was up to it. It was getting harder and harder for her to get around. He was planning a nice back and foot rub for her. He knew she would need it. And he wanted to pick out baby names. Two of each. He smiled. She had promised to talk about it two weeks before she was due, and not before. And Superman was going to be nowhere to be seen.
He walked up behind her and gently rubbed her shoulders. "Hey, how ya doin'?"
"How do you think I'm doing?" Lois was perpetually grumpy these days.
"It's almost over."
"I know. Two more weeks."
Perry stuck his head out of his office. "Lois! Clark! My office. Now."
Lois sighed. "Wonder what he wants now?"
Clark smiled. It was all part of his plan.
They walked into the office. "Now, you two know how happy we all are for you, right?" Perry jumped right in and waited for nods. "Good. Now get out of here."
Lois couldn't believe it. Perry never let them leave early. "It's only four, Perry."
"So? It's Valentine's Day. Get out of here before I change my mind."
"Come on, Lois. He's the boss. You have to listen to him." Clark guided her out of the office and helped her gather her things. She complained constantly that he wouldn't let her carry anything, but he knew that she secretly liked it. He held her hand as they walked towards the elevator.
"So, what's the plan for tonight? More Kevin Costner films? Or is it that Dean Cain guy this week? He's come out with a bunch of movies lately. We finished Mel Gibson already didn't we?"
"No movies."
"What are we doing then?" Movies had been their way of spending their evenings once physical activity had been crossed off by the doctor.
"You'll see." Clark grinned at her, knowing it would drive her nuts.
"Tell me, Clark."
"No." They arrived at the Jeep and he helped her in. No driving for this mama and it drove her crazy.
Fifteen minutes later they pulled into the garage of their new home, a three bedroom house in the suburbs.
Lois opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks. Clark was already inside, though she hadn't seen him get there. She ALWAYS went in first. He was holding a steaming pan of penne pasta and the green salad was already on the table. Candles were lit and music was playing softly in the background. "Oh, Clark," was all she could say.
He set the dinner on the table and helped her with her coat. "Milady, your dinner is served." He knew that to anyone else it would seem early for dinner, but Lois liked to eat early these days. He held her chair for her gallantly. She sat and he sat across from her.
They enjoyed a quiet dinner together. No calls came for Superman, but he knew that he would have ignored them unless it was something really major.
After Clark cleaned up — Lois barely had time to wipe her mouth with her napkin and he was done — they went into the living room. On the floor, next to a roaring fire, were blankets and pillows arranged invitingly. "Have a seat, my love." He helped her lower her pregnant self to the floor. He picked a couple of books off the end table and sat down next to her.
She cuddled as close to him as she could. "Dinner was divine, Clark. What's next? Back rub?" She looked at him hopefully.
"Later, my little tornado. I don't want you to fall asleep just yet!"
"I have made a habit of that, haven't I?"
"It's okay. I would say that I understand, but I don't."
"You're right — you don't." Lois grimaced. "And as happy as I am to be having your child, be glad that you don't have to go through this. I don't think that even Superman could deal with this."
Clark smiled and kissed her forehead. "I KNOW he couldn't. Here's what I was thinking." He showed her the books. "You're due in two weeks, so it's time we started talking names."
Lois took the books and commented, "Clark, do we really need name books? Can't we just pick out names that we like?"
"Sure. That's what I thought we would do. These are just in case we get stuck."
"Oh, okay. So what's first — a boy's name or a girl's?"
Clark knew he had to word this carefully. "What I was thinking was this. Why don't we pick out two of each? And when the baby is born, we can see which one fits. I don't want to be stuck with a name that doesn't seem to fit."
Lois smiled. "That actually is a good idea, Clark."
Clark smiled. She didn't suspect a thing.
They spent the next hour discussing names and finally had two of each that they liked. A boy would be Jonathan Samuel or Noah Christopher. A girl would be Ashleigh Marie or Kameron Elizabeth. Only Clark knew that they would need two of the names.
***
An hour later, after they had decided on the names, Lois was almost asleep. Clark had started with her feet, gently massaging them, knowing how she liked her foot rubs. He had massaged her calves and then her thigh muscles. By the time he made it to her back, it was almost lights out for Lois.
Somehow, she found the energy to murmur, "Clark?"
"Yes, honey?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For tonight. For the dinner and the massage. And for Jonathan or Noah or Ashleigh or Kami. And for loving me and convincing me to stay married to you."
Clark lay down next to her, knowing that she would soon be asleep and he would get up and do his nightly rounds. He wrapped his arms around her. "Lois, I am the one who is thankful. For you and Jonathan or Noah or Ashleigh or Kami. And for you staying married to me and letting me love you the way you deserve to be loved." He wondered if he would get a response. He didn't. Lois and their children were sound asleep. "Happy Valentine's Day." He kissed her forehead and held her until he went to sleep too.
THE END