I've really been inspired with this story.
a/n: The General does not come off smelling of roses in this chapter, but all I'll say is, he will not be a total jerk either.
Chapter Four
Lois loved the precious moments she got to spend with her daughter. Even if those moments were spent changing a diaper. She sipped a cup of coffee and watched the chubby infant laying on her back on the floor of their cabin, her limbs flailing every which way as she giggled and babbled.
She picked up a plastic rattle and shook it. Kally reached for it, one end going straight into her mouth.
“Oh great, now it’s gonna have your drool all over it,” Lois complained half-heartedly. Kally babbled something at her, using one hand to shake the rattle experimentally. She seemed delighted with her efforts.
Lois heard a tap on her door and got up to answer it. Bubsy smiled at her.
“You have a visitor, dear.”
Someone to see her? Lois frowned. As far as she knew, no one in her family had any idea she was living at the inn and no one in town knew her.
She glanced at the clock Bubsy had given her and noted she still had about twenty minutes before she had to start her shift. She was on lates tonight.
“Um, who’s here?” she asked her boss.
“A young man,” was all the older woman would say. Lois had the feeling she knew his name but wasn’t about to spill the beans.
Lois glanced back at her daughter and went out, closing the door just enough to leave it ajar so she could hear if Kally needed her. A tall man with dark hair stood on the back porch of the inn, but stepped down when Bubsy nodded at him.
Clark!
She stared at him, feeling more than a little nervous at seeing him here. It had been a week or so since she’d gone to see him at the farm. She hadn’t sent him any messages and hadn’t told him where she was living.
What was he doing here?
“What are you doing here?” she asked as soon as her friend was out of earshot.
“I needed to talk to you,” he said quietly. “Could we …” He gestured toward the cabin but she stood in front of the doorway, barring him from entering.
“No, we can’t.”
“Why not? What are you protecting?”
“Nothing.”
He looked sceptical. “Really? So that’s not a baby I can hear in there?”
She frowned at him. “What are you? Part bloodhound?”
“Lois!”
She sighed and shook her head. “How did you find me?”
“I did a little digging. It wasn’t that hard, really. This is a small town. When a girl turns up out of the blue with a baby in tow, people notice.”
“Well, yay for them. Why are you here, Smallville?”
“Maybe I want to get to know my daughter.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Did he just say …
“I know she’s mine, Lois. I did the maths.”
“How did you even know about her?”
“Chloe. She told me your dad’s had people looking up and down the country for you.”
“How did she … I mean, how did you …”
He sighed. “I told her I ran into you. I tried to make it sound like you’d already left town, but I don’t think she believed me.”
“Well, of course she didn’t believe you! She’s a reporter, Smallville! How long do you think it’ll be before she figures out you’re Kally’s dad?” She paused. “Or before she tells my dad I’m here?”
“I didn’t think …”
“Do you ever?” she accused.
He flinched. “That’s not fair, Lois. I had a right to know about Kally.”
Lois had to concede he had a point. She had been wracking her brains trying to think of a gentle way to tell him about her … their daughter.
Kally cried out in a fit of pique, obviously missing her mother’s attention. Sighing, Lois opened the door.
“All right. Mommy’s coming.” She turned and looked at Clark. “You can see her. But only for a few minutes. I have to start my shift in ten.”
Clark followed her inside and sat on the floor beside the infant. Kally stared at him, clearly wondering who this strange person was, but soon returned her attention to the rattle Lois shook in front of her.
“She’s really cute,” Clark said. “Does she … I mean, she’s, um, healthy?”
“Got all her fingers and toes in the right places. It was hard for a while, after I left my dad’s. We were sort of on the streets for a month. Then I came here and Bubsy found us.”
“Bubsy?”
“Miss Harrigan. She kind of adopted us.”
Clark nodded. “So, who takes care of Kally when you’re working?”
“Well, she sort of stays in a crib in Bubsy’s office. All the staff help take care of her, really.”
“Oh. Would it be okay if I … I mean, would you mind if I came to babysit sometime? Spend time with her?”
What could she really say to that? He had a right to spend some time with his daughter. She had to at least give him that. Even if she couldn’t really trust him.
“You can trust me,” he said.
“You won’t try to take her away from me?” Lois asked. “I mean …”
He sent her a confused look. “Why would I do that?”
“That’s what my dad wanted to do. He wanted me to have Kally adopted out, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t give her up.”
For some odd reason, Clark looked almost relieved at hearing that.
“I wouldn’t give her up either,” he said. He looked thoughtful. “Is that why you left your dad’s?”
“Yeah. That, and other stuff.”
“Okay.” He stood up. “I should let you get to work. Um, when is your day off?”
“Saturday,” she said.
“Could I come and spend some time with Kally? If you wanted to, we could take her out somewhere, or I could just babysit if you wanted to go somewhere on your own.”
She was reluctant to let him stay with Kally on his own. Not that she didn’t trust him not to take her daughter away somewhere, but because she thought he probably didn’t know how to handle a baby.
“Why don’t we just take this one step at a time, Smallville. You come here on Saturday. After, say, nine, and then we’ll decide what to do. Okay?”
“Okay. That sounds like a plan.”
She picked up her daughter and carried her out of the cabin, locking the door. Clark looked at her.
“It’s so guests don’t think they can just help themselves to my stuff,” she told him.
“Oh. You don’t have very much.”
She didn’t think he’d noticed. Most of what she’d managed to get from the charity shop had been for Kally. A crib, a few toys, some clothes. She had only a few things for herself. Her first tips hadn’t been all that much but the inn had a few regular guests and once they started to get to know her they gave her a little more, knowing she had Kally.
Clark followed her into the inn and watched as she handed her daughter over to Bubsy, who was at the front desk talking to the receptionist. Her friend cooed over the baby, promising she would be fine while Lois worked. The older woman had told her she loved taking care of Kally.
There were times when it really did feel like Bubsy was Kally’s grandmother the way she fussed over her.
“I should get to work,” Lois told Clark.
“I’ll be here on Saturday,” he murmured. “I promise.”
She decided she wasn’t going to hold him to that. While he seemed to be completely different from Kal in his manner, she wasn’t ready to believe in the ‘nice guy’ persona. If he wanted her trust, he would have to earn it.
Halfway through her shift, she had a chance to sit in the office and watch over her baby while eating the dinner Bubsy had cooked for her. The older woman came in and sat down.
“How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m okay.”
Her friend leaned over the makeshift crib, which was really just a small playpen Lois had managed to rescue from being thrown out by the charity shop and set up with a new mattress.
“Your friend coming back?”
“On Saturday.”
“He’s the daddy, huh?”
Lois bit her lip. “I didn’t know he lived here when I … I met him in the city.”
“I’ve known Clark since he was adopted by his parents. He’s a sweet boy.”
“He was different when I met him.”
Bubsy nodded. “There was a terrible accident at the farm spring before last. We don’t really know what happened, but Clark left. His parents almost lost everything trying to find him. I’m guessing that’s when you met.”
Lois remembered Bubsy had told her some of the details the night she’d picked Clark up on the roadside. She’d forgotten about meeting Martha Kent in the hospital.
Kally had grandparents. Even with the problems she had with her father, Lois wondered if she should at least let Clark’s parents know they had a grandchild. Then again, that was probably Clark’s responsibility.
“Don’t try to overthink things, sweetheart. You’ve barely started to get back on your feet. If Clark wants his parents to know, he’s the one who should tell them.”
She smiled at her friend. “How do you always know what I’m thinking?”
“It’s a gift,” the older woman returned. “I can’t tell you how they’ll react but I do know that they will come to love you and your sweet baby girl once they’ve had a chance to get to know you.”
“Unlike my dad,” she said bitterly.
It had been a terrible fight that had forced her to leave home. Her father hadn’t been at all happy when she had eventually told him she was pregnant. He’d demanded to know everything. How it had happened and who the father was. She had wondered at the time if he’d planned to hunt the man down and either kill him or force him to take responsibility for his actions. Never mind the fact that it took two to tango.
“Did you even use protection?” he’d raged. He’d already ranted to her about being too young to have sex until she’d pointed out that she was considered old enough by the law to decide for herself. In Kansas, at least. It was different in other states. Not that that mattered to him.
“Yes, Daddy.” They’d used a condom. Even that, unfortunately, wasn’t completely infallible.
He glared down at her baby bump.
“I suppose it’s too late for …”
She stared at him, placing a hand protectively on her stomach. She was almost five months along.
“Daddy, are you suggesting I …” She didn’t want to say the rest. The very thought of getting rid of the baby was something she had never considered. Not even for a second. Even if it had been a mistake for her to have slept with Kal, even if things had ended badly between them, she would never ever consider her baby a mistake.
“Well, I suppose once it’s born you can have it adopted out,” he said.
Her eyes widened as she stared at her father. Give it up?
She tried to pretend everything was fine and went on with her life as if everything was normal, but by her seventh month, there was no more pretending. The school where she was meant to be finishing her senior year decided she was setting a bad example and ‘suggested’ she drop out. It was less of a suggestion and more an order. She wouldn’t even have been allowed to repeat her senior year once the baby was born. The school would definitely not be welcoming her back.
Stuck at home with nothing to do, she was forced to take the brunt of her father’s bad temper. Not that he was an abusive father, she thought. Just mostly neglectful. He started working later and later in his office on the base and came home tired and grouchy. If Lois even tried to broach the subject of the baby he would growl and mutter something before going off to his room.
A social worker began coming by in her eighth month of pregnancy. Lois knew what the woman was doing. Her father was bound and determined that she was not going to keep the baby and had assigned the woman to persuade Lois to give her baby up for adoption.
This continued even after Kally was born. Lois had taken one look at the screaming baby with her thick black hair and named her after Kal. Despite the way he’d behaved, part of her had liked him. Maybe she would never get the chance to know the real Kal, but at least with her daughter she had part of him.
It was a good thing that the social worker was a decent sort who believed that Lois was old enough to make up her own mind about whether she wanted to give up her baby. The general, however, refused to take no for an answer. He would leave brochures for adoption agencies around and drop hints about families on base who were desperate for children, as if that would guilt Lois into giving up her daughter.
The general wasn’t really a cruel man but he had his pride and the news that his teenaged daughter, who was supposedly so independent and so responsible, was pregnant, had embarrassed him.
The final straw came when Kally was three months old. Lois had marked the day on her calendar as it was almost the one-year anniversary of the night she had met Kal. She’d thought of him often through the long months of her pregnancy, alternately hating him for the way it had happened and wishing he was by her side.
Lois had never considered herself to be a sentimental kind of person but she had begun having dreams of meeting up with Kal. Of them walking off into the sunset together with their daughter. She knew it couldn’t really happen, but anything was better than home.
The general came home early that final day. With guests. A sergeant and his wife. Within a few minutes of her meeting them, Lois’ father had handed over the baby. When Lois tried to take her back, he pulled her aside and shoved her into the next room.
“I talked to them about adopting the baby,” he said.
Lois stared at him incredulously. “You can’t do that,” she said.
“You are too young to be a mother.”
“You are not taking my child away from me,” she screamed at him.
“You are destroying your future!” he screamed back. “You’ve already dropped out of high school and now you won’t be going to college either. You have embarrassed me …”
Lois tuned out the rest of his rant and pushed past him, striding toward the couple who looked at each other nervously.
“Whatever my father told you, he’s wrong. I’m not giving up my baby. I’m sorry. You seem like a really nice couple but he had no right to talk to you without my consent.” She took the baby from them.
She packed whatever she could and left that night.
Bubsy had listened to her story one night long after the front desk had closed down for the evening, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh, Lois, I’m so sorry your father did that to you.”
“I know he was doing what he thought was best for both of us but I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t listen to what I wanted.”
“Some men can be so close-minded. I know my father, when he found out I was pregnant, was so angry and so hurt. In those days an unmarried mother was just not the done thing.”
She remembered that conversation as she talked to Bubsy about Clark and how he’d found out about their daughter. While she was glad he hadn’t told Chloe she was still in town, she knew it wouldn’t be long before her cousin found out anyway. It wouldn’t be hard. Not for someone who was used to digging things up, like Chloe was. It was only a matter of time.
The question was, would her cousin tell her father where she was?
“I’m scared my dad will find me and will try to take Kally away from me again.”
“I won’t let that happen,” her friend told her. “He can certainly try but he will have to go through me. And Clark. You should tell him what happened with your dad. I have a feeling he will understand.
Clark was late getting to the inn. Chloe had asked for his help with an article she was writing for the paper but between football practice – he’d decided to join the football team, against his father’s wishes, but still – and his chores on the farm, he had wondered if he should perhaps give up working for the Torch, at least until football was over for the year.
Knowing his friend needed him, he realised he couldn’t just abandon her and had spent an hour that morning doing some research for the article. He knew his future wasn’t on the farm – at least his dad agreed with that – and journalism was really the only thing he could see himself doing once he finished college.
Once he’d managed to get away, he stopped in at the Talon. His mom had taken a job managing the coffee shop, since Lex now owned it outright. As he paid for the coffees, he was startled to bump into Lana.
He’d seen her at school, of course, but they hadn’t really had a chance to talk since she’d got back from France. He’d assumed she was staying for a year, but didn’t ask her why she’d come home. After the way they’d left things before she’d gone away, he didn’t think there was any hope of salvaging their relationship.
Truth be told, the knowledge that he was a father to a little girl had changed his perspective somewhat.
He hadn’t decided whether he should tell his parents. They were not going to be happy. He knew that much. After the summer he’d run away, there had been some tension between them all for a while. They’d basically walked on eggshells around him, afraid he would leave again. He’d thought about it. Even considered going to look for Lois. Even if it was just to apologise for his behaviour.
Telling them they were grandparents was just going to open up another can of worms and he wasn’t sure he wanted to put them through that.
“Lana.”
“Oh, Clark. Didn’t see you there.” She looked at the small tray of takeout coffees. He’d ordered one for himself and one for Lois. When they’d gone out on the motorcycle that day, she’d confessed she only liked one particular blend of coffee. A lot like Chloe, he’d thought with a grin. “You working at the Torch?”
“Hmm?”
“The coffee. You usually drink black. I didn’t think you were into the other kind.”
Of course, he thought. She must have overheard his order.
“Oh, no I’m not working at the Torch today. Chloe’s got that all under control. I’m just going to visit a friend.”
“Oh. I see. So, how are you?” she asked.
“I’m fine. You?”
Geez, could this get any more awkward, he thought. He used to be able to talk to Lana about anything, even when they were on the outs as boyfriend and girlfriend but now …
“I’m good. Well, I should get going. I have to get to the market.”
“Yeah, I need to get going too. I’m late,” he said.
She frowned as if wanting to ask what he was late for, but didn’t ask. Clark left the shop and went out to the truck. The clock on the dash told him he was already twenty minutes late.
The inn was quiet when he pulled up five minutes later. He parked in a space and got out, taking the coffee with him. Miss Harrington stood at the front desk, looking at something on the computer. She looked up.
“Hello Clark. Come to see Lois?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“She’s just in the dining room. Go on through honey.”
Clark went into the dining room. Lois was sitting at a table, a high chair in front of her. A small bowl was on the tray and she was attempting to feed Kally with some green goop. Clark grimaced, then chuckled as the baby made a disgusted face.
“It’s good for you,” Lois told her daughter.
“I don’t know,” Clark said. “I wouldn’t eat it either.”
Lois turned and glared at him. “Are you criticising my parenting skills?” she accused.
He shrugged. “No. Just agreeing with Kally. I hate mushy green stuff too,” he responded, setting the coffees down. “I bought you a coffee. I wasn’t sure if you were allowed to drink coffee. I mean if you’re … you know …” He gestured toward her chest.
She smirked at him.
“Breastfeeding? It’s not a dirty word, Smallville. Yes, I’m still breastfeeding and yes, I am allowed coffee. In small doses.” She got up and handed him the spoon. “Here.”
He stared at her. “You want me to try?”
“If you want to be part of her life, you have to learn how to take care of her. So, you try feeding her while I drink my coffee.” She picked up the cup and sipped, looking surprised. “You remembered how I like my coffee,” she said.
He shrugged. “I remember a lot of things about you.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Like how you hate uncomfortable silences. How you tend to babble when you’re nervous.” He picked up the spoon and watched as the green goop dripped back into the bowl. “What is this, anyway?”
“Broccoli,” Lois said. “I hadn’t had a chance to get any more baby food so this was all I had.”
“For breakfast? No wonder she’s complaining!”
“She’s a baby, Smallville. She doesn’t even talk yet.”
He grinned as he tried to feed her the broccoli. Again she made a disgusted face and a sound that resembled ‘yuck’ in his uneducated opinion.
“Sounds like a complaint to me,” he said.
“She still has to eat it.”
He looked with sympathy at the baby. “You’ve got a mean mother, kid.”
“I’m not mean!” Lois replied. “You take that back!”
Clark laughed at her expression. She was pouting. At least she knew he was teasing. Lois sat down beside her daughter.
“Come on, sweetie, I know it’s not your favourite apple and custard but it’s all Mommy has right now. My check doesn’t come in until the end of the month and I’ve only got a little bit in tips.”
Clark looked at her. “If you need money, I can help.”
“Clark …”
“No,” he said. “She’s my daughter too. I’ve got enough to get her some baby food and anything else you need.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
He turned back to look at the baby. “Okay, kiddo, you heard your mom. I know it’s green and kind of gross but it’ll help you grow nice and strong.”
Kally looked dubiously at him, but accepted the spoonful. She still made a face but ate it, then accepted more until most of it was eaten. Lois stroked her daughter’s head.
“Good girl,” she crooned. “But now we have to go change your clothes since your daddy spilled broccoli all over them.”
Clark rolled his eyes. “I did not.” He pointed to the green stain on her onesie which was dry enough that it had obviously been there a while. “That was there before I got here.”
“Yeah, sure.” She got up. “Why don’t you bring her with you to the cabin?”
He carefully lifted her up, making sure she was fully supported. Kally sat contentedly in his arms, almost as if she knew who he was.
He’d thought of almost nothing else but his daughter since he’d found out about her. Even his parents had noticed his distraction.
He’d been worried that she had already started to develop abilities like his. He was sure Lois would have mentioned it so he figured she was perhaps too young. Then again, would she even develop powers since she was born under a yellow sun? He didn’t know the exact science but ever since the solar flares he’d suspected his own abilities had something to do with the sun. He didn’t know enough about Krypton to come to any firm conclusions.
He was tempted to talk to Jor-El. His birth father might not have all the answers but he had to have some at least.
He knew he would have to tell Lois about his secret sooner or later. She would need to be prepared in case Kally did develop such abilities. She would need to know how to protect her.
Knowing he didn’t have a baby seat in the truck and figuring it would be safer, they decided to leave Kally with Miss Harrigan while they went to Granville to get some groceries from the local Safeway. Clark wanted to avoid bumping into anyone he knew in Smallville and Granville wasn’t too far that it would be out of his way.
They were back an hour later with lots of baby food. Clark had also bought a teddy bear for his daughter, having seen it on the shelves in the toy aisle. He’d tried to buy Lois something too but she’d protested she didn’t really need anything. He could tell almost her entire life revolved around the baby.
Bubsy was already making them lunch when they got back to the inn. She’d told Clark as an aside that she’d offered to pay for baby food but Lois had stubbornly refused. The older woman commented that it was good that Lois had allowed him to help out. Clark agreed, thinking that it was the right thing for him to do.
It was still reasonably warm for almost October and they sat out on the back porch. Kally was in a baby swing, fascinated with the toys that hung above her. She cooed contentedly, making Lois smile.
“I like seeing you smile,” Clark said. He hadn’t wanted to comment but she had looked mostly pale and drawn. Yet when she was with Kally, she seemed happy.
Lois didn’t reply and just sat back sipping the tea Bubsy had made.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
“You just did,” she responded automatically.
“Right. Why did you come to Smallville?”
“I don’t know. I guess because of Chloe. She always talked about this town. Mostly she said it was kind of weird, but the people were nice.”
“Have you talked to her?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t want my dad to know I’m here.”
“What really happened between you and your dad? I mean, you told me he wanted you to adopt Kally out, but … what are you so afraid of?”
She bit her lip, mulling the question over. “You don’t know my dad,” she said.
“Tell me. I want to know.” He listened as she told him about the fight that had forced her to pack her bags and leave her father’s house with Kally. He wanted to be angry with the general but he tried to see the man’s side as well. He couldn’t. He just couldn’t understand how the man could be so horrible toward his daughter and refuse to support her decision.
“I’m sorry your dad was so horrible to you.”
“It’s not his fault. I guess he just couldn’t handle it, you know?”
Clark wondered how the general would have reacted if he’d learned that Kally’s father wasn’t even born on Earth. The worst-case scenario would be that he would have had her locked up in a lab somewhere. Tested for any abilities. He shuddered. He would never allow that to happen.
There was still the issue of Chloe. He gently tried to persuade Lois to talk to her cousin. Chloe would find out Lois was here eventually. She might even learn the truth about Kally’s parentage. He was sure if Lois explained the situation then her cousin would understand.
Lois still refused. Clark knew there was only one way to deal with this and that was to let her come to the decision on her own.
a/n: The General does not come off smelling of roses in this chapter, but all I'll say is, he will not be a total jerk either.
Chapter Four
Lois loved the precious moments she got to spend with her daughter. Even if those moments were spent changing a diaper. She sipped a cup of coffee and watched the chubby infant laying on her back on the floor of their cabin, her limbs flailing every which way as she giggled and babbled.
She picked up a plastic rattle and shook it. Kally reached for it, one end going straight into her mouth.
“Oh great, now it’s gonna have your drool all over it,” Lois complained half-heartedly. Kally babbled something at her, using one hand to shake the rattle experimentally. She seemed delighted with her efforts.
Lois heard a tap on her door and got up to answer it. Bubsy smiled at her.
“You have a visitor, dear.”
Someone to see her? Lois frowned. As far as she knew, no one in her family had any idea she was living at the inn and no one in town knew her.
She glanced at the clock Bubsy had given her and noted she still had about twenty minutes before she had to start her shift. She was on lates tonight.
“Um, who’s here?” she asked her boss.
“A young man,” was all the older woman would say. Lois had the feeling she knew his name but wasn’t about to spill the beans.
Lois glanced back at her daughter and went out, closing the door just enough to leave it ajar so she could hear if Kally needed her. A tall man with dark hair stood on the back porch of the inn, but stepped down when Bubsy nodded at him.
Clark!
She stared at him, feeling more than a little nervous at seeing him here. It had been a week or so since she’d gone to see him at the farm. She hadn’t sent him any messages and hadn’t told him where she was living.
What was he doing here?
“What are you doing here?” she asked as soon as her friend was out of earshot.
“I needed to talk to you,” he said quietly. “Could we …” He gestured toward the cabin but she stood in front of the doorway, barring him from entering.
“No, we can’t.”
“Why not? What are you protecting?”
“Nothing.”
He looked sceptical. “Really? So that’s not a baby I can hear in there?”
She frowned at him. “What are you? Part bloodhound?”
“Lois!”
She sighed and shook her head. “How did you find me?”
“I did a little digging. It wasn’t that hard, really. This is a small town. When a girl turns up out of the blue with a baby in tow, people notice.”
“Well, yay for them. Why are you here, Smallville?”
“Maybe I want to get to know my daughter.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Did he just say …
“I know she’s mine, Lois. I did the maths.”
“How did you even know about her?”
“Chloe. She told me your dad’s had people looking up and down the country for you.”
“How did she … I mean, how did you …”
He sighed. “I told her I ran into you. I tried to make it sound like you’d already left town, but I don’t think she believed me.”
“Well, of course she didn’t believe you! She’s a reporter, Smallville! How long do you think it’ll be before she figures out you’re Kally’s dad?” She paused. “Or before she tells my dad I’m here?”
“I didn’t think …”
“Do you ever?” she accused.
He flinched. “That’s not fair, Lois. I had a right to know about Kally.”
Lois had to concede he had a point. She had been wracking her brains trying to think of a gentle way to tell him about her … their daughter.
Kally cried out in a fit of pique, obviously missing her mother’s attention. Sighing, Lois opened the door.
“All right. Mommy’s coming.” She turned and looked at Clark. “You can see her. But only for a few minutes. I have to start my shift in ten.”
Clark followed her inside and sat on the floor beside the infant. Kally stared at him, clearly wondering who this strange person was, but soon returned her attention to the rattle Lois shook in front of her.
“She’s really cute,” Clark said. “Does she … I mean, she’s, um, healthy?”
“Got all her fingers and toes in the right places. It was hard for a while, after I left my dad’s. We were sort of on the streets for a month. Then I came here and Bubsy found us.”
“Bubsy?”
“Miss Harrigan. She kind of adopted us.”
Clark nodded. “So, who takes care of Kally when you’re working?”
“Well, she sort of stays in a crib in Bubsy’s office. All the staff help take care of her, really.”
“Oh. Would it be okay if I … I mean, would you mind if I came to babysit sometime? Spend time with her?”
What could she really say to that? He had a right to spend some time with his daughter. She had to at least give him that. Even if she couldn’t really trust him.
“You can trust me,” he said.
“You won’t try to take her away from me?” Lois asked. “I mean …”
He sent her a confused look. “Why would I do that?”
“That’s what my dad wanted to do. He wanted me to have Kally adopted out, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t give her up.”
For some odd reason, Clark looked almost relieved at hearing that.
“I wouldn’t give her up either,” he said. He looked thoughtful. “Is that why you left your dad’s?”
“Yeah. That, and other stuff.”
“Okay.” He stood up. “I should let you get to work. Um, when is your day off?”
“Saturday,” she said.
“Could I come and spend some time with Kally? If you wanted to, we could take her out somewhere, or I could just babysit if you wanted to go somewhere on your own.”
She was reluctant to let him stay with Kally on his own. Not that she didn’t trust him not to take her daughter away somewhere, but because she thought he probably didn’t know how to handle a baby.
“Why don’t we just take this one step at a time, Smallville. You come here on Saturday. After, say, nine, and then we’ll decide what to do. Okay?”
“Okay. That sounds like a plan.”
She picked up her daughter and carried her out of the cabin, locking the door. Clark looked at her.
“It’s so guests don’t think they can just help themselves to my stuff,” she told him.
“Oh. You don’t have very much.”
She didn’t think he’d noticed. Most of what she’d managed to get from the charity shop had been for Kally. A crib, a few toys, some clothes. She had only a few things for herself. Her first tips hadn’t been all that much but the inn had a few regular guests and once they started to get to know her they gave her a little more, knowing she had Kally.
Clark followed her into the inn and watched as she handed her daughter over to Bubsy, who was at the front desk talking to the receptionist. Her friend cooed over the baby, promising she would be fine while Lois worked. The older woman had told her she loved taking care of Kally.
There were times when it really did feel like Bubsy was Kally’s grandmother the way she fussed over her.
“I should get to work,” Lois told Clark.
“I’ll be here on Saturday,” he murmured. “I promise.”
She decided she wasn’t going to hold him to that. While he seemed to be completely different from Kal in his manner, she wasn’t ready to believe in the ‘nice guy’ persona. If he wanted her trust, he would have to earn it.
Halfway through her shift, she had a chance to sit in the office and watch over her baby while eating the dinner Bubsy had cooked for her. The older woman came in and sat down.
“How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m okay.”
Her friend leaned over the makeshift crib, which was really just a small playpen Lois had managed to rescue from being thrown out by the charity shop and set up with a new mattress.
“Your friend coming back?”
“On Saturday.”
“He’s the daddy, huh?”
Lois bit her lip. “I didn’t know he lived here when I … I met him in the city.”
“I’ve known Clark since he was adopted by his parents. He’s a sweet boy.”
“He was different when I met him.”
Bubsy nodded. “There was a terrible accident at the farm spring before last. We don’t really know what happened, but Clark left. His parents almost lost everything trying to find him. I’m guessing that’s when you met.”
Lois remembered Bubsy had told her some of the details the night she’d picked Clark up on the roadside. She’d forgotten about meeting Martha Kent in the hospital.
Kally had grandparents. Even with the problems she had with her father, Lois wondered if she should at least let Clark’s parents know they had a grandchild. Then again, that was probably Clark’s responsibility.
“Don’t try to overthink things, sweetheart. You’ve barely started to get back on your feet. If Clark wants his parents to know, he’s the one who should tell them.”
She smiled at her friend. “How do you always know what I’m thinking?”
“It’s a gift,” the older woman returned. “I can’t tell you how they’ll react but I do know that they will come to love you and your sweet baby girl once they’ve had a chance to get to know you.”
“Unlike my dad,” she said bitterly.
It had been a terrible fight that had forced her to leave home. Her father hadn’t been at all happy when she had eventually told him she was pregnant. He’d demanded to know everything. How it had happened and who the father was. She had wondered at the time if he’d planned to hunt the man down and either kill him or force him to take responsibility for his actions. Never mind the fact that it took two to tango.
“Did you even use protection?” he’d raged. He’d already ranted to her about being too young to have sex until she’d pointed out that she was considered old enough by the law to decide for herself. In Kansas, at least. It was different in other states. Not that that mattered to him.
“Yes, Daddy.” They’d used a condom. Even that, unfortunately, wasn’t completely infallible.
He glared down at her baby bump.
“I suppose it’s too late for …”
She stared at him, placing a hand protectively on her stomach. She was almost five months along.
“Daddy, are you suggesting I …” She didn’t want to say the rest. The very thought of getting rid of the baby was something she had never considered. Not even for a second. Even if it had been a mistake for her to have slept with Kal, even if things had ended badly between them, she would never ever consider her baby a mistake.
“Well, I suppose once it’s born you can have it adopted out,” he said.
Her eyes widened as she stared at her father. Give it up?
She tried to pretend everything was fine and went on with her life as if everything was normal, but by her seventh month, there was no more pretending. The school where she was meant to be finishing her senior year decided she was setting a bad example and ‘suggested’ she drop out. It was less of a suggestion and more an order. She wouldn’t even have been allowed to repeat her senior year once the baby was born. The school would definitely not be welcoming her back.
Stuck at home with nothing to do, she was forced to take the brunt of her father’s bad temper. Not that he was an abusive father, she thought. Just mostly neglectful. He started working later and later in his office on the base and came home tired and grouchy. If Lois even tried to broach the subject of the baby he would growl and mutter something before going off to his room.
A social worker began coming by in her eighth month of pregnancy. Lois knew what the woman was doing. Her father was bound and determined that she was not going to keep the baby and had assigned the woman to persuade Lois to give her baby up for adoption.
This continued even after Kally was born. Lois had taken one look at the screaming baby with her thick black hair and named her after Kal. Despite the way he’d behaved, part of her had liked him. Maybe she would never get the chance to know the real Kal, but at least with her daughter she had part of him.
It was a good thing that the social worker was a decent sort who believed that Lois was old enough to make up her own mind about whether she wanted to give up her baby. The general, however, refused to take no for an answer. He would leave brochures for adoption agencies around and drop hints about families on base who were desperate for children, as if that would guilt Lois into giving up her daughter.
The general wasn’t really a cruel man but he had his pride and the news that his teenaged daughter, who was supposedly so independent and so responsible, was pregnant, had embarrassed him.
The final straw came when Kally was three months old. Lois had marked the day on her calendar as it was almost the one-year anniversary of the night she had met Kal. She’d thought of him often through the long months of her pregnancy, alternately hating him for the way it had happened and wishing he was by her side.
Lois had never considered herself to be a sentimental kind of person but she had begun having dreams of meeting up with Kal. Of them walking off into the sunset together with their daughter. She knew it couldn’t really happen, but anything was better than home.
The general came home early that final day. With guests. A sergeant and his wife. Within a few minutes of her meeting them, Lois’ father had handed over the baby. When Lois tried to take her back, he pulled her aside and shoved her into the next room.
“I talked to them about adopting the baby,” he said.
Lois stared at him incredulously. “You can’t do that,” she said.
“You are too young to be a mother.”
“You are not taking my child away from me,” she screamed at him.
“You are destroying your future!” he screamed back. “You’ve already dropped out of high school and now you won’t be going to college either. You have embarrassed me …”
Lois tuned out the rest of his rant and pushed past him, striding toward the couple who looked at each other nervously.
“Whatever my father told you, he’s wrong. I’m not giving up my baby. I’m sorry. You seem like a really nice couple but he had no right to talk to you without my consent.” She took the baby from them.
She packed whatever she could and left that night.
Bubsy had listened to her story one night long after the front desk had closed down for the evening, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh, Lois, I’m so sorry your father did that to you.”
“I know he was doing what he thought was best for both of us but I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t listen to what I wanted.”
“Some men can be so close-minded. I know my father, when he found out I was pregnant, was so angry and so hurt. In those days an unmarried mother was just not the done thing.”
She remembered that conversation as she talked to Bubsy about Clark and how he’d found out about their daughter. While she was glad he hadn’t told Chloe she was still in town, she knew it wouldn’t be long before her cousin found out anyway. It wouldn’t be hard. Not for someone who was used to digging things up, like Chloe was. It was only a matter of time.
The question was, would her cousin tell her father where she was?
“I’m scared my dad will find me and will try to take Kally away from me again.”
“I won’t let that happen,” her friend told her. “He can certainly try but he will have to go through me. And Clark. You should tell him what happened with your dad. I have a feeling he will understand.
Clark was late getting to the inn. Chloe had asked for his help with an article she was writing for the paper but between football practice – he’d decided to join the football team, against his father’s wishes, but still – and his chores on the farm, he had wondered if he should perhaps give up working for the Torch, at least until football was over for the year.
Knowing his friend needed him, he realised he couldn’t just abandon her and had spent an hour that morning doing some research for the article. He knew his future wasn’t on the farm – at least his dad agreed with that – and journalism was really the only thing he could see himself doing once he finished college.
Once he’d managed to get away, he stopped in at the Talon. His mom had taken a job managing the coffee shop, since Lex now owned it outright. As he paid for the coffees, he was startled to bump into Lana.
He’d seen her at school, of course, but they hadn’t really had a chance to talk since she’d got back from France. He’d assumed she was staying for a year, but didn’t ask her why she’d come home. After the way they’d left things before she’d gone away, he didn’t think there was any hope of salvaging their relationship.
Truth be told, the knowledge that he was a father to a little girl had changed his perspective somewhat.
He hadn’t decided whether he should tell his parents. They were not going to be happy. He knew that much. After the summer he’d run away, there had been some tension between them all for a while. They’d basically walked on eggshells around him, afraid he would leave again. He’d thought about it. Even considered going to look for Lois. Even if it was just to apologise for his behaviour.
Telling them they were grandparents was just going to open up another can of worms and he wasn’t sure he wanted to put them through that.
“Lana.”
“Oh, Clark. Didn’t see you there.” She looked at the small tray of takeout coffees. He’d ordered one for himself and one for Lois. When they’d gone out on the motorcycle that day, she’d confessed she only liked one particular blend of coffee. A lot like Chloe, he’d thought with a grin. “You working at the Torch?”
“Hmm?”
“The coffee. You usually drink black. I didn’t think you were into the other kind.”
Of course, he thought. She must have overheard his order.
“Oh, no I’m not working at the Torch today. Chloe’s got that all under control. I’m just going to visit a friend.”
“Oh. I see. So, how are you?” she asked.
“I’m fine. You?”
Geez, could this get any more awkward, he thought. He used to be able to talk to Lana about anything, even when they were on the outs as boyfriend and girlfriend but now …
“I’m good. Well, I should get going. I have to get to the market.”
“Yeah, I need to get going too. I’m late,” he said.
She frowned as if wanting to ask what he was late for, but didn’t ask. Clark left the shop and went out to the truck. The clock on the dash told him he was already twenty minutes late.
The inn was quiet when he pulled up five minutes later. He parked in a space and got out, taking the coffee with him. Miss Harrington stood at the front desk, looking at something on the computer. She looked up.
“Hello Clark. Come to see Lois?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“She’s just in the dining room. Go on through honey.”
Clark went into the dining room. Lois was sitting at a table, a high chair in front of her. A small bowl was on the tray and she was attempting to feed Kally with some green goop. Clark grimaced, then chuckled as the baby made a disgusted face.
“It’s good for you,” Lois told her daughter.
“I don’t know,” Clark said. “I wouldn’t eat it either.”
Lois turned and glared at him. “Are you criticising my parenting skills?” she accused.
He shrugged. “No. Just agreeing with Kally. I hate mushy green stuff too,” he responded, setting the coffees down. “I bought you a coffee. I wasn’t sure if you were allowed to drink coffee. I mean if you’re … you know …” He gestured toward her chest.
She smirked at him.
“Breastfeeding? It’s not a dirty word, Smallville. Yes, I’m still breastfeeding and yes, I am allowed coffee. In small doses.” She got up and handed him the spoon. “Here.”
He stared at her. “You want me to try?”
“If you want to be part of her life, you have to learn how to take care of her. So, you try feeding her while I drink my coffee.” She picked up the cup and sipped, looking surprised. “You remembered how I like my coffee,” she said.
He shrugged. “I remember a lot of things about you.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Like how you hate uncomfortable silences. How you tend to babble when you’re nervous.” He picked up the spoon and watched as the green goop dripped back into the bowl. “What is this, anyway?”
“Broccoli,” Lois said. “I hadn’t had a chance to get any more baby food so this was all I had.”
“For breakfast? No wonder she’s complaining!”
“She’s a baby, Smallville. She doesn’t even talk yet.”
He grinned as he tried to feed her the broccoli. Again she made a disgusted face and a sound that resembled ‘yuck’ in his uneducated opinion.
“Sounds like a complaint to me,” he said.
“She still has to eat it.”
He looked with sympathy at the baby. “You’ve got a mean mother, kid.”
“I’m not mean!” Lois replied. “You take that back!”
Clark laughed at her expression. She was pouting. At least she knew he was teasing. Lois sat down beside her daughter.
“Come on, sweetie, I know it’s not your favourite apple and custard but it’s all Mommy has right now. My check doesn’t come in until the end of the month and I’ve only got a little bit in tips.”
Clark looked at her. “If you need money, I can help.”
“Clark …”
“No,” he said. “She’s my daughter too. I’ve got enough to get her some baby food and anything else you need.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
He turned back to look at the baby. “Okay, kiddo, you heard your mom. I know it’s green and kind of gross but it’ll help you grow nice and strong.”
Kally looked dubiously at him, but accepted the spoonful. She still made a face but ate it, then accepted more until most of it was eaten. Lois stroked her daughter’s head.
“Good girl,” she crooned. “But now we have to go change your clothes since your daddy spilled broccoli all over them.”
Clark rolled his eyes. “I did not.” He pointed to the green stain on her onesie which was dry enough that it had obviously been there a while. “That was there before I got here.”
“Yeah, sure.” She got up. “Why don’t you bring her with you to the cabin?”
He carefully lifted her up, making sure she was fully supported. Kally sat contentedly in his arms, almost as if she knew who he was.
He’d thought of almost nothing else but his daughter since he’d found out about her. Even his parents had noticed his distraction.
He’d been worried that she had already started to develop abilities like his. He was sure Lois would have mentioned it so he figured she was perhaps too young. Then again, would she even develop powers since she was born under a yellow sun? He didn’t know the exact science but ever since the solar flares he’d suspected his own abilities had something to do with the sun. He didn’t know enough about Krypton to come to any firm conclusions.
He was tempted to talk to Jor-El. His birth father might not have all the answers but he had to have some at least.
He knew he would have to tell Lois about his secret sooner or later. She would need to be prepared in case Kally did develop such abilities. She would need to know how to protect her.
Knowing he didn’t have a baby seat in the truck and figuring it would be safer, they decided to leave Kally with Miss Harrigan while they went to Granville to get some groceries from the local Safeway. Clark wanted to avoid bumping into anyone he knew in Smallville and Granville wasn’t too far that it would be out of his way.
They were back an hour later with lots of baby food. Clark had also bought a teddy bear for his daughter, having seen it on the shelves in the toy aisle. He’d tried to buy Lois something too but she’d protested she didn’t really need anything. He could tell almost her entire life revolved around the baby.
Bubsy was already making them lunch when they got back to the inn. She’d told Clark as an aside that she’d offered to pay for baby food but Lois had stubbornly refused. The older woman commented that it was good that Lois had allowed him to help out. Clark agreed, thinking that it was the right thing for him to do.
It was still reasonably warm for almost October and they sat out on the back porch. Kally was in a baby swing, fascinated with the toys that hung above her. She cooed contentedly, making Lois smile.
“I like seeing you smile,” Clark said. He hadn’t wanted to comment but she had looked mostly pale and drawn. Yet when she was with Kally, she seemed happy.
Lois didn’t reply and just sat back sipping the tea Bubsy had made.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
“You just did,” she responded automatically.
“Right. Why did you come to Smallville?”
“I don’t know. I guess because of Chloe. She always talked about this town. Mostly she said it was kind of weird, but the people were nice.”
“Have you talked to her?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t want my dad to know I’m here.”
“What really happened between you and your dad? I mean, you told me he wanted you to adopt Kally out, but … what are you so afraid of?”
She bit her lip, mulling the question over. “You don’t know my dad,” she said.
“Tell me. I want to know.” He listened as she told him about the fight that had forced her to pack her bags and leave her father’s house with Kally. He wanted to be angry with the general but he tried to see the man’s side as well. He couldn’t. He just couldn’t understand how the man could be so horrible toward his daughter and refuse to support her decision.
“I’m sorry your dad was so horrible to you.”
“It’s not his fault. I guess he just couldn’t handle it, you know?”
Clark wondered how the general would have reacted if he’d learned that Kally’s father wasn’t even born on Earth. The worst-case scenario would be that he would have had her locked up in a lab somewhere. Tested for any abilities. He shuddered. He would never allow that to happen.
There was still the issue of Chloe. He gently tried to persuade Lois to talk to her cousin. Chloe would find out Lois was here eventually. She might even learn the truth about Kally’s parentage. He was sure if Lois explained the situation then her cousin would understand.
Lois still refused. Clark knew there was only one way to deal with this and that was to let her come to the decision on her own.
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