Doctors Bernie Klein and Burton Richards met Clark in the maternity room waiting area. “How is she?” asked Bernie.
Clark smiled nervously. “She’s already in the delivery room. Dr. Marshall is with her.”
Bernie nodded. “Evelyn Marshall, right?” Clark nodded back. “Good. Evelyn is one of the best OB-GYNs in the country. Lois is in excellent hands.”
“I know,” Clark replied. “Lois checked her out and interviewed her and then decided to use her. I have complete confidence in her.”
Bernie put his hand on Clark’s shoulder. “As well you should.”
“Where are the other children?” asked Richards.
“Jimmy and Darla are at the house with them. Jimmy said that since his and Darla’s kids were already at Darla’s folks’ house for the night, they’d stay as long as we needed them to, up to and including taking them to school tomorrow.”
Bernie smiled. “I’m sure Marta and Jon were thrilled with that announcement.”
Clark ran his hand through this hair. “I told them they could stay home tomorrow, that someone would be there with them. There’s no way they could focus on classwork anyway. For that matter, I’m not sure they’re going to sleep tonight.”
“Well,” said Richards, “as long as Lois isn’t there to feed them, they should be fine.”
Both Clark and Bernie slowly turned to look at Burton, who lifted his hands in total innocence and asked, “What?”
Clark leaned back in his chair and laughed softly. “You guys are terrible. Lois keeps telling me that Burton and Bernie should do stand-up comedy, and I think I agree with her.”
“We’d starve,” Bernie said.
“Very quickly,” added Burton.
“Not if you did lots of medical conventions. You could do doctor material, like that group of singing anesthesiologists Jon told me about.”
Burton snapped his fingers. “Oh, right! They call themselves The Laryngospasms. I saw them last year at a trauma surgeons’ convention in Chicago. They were hilarious.”
Clark shook his head. “You’d think that serious medical professionals would be more sober and dignified than that.”
“You might think so,” offered Bernie, “but you’d be wrong.”
“Have you called the rest of the family?” asked Burton.
“Of course I have. My parents plan to take a flight in as soon as they can get a non-stop leg from Wichita. I called Sam in Paraguay and left a message on his voice mail. He’ll pick it up as soon as he gets back from the field. Ellen is in Chicago with Lucy, who’s appearing in a new stage play by some famous writer, and Ellen said that they’d be here as soon as they could. Lucy’s understudy is as ready as she can be. Seems that everyone but Sam was on the verge of flying back whether Lois had the baby or not.”
“So you still don’t know the baby’s gender?” asked Bernie.
“No. We’re both a lot more concerned with having a healthy baby than which sex child we have. And with Lois’ continued good health, too.”
Bernie reached out and squeezed Clark’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Before any of them could say anything else, a tall nurse in surgical scrubs burst through the door from the operating theater. “Which one of you is Burton Richards?”
Burton all but leaped to his feet. “What’s wrong? Is it Lois?”
“Scrub up and get in there,” the nurse barked. “Dr. Marshall needs you right away.”
Over his shoulder, Burton called out, “Bernie, stay with Clark!”
Then they were gone.
Bernie, who had risen to half-standing, sat down again and gently tugged Clark back to his seat. “Lois couldn’t have better care, Clark. And neither could the baby.”
Clark didn’t speak. He only turned a suddenly sallow and terrified face to his friend.
*****
Darla Olsen was getting frustrated. “No, guys, we’re not going to the hospital! I promise your mom will be fine.”
“You can’t promise that!” sobbed Marta. “Nobody can promise that! Please, Uncle Jimmy, you have to take us! We have to be there for Mom!”
Jon hugged his sister and looked up at the couple as if he were trying to reassure them. “I don’t know why Marta’s upset, but she’s never like this without a good reason. If you don’t drive us to the hospital we’re going to run there. And you know you can’t catch us if we don’t want you to.”
Darla put her hands on her hips and scowled at them. “Your parents put us in charge, young man! That means you do what we tell you or you answer to them!”
Jimmy touched his wife’s shoulder. “Honey, let’s talk about—”
She spun and glared at him. “There’s nothing to talk about! It’s past their bedtime and they need to sleep!”
“Aunt Darla?” said Jon. “Marta knows something’s wrong with Mom. She always knows.”
“How? How can she know? No phone calls, no news bulletins, no emails, no tweets, nothing to tell you that something’s wrong! How can she possibly know?”
“I don’t know how. She just does. She’s always known when Mom was scared or worried about Dad or when she was sick or when she used to get kidnapped. In fact, she was the one who knew how to find Mom the last time one of Lex Luthor’s kids took her.” He shrugged. “She just knows.”
“Well, I don’t know! And that’s the end of this discussion! Now go to bed before I call your father!”
Jimmy put unaccustomed steel in his voice. “Jon is right, Darla. Marta knows something and they need to be there with their parents. We’re taking them to the hospital.”
“What! What do you mean, we’re – James Bartholomew Olsen, do NOT contradict me!”
It was the first time in Darla’s memory that her husband hadn’t backed down from that tone of voice. “I’m taking the kids to the hospital. And you’re coming with me. I have a hunch you’ll be needed.”
“But – but Jim – we – Clark said—”
“Now, Darla! Get your coat and get in the car. Jon, Marta, go get dressed now. Jeans and pullover shirt is fine, and wear shoes and socks.”
“We’ll put them on in the car!” Jon shouted.
“Make it quick, you two.” Jimmy turned to his wife. “Don’t even start, okay? If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and I’ll take the heat. But if Marta’s right, they need to be with their mother.”
“You’ve never talked to me like this before,” she marveled.
“We’ve never face a situation like this before. We’ve always worked together really well and there’s no reason to change that.” He grabbed his coat and fished his keys out of his pocket. “I’ll get the car started, you herd the kids out as soon as both of them are ready.”
“Sure, honey.” He turned away but she called to him. “Jim?”
He turned back. “Yes?”
She hesitated, then asked, “Are you – mad at me? About this, I mean?”
He shook his head. “I’m not mad at you about anything, honey. This is different from anything we’ve done before.”
“Good.” She stopped and took a breath. “We’re going to have to talk about this. Later, I mean, after we bring the kids back.”
He almost smiled. “Dar, if all we do is turn right around and bring them back here because everything is just peachy-keen, I’ll kneel in front of you and beg your forgiveness and you can say anything to me you want. But you have to remember that when it comes to the Kent family, sometimes all the usual rules are thrown out of the window.”
She nodded. “Got it. I’ll have them out there quick.”
*****
Burton Richards slowly walked to the waiting area. As he stopped and leaned against the doorframe, Bernie Klein stood and took a step toward him.
“Burton?” he asked. “Is Lois – I mean, how is she?”
Burton lifted his head and looked around. “Where’s Clark?”
“He just stepped out. Seems his babysitters brought the kids and he’s down there dealing with a very upset daughter and a very tense son.” Bernie touched his friend’s elbow. “What is it? What’s happened? Is it – is something wrong with the baby?”
“Baby? No, no, the baby’s fine. Evelyn says their new daughter is perfect, all her vitals just like they should be. Lois wants to name her Ellen Lucille, assuming Clark agrees.”
“That’s a good name. And that’s very good news. About the baby – Ellen Lucille.” He cracked a one-sided smile. “Just don’t look at her initials.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because the initials of Ellen Lucille Kent spells ELK. I’d hate for her to be considered a target for some young hunter when she’s a teenager.”
Instead of wisecracking back, Burton pulled off his surgical cap and rubbed his face with his free hand. “I have to see Clark.”
“Why? What’s going—” Bernie’s eyes bulged and his face paled. “Oh, no, no, please tell me there’s not anything wrong with her! Come on, Burton! You’re the best in the country! You can help her!”
The sounds of a frightened family echoed along the hallway. Burton’s eyes misted over and he whispered, “Not this time, Bernie. Not this time.”
*****
Dr. Marshall was on the verge of tears as she led Lois’ husband and children to her door. She put out her hand and stopped them. “Listen to me, all of you. I want all three of you to promise me something.” She waited as Clark and Jon nodded. “Marta? You too, honey.”
The girl threw herself against her father and tried to squeeze him flat. After a long moment, she nodded through her own tears.
“Okay. Kids, your mother knows everything. She knows just as much as you and your father do. She’s going to be a little groggy because of the painkillers we’ve given her, but she still wants to see all of you. And if her sister or mother or in-laws show up in time, she wants to see them too. But mainly – mainly she wants to say goodbye to you because out of all the people she loves, you three are the most special to her.” The doctor knelt down in front of the kids and wiped her eyes, then said, “I want you to remember that for the rest of your lives. The three of you are the most special people in the world to her, along with your new little sister Ellen Lucille. Will you do that for me? Will you remember that?”
Jon’s eyes were damp but he seemed to be in control of himself, which Evelyn knew didn’t necessarily bode well for the aftermath his father would have to deal with. Marta was crying so hard she was almost unable to stand, and might have slumped to the floor if not for her grip on her father and his grip on her.
The doctor stood and put her hands on Clark’s upper arms. She felt the strength and the power resting there, and it surprised her just as much as it always had. He was the strongest and gentlest man she knew, and she’d seen him walk beside Lois every step of this difficult and unexpected pregnancy, always smiling and supportive and rock-solid.
Now, though, his foundation was being ripped from beneath him. She hoped he was strong enough to withstand this pain.
She looked into his eyes and saw fear and determination warring against the inevitable. Then he focused on her and gave her the slightest nod.
It was time.
“I’ve turned off the audio on the monitors, but they’re still hooked up to the nurse’s station. They’ll know when she – they’ll know.”
“How – how long?” he whispered.
Evelyn squeezed those rock-hard biceps again and fought for control of her voice. “Not long. No more than a couple of hours, probably less.”
Clark closed his eyes and took a breath, then looked at her and nodded once more. They were as ready as anyone could be.
She pushed open the door and led them into Lois’ room. Jon walked to the left side of the bed, away from the fresh surgical wound on the right side of his mother’s stomach that they’d all known would be there, and laid his head down on his mother’s chest.
The moment her hand wrapped around his head, the tears he’d been holding back exploded in deep, throaty sobs.
Marta stopped a couple of paces from the near side of the bed and stood still. She remained there until Lois extended her other hand and smiled softly. The girl took two unsteady steps and gently put her arms around Lois’ neck.
Clark stood a pace behind Marta, his own tears pooling in his eyes.
Evelyn almost couldn’t take it. She’d become an obstetrician because she desperately wanted to be a doctor but couldn’t face dealing with patients who only aged, got worse, then sickened and died. She wanted to bring life into the world, not watch over those who were leaving it. And she loved the innocence of babies, the rapturous joy of new mothers, and the gentle love of the fathers. All of that didn’t happen every time, of course, but it happened often enough to give her a great deal of satisfaction. And this family had promised to be one of her all-time favorites.
Now Lois was dying. And no one could keep her from it.
She wanted to leave the room, to protect herself from the pain they were broadcasting, but her feet wouldn’t budge. She had to witness this, to record it in her memory, to keep it close to her heart. A love such as this family shared didn’t come along every day.
*****
Clark wanted to snatch Lois up in his arms and hold her as long as she had breath in her lungs, for as long as their wedding vows had promised. He wanted to protect her, to save her, to take her away somewhere and care for her until she was better.
But there was no place to take her where she’d be safe from the betrayal of her own body.
And he refused to take any second of their children’s last moments with their mother from them. The kids would be hurt tonight – badly hurt – but he knew that, in the long run, they would have been hurt more deeply if he’d kept them from their mother. They needed to say goodbye, to hear their mother tell them one more time that she loved them, and most especially they needed to know that their father was right behind them, supporting them, loving them, and suffering right along with them.
How could he support his children? He was barely holding himself together.
He watched as Lois stroked Jon’s hair and kissed the side of his head. “Jon,” she said weakly, “I need to see your face. I need to look at you.”
He turned his head and faced away from her. “I – I’m sorry! I can’t! I can’t look at – please! I’m sorry!”
She reached out and rubbed his back. “I understand. I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom! I don’t want you to die!”
She shook her head and patted him. “I don’t particularly want to die either, honey, but that’s not my decision. Or yours.”
He snapped his head around. “Have they tried everything? Dialysis? Organ cloning? One last look at a transplant? Even a half-transplant? Can I give you part of my liver? Please?”
She ruffled his hair again. “Dr. Richards told you everything, didn’t he?” Jon nodded without breaking eye contact with his mother. “Then he told you that they tried all that and more. There’s just something about me that can’t accept anyone else’s cells. And he tried cloning my liver, more than once, but it never worked.” She stopped and took a couple of breaths as if gathering her remaining strength. “You’re going to be a doctor one day – a very, very good doctor – but you won’t be able to save everyone. As good as you’re going to be, this final enemy is one you can’t beat. No doctor can hold off death forever. No one can – not even your father.”
Jon’s tears came again, but evenly this time. “I know,” he managed to say. “I still hate it.”
“And you should. I love you, son, and I can tell what a wonderful doctor you’re going to be. And no one can be a – a good doctor without hating to lose a patient.” She paused and seemed to gather strength from somewhere. “Will you promise me something?”
He nodded. “Of course, Mom. Anything.”
“Just promise me that you’ll do your best and be satisfied with it. Not happy – satisfied. There’s a huge difference. And when you’re ready to talk it over with your dad, he’ll try to explain it better than I can.”
Clark almost lost it. No one can explain it better than you, Lois, he thought to her.
“I’ll listen, Mom. I promise.”
Lois smiled at him and touched his cheek. “I know you will. Can you scootch up here and let me kiss my son? You aren’t too big for that, are you?”
“No, Mom, I’m not too big.”
Clark closed his eyes for a moment, then forced them open again. He needed to see this and remember it so he could remind their son how much his mother had loved him.
Jon finally broke the lip-corner kiss – even now he was too much a young man to kiss his mother straight on the lips – and put his head back down on her chest as Lois turned to her daughter.
“Marty? Hey, baby girl – oh, I’m sorry, honey. I forgot you don’t – don’t like for me to call you that.”
Marta sobbed twice as she shook her head without lifting it. “Mom, you can call me whatever you want. I don’t care. I love you and I don’t want you to go either.”
Lois reached up and gently rubbed the back of Marta’s neck. “I don’t want to go, baby girl, but like I told your brother, I’m not in charge this time.”
“I know. I heard what you told him.”
“Good. Remember it and remind him when he needs to hear it.”
Marta lifted her head and wiped her nose on Lois’ blanket. “How will I know that?”
Lois smiled. “Oh, baby, you’ll know. You’ll know, I promise you that.”
The girl shrugged. “If you say so. Wait, I don’t mean it like that! I just mean – I mean I believe you even though I don’t completely understand what you’re telling me.”
“It’s okay, sweetie. That’s what I thought you meant. Now listen. I have something special I want you to do for me.”
She sniffed and rubbed one eye. “Anything, Momma.”
“I want you to help your father with your little sister.”
“Well, yeah, I would have even if you – even if you were going to be here. I can make bottles, change diapers, all but the really gooey brown ones, play with her – I’ve been reading those books you and Dad got about taking care of babies. And I’ve been babysitting with Aunt Darla when the twins get to be too much and Uncle Jimmy’s at work or something.”
Lois chuckled gently, then ruffled her daughter’s wheat-blonde hair. “I know that. And I know you’ll be a wonderful sitter for Ellen while she’s little. But I’m talking about when the two of you get older and she needs a friend to talk to. Your father is a brilliant man, but he doesn’t know things about women like other women do. You’ll have to help him in that way.”
“But I’m not a woman yet, Mom! How can I tell someone something I don’t know?”
“Baby girl, by the time she needs to know those things, you’ll know them as well as anyone could. You’ve got plenty of time.”
“Mom – I don’t know. You know how much I don’t like school but I think I’d rather be a doctor.”
Lois laughed, then flinched slightly. Clark didn’t think the kids noticed.
Her laughter died but her smile remained. “Marty, remember when you were going into kindergarten and you were worried about math?”
Marta scrunched up her face and half-nodded. “Kinda. I think I was afraid of not knowing how to do the math stuff.”
“Even if you already knew a lot of math?”
“Yeah, but I was just four! I didn’t know what I was supposed to know.”
“Right. Someone had told you that you’d learn all that math after you went to kindergarten and you thought that meant that all you were going to do is walk into the classroom and boing! You’d automatically know everything you were supposed to know. You didn’t – whew – you didn’t understand that you’d have to study to learn, or that the teacher knew you’d have to learn it.”
“Of course I – wait. I think I get it. You’re telling me not to worry about not knowing what to teach Ellen because I still have to learn it myself?”
“That’s right!” She reached out and hugged the girl.
Only Clark saw the strain and suppressed pain in Lois’ face.
Marta and Lois slowly separated. The girl nodded. “I understand, Momma. I’ll be the best big sister there ever was. And if Jon isn’t the best big brother ever I’ll beat him up.”
Clark smiled through his own tears and caught Lois’ gaze. She nodded as if telling him that she was satisfied.
She gave her son and daughter another kiss each, then patted them both on the back. “Okay, kids, now I have to talk to your father.”
Dr. Marshall stepped forward. “I’ll take—” She stopped and closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “Come on, kids. Your parents need some time together.”
“Don’t they always?” muttered Jon.
Marta slapped him on the upper arm. “You hush, Jon Sam Kent! Stop being so mean!”
“I’m not being mean, I’m being accurate! It’s embarrassing the way they kiss and stuff!”
“You just wish some girl would ever like you half that much!”
Dr. Marshall herded them out the door and tossed a befuddled glance over her shoulder as the two continued their low-voiced non-argument. Both Clark and Lois shared a soft smile as the door closed behind her.
Clark gently sat on the left side of the bed and took Lois’ hand in his. “I don’t believe those two.”
Lois smiled. “I do. They were doing it for us, darling, at least partly. They wanted me to know that they’d be okay.” She smiled and tried to tug him closer to her. “And with you there, I – I know they will. You’ll watch over them every moment of every day.”
He turned his head and tried not to cry again. “Who – who’ll watch over me?”
He felt her fingers brush his cheek. “You know the answer to that one.”
It was too much. He moved toward the head of the bed and gently embraced her, and his tears began again as her arms rose to rest around his neck.
They sat like that for a long time, softly rocking back and forth.
Finally Lois leaned back. “I’m sorry – I have to lie down.”
“Of course. Can I – sorry, dumb question.”
“What?”
“I was going to ask you if I could get you something.”
“Actually, you can. I’m starting to hurt again and my morphine button got pushed down close to my knee and I can’t reach it. Would you—”
“Of course.” He handed it to her and she pressed it once. After a few seconds she exhaled and relaxed a bit.
“Thank you. That’s so I don’t have to call for a nurse to give me a shot for the pain.”
“I know. I’ve seen them before. The computer in the dispenser monitors the dose and limits it so you – I mean, it – limits it.”
Lois looked into his eyes. “They turned off the limiter on mine. Just in case I – in case the pain got too bad.” She smiled sideways. “But I won’t need it again as long as you’re here with me.”
His throat tightened up and had to force out the words. “I’ll be here as long as you want me to be here, baby.”
She closed her eyes and smiled. “Thank you.”
“For what, the button or the endearment?”
“The moments.”
He gave her a puzzled eyebrow. “Sorry, I’m going to need a little context.”
Her eyes opened and she blinked slowly. “Years ago when I told you how bad my liver was and you told me you still loved me and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, I warned you that our being together might not last too many years. Then you said—”
“That it wasn’t the years. It was the moments.” He smiled back. “I remember. You know, we’ve both used that quote quite a few times.”
“I know, but I needed to know that you remembered it. I wanted two things from this conversation, Clark. I want you to know that I love you and – and that I’m thankful for all the moments we had together. Every one of them.”
“Even when I contradicted you?”
She smiled wider. “Yes, even those. They meant that you weren’t just staying with me to be with me. They meant that you – you loved me enough to challenge me, to push me to be better, to be more honest, to do a better job on whatever I – I was working on at the time. And you were wonderful. A wonderful husband, a wonderful father, a wonderful companion, a wonderful friend, and a wonderful lover.”
He took her hand and kissed her palm. “Thank you. You weren’t so bad yourself, you know, except for the part about being a father. But you made up for it by being the best mother any family could have.”
She smiled, then exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Clark shot a frantic glance at the heart monitor, but it was still tracing an even rhythm, and a moment later she inhaled again. “It’s getting hard for me to stay awake, Clark. Would you mind lying next to me and holding me?”
He stretched out beside her as best he could, given all the wires and tubes connecting her to the machines. “Of course I will, Lois. I love you. I’ll do anything for you.”
Her voice was weaker now. “I love you too. Wish I’d admitted it sooner.”
“Your timing was perfect, as always.”
“Yeah, right.” Her face squeezed into a frown. “I’ve forgotten something, something I was going to tell you.”
“It’s okay. You’ve already said so much.”
“Yeah. But something else. Important. Got to remember – the other thing—” Her voice strengthened and her eyes popped open. “Got it! Clark?”
He kissed her cheek. “I’m right here.”
“Listen to me. If you find a woman you love, a woman you trust to help you raise the kids, who you trust to – uh – right, to help you as Superman, and you want to marry her, you – you have my blessing.”
“Lois, please—”
She tried to punch him on the arm, but her hand flopped loosely on the covers. “Uh-uh! Listen to me. You shouldn’t be alone. Don’t – don’t be alone – because of me. Okay?”
He didn’t speak. He couldn’t. Not now. And not about something he knew he’d never do. There was no other woman in the world he could ever love like he loved Lois.
She took two long breaths and he thought she’d gone to sleep, but her head turned and her eyes sought his. “Answer me, Farm Boy. Don’t be – alone. You shouldn’t – shouldn’t be alone.”
He had to tell her what she wanted to hear. “All right, Lois. I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” she breathed. “That’s – that’s all you can do, think about it. Don’t promise. Can’t promise that. No one can. Just don’t – don’t turn away from her if you find her. Don’t rob our – our kids of a mother if – if one shows up.”
He thought she was finished talking but she fooled him. “And don’t you – don’t you refuse to be loved, Clark. If she’s good enough – for you – I’ll be fine with it. I promise.”
What a woman. What a wonderful person. She was – she was – dying – and all she thought about was her family’s future. What other woman could compare to that?
He licked his lips and nodded. “Thank you.” He wrapped his arm around her chest and far shoulder as lightly as he could. “I’m so blessed that you love me so much. And the kids are so blessed to have a mother like you.”
She smiled, then tilted her head and brushed her lips across his cheek. After several long moments, she whispered, “I’m really tired, honey.”
“I know.”
She closed her eyes and settled back against the pillow. “Think – I’ll just – go back to sleep.”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “Okay.”
She took two shallow breaths. “Uh. Call Perry and – tell him – I’ll be in late today.”
“I’ll take care of it. You just rest now.”
She didn’t speak again.
He was still holding her thirty-two minutes later when the nurse came in and touched his shoulder. He looked at his wife’s face, her cheeks damp with his tears, then at the flat display on the cardiac monitor.
Lois Lane-Kent was gone.
