Previously on Seed of Doubt...
"Clark?" she called out, sounding a little scared.
"Go! Get out of here, Lois!" he yelled back. "I'll find you at your uncle's!"
He lost sight of her completely then as the crowd swelled around him and swallowed her up. He carefully forced a path out of the fray and found a deserted alley. After a thorough check to ensure no one was looking, he spun into Superman's famous blue, red, and yellow suit. He spent the next half hour breaking up the fight, aiding the police forces that showed up within minutes of the first punch being thrown, thanks to the officers who'd already been on site to help maintain the peace. All the while, it baffled him how the protesters could be so heartless toward an already suffering group of people. In a rare moment where Superman showed his anger, he burned the protest signs in a heap right there on the street, only to extinguish the blaze once it had consumed the hateful messages.
Then it was time to find Lois.
He really, sincerely hoped she'd listened to him and gone to her uncle's restaurant. His heart in his mouth, he flew with all speed to the place, stretching out his hearing before him. After a tense few moments, he found her, her heart beating steadily and calmly. He zoomed in with his telescopic vision and found her sipping ice water with a lemon wedge just inside the cafe, at the table right by the window. He angled himself into a landing and found a spot to change.
"Clark!" she cried, sounding ecstatic to see him in one piece. She stood and threw her arms around him, kissing his cheek. "Thank God you're okay. I was getting worried. What happened?"
"I got swept up in the fray," he said, shrugging, as he pulled out a chair and sat. "You're lucky you were able to get out when you did. It was a nightmare by the time I got out of there. But, I was able to see Superman break things up, so at least we can add it to the story."
"Yeah," Lois nodded, sounding distracted.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently, sliding his chair over to sit next to her as opposed to across from her. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head a little, as if to snap out of whatever thoughts were on her mind.
"Lo-is."
"Really, I'm okay. I just never expected a puff piece to, well, have such an emotional aspect. I mean, I know they can, but I'm usually so distanced from it."
"Because of...you know?" he asked in a near whisper, mindful of the fact that Lois didn't want anyone in her family to know about the pregnancy.
"Maybe. Maybe it's just because the man I love's parents could have been those people there today. And to see them met with such...such...hate..." She shook her head.
"People fear and hate what they don't understand," Clark said softly. "They think their way of life, their way of thinking, is the only way. Unfortunately, that sometimes leads to things like this."
"I felt," she said, hesitantly and shaking her head, "like an intruder there today. Like I wasn't welcome there, even though most of the people I spoke with were perfectly nice and cordial, and even though I know that none of them could possibly know anything about me. They all want the one thing I'm not sure I can accept in my life right now." She sounded extremely guilty.
Clark nodded thoughtfully. "I can understand that." He wasn't sure what else he could say to ease Lois' guilt. "I guess we all feel like that, once in a while. We all have what someone else wants - we might feel guilty over hating our job when a friend is unemployed, or complain about how overcooked our steak was even as we pass by a homeless person in the streets. I don't think any of us are immune to it. Not even Superman, I'd wager. But Lois, our situation...it's nothing to feel guilty about. What those people are going through..." he shook his head lightly as he took her hand in his, "it's unfortunate, yes. But it's also something that, hopefully, most of them will be able to finally beat, with the help of those doctors."
Lois sighed heavily. "I know. But it still doesn't make me feel any less bad for contemplating, uh, ending things."
Clark nodded. "I know," he said in a whispered voice.
"Did Superman weigh in on it?" she asked, in an attempt to change the topic. "The fight, that is."
Clark shook his head. "He didn't say a word to any of the press who stuck around. But he did burn the protesters' signs. So I guess it's safe to assume he didn't like their messages."
"Good," Lois said grimly.
***
"Mom? Dad?" Clark called softly as he knocked on the front door of his parent's farmhouse.
It was late at night, later than Clark usually came to visit. He hoped they weren't yet in bed. He hated to wake them or bother them in any way. But he had to talk to them. He had to let them know about the changes that were taking place in his life. He wanted their guidance. He needed their approval. He craved their opinions.
And yet, he was afraid.
He was afraid that they wouldn't understand. Afraid that they might be disappointed in him. Afraid they might think that he was doing the wrong thing.
Irrational fears, he knew.
His parents had never been anything but supportive and understanding of the choices he'd made in his life thus far. They had rallied around him in support when his powers had first begun to manifest and he'd made the decision, on his own, to never tell another soul. They'd been heartbroken but understanding when he'd felt the need to move on from the farmlands of his youth to travel the world in search of a place where he felt he was meant to be. They'd approved of his choice to become Superman - had even made his costumes for him - despite their own fears for his safety once he went public, showing the world that an alien walked amongst them.
Still, those decisions had been one thing. This was another. He'd always strived to be the perfect son. He'd always tried to do things according to the moral code his parents had instilled in him, and that he'd developed on his own as he'd grown. Part of that code, for him, was to never sleep with a woman who didn't know about his super side, and, if possible, not lay with anyone at all until his wedding night.
Now he was about to tell his parents that he might have gotten a girl pregnant. Not just any girl, but his best friend and work partner. Not just outside of marriage either, but before they'd even begun to date.
True, he was a grown man who could make his own decisions and who could deal with the consequences of those actions. It was also true that his lapse in judgment hadn't completely been his fault. At least some of that fell on Miranda's shoulders, between the red Kryptonite choker she'd worn and the pheromone based perfume she'd concocted. But, ultimately, he had been the one to give in to that problematic combination.
He felt embarrassed, small, and oddly young - almost as though he were sixteen and confessing to having gotten a classmate pregnant.
"Clark?"
Martha appeared at the door, already in her pajamas with a soft, baby pink bathrobe tied around her. Just behind her, Clark could see his father, also apparently in his pajamas, a red and black plaid robe on. Martha hurriedly unlocked the storm door to let Clark in.
"Hi," Clark said, ducking his head a bit in embarrassment. "Sorry it's so late. I didn't wake you guys, did I?"
"No," Jonathan said with a quick shake of his head. "We were up. Actually, we were watching the news. They were showing footage of that fire you put out in Brazil. Nice work."
"Thanks," Clark said distractedly.
Martha picked right up on his mood. She hugged him tightly, asking, "Is everything all right?"
"Kind of," Clark said. "I need to talk to you guys about something."
"Something...big?" Jonathan asked as he hugged his son in turn.
"You...could say that," Clark said, choosing his words carefully.
"Come on into the kitchen," Martha said. "I'll make some tea."
"I'd like that," Clark said, mostly because tea was usually accompanied by his mother's home-made cookies. That, and it would buy him a little time.
In the kitchen, Clark got out the mugs and spoons while his mother put the kettle on the burner. He chose a bag of oolong tea for himself, and measured out two spoonfuls of sugar into his mug. Then he sat at the table where he studied the grain of the wood as though it had become the most fascinating thing in the world. A mere two minutes later, the tea kettle whistled and Martha poured the hot water into the mugs. She brought them to the table along with a plate of what appeared to be freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
"Thanks, Mom," Clark said as he toyed with the tea bag string, making the bag in the water rise and fall in an effort to make the flavor steep faster.
"So, what's this all about? And how can we help?" Martha asked.
"You know how Lois and I have been going out for the last two and a half months," he began, unsure of where else to start.
Martha nodded, "Of course, dear. You know your father and I are thrilled for you."
"I want to marry her," Clark found himself saying in a soft, almost whispered voice.
"Clark, that's wonderful news!" Jonathan said, excitedly slapping Clark on the back.
"It's a bit sudden, don't you think?" Martha asked, folding her hands around a cup of steaming Earl Grey.
"Yes and no. I've known since I first met her that she was the woman for me," Clark said. "But I also know and appreciate how early it is into our relationship. That's why I haven't even discussed the possibility of marriage with her yet. Soon though, I think. At least, I hope."
"Do you need help? With the ring?" Jonathan asked, confused, it seemed, by why Clark was so quiet about such good news.
"Oh, no," Clark said quickly, dispelling the thought. "I've been saving for a while. I've got more than enough for the kind of ring I've been thinking about, plus some extra for a wedding if she says yes."
"So, then, why do you seem so...nervous?" Jonathan asked, searching for the right words.
"Well," Clark said, dragging the word out somewhat, "there is one, ah, complication."
"You need to tell her about Superman," Martha said knowingly.
"I, uh...well, two complications," Clark conceded. "I'm still not ready to tell Lois the truth about Superman. Not yet. I have to know that she would be answering Clark's proposal, not Superman's. I need to know that she's choosing the man, not the powers."
"You said that she loves you," Martha reminded him.
"She does. And I'm thankful for that. But, I have to be sure."
"You mentioned another complication?" Jonathan said, his voice making the statement into a slight question.
Clark dropped his eyes to the table again as he nodded. "Yeah," he said, pausing to sip at his tea. "It actually ties in to why I can't tell her about myself yet."
"Well?" his mother prodded.
"It's ah...Lois is...we're..." he stammered, feeling heat creep up his neck and into his face as he blushed. "Lois is pregnant."
For a moment, all his parents did was stare at him and blink. He wondered briefly if they'd slipped into shock.
"Pregnant?" Jonathan said, as though the word was foreign.
"Yeah," Clark said, giving a single, shallow nod. "And I might be the father."
"Might be?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow as he drank from his mug. "You don't know for sure?"
"Well, it's like this," Clark said, mentally preparing himself for the explanation. "You know what happened between Lois and Luthor. How he attacked her."
Martha nodded as she bit into a cookie. "Of course."
"Well, that happened the night before Lois and I..." He gestured vaguely, hoping to get his point across. "Remember how I told you about that woman with the pheromone perfume? The one who made the newsroom go crazy in lust?"
"Mmm-hmm," they both said together, nearly in synch.
"I didn't tell you all of it. I was too embarrassed, and, honestly, it was something very private. But, the truth is, Lois and I both got hit with the spray," Clark said. He took a cookie from the plate and studied the random pattern of chocolate chips. "It affected us both. Lois a little more deeply than me, but I still found myself losing my grip on my self control. By the time we left work for the day, neither of us had any restraint left and things...happened."
"Wait," Jonathan said, holding up a hand like a traffic cop motioning for a car to stop. "How did it affect you? You're different from other people."
Clark bit into the cookie. As always, it was, he thought, like tasting a piece of Heaven. "She had this choker that she wore. It had this red gem...at least, I thought it was a gem. It wasn't until later that I got a chance to really look at it. It was a piece of Kryptonite...some weird red kind that I've never seen before. All I know is that I didn't get sick, the way I do when I'm exposed to the green kind. I did feel strangely though. I can't really describe it. I guess it made me vulnerable to the chemicals in the perfume, just like a normal person would be."
"So..." Martha began, at a loss for words it seemed.
"So..." he repeated after her, trying to fill the awkward silence, "I can't be sure that I'm the father." It was so difficult to admit those words out loud, as if saying them would make it true that Luthor was the biological father. "At least, I don't know if I'm the biological father," he amended after a moment. "But I will be the father, if Lois chooses to keep the baby."
"She's not sure yet?" Martha asked softly.
Clark hung his head as he shook it. "No. Not yet."
"Because of the circumstances?" his mother asked, still in a soft, concerned voice.
"Partly," Clark admitted. "At least, a huge part of it is the not knowing. I know she also isn't sure she wants to be a mother."
He could see the concealed hurt in his mother's eyes. He'd seen it before. When people spoke of not wanting to be a mother, it was difficult for Martha to empathize, despite her best efforts. She was a woman who'd always dreamed of having a large family, only to find out that she would never be able to conceive and carry a child of her own. It seemed so cruel to all of the Kents, Clark included, that there could be those who would give anything for a child who couldn't have one while others could have all the children they wanted and not want a single one of them.
"We haven't been dating that long," Clark quickly tried to add, to lessen the sting, but unsure if he was digging the wound a little deeper. "And she's just so career driven right now. I think she does want kids, eventually. But finding out that she's expecting right now...it's got her terrified and unsure of herself."
Martha nodded. "I can understand that, in part. The night we found you, I felt scared too. Scared you'd be taken away from us. Scared that, even though we'd spent many years and shed innumerable tears trying to have a baby, well...that I wasn't completely ready. What did I know of taking care of an infant? But it all passed the moment you grabbed my finger and looked me in the eyes. It was like you were telling me that everything would be okay, that we'd figure things out together."
"So, you think Lois will come around to the idea?" he asked, studying the steam that was lazily curling upward from his mug.
"That's not what I'm saying at all," Martha replied.
"Mom," he said, exasperated.
"All I'm saying is...it's normal to be a little afraid. Everything changes when you have a baby. Not just the woman's body. Priorities change. Sleeping patterns change. Even the way you speak. Nothing is the same. But...when you see that child...none of that matters. A bond forms."
"I hope so," Clark said in a low, almost sad, voice. "Because I know she's kind of, well, freaking out about this."
"Does she know you're telling us?" Jonathan wanted to know.
Clark nodded twice. "I didn't want to say anything to you yet. Not until I knew for sure if you guys were going to be grandparents. But she wanted me to tell you. She wanted your advice and words of wisdom."
"And her parents?" his father prodded.
"She's too nervous to say anything yet. Lois' family...they aren't like you guys. They've always been a little harder on her. Her mom is into appearances - even though she's divorced, she wants to be seen as the perfect family. Lois is afraid of what she might say about a pregnancy out of wedlock and a potential termination." He still couldn't make himself use the word "abortion" in front of his parents. Mentally, he felt as though "termination" somehow softened the idea of ending the pregnancy, though he could not have given a reason why. "And her dad..." he shrugged. "She doesn't have much of a relationship with him. She hasn't for a long time. His affairs were what broke up the marriage, and he always regretted that Lois and her sister weren't boys."
He saw Jonathan bristle at that, but that was all the older man allowed himself to do. Complaining about Sam's behavior and thoughts would serve no purpose.
"So...that's where we are now," Clark said after a lapse into silence. "Lois is pregnant. We don't know who the father is right now. She's not sure if she wants to keep it anyway. If she does, I've sworn to be the only father the baby knows. She trusts you guys to be the calm and accepting ones. She's afraid of her family's reaction - except for her sister, who already knows. I want to marry Lois, but don't want it to look like a shotgun proposal to her. And, she has no idea that I'm Superman because I have no idea how to break that news to her, nor do I want that fact to influence her decision at all."
"You're going to need to," Martha said thoughtfully. "Not just if you want to marry her."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked.
"Well, if this is your biological child, he or she may develop powers of their own."
It was as if a bolt of lightning shot through Clark's body, searing all other thought out of him. Of course! How could he have overlooked that fact?
"Clark?" Jonathan asked, concerned, as he peered at his son's ashen face.
"I...I never thought of that," Clark confessed slowly, as if waking from a daze.
This is going to be harder than I thought, when I finally tell Lois the truth, he thought to himself.
"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves a little bit," Jonathan said. "Clark, you know you're different from the rest of the people on this planet. I don't want to sound harsh...but, we don't even know for sure that you can father children with an ordinary person."
She's far from ordinary, he wanted to say. But his father was right. No one knew for sure if alien and human DNA could create another little life.
"I think I can find out," he finally said as his mind whirled.
"Yeah?" his father prodded.
"Dr. Klein," Clark offered as an explanation. "He knows everything else there is to know about Superman. I could visit him while in the suit and see if he can run some tests for me, under the guise of curiosity only. I'm sure he'd enjoy having yet more information on the Man of Steel. He seems fascinated by Superman's physiology. He's even run tests just to see how different Superman's blood is to a regular person's. Granted, that information might one day save my life, but I still think it wouldn't bother him to study one more aspect of the alien superhero. Although," he said, blushing a little, "it is pretty embarrassing."
"Son," Jonathan said slowly, as if choosing his words with great care. He put one sturdy hand on Clark's shoulder. "Are you sure that's a road you want to take? What if the results aren't what you hope for?"
Clark hung his head for a moment, thinking. After a minute, he lifted his head again in a sudden decision and determination. "I need to know. So does Lois. If I can't give her children, she needs to know that before we can take our relationship anywhere near the idea of marriage."
Jonathan nodded approvingly. "Okay then. As long as you're sure."
"I am." He took another cookie, dunked it in his tea, and ate it. "So, how disappointed are you guys?"
"Disappointed?" Martha asked, as though the word held some unknown meaning.
Clark shrugged. "I know you've always wanted to see me settle down and have a family of my own. But, let's face it, this is not the way you've imagined it, I'm sure."
Martha smiled gently and laughed. "Clark, you could never disappoint us. Oh, the situation isn't ideal because of what happened with Lex Luthor, but I'm proud of you."
"Proud? For falling victim to a perfume spray and potentially getting a woman pregnant outside of marriage?"
"No," Martha said with an amused twinkle in her eye. "For being the kind of man who's standing by his girlfriend during one of the scariest times of her life. For being ready to step up and care for this child, regardless of his or her parentage."
Clark bowed his head, speechless for the moment. He'd known his parents would be supportive, but he'd still harbored a shred of fear that he'd disappoint them. Instead, they were proud of him.
"I really hope you get to be grandparents," he said softly. "I'm so afraid that Lois might not keep the baby. I don't know if I can handle that - knowing that a child I might have fathered never got a chance to live...or might be living with total strangers if she chooses adoption."
"Have you told her this?" Martha asked.
"No," he replied, shaking his head sadly. "I can't. I don't want to pressure her in any way. I don't want her to feel like she has to choose to keep the baby. That's why she can't know that I'm Superman, not yet. Imagine the pressure of having to decide whether or not to keep a child that might be his!"
"Good point," Jonathan conceded. "But imagine how she'll feel afterward, if she doesn't keep the pregnancy."
"It's a lose-lose," Clark agreed unhappily.
"What can we do, son?" his father asked, again putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"There's nothing you can do, Dad. I have to figure this out on my own."
"Do you want us there, after you come clean to Lois?" Martha offered.
"I think I'd prefer to handle it on my own," Clark replied after a several seconds of silence.
Maybe I should leave them my last wishes for my funeral, he thought unhappily. Because I have a feeling Lois is going to kill me.
***
"Morning," Clark said, bringing his usual offering of coffee and a donut to Lois' desk.
"Morning," Lois said. "I tried calling you last night."
"I was with my folks," he said absently.
"With your folks?" she repeated.
Too late, Clark caught his mistake. "Uh, yeah," he said, trying to brush it off. "I, uh...I happened to see Superman last night. He flew me out to my folk's house so I could talk to them in person. About, well, you know," he said cagily, ever mindful that certain members of the Daily Planet staff might overhear them.
Lois nodded, appearing to buy his half-truth. "How'd they take the news?"
"Surprisingly well," he admitted in a whispered voice. He sat on the edge of her desk and took a bite of the plain cake donut he'd swiped for himself from the break area.
"They weren't...I don't know. Disappointed? Put off by the whole non-traditional aspect of this?"
Clark shook his head. "No. They seemed perfectly accepting of it. Even a little excited over the small chance that they might become...you know." He couldn't say grandparents, not here.
"But they do know that's not likely," Lois asked.
Clark nodded shallowly. "Of course."
"But other than that...?"
"They didn't have much, in terms of advice," he said. "They've never been in our situation. But Mom did say that even for her, the idea of becoming...you know... was scary for her at first, even though she'd spent her whole life wanting it."
"She did?" Was Clark imagining it, or did Lois sound a little relieved to hear that?
"She said it was brief, just a moment or two as she first saw me, but then it was gone. She knew things would have a way of working out. Lucky for me, she was right."
"That's all?" She sounded hopeful that Martha had somehow bestowed the secrets of the universe on Clark.
"Pretty much," he said, hating the crushed look on her face. "She said that you can call her any time you want to though."
Lois nodded distractedly. "That's nice of her."
"She wants to help. They both do," Clark said in a soft, kind voice.
"No opinions on what she would do, if she was in my shoes?" It was almost as if Lois hoped someone would tell her what the best course of action would be.
"Sorry," Clark said apologetically. "But remember, her life experiences are a little different than yours."
"True," Lois admitted with a sigh.
"Look, I have a few errands that I need to run after work today. It shouldn't take me long. We can have dinner and talk about this in more detail then. Okay?"
"I wish I could," Lois said. "But I promised Lucy I'd meet her new boyfriend tonight."
"New boyfriend? I thought she wasn't seeing anyone?"
"Oh, she wasn't. Until three days ago. He's in a biker gang." The sarcasm dripping from her lips was as thick as honey. "He just got out of jail for narcotics possession. Great, huh?"
Clark made a face as if to say "yikes" but didn't make a sound.
Lois rolled her eyes. "It's going to take more than one drink to get through the night. And I can't even do that."
"You want me to come with you?" Clark asked.
"Could you?" she asked in an almost childlike voice.
Clark grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. What time do you need me there?"
"Seven. Casey's Pub."
"I'll be there," he promised.
***
Clark flew through the darkening sky at a speed that fell somewhere between leisurely and urgently. He was well aware of how long he had before he needed to meet up with Lois, Lucy, and Lucy's new boyfriend. On the other hand, he was exceedingly nervous about his upcoming meeting with Dr. Klein. He wasn't sure what would be required of him, and what wouldn't be. It was making his stomach churn. Admitting to Dr. Klein, even as discreet as the man was, that he wanted to one day father children was scary, because it made Superman so vulnerably human.
It has to be done, he reminded himself with a mental sigh. Whatever the results are, I owe it to Lois and myself to find out the truth. I need to know if there's even a chance that this child is mine. I need to know if I can have others in the future, regardless of Lois' decision to keep this baby or not.
Before long, S.T.A.R. Labs came into view. Clark hovered for a long few minutes, gathering up his courage, before he finally descended in a slow, graceful angle. He approached the front door and a guard buzzed him in without Clark needing to ask. He nodded his thanks before finding his way to Dr. Klein's office. Again, he hesitated before knocking, but only for a few seconds.
"Just a second!" he heard Dr. Klein call from within. A second later, Clark heard something explode.
"Dr. Klein?" he asked, opening the door a crack. "Is everything all right?"
"Oh, Superman," the doctor said with a cursory glance up. "Come in."
"I heard something explode," Clark offered, as a way to skirt his real reason for visiting, even if only for a minute.
"That?" Dr. Klein said, grabbing a well-used towel and wiping up his work bench. "I overheated a beaker. I'm working on this new...well...never mind. I'm sure it's less important than why you're here."
Clark grabbed a broom from where it leaned against the wall and swept up the pieces of glass on the floor. "I wouldn't call it important, exactly," he said as he worked.
"So, this is a social call?"
"Not exactly," Clark said, feeling heat rise in his cheeks as he used a dustpan to pick up the glass and put it in the closest trash bin. "Can we talk? Privately?" He glanced around, even though no one else was in the room with them.
"Of course," Dr. Klein said, sitting down on the stool next to him. "Thanks for doing that, by the way." He gestured to the glass Clark had picked up. "What's on your mind?"
Clark put the broom back where he'd gotten it from and leaned a hip against the work bench. "It's kind of a personal thing."
"Whatever it is, you know I'll keep your confidence."
"I know," he said with a nod. "The thing is...you've run numerous batteries of tests on me."
"Mmm-hmm."
"You know how my body works better than anyone else on this planet."
"It's been a privilege," the doctor said, seeming to be slightly confused.
"Well, there's one thing that we've never really discussed," Clark hedged. "Something that I've been wondering about recently."
Dr. Klein furrowed his brow. "I'm nowhere near ready to experiment with the idea of a Kryptonite vaccine," he said, lowering his voice.
"Not that," Clark quickly corrected him. "Something else completely."
"Oh." Was Clark imagining it, or did Dr. Klein sound very relieved that Superman wasn't looking for the vaccine? "It's not that I haven't thought about it," the man began to ramble, "but I've been under so much stress here with the entire place being in upheaval since the department chair quit and..."
"Dr. Klein," Clark interrupted as politely as he could. "Really, I'm not here about that. I understand that it may take years before we're anywhere near ready to test that. And that's it's only a theory, not a guarantee that we'll even come up with one."
Dr. Klein took a breath and nodded. "So, then, what can I do for you today?"
"I need some more, uh, personal tests conducted. Ones that are strictly between you and me."
"That shouldn't be too difficult. Half the department is out sick with the flu, even though flu season is over. The other half is too overworked to wonder what I'm up to. What do you need?"
"Well," Clark said, rubbing the back of his neck in a very uncharacteristic move for Superman. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately."
"About?" Dr. Klein prompted when Clark didn't elaborate further.
"Well," he repeated, drawing the word out. "I'm not saying that it's something that is of immediate concern, but I want to know...if I were to date and get serious with a woman...could I...father a child? With an Earth woman, I mean."
"I...oh," the man replied, his entire face changing to reflect his shock at being asked such a question. "Are you...?"
"Just curious," Clark replied, not wanting to flat out lie to the man. "But, lately, it's been on my mind more and more."
Dr. Klein scratched the back of his neck. "It should be simple enough to find out," he reasoned, sounding like he was talking more to himself than to Clark at the moment. "I can run a few simple tests, and should have the results for you in...say...a week? In the meantime, I, uh, would recommend that you, uh, protect yourself, if you are, um, going to be, uh, intimate with anyone. Earthly diseases can't affect you but until we know more, we have to assume that you can potentially get someone pregnant."
"Sounds good," Clark said haltingly as he realized just how uncomfortable Dr. Klein was, discussing birth control with him. "What do you need from me?"
"Well, not to put too fine a point on it, I need a sample of your DNA."
"Okay," Clark said. "Let's do it then."
Dr. Klein rummaged around in a supply closet for a moment, only to emerge with a sterile cup in his hand. He gave it to Clark, who peered at it for a moment, uncomprehendingly. He'd thought a simple blood test could tell him what he needed to know.
"I'll need you to, ah, deposit a sample of your, ah, genetic material in the cup," Dr. Klein said, his face going almost fuchsia. "There's a room down the hall, third door on the left, that you can use."
"Ah...okay," Clark said, fighting hard not to blush.
This is more embarrassing than I thought it would be.
"There are some, uh, materials in there, if you need the, um, inspiration," Dr. Klein added, not making any eye contact at all. In fact, he appeared to be studying the tiles on the floor. "Magazines and movies, to be exact."
"Thanks," Clark said in as neutral a tone as he could muster.
And here I thought admitting to my folks that I might have fathered a child out of wedlock would be the worst of it, he thought with a resigned sigh as he went to produce the sample Dr. Klein required of him.
To Be Continued...
