Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this but in the last three weeks I've had THREE computers and an ITouch go TU. Thank goodness for backups.

Delighted to see you back with this tale.

For those who have forgotten it, Part 1

I am delighted to see you using the Smart Kids. I know others don't like it, and the series never followed up on it but I enjoyed it and hope to see you forge a permanent relationship between Lois and the two Valdes children.

I reluctantly admit that I'm one of those who doesn't care for the smart kids story. But if Dandello is working on it... well, that's OK then.

What I want to know is, where is Clark?

Clark is... well, elsewhere.

I'm not too fond of the Smart Kids either.

I am, however, helplessly fascinated by the idea of Lois getting pregnant with Clark's child without Clark realizing. I think my hangup here has something to do with the trauma I suffered after seeing "Superman II", where Superman/Clark had sex with Lois and then not only dumped her, but took away her memory of the whole thing, too. I hoped so intensely that Superman would come back to her, and the best way to make it happen, I finally concluded, was if Lois was pregnant.

Anyway, I think that is why I'm such a sucker for stories where Lois is pregnant with Clark's child, and Clark doesn't even know. I'm quite prepared to put up with the Smart Kids to see how the story of Lois's pregnancy will unfold.

(And besides... the Smart Kids angle wasn't bad here. I liked Lois's interaction with Aymee.)

Ann

Oooh, update!

I can't wait to find out what angle you're going for. Will Lois stay in Universe 2? Will Clark 2 pick up Clark 1's slack? Will the Smart Kids give Lois a new and unique angle to being a parent? (I'm guessing that's why you chose this episode). What will happen during this time's PML?

Michael

So, I’m reading along and Lois is contemplating what to do about her pregnancy. Now, I’m pro-life, so I know what my decision would be, but I am not naïve enough to assume every story I read will have Lois agreeing with my point of view on this issue. In fact, I cannot recall a single story in which Lois is explicitly declared to be pro-life. Most authors allow that, although abortion is not for Lois, she certainly understands how other women might consider it. Even so, I have to admit that I was totally unprepared for what you wrote.

Talk about being blind-sided. Out of seemingly nowhere comes this attack in which Lois (you) basically misstates my side's motives (implying they are based on misogyny), misstates our positions (claiming we oppose the medical care necessary for women to deliver healthy children, when in fact what we oppose is a medical procedure designed to dismember and kill said children), misstates the facts concerning the numerous pro-life groups which do, in fact, provide for the care and support of unwanted children, brings up the bombers of abortion clinics as a sort of missing-link between pro-lifers and the Taliban, and, well, pretty much tells me to my face that I, and my opinions, sicken her/you.

If the point of this particular story is to take a moral stand on abortion, and let your readers know in no uncertain terms what your feelings are, then you have achieved your purpose. You may feel strongly enough about this issue that you don’t mind losing a few readers; you are going to tell pro-lifers what you think about them and let the chips fall where they may. That is certainly your right.

However, on the chance that the purpose of the fiction was to explore the Lois/alt-Lois switch scenario, the pregnancy, the child’s birth, the relationship with Clark, etc., etc., then I feel it is important for me to let you know that you have unnecessarily antagonized no small number of your readers with, in my opinion, completely gratuitous insults that do not add to the storyline and only serve to alienate.

I wholeheartedly agree with everything Vicki said.

I, too, am pro-life, but I do recognize that given Lois' outlook in general, it is very much in character for her to be pro-choice, and I have no trouble with her so being in a piece of fanfic. In fact, that is how I would portray her myself should the need arise in any of my own writing. But having a character be pro-choice is one thing, having her distorting the pro-life view so blatantly when there is no compelling plot-related reason for doing so is another thing entirely.

Except for that passage, I have been enjoying your story and intend to keep reading it, but I would have been a lot happier with it had the anti-pro-life diatribe not been included.

Joy,
Lynn

To defend Lois - and to a lesser extent myself - Lois's experiences with 'pro-lifers' will have been with the extremists. Not the people providing free counseling and free or low cost health care and support (I donate money to a local center that does just that) but those who bomb clinics and murder women's doctors.

And frankly, what many people see of those claiming to be anti-abortion is just the extremists who would deny a twelve-year-old incest victim the ability to not have a baby that might well kill her.

Extremism in any form does a profound disservice to those who are quietly doing what they can to make the world a better place.

That said, I will try to find a place in the next section where Lois can go into a little more depth on why she feels so militant.

Thank you. I had been looking forward to the next post anyway, but I am looking forward to it even more so now.

Joy,
Lynn

Now I'm really curious as to how this is going to wrap up in one part.

I, too, found the pro-choice soap box (even as internal monologue) distracting, not because I think a pro-choice position out of character for Lois (I don't), but because it seemed gratuitous to the story. If I'd been beta-reading this part, I would have suggested a simple "Lois was a firm believer in a woman's right to choose, but when it came right down to her own situation, she just wasn't ready to choose the obvious option," or something to that effect. I think that would allow the story to keep flowing more smoothly. Something to think about if you edit for the archives. (Or, if you have a story-related reason for the more in-depth exploration of her thought processes, to move it up to this section. It needs some kind of explanation.)

I love how this Lois is taking advantage of her foreknowledge in her various investigations. She also seems more comfortable dealing with Amyee and Inez than she did the first time around. Maybe her previous experience gave her more confidence, or just more experience since she already knows these kids.

It must have been very disorienting for Lois to think she remembers things that nobody else remembers. This Lois is not familiar with time travel, Mr. Wells, or Tempus, so she has no reason not to think she's having a mental breakdown. And then, the first objective evidence she has that her memories are correct is a pregnancy! Talk about a curve ball! As she moves through the weeks and encounters investigations for the second time, that must further confirm her time travel theory, although she still would have no idea how it could even be possible. Meanwhile, has she noticed that she is not only back in time but also in a different world? Just how different is this world?

Reading on to find out.

P.S. I loved Jimmy's line about a misspent youth.