Back from seeing Aladdin on Broadway. If you get the opportunity to see it - DO. It was amazing!

Glad you had a great time!

I just read the posting and while a lot slower than the previous postings it had a number of poignant moments.

Of course number one of the list was when Clark learned of whose heart he received.

Will post more once I have had a chance to get some sleep and re-read the posting.

Mike

Awesome story, DC. I had to read it in one sitting and it really packed a punch. That's going to be on the list for the Kerths.

Artemis

Woo-Hoo!!! Awesome, DC--great part, and.....CLARK SURVIVED! What a relief . I really loved the first few minutes when Clark woke up. His line about wondering just how long he was out (b/c Lois was holding a baby) was great. I really thought you wrote Clark finding out about Ching and his heart being used for the transplant well. I was so curious as to how Clark would take the news.

And the paragraph from Lois' POV about Clark's smile was so great. Very touching:


I really liked using 'David' in the baby's name. Great idea and such a poignant way to honor Ching and his life. And I'm really glad that Superman addressed the crowd to squelch any rumors about him leaving/etc. I think it had to be done.

Looking forward to #10

Laura

Welcome back, DC.

*Happy sigh*. Both the characters and the readers get a mostly-happy (Only "mostly" because what happened to Ching and to NK are still on everyone's minds.) and thoroughly satisfying almost-ending. I'm guessing we'll get to meet Christopher David in the final part of the story.

I'm already looking forward to WAFFy ending.

Joy,
Lynn

One of the problems with reading the post early this morning was that it was difficult to catch all of the intricacies you put in this chapter. After the breakneck pace of the previous chapters this one was much slower and thought provoking. As I said last night (early this morning), full of poignant moments/passages some of which mentioned here.

Lois's response to the incision was telling to me, first the revulsion at the blood and then this passage which was monumental to me.

I also loved his confusion over Lois holding the baby and wondering if he missed the birth of his child while he was unconscious.

And

(I did not quote the next paragraph as Laura already did).

I like Lynn am looking forward to the WAFFY Part 10 .

I guess I could remain confused as to his superstate both before, during, and after the surgery and about the impact of Kryptonite exposure during the surgery or I could just enjoy the story .


Mike

I loved the way you explained the feeling of the pregnancy, like calling it a "Riverdance routine" and "using my bladder for a trampoline." My experience was a long time ago, but I still remember it in detail.

Artemis

I'm glad Clark is okay. I'm looking forward to the final part.

Thanks, Mike. I'm a Disney addict and expect greatness from everything they do. But this blew my mind.

Wow, that's high praise! Thank you! Hope you like the final chapter as well.

Thank you, Laura. You touched upon some of the parts that I loved writing. That smile truly is to die for! And I thought the baby stuff would lighten the mood, considering all the stuff I put the characters through.

Thanks, Lynn! You will, indeed, get to meet the kiddo in the next part. Poor Clark at this point though. Now he knows for sure he's Krypton's last living son.

Thanks for the kind words, Mike. Again, the parts mentioned were some of my personal favorites as well.

Clark would have been less than super during this time. Especially after his surgery because he's been exposed to the green K. (As mentioned, it took a couple of weeks to get back up to speed.) He's also been exposed prior to then for blood draws. So, he's pretty unsuper while in the hospital.

Thanks! That's how I felt - granted, my only experience so far has been with two in there!

Thanks! Very soon, I promise!

Hi DC:
I'm sure I will. The hard part is past us. I was really wondering how Clark was going to get a Kryptonian heart. A minor curiosity - what was the deal with the strange pen with purple ink that Lois found and then was discarded on the floor. I stopped reading overnight on that chapter and in the night thought that the pen had some significance. That somehow it was linked to his heart condition and when she made tight circles with it that it caused his heart attack. But I was happier with the much better explanation you had.
I feel sorry for Zara. She and Kala - love the name - are going to have to live on Earth and she will need a job.
Seems like a sequel would be interesting too.
regards
Artemis
P.S. I forgot to say I agree with all the wonderful things the other posters said too.

Great Part! The only problem I see is Superman called a press conference to say nothing. Sure he revealed the reason for his absence was intensely personal, but would go no further. No doubt that might cause another reporter to try and dig deeper. That could lead to lots of problems.

That guy from the Dirt Digger has some nerve saying that Superman used his 'celebrity' to move Clark up to the top of the transplant list. What a creep. Glad Clark answered that little question quickly!

Only one more part to go! Sniff! Sniff!

I agree with Morgana, Clark did not call a Press Conference to announce he would be going away so why did he feel the need to announce he was back from somewhere he would not reveal anyway? I always was curious how him having the heart attack in public in Part 1 was hushed up but it never came up. Again it would seem as though the press conference might even bring out the heart issue from Part 1 making the connection between Superman's heart problem and Clark needing a transplant even greater. That and the only thing accomplished plot wise by the news conference was him making a point that HE had nothing to do with Clark getting a heart. The Dirt Digger guy really had nothing anyway as Clark was on life support for a few months (I will get to that in a bit) which puts him up the list over people who are getting along with their damaged heart but not on life support, that plus his age of around 30 makes him an ideal candidate (if he wasn't Kryptonian). How long he was out... Well Lois claimed he was out a few weeks but earlier (the previous part) she claimed that she was 7 months along and just prior to Clark having the first heart attack they had the ultrasound that determined the health/progress/sex of the baby and as everyone said that takes place late in the first trimester or very early in the second so she was 3 to 4 months along when the first heart attack occurred and 7 months along when the surgery took place. The period of time between the first attack and the final attack appeared to only be a week or so. That would make it more like around 2 to 3 months he was out according to my math and of course the longer on life support the worse the prognosis tends to be unless you happen to be Superman. Of course Lois's specific comment was that he had been out a few weeks so that could have been 10-12 weeks if she was trying to soft pedal it. At lot of those things would have pushed Clark up the list if he could have had a human heart so the Dirt Digger guy did not have much if any case. Of course you folks will correct me if I am wrong or .

Again I did not see the need for the press conference or why Clark would even put one on especially since he really did not have much of a story to tell...

Mike

Thanks! The pen was just a neat little detail that I thought could be fun for Clark to take note of. He's just observing everything and anything around him, especially whatever is connected to Lois, because he's constantly sure it will be the last thing he ever gets to observe before he dies.

Thanks, Morgana!

Clark had the press conference mostly to announce to the world (read: criminal circuit) that he's around, that the rescue Superman made was actually real, and not a faked thing to make it look like he's around.

Anatomy scans take place around the 20th week of pregnancy. So Lois was 5 months along, give or take. (She could have had it a week or two after the 20th week mark or a week or two prior).

Figure two or three weeks between the first and second heart attacks. (I said "days turned into weeks.) A week the shortest.

Three weeks pass between Clark coding and Sam suggesting they start to think about when to pull the plug. Two more weeks pass between that conversation and Clark's surgery. Five weeks total pass just while he's on life support.

So...yeah, Lois would be in the vicinity of 7 months pregnant.

The Dirt Digger guy was just being a smarmy pain, looking for, well, dirt.

Well, I guess I'll chime in and say I liked the press conference scene. It was rather symmetrical with the show when Clark went up to the NK ship. That was referenced with Jonathan and Martha's comments in this story. Clark just wanted to show that Superman was healthy and back on duty. Since Clark was still "recuperating" that separated the identities more.
Since I've successfully experienced pregnancy twice, I'll also give kudos to Lois for holding it all together. Those hormones are no joke even when they are 100% human, let alone influenced by a half Kryptonian baby.
Now just wait until Christopher David Kent is born and asserts his independence with his folks! I really think a sequel would be good for this story.

Artemis

Thanks, Artemis! I couldn't have Clark NOT address the world. But I couldn't let him give away too much. And I'm sure that there would be murmurs of his collapse after the bridge rescue. The fact that he's around and back in action while Clark is still out of commission does help separate the two, in case anyone thought it odd that both men, especially such close friends, were both missing at the same time.

I have to say, I got off easy with my pregnancy. I was hormonal, sure, but not crazy bad. Things just ticked me off far quicker than they normally do!

Just one other thought. How is Clark going to explain the lack of a scar after a heart transplant? He is never going to go shirtless in front of anyone but Lois and their parents again? He will have to be careful not to slip up and forget. Sounds like Lois would like him to have a scar to remind the two of them of this experience.

Mike

I'm actually leaving him with a faint scar. (You'll see in the next chapter.) I thought it would be cool/evil/sad for him to have that constant reminder that his friend died but was about to save his life in doing so. (Clark's not happy about the reminder, now he's barely speaking to me.)

Yeah but as I said Lois is certainly speaking to you. "LEAVE THE SCAR!!!", oops

I have two good friends that have had open heart surgery and the scar is quite obvious. If the scar fades then Clark would have to hide the lack of a scar the remainder of his life (at least this one) to keep his secret. I guess that could open up possibilities in the area of follow on stories but this story has so many possibilities in the follow on area already...

That I believe is a huge strength of the story, the many different situations you had coming at both Lois and Clark almost at the same time. I will have to wait for Part 10 to see how many of those you wrap up and how many remain hanging out there as opportunities for follow up stories.

Mike

Lois is happy with the scar. She's mad at me for one of the other stories I'm working on though.

Yes, Clark will probably have to embellish his scar if he's ever, say, at the beach with Jimmy. (I do believe I call it "nearly invisible" in the next chapter, or close enough.) At least he's not in danger of showing it off as Superman though!

Hope you enjoy the next part!

It's amazing in modern medicine that scars become nearly invisible when they age for a while,so I don't think you have to do much embellishment except for the first several months.
Artemis

This means that Superman can't disrobe, everyone will see the scar and wonder how Superman could get a scar.

Yes, so? When is Superman likely to take off his uniform? My idea would be only to his family and Dr. Klein. And they all know what happened. Clark, on the other hand, can use swim shorts to go swimming without concern.
Just my 2 cents.

Artemis

Right. Scars can (and do) fade after a time. Even now, 9 months after my C-section, the scar is lighter than I thought it would be.

True, but he's not likely to disrobe as Supes where anyone can see. Sure, his uniform might rip and expose the scar if he's exposed to some kind of force coupled with green K, but I doubt anyone will notice a light scar in that circumstance.

All of this, for sure!