Feeling generous enough not to leave you hanging another day as I had originally planned.

Well thanks for posting it tonight. I've been sick and feeling pretty bad the past couple of days and reading this made me feel a bit better, at least for the duration that I was reading it.

It was a really cute ending. Everything with the babies was adorable and I'm glad Zara and Kala have Lois and Clark in their lives.

What a wonderful ending!

You're welcome! Hope you feel better soon! Thanks for all of the kind feedback.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Ahhhh. Happy sigh! Great ending! I'm speechless.

Artemis

Thank you, Artemis! Glad you liked it.

I like the ending focusing on Clark and the kids as it probably would anytime Clark is around kids...

I also liked Zara declining the dinner invite because she had picked up a slice of pizza on the way over. One it shows her acceptance in the Lois and Clark family and two she has adapted to those "nutritionally worthless snack foods".

Of course this being me, I would have preferred a more story time being spent here on this part of the story but I will take what I can get. Lets us speculate on what else has happened over the past year.

Mike

What a wonderfully WAFFy ending for this story. Thanks for ending this emotional roller coaster of a story on such a high note.

Joy,
Lynn

What a beautiful ending, DC

I loved everything about it. And I very much enjoyed the news that a new addition was on its way. What a happy note to end on . Also, I liked how you showed where Zara was with her life--how they were in close contact, how the baby thought of Clark as her uncle, how they obviously have become a support system all for one another. It was done in such a natural way, to really show how well the three of them have adjusted from the time of the transplant.

Wonderful story...one of my very favorite parts:


I enjoyed reading this passage to no end. It was such a great beginning-to-end of their love story. It just showed so much of their journey together

Congrats on an amazing story!
Laura

Hi, Mike!

Glad you enjoyed it. I actually purposefully left the details of the past year out, because I felt it would hinder, rather that aid, the close of the story. I also left it open so that my muse (if she so desires) can come back and fill in the gaps at a later point (I make zero promises).

I liked throwing in the pizza remark myself. I wanted to show just how well Zara has adjusted to life on Earth, as a permanent citizen, rather than a visitor with an agenda. It had the added benefit of showing just how much she's been accepted into the Kent family, how comfortable all three adults are around one another.

Thanks, Lynn! You're welcome for the WAFFs!

Wow! Thanks for the high praise, Laura!

I thought that the new baby would be the perfect happy note to end on (and a well deserved happy note to boot!). Plus, for Lois and Clark, it came nicely full circle for them. The last time they were expected, all hell broke loose in their life. This time, they get to enjoy every moment.

I've always thought that if Zara and Ching had stayed on Earth for any reason, they would have become very close with Lois and Clark. So it was fun for me to incorporate that notion into this last chapter.

That is unless you decide to write a story about this pregnancy also... (I like Laura I believe from an earlier post don't like the new laugh emoticon)

Mike

True. But my muse has no current intentions of being evil to them during their second pregnancy.

(I also miss the old laughing face.)

I'm missing the laughing face, also ....

Your reasoning, DC, is exactly why I loved the new addition to the family...there was so much question, so much stress during Christopher's pregnancy. Knowing another is on the way felt like such an amazing gift--to be able to go through it all again, together, without question of Clark's health. Such a beautiful concept

This final chapter really created such a happy closure to the story. You really answered any questions well and left us with such a peaceful ending. Love it!

Thanks so much! Glad you are thinking along the same lines as I am.

DC

This was simply the best! Thanks for a story that left me biting my nails and scared to open the next chapter not knowing what you were going to throw at us!

Glad to see Zara has settled into a happy life with her little girl, Kala might become a very important part of Christopher's life. Still, I wish you could have told us just what kind of life she had in Metropolis.

Ah well, that is for another fic ...

Thanks, Morgana! Glad you enjoyed this bizarre little tale.

Another fic? I never say never, but I've got a couple of other things that my muse is pushing on me at the moment. I didn't want to get too into what Zara and Kala are up to, mostly because I didn't want to take the focus from Lois and Clark.

Great story -- though it definitely put me through the wringer! I was as horrified as the EMTS when Clark first collapsed (I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to see Superman, who'd just saved maybe hundreds of people and lifted whole cars, collapse in pain), and I was scared with Clark (though I love that he had trouble being hopeful for himself, even though we all know if it had been Lois, he would have never given up hope at all) through their waiting game, and I loved that Clark got a little chance to shine and that Jimmy was so impressed by him that he got great pictures of him on his 'normal' rescue. And I was biting my nails a bit through the hospital time -- I was actually a bit relieved that you didn't dwell too much on the day-by-day events, because I don't know that I would have made it if I saw his parents' and Perry and Jimmy's reactions to him being on life support. Lois's were bad enough!

And sad as the demise of New Krypton is, and the death of Ching, I can't help but be glad at how it all fell out. I love that Clark inspired Ching to be noble and helpful and brave, to emulate Clark as he'd seen him, and I love that Zara was cool-headed and sacrificing enough to immediately know how she could save Clark. I also liked the little nod to how hard it is for Clark to use his powers and how he does it so much more naturally than anyone else -- and that he can find Lois so quickly!

Anyway, so glad for the happy ending, even if there were quite a few tears along the way. Such an intriguing concept, and I liked how it brought in Deathstroke and the aging machine -- and Klein's characterization was PERFECT! Thanks so much for the thought-provoking tale!

Hiya, AntiK!

Thanks again for the wonderful feedback! I'd apologize for running you through the emotional ringer, but my muse is laughing too evilly to do so.

I loved writing all the points you mentioned. It was fun for me to imagine Superman collapsing in pain on the ground. (It also had the added benefit of leaving one heck of a cliffhanger.) It was natural to write Clark's uncertainty for himself, as much as he never would have given up hope for Lois, Jimmy, his parents, etc. I loved the idea that Clark could aid people in need without the suit - and that even at the cost of his own life, he'd never turn his back on a situation like that.

The main reason I didn't dwell too much on the day to day hospital events was boredom. There's only so many ways you can describe Lois sitting vigil over Clark's nearly lifeless form. I toyed with the idea of showing Martha and Jonathan's reactions in "real time" but I didn't want to take the focus away from Lois at that point.

I'm glad you don't hate me for killing off all of New Krypton. It was the only logical way I could think of for Clark to get his heart and not feel oligated to return to rule over his people (which he wouldn't do anyway because of his own child being on the way/having Lois as he wife).

I think Ching was already noble and brave in his own right, before meeting Clark. He just needed help seeing how he should treat people - trusting his heart instead of thinking only in a pragmatic sense. I like to think that, by the time Zara and Ching left Earth, the three had formed a strong bond - making it easy for her to immediately offer Ching's heart to the dying Clark.

Also, I'm very glad to hear that Bernie felt perfectly in character for you! I'm always so nervous about getting him right!

Thanks for stopping by!