I was initially going to post this on Christmas Eve, but I got it done early and I probably won't get a chance to that night. So you all get my gift to you two weeks early. I hope you enjoy it.


Merry Christmas!

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Beautiful, indeed. And quite moving.
Thank you.

Beautiful. I like the compare and contrast between the two parts. What a difference the filling the void in her heart made to the sound of silence. I know that since becoming a mother I appreciate the sound of silence. I've always liked it but now it's soothes me like the taste of chocolate. Silence is chocolate to a mother's ears. It's so sad of how Lois felt complete in her life, in her heart, except for this one thing, this one failure that she couldn't overcome.

When I saw it was two parts, I didn't know if you'd show Clark upstairs, not sleeping in the silence either (as Lois had thought), but in his own depression hole for not being able to become a father, blaming himself as Lois blamed herself.

I'm glad you ended it on a happy note. Christmas stories are much better with a happy ending. (I was afraid you might go full circle and return to silence being bad, children grown & gone and Superman killed or something.) It's so sweet to see how much happier Lois is knowing that, but for Clark, she is no longer alone. Clark always had the Kents to fall back upon, but Lois really had no one (other than her friends).

What a wonderful, warm WAFFY Christmas story.

I also love the comparisons and contrasts between the first and second parts. And it's great to see how Lois appreciated the little things in life--cherishing both the sounds and silences.

Thanks for sharing this marvelous story!

*sniffle* That was lovely. :')

Thanks, Annie! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you! Glad you liked it. It was a special project for me to write it.

Thanks, Virginia! The comparing and contrasting was important to me. It's something that actually plays on my mind every Christmas now that I have my girls. For me, the "before" sadness wasn't so much the silence on Christmas Eve, but putting up the ornaments and taking them back down - another Christmas come and gone without a baby in the house. Now, with the "after," I have two kids and roughly 9,000 "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments on my tree.

Still, the silence is something I appreciate every night when the kids are asleep. But even though I'm glad for the break, I do miss the chaos!

Lois' feelings here very much come from where I was in my darkest infertility days. Feeling complete and at peace with myself except for not having kids, no matter how hard we tried. And the knowledge that, even with the help of fertility specialists, there was never a guarantee that we'd be able to have a family.

It's funny, I never considered Clark's view on the matter. It always felt very much like a Lois piece, given that she's often been home alone and smothered in absolute silence.

Of course I had to end on a happy note. Even my dark, twisted muse couldn't leave a Christmas fic on a sad note! BUT! I'll admit, when I first thought of this story, I considered it as a "looking back" fic with Lois and Clark being older, their children grown and out of the house, with families of their own. Or maybe all of the kids and grandkids visiting and sound asleep in the middle of the night.

Thank you for reading!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked the comparisons and the contrasts. I think Lois stopping to savor the little is a huge step for the character too. She's definitely changing and softening.

Thank you! Glad you liked it.

This was a really good story. I clearly heard your voice in Lois' pain and in her conflicted emotions. The introspection has authenticity, and I know it's because this story came from a real place in your heart. Thanks for sharing this piece of yourself with all of us.

Thanks so much. It's interesting, being able to so clearly and strongly identify with a character in this way. It's both difficult to find the words to express the feelings in a relatable way, but easy and kind of cathartic too.

Thanks for taking the time out to read something so close to my heart.

This was completely lovely, DC .

Amongst all the 'to-do' lists, chores, shopping, etc (and etc ) getting ready for the holidays is entailing, it was such a 'stop and think' moment of clarity for me.

I had a few moments before picking up my son at preschool, and had been trying to clean the house top to bottom for some plans coming up. Anyway...I was going to try to get another room clean and 'done', but then told myself to 'stop'. I heated up some soup. Grabbed the ipad. F-I-N-A-L-L-Y gave myself some time (for myself ). And out of all the stories I've been wanting to catch up on, found this one.

Definitely needed that acknowledgement of how lucky/blessed we are to have that fallen behind house (because of those kiddos of ours), and how wonderful it is to be getting ready for those plans with family and friends.

Thank you for that reminder on a busy afternoon ...

Wonderful job--so personal and very touching. Loved it!
Laura

Thanks for reading, Laura! I know how hard it can be to find a few minutes to yourself around the holidays, so I'm honored that you picked my story.

Fallen behind house? I feel like mine is so far behind it's still in 2014.

Glad it was a "stop and think" moment for you. I think we can all benefit from those to put things into perspective. (I'm currently sitting in a room which looks like Toys R Us threw up in and I'm grateful to have that opportunity. But I'm waaaaay too tired to clean tonight!)

Thanks for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

DC stated:


Oh yeah! I can totally relate! The mess is a constant. Toys, toys, toys .

Laura

Yes! My den is like an obstacle course! A cute one to be sure, but I have zero willpower in buying for my munchkins.

Hi Vicki!

Christmas story?

Clark in space?

Clark in Kansas?

Lois?

Okay, Lois. Also, because her father is next door, giving his presents to the neighbor and her mother is passed out drunk on the bed?



PERRY: I swear, if they requisition a couch for the supply closet, I’ll send them on a mission to report on salmon smuggling in Anchorage.

So, this is Clark, now?

No, a pregnant Lois one year later, after Clark finally made it to puberty.



Very nicely done!

Michael

Hopefully wrapped gifts, or he might have another kid to give a gift card to next Christmas.


Lois: So, that's a "no" then?


Thank you! Thanks for stopping in!

PERRY:
LOIS: What? I just had to make sure I got that one right.

Michael

Cat: For once, I have to give Lois my respect.