First of all, Catherine, I really liked it! No, I didn't like it, I loved it.
But I wouldn't have liked it if it had been a Lois deathfic. I don't think I have it in me to like Lois deathfics, and for two reasons. Over the years, I have become convinced that there is a general tendency all over the world to regard women as both less valuable and more aggravating than men, which makes it unrewarding to fight for their survival and well-being and satisfying to kill them in stories and movies for the entertainment value and
katharsis and plot value of their deaths. (I strongly believe that the vast majority of you FoLCs either don't agree with me at all or else consider my reasoning totally beside the point when it comes to judging the value of a LnC fic, so I'm not going to pursue that line of argument here.)
Anyway, the second reason why I can't appreciate a Lois deathfic, while I am willing to give a Clark deathfic a chance, is that I care about Lois and Clark more than what is good for me. I love them, and I frankly think of them as people with an ongoing existence, albeit a fictional one, whose future is dependent of what their owners, their trademark owners, think of them. Now I'm not worried about the continued existence of Superman, because there is no way that DC Comics and Time Warner and other owners are just going to destroy their Superman property by killing the hero off. It just can't happen, honestly. It
could be that the powers that be might get tired of Clark Kent and decide to kill
him off and pass the Superman mantle off to someone else, but honestly... no, I can't see that happening, either. But Lois? What is she? She's Superman's love interest, that's what she is, and surely anyone could play that part as well as her, or better? The world is full of Lanas and Chloes and Mayson Drakes and Paris Hiltons and Britney Spears. Just look at what is happening in Smallville, where a Clark/Lois pairing seems about as likely as a cow falling down from the sky. And do you know what is going to happen in the new Superman movie? No? Well, Lois is going to die, Superman and Richard are going to fight for custody of Jason, and Superman is going to find himself a new love interest. (I'm kidding... but if this really was to happen, it wouldn't surprise me!)
So the thing is, I'm paranoid about Lois deathfics, because I'm so scared that the powers that be are going to kill her off for real. But I
know that they are not going to kill off Clark - well, I'm 95% certain that they are not going to kill off Clark, and 100% certain that they are not going to kill off Superman - so I can regard any Clark deathfic as an "Elseworld" story, which is never going to come true in the "real world" (whereas a Lois deathfic is like a premonition of things to come to me).
So! Off to some FDK on your story, Cat.
In the last months before her daughter came, she would sit in the chair in the bedroom. It had been his chair, though not by any spoken rule; she used to wake up to find him in this same spot after a bad dream or even worse rescue. She would remember watching him in turn, or holding her hand out for him to come back to bed and even now sometimes she would wake up at night still expecting to see him there. When he wasn't, and the searing reality would force her awake, she would curl up in the cushions and cry until dawn. But during the day she would sit there and usually stared at nothing for hours. Sometimes she would speak, usually to him. On most days though, she would run a hand over her tummy and whisper softly, always beginning the same way.
“Let me tell you Daddy's story.”
This is just incredibly beautiful, and it packs an absolutely amazing emotional punch. The idea of looking at a chair, or another piece of furniture, or just any household object that you so strongly associate with your loved one, and as you're waking up you still expect to see him near or in or beside that mundane object... and then the realisation hits you like a ton of bricks, that... no, he isn't there, and he is
never coming back. Oh, it's absolutely heart-rending, Catherine. And Lois is pregnant, too. And Clark died many months before his daughter was born, perhaps soon after her conception....
And then Kaley, Clark's daughter, is going to be a superhero of her own, and...
“Mamma?” she asked, so softly that she wasn't sure the other woman had heard until the movement against her side stilled. She kept her gaze steady on the pair of anxious eyes in the mirror as she swallowed. “Do you think he would be proud?”
A soft hand cupped her cheek and directed her gaze to a pair of similar brown eyes. “He's been proud of you since before I told him about you.” The older woman gave her a soft watery smile. “You're his legacy.”
Kaley tried to hold back the tears, but was betrayed by a loud sniffle.
“Tell me Daddy's story.”
Beautiful. Perfect. A wonderful story, Catherine.
Ann
