Thanks to everyone who left FDK.
Rather than give individual replies, I'm going to attempt to address some of the issues raised.
Alternatives From a story point of view, that would be the easy way out. I don't like stories where the author writes him/herself into a corner and then gets saved from it by a totally unexpected event (deus ex machina, I believe is the term).
So no, Lois will not just happen to fall pregnant, nor will there be another way of providing a baby.
I did consider finishing the story here and letting everyone decide their own ending. However, if I were the reader, I would feel pretty cheated by that.
Jonathan's age Eddie Callan (EDIT - whoops try Eddie Jones
:rolleyes: )was born in 1940, (according to wiki,) so if we take his age as Jonathan's age, he would be 64 in this story.
Jonathan Again, from a story point of view, it *had* to be Martha who suggested this. Some have mentioned an 'ick' factor (which was my first response too). Had it been Jonathan's idea, the 'ick' factor would have been significantly greater.
Clearly the thoughts of all four people involved have to be explored, but remember, the story isn't over yet.
Utopia From the script for Tempus Fugitive
WELLS: Miss Lane, something you might find interesting -- Utopia was founded by Superman's descendants.
LOIS:Descendants? So he... got married?
WELLS:Oh, yes. And they based their whole society on the values and principles he lived by.
I know many fics assume Utopia was founded by super-powered descendants and on one level, it makes sense that to overcome all the greed and violence, you might need superpowers.
But from this line, I see that Utopia was based on
values and principles rather than powers.
Any child brought up by Clark and Lois would be taught those values and principles.
In 'Meet John Doe,' Andrus says
I can't tell you what an honor it is to meet you. You two.... don't know how many people your lives have touched. If it weren't for you two, there would be no Utopia. Whole generations would never have had a chance. Men of peace such as myself wouldn't exist as leaders. Yes my world is extraordinary. A true Utopia. The world your love made possible
Again, the emphasis is on the love shared by Lois and Clark rather than super-powers.
The child's looks I think others have answered this. For those who know Clark is adopted, his child could carry genes for anything from his unknown parents.
For those who don't know Clark is adopted, if the child looks like Jonathan, how would that be a problem?
Whose child is it anyway? It takes a whole lot more than making a woman pregnant to be a father. True fathers are wonderful, self-sacrificing, loving, reponsible, reliable, steadfast men who put years and years into the raising of their child/ren.
Many, many people raise a child who is not biologically theirs. I really doubt that everytime they look at the child, the foremost thing in their mind is 'that child isn't mine'.
In conclusion, I am going to go with the ending I originally wrote to this fic. I knew when I wrote it that some would disagree, others would agree.
If you feel so strongly about what they should do that if I choose differently to what you want you are likely to get upset, my suggestion is that you make up your own ending and don't read mine.
After all, this is supposed to be fun - thought-provoking maybe, exploring serious themes maybe - but ultimately it is supposed to be fun.
Again, thanks to everyone who responded,
Corrina.
