Miracle Child

By Carrie Smith <quacky1@flash.net>

Rated G

Submitted October 1998

Summary: A continuation of "The Family Hour" in which the question of where the baby came from is answered.

Author's note: I just couldn't put up with the way ABC left everybody hanging on L&C so I figured I'd write my own conclusion to the mystery of where the baby came from. The first scene is taken directly from the "Family Hour" episode.

The usual disclaimers apply — I don't own the characters, I'm just a big fan of them. Enjoy.

***

Clark looked at the two sets of parents. "Mom and Dad, and um, Mom and Dad, we have uh, something to tell you … " As he said this, Lois walked out of the study carrying the baby in her arms. Martha and Ellen both gasped, and Sam and Jonathan smiled proudly.

A little while later, after the shock had worn off, all six adults sat around the living room, each with a glass of wine. All but Ellen, that is, who drank a diet Soder Cola and was rocking the baby back and forth.

"Clark, where in the world did he come from?" Martha asked.

"Well, Mom, we, uh, adopted him. You see, Lois and I found out that we are unable to have a child of our own."

Jonathan held Martha's hand and looked at her knowingly as Clark explained, because they too were unable to have kids.

Ellen meanwhile had rocked the baby to sleep and stood to take him upstairs to bed.

"I, uh, I'll go with you, Ellen. I want to see my grandson before we leave in the morning," Sam said as he started up after her carrying the bassinet.

Lois and Clark sat on the sofa across from his parents, holding hands and looking a little bit worried.

"Don't tell my parents this, but we don't know where the baby came from," Lois said as she looked over at Clark, who was just as confused as she was. "We definitely know he didn't come from that adoption agency we spoke to yesterday, because the case worker said that she would not put a child into a home like ours. She said it was a harmful environment, you know, what with all the problems we've had lately, like ghosts, Lex Luthor, Jr., and the Toyman."

Jonathan looked at them and said, "Well, no matter where this child came from, I would have to say that it's another miracle, just like the one your mom and I experienced when you were sent to us, son."

Ellen and Sam came down the stairs and rejoined them. "Oh, that child is just precious, Lois. By the way, what are you going to name him?" Ellen wondered, being the nosy one of the two families.

"Well, we've been thinking about this for a while, Mom," Lois stated, still holding on to Clark's hand. "If we had a girl, we were going to call her Louise Claire Kent. If it was a boy, we'd call him Clark Louis Kent. That way both of our names would be used in some way."

Clark glanced over at the clock on the wall — it was almost four a.m. "Wow, honey, we've got to get some sleep if we're going to make it in to the Planet to share the good news with Perry and Jimmy."

Lois giggled as she said, "Yeah, Perry's going to be disappointed that we didn't name him Elvis Kent!" All six burst out laughing as Lois mentioned Perry's name for the kid.

"Yeah, but I think both he and Jimmy have wanted to be uncles for a while now," Clark managed through his laughter as they all headed back to bed.

***

About three hours later, Lois woke up to find Clark sitting in the chair across the room holding their son. "Clark? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Clark looked up at her and smiled. "Lois, after what Dr. Klein told me, I didn't think that I would ever have the chance to become a father, and — now I am one. It's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, other than falling in love with you. I just wish we knew where he came from."

Lois got out of bed and put her arm around Clark's shoulder. "So do I, but even if he's not yours and mine physically, that won't stop me from loving him like he was our own flesh and blood."

Clark looked up at his wife with tears welling up in his eyes. "I love you, Lois Lane, and no matter what you've said before, you're going to be a terrific mother."

Lois moved so that she was facing him, also with tears starting to form in her eyes. "Well, I had help, you know, Mr. Kent. If not for you, I never would have had this chance to be a mother." She then bent down and kissed him, gently, so as not to hurt the child sleeping in Clark's arms. "By the way, what are we going to tell Perry and Jimmy when we get to work. I mean we're not actually going to take him to the Planet with us today, are we?" Lois asked when they broke off the kiss.

"Well, I hadn't planned on taking him there just yet. I kind of figured that Mom and Dad might want to keep him today, seeing as he *is* their only grandchild. Besides, I thought I'd give Perry and Jimmy cigars with 'It's a Boy' printed on them and let those two figure it out for themselves." Clark said that last part with a sly grin.

"But, Clark, I don't think Jimmy smokes cigars. I mean isn't he a little young for that kind of thing?" Lois giggled as she turned to get dressed for work.

***

The elevator door opened up to the City Room and Lois and Clark stepped out, holding hands and smiling. Perry walked over to Jimmy and elbowed him in the ribs, pointing at the couple. "Well, it looks like someone else had a really good time last night too, huh Jimmy!"

Jimmy looked at him wide-eyed, "But, I didn't do anyth — you mean you and Alice? Oh, wow! Alright, Chief!"

Lois and Clark walked up to them and handed each of them a small wrapped package.

"What the Sam Hill is this for, Clark? It's not even the King's birthday," Perry said with a confused look on his face.

Clark smiled at Perry's comment. "Just open them up. You'll know why, Chief!"

They opened the boxes to find the cigars.

"Whoa, C.K., does this mean what I think it does?" Jimmy excitedly asked.

Perry, in the meantime, wasn't too sure what to think. "Uh, is there something I should know about, Lois?"

"Yes, Perry, I mean, Uncle Perry, we adopted a baby boy yesterday," Lois managed to say.

'Well, why didn't you say something about it yesterday morning? So, do I need to ask what you named the little guy?" Perry knew what the name would be, he had only kidded them about the name 'Elvis Kent' to see what kind of reaction he could get from them. "Listen up, people! I've got an announcement to make. I would like to introduce the newest member of the Daily Planet family. Now, he's not here today, but when his parents do finally bring him, we need to make Clark Louis Kent welcome!"

All of a sudden, the newsroom erupted in cheers as the staff (most of them knew that they had been trying to adopt) realized what Perry had said.

All day long, Planet staffers stopped by to congratulate the proud parents and to request that they bring pictures as soon as possible. Needless to say, Lois and Clark got absolutely no work done. By the time everyone had come by, it was two o'clock. Perry came out of his office and walked over to Lois's desk where the two had been receiving well-wishers.

"Hey, you two, why don't you take off early today. You probably want to spend some time with the baby. By the way, you'll have to bring him with you to the wedding."

They looked at Perry, confused.

"Uh, wedding, Chief? Who's getting married?" Clark questioned him.

Perry stood there in front of them, blushing. "Well — "

Lois's face lit up. "Perry — you and Alice?"

Perry nodded at them "Uh huh. You see, we both came to realize that we belonged together, sort of like you two."

Clark shook Perry's hand and smiled. "Of course we'll be there — all *three* of us. Why don't you and Alice join our parents and us for dinner tonight? We seem to have a lot to celebrate."

Perry hugged them both and chuckled. "Okay, see you around seven, now get on out of here, you two!" he said as he walked them to the elevator.

***

"Oh, I beg your pardon, sir," said the English gentleman as he stepped off the elevator, bumping into Perry, "but could you tell me where to find Lois Lane and Clark Kent?"

Perry looked at him and said, "Uh, yes, you uh, just missed them. You might be able to catch them in the lobby. By the way, have we met before?"

"Uh, no, I don't believe we have. My name is Herbert Wells. I'm a friend of Lois and Clark's. Thank you — Mr. White, is it? They have told me about you — said you taught them everything they know about journalism."

Perry beamed at this. "Gee, uh, thanks, Mr. Wells. You know, I love those two like they were my own kids. I'm glad they found happiness with each other. Anyway, I won't keep you. Nice to have met you, sir."

"The feeling is mutual, Mr. White. I'm sure we'll meet again." With that, H.G. Wells got back on the elevator to find Lois and Clark.

Herb got out of the elevator just in time to see Lois and Clark walking out the door to the street. "I say, Lois, Clark — wait! I need to talk to you — it's important!"

Fortunately, Clark's super hearing kicked in as they were getting into the Jeep. "Mr. Wells? What are you doing here? Wait — don't tell me Tempus is out again." Clark shuddered at the memory of their last meeting with Tempus. He had almost trapped Clark in a rift in the timeline for eternity.

"No, no, Clark. It's nothing like that. I just wanted to drop by and ask you what you thought about my gift to you."

Lois and Clark exchanged confused looks and she finally got up the nerve to ask him, "What gift? Hold on, are you saying *you* left us the child?"

"Yes, Lois. I am the one who brought the baby here to you," Herb said quietly. "Let me explain. As I have said before, in the future, your love is the foundation for what will be known as Utopia. But what you did not know is that the child over whom you now watch will be the author of that future. He is the one who, inspired by your love for each other and for him will put an end to war, famine, and sickness to make the world a better place for all mankind."

Clark looked at him, puzzled. "Yes, we understand that part, but where did he come from? Whose child is he?"

Herb took each of them by the arm. "Perhaps we should talk about that part in private. Now, where can we go. Ahh yes, I know where!" Herb then took out his time-machine control and instantly the three vanished.

They arrived at the secluded spot that both Lois and Clark recognized as the same place where they had been married. Lois grasped Clark's hands and sighed, "Oh, Clark, it's still as beautiful as it was on that day. But why bring us here, Herb?"

"You see, this is where it all started. The day you two were married was the day that Utopia was truly born. The problems you endured to even get married no longer made any difference to the world."

Clark 's eyes lit up as he finally understood his true destiny: to father a new age in Earth's history. "But what about our child? Where did he come from?" Clark asked, anxious to solve this mystery that had been thrust into their lives.

"Well, Clark; it's just like you said — *your* child. Do you recall when you were rescued from that time warp by Lois, myself and the Superman of the parallel universe?" Clark nodded as H.G. continued. "Well, remember when *that* Clark said that he had given up on finding *his* Lois alive, and I told him that I didn't believe in the word *impossible*? Well, we found her! It took quite a while, ten months I believe, but she was living in a small village in the Congo with the village elder and his wife, who had found her, barely alive and nursed her back to health," Wells exclaimed, as they looked on, quite relieved and happy for their counterparts in the other dimension.

"Lois returned to Metropolis, where she went back to her job at the Daily Planet. She was partnered with Clark Kent, who had established himself as big a reputation as she had when she was lost and feared dead. Even though their world knew him as Superman, he kept his job with the Daily Planet so he could escape his other life from time to time. This is where your stories become remarkably similar. Lois and Clark fell in love almost instantly, but endured numerous problems before they were married, including several run-ins with the Lex Luthor of their world. However, the inability to have children was not one of their problems. Lois gave birth to twin boys a year after they were wed. I had told her the story about you two and your little — problem. Even though she felt sad about giving up one of her babies, she agreed with her Clark that you two should share in their joy of parenthood. Their son, Louis is also destined to found a Utopian society like his twin brother: your son, Clark."

Lois's jaw fell as she realized what Wells had said. "You mean that our child really is *our* child?!"

Wells nodded his head. "Exactly. Always remember that your love is what holds you two together — as long as you have that, nothing can stop you from accomplishing anything that you desire. Take good care of your son — he is the future of our world. Love him as you love each other. Now, I have to get you two back to Metropolis, you've got a son to raise."

A split second later, Lois and Clark were in the entry hall to their home. They gazed at each other, still drinking in what H.G. Wells had told them.

"So, this is what 'forever' feels like," Clark said as he pulled Lois closer. As they kissed, both of them knew that they would always be together — forever.

THE END

:-)

FoLCs RULE!!!!