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Lois Lane knew her body. She knew her limits. She knew what good felt like, what sickness felt like, and how to identify a thousand different little telltale signs to determine what was wrong. She’d gotten to the point of being able to self-diagnose most issues correctly before even going to a doctor.
Which is exactly why as soon as she started feeling nauseous, she realized something was much different than usual.
It started out small enough. She’d been in the Daily Planet bullpen, working away on some article to try and distract herself from Clark’s empty seat. He was off on Superman business for the next few days- some emergency in Gotham that the Bat had specifically requested him for- so Lois resigned herself to waiting until he got back.
About forty minutes into his absence, Lois felt a sudden wave of nausea hit her, nearly as strong as a truck. Strong, sudden and overpowering . She stumbled in her seat, curling in on herself instinctively as a hand flew up to cover her mouth.
Cat had immediately noticed something was wrong, thankfully. Lois barely had a second to adjust before Cat was next to her, brows furrowed with slight worry.
“Hey, do you need to go to the bathroom? You look like you’re gonna puke.”
Lois simply nodded a bit too frantically, and Cat immediately took that as a yes. Cat moved to help Lois onto her feet and guided her to the nearest bathroom, ignoring the concerned and confused stares as she helped her across the room. Lois practically sprinted to a toilet and stared down into it for just a moment, silently willing the nausea to stay down, but it was no use. She barely registered Cat holding back her hair until she had finally slumped forward, defeated, chest heaving slightly.
She felt Cat pull her up gently, resting her head against the wall before standing to go grab something. Lois was still panting slightly, breath slowly steadying back into a more normal rhythm as the fluorescent lights above bore painfully into her skull. Cat returned a moment later with a bottle of water and some paper towels, dabbing at Lois’s mouth before handing her the water, which she took graciously.
“Thank you.” She croaked, voice raw as the cool, refreshing water ran down her throat.
“No worries at all, Lo.” Cat replied, a soft smile on her face as she tilted her head, eyes focused on the woman before her. “What do you think this is about? Food poisoning?”
Lois took a proper gulp of the water as she took a moment to just think. “Could be, yeah. I had a weird breakfast this morning- wouldn’t be surprised if it upset my stomach.”
“Weird how? Like, food with ingredients I’ve never tried weird, or this restaurant has mold in the freezer weird?”
That got a loud snort out of Lois. “Leaning towards the second one. I was in a rush this morning, had to stop at this dingy little hole-in-the-wall place for a bit of food.”
Cat gave a faux wince and put a comforting hand on Lois’s shoulder. “Well, try to stick to foods you know won’t upset your stomach, then. See if maybe that helps?”
Lois gave her a smile. “I will. Promise.”
—————
The next day had started out worse. Lois had woken up at what must’ve been a quarter past five in the morning, mind hazy and eyes taking a little while to adjust as she turned on the bedside lamp, only to suddenly be gripped by a wave of nausea. She’d bolted out of bed and ran into the bathroom, collapsing onto the floor as she threw herself over the toilet and emptied her entire stomach into the bowl. She ended up dry heaving for a good few seconds, grasping one hand onto the sink counter as she slowly willed her body to stop shaking.
After a good minute or two, Lois flushed the toilet, pulled herself up and poured herself a glass of water. She stared at her reflection in the mirror- hair tousled, eyes still a bit red and her face pale. She brought a hand up to her face, wiping a hand across her forehead.
Lois’s brain immediately wanted to click into panic mode, as much as she willed herself to stop. She tried insisting to herself that she’d simply gotten a bad case of food poisoning- that she’d eat some good food today, and she wouldn’t be nauseous anymore. She’d be fine, and she’d write this off as a weird bout of random nausea. She moved back to her bed, sitting on the edge of it as she patted a hand on the cold sheets where Clark usually laid. Her eyes cascaded over the sheets, taking in the details of the bed almost in an attempt to distract herself from the anxiety swirling around in her head. As she stood and grabbed her hairbrush, resolving herself to start getting ready for work, she re-insisted to herself that she was fine. She’d be okay, she’d wake up good the next morning, feeling better than ever.
But despite her best attempts to calm herself, to will the illness away, the nausea continued the entire rest of the day. She kept running to the bathroom every couple of hours, emptying her stomach of whatever she’d managed to initially keep down. She went to sleep still hoping it’d go away, but she woke up the exact same way the next morning, this time just before six am.
Lois went to the pharmacy that very morning and bought a box of pregnancy tests.
Lois was not one to suffer from nausea so regularly. She wasn’t the type to get sick much, period. The few times she did get sick practically made up for all the times she didn’t, because she’d always end up bedridden for the entire day, head aching and nausea gripping her so tightly that even her balance felt off. But nausea lasting over forty-eight hours with no other symptoms besides feeling more tired than usual- that had never happened to her before. Never in her life.
And as that second pink line slowly formed on the pregnancy test, she knew exactly why.
She was pregnant. She was fucking pregnant.
With Clark’s baby, no less.
Oh. Oh God.
Lois proceeded to lurch forward and empty her stomach yet again into the toilet, her head swimming as she took a good ten minutes to simply steady herself again. She stood, her legs wobbly and uneven, and then managed to get herself a glass of water. She gurgled and spit it back out into the sink, pouring herself another glass of water to actually drink, relishing the relief of the cool water pouring down her throat.
She stood there, desperately trying to steady herself as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She leaned down, splashed water onto her face and walked back to her bedroom, wondering to herself how the hell she’d go on from here. What she’d even do.
Clark was still off on hero business- nothing serious, thankfully, but he had to stay in Gotham for the past few days to help. Lois grabbed at her phone and glanced at the texts. He was coming back tomorrow.
Okay, good. That at least gave her some time to process this information and how to even tell Clark.
Oh god.
Lois covered her face with her hands, desperately trying once again to steady herself as she felt her body begin to shake from anxiety. She couldn’t help it- becoming a mother was truly one of the furthest things from her mind. She and Clark had only recently celebrated a year together- they’d had discussions about children, but it was always something for the future: for after they got married, after Lois advanced a bit further into her career, after she worked through the bulk of her anxieties over being a mother. She hadn’t once expected to become a mother quite so soon.
“Fuck.” She whispered to herself, slowly lowering a hand to cover her belly. She closed her eyes, focusing entirely on the feeling as the reality of the situation truly sunk into her. She was pregnant. With Clark’s baby.
Oh god. She was pregnant with a half Kryptonian baby. There was no known information on human-Kryptonian hybrids. No information on how they’d grow. When their abilities, whatever ones they had, would even manifest. She’d be the first person to mother one. She’d have no precedent, no guides- she’d be going in completely blind.
And suddenly, in that moment, all of her anxieties about being a mother increased tenfold. She clasped her hands over her head, trying feverently to ignore the voices swirling around in her voice, angry and loud.
You’ll be a terrible mother.
How can you even raise a half Kryptonian baby? There’s no guidebook? What if you fuck it up? You always fuck it up.
What if you scar them?
What if you hurt them?
What if?
What if?
What if-
Lois bolted back to the bathroom and threw up again.
—————
“I’m sorry- what???”
“I’m-“
“Hold on, hold on.” Cat held up a hand, blinking rapidly before finally turning to look at Lois again. Cat was staring at her, dark eyes wide and drinking in the sight of Lois before her. “You’re pregnant?”
Lois gave a sheepish grin, way too reminiscent of Clark. “Yeah.”
Cat’s eyes widened, taking a second just to process before clasping a hand to her mouth dramatically. She looked back to Lois again, eyes still wide. ‘Clark’s?’ She mouthed, genuinely taken aback.
Lois nodded. Cat almost screamed, jumping up and down in place as she clasped her other hand to her mouth, though Lois could easily tell her jaw was hanging fully open.
“Wait, wait- have you told him?”
Lois shook her head weakly. “Not yet. He’s been out of town for a few days, family stuff.”
“Oh my god. What are you gonna do? I mean, how are you gonna tell him?”
Lois gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t know. A card?”
Cat met her eyes with a determined look. “Oh, I am so picking it out with you, girl.”
Lois found herself in a little pharmacy store before she could even process, watching for a brief, dazed moment as Cat pulled her to the display of greeting cards. Lois then shook her head, steadying herself before reaching for a card. It took the two a solid ten minutes before Lois finally found a card she liked- a plain and simple white card with small flower decor and a message that was a bit too cheesy for Lois’s liking, but it was something she knew Clark would cherish.
“You okay?” Cat asked, giving Lois a genuinely concerned look as they walked out of the store and onto the street.
“I- don’t know.” She admitted, voice shakier than she’d like. “It’s just. This is… not something I expected so soon, you know?” She wrung her hands together nervously, avoiding Cat’s eyes for the moment. “And it’s so… scary. I- the thought of being a mom, it’s- I-“
Lois’s voice died in her throat as she stopped, standing in place on the pavement. Cat placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her face softer than Lois had ever seen it.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great mom.” Cat assured, her voice soft. “I’ve seen a hell of a lot of bad parents, Lo. There’s very few who actually worry about if they’re being a bad parent or not. The fact that you’re already so concerned, that you so badly want to give them a good life? That’s a sign you’re gonna do fine. Okay?”
Lois let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, yeah. I guess.” Lois met Cat’s eyes then, lips upticking into a small smile. “Thank you.”
Cat easily flashed her a smile. “What are friends for, right?”
—————
Lois wasn’t sure she had ever been this nervous before. She’d been worried about things before, plenty of times- but she’d never been paced around the kitchen twenty times while wringing her hands together worried.
Clark had texted her two minutes ago that he was about to fly back. The card sat on the living room table, wrapped in a plain, pastel blue envelope. Lois took in a deep breath in an effort to steady herself. She could do this. She’d faced tense conversations many times before. She’d faced danger many times before. Hell, she was dating Superman- there weren’t many things more nerve wracking than that.
Except for, of course, having to tell fucking Superman that you’re pregnant with his baby.
Before she could spiral further into a hole, she heard the telltale whoosh of displaced air- followed by the gentle rapping of knuckles on her balcony door.
Lois took one more deep breath before walking over and opening the door.
Clark was standing there in all of his 6’4 glory, curls tousled from the wind and a widening smile on his face, one Lois was convinced could power fifty lightbulbs at once. He stepped forward and pulled her into a gentle hug.
“Hey, Lois.”
She breathed out a silent sound of relief and melted into his arms. “Hey, Clark.”
He pulled out of the hug, looked into her eyes, and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was soft, warm, and so, so loving. Lois felt herself melt further into his arms at just how tender he was, how caring. It was something she still found herself amazed by each time it happened.
She smiled up at him as they broke apart. “Did everything get sorted out okay?”
“Yeah, it did. It took a bit longer than we expected, honestly, but B’s smart.” He gave her a casual shrug. “It’s still kinda surprising how smart he is at times.”
“Sounds like you have a little crush on him.”
She teased, smirking as Clark’s face flushed pink.
The reply of “I don’t!” came way too quickly, and Lois laughed before pulling Clark inside and closing the balcony doors.
“C’mere. I have something for you.”
Clark tilted his head in minor surprise, but immediately followed her without question to the couch, sitting down next to her. Lois grabbed the card and put it in his hands.
“Here. Open it.”
Clark seemed to instantly notice the nervousness in her voice, if the way he knit his brows was anything to go off of, but he did as he was told and opened it. Lois watched as he read the words on the card, silently preparing herself as Clark finally opened the card to read the inside.
A second passed.
Then another.
Then another.
Lois swore the room got so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Clark was staring at the card, eyes wide as the gears in his head turned rapidly, desperately trying to process what he was reading.
Lois had been expecting a lot of reactions. Some self-sabotaging part of her brain was convinced he’d be angry, or that he’d leave- despite how unlikely she knew that was. Clark was sweet, loving, and so much more emotional and vulnerable than any guy Lois had ever been with.
She supposed then, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised when a tear ran down Clark’s cheek, and he looked at her with the most vulnerable expression she had ever seen. His sky blue eyes were as wide as dinner plates, wet and oh so beautiful. His mouth was hanging open in shock, both eyebrows raised, clearly trying to form words that refused to escape his lips. That face overpowered her in an instant and she felt tears beginning to form in her own eyes.
“L-Lois, I-“ He stuttered, his voice cracking under the weight of his raw emotion, “Are- you’re serious? You’re really pregnant?”
Lois gave a small, tentative nod. “Yes. And I’m going to be keeping it.”
Clark’s arms were wrapped around her faster than she could blink. She could feel the warmth radiating off of him as his frame was wracked with a small sob. Lois couldn’t stop herself from tearing up as well, burying her head into the crook of Clark’s neck. Clark ran a comforting hand against her back, running in circles as he simply held her, crying into the crook of her neck.
“Wh-when did you find out?” He managed, finally pulling away and wiping his thumb at the tears falling down her face.
“Yesterday.” She wiped at her face, smiling up at him. “Cat helped me pick out the card.”
“Remind me to thank her, then.” He replied, grinning brightly at her. He cupped her cheek with his hand, looking down at her with a look of adoration so potent, she swore the room warmed up just from his smile. “We’re gonna be parents?”
Lois nodded. “Yeah.”
He tilted his head. “How are you doing?”
“Well, morning sickness is kicking my ass. I keep throwing up- it’s hard to keep a lot down.” She shrugged slightly. “And I’ve been a bit more tired than usual, but thankfully not too much.”
His mouth immediately shifted into a sympathetic smile, eyes softening as he looked down at her. “I’m sorry.” He spoke, voice soft as he caressed her cheek. “How long is that supposed to last? A couple weeks, right?”
“I think so. I haven’t been to my gynecologist yet about it, but I looked up some of the basic stuff about pregnancy. Cat also offered the name of some pregnancy books, she said some friends of hers are moms.”
“Remind me then to get her some flowers as thanks, actually.” Clark teased, cupping her other cheek in his hands. He leaned down and kissed her, soft and loving, before pulling away. “How are you doing, though?”
Lois’s lips stretched into a thin line, tilting her head to the side a bit. “I’m… well. I don’t know.” She admitted, shrugging her shoulders in an attempt to make the whole situation seem lighter, easier than it was. “It’s just. It’s a lot to process, y’know? It doesn’t quite feel real yet, that I’m gonna be someone’s mom.” She looked up into his eyes, meeting the beautiful sky blue with her own ice blue eyes. “Not to mention, there’s no information on human-Kryptonian hybrids. No information on what our child will be like. No guidebook on how to raise them. And- And I’m scared. I don’t know what to do. What to even expect.”
Clark’s eyes softened further, gazing into hers with such vulnerability, such love. He cradled her face in his hands. “Well, my Ma would say the same thing to me. She said there was no guidebook on how to raise a kid like me. And she always said everyone had a different guidebook in general on how to raise a kid. Everyone always had differing opinions.” He tilted his head to the side, pressing a small kiss to her cheek. “But we’ll figure it out together, I promise, okay?”
There was something in his voice, in the way he spoke, that filled her entire body with a sense of comfort and ease. “I know we will.”