one plus two equals five, right?

Clark waited patiently in the hallway until the classroom door opened and students began spilling out. Then he stepped inside and stood near the back of the lecture hall, watching the petite female professor speak with a few down by her desk. She happened to look up and see him. Her face broke into a grin, and Clark couldn’t help but smile back. She waved for him to come closer and he did, taking the steps two at a time.

He remembered this particular lecture hall well, with its auditorium style seating. His very first journalism class here at Metropolis University had also been his favorite, although his professor hadn’t been nearly as cute.

Dr. Chloe Sullivan finished with two young men and sent them on their way. They stumbled over each other as they tried to walk backwards up the steps. One of them bumped into Clark, looked to his professor and blushed profusely. They both hurried out.

“Seems they like the prof for more than her teaching style,” Clark teased.

Chloe laughed and hugged him. “Hey, unlike some of the faculty here, I do not use the student body as a dating pool.”

“Shameful,” Clark said, clucking his tongue.

“Do you remember Dr. Willis?” Chloe asked. She began gathering her papers and books together. “She wanted to give you more than just a good grade.”

“Don’t remind me. Whatever happened to her anyway?”

“She took a job with an all boy’s prep school out East. Think she’s enjoying it?”

Clark shook his head. “Are you free for lunch?”

Chloe zipped her leather bag and threw it over her shoulder. “Sure. My next class isn’t for an hour.”

“Excellent.”

Clark extended his arm and Chloe took it. Together they left the building and walked out into the October sunshine. The campus was alive with activity as students rushed from one class to another.

“So what brings you out here?” Chloe asked. “Shouldn’t you be off chasing a story? Saving the world? Making out with Whitney?”

“Did it, did it, did it, but will do again later,” Clark said with a smile. “I just wanted to see how you were doing, and also to invite you to our anniversary dinner on Saturday night.”

Chloe paused. “Is it that time already?” she asked. “Wow. How long has it been?”

“Fifteen years.”

“Time flies, doesn’t it?”

“Sure does.”

They started walking again, heading for the student union.

“You know, even after all this time, I still can’t believe you count the day of the scarecrow incident as your official anniversary,” Chloe said. “You didn’t even get together until a few weeks later.”

“But that night was the defining moment in our relationship.”

“You weren’t in a relationship yet!”

“It was when we first took serious notice of each other.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You’re both very weird.”

They entered the student union and were met with several different food choices. Chinese, Mexican, Italian, BBQ, vegetarian, and an old fashioned burger joint, along with an extensive soup and salad bar.

“Sometimes I think Lex went a bit overboard,” Chloe said, staring at the massive display. “I just said that the university dining hall could use some variety, and then two days later, they’re putting all this in.”

“Lex is very persuasive, and he doesn’t know the meaning of the word overboard,” Clark said.

They decided on Chinese and Clark paid, then carried their heavy trays to an empty table.

“So, Saturday night,” he said once they were seated. “Are you free?”

“That depends on who’s cooking.”

“Whitney.”

“Well then, of course I’ll be there.”

“I really should be offended that you don’t like my cooking-”

“But you can’t, because you know you’re awful. I’ll bet your mother is so embarrassed.”

“So she couldn’t teach me to cook,” Clark said. “But she’ll be there, along with my dad. They’re bringing Pete and Lana and little Callie. And Lex is coming, and Lois, if I can keep it a secret that Lex is coming.”

“She still won’t admit anything happened between them,” Chloe said. “She keeps getting pissed that Lex still sends her flowers.”

“Tell me about it. Like clockwork, every Monday afternoon, two red roses delivered to her desk at the paper. Why is Monday so significant? They went out on a Saturday.”

“Because Monday is when Lois sneaked out of his bed and never looked back.”

Clark made a face. “Ooh, okay. Stop right there.”

Chloe pushed noodles around her plate with her fork. “Is Whitney’s mother coming?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“No,“ Clark sighed. “He didn’t ask her.”

“I think it’s so sad that they don’t have any kind of relationship anymore. So her son is gay, big fat deal. He’s still her son.”

“Don’t tell me that, I already know. Sometimes I want to believe that Whitney’s over it, but I know he’s not.”

“You’re lucky your parents are so supportive.”

“My parents are different.”

Chloe nodded. “You’re right. They took in an alien and loved him like their own. Sometimes I still expect to see a third eye or extra set of limbs appear on you.”

“Chloe, I never had any of those things.”

“I know. A girl can dream though,” Chloe said with a grin.

~*~*~

Clark kissed her cheek and watched her disappear into the lecture hall. Chloe Sullivan, professor of journalism. He shrugged and smiled at how everything had turned out. As he rode the subway back to the Daily Planet, he thought about how lucky he was.

His parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, were still alive and well and running their farm in Smallville. His friends Pete and Lana had married a few years earlier and were proud parents of one-year-old Callie. They owned and ran the Talon coffeehouse, and Pete was the manager of the fertilizer plant, since Chloe’s father had retired. Chloe taught at Metropolis University, passing down her love of journalism to others. Lex ran his own multi-million dollar corporation, dabbling in everything from furniture stores to medicine to the space program. Chloe’s cousin Lois was Clark’s partner at the newspaper, and determined to avoid Lex at all costs.

And then there was Whitney.

Former high school football star, ex-Marine, former Metropolis General Hospital staff physician, and now one of the top genetic scientists at STAR Labs, along with being Clark’s partner in life and love for fifteen years. There had been a brief break in their relationship during the time Clark had been in college and Whitney had been working and studying in Germany. The distance had proven hard for them to handle, even when Clark made special flights to Berlin.

But as soon as Whitney was back in Metropolis, they’d picked up where they left off. Clark graduated and took a job at the Daily Planet. He also became Superman around this time, using his powers to protect the city.

When he was fifteen, he came out to his friends and family. When he was eighteen, he revealed the rest to his friends. They were the only ones who knew he was Superman, and they guarded his secret.

Clark was happy. He was surrounded by people that loved him, and he had a successful career as a reporter. But lately, he’d been feeling as though something were missing from his life. It didn’t hit him until one day while he and Whitney walked in the park near their apartment building.

The air had been full of the sound of laughter, children’s laughter. And Clark knew that he wanted to hear that from his own child. He and Whitney had never discussed having children of their own. That idea had always seemed so out of reach, considering their situation.

But on that day in the park, Clark brought up the subject. Whitney hadn’t been all that surprised, and even confessed that he’d been thinking of children for awhile.

“But the risks are too big,” Whitney said. “If anyone ever found out Superman was a father, there could be serious trouble.”

“We’ve been careful for years. You don’t think we could protect our children?” Clark asked.

“Just because you haven’t been defeated yet doesn’t mean you can’t be. What if your enemies used our kids against you?”

Clark didn’t know what to say to that. The subject had passed, but it was still there at the edge of his mind.

~*~*~

Clark entered the newsroom of the Daily Planet and immediately felt the familiar rush of excitement that the place held. News was made in this building and read all over the world. He was honored to be a part of this everyday hustle and bustle.

Lois was gnawing on a pencil as she stared intently at her computer screen. Clark sat down at his desk, just across from hers, and logged into his email.

“Where have you been?” Lois asked without looking up.

“I took Chloe to lunch and invited her over Saturday night for dinner.

“You’re cooking?”

“No. Whitney is. It’s our anniversary.”

Lois peered over her screen at him. “How many years has it been since he tied you to a cross in a cornfield?”

“Fifteen.”

“And you fell for the guy. Kinky.”

Clark grinned. “What would you do if I told you we re-enacted it every once in awhile?”

Lois looked horrified and dropped her pencil. “Shut up! I don’t want to hear anymore.”

Clark laughed.

“Excuse me, I have a delivery for Miss Lois Lane.”

They both turned their attention to a young man hovering nearby with a long box.

“Someone must really like you,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Clark stifled a laugh as Lois growled under her breath.

“You’re new,” she said.

“It’s my first day. Where would you like these?”

“You can put them in the garbage.”

“Excuse me?”

Lois glared at the man and pointed to the metal trash can sitting by her desk.

“The garbage, the trash, file thirteen. There!”

The delivery man shrugged and placed the box, which contained two perfect long-stemmed roses and no card, upright in the trash can. Then he hurried for the door. Lois went back to staring at her screen, blowing hair from her eyes and muttering to herself.

“Lois, aren’t you even going to look-” Clark started.

“Shut it, Smallville,” she hissed. After a moment, she grabbed her purse from her desk drawer and stood up. “I’m going for a smoke break.”

She stomped off and Clark just shook his head. He x-rayed the box, saw the familiar purple silk ribbon tied around the stems, and decided to invite Lois for Saturday dinner later. After she’d calmed down.

~*~*~

Whitney was sitting at the edge of the fountain in front of the STAR Labs building when Clark approached. For a moment, Clark didn’t announce his presence, instead choosing to simply watch the man he’d shared his life with for fifteen years.

There had been ups and downs throughout their relationship, like those of any regular couple, but also the problems that came with being a same sex couple with one of them being from another planet. Whitney hadn’t wanted Clark to wear the cape of Superman, worried that he’d be risking his life for people that wouldn’t appreciate it or care. But Clark had been adamant, assuring Whitney that he could balance the burden of two identities and make a difference. Whitney still worried, but he’d gotten used to it and was so incredibly proud of Clark that he found it hard not to shout it from the rooftops that Superman was his lover.

Dressed in khaki pants and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Whitney was still able to mesmerize Clark with his good looks. He was tall, broad-shouldered and very fit. His blond hair was cut short, but still long enough to be moved by a breeze. His eyes were bright blue, framed by his wire-rimmed glasses, which Clark loved. Clark straightened his own glasses and took a step closer. Whitney looked up and smiled.

“Long day?” Clark asked as they began walking the few blocks to their apartment.

“Always. Yours?”

“The same. I invited Chloe and Lois.”

“Are they coming?”

“Chloe for sure. I had to beg Lois, and I’m not sure she’ll show up.”

Whitney laughed. “Because of Lex?”

“Yup.”

“I don’t know why she won’t just admit they had a fling and move on. Lex is probably pursuing her so hard because she’s rejecting him.”

“Or he could really like her,” Clark reasoned.

“Lex and Lois,” Whitney said, squinting. “I can’t see it. But then, I didn’t see Pete and Lana getting together either.”

They nodded at their doorman and headed for the elevator where Whitney hit the UP button, then he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons.

“That looks like an invitation,” Clark said softly, a smile pulling at his lips.

“You catch on quick for a reporter,” Whitney said.

Clark felt a bolt of desire make its way through his body as they stepped into the empty elevator. The doors closed, and Clark counted to ten before he hit the STOP button.

~*~*~

Chloe rang the doorbell and waited, running a hand through her hair one last time. Clark had told her this wasn’t a formal affair, so she decided on nice jeans and a red silk sleeveless blouse. He’d also told her not to bring a gift, but she had one tucked in her purse anyway.

“Chloe!” Whitney exclaimed, throwing open the door and pulling her into a hug.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be cooking?”

He laughed and guided her inside. “I left Clark in the kitchen with his mother. He should be safe, right?”

“We should hope so.”

Lana waved from where she sat on one of the sofas, little Callie gurgling happily on her lap. Pete came over for a hug while Whitney went to get her a glass of wine.

“How’s the professor?” Pete asked.

“Sick of grading midterm reports. How are you?”

Pete grinned. “Perfect. Look at this angel I have.”

“Are you talking about your wife or your daughter?” Lana teased. She came over with Callie balanced on her hip. “I think she wants to see Aunt Chloe.”

Chloe took the little girl, surprised at how much she’d grown since the last time she’d seen her. Callie gazed up with her big dark eyes and giggled.

“Is Lois here?” Chloe asked.

“Out on the balcony, chain-smoking,” Pete said.

“Is Lex here?”

“Not yet.”

Chloe handed Callie to Pete and made her way to the kitchen. Jonathan and Martha Kent were standing near Clark, who stood by the stove. Whitney gave her her wine, and Chloe kissed Clark’s cheek and hugged his parents. Then she slipped out onto the balcony. Lois leaned against the railing, a lit cigarette dangling from her lips.

“Hey, Lo,” Chloe said.

Lois turned and nodded at her cousin. “Is he here?”

“No.”

Lois tapped the cigarette on the railing, letting ash float away.

“What’s going on with you?” Chloe asked, standing beside her. “It’s been two months since...”

“Our date?”

“Yeah. I thought you liked him. It’s why you said yes when he asked you out, right?”

“Yes,” Lois answered grudgingly.

“So?” Chloe prompted.

“So what?”

“So you slept with him and then walked away. What gives?”

Lois stubbed out her cigarette and placed it in the ashtray Clark and Whitney kept just for her.

“It’s complicated,” she said.

“No. It’s juvenile. If you’re trying to play hard to get, it’s working. Lex is crazy about you.”

“He is?”

Chloe nodded. “He’s a nice guy, Lois.”

Lois stared out at the dark sky. “I don’t want to get attached.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t want to put my heart on the line for someone I can’t have,” Lois said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Like you did.”

Chloe jerked in surprise, her wine sloshing in her glass. She set it on the small table next to Lois’s ashtray.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chloe said, glancing unconsciously towards the sliding door that opened into the living room. She could see Clark playing with Callie, making her laugh and clap her hands.

“I call bullshit, Chlo,” Lois said, following her cousin’s gaze. “You’ve had a thing for Clark ever since the day you met him. And when he turned to you when Whitney was off in the Marines, or Germany, you let yourself imagine he would stay. But he never did.”

“I didn’t...” Chloe’s shoulders slumped, and she blinked and looked at Lois. “I didn’t think it was so obvious. I always knew Clark didn’t love me like he did Whitney.”

“I don’t know how you’ve done it,” Lois said. “Letting the man you love be just a friend.”

“But at least he’s a part of my life. I’d rather have that than nothing.”

“See, this is where I’m different. I know Lex will eventually lose interest in me. So I’d rather have nothing to do with him than let him hurt me.”

“Clark never hurt me, not on purpose.” Lois nodded. “I know, and that’s the worst part.”

~*~*~

Clark frowned as he watched Chloe and Lois talking on the balcony. Chloe had a sad expression on her face, and Clark wondered what had caused it. She swiped at her eyes and nodded at Lois. Then the two women came back inside. Before Clark could do anything, Lex arrived and joined the already loud conversations taking place.

Whitney announced it was time to eat and they all sat down to a dinner of roasted lamb, mashed potatoes and gravy and fresh vegetables. While in Germany, Whitney had taken cooking lessons from a famous chef. It turned out he was a natural in the kitchen.

Lois sat across from Lex and carefully avoided making eye contact. When Lex brushed his leg against hers, she jumped in her chair. Lex just smiled.

Dessert was a three layered chocolate cake topped with fresh raspberries that Lois declared would go straight to her hips, but she ate two slices anyway. While they sipped gourmet coffee and ate their cake, toasts were made and old stories were shared. The years had passed by in a flash, but everyone still remembered those days in Smallville quite vividly.

Martha held Callie until the girl fell asleep. “Are you planning on having anymore?” she asked, patting Callie’s back.

Lana nodded. “Pete wants at least four more, but I told him he’d have to carry the last two himself.”

Pete rubbed his stomach. “Yeah, I can’t see that happening.”

“Well, Pete, with the advances in genetic technology these days,” Whitney said, “it could very well be possible in the future.”

“Do not call me when that happens,” Pete said, pointing a finger at Whitney and everyone laughed.

Lois excused herself and headed for the balcony. A moment later, Lex followed. A hush fell over the table as they all waited for fireworks, but none came.

“Maybe they’re working it out,” Lana said.

Chloe twisted her napkin between her fingers, a gesture that Clark recognized. Something was bothering her.

By the time the party broke up, it was quite late. The Kents and the Rosses were staying overnight at a hotel, courtesy of Lex.

“You want to share a cab?” Chloe asked Lois.

Lois ducked her head. “Uh, no. Lex is taking me home.”

Chloe smiled. “All right.”

Clark and Whitney said goodbye to their guests. When it was Chloe’s turn to hug Clark, he asked her if she was okay.

“I’m fine, just a little tired,” she said.

“Are you sure?” Clark asked. He stared intently into her eyes, searching.

“I’m sure. Call me sometime?”

“Of course I will.”

Clark watched her leave, still not convinced that everything was okay with her. Whitney pulled him back inside the apartment and closed the door.

“Pretty good party,” he said, eyeing the dishes on the table and the wine glasses scattered throughout the living room.

“And no one brought us a gift, just like we said.”

Whitney laughed and wrapped his arms around Clark’s waist. “Oh, but they did. I found two in the bathroom, sitting in the tub, one from your parents and one from Lana and Pete. Lois left hers on the balcony by her ashtray, and Lex stuck his in the freezer.”

“What? They’re all nuts,” Clark said, shaking his head.

“I haven’t found Chloe’s yet, but I’m sure it’s here somewhere.”

Clark kissed Whitney’s forehead and closed his eyes. “Fifteen years went by way too fast,” he murmured.

“But they’ve been wonderful,” Whitney said, tugging Clark’s shirt from his pants. “Let’s move the after party to the bedroom, shall we?”

“Mmhmm.”

They stumbled down the hallway, pulling off clothes, exploring each other’s bodies with their mouths, their hands. They fell onto their bed, and Whitney let out a startled cry.

“What’s wrong?” Clark asked.

Whitney frowned and felt underneath him, holding up a small box.

“Chloe’s gift,” he said.

Clark sat down and watched Whitney untie the ribbon and lift the lid. Inside were two sets of silver cufflinks, both engraved with the letters CKWF. A small handwritten note was included.

“I put them here because I know you two will definitely find them. Just don’t give me any details, please. Love, Chloe.”

They laughed, and Clark set the box on the nightstand. “She seems to think we do something in this bed,” he said. “So let’s not disappoint her.”

~*~*~

Clark and Whitney sat at the dining room table, the surface covered in various papers from their jobs. Clark’s laptop computer sat open in front of him, the cursor blinking on a blank page. He was staring ahead of him, but not really seeing anything. He tapped a pen against the table. Whitney peered over the rims of his glasses and frowned.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Huh?”

Whitney reached out and took the pen away. “You seem distracted.”

Clark shrugged.

“Wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s...wrong,” Clark said, his voice sounding uncertain.

“All right,” Whitney said. He raised a brow and rifled through his briefcase, searching for a report. “So what’s on your mind then?”

Clark sighed and closed his laptop. “Whitney, are you happy?”

“What kind of question is that? Didn’t we just celebrate 15 years together? Of course I’m happy.”

“I mean, there’s nothing that could make this,” Clark said, waving a hand, “any better?”

Whitney folded his hands on the table. “Is this about having children?”

Clark nodded.

“You know I’d love to, but the risks –”

“Don’t you think the benefits would outweigh the risks?” Clark interrupted. “Don’t you think we’d make good parents?”

“Whether or not we’d make good parents is not the issue and you know it,” Whitney said. “Look, I want children as much as you do. You don’t think I imagine birthdays, first days at school, picnics in the park, graduations and weddings? Because I do. Every day.”

“Then why don’t we do it? Why not make the dream come true?”

Whitney pushed himself back from the table and went into the kitchen. Clark followed.

“We could use a surrogate mother,” he said. “Or we could adopt.”

Whitney faced him and said, “You’re just going to pick some random woman to have our child? And no, we can’t adopt, Clark. Adoption agencies do background checks, and we can’t afford to have some snoopy social worker poking around and finding out you’re Superman.”

“If we used a surrogate, it’d be someone we know and trust.”

“In that case, we have very few to choose from.”

Whitney poured himself a glass of juice and went to sit at the table, going right back to working on his reports. But Clark was determined to not the let the subject slip by again. He was having it out, now, once and for all.

“Dammit, Whitney, will you listen to me?”

Frustrated, Whitney stood up again, his chair tipping backwards and falling over.

“You want to know the real reason I don’t want to have children?” he demanded. “Fine, here you go. I don’t trust people. You have far more faith in humanity than I do. You think that by putting on a cape and saving a few people, it’ll change the world, when in reality, even if you were Superman 24/7, you’d never change it. Not one damn bit. It’s a fucking scary place to be, and I don’t want to subject my child, our child, to the disaster that is outside. Secondly, I’m a selfish bastard, and I’d want the child to be biologically related to both of us. And we both know that can’t happen.”

Clark swallowed hard. He put his hands on Whitney’s shoulders and felt him trembling.

“I...I had no idea you felt this way,” Clark whispered.

“Well, now you do. I’m afraid, Clark. Afraid that I’ll be as big a disappointment as a father as I was a son. I don’t want there to be a chance, even a slight one, that I could possibly reject my kids the way my parents rejected me.”

“I can understand that, Whitney, but really, I don’t believe you would. I don’t believe you have it in you to be cruel.”

Clark kissed Whitney, holding him close. He could feel the rhythm of their two heartbeats, something that he loved.

“And as for the other thing, wanting the child to be mine?” he asked. “How do we know for sure it’s not possible?”

“What?”

“You’re a genetic scientist, Whit. Surely you can come up with something.”

Whitney shook his head. “It’s not that simple. We’d have to run multiple tests, determine if you can even father a child. I mean, yeah, we’ve studied your blood, but there’re still so many unknowns out there.”

“Then let’s figure it out. I’ll come into the lab, and you can poke and prod me and learn all about my insides,” Clark said, a teasing tone in his voice.

Whitney smiled a little. “It would all have to be done in secret of course.”

“You’re practically the top man at the lab, and Lex has considerable pull there. I bet he could help us out.”

“You’re really serious about this.”

“I am. If there’s even a sliver of an opportunity that we could have a kid together, I want to take it.”

Whitney exhaled deeply and slowly nodded. “All right. Me too. We’ll do it.”

~*~*~

It took several weeks of testing and late nights, but Whitney believed he’d figured it out. He had a file full of papers, data and charts that showed the synthetic results of combining their DNA to form one strand. It appeared that even though there was a possibility a child may gain certain powers of Clark’s, it wouldn’t stop the natural and healthy development.

It was after midnight when Whitney returned home, and he yelled for Clark immediately. Clark was just donning the suit, preparing to head out, when Whitney came into the bedroom.

“I’ve got it,” he said, fumbling with his briefcase. He was so excited that he couldn’t hold onto it; it slipped to the floor, papers spilling everywhere.

Clark dropped down to help him and picked up an inch thick report.

“You’ve got what?” he asked.

“Results. Full results of our sperm joining with an egg.”

“What?”

“Well, I mean, I didn’t actually do it,” Whitney said hastily, seeing the shocked expression on Clark’s face. “Barry, my lab assistant, created a computer program that lets you enter in all the pertinent information regarding two subjects and see what the resulting product would be. I did that, and I think, no, I believe, fully, that it is genetically possible for us to father a child together.”

Whitney gulped hard, while Clark rocked back on his heels and asked, “So we can do it?”

“Yes.”

“We can have a kid?”

“Yes.”

“Together?”

Whitney rolled his eyes. “Did you not just hear me say that?”

“And it won’t turn out like Frankenstein?”

“Clark? Frankenstein was the doctor, not the monster,” Whitney said with a grin. “But no, our child would be perfectly normal. He or she may possess some of your abilities, but if your parents could handle it, I think we could too. Really, you’re more human than alien.”

“So, so, we could, we can,” Clark stammered.

Whitney pulled him into a hug and pressed a finger to Clark’s lips, silencing him.

“We can,” Whitney said.

And Clark saw something flash in Whitney’s eyes, and he knew his own expression mirrored Whitney’s. It was a mixture of hope, excitement, and complete and utter joy.

“So now what?” Clark asked.

“Now, we choose a mother.”

“Oh God.”

They both fell silent, each thinking of who they could ask to take on this enormous task.

“I actually have someone in mind,” Whitney admitted after a moment.

“Me too.”

“Who are you thinking of?”

“No, you tell me first.”

Whitney frowned. “All right. We’ll do it this way.”

He let go of Clark and pulled out a piece of paper from his briefcase. He tore it in half and handed Clark one piece, plus a pen.

“Write down the name, then we’ll exchange,” Whitney said.

Clark scrawled a name on his paper and folded it. Whitney did the same. They quickly passed the papers between them, then held them, afraid to look.

“On the count of three,” Clark said. “One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

They opened the papers and simultaneously sucked in a breath. Then Clark looked up and grinned, and Whitney laughed, shaking his head. Clark tackled him, pushing him onto the bed. The papers fell to the floor, both with the same name written on them.

Chloe.

~*~*~

Clark fumbled with his tie, staring at himself in the mirror and wondering why he couldn’t do this simple task.

“You seem a little nervous,” Whitney said, coming up behind him. He was already dressed and ready for the evening, looking cool and calm.

Clark growled in frustration and tossed his tie onto the dresser. “This is ridiculous. It’s Chloe, for Christ’s sake.”

Whitney picked up the tie and placed it around Clark’s neck. Standing behind him, Whitney proceeded to take care of the problem, knotting it perfectly.

“Sure, it’s Chloe. Chloe’s coming for dinner, but it’s not just regular dinner,” Whitney said, straightening the tie and stepping back. “Looks nice. No, tonight we’re going to ask Chloe to be the mother to our child.”

Clark swallowed hard. “Please don’t remind me of how fucking calm you are. It’s pissing me off.”

“Whoa, someone’s really freaking out.”

“Sorry. I guess I am. I just don’t know how he’ll react, what she’ll say. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“We won’t,” Whitney said, circling Clark’s waist with his hands.

The doorbell rang, making them both jump. Whitney laughed.

“Guess I’m a little scared myself,” he said. “I’ll go let her in while you take a deep breath and count to ten.”

Whitney left the bedroom, pulling the door close behind him. Clark sat down on the bed and scrubbed his hands over his face. He took a deep breath, trying to stop the rush of blood to his head from making him nauseous. He could hear Chloe and Whitney talking easily, laughing.

For a brief moment, Clark didn’t think he could do this. Asking Chloe, one of his best friends, to carry a child for him and Whitney? He must have been crazy to even think it in the first place.

But this is what you really want, a small voice said. You can at least ask her, find out what she thinks. You can do this.

Clark nodded and went out to greet her.

“Chloe,” he said, taking her into a hug.

“You both look very nice tonight. This is just dinner, right?” she asked, pulling away and raising a brow. “I’m getting a weird vibe from you guys.”

Whitney poured wine and handed them each a glass. “Let’s sit down. We do have something to talk with you about.”

“I don’t know if I like the seriousness in your voice, Whit.”

Clark touched her shoulder. “Let’s just sit down.”

Chloe took the armchair, and Clark and Whitney sat on the sofa opposite her. All three of them placed their wine glasses on the coffee table, untouched. Clark studied Chloe, perched at the edge of her chair. She was beautiful, radiant. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, and Clark loved her more than ever before.

“We’ve been doing some thinking,” Whitney said, taking Clark’s hand in his. “About our life as a couple.”

Chloe nodded slowly and listened.

“And, uh, we’ve made a decision,” Whitney continued. He exhaled sharply and looked to Clark. “Gaaah, is that my hand or yours that’s sweating?”

“Probably both,” Clark said. “You want me to continue?”

Whitney nodded. Chloe raised her hands.

“Hold on. Is one of you sick? Is this a life or death situation? Is that why it’s just me here? You’re telling all of us one by one?” she asked. Her voice rose with each question, and Clark could tell she was about to become hysterical.

He let go of Whitney and moved to sit on the arm of Chloe’s chair. “No, no, neither of us is sick. We’re both in perfect health. However, this does have something to do with life.”

“Clark, Whitney, I love you both,” Chloe said. “But if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on, I’m going to have to break out the Kryptonite.”

“We’ve decided to extend our family,” Whitney said in a rush. “We want to have a child.”

Chloe’s eyes widened even more, and her mouth formed an “o” of surprise. Then she grinned and jumped up, grabbing both of them into a tight hug.

“That’s wonderful!” she cried. “You’ll be perfect parents, oh my God, that’s awesome!” Then she paused and held them at arm’s length. “Wait a sec, are you guys adopting or what?”

“Well, we thought about that at first, but then we decided to go a different route,” Whitney said.

“You haven’t found a way to carry a baby, have you?” Chloe teased, poking Whitney in the belly.

He laughed and said, “No, not yet.”

“So what then?”

Clark coughed. “We’ve decided to use a surrogate mother and in vitro fertilization. That way the child would be biologically related to us.”

Chloe nodded and sat down again. Whitney and Clark did the same.

“Have you found a surrogate yet? I know a really good agency. One of my former students was a surrogate,” she said. “I can put you in contact.”

Clark laughed nervously and felt his stomach flip. “Um, well, uh, we were kind of hoping to ask someone that we know,” he stammered. His cheeks burned as he spoke, and he almost wished he were up against Kryptonite right now.

Chloe nodded. “Yes, that makes sense. Who did you have in mind?”

Whitney cleared his throat and exchanged a glance with Clark. Chloe turned her head slightly and stared at them through narrowed eyes. Then she sat up straighter, took a deep breath and said, “Oh.”

Clark suddenly wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole. The look on Chloe’s face was hard to describe. First there was surprise, then shock, then bewilderment, and finally, something nameless. The room was quiet, and Clark realized he was holding his breath, and so was Whitney.

“Oh,” Chloe said again, her eyes roving up and down, but avoiding the two men.

“We wouldn’t ask you to do this if we hadn’t thought it through. You’re very dear to us, Chloe, and we’d want our child to be yours as well,” Whitney said, his voice soft. He looked at Clark, who only nodded. Clark felt like he’d just swallowed his tongue. He couldn’t speak.

“Mine?”

“Yes. We would use your eggs,” Whitney said. “The child would be biologically related to you, too.”

Chloe licked her lips. “So...it would be a product of all three of us or what?”

“Whitney’s found a way to combine our DNA,“ Clark said, motioning to Whitney and himself, “and then implant the sperm into your eggs.”

“Like Supersperm,” Chloe said, raising a brow.

“It would be perfectly safe. I’ve run tests and I have sufficient data to confirm that while the child may possess some of Clark’s powers, he or she would turn out just fine. Clark is more biologically human than alien.”

“And then what?”

“What?”

Chloe’s hands were moving when she talked, like they did when she became agitated or excited. “What happens after I give birth, hypothetically speaking, if I agreed to do this crazy thing, what happens after the child is born? Do I just walk away? Do you just keep the kid?”

Clark shook his head. “No, no. We want you involved in the child’s life. You would be the mother, in every sense of the word. We wouldn’t ask you to give up your parental rights or anything. That is, um, if you want to have a kid right now.”

He glanced sideways at Whitney and whispered, “Please tell me I didn’t just sound really stupid.”

Whitney patted his knee.

Chloe stood up and began pacing. “I-I don’t know. Can I think about this? I don’t need to give you a decision right now, do I?”

“Take all the time you want,” Whitney said gently, going to her and taking her hands in his. “Would you like to have dinner?”

She looked at him and slowly shook her head. “I think I should go. This is a lot to take in, and I’m not really hungry anymore.”

“Of course.”

She hugged them each, then left the apartment. The door closed with a definite click, and Clark sank onto the sofa.

“Jesus, that was hard,” he murmured. “How did she look to you?”

Whitney sat down beside him and rested his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers. “She looked shocked. It’s not everyday a woman is asked to have Superman’s child.”

“Not just mine, yours too.”

“I think the real issue here is that it would be part of you, Clark.”

Clark raised his head and looked at Whitney. “If you’re talking about her feelings for me...”

“I am. Look, she loves us. She has for years, but there is still a small part of her that’s in love with you. You can’t ignore that, and neither can she. We both knew that would play a huge part in her decision.”

“I hope we haven’t hurt her.”

Whitney wrapped his arm around Clark’s shoulder, pulling him close. “She’s strong, smart, and everything we’d want in a woman, if we wanted a woman,” he said, making Clark smile a little. “It was why we chose her. If she says no, we’ll move past it.”

Clark hoped so.

~*~*~

Chloe walked at a brisk pace, not noticing anything around her. She pulled her jacket tighter and raised the collar against the breeze. Her thoughts were swirling around in her head, a hundred miles a minute, and she couldn’t grasp a single coherent one.

Clark and Whitney wanted to have a child. They wanted to have a child with her. Clark and Whitney had asked her to be a surrogate mother, to carry their child and give birth to it, and also to raise it with them. She would be a mother. She would have a child.

She swallowed hard and ducked into a coffee shop. Sitting at the counter, sipping her cappuccino, she did what any good reporter would do, what she taught her students to do when following a story.

Write it all down to get the facts straight.

She pulled a pad of paper and a pen from her purse and began to scribble. After a moment, she looked at her paper and noticed she’d written the word “love” in two separate places.

Love for the child and love for the fathers.

If she chose to do this, she knew she would love the child unconditionally. It would be a part of her. And it would also be a part of Whitney and Clark, the fathers.

“Clark,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.

This was the problem. Yes, she loved Whitney and Clark, but would her deeper feelings for Clark interfere with everything?

~*~*~

Two days passed, and they heard nothing from Chloe. Clark stopped in at the university to check on her, but he was told by her teaching assistant that she’d taken a few personal days. This worried him because Chloe never missed a class. Whitney talked him out of flying past her apartment and peeking inside.

“She’s taking time to think,” Whitney said. “So let her think.”

“How can you not be concerned?” Clark asked.

“Because I know what it’s like to make a huge life changing decision concerning you. Remember when you told me you were going to become Superman? I had to take a few days to decide if I wanted to stay with you or not. I didn’t know if it was going to be worth it, no matter how much I loved you.”

Clark remembered. He’d been in agony for the week Whitney hadn’t spoken or seen him.

Clark sat on the balcony and watched the sun set over the city. In a few hours, he would put on the Superman suit and head out. But for now, he simply stared at the skyline. The patio door slid open and Whitney stepped outside.

“You all right?” Whitney asked, his voice soft. He placed his hands on Clark’s shoulders and massaged gently.

“I wish it had gone smoother.”

“I think it went fine.”

Clark shook his head. “We were too nervous. We freaked her out.”

“You think she’ll say no.”

Clark’s jaw twitched as he looked up at Whitney. “I just don’t know. I could never read Chloe as well as she could read me.”

“No matter what happens, you know that I love you, right?” Whitney asked.

“Of course, and I love you.”

Whitney leaned down for a kiss just as their doorbell rang. Clark was on his feet in a flash, nearly knocking Whitney down.

“Oh God, it’s Chloe,” Clark said.

“How do you know?”

Clark raised a brow and headed inside. Whitney nodded.

“Right, x-ray vision.”

Chloe gulped as Clark opened the door. She was twisting the strap of her bag and she looked small and vulnerable standing in the hallway. Clark pulled her into a hug and she relaxed against him.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, and she nodded.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called. I just needed some time.”

“Completely understandable. Do you want some tea or coffee?” Whitney asked.

“No thanks.”

The three of them stood in the living room, an awkward silence falling around them.

Finally, Clark cleared his throat and asked, “So, uh, I take it you’ve made a decision?”

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded. “I have.”

“Let’s sit down,” Whitney suggested.

“I want to explain a few things, before I tell you what I’ve decided,” Chloe said.

“Sure, of course,” Clark said.

Chloe tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and folded her hands together in her lap.

“First, just let me say that I am so touched that you asked me to do this,” she started. “It really means a lot to me. I’m going to be totally honest and tell you that having a child wasn’t something I’d thought much about, but when I did, I pictured myself holding a baby with dark hair and blue eyes.”

Clark gnawed on his lower lip and nodded.

Chloe’s eyes filled with tears and she sniffled. “Clark, I love you. You’re my best friend, and yes, I have strong feelings for you. I always have, and it’s been no secret. It’s also no secret that it’ll never happen. However, that hasn’t stopped me from loving you any more than I do.”

Clark felt the hot sting of tears at his eyes and he blinked, letting them fall.

“Chloe, I’m sorry,” he said.

She shook her head and smiled a little, “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You can’t help who you fall in love with. I’m just very glad that you have Whitney.”

She took a deep breath. “I thought long and hard about this, and I’ve realized that I have moved on. I’ve accepted that we’ll only be friends, but you know what? You’re closer to me than any lover could be, really, and just knowing that you love me and care about my feelings is good enough for me. And Whitney?”

He jerked at his name and blinked.

“You’re dear and near to my heart as well,” Chloe said. She leaned forward and took their hands in hers. “You two will be excellent fathers, so I would be very honored to be the mother to your child.”

There was a stunned silence for a moment. The words had been spoken aloud, and neither of them had expected the torrent of emotions that flooded through them all.

Soon they were all crying and hugging. And each of them was thinking the same thing.

We’re really going to do this.

~*~*~

“So what’s the big news that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” Lois asked, settling into her chair across from Chloe.

Chloe had invited her to lunch to tell her about being a mother. She hadn’t even told her father yet, because she felt that Lois would be honest with her. No bullshit, was her cousin’s motto.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Chloe said. “Do you want to order first?”

“No, just tell me. Did you get tenured at the university?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, it’s something else entirely.”

“Then what? You’re making me nervous, Chlo.” Lois began digging around in her bag for her cigarettes.

Chloe took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to have a baby.”

Lois paused and looked at her. “Excuse me?”

Chloe smiled and shrugged. “I’m going to have a baby.”

“Oh wow, that’s um,” Lois stuttered. She found her cigarettes and stared at them. “Guess I shouldn’t be smoking around you then.”

“Well, I’m not pregnant yet.”

“What? You just said -”

“I’m going to get pregnant soon. Maybe before Christmas.”

“You’re confusing me. Are you seeing someone?”

“No.”

“Then who will be the father?”

“This is where it gets complicated.”

“How so?”

Chloe took a deep breath. “Clark and Whitney have asked me to have a child with them.”

“With them? Not for them?”

“They’ll use my eggs, and I’ll be the mother in every sense of the word. They want me to be a part of the child’s life.”

Lois leaned back in her chair. “I didn’t know you wanted a kid right now.”

“I’m thirty years old.”

“So what? Lots of women wait until later.”

“I’m not married. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

“So you’re jumping at the chance to have a child with Clark and Whitney, just because they asked?”

Chloe felt her skin tingle at Lois’s tone.

“And because I want a child. Because I’m financially secure, and because they’re the same way.”

“Who’s the sperm donor?” Lois asked abruptly.

“What?”

“Who will be the biological father? Clark?”

“You think I’m doing this just to have Clark’s baby?” Chloe asked, her cheeks hot. “Well, that’s not it. Whitney found a way to combine their DNA. They’ll both be the fathers.”

“Jesus, Chloe,” Lois breathed. “This is nuts.”

“Why? Why is it nuts to have a child with people that I truly care about, and who care about me?”

Lois sat up straighter and leaned forward. “Because one of those people happens to be the man you’ve been in love with since you were thirteen.”

“I worked all that out. I accept that Clark will never love me the way he does Whitney. I accept that he’ll never be mine. But yes, my feelings for him had something to do with my decision. Why would I want a kid with someone I didn’t care about?”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Why do you seem to think I’m so weak?”

“I don’t think you’re weak.”

Chloe glared across the table. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”

Lois licked her lips and sighed. “I just think you’re rushing into this. Please, take some time to think –”

“I have. And my decision won’t change. I’m sorry that you can’t share my joy, Lois,” Chloe said. She stood up and pulled on her coat.

“Wait, don’t go. We can talk about this.”

Chloe picked up her purse and shook her head. “No. I don’t think we can.”

And she left a stunned Lois alone at the table.

~*~*~

Clark looked up as several interns scurried out of Lois’s way as she entered the newsroom. Her expression was stormy, and Clark gulped. He was just about to make a dash for it when he heard her bark, “Kent!”

He slumped back into his chair and braced himself. She was on him in seconds, in his face.

“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Impregnating my cousin?” Lois yelled at him.

Clark jumped up. “What? Chloe told you?”

“Fuck yes, she told me. Just a few minutes ago. What the hell are you thinking?”

Clark glanced around. Most of the newsroom had stopped what they were doing to stare.

“Can we not talk about this now?” he asked softly.

“Oh, we’re going to talk about it now,” Lois hissed.

“Fine.” Clark grabbed her by the arm and steered her into the hallway to the elevator.

They went up to the rooftop and Lois whirled on him, but Clark spoke first.

“Look, I know you have an opinion, because you always have an opinion, but this doesn’t really concern you. This is between Chloe, Whitney and me.”

“And as Chloe’s cousin, I feel I have a right to tell you that I think you’re being a huge selfish asshole!”

“How are you getting that?”

Lois held up her hand and began ticking off points on her fingers.

“One, you know that Chloe’s in love with you. Two, you know that she’s single. Three, you know that because she’s in love with you and single, she’d do anything for you. Four –”

“You have no fucking clue what’s going on here,” Clark broke in. “You may be her cousin, but you have no say in her decision. We’ve worked out all the details. We’ve talked it through, and we’re going to do this whether we have your permission or approval or not. We really don’t care.”

Lois’s jaw clenched and she narrowed her eyes. “So you expect me to believe that after this, this, alien human three-way DNA child is born, you’ll really keep Chloe included?”

“I don’t see how you can think that we wouldn’t.”

“Because everything changes after the birth. Every detail and agreement you’ve worked out all goes out the window once you hold that baby in your arms.”

“How do you know? Have you had a baby?” Clark countered, knowing full well that she hadn’t.

“I’ve seen it happen to others, and I don’t want Chloe to get hurt.”

“She won’t. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull?”

Lois just glared at him. Clark sighed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry you think I’m such a callous person. Clearly, I was mistaken in thinking you knew me,” he said. “I’m going back inside.”

Lois didn’t try and stop him.

~*~*~

“All right, Chloe, just lie back and relax,” Whitney said.

“Somehow, I pictured conception as more...romantic,” Chloe joked.

She was lying on an examination table in a sterile hospital room. Whitney had at first suggested handling everything at STAR Labs, but Chloe insisted on being in a hospital. Because Whitney had connections at Metropolis General, they were allowed to perform the procedure there, and Whitney himself was going to handle everything from now on, including the actual birth of the baby.

“It’s sci-fi enough as it is,” she had said. “Please give me some semblance of normalcy.”

For two weeks, she’d taken fertility drugs, had blood tests and ultrasound scans. Some of her eggs had been removed and fertilized with Clark and Whitney’s sperm, and today was the day they were going back inside.

Clark held her hand as Whitney injected her with the fertilized eggs.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Sure. Fine.”

“Have you talked to Lois?”

She shook her head. “No. You?”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, Clark.”

“For what?”

“I didn’t think she’d react like this.”

“Not your fault. I think after some time, she’ll get over it. Lex is trying to get her to see that this is a good thing.”

Chloe smiled. “I’m glad at least he’s supportive.”

“Lex? Of course he is. He’s excited to be an uncle. He’s already offered to buy Disneyland for the kid’s first birthday.”

Chloe couldn’t help but giggle.

Whitney looked up and nodded. “All done.”

“Now what?” Chloe asked.

“Now we wait.”

“How long?”

Whitney smiled. “We should know in about 12 or 13 days. For now, you just rest here for about an hour, and then we’ll take you home.”

Chloe sighed and rubbed her eyes. “An hour?”

“I’ll stay with you,” Clark offered.

Whitney cleaned up the equipment and went to speak with another doctor. Before he left, he kissed Chloe’s cheek and said, “You’re one of a kind, Chloe Sullivan.”

Clark scooted his chair closer, still holding her hand. Chloe rubbed her belly.

“Do you think it’ll work right away?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Sometimes it takes more than one try.”

“Do you want a boy or a girl?”

“As long as it’s healthy, I don’t really care.”

“Aw come on. Everyone says that, but everyone has a preference.”

Clark laughed. “All right. I’d want a little girl.”

“And Whitney?”

“He wants a girl, too.”

Chloe nodded and said, “I want a girl. A perfect combination of you and Whitney.”

Clark kissed her hand. “So have you told your dad yet?”

“I’m calling him this afternoon. I know he’ll be supportive, but I wanted the first procedure done with before I said anything.”

“We’re driving out to Smallville tomorrow to see my folks. I asked Whitney if he wanted to tell his mother, but he’s still unsure. He hasn’t seen or spoken to her in almost eight years. To suddenly pop up on her doorstep and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to have a child with my female friend and gay lover?’” Clark shook his head. “He may as well buy the headstone now.”

“Hmm. Do you think I could go with you tomorrow? I would really love to tell Pete and Lana too.”

“Sure. We’ll probably head out in the morning, stay for lunch and possibly dinner. You know there will be a lot of questions to answer.”

Chloe agreed and said, “We can handle it. All four of us.”

Clark patted her belly and grinned.

~*~*~

Jonathan Kent stared with wide eyes, his wife frozen at his side with the same expression.

Finally, Jonathan shook himself and said, “I’m sorry, you’re going to have to repeat that. You did what to your DNA?”

Chloe stepped back and let Whitney explain. She went to sit on the couch with Lana and Pete.

“So. What do you think?” she asked.

Lana looked to Pete, then back to Chloe. “Um. I think it’s...um...Wow. Are you sure this is how you want to have kids?”

Chloe felt her stomach flip. “At this point in my life, yes. You don’t approve?”

Lana quickly shook her head. “No, it’s not that. Honey, I’m happy for you, really. It’s just so sudden. But, isn’t it dangerous?”

“Not really. With the advanced genetic technology that Whitney’s over there babbling about, it’s perfectly safe.”

Pete reached for her hands. “Chloe, we’re happy for you. We’re just surprised, that’s all. But we support you one hundred percent.”

“Completely,” Lana said.

Chloe hugged them both. Whitney had given Martha and Jonathan a quick rundown of what was happening, with Clark throwing in comments of, “It’s perfectly okay,” and “Whitney’s done a lot of testing. It’ll be fine.”

“So what will you tell people? Who will you say is the biological father?” Jonathan asked. “Or will you tell people about the combined DNA?”

“No,“ Clark said, “I think we’ll just leave that part out for now. We’re going with the story that there were some eggs fertilized by Whitney, and some by me. That way, it won’t matter who the child resembles more.”

“Smart,” Pete said.

While the Kents were clearly pleased at the idea of becoming grandparents, they were obviously concerned about the risks of Chloe carrying a half human, half alien baby.

“I promise you, if I feel like the baby will burst out through my belly button with six arms and razor sharp teeth,” Chloe said, going for humor, “I’ll make Clark and Whitney regret it.”

Martha cracked a smile, then went over and hugged Chloe.

“You’ll be a wonderful mother, sweetheart,” she said.

For the next five minutes, hugs and congratulations were exchanged, but Clark had to point out that they wouldn’t know if Chloe was pregnant for a few days yet.

“Oh, Clark, I think she is. Just look at her,” Martha said. “She’s glowing already.”

Chloe laughed because secretly, she thought she was pregnant too.

~*~*~

Chloe nibbled on her thumbnail as she watched Whitney slowly approach the front door of his mother’s house. Clark sat in the backseat, nervously tapping his fingers against her headrest.

“Oh God, this was a bad idea,” he murmured.

“Shouldn’t you be out there with him?”

“He said he wanted to talk with her alone first. If all goes well, then we’ll go in.”

They both jumped as the door suddenly opened and there stood Mrs. Fordman. Clark held his breath, as did Chloe, as they watched Whitney and his mother just stare at each other. After a moment, Mrs. Fordman simply turned around and closed the door.

Chloe let out a choked sound of surprise, and Clark gripped the back of the headrest so hard, it snapped off.

“Fuck,” he spat. “Fucking fuck.”

“Oh my God, that was, that was horrible,” Chloe whispered.

Whitney squared his shoulders and returned to the car. His expression was stony, his lips set in a tight line.

“Well, that’s that,” he said, buckling his seatbelt.

“Whitney,” Chloe said, touching his arm, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I should have known better.”

“But –”

“Chloe, just let it go, please?”

She saw the pain in his eyes and fought to keep from crying. Whitney started the car, and they headed to Grandville, where Chloe’s father now lived. He was thrilled to see them, and his excitement about the baby rubbed off on all of them. By the time they were on the highway going back to Metropolis, all three were in a much better mood.

But Chloe still felt a pang of sadness for Whitney.

~*~*~

Ten days later, Clark, Whitney and Chloe were having a nice relaxing dinner out. Clark wanted her to take a pregnancy test, but Chloe insisted on waiting. So before they had a knock down drag it out fight, Whitney suggested dinner at Bella’s, Chloe’s favorite restaurant, and called a truce. They hadn’t spoken of the pregnancy during the appetizer or the main course, but now they had come to dessert, and Clark was antsy.

“So we were thinking,” Clark said, nudging Whitney with his elbow.

Chloe stole a fourth bite of Whitney’s chocolate mousse pie and said, “Yeah?”

“We were thinking that you should, uh, possibly, I mean, if you want to that is-” Clark stammered.

Whitney rolled his eyes and pushed his dessert plate across the table. “Here, just take it.”

She grinned and dug in. “Clark, just spit it out.”

“All right. Whitney and I were thinking that you should move in with us,” Clark said.

Chloe choked and dropped her fork. Whitney was up in an instant, patting her back, and Clark signaled for a waiter to bring more water.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Chloe wheezed. She thanked the waiter and sipped from her glass. “Okay, whoa, you’re serious?”

“Yes,“ Whitney said. “Since we’re going to have a baby together, we’d like us to be a family, a real family.”

Chloe dabbed at her lips with her napkin. “I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“We completely understand that you’re not bound to us through marriage or anything like that,” Clark said, “so you don’t have to stay forever. When you find someone, you’re more than welcome to move out, or he can move in. We just, we’d like to all be there for the baby, you know, at the start.”

“It makes sense,” Chloe said. “You really want me to move in. What about my apartment? And is there really enough room at yours?”

“Well, that’s another thing,” Whitney said with a laugh. “Instead of having to choose yours or ours, we were thinking we’d fine someplace else altogether.”

Chloe sat up, and Clark and Whitney could see the wheels turning in her head. It was true, she was already picturing herself decorating a whole new place, choosing baby furniture and paint colors. She quickly warmed to the idea.

“When can we start looking?” she asked.

~*~*~

“Is she pregnant yet?” Lex asked.

Clark balanced his phone between his chin and shoulder while shuffling papers on his desk.

“She’s getting a blood test taken today,” he said.

“And you’re not with her?”

“She said she didn’t want me hovering over her the entire time. Do I hover?”

“Constantly,” Lex chuckled. “Anyway, I’ve compiled a list of potential apartments you may be interested in. Should I send it over?”

“Lex, I appreciate your help, but Chloe wants to find a place on her own.”

“And I understand that. But these places are in excellent neighborhoods, near good schools and parks, and are equipped with state of the art security systems.”

“All right, I’ll take the list. I can’t guarantee we’ll pick one of them...”

“Hey, Uncle Lex wants nothing but the best for this child.”

It was Clark’s turn to laugh. “You’re really getting into this aren’t you?”

“Of course.”

They chatted for a few more minutes before Lex had to go into a meeting. Lois arrived soon after, back from lunch, and sat down wordlessly across from Clark. Clark glanced at her from the corner of his eye, saw her glaring at him, and looked away.

“Have you heard yet?” Lois asked.

“Heard what?”

“From Chloe.”

“What about her?”

Lois slapped her hands on the desk. “Cut the crap, Smallville. Is she pregnant yet?”

“I don’t know. She hasn’t called.” Clark paused. “Anyway, I thought you didn’t care.”

“I do care, Clark. I care a great deal.”

She sounded almost sad, and Clark sympathized. According to Chloe, they hadn’t spoken in almost a month, and Lois was growing increasingly annoyed. They’d always been close, and this was the longest they’d gone without talking.

“Why don’t you call her?” Clark asked.

“She won’t talk to me.”

“How do you know?”

“I wasn’t exactly nice.”

“So apologize. She loves you, Lois. This isn’t the first time you’ve said something stupid, and it certainly won’t be the last.”

“Thank you, Clark,” Lois said dryly.

“You know what I mean. Just talk to her. I’m sure she’s as upset about this as you are.”

Lois fell silent and stared at her hands. Just as Clark was going to say something else, his phone rang. He dove for it, knocking his pen cup to the floor.

“Whitney? What is it?”

Lois watched as Clark listened, his brow furrowing in deep concentration.

“Okay, okay, yeah, I’ll be right there.”

He hung up and stood, pulling on his jacket. “Will you tell Perry I had to step out for a minute?”

“Where are you going?”

“The hospital. Whitney has the results of the pregnancy test, but he’s waiting for me to get there before he opens it.”

Lois jumped up, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “I’m going with you. Don’t even try to stop me,” she said when she saw Clark about to object. “I’ll drive.”

Whitney was waiting for them outside when they arrived.

“Chloe’s bouncing off the walls,” he said, kissing Clark’s cheek. “Uh, hi, Lois.”

“Hi.”

They took the elevator to the fifth floor and found Chloe pacing around a small examination room. She looked up when they came inside, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright.

“Gimme,” she said, extending her hands towards Whitney.

Whitney moved closer and pulled an envelope from his back pocket. As he did, Lois was revealed standing behind him.

“Hi, Chloe,” she said. “I’ll leave and let you read the results, but first, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for being such a bitch. It was wrong of me to pass judgment on you, and I hope you don’t hate me.”

She turned to go, and Chloe reached out and grabbed her arm. “Please, stay.”

Lois swallowed and nodded, moving towards the wall. Chloe took the envelope from Whitney and held it.

“Oh my God, Chloe, please, the suspense is killing me,” Clark said.

She opened the envelope and removed a single piece of paper. Her eyes moved over the words, then filled with tears. Clark and Whitney’s shoulders slumped.

“It’s okay, honey,” Whitney said. “We can try again.”

“Sometimes it takes more than once,” Clark said.

Lois raised a brow. “God, for gay men, you sure are dense.”

“What?” they asked in unison, and Chloe burst into giggles.

“She’s crying because she’s happy!” Lois exclaimed.

Chloe nodded. “She’s right. Guys, I’m pregnant.”

Whitney and Clark exchanged glances, then started shouting. They pulled her into a hug and danced around the room, even including Lois.

“We’re gonna have a baby. We’re gonna be parents!” Clark cried.

~*~*~

“As you can see, the windows are large and you have a great view of the Metropolis City Park from here. Now the fireplace is gas and easily controlled…”

“So, what do you think so far?” Clark asked quietly.

Whitney looked around and shrugged, while Chloe frantically eyed her surroundings.

“Excuse me,” she said, interrupting their perky female realtor from describing the beauty of the stone hearth, “but where’s the bathroom?”

The realtor, whose name was Jeannie, pointed down the hallway. “First door on your left.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back in a minute,” Chloe said. She briskly walked away, and Clark and Whitney exchanged smiles.

“Is she okay?” Jeannie asked, concern making her voice slightly less perky.

“She’s pregnant,” Clark explained. “She has to pee a lot.”

“Oh! Oh, well, congratulations,” Jeannie said. “You and your wife will certainly have beautiful children. I can see why you’re looking for a bigger place. How far along is she?”

“Two months, and actually,” Whitney said, moving closer to Clark, “I’m his partner. She’s our friend, having our baby. We’re all going to move in together.”

Jeannie’s bright smile faltered just a bit, and then her brows knitted together in confusion.

“I see. Uh, well, good for you,” she said, sounding uncertain. She cleared her throat and pointed towards the kitchen, switching gears. “Newly remodeled with state of the art appliances,” she said. “A chef’s dream. Do either of you cook?”

“I do,” Whitney said.

“Excellent. Shall we check it out?”

A few minutes later, Chloe sighed and patted her belly as she entered the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. My bladder just isn’t what it used to be,” she said, and the realtor blushed.

They finished looking at the rest of the apartment, and Chloe made a mental checkmark on this one. They shook hands with Jeannie and told her they’d be in touch. Then Clark hailed a cab and they headed towards Luthor Towers. Lex had invited them for lunch.

“Did you like that one?” Clark asked.

Chloe nodded and checked her appointment book. “It was nice. Good neighborhood.”

“Four bedrooms,” Whitney said. “Plenty of room for us and a nursery.”

“I didn’t like the kitchen,” Clark said. “I think she was lying about the remodeling. I could see cracks behind the walls.”

“You’re supposed to be looking for termites, or roaches, or any other creepy crawly things that’ll make the baby scream,” Chloe teased. “And me. I don’t like bugs either.”

Clark laughed and patted her shoulder. “The second I see one, I’ll blast it.”

“Good. You do that.”

“Lex said there’s a penthouse available in his building,” Clark said. “Want to check it out?”

“We could never afford it,” Whitney said.

“He offered to let us have it for a fraction of the cost.”

Chloe smiled. “That’s nice of him. The least we can do is check it out.”

They arrived at Luthor Towers and walked into the south one where Lex lived at the very top. Since they were friends, and he was expecting them, they were personally escorted to his place via private elevator.

“I hope you’re hungry,” he greeted them with a hug and a grin. He held Chloe at arm’s length and looked at her. “You don’t seem to be getting any bigger. Are you eating all right?”

“Trust me. My clothes are definitely snugger, and have you checked out my boobs? They’re huge.”

Lex laughed and guided her inside. “I talked to Clark, and he said your current favorite foods are potato chips with nacho cheese, steak, and baby carrots with salsa.” He shuddered and shook his head. “Your child is definitely an alien.”

“Hey!” Clark said, but he was grinning.

They enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the balcony, and Chloe ate everything. So far, she’d noticed several changes in her body, and she was enjoying a morning-sickness free pregnancy, even though she snacked all day long, and had even called Clark in the middle of the night to see if he would go get her some fresh Belgian chocolate. From Belgium.

To her surprise and delight, he’d not only stopped in Brussels for her, but also Geneva. There was something to say about having Superman as the father of your child.

“Have you found a place yet?” Lex asked. He folded his napkin and set it on the table. “Did Clark tell you about the penthouse that’s available here?”

“Yes,” Chloe said. “He did. Can you tell us about it?”

“It’s two floors below me, slightly smaller than this one, only four bedrooms instead of six –”

“Wow, what a tragedy,” Chloe teased.

“Eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, two bathrooms, really great place.”

“Is it as shiny as yours?” Chloe asked.

“Shiny?”

“Everything in here is steel or glass. Shiny.”

Lex smiled and said, “No. This one is more homey. It used to belong to a family of four, but they decided to move back to upstate New York. I believe they bought a farmhouse there.”

“Ah, sounds like good people,” Clark said.

“I can give you a tour myself,” Lex said, “if you’d like.”

“Sure,” Chloe said. “But after dessert.”

~*~*~

“I don’t know, Clark. You don’t think it’s a bit much?”

Clark folded his pants and placed them on the bench at the end of the bed. Whitney slipped beneath the sheets and Clark joined him, loving the feel of him so close.

“It’s a great place,” Clark said. “And Lex could get it for us at a really good price. With three good incomes, it would be no problem to pay for it. You didn’t like it?”

“No, I liked it. I liked it a lot. It’s just that I’m not sure that’s the kind of environment I want to raise our kid in.”

“How so?”

“Sterile.”

Clark raised a brow.

“It’s mostly business people that live there. Hardly any kids. Not a very family friendly atmosphere.”

“We don’t have to take it. Lex won’t be offended or anything.”

“I know. I just think I want something more comfortable. More like what we had in Smallville.”

“Are you saying you want to move back there?”

Whitney tweaked Clark’s left nipple. “Now that would be a bit impractical, wouldn’t it? No, but there are other buildings, smaller ones with families.”

“All right. We’ll keep looking. But we should probably speed it up a bit. I mean, Chloe’s going to get really big soon, and I want her to get settled.”

“I agree,” Whitney said. “And uh, not to sound like a totally heterosexual male, but have you seen her breasts? They almost look fake.”

“I know. I didn’t know boobs could get that big naturally.”

“Do you think,” Whitney mused, snaking his hand between Clark’s legs, “that if men could get pregnant, their dicks would get bigger?”

~*~*~

Chloe raised her shirt and Whitney smeared a clear gel on her abdomen.

“Jesus, that’s cold,” she said.

“Sorry. I’ll warm it next time.”

Chloe looked to her right where Clark was half-sitting, half-hovering over a chair. He held her hand and stared at the screen of the ultrasound machine.

“I don’t see anything,” he said, sounding impatient.

“That’s because I haven’t turned it on yet,” Whitney said with a grin. “Relax, Clark.”

Chloe giggled and shook her head. Whitney fiddled with some knobs, then turned to Chloe holding a small device in his hand.

“This is a transducer. I’m going to glide it along your belly, and we should be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat and see a picture on the screen.”

“Can we tell the sex yet?” Clark asked.

“Too early. Are you ready?”

Chloe gulped and nodded, feeling excited and scared at the same time. Whitney started moving the transducer across her stomach, slowly and in even motions.

After a few moments, he let out an amused, “Huh,” but said nothing else.

“What? What was that?” Chloe asked.

“Huh,” Whitney repeated, still moving the transducer and looking at the screen.

“Whitney, what’s going on? Is something wrong?”

Chloe felt a surge of panic make its way up her throat. Letting go of Clark’s hand, she reached out and grabbed hold of Whitney’s tie, yanking him towards her.

“What is it? Is something wrong? It’s got three arms? Four eyes? What?!”

“T-two,” Whitney croaked, trying to pull away.

“Two what?”

“Heart-”

“Oh God, it’s got two hearts?!” Chloe gasped.

Whitney shook his head and pried her fingers from his tie. He backed up a step and said, “No, two heartbeats. There are two heartbeats. Listen.”

He adjusted the volume on the machine, and sure enough, two distinct heartbeats could be heard.

“What the hell does that mean?” Clark asked.

“What do you think? It means two babies,” Whitney said. “I can see now why I’m the one with the medical degree.”

“Twins?” Chloe whispered, her eyes wide with surprise. “Twins. You’re sure? Only two? I won’t end up having ten like that lady in Iowa?”

“She had seven, and no, there are no more than two heartbeats,“ Whitney said. “It sometimes happens with in vitro.“

“Will they both, uh, have powers?” Clark asked. Chloe almost laughed at the way his eyebrows were jumping all over his forehead in confusion.

Whitney shrugged. “No way to tell yet. We’ll just have to wait.”

Chloe looked down at her stomach. “There is no way in hell they’re coming out naturally. I mean, come on. I wasn’t a tiny baby, and sure as shit neither were you two.”

“Actually, I was an average sized baby,” Whitney said.

“And I have no idea,” Clark said. “But I was a big toddler.”

Chloe groaned and looked to the ceiling. “I’m doomed.”

~*~*~

Moving day. They’d finally found a place they could all agree on, one with plenty of space, lots of windows, a good kitchen, and in a building with families. As an added bonus, it was also on the top floor, so Clark could come and go without drawing suspicion.

Chloe, Lana and Lois sat on the sofa in the middle of the living room, while Clark, Whitney, Pete and Lex moved stuff in. Chloe bounced Callie on her knees, joking that with her belly, she didn’t really have a lap anymore.

“So what was the delivery like?” Chloe asked.

Lana groaned. “Excruciating. At least until the drugs kicked in. Then it was like floating on a nice fluffy cloud. All that Lamaze breathing didn’t work at all.”

“Drugs, definitely go with drugs,” Lois said. “I know how you are with pain, Chloe. You scream and have fits when you get a paper cut.”

“True.”

Pete and Whitney huffed and puffed and lugged in a huge oak dresser.

“Where does this go?” Pete asked.

“Last bedroom at the end of the hall,” Chloe said.

“Jesus Christ, it’s like, a million feet away,” Pete complained. “You girls could help too.”

“Pregnant woman,” Chloe said, pointing to her protruding belly.

“Pregnant woman’s best friend,” Lana said.

“Pregnant woman’s cousin,” Lois quipped with a grin.

Pete rolled his eyes, and he and Whitney carried the dresser down the hallway.

“Hey, I suggested we hire a moving company, but noooo,” Chloe said, tickling Callie’s toes, “Clark and Whitney insisted on doing it themselves. Said they wanted to enjoy the feeling of moving into a real home.”

“Have you picked out names yet?” Lois asked.

“Not yet. We don’t know what they are, and when I suggested we each make separate lists, just to get some ideas, the guys fought for two days over each other’s name choices.” Chloe lowered her voice and said, “I had to side with Whitney on this. There is no way we’re having any child named Beckley or Manchester.”

“I still can’t believe you’re having twins,” Lana said. “Are you scared?”

“Terrified.”

“You’ll be fine,” Lois said, patting her knee. “If I were you, I’d be more scared about living with these two.”

They all looked up as Clark and Whitney argued over where to put a large marble statue of an eagle with its wings outstretched.

“Garbage,” Chloe whispered, wiggling her fingers at them. “It goes in the trash. It’s ugly. It’ll scare the baby.”

Lois and Lana giggled as Callie imitated Chloe by wiggling her own small fingers.

“See? She thinks so, too!” Chloe said.

~*~*~

Superman landed in the back alleyway of The Talon coffeehouse, and Lana stepped forward with a smile.

“Two freshly made Talon green teas,” she said, handing him the cup holder.

Clark rolled his eyes. “This is getting out of hand. She’ll only drink your tea, and it has to be at 7:30 in the morning.”

Lana shrugged and tucked napkins in the holder. “She’s seven, almost eight months along, and she’s pregnant with twins. I think we can accommodate her just a bit, don’t you?”

“Wow, thanks for the guilt trip.”

“Just go. She likes them hot you know.”

Clark thanked her and flew into the sky, heading back to Metropolis. Within minutes, he was landing on his balcony and going inside. Chloe came at him immediately, her hands out and reaching for the cups. Grabbing them, she turned and waddled back to the bar to sit down.

“Thanks, Clark,” she said, “but what took you so long?”

Growling, Clark rushed into the bedroom to change for work. Whitney was pulling on a suit jacket and tossing things into his briefcase.

“You look rough this morning,” Whitney said.

“She called me four times last night, wanting special food. I had to go to Germany for chocolate, and then Chicago for cheesecake. Then, she had me rushing off to Smallville for one of my mother’s peach pies, and then to New York City for deep dish pizza. I thought the food cravings were supposed to lessen by this time,” Clark complained.

“Well, she’s pregnant with tw-”

“Twins, I know. I already heard it from Lana.“ Clark sighed and went to shower. Fifteen seconds later, he was hopping into his pants. “I love her, I do, but she’s killing me here.”

Whitney chuckled and kissed Clark’s cheek. “I’ve gotta run. I’ll be back around six, how about you?”

“Same.”

“See you then.”

Whitney left Clark to say goodbye to Chloe. Since she was off for the summer, Chloe was busily lounging around the apartment. Her feet were constantly killing her, and she was tired all the time, which Whitney told her was normal. That didn’t mean she was okay with it though.

“So what’s on your agenda for the day?” Whitney asked.

Chloe sat down on the sofa, lifting her legs to lie down. Whitney propped a pillow under her knees.

“I’m going to hold this piece of furniture down with my enormous ass,” she said. “You?”

“You’re not that big, really. I’ve seen much larger women who were only pregnant with one.”

“You’re sweet, Whitney.”

“Weren’t you going to put away all those baby clothes you got from the shower?”

“Did it.”

“Uh, hang the mobiles above the cribs?”

“Done.”

“How about setting up the changing table?”

“Finished that yesterday.”

Whitney frowned and said, “Oh. Okay then. Well, call me if you need anything.”

He bent to kiss her forehead, then left. Clark came out of the bedroom a minute later, buttoning up his shirt.

“Will you be okay today, Chloe?”

“I’ve got my tea. My morning’s off to a great start, thanks.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No. I’m fine. Just go to work. Be productive. Contribute something good to the world,” Chloe said, waving a hand.

After he was gone, Chloe channel surfed for a half hour, then gave up. She hadn’t found anything worthwhile to watch the entire time she’d been pregnant. Nothing but game shows and soap operas and talk shows with topics like, “I’m Having An Alien Baby!” which didn’t amuse her.

She’d finished setting up for the arrival of the twins. A few weeks ago, they’d broken down and decided they wanted to know the sexes of the babies.

“Boys,” Whitney exclaimed. “We’re having two little boys!”

Immediately, they started working on names, and finally settled on Gabe and Alexander.

Chloe was happy they were developing normally, but she couldn’t help but feel a tiny twang of disappointment that she wasn’t getting a girl.

“Maybe next time,” she said, moving from the sofa and rubbing her belly. “Oof, stop kicking so much. What, you don’t like the tea today?”

She walked down the hall to the nursery, which they had decorated in soft colors and stuffed animals.

“No clowns,” Whitney had declared, shuddering. “I hate clowns. They’re scary as hell.”

“And no stupid macho male stuff, either,” Clark threw in. “No sports themes.”

“You don’t think they’ll play football?” Whitney asked.

“Not if I can help it,” Chloe said. “They’re going to read books.”

“I read books,” Whitney said. “With big words!”

Chloe and Clark just giggled. In the end, they hadn’t gone with any theme, just soft teddy bears and fluffy lions and tigers. There were even turtles and giraffes, and Martha had given Chloe Clark’s old stuffed dog, Flops.

“I had to replace the eyes, but don’t tell Clark,” Martha whispered with a smile.

Flops stood guard on the dresser.

Chloe looked for something to do, but found nothing. They were all set. Whitney had told her the babies would most likely arrive early, and she was fine with that. She was tired of feeling like a whale.

For the rest of the morning, she read a book and snacked on crackers, occasionally getting up to pee. For lunch, she fixed herself a light salad and a bowl of soup. Just as she was getting ready to settle down for her afternoon nap, the doorbell rang.

She knew it wasn’t Clark or Whitney, because they had keys, and she wasn’t expecting anyone. Peering through the peephole, she saw a woman with long dark blond hair standing on the doorstep. She seemed vaguely familiar to Chloe, and when the woman reached up to tug nervously on her earring, Chloe gasped.

It was a tic of her mother’s. Chloe swallowed hard and opened the door.

“Chloe!” her mother exclaimed, a smile quickly appearing and then fading. “My God, your father wasn’t lying.”

“Hi, Mom. What brings you by?”

“Well, I stopped in Smallville to see your father, and then he mentioned you were pregnant,” Louisa Sullivan said. “But then the story got confusing, so I decided to see you for myself.”

“So this makes three times since you left us,“ Chloe said, her voice unemotional. “It’s almost too much.”

Louisa’s expression turned sad. “Will you please let me in? I’d really like to talk with you.”

Chloe gritted her teeth, then pursed her lips and moved aside. She felt the babies moving around and knew they could feel her agitation. Her mother stepped past her into the apartment, taking it all in.

“Lovely place,” she said.

“We can sit here,” Chloe said, motioning to the living room chairs. She lowered herself carefully and positioned a small pillow behind her back.

“How far along are you?” Louisa asked.

“Almost eight months.”

“With twins, right?”

“Yes.”

“And who’s the father?”

Chloe looked her mother straight in the eye and said, “The fathers are Clark Kent and Whitney Fordman.”

“Both of them are men?”

“Since you said you talked to Dad, I know he told you everything, so yes, they’re men, and they’re a couple. They’re also very good friends of mine.”

Louisa leaned forward and patted Chloe’s knee. “But the babies, they’re yours, too, aren’t they?”

“Yes, and they’ll know I’m their mother. We’ve worked out a plan that keeps us all happy.”

“You’re going to help raise the children?”

“Yes.”

“But won’t that be confusing to them? Two fathers and one mother? That’s not a normal family setting, now is it?”

Chloe felt her heartbeat kick up a notch and her nostrils flared. She also felt a strong kick against her ribcage.

“It’s fine. Just like a single father raising his daughter after the mother ran off,” she said.

Louisa didn’t even flinch. “I hope they’re paying you for this.”

“I’m well taken care of, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Chloe, I know you hate me, but I want you to know I’ll be around for my grandchildren.”

Chloe almost laughed.

“I won’t let you hurt them.”

Louisa’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why would you say such a terrible thing?”

“Because I know you. You’ll make them feel like freaks and you’ll tease them with your affection. Just like you did with me.” Chloe stood up. “Please leave and don’t come back.”

Louisa didn’t move. “You know eventually you won’t be welcome. These two men will take the children away from you. You have to make sure they give you money.”

“I’m not doing this for the money.”

Louisa jumped up and grabbed Chloe by the shoulders.

“They’ll screw you over!” she cried. “Just like your father did to me. He made you hate me!”

Chloe shook free of her mother’s grasp and said, “Dad didn’t make me hate you. You did that all by yourself. Now please leave.”

“Is everything all right?”

Chloe and Louisa both turned to see Clark standing just inside the door, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Relief flooded Chloe’s senses at the sight of him.

“Clark, this is my mother, but she was just leaving,” she said.

Louisa took a deep breath and picked up her purse.

“Goodbye, Chloe,” she said with finality.

She moved towards the door, stopping in front of Clark. “Those flowers aren’t in season,” she said.

Clark adjusted his glasses and smiled politely. “I know a good florist.”

Chloe turned away so she wouldn’t have to watch her mother leave. Gripping the back of her chair, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

“Are you all right?” Clark asked, hurrying over.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re upset. Come on, I’ll help you to bed.”

Chloe took a step and gasped. “No. No, Clark. I think, I think, oh God.”

“What, what is it?”

Chloe latched onto his arm. “I think the babies are coming.”

“Huh?”

“The babies!” Chloe cried. “I think they’re coming.”

Clark jumped like someone had shocked him. “Shit! The babies are coming. Crap, I need to call Whitney. Oh God, what’s his phone number?”

As Clark freaked out, Chloe calmly picked up the phone and dialed Whitney’s direct line.

“Hey, you better meet us at the hospital,” she said. “It’s time.”

~*~*~

“I see a head!” Whitney yelled. “Come on, Chloe, you can do this.”

“Shut. UP!” Chloe hissed. She squeezed hard on Clark’s hand and was very grateful he wouldn’t be hurt.

She panted and moaned, and Clark brushed sweaty hair from her forehead.

“You’re doing great,” he said.

Chloe let out a horrific scream that could be heard down the hall and made Lois grab Lex and vow to never have children. Then a harsh cry filled the air and Whitney held up a baby boy.

“Ten fingers, ten toes, one penis,” he said, a proud smile on his face.

“Thank God for only one penis,” Chloe said, then cried out as she felt the next one coming. “Holy fuck! I hate you both!”

Whitney handed off the boy to a waiting nurse to clean them up, then prepared for baby number two.

“Last one, Chloe,” he said.

“It sure as hell better be,” Chloe said, gritting her teeth.

She pushed, breathing heavily and counting the seconds.

“Head’s out.”

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as the baby left her body. She opened her eyes and looked at Whitney holding a squealing, squirming baby in his arms, a puzzled expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe demanded.

“Nothing. Five fingers, five toes.” He looked up and said, “No penis.”

“What?” Clark and Chloe exclaimed.

Whitney smiled. “It’s a girl.”

“A girl?” Chloe whispered.

Whitney nodded. “A perfect little girl with black hair.”

The nurse wrapped both babies in blankets and placed them on Chloe’s chest. Clark and Whitney hovered on either side.

The girl was dark-haired like Clark, while the boy was blond like Whitney.

“What happened? I thought you were sure they were boys,” Clark said, his voice soft.

“Obviously I was wrong. Maybe it was a hand we thought was a penis, or a shadow or something.”

Chloe held the babies close and kissed their tiny foreheads.

“What do we do about the names?” Clark asked. “We had Gabe and Alexander picked out.”

“Well, Alexander can become Alexa,” Chloe said. “Alexa Sullivan Fordman Kent. And Gabe Sullivan Fordman Kent.”

“Big names for such little babies.” Whitney said, patting Alexa’s back.

Chloe snorted. “They certainly didn’t feel small coming out.”

Clark stood up. “I’ll go get the families, tell them the good news.”

Whitney and the nurse checked out the babies, and Chloe was moved to a private room. Whitney brought the twins right to her.

“They’re remarkably healthy,“ he said. “No signs of any problems. They’re perfect.”

Their families and friends crowded in to ooh and aah over the infants, until Chloe politely asked them to leave because she was tired.

Once they were gone, Clark and Whitney pulled up chairs beside her bed and each took a baby in their arms. Chloe watched them quietly coo and make silly faces, smiling at the obvious love in their eyes.

She knew without a doubt that there would be obstacles to face, but she was warmed by the fact that they would face them all together. No matter what kinds of backgrounds they had come from, she, Clark and Whitney would make a family for these two babies. They would be loved and cared for without question.

Chloe reached out and touched Clark and Whitney, and they held her hands. “We did it, guys,” she said, and they nodded in agreement. “We’re a family.”

~end