slayers_desire | in the darkness the baby comes

Entry tags:

baby!plot,
clark

in the darkness the baby comes

It is after midnight when April awakens suddenly in her bed. Her eyes glow red, as she surveys around the quiet bedroom. It is quiet outside ... the sound of crickets, the occasional howl of a coyote, the sorrowful call of the cows in the barn.

But none of those sounds grab her attention as the one right beside her ... the beating sound of Clark's heart as he sleeps.

She turns slightly to watch him sleep for a moment. April can feel her vampiric side taking control. The dark desires of her thirst swirling in her mind. Her attention directed to the pulsing vein at Clark's jugular. A hunger inside her that she has never felt before.

"Clark..." She manages to whisper his name. "Wake up..."

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Part of Clark is relieved to be holding his newborn son in his arms, but he's also very concerned at how weak the cry is, and how small the baby is. He holds the boy close, staying away from April until her hunger is sated. "Come on, little guy... you'll be okay."

The hatching song stops once the baby is born, and the fire-lizards quietly chatter among themselves. One bold brown dragonet even swoops down to land on Clark's shoulder for a moment, so it can look at the newborn more closely.

"The doctors downstairs..." Spike doesn't think that April is in any condition to breast-feed right now. And it is important that the baby gets some substance too.

April is not as thirst-starved as before, so this time when she feeds she only takes what is needed from Shasta -- before breaking herself free. Feeling drained. And even though it is not her Clark that is there for support -- she is just glad to have someone to lean on.

[ooc: I am not sure how strong of a psychic connection the baby should have... but I am tempted to have the dragonet sense something]

Clark doesn't want to leave April right now, but she's in good hands, and the baby might need help. "Stay here," he tells the fire-lizards, though they still try to follow him downstairs before Zara scolds them.

The doctor isn't happy when he sees Clark, covered in blood and holding the newborn. "You should've told me she was so close," he says, examining the baby. "He'll need to be admitted to the NICU."

News that Clark really didn't want to hear. Especially if it's going to separate their new son from April. "How long?"

The doctor shakes his head. "It's too early to tell, but I'm concerned about his blood pressure. Premature infants are often anemic, and if I had to guess, I'd say your son is one of them."

((Hmm, good question... he is going to inherit the telepathy after all))

April is overcome with a rush of emotions... everything that comes with just going through a birth, and a blood frenzy too. She can't help the tears that fall freely right now. There is something different... the bond between her and the baby is stronger than the first two. And she can feel his stress.

It hurts to be separated from him. And she moves to cling to Shasta in her desperation.

The baby is also upset, being separated from his mother. His voice is too weak to express himself -- but there is a slight jolt through the psychic bonds that those sensitive to such things will feel.

[Will go with this... muh hahahahah]

The fire-lizards scatter, whistling in alarm. A few of them pop between and don't come back.

Luthor, of course, can't sense any of that. He lets go of April and lets her hold onto Shasta instead. "Should I assume I'm no longer needed here?" he asks calmly.

"I don't see any reason why you should stay." After all, April needs emotional support right now, and Shasta can sense that Luthor is definitely not the person to provide that.

"Thank you for your assistance." Shasta does tell him, since April can't right now.

He nods, and stands, calling Zara back to him. "When she has recovered, she knows how to contact me." He makes sure the other fire-lizards leave too, although many of them are reluctant.

Downstairs, Clark has to hand the baby over to the doctor, and he returns upstairs briefly. "The baby has to go to the hospital... April?"

"I need to stay with him..." April answers Clark. She can barely move as it is... but Shasta picks up her adopted daughter.

"We can come along..." She tells Clark. Both her and Spike want to make sure both mother and baby are okay.

He nods. "Get down to the truck. We'll go together."

Before they go, Clark has to go to the children's room. "Connor, we're going to the hospital. Everything's safe now, but I need you to stay with Jon and Laura until one of us gets back."

Connor agrees, though he wishes he knew more about what's going on. "Yeah, sure."

Shasta wraps April up in the blankets to keep her warm, because she is shivering because of the loss of fluid right now. But once Shasta gets downstairs, and she is within 'range' of her son -- April does calm down slightly. The baby also seems to sense his mother -- his cries a little less loud now.

Fortunately it isn't a long trip to get to the Smallville Medical Center. It doesn't have the state-of-the-art facilities like Metropolis General does, but it's more than enough to care for their newborn. And it doesn't take much longer for the baby to be settled in the NICU, hooked up to an IV and feeding tube.

"Are you all right?" the doctor asks April, once they're sure the baby is stable.

"You should check my blood levels..." She could have overfed, but she still feels weak. The main thing is just staying in the same room as her child right now.

The doctor isn't surprised, given the amount of blood he saw on both April and Clark. He assumes it was lost during childbirth. "You'll probably need a unit or two. Are you still actively bleeding anywhere?"

"Her placenta hasn't been removed." Shasta told the doctor. That was the only bleeding that would have to be handled.

"Then we need to take care of that right away." The doctor's a little surprised that it hasn't been addressed already, but this entire situation has been unusual from the start.

Shasta and Spike sit along the wall, where they can be out of the way -- but still close by to answer questions or provide assistance. Of course, both are curious about the other Clark -- but will wait to ask their own questions.

"The baby?" April hasn't heard any verdicts yet.

"He's underweight and weak," the doctor reports as he works on her. "We're giving him blood and fluids to get his blood pressure up and to combat the anemia. With treatment, so long as there are no complications, he should be all right."

April sighs softly, wondering if there was anything more they could have done. She feels at her lowest right now.

"How long should he stay in the hospital?"

"It's hard to say. It depends on how fast he responds to treatment. Because your son is premature, he'll be more sensitive to many things, including potential trouble maintaining his body temperature. Probably at least a week."

"I don't think we should be separated." April tells the doctor. "It might be more harm than good."

"I understand your concerns," the doctor says patiently, like he has to for so many parents. "But your son does need to stay here, or his health could be affected quite severely."

"That is fine... but what I am saying is that I am staying with him. Here." And don't try to tell her that it isn't possible.

He nods. "That's understandable. He's in good hands, but you're welcome to stay if it will help." He's assuming it's just nervousness over having a premature baby, especially if she hasn't gotten the chance to hold her infant yet.

It calms her slightly to know that she can stay near her son. She turns to Clark, a little nervousness there... well, since she tried to drink him dry... Plus, it all happened in front of Luthor.

"Hey..."

Thanks to the liquid sunlight, he isn't showing any signs of injury anymore. "Hey," he echoes, and while he knows that she might feel guilty over that ravenous, uncontrollable hunger, he doesn't hold it against her. Not even a little.

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