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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"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.

She holds out her hand to him, just wanting his presence now that she isn't fighting that thirst anymore.

Thank you... for everything you did tonight

He reaches out to her too, and squeezes her hand. I did what I had to do, for you and for the baby.

I didn't get a chance to hold him... And now the baby is hooked up to the IV. He seems so small and frail to her.

But I can feel him... so strong in my heart.

"We should name him."

Clark glances over at Spike and Shasta. "Well... we did talk about using the name William, if Laura had been a boy."

"Really?" Spike looks up at the mention of his birth name.

"William does suit him." April smiles softly.

"Wow... I am honored kids."

"Our first two were named after my parents. It's only fair you have your turn," Clark says with a small smile.

Spike chuckles softly. He can't really blush, but the emotions are real. And he is very honored by the gesture.

"William it is." April smiles softly.

"I am sure you can handle the other two kids for one more week, without me?"

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