in the darkness the baby comes

[slayers_desire]

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..."

Comments

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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."

[slayers_desire]

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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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."

[slayers_desire]

"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.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

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.

[slayers_desire]

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..."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

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.

[slayers_desire]

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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

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

[slayers_desire]

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."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

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

[slayers_desire]

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

"William does suit him." April smiles softly.


"Wow... I am honored kids."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

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

[slayers_desire]

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?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Now that the doctor's headed out of the room, they can talk more openly, though they have to be careful in case someone else comes in. "Something's different, isn't it? Besides the baby being early."

[slayers_desire]

"The bond between us... is stronger than the first two were."

"It hurt... physically and spiritually... to be separated from him."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Stronger? So he might already have your psychic powers, to some extent?" The other two children haven't shown any signs of that so far.

[slayers_desire]

"He might..." April looks over to where their son sleeps now. A little more contented for the moment.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"He's early for a lot of things..." He follows her gaze, still worrying about the health of the baby, but trusting in the doctors. He looks back at her. "How are you doing?"

[slayers_desire]

April smiles sadly at him, knowing she doesn't have to answer for him to feel all the range of emotions inside of her.

"I am glad he is here. But it was a difficult night..."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"That's an understatement." It does sadden him that, given the incredible difficulty they've had with this pregnancy and birth, this will be their last child together. There's no way he would put her through that again. They have three wonderful children already, and even if that's all they get, it's three more than he'd thought possible, all those years ago.

Clark looks over at Spike and Shasta. "Thank you for being here for us. We couldn't have done it without you."

[slayers_desire]

"It was no problem..." Spike runs a hand through his hair.

"But... who was your doppelganger?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Oh." Clark hadn't realized they didn't know about that yet. "He's an alternate of mine who was raised by Lionel Luthor instead of the Kents."

[slayers_desire]

"I told Clark to ask him to come... I truly believe without him... I would not have been able to stop drinking from Clark."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"I knew it was going to be worse than before, but... that was really, really bad."