As the sun disappeared and the sky turned to a deep shade of navy, speckled with bright white stars, the mansion's chaos began to die down. Clark was in the last stage of labor, and all of the uncomfortability and nervousness was getting to him. Lex tried to keep him calm with breathing exercises, but that wasn't helping. Rachael checked Clark's vitals as she did every hour on the hour. But, this time, there was something different on the screen. An irregular heartbeat from the one of the twins worried her, and the look on her face didn't help Clark's apprehension.

"What?" He questioned to her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong..." She answered as she walked away from him, moving quietly over to where Dr. Ken was readying the medical equipment.

"Ken, I believe its time to start." She whispered to him.

"One twin has an irregular heartbeat, doesn't it?" He questioned back.

"Yes. It's time to summon Jor-El; we will need his help."

"I will do that. You prepare Kal-El and his life-mate for the births."

"I will. Go now..."

Ken strode out of the master suite quickly, as Rachael moved back over to the bed to recheck the twins' vitals. Seeing that heartbeat hadn't changed from before, she turned to Clark to tell him what was going on.

"Kal-El, one of the twins has an irregular heartbeat." She spoke softly.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He inquired to her nervously.

"It's not a good thing, Kal-El, but it means something."

"'It means something'? What does it mean, Rachael?"

"Kal-El, it means that you are soon to give birth. Ken-Yel went to summon Jor-El for his assistance."

"Why do we need Jor-El? What is he going to do?"

"He's going to calm everything down."

"He's gonna do what?"

"He wants a calm environment for you to have your children, and I believe in his method."

"What method?"

Suddenly, a bright light fell over the room engulfing both Rachael and Clark in it. As soon as it came over them, it disappeared, and out of nowhere, an unbearable pain filled Clark's abdomen.

"Oh, God..." He moaned loudly. "God, this hurts! Rachael, help me! Please help me!"

"I can't, Kal-El." She answered matter-of-factly. "You have to help yourself... "

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, Kal-El...you are on your own now."

She disappeared unexpectedly, leaving Clark alone and in tremendous pain. The pain became so intense. Spots started to fill Clark's eyes, and without warning, darkness overtook him, rendering him unconscious.

His eyes flittered lightly, fighting to open. There was too much light in the room, and opening his eyes quickly would create sightlessness. He moved his arm to his face to shade the brightness, but it was still too intense.

"Am I blind?" Clark spoke, barely able to speak.

"No, my son, you are not blind." A soft feminine voice replied to him.

"Am I dead?"

"No, my son, you are not dead. You are alive and well in solitude. Now, open your eyes..."

Slowly, Clark did as the voice asked. He opened his eyes and noticed that he was in the fortress, covered with white, soft snow that had recently fallen. He was lying on a bed of silver and white fabric with large, fluffy pillows. He placed his hands on his stomach and detected something odd: he wasn't pregnant anymore.

"Where are the babies?" He questioned loudly.

"They are still inside of you, Kal-El. In your world & in your time, you are in a comatose state, awaiting the twins' impending arrival. Your internal pain has sent you here."

"My pain sent me here? Why?"

"This is a safe place, Kal-El. You are safe here."

"Are you my mother?"

"I am your birth mother, Kal-El; my name is Lara."

"Why are you here and not Jor-El?"

"Jor-El is assisting the mortal doctor inside of Ken-Yel in his endeavors before the births of your children."

"Are you real?"

"Kal-El, 'real' is what your mind makes of it. I am real, yet I am not."

"That's so confusing. I don't understand what you mean, Lara."

"* 'Understanding'*, my son, * 'replaces imaginary fears with real ones'*(1). You shouldn't have to understand this place; just understand that I am your home, and this place should be your home."

"This place can't be my home; my 'home' is a mansion in Smallville, Kansas. My home is a farm in the fields of corn in Smallville, Kansas. This cannot be my home; I want to go back to 'my home'!"

"As you wish, Kal-El. But, remember: * 'Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration'* (2)."

With that, a cold wind full of snow particles whipped around Clark, engulfing and overpowering him, blinding his vision and choking out his breath. As the last breath went out of him, the world turned black and he drifted into unconsciousness.

He felt something wet upon his face. Droplets of moisture fell down the sides of his face and welled in his eye cavities. Some fell down the bones of his eyes and found their way to his tear ducts, staying there as if they were tears that had yet to fall. He tried to breath, but his throat was dry, causing him to cough rapidly. He could hear voices surrounding him, but his eyes wouldn't open. They remained closed, hurting the bones in his face. He moaned loudly, alerting someone to his condition. He felt someone touch his arm, changing the temperature of his body from cold to warm momentarily.

"Clark...Clark, what's wrong?" The feminine voice questioned.

"Can't...breathe...need...help...call...911..." He said breathlessly, not able to fully speak.

"Oh, God. Help! Somebody help! Someone help me please!"

Clark heard nothing, not even feet moving towards his room. If he was so far in labor, why had everyone left him? Then, he remembered what Lara had said to him, as had Rachael. But, who was this woman with him? Suddenly, his breath began to leave him again, hurting his chest as he gasped for air. Was he dying? Was something so small going to kill him? Without warning, his world went dark again, and he wouldn't awaken again, until he felt an internal quiet. He took a deep breath that filled his body, which he wasn't able to do before, and when he released it, he felt a calmness surround him. He tried to open his eyes to see the world around him. Little by little, they opened to see that there was no light around him, other than the sun's rays trying to push through the window curtains. He began to notice that he was no longer at the mansion; it was too sanitary for that. He glanced over to the machine next to him, seeing that it was a heart monitor...for him. He was in a hospital room in the Smallville Hospital, and then, he realized why he was there: he was pregnant and in labor with twins. Without knowing it, he had his hands on his stomach the whole time, but he was no longer pregnant. He was back to his normal body type: tall, fully-formed 6-pack abs. He searched around for some clue to where the twins were. He started to panic so much that he pushed the nurses' station button, alerting a nurse to his status, which was now: Awake. His room door opened and a familiar face entered the room. Nurse Rachael Klein strode up to him with a smile, happy to see that he was conscious again.

"Mr. Kent..." She spoke lightly. "You gave everyone a huge scare last night."

"What am I doing here?" He replied, still having a hard time speaking.

"You had hemorrhaged, and Ken need for you to be safe. He knew that the hospital would be the best place for you."

"Where are the babies?"

"They are in the N.I.C.U."

"Why? What's wrong with them?"

"There's nothing wrong with them, Clark. They're just a little small, that's all. Twins are like that, hun. One takes most of the nutrients from the other one. We are gonna keep them there for a little while, until they get stronger and gain more weight."

"Is Lex in there with them?"

"Last time I looked in on him, he was fast asleep next to their incubators."

"Is the rest of my family here?"

"Yep, they are in the waiting room, waiting for you to wake up to see your sons."

"What? What did you say?"

"I shouldn't have told you; I should have let Lex tell you, but it's all too exciting. You have two beautiful baby boys, Clark."

"Can I see them? Can I go to them?"

"I would love to take you to the N.I.C.U. to see them, but you're still too weak. I can do something better for you though."

"What's that?"

"If the nurses in that department are okay with it, I could bring them here to see you."

"Please ask them. Beg them, if you have to."

"I will, Clark. Do you want me to get Lex?"

"No, keep him with his sons. Wow, I can't believe I'm saying that: his 'sons'. What can't I say that they're mine yet?"

"It'll hit you later, when you see them. Trust me: Ken said the same thing, when he had our first child. I'll be around later, Clark."

Rachael started to leave, but before she could exit the room, Clark uttered three words to her: "Thank you, Rachael."

"You're welcome, Kal-El."

"Thank Ken for me, too."

"I will, Kal-El. Rest well and don't worry: your sons will be safe here. Jor-El will make sure of that."

"Can I speak with him? I need to ask him something."

"If you talk loud enough, Kal-El, he'll hear you."

"Thank you..."

She shut the door as she exited, heading down the hall to the waiting room to see Clark's family and to check-in on the twins & their father.

To Be Continued??

*(1) Mason Cooley (b. 1927), U.S. aphorist.*

*(2) Charles Dickens (1812-1870), British novelist.*

_* Here are the 15 possible boys' names: *_

Aaron Charles

Aiden James

Andrew Donovan

Caleb Ethan

Cameron Jon

Gareth Gawain

Jonathan James

Killian David

Kyle Timothy

Luke Donald

Mason Austin

Nathanial Richard

Ronan Myles

Ryan Joseph

Samuel Matthew