Epilogue: Bad Luck

"I'm sorry Miss Lane," the nurse said. "The legislature just passed a fetal heartbeat bill, and I'm afraid at ten weeks you're too far along for us to consider."

"I...see," Lois said. She fidgeted before the nurse's station. In truth, she'd been hearing about the abortion ban for months, but hadn't thought the politicians would actually pass it.

"It's just bad luck, I'm afraid. But at least you have some resources, you might be able to find a practitioner in another state...many women in your position aren't that fortunate."

"Yes, thank you." The reporter said, without meaning it.

It had been four weeks since Lois Lane had bought a pregnancy test at the story. Getting in to see a doctor and confirm had taken ten frustrating days of mishandled paperwork and cluttered appointment schedules. She had spent four days of sick leave waiting in the clinic for a walk-in appointment just to consult on an abortion.

Now this.

Idly, Lois checked her phone. A blizzard was due in, all flights out of Metropolis airport were grounded, and they were closing the roads. Getting out of the city, even with a car, was a dicey proposition.

Superman could fly her out...but would he, once she told him why? Maybe she could talk her way onto a Justice League teleporter pad, or...

The reporter shook her head. Her stomach growled. She stopped in at a Chinese buffet, and left an hour later, feeling too-full, her belly tight against her belt. Knowing that she had more than a food-baby in there.

There were other options, though Lois had put off considering them. With the abortion ban in place, there'd be a pick-up of back-alley abortionists. Poorly trained, not set up to handle emergencies if they arose, not sterile. Lois recalled horror stories when she'd worked the Emergency Room beat as a young reporter. She didn't want that.

Couldn't bring herself to have an "accident" either. Bump a little too hard, trip down a flight of steps...felt too much like ****, even though Lois knew miscarriages happened naturally all the time.

****, maybe. Although that was back in midwife territory, strange herbs of dubious effect and potentially deadly side-effects.

Snowflakes began to fall, and Lois Lane hunkered into her own little world, trying to think of a way out of the predicament she was in. It was utterly stupid for a woman her age to have unprotected sex. Getting pregnant was just her bad luck. Now the whole difficulty in getting an abortion...it felt like the deck was stacked against her. She was clutching at straws, and one by one they disappeared.

Her future narrowed down to one where she would be a single mother, giving birth to a child alone.

Then what? Lois asked herself. Give it up for adoption?

She didn't know.

Her steps took her down a familiar street. Snow was already piling up on the sidewalks, feer toes began to get that creeping numbness that told her she hadn't dressed properly for this weather. It was harder because already her clothes were having a harder time fitting her, and she hadn't bought any new ones because she'd hoped to just have this done today...

"Hey, lover," a familiar voice said from a doorway.

Lois Lane looked up into the dark eyes of Angelica Blaze, standing at the entrance to her club.

"You look cold," she said with a smile. "Wanna come inside, have a drink to warm you up?"

The reporter shivered. I should tell her.

"I shouldn't. Drink I mean," Lois said awkwardly. "I'm pregnant."

The dark eyes widened. "Oh. I mean uh...we can get you some coffee or something."

Lois smiled gratefully and headed inside.

The club was dark and still. No one else around, apparently. She looked wistfully at the corner where the four young women had divulged their secrets, a scant four weeks ago. At the time, Lois thought she'd been lucky to needle the truth out of them.

Now she knew that was exactly when her luck had run out.

The women went to the bar. Blaze poured two cups of coffee, hot and steaming.

"So, how far along are you?" The dickgirl flashed a brittle smile. If it was an act, it was a good one.

"Ten weeks," Lois said, breathing in the hot, bitter steam.

"Oh." Blaze said. She paused as if doing the math in her head again. "Oh. Are you keeping it?"

Lois stared down at her belly. You couldn't really see it with the coat she had on, but she knew that day by day, her once-trim waist was slowly disappearing.

"Looks like."

Angelica leaned across the bar. "All by yourself?"

There was a lot unsaid in that statement. Medical bills, clothing, furniture. The Dialy Planet's maternity leave and health insurance wouldn't cover half of what Lois would need, and the less she worked the less she earned. How was she going to be the intrepid investigative reporter with a newborn in tow...

The reporter took a deep breath. "I didn't come here for that. It was just...bad luck I ran into you right now. I'm not here to lean on you for child support or anything."

"Maybe we can help each other out," Blaze said, letting her hand touch Lois Lane's. "You know, I think pregnant women are very sexy."

Lois Lane stared into the black depths of her coffee. It wasn't quite rock bottom, not by a long shot. She had a job, insurance, savings, friends, a family. The pregnant reporter could tough it out. But maybe...just maybe...this was her bad luck turning around.

She hadn't felt sexy for a month.

"Yeah?" Lois said. "Want to prove that?"