This chapter isn't really part of the story that's going to written but it provides all of the background info. The actual story centres more around the lives of Lois and Clark and their daughter around 20 years after season 10. Unfortunately I don't know much about the Superman mythology so all the info in this is based off Smallville. And I have absolutely no idea how old Lois Lane is supposed to be in relation to Clark, so to make things easy for myself, we'll say that in this fic she's the same age as him.

First chapter occurs from one to five years (approximate) after season 10. D'accord… chapitre un:

The world was peaceful for once. For the past decade, it had seemed there was always some sort of threat; something beyond human. Alien invasions, supernatural threats; they could only be vanquished by someone that was a little more than human… or a lot more than human, one might say.

But now the world was quiet and the world was organized. It was devoid of the inhuman evil that had haunted it so long. Of course, no one said the world was perfect. Could the world ever be perfect and happy, or were people incapable of making that happen? Lois grimly suspected that latter. There were always villains in the world; bad people with malice in their hearts that needed to be stopped. But hey, the world wasn't on the verge of an apocalypse. That had to be a step up, didn't it?

Besides, the world had a hero now… well it really had several if you counted the Green Arrow, Supergirl, Aquaman and all the others. But one in particular stood out to world, and of course to Lois, but being his wife that was given. A few years ago Superman had come upon the scene, rising from the ashes of the elusive Blur. Lois was proud of him. She knew how big of a decision it was for him to finally show his face to the world, considering his adolescent fears of being named a freak, or only being seen as inhuman, not a person. Not an equal to human. She reflected; how, in her youth, would she have reacted if she found that Clark was an alien? She might try to incapacitate him without asking any questions or she might just run away. The word alien just seemed creepy. She had to admit that Clark had a valid reason for keeping his secret for so long.

But then again, when someone said alien, the first image that came to her mind wasn't Clark. It was ET, something reptilian looking maybe, or some creature from Star Wars. If she was confronted by one of these aliens, she might not be so accepting. She would probably be scared. Well, she wouldn't be scared by an Ewok; they were just too cute and fluffy. But some space reptile with sharp teeth? Scary. She wondered how the public would react if Clark didn't look so human… say he was your stereotypical alien. Somehow she doubted the public would be so accepting. Why were people so afraid of things that were different? It seemed like an instinctual human thought, almost: "You're different than me, therefore you're evil."

But before coming out as Superman, Clark had taken plenty of time convincing the public that he was a force for good and not evil. One day, he finally revealed to Lois his plan to come out to the public. She supported him, but (and she felt bad for thinking this) she didn't believe he would truly follow through with his plan. But subtle changes had slowly been happening to Clark, and she was starting to notice. He was happier. He was accepting himself as who he was, proud of being a Kryptonian yet never conceited. He blamed himself much less for the evils in the world, thank god. This attribute of Clark's was one Lois had always found particularly annoying. Clark seemed more confident, and Lois finally began to believe what he had told her. And then Clark's behaviour in public changed. He was still the same as he had always been in private with Lois but now, on dates, at the Daily Planet, anywhere in public, it seemed that Clark was channelling his inner nerd. He bought some glasses and developed a bumbling demeanour. Lois constantly made fun of him for this, but this only seemed to perfect his act.

Clark kept up his act, patiently, for two whole years, until everyone accepted him as the endearing yet bumbling reporter in love with the beautiful Lois Lane. No one on the inside of this act could say that Lois didn't play her part excellently as well, however. She gleefully pretended to look down on him, act like he was her inferior. Not in a snobby sort of way, of course. Lois couldn't do snobby; she just wasn't a snobby enough person. The way Lois acted made it seem like she had so much on her mind that Clark Kent was left behind, and so she ignored him. Lois secretly wanted someone to commend her on her acting. She rather felt like she deserved an Oscar.

When Clark finally felt that his new identity was accepted, he decided to unveil his new alias. For almost three years he had been looking at the outfit from his mother, wondering exactly when the right time to wear it was. After a long wait, the time had finally come. Lois originally thought that Clark's Superman outfit looked goofy and it was easy to see that Clark also shared in that sentiment at first. But there's a lot to be said about how admiration can cloud people's judgement. Everyone in Metropolis already knew and loved him as the hero that was the Blur, so when Superman appeared they didn't see a goofy suit, they saw a hero. Also the fact that he was hovering a few hundred feet above them all did look pretty impressive. He made his first few brilliant saves as an unmasked hero and the papers hailed him: "Superman, Metropolis's hero". I could have come up with a more creative title, Lois thought, but either way it was an inspiring headline, and she was proud of what Clark had accomplished.

And now the Metropolitans trusted him, loved him and relied on him. Lois knew that nearly every woman (and some men) in Metropolis had a not-so-secret infatuation with him, and she thought, with a little gloating pleasure, he's all mine. She grinned, remembering his proposal. The world had still been shrouded in darkness then, and Clark was still the Blur. He'd showered her in flower petals and said his speech. By the time Lois figured out what was happening he was already down on one knee. In retrospect it seemed kind of cheesy, but at the time it was extremely romantic, and it brought out one of those few moments when she felt girly. And this was rare. Lois, as a rule, was not girly. She was self-reliant and independent. She felt it was her duty to single-handedly overturn the disrespectful stereotypes of women, and any man that dared to demean her would get a swift kick in the groin. Damn, that was fun to do.

But she had to admit she had a feminine side that guiltily relished in these cheesy romantic moments. There was a long wait between Clark's proposal and their marriage, as Clark and the other heroes of the world were faced with a foe called Darkseid. This was a period of time in which the heroes of Metropolis were out of the confidence of the public. Times were darker then. Eventually, and not without great struggle, Darkseid was vanquished, and the darkness and suspicion that had arisen in that time relinquished their hold on Earth. Everything was lighter; everything was better. Everyone was able to rebuild their lives. Some changed in small ways, some changed in big ways. That was the time when Superman first showed himself in Clark's eyes. It was safe to say that the ways in which Clark changed were dramatic.

Clark and Lois's wedding came soon after. In order to keep up the façade they had created, their wedding was kept secret, and it was small. Oliver Queen rented out a hall and had it decorated like a fairy tale. Lois remembered how Clark had initially been so reluctant to have Oliver pay for so much of his wedding. He hated being in debt. Lois remembered Martha Kent telling her that Clark's protests reminded her painfully of her late husband; Clark really was his father's son. But, while Oliver was rich, Clark knew he was no Lex Luthor, and was finally convinced he wouldn't be put into Oliver's debt. Oliver was quite the smooth talker.

A small handful of guests attended the wedding. Oliver, Kara, all of the superheroes, Chloe, Martha Kent and Perry White. Perry didn't exactly know about Clark's secret, but he had proven himself to be a good ally nonetheless. Lois had always wondered if Perry would get suspicious, but for the time being, he seemed happily oblivious. Either way, it didn't seem like it would be a disaster if he found out who Clark was; he had Martha Kent to ground him. One person attending the wedding who certainly didn't know anything about Clark's secret was General Lane. There had been a lot of discussion on whether or not they should invite the General. In the past, he had not supported the actions of the Blur, meaning he opposed the very man Lois was marrying. However, he didn't know that Clark had been the Blur. And it was custom for the bride's father to walk her down the aisle. Lois had gotten the impression that Clark really didn't want the General to come. She supposed he had a reason, but it still upset her. He was her father. Besides, her father had grown bitter after her mother's death, so she figured that walking his daughter down the aisle would be a way to make him happy again, if only for a few hours. Finally Clark gave in. The wedding was still magical, but the presence of the General meant that the guests had to be careful what they said. But of course, they were used to doing that anyway.

Clark and Lois left on a week-long honeymoon soon after. Perry gave them an excuse for their absence; the official story was that they were working as a team to investigate a story in Bolivia. Lois figured that her coworkers probably had a good long laugh about her being stuck working on a story with that bumbling reporter Clark Kent. But of course they didn't know the whole story.

The day they returned to Metropolis, Lois was extremely content. It had been a good week, to say the least. But the day after she returned, she noticed a few deep bruises blossoming on her arms. She swore. She didn't bruise easily, and now, of all times, she had to? For the next few days, she wore long-sleeved shirts and was careful not to brush up against anything for fear she would wince, and Clark would see her. He was good at catching little things like that and he, being Clark, assumed the worst.

But clearly she wasn't careful enough. Well, she supposed it was hardly her fault… On her second day back at the Daily Planet, a co-worker congratulated her for a byline on the front page of the newspaper. It was all perfectly horrible timing… Clark happened to walk into the room at that time and was looking right at Lois. Just at that moment, Lois's friend walked towards her, squeezed her arm in a friendly gesture and said "Congrats."

Lois winced, and her co-worker looked surprised and let go of her arm. "Oh, no, you didn't hurt me," Lois explained in a friendly voice, "I just have a bruise."

For a fraction of a second she made eye contact with Clark and saw his mouth tighten. Great. He was going to be fun when she got home.

"I hurt you," he said, several hours later, staring sadly down at the floor of the Kent farmhouse.

Lois resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "No, Clark, please don't think that."

He continued to mope and Lois lost her patience.

"Seriously? Clark! Bruises! Teensy tiny bruises! And I thought we were done with this whole self-pity I-can't-be-around-people-without-hurting-them thing! Do you realize that, in fact, I married you for a reason? It's an amazing concept, isn't it?"

Clark looked up at her in surprise.

Lois continued, "Yeah, it's always fun to marry someone who doesn't want to have a relationship with you –"

"I never said that!"

"Then why don't you act like it?" Clark looked somewhat wounded at that. Lois assuaged, "well, I mean, you did… you have been a good boyfriend, and now husband. But just stop this stupid self-pity thing, ok? Because I'm sick of it."

Clark's expression indicated that the message had gotten through to him, although he did look a little sulky. Lois was sufficiently pissed off for the day, and took out her frustrations on the treadmill until her legs ached.

In a few days, all of the tension from their spat was gone, and they returned to living a happy life in secrecy. Lois and Clark lived like this for about two years until Lois started to want something more from the relationship. A sudden desire had come upon her and she wasn't sure where it came from or when it struck, but it was there, calling out to her, and she knew she had to address it. She was very hesitant about talking to Clark about it. She knew that Clark wanted this as much as she did, but she was unsure if he would allow it to happen. After Lois's admonishing he had become much less overprotective of her, but this might be asking too much.

Why did she suddenly watch this so much anyway? She had never wanted this before. She had never planned for this to happen to her. She felt like some cheesy 1950's housewife, striving to put together a perfect family. But the fact remained; Lois wanted that family. She felt like she'd never really had a true family before. After her mother died, her father grew bitter, and she grew rebellious. She was convinced, throughout her youth, that her father always loved her sister Lucy better and in turn she broke away from her family. As dysfunctional as the Luthors… well, not quite. But close.

Suddenly, though, Lois was feeling maternal, which was, and there is no other way to say this, kind of messed up. Lois didn't know how to deal with kids. She was always an awkward babysitter; she didn't know what kids liked or did and she didn't understand how to respond to them. But she wanted one now. What on earth? she thought. But the desire had hit her with power and suddenness akin to a train crash.

She finally screwed up the courage and talked to Clark about it. She saw it in his eyes; he wanted this too. But then a shadow came over his face.

"I don't know…"

"Well, would you consider it?" Lois probed.

"I would more than consider it, Lois." Clark confirmed her beliefs. "But I don't even know if it's possible… I mean, we're two different, well, species, to put it bluntly."

"No harm in trying. Lions and tigers can mate."

"Lions and tigers come from the same planet."

"But still –"

Clark didn't give in. "Even if we were to have a child, he or she would be half Kryptonian. Wouldn't that be kind of dangerous for you?"

Lois was stumped on that one. His point was valid.

"I'm sorry, Lois. I just don't see how it could work out."

But things did work out, in the end. A week after the discussion Clark bounded towards Lois with an ecstatic grin on his face. For a second he reminded Lois of a child who wanted praise for doing something good. She unknowingly hit the nail dead on (minus the child part). Lois was very confused when Clark kneeled down and took a ring out of his pocket. They were already married. What, he wanted a second wedding?

Clark grinned. "A blue Kryptonite ring for you, Madame."

Lois took the ring, an expression of dawning realization colouring her face, and Clark stood up. "I can't believe I never thought of this before!" he exclaimed. "It's so simple!"

Lois's smile mirrored Clark's. It would be a long night.

Nine months later, Lois was livid. She was in an absolute rage. Clark had tried to comfort her, but it was no use, because nothing he could do could make her happy right now. She wanted to this baby to get out of her stomach already. She was absolutely sick of being pregnant. She was sick of the maternity clothes and the stupid back pains and everything. She felt like throwing her head back and screaming at the top of her lungs, but she figured that might not be very well received in a public place. So when her water finally broke it was to a certain amount of relief.

As Clark rushed her to the hospital, a mix of emotions ran through her head. She was scared as hell, but also excited. She was excited for her baby. Clark, maintaining the traditional values of his parents, hadn't wanted to know the gender of the baby ahead of time. Lois was a bit annoyed with him over this, because she was a very impatient person. She just wanted to know if her baby was a boy or a girl. But she grudgingly complied with Clark's values, because it seemed like it was important to him. She thought about baby names. She had chosen a boy name and girl name. If the baby was a boy, his name would be Jeremy. If the baby was a girl –

Oh no. At that instant, Lois knew she was going into labour. She didn't even really sense what was happening around her anymore, it was all a blur. Clark was holding onto her hand… a nurse was telling her to push… it felt like she couldn't do it anymore…Clark squeezed her hand… keep pushing… And… after what seemed like hours, she heard a quiet crying. She was exhausted. Tears mutedly ran down Clark's face, and he smiled as he placed a tiny, soft body in her arms.

"It's a girl," he whispered.

"A girl," Lois responded softly. "My Julia."

And the story starts... So how is it? Constructive criticism appreciated!