Christmas Mornings

by mackenzie925

Chloe and Clark measure their life together through the holidays.

Title: Christmas Mornings
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Chlark
Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

Author's Note: This is the first time I have written a word for Smallville in months. I have been seriously disappointed by the show, and my disappointment has scared my muse away. However, because I miss writing Chlark and I want to finish Stay With Me, I sat down and forced myself to write something, anything. This was the product of my determination. I have every reason to believe this will lead to an update to Stay With Me very soon.

Thanks to all who have continued to read and comment. It means so much.

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Until now, Chloe Sullivan had never before spent a Christmas morning in the arms of a boyfriend. Jimmy Olsen, her first boyfriend if she were seriously counting, religiously spent all major holidays with his family. Sometimes his travels included Texas with his one remaining grandmother, while other years he found himself up north in Minnesota with his parents. Where it really snowed, he always used to say. Only once did he invite her to join him, and it was the same year she had noticed him spending too many of his Saturday afternoons in a Zales jewelry store. It took just one flash of a holiday commercial with a man hiding an engagement in a fuzzy teddy bear under the tree to convince her to decline his enticing offer. No need making their relationship too complicated before she was ready.

Little did she know that year would be her last one with Jimmy. When he returned to Smallville with a proposal of marriage still on his lips, Chloe's quiet refusal was enough reason for him to reconsider the true nature of their love affair. Though her intention was not to end their relationship, Jimmy saw it differently. By January, some three years after their delightful reunion in the Daily Planet, he had moved out of her apartment and into his own, sighting he had found comfort in the arms of another woman. Though the break-up was more difficult than she imagined it would be, she knew it had been for the best. Marrying anyone in her early twenties seemed far too premature, no matter the one asking.

Her second boyfriend was, of all people, Oliver Queen. During her time playing watchtower for Green Arrow's league of heroes, something of an attraction had developed between her and Oliver. With Jimmy finally out of the way, Oliver took little time to take his chance. It took him six months of constant asking before she finally agreed to go out with him on a real, lavish date, however, mainly because she didn't know if her heart had been truly ready to move on from the first love of her life. Two months later she was no longer wondering the latter, as her dates with Oliver had quickly led her to a fancy hotel room in Paris, basking under the city lights, under the smell of morning coffee from room service, and under the beautiful body of her favorite super hero in lavender-scented bed sheets.

Yet his tendency to leave her alone on holidays became a trademark. On Thanksgiving, she spent most of the day in his Metropolis penthouse, waiting for him to return from an International business meeting in London. Apparently, the meeting went on longer than expected, because she eventually had to give up on the idea of walking into the Kent's with Oliver on her arm. Only later, while making love to him after he insisted his deepest regrets, did she notice the fresh wounds on his back and arms. He had been out saving the world, and chose not to tell her because he was far too worried for her safety.

She accepted his reasoning the first time, even if she didn't believe it. However, she found his absence much harder to ignore when it happened again a month later. Just as Lois discovered while dating him, Chloe quickly realized Oliver needed excitement, and found it every time he saved someone's life. She adored his devotion as the Green Arrow, admired his desire to bring Lex Luthor to his knees at all cost, and loved the way he treated her, both as a girlfriend and lover. But even she knew, after he failed to show for Christmas due to an obligation in Beijing, that their relationship wasn't nearly as important to him as saving the world.

Chloe left Lois' apartment that Christmas knowing she was going to break-up with Oliver when he returned from his trip. Gratefully, they ended their relationship on good terms, with their friendship fully intact.

But this Christmas morning ... yes, this Christmas morning was much different from the years before.

Snow had fallen lightly all throughout the night. Chloe awoke at 3 AM and watched from the bedroom window as the snowflakes gracefully decorated the glass, falling from the sky like crate paper. The man beside her in bed didn't stir once while she lay there, feeling alive with nostalgia and profound contentment. It was better, really, that Clark didn't notice her one-hour bout with insomnia. He would have suggested something to help her fall back to sleep, such as warm milk or a little lovemaking. Chloe smiled when she thought of the latter, because Clark never let an opportunity pass without mentioning their need for each other's intimacy. Regardless, she had needed that time of peace to reflect, both on her life's journey and that of Clark's. It was strange how they ended here, together in bed, asleep, and full of wonderful, yet unexpected love.

At the moment, now well into the morning, Chloe wanted nothing else this Christmas but to stay here with Clark, warm and safe in his arms.

Clark must have awoken a little earlier than she, because when Chloe finally opened her eyes she saw a tray of breakfast atop the bedside table next to her. Lying on her side facing away from him, she couldn't see his smile. She did, however, feel his arms wrapped around her and his kisses on her neck. She groaned lazily, and then turned her head up to look at him. His body was pressed into hers, his front against her back, and one of his legs had sneaked in between her own. His face was aglow with happiness, more so than she had ever seen on him before. He nuzzled her nose, kissed it, and then dropped a kiss to her shoulder. One of his hands grazed across her waist, protective and loving.

Once the first few drops of drowsiness slipped from her consciousness, she asked him in a gentle purr, "What time is it?"

He kissed her neck. "Just past 9 AM."

She groaned and settled down beside him on her back. Instantly he moved his body so he was atop of her, and she smiled when he felt the small nudge of his morning erection against her leg. Since they began their relationship, the only word she could use to accurately describe their relationship was insatiable. They spent every waking moment together, and often alone in her apartment, his farmhouse, or even hidden in one of the closets at the Daily Planet. Because Clark recently earned his own reporter's desk at the Daily Planet, their search for the perfect time and spot to hook-up became incredibly easy.

"That's early," she commented dryly. "Even for someone like you who's spent the dawns of his youth feeding cows."

"Well, we have a lot to do today. If I let you set our schedule, we would never leave this bed."

"It's an existence that would suit me just fine."

Clark smirked, then kissed her lips softly. "I don't know what the world would do without an article from the great investigator of our time, Chloe Sullivan."

Chloe rolled her eyes playfully. "You already have my heart, Kent. With comments like that, what more could you want?"

He began to kiss and nibble at her neck as she spoke, then laughed quietly against her skin as a response. She bit her lip because of the instant tingle his touch created inside of her core. Turning her on, even when she tried to deny his advances, was always much too easy for him. Sometimes she hated knowing Clark could have such an uncontrollable effect on her.

An instant only a few weeks ago came to mind when his kisses on her skin became heavier, more insistent. The two of them had finally found an hour to be together after days of being forced apart by jobs and super hero activities. Rather than go to her apartment and give each other the welcome home present both had wished for, they had decided to find the smallest nook inside the Daily Planet building to release their immediate desires. Their desperate search had led them to a janitor's closet in the basement, and it didn't take but two minutes before Clark had Chloe crying out, consumed with a powerful orgasm. One of the basement office workers heard them and wondered the problem. After a second cry out, this time by Clark, the workers actively searched for the source, certain someone was in trouble and needed assistance.

Chloe couldn't say who was more embarrassed - Clark and herself, or the two workers who had found them.

"You know what I want?" he ventured seductively.

She bit her lip to suppress the groan looming in her throat. His kisses could certainly make her weak at the knees.

"A day without having to wear tights?"

Laughing, he replied, "No, not quite. Not yet."

Clark kissed her softly, and then moved off of her and out of the bed. She watched him curiously as he did so, finding it strange he truly meant what he said about needing to be other places today, places that were more important than right here and now in their bed.

With an exasperated sigh, she folded her arms and asked, "Okay, maybe I wasn't clear in what I wanted most this Christmas."

He walked to the side of the bed, picked up the tray of breakfast, and held his hand out to her. "Come on. I want to give you your first gift of the day."

She stared at him hard before she took his hand. Without using his super speed, he walked them out of his bedroom at the farmhouse and downstairs to the living room. They used the stairs closest to the kitchen, so it took a few extra steps before she realized Clark had already lit the tree and the fireplace. It looked heavenly in a very Christmasy sort of way, like the time she snuck into the living room at 3 AM on Christmas morning when she was a child. She was trying to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus that year, certain he would visit every home, from a small town farmhouse to a middle class, Metropolis city neighborhood. She never did catch him of course, but her parents did catch her sleeping on the couch, her hopes in catching something extraordinary dashed in the first ten minutes due to her own sleepiness.

However, Chloe did remember her parents had left the tree on for the night, so Santa would have a source of light while he worked. What she remembered now was that tree, and how glorious it had looked as it tried to fight the darkness. The tree she and Clark chose in the lot together, the one they had decided would be the best compliment to their first holiday together, looked just as evanescent and magical as the tree she remembered from that morning so long ago.

Clark pulled her gently towards the fire and motioned for her to sit on the blanket he had laid out before hand. She did as he requested, and watched him curiously as he placed their breakfast next to her, then retrieved a small, square box from the pile of presents underneath the tree. They had placed their present there the previous night, which included not only those they bought for each other, but also for everyone else on their respective lists. The package she was most interested in, however, was not wrapped in the usual Santa, or flowery festive paper bought at the local paper warehouse. No, this new, square package was wrapped in silver paper, dressed in a gold bow, and sparkled like a star due to the residual light from the fire bouncing against it just right.

When he sat down next to her, he held the gift gently in his palm and didn't say a word, making the anticipation rise by his silence. He extended his hand to her, and she accepted the gesture by taking the package. It was a little bigger than her palm and due to its square shape a larger size, she had trouble believing it was an engagement ring. Nevertheless, her curiosity was incredibly heightened.

But she hesitated to pull the bow, to open it. She hesitated just a little ... just a tiny bit because of her Christmas mornings in the past. None of them had ever gone extremely well. Something always dove in to ruin the perfect happiness she had achieved for that year. Even with Clark, no matter how much happiness he had given her, she struggled to shed the feeling of uneasiness.

Something ... something didn't feel right about this. Perhaps it wasn't a something, but it was most definitely a sense, a feeling she couldn't explain.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to lengthen the wait.

Clark shrugged. "Open it to find out."

With a little sigh, Chloe finally unstrung the bow then unwrapped the paper encasing her treasure. Underneath all the glitter was a plain white box, so it had no pictures on the outside to give her a clue. She flipped the top open and peered inside, still expecting to see jewelry despite the unusual packaging that really did not suggest so.

But what she actually saw had nothing to do with jewelry.

Reaching inside, she pulled the silver ornament from its tissue paper protection and let it dangle in front of them by its string. It twirled and circled a few times before it stopped. Only then did Chloe realize there was black writing etched on both sides.

When she twirled the ornament to the left, she was able to read the first side ... "Chloe and Clark"

And when she twirled it again, she read the second side ... "Our First Christmas 2011".

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Clark Kent never forgot his first Christmas with Chloe. Looking at her now, her eyes sleepy and worn, he knew he would never forget it the rest of his life. They enjoyed numerous Christmas mornings after that first, but nothing ever compared to it. He remembered how excited he was to be with her finally, after years of frustration and missed chances. He was certainly a reason for many of those frustrations, he knew as much. Nevertheless, the letdowns from the past did nothing to hinder the promise of their future. And he felt the promise not only in her smile, but in the way she kissed him after she hung the ornament on the tree. Endearing gratitude and devotion had been in her lips, and was there ever since.

Yes, he knew they never stopped loving each other.

But the future he had hoped for them had changed. Or rather, had been changed by events neither could have ever predicted.

It was Christmas again, now seven years after their first together. Carefully he traveled through the wormhole of their lives, going back and forth in time as his heart saw fit. A year after he had given her the ornament, he asked her to marry him. She hardly knew what was happening when he scooped her up in his arms; with the silhouette of their second Christmas morning spent together lighting their way. The snow around them had been beautiful, the temperature a biting twenty degrees. Yet it hardly mattered a minute later when they were standing atop a waterfall in Hawaii, surrounded by poinsettias and Christmas trees. She had answered Clark with an elated yes, of course, and they made love with the dawning sky glowing like fire above them.

All Clark remembered from their third year was craziness. They were married just a few months before Christmas that year, so spending their first holiday as a married couple became a new celebration. Happily, their jobs at the Daily Planet had given them enough money to find a nice apartment in the city. They did everything a married couple did together at Christmastime, from finding their first tree, to buying new ornaments and decorations they would keep and hang every year until they were old and gray. They went shopping together, bought presents together, and spent nights on their couch watching It's A Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas. However, just like the years before, the best moment had been Christmas morning. Though no engagement ring, they did spend the entire morning in front of the Christmas tree opening presents. Chloe had given him a watch that year, and he had given her a cross necklace.

Smiling, he looked down at the watch he still wore, and then glanced to the necklace still strung around her neck.

They bought a home two years later. Clark couldn't count the number of times he had trouble stringing the Christmas lights. Chloe always wanted their home to feel like a winter wonderland, no matter the frustrations it created. Presents around the tree grew with each year, as did the number of people in their inner family circle. Clark's mother came every year for Christmas, and her father always managed to make it just in time. Lois came year after year, sometimes by herself and other times with someone new at her side. Lana and Pete found each other somewhere in those first few years, when both realized they were waiting for the other to make the first move. Seeing them at Christmas always made Clark feel like he was apart of a family, even if relation had nothing to do with it.

Clark reached his hand to Chloe's cheek and glided his fingertips along her perfect skin. Through all of those years, having children had quickly become an obstacle. They tried year after year to bless their lives with a little one, born with love and infinite blessings. Yet year after year they struggled to make their greatest wish come true. Doctors' visits did little to help. Friendly advice came to them with little experience, as everyone who gave it never struggled with the same problems. And they watched with melancholy as those they loved around them began families with no trouble at all.

Then this past April, they were told their long wait would finally be over.

The door to the room opened behind him. He hardly heard it because his mind was so preoccupied, both with the endearing past and the beautiful face of his wife. He had been sitting here next to Chloe for so long, he was barely able to keep track of the time. However, when Clark heard footsteps and felt another presence in the room, he finally looked up to see who had come. The last two days he had been inundated with visitors, from coworkers to family and friends, that it was no wonder another had come, no matter the time of night. No one wanted him to spend Christmas alone.

This time it was Lois. She had spent almost the entire day here, living on bad coffee from the vending machine and the hospital cafeteria. She had offered him a cup each and every time she had needed one, and only once did he let her buy him one. He glanced over to the bedside table and realized half of his two-hour old coffee was still sitting there untouched. Eating at a time like this just wasn't appealing at all.

"Do you need anything?" she asked him, her voice a whisper in the silence.

Clark turned back to Chloe. She was lying still in the hospital bed, her form set towards him and unchanged since the nurse had turned her an hour before. He slid his fingers through hers, waiting for her to squeeze back, waiting for any sign that she was still with him. He continued to believe touching her and talking to her might awake her from her torturous slumber, no matter how often the doctors told him there were no reassurances. Of course, as the strongest man in the world, he hated feeling so helpless. It wasn't his style to just sit and wait, either for a miracle or heartache.

No, he didn't like waiting at all. He wanted Chloe now, with him and talking like any other day. Like any other Christmas morning.

"You know you can't stay here forever. Someone else is waiting for you to meet him."

Clark swallowed hard. He stared hard at Chloe, watching her eyelids as if they would open at any moment. Quietly, he brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Not yet. I don't want to see him without her."

Lois crossed her arms defiantly. "Chloe would want you to see him."

Clark shook his head, then leaned forward and settled his head in the crook of his arm. "Not without her," he whispered.

"I thought you would say that," she replied.

Stepping out of the way, Lois let two nurses slowly wheel in a small bed from the nursery. Clark couldn't help but look back at the commotion, and quickly he stood the moment he realized what his friend had done for him. The nurses set the bed close to him, and then one turned and left while the other began to check blood pressure and heart rate with a practiced ease.

He stepped back a little, as if afraid to look down into the face he and Chloe had created. Nevertheless, the curiosity, and the small push Lois gave him in the middle of his back, urged him to go forward. The nurse glanced to him on his approach then turned back to her work. The baby under her fingers cooed and cried softly, his eyes barely open to the world around him. Because Clark had been forced out of the room before the delivery due to Chloe's unexpected complications, he had the chance to his son until now.

And he knew nothing could have prepared him for the flood of love that quickly filled his heart the moment he laid eyes on his baby's face.

Lois stepped up next to him. "Clark, I'd like to introduce you to your son."

The nurse picked him up in her arms and offered him to Clark. Apprehensively, he took hold of his baby for the first time, and laid it down comfortably in his arms. He was given a bottle, which he used to help keep his baby from crying. With a wide smile, he watched as his son's eyes grew anxiously, affectionately as it sucked aggressively on the nipple. Clark felt his chest tighten as he realized exactly what he was seeing ... his baby feeding, yet not from the nipple of his mother.

Thoughts of their plans began to filter into his heart. Chloe had wanted to do so much with their first child. They changed one of the rooms into a nursery, dressed in blue for their expectant son. Presents were under the tree and a rocking chair awaited its first lullaby. Trips to the zoo were all set for the summer season, along with walks in the park, baseball games, and birthday parties for a lifetime. Clark couldn't count the number of times he and Chloe sat up all night talking about the life of their son, the trials they would face as parents, and the unimaginable love they would share with one another.

"The little guy still needs a name. 'Hey, you' lost its luster four days ago," Lois chided softly.

Clark looked to Chloe, then back to his son. The choice was easy. Not only was last Christmas hard because they were struggling to conceive, but Chloe also lost her father in a car accident.

Now there was no question what the child should be named. And under the circumstances, he was sure Chloe would more than approve. In fact, it was probably exactly what she wanted.

Smiling gently, Clark touched the baby's chin and answered, "Gabriel."

He kissed the baby's forehead, the tears now streaming down his reddened cheeks.

"Gabriel Jonathan Kent."

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One Year Later ...

Bedtime stories quickly became a norm in the Kent home. Gabriel Jonathan Kent couldn't be put down for the night without one. Lately he had been favoring the classics over the new age children's literature, such as the Velveteen Rabbit and Dr. Suess. In keeping with the theme of his son's wishes, as well as the holiday season, Clark chose The Night Before Christmas for tonight's special reading. His primary intentions were to help his son sleep, of course, but he would be lying if he didn't admit he had hopes the experience would spawn a new tradition in the Kent Family.

Clark was in the nursery, sitting in the rocking chair next to the crib. Gabriel was in his arms, and he held the book in one of his hands as he read. Snow peppered the windows, glow of neighboring Christmas lights reflected through the room, and the smell of pine from the tree downstairs and gingerbread from the cookies in the oven filled the air. Everything felt perfect, felt wonderful and magical, as if the entire household had been wrapped in its own Christmas story. And Clark knew he couldn't ask for anything more.

Gabriel had long since fallen asleep while the story was recited above him, yet it didn't stop his father from finishing. His big, blue eyes had dropped close around the time of Santa's big entry. Obviously, it didn't take long.

"And ere he declared, as he drove out of sight," Clark read softly, his voice full of love, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

With a knowing smile, he dropped his lips down to his baby's forehead once more, just as he did when he first saw his beautiful son. Words from his own father began to trickle into his mind like a song, "You'll never know the love until you have one."

Clark placed the storybook on the floor, and then stood with Gabriel still asleep in his arms. He walked over to the crib and gently placed him inside. He twirled the Santa mobile hanging above Gabe's head, and it quickly began to play the Silent Night lullaby, its melody wonderfully softy and angelic. Carefully he reached down and pulled the blanket up and over Gabe so he wouldn't feel cold during the night. Then he brushed his fingertips along the boy's cheek, fully and completely drawn and in love with the face he helped create. His father had been right ... there were no words to describe the feeling of having a child.

Suddenly he felt warm arms wrap around his waist from behind. Next came a kiss to his shoulder, to the middle of his back, and finally to the nape of his neck. Clark couldn't suppress the wide smile tugging on his lips, knowing a year could surprise and change anything. He looked over to his left side and watched as the person behind him slid around to stand next to him, just enough to lay her head on his upper arm. She stared up at him for a moment, then down to the baby nestled soundly within the crib.

"Only you can read to him like that and make him fall asleep," Chloe observed. "Every time I try, he breaks glass with his cries."

Clark smiled. "He likes it more when you hold him, though. You're great with him, even if your storytelling abilities need a little work."

The clock on the wall in the nursery sang for the hour, causing both of them to look up and watch as it struck midnight. They had spent so much of Christmas Eve at the Kent Farm with family and friends, they hardly noticed how much time had passed until Pete and Lana decided the kids should get home before Santa arrived. Soon thereafter, everyone else followed suit, realizing the night had grown incredibly late. Though they attempted to put Gabriel to bed at the Kent household at his normal time, he knew he wasn't where he should be. He slept little, and it was the reason why he turned fussy, in need of a storyteller to wish his worries away.

Aside from a tired baby, the midnight hour also meant something else ... Christmas morning had finally arrived.

"Merry Christmas, Clark," Chloe said softly, turning to look up at him.

Clark remembered last Christmas, and his inability to spend it with Chloe they way he would have wanted. But now, everything was the way it should be, and he wasn't going to let one minute of it go to waste. He had the love of his life in his arms and his baby son sleeping soundly beneath him. He didn't need anything else.

His throat tightened with emotion, but he didn't let it stop him.

"Merry Christmas, Chlo."

She reached up and kissed him on the lips. She could feel the heaviness inside of him, and knew the issues he was dealing with. It was only a year ago that Gabriel was born, which meant it was less than nine months since she had awoken from her trauma-induced coma. For the first three months of Gabriel's life Clark was forced to raise him alone. The experience was difficult, especially when everything about parenthood was so new to him. He needed and wanted a partner to help him, but had to watch from Chloe's bedside as she struggled to regain consciousness. When asked, Chloe didn't remember much. The last thing she did remember was Clark's face looking down at her, his lips moving silently, informing her that Gabriel had come out well, alive and healthy.

And then after that everything was a blank until she awoke. Her time of unconsciousness felt only like three days rather than three months. Clark was there when she came to, just as he had been there when she drifted away. She promised herself then that she would never him or Gabriel ever again.

Taking a hold of his arm, she insisted gently, "Come on, hero. Let's go to bed."

He nodded and let her pull him towards the door.

"I do get to open a present first, though, right?" he chided, smiling like he was a child himself.

Chloe smirked knowingly, sensing what he was actually asking for. She made him stop, then stepped in front and turned to face him. Squeezing his hand, she simply responded, "Funny you should ask, because I just so happen to have one gift that should definitely be opened prior to any yuletide, chestnut roasting, Bing Crosby style fun."

Clark felt his skin warm.

"So I'm guessing this is a private opening," he volleyed in return.

She stepped up closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Uh-huh. And I think under the tree would be the perfect spot."

They kissed again, but this time with a little more intensity, a little more need. By the time they parted their lips, the two of them had moved closer to the door. Chloe smiled and nuzzled his nose with her own, thankful they were here, together, healthy, and in love. Above all, they were happy and complete, with not one serious worry to darken their holidays.

To be sure, it had taken Chloe a long time to feel this way. Through heartache, boyfriends, and near disasters both in Smallville and in Metropolis, both she and Clark had finally found each other. By the very devotion he showed her during her most difficult moments, Chloe knew Clark had indeed been the one she had been waiting for all this time.

As they walked out into the hallway, Chloe took a stronger hold of Clark's arm.

"Do you remember our first Christmas together?" she asked, suddenly struck with nostalgia.

Clark nodded. "Of course."

They walked down the stairs and into the living room as she spoke further.

"Well," she replied, trying very hard to hide her excitement, "I want to show you something."

The tree was bright and colorful when they stepped into the living room, illuminating the darkness with its intensity and power. The fireplace was also lit, and along with an extra source of light, it also gave off an immeasurable source of heat to make the room feel even more welcoming. Already the night, or Christmas morning in this case, felt special before it had even begun. And Chloe couldn't wait to get closer to the fire and tree, with her strong husband wrapped tightly in her arms.

Once they reached the tree, Chloe drew Clark's attention to a spot he hadn't seen before.

Specifically, an ornament he hadn't seen before.

"I hung it while you were winning the best Daddy of the Year award upstairs," she whispered softly in his ear.

Clark slowly reached over and twirled the ornament around on it's hook. It was silver in color, just like the first five years prior, but the words etched in black were just a little different.

On one side it read ..."Clark, Chloe, and Gabriel."

And on the other side it read ... "Family's First Christmas."

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Four hours later, Clark and Chloe were lying on the hearthrug in front of the fireplace. Both were lying flat, and Chloe was atop Clark with her head on his chest and her breath on his skin. His arms were around her tightly, and the heavy, oversized blanket from their bed upstairs was covering them both, guarding them from the chill. The fire had died down only a little, mainly because Clark had kept re-igniting it with his heat vision whenever he awoke from his sleep. Though with Chloe so snuggled against him, he had hardly needed another source of heat to help him survive the night.

Clark sighed softly as he moved his fingertips along Chloe's bare shoulder. He smiled when he recalled the vivid memories from their lovemaking. They had sex twice after she had given him the ornament. The first time happened immediately, of course, because neither could combat their emotions alone. Once they were finished, fully satisfied with one another and the years they had revisited together within the windows of their intimacy, Chloe rose from their spot next to the fireplace to retrieve two mugs of hot chocolate. When she returned, she quickly quipped about how comfortable a floor could be with the right accessories. Though warm husbands were a plus, they were nothing compared to soft blankets and pillows.

In a flash, he made sure she had all three.

They talked for a long time in front of the fire, about the holiday, Gabriel, family, and friends. It didn't take long, however, before they were kissing heatedly, their conversation lost to their desire. They made love a second time, with fresh snow on the windows and the flicker of the firelight on the walls to compliment their tenderness. Since the birth of their first-born they've had few moments like this to truly cherish one another, just like always had before they became parents. So it was no surprise they took full advantage of the quiet time.

The quiet time didn't last long, however, before they were reminded of their rarity.

Gabriel started crying just a little while after they were finished and their usual time of recovery was shortened. Because Clark had been wonderful putting him to bed, Chloe promptly decided it was her turn, and quickly stood and walked up the stairs to their son's bedroom. Clark listened from downstairs as Chloe soothed the tearful child, his cries lessening in intensity with each minute his mother held him. Whenever Chloe switched from successful newspaper reporter and wife, to mother in the blink of an eye, Clark always remembered a conversation the two of them had before she had Gabriel. Like any first time mother, Chloe believed she would surely fail at such a difficult task, no matter how hard she tried. Though common, her fears came not just from the anxiety present in all women, but also from watching her own mother leave her and her father when she was just a child.

No question Chloe believed she might be susceptible to the same fate.

However, Chloe was nothing like her mother. Clark tried to tell her over and over again, mainly when it mattered the most - such as at bedtimes and breakfast tables. She did everything a mother was expected to do, and then some. She loved Gabriel more than she had ever loved anyone else in her life, including both Clark and her father. And just as importantly, she was wonderful with him. Chloe sat with him in the rocking chair night after night when he had a fever and couldn't sleep. She laughed with him, read him fairy tales, and sang to him during feedings. She was everything Clark knew she could be. And more often than not, he found himself just staring at the two of them in awe in love; thankful she was the mother of his child.

It didn't take long for her to soothe him tonight. In a matter of minutes she was back in Clark's arms, sound asleep and exhausted from both her duties as a mother and a wife.

Clark rubbed his hand down along her back, smiling as she finally awoke.

Chloe yawned, then looked up and rested her chin on his chest so she could see him. She traced her fingertips down along his stomach, felt him wiggle into her touch. She could always find his ticklish spot.

"Hey you," she whispered, kissing his skin.

He touched her cheek. "Hey."

"What time is it?"

"Just past four."

She shifted up a little, far enough to set her head on his shoulder and nuzzle his neck. By making herself more comfortable, she made it very clear to him that she had no intention of moving any time soon. Naturally, that was a scenario that suited him just fine.

"I'm glad you're a natural heater," she said softly, snuggling up to him even closer. "It makes your value as my sex slave on subzero nights so much higher."

He smirked. "Hot, naked reporter rubbing up against me at four in the morning? Definitely no complaints here."

Chloe shook her head. "Aren't you the X-rated man when the cape comes off."

"Don't you know it, Ms.Sullivan."

They kissed again softly, leisurely. Clark noted how wet her lips felt tonight, and how amazing they tasted with the new lip gloss she bought just a few days ago. Strawberry had always been his favorite, but this new warm vanilla might have broken into the lead for him over the past week. He already commented once on the delightfulness he found in her lips, but decided to do it again for good measure.

"Remind me to buy you a box of vanilla lip gloss for Christmas," he said, his syllables broken by their kisses.

Chloe smiled and moved up his body just a smidgen more, knowingly aligning all the right sections of their bodies in the right way. She lifted her lips to earlobe, nibbled there for a few seconds, and then whispered back to him, "Don't worry, I have that aphrodisiac covered."

"Hmm, the investigative reporter's motto - everything I need is in my trunk."

She giggled in his ear before she slid back down his body to look at him. Tracing her hand through his hair, she said softly, "You know, I forgot to ask you if Gabriel liked the story. It was a new one for him."

Clark thought for a moment. Then he smiled.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "He loved it."

Fin.