Surprise.
The word reverberated in his head for what seemed like hours, but was, in actuality, only about a minute.
The baby, Lois' baby, was his.
Theirs.
Mouth still agape, his eyes dropped to her left hand, resting on the shiny wedding band. A ring that before had caused an almost suffocating flash of pain to rip through him. Now, though, the sight of it made his heart beat faster.
In anticipation. In happiness. In relief.
Watching every reaction flicker across his face, Lois gently squeezed her future mother-in-law's hand, still resting on her belly.
"Yeah, don't worry, Smallville. Your crush on me pays off. You do actually get up the nerve to ask me out. Eventually, anyway," she teased, a note of anxiety present in her voice.
For whatever reason, that seemed to snap him out of it.
"Crush?" he asked, his expression slightly bewildered with amount of information he'd learned in the past few minutes.
Lois simply rolled her eyes, shooting a quick grin at Martha, "Please, Clark. Save it. You told me yourself after we started dating."
His eyes simply widened at that, knowing she was not only right about his heretofore hidden feelings, but that with her knowledge of the future, he didn't really have a leg to stand on.
The silence stretched out for a few long moments, Clark's wide-eyed stare still drifting from her face, to her swollen belly, to her wedding ring, and then back again.
Unable to take it any longer, Lois cleared her throat. "Look, I know it's a lot to take in. I was hoping you wouldn't have to take it in. Right now, I kinda wish I could kick my younger self's ass for not talking you out of keeping meteor rock up here."
"Why didn't you want me to know?"
"Clark, knowing too much about the future is dangerous. I like my future. A lot. The more you know, the more things could change, and that's not really something I wanna risk."
"But something must be wrong," Martha quietly interjected, instinctively tightening her arm around Lois' shoulders. "You wouldn't be here if everything was alright."
Suddenly, Clark stood, appearing by Lois' side in what seemed to be a split second.
"Let's get you to the couch," he said softly, reaching down and gently lifting her into his arms, his mother's protective hug falling away as he cradled Lois against his chest.
"I can walk, you know," she said, a slight smile on her face. Clark blushed slightly, and she couldn't help but laugh.
He set her down on the old sofa before sitting beside her himself, his eyes unable to stop finding their way back to her very pregnant stomach, his lips unable to stop themselves from forming into a sappy grin.
Lois shot a glance toward Martha, who was smiling indulgently at her apparently awestruck son. Looking back at Clark, she reached out, placing her hand over his.
"You wanna feel?"
"Really? I mean, it's okay?"
"I wouldn't have asked you if you wanted to if it wasn't," she said, picking up his hand and placing it on her stomach. Clark watched intently for a few moments, before furrowing his brow and directing his gaze back at Lois.
"I don't feel anything."
"It's a baby, not a circus dog, Smallville. It doesn't perform on command. But believe me, the kid's a mover. You won't have to wait long."
"How far along are you?" Martha asked.
"About six and a half months."
"And, everything's been…okay so far?"
"So far, it's been a pretty normal pregnancy, aside from the little guy's, or girl's, aversion to meteor rock," Lois responded, sneaking a peek at Clark out of the corner of her eye, who was watching his hand on her stomach so determinedly she was surprised he hadn't x-rayed her yet.
Finally, after another minute, Clark's face lit up in a blinding smile.
"Wow," he whispered, his gaze meeting Lois'. "He kicked."
"Or she. And you don't have to tell me, Smallville, believe me, I've got front row seats."
"We don't know if it's a boy or a girl?"
"No, we don't. And so help me if you use your x-ray vision to try and see, I will level you. Superpowered alien or not."
"Why do I have the feeling that's a threat my son has heard several times since you've been pregnant?" Martha teased.
"You have no idea," Lois muttered in return, eliciting a giggle from her future mother-in-law.
The brief moment of levity was cut short, though, by the serious expression now present on Clark's handsome face. Picking up on it, Lois swallowed hard, having a feeling she knew the line of questioning that was about to begin.
"What happened?"
"Clark…"
"It had to be something big. And bad, because there's no way I'd let you and the baby out of my sight."
"Look, you already know too much."
"So a little more won't hurt. Lois, come on, maybe if I know why, I can help you get back home. And I can get my Lois back."
"Well, the thing is…I can't go home right away."
"So Clark's right," Martha cut in. "It's bad."
Sighing in resignation, she looked back and forth between her future husband and mother-in-law. "Oh what the hell, the biggest cat's out of the bag anyway. But…I'm not gonna tell you everything. I'll tell you what you need to know to possibly help me, but that's it Clark. I need you to respect that."
"I will. I promise."
She nodded slowly in response, accepting him at his word.
"Well get comfortable, because it's a long story."
**
October 2016
Slamming the car door, Lois threw him a quizzical look over the hood.
"Why here?"
Shutting his own door, Clark replied, "Metropolis is way too risky."
"Because I might run into myself?"
He grinned, shaking his head slightly. "Nice try, Lo. I'm not telling you anything."
They began walking along the dirt driveway, heading toward the lit front porch of the old farmhouse, when suddenly Clark stopped, holding out a hand to keep her back.
"What?"
Her question was met with silence, followed by her hair whipping around her face. As soon as she swiped roughly at it, clearing her vision momentarily, another strong breeze stirred up, blowing the long strands haphazardly around her head.
Brushing it back, eyes narrowed, she turned to Clark, who was standing beside her.
"A little warning would have been nice. Where the hell did you go?"
"Come on," he said, gently grasping her arm and leading her through the kitchen door. Her eyes hungrily took in her surroundings, feeling safe here with Clark as she always did, despite the outlandish circumstances.
"This place never changes," she muttered gratefully, eliciting a small smile from Clark. She walked over to the large island and leaned against it. As Clark was getting a couple of glasses down, she allowed herself a bit of a closer investigation.
The refrigerator, normally covered with pictures, now only had one. The same picture of Clark and the Kents she'd seen there since she first arrived at the farmhouse to investigate Chloe's "death". Other than that, there were about ten or so magnets – holding up nothing.
Quirking an eyebrow up, her gaze wandered around the rest of the kitchen and into what she could see of the living room.
The furniture hadn't changed. The wall colors were the same. Even the throw pillows on the couch were the ones she remembered seeing only about an hour or two ago while she was having dinner at the farm in 2009.
Yet, what struck her? There was not a picture to be found.
Realization dawned on her as she turned to Clark, who was now pouring them each some iced tea, with a smirk.
"Pretty sneaky, Smallville."
"What?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"Don't what me. You blurred in here and took down all the pictures!"
"Just taking precautions."
"So," she asked, hoping like hell she would be able to keep the hint of disappointment out of her voice, "Does that mean I know the future Mrs. Smallville?"
He pushed a tall glass of iced tea toward her. "I didn't say that."
"Then, why hide the pictures?"
"Because no one…"
"Should know about the future, yeah, I got it. But if I don't know her, what's the harm?"
"Either way, it's too much information," he said, grabbing the pitcher of iced tea and putting it back in the refrigerator.
Sighing with frustration, she took a long sip of the ice cold drink Clark had placed in front of her. As he shut the door, she once again noticed the picture of the smiling Kent family on it.
"You left that one up."
"You've seen that one before," he shrugged.
Leaning forward, she rested her chin on her hand, her eyes still on the slightly worn photo.
"Look, I know you can't tell me about the future, alright? But, can you maybe answer me one thing?"
"Depends what it is."
Taking one last look at the picture, she turned back toward him. "Your mom's okay, right?"
A soft smile graced his lips, her affection for his mother always touching him immensely. "She's fine, Lois. Don't worry."
"Good," she responded quietly before taking another drink of iced tea. Silence settled over them, Clark's gaze studying the countertop, though every so often his eyes would flicker to the wedding band resting on his left hand.
Seeing the anxiety creep into his features, she felt terrible for him. She couldn't imagine what he was going through, not knowing if his wife was alright, wondering what had happened to her, what had gone wrong, because clearly something had. Lois wasn't sure of much but she was pretty damn sure that Clark hadn't expected her to show up.
She watched as his thumb slowly caressed his wedding ring, suddenly feeling a flash of jealousy surge through her toward the woman who was lucky enough to be loved by Clark Kent, who he'd chosen to spend his life with.
The woman who inspired such concern in those amazing blue-green eyes of his.
"Can I ask you one more thing?"
"Hmm?" he replied absently, his thumb still resting on the cool metal adorning his ring finger.
"We're still friends, right?"
His gaze rose to hers, the concern in his eyes melting into affection. That he could answer with complete honesty.
"Best friends, Lo," he said softly.
"Okay, then," she said, reaching over and covering his hand with hers, feeling his wedding band beneath her fingers. She was still his friend, she told herself as the metal pressed against her skin, and that was what he needed right now. His best friend. "Look, Clark, I know that I know zilch about what's going on here. And considering that, coming from me, this might not be all that comforting, but your wife was alive when I saw her. She was moving a little bit and breathing, so that's a good thing, right? Plus, you, well the younger you, were with me in the caves, and I know you had your ears tuned into me because you were not a fan of the split up to cover more ground plan that I came up with. Which means that as soon as, well, whatever happened happened, you'd have been there. And you'd have found her. So, she's safe. Because she's with you. And even if younger you doesn't know who she is, let's face it, you're Smallville. Past, present or future, you're always there for a damsel in distress."
He chuckled at that, knowing she couldn't possibly know that she'd just referred to herself as the one thing she despised being called more than anything in the world. He looked at her hand covering his, a grateful smile touching his lips, before he instinctively lifted their hands, gently placing a soft kiss on her skin.
And then he froze. Because while that was something he was certainly used to doing? She was definitely not used to him doing it. Slowly, his eyes found her face, noting the slight pink tint on her cheeks, color he could feel crawling up the back of his own neck.
He quickly pulled his hand away, clearing his throat a bit before sending her a small grin. "Thanks, Lo."
Pulling her own hand back and running it quickly through her hair, as if to give it something to do other than dwell on the soft lips that had just been placed against it, she simply shrugged.
"What are friends for? So," she continued, looking to steer the conversation onto a different track. "What now?"
"First, I'm gonna head to the Fortress."
"You fixed it?"
Her question deflated him a bit.
"I haven't yet in your time?" he asked, his mind mentally flipping back to 2009, and realizing the answer to his own question before she was even able to respond. He mentally berated his younger self for not getting it up and running sooner. His Lois could have definitely used a working Fortress in 2009.
"No. Can I come? I've wanted to see that place since you told me about it. Well, see it while I'm actually conscious anyway."
"Right, you've been there," he said distractedly while weighing her request. "I don't know if it's such a good idea, Lois."
"Why? Come on, if I stay here, you know I'm just gonna snoop around. If you take me, you can keep an eye on me."
"There isn't anything for you to find here, I made sure of that," he shot back, the teasing glint in his eyes a welcome sight given the gravity of the situation.
"You underestimate me, Smallville," she replied, grinning that mischievous grin he couldn't resist.
He narrowed his eyes, considering her words. She was probably right. He'd hidden everything, but if anyone could find a crumb of information despite his best efforts, it was Lois.
"Okay," he finally acquiesced, chuckling at the bright smile that lit up her face in response. "But, I'm gonna take you to a different part of the Fortress, and you need to stay there while I talk to Jor-El."
"But I wanna meet him!"
"Lois," he said, "Promise or I lock you upstairs until I get back."
"Fine," she huffed, folding her arms in front of her. "I'll probably need a jacket though. And maybe a sweater. We are talking the Arctic after all and unlike you, the cold does affect me."
"Don't worry," he said, knowing she'd be perfectly comfortable in the place that had become their retreat from the almost nonstop world they often found themselves in. "You'll be fine."
"Really?"
"You were last time," he shrugged.
"I was also unconscious, Clark."
"Trust me. I've got it under control."
"He says cryptically," she muttered under her breath, though one look at the smirk on Clark's face and she knew his superhearing had picked it up.
"Look, I've just gotta make one phone call, alright? I'll be upstairs," he said, reaching into his pocket for his cell and heading toward the staircase. "There's some pie in the refrigerator if you're hungry."
He jogged up the stairs and rounded the corner out of her line of sight, then she saw his head pop back around.
"And no snooping, Lane."
She rolled her eyes, moving toward the cabinet and grabbing a plate. Taking the apple pie from the fridge, she cut herself a healthy slice – being sent seven years into the future did nothing to decrease her love for Martha Kent's apple pie – and dug in, the familiar delicious flavor helping to calm her nerves a bit.
As she lifted her third large forkful toward her lips, the screen door creaked open, a familiar blond head entering in its wake. Head down and moving toward the living room, never noticing the person leaning against the far side of the island.
She grinned, setting down her fork. This could be fun.
"Hey Ollie."
He stopped suddenly, his body whirling toward the sound of her voice. His jaw dropped. Eyes blinked in confusion.
"What's up?" she asked nonchalantly, lifting another piece of pie to her mouth.
Oliver looked toward the stairs and then into the living room quickly, then back toward her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Gee, nice to see you too," she muttered, taking a sip of iced tea to wash down her pie.
"Lois, what happened? Didn't it work?"
She picked up on the worry in his voice, tilting her head slightly. "What do you mean?" she probed.
"Oh man," Ollie sighed, running a hand roughly over his face. "I've been off the grid trying to get the information we need, I haven't been in contact with Clark. Did something change?"
Noticing the panicky vibe that was starting to emanate from her ex-boyfriend, she moved around to the front of the island, taking a few steps toward him.
"Oliver…"
And then his face suddenly changed, much to Lois' confusion. His eyes dropped, for the first time taking in her entire body, resting momentarily on her stomach. When he finally met her gaze, sadness radiated from his features.
In two short strides, he had her encased in his arms.
"Oh my God, Lois…I'm so sorry," he said quietly, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back.
Tentatively returning the hug, utterly perplexed at Oliver's demeanor, she asked quietly, "Sorry for what?"
He pulled back, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Come on Lois, you don't have to be strong here. It's me. No one knows better than I do how much you and Clark wanted this baby."
She could swear her heart stopped, Oliver's words swirling in the air around them. Blinking several times, her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, attempting to form a coherent word. Instead, Oliver's voice just continued to echo through her stunned mind.
"…how much you and Clark wanted this baby."
Finally, after staring at Oliver in shocked silence for what seemed like an eternity, she managed to stutter out one word.
"What?"
"I can't believe it," he said softly, apparently taking her surprise for grief over the situation. "After everything…man, I'm so sorry, Lois. How's Clark? He can't be taking this well at all."
"Clark?" she croaked, partly in response to Oliver's question, partly because the man himself had just appeared before her on the stairs, eyes widening at the sight in front of him.
"Oliver!" he called, a little too loudly, but getting the archer's attention just the same. His friend's sympathetic eyes as he turned toward him combined with the utterly gobsmacked look on Lois' face told him all he needed to know.
Clark closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly before letting out a long breath. He walked over to her, placing his fingers under her chin and gently lifted her jaw off the floor. That seemed to snap her out of her trance as she shook her head slightly.
"Baby?"
Clark simply smiled at her, his hearing picking up the quickening of her heartbeat.
"So, I'm…I'm Mrs. Smallville?"
A soft laugh escaped his lips at the hint of happiness in her voice. He reached out and grasped her hand, squeezing it gently.
"You're Mrs. Smallville."
