"Smallville, stop it!" Lois chuckled. Sweeping her hair aside, Clark began to attack the very sensitive spots on her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she grimaced. "This dress makes me look huge." She said, smoothing down the burgundy shoulder-less dress.
She wasn't too keen on the way that it clung to her bump, accentuating every curve, but she realised that maybe it was just her imagination playing with her mind. It wasn't that she wanted to hide her bump, far from it, she just didn't want to attract attention to it. She was trying to be cautious in every aspect.
"No it doesn't, it makes you look sexy." He murmured in her ear, making goose bumps break out on her flesh. The things this man could make her feel were overwhelming sometimes.
He was only wearing a towel around his waist, making it very hard for her to concentrate. His hair was wet from the shower and she had to physically restrain herself because she knew if she didn't, she would never make to the Ace Of Clubs in time. And tonight was a special night.
He looked at her in the mirror, wiggling his eyebrows. "Sexy enough to change my mind about tonight and stay home with you instead."
She fixed her earring and turned to face him. "Ah but there's a slight problem there, I won't be here. So you'll be alone. I know Shelby's wonderful and all, but I think Oliver and Jimmy might be slightly better company since they can actually talk." She laughed.
He moaned when she kissed him quickly on the lips and stepped out of his embrace. She laughed at the puppy dog eyes he was giving her. "Come on Clark, it's Ollie's bachelor party. You have to go. You are the best man after all."
"Well I don't understand why he and Kara are having their parties two weeks before they get married." He flung himself down on the bed, lying on his stomach, watching her every move as she went about styling her hair, curling little tendrils to drape around her face.
She was looking forward to tonight, it was just going to be the four of them. Kara, Lois, Chloe and Martha. Girl's night out and Lois was determined to throw Kara the traditional bachelorette party.
"I think Kara's a little nervous about what might happen to her fiancé if he has his party the night before the wedding, it's a pre-emptive strike. This way, he has no excuse not to get to the church on time."
"Is she still worrying about what could go wrong?"
Lois sighed in exasperation. "Have you been listening to anything she's said recently?"
"Of course I have." He said, looking a little offended.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Shouldn't you be getting ready?"
He got up off the bed and in the blink of an eye, she was staring at an empty space. Two minutes later he returned, fully clothed and smelling absolutely mouth watering. His dark blue shirt really brought out the blue in his eyes. She took a moment to fully appreciate her husband. He was magnificent. Six and a half feet of pure handsomeness.
His eyes met hers and he must've seen what she was thinking because his darkened with lust.
"Don't be looking at me like that." She warned. He stalked towards her slowly, a small grin creeping up on his face.
"Like what?"
"Like you want to strip me naked and have your way with me."
He raised a brow. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Without another word, she let Clark take her into his arms and kiss her passionately. Her hands found their way inside his shirt, grazing against the bare flesh of his torso. This man was perfection. And he was all hers.
"Smallville…" She mumbled against his mouth. "We have to go. I don't wanna be late."
After a few more minutes, Clark reluctantly pulled back, adjusting his shirt. "Fine, but we will pick up where we left off later."
A flash of heat swept through her entire body at the mere thought. "Can't wait."
"You do realise that I'm the only one getting drunk tonight don't you?" Chloe grumbled, as she, Lois, Martha and Kara all sat around a large table in the Ace of Clubs.
"Hey now, I may be older than you girls, but I can still hold my liquor." Martha chimed in. Lois chuckled to herself, she had a feeling that Chloe and Martha were already well on their way to being drunk.
"That sounds like a challenge Mrs Kent." Chloe said.
"Show me what you got Mrs Olsen." Martha giggled, filling both hers and Chloe's glass up with more champagne.
Lois watched Kara intently, she was having such a good time. She had never seen her look as beautiful as she did tonight. Her normally bouncy curls were gone tonight. It was obvious that Kara had spent quite a bit of time trying to get her hair just right, it was straight as a pin and not a strand out of place. She looked radiant. Her bright red dress brought a fire to her eyes.
"Lois can I ask you something?" Kara said, leaning over towards her.
"Sure."
"Well, it's about my wedding night. I have never done this whole wedding thing before,"
"Do you need me to draw you a diagram?" Lois laughed, taking a sip of her non-alcoholic beer.
Kara threw her a smirk, having long since gotten used to Lois' banter, she often gave as good as she got. "If I did, would you be able to draw one?" She retorted. "Help me!"
Lois flipped her hair back over her shoulders and leaned in closer. "What's bothering you?"
"What if, I don't know, what if I do something wrong? Screw it up somehow. What if I disappoint him?" Kara was definitely Clark's relative. No one did insecurity quite like the two Kryptonians that Lois loved.
"Kara, Ollie is head over heels in love with you. There's no way you could disappoint him."
Kara thought about that for a moment. "Okay, so what about that night? I mean I know I'm supposed to be sexy and alluring but…"
"Well, a trip to Victoria's Secrets couldn't hurt."
"You mean, sexy underwear?" Lois nodded, then chuckled at the blush creeping up Kara's neck and face.
"Well, what colour should I get?"
Lois, Chloe and Martha all exchanged glances. All three smiled and said, "Green."
"Kara, your wedding day is the happiest day of your life. Don't stress yourself out sweetie, let things happen naturally and just remember to enjoy it." Martha said, her mothering instincts coming out as she saw her niece's uncomfortable expression.
"I remember my wedding day, it was the most…" She sighed as the happy memories came back to her. "Jonathan was so handsome. It was the best day of my life. Well that and the day Clark came into our lives."
"He was lucky you found him." Kara replied. "I wish I'd had a family like you when I arrived here. I missed out on so much, being in suspended animation all those years." Martha reached over the table and covered Kara's hand with hers.
"Sweetheart, it doesn't matter how you came to be here. What's important is that you now have friends and family who love you and want to see you happy. I'm so glad you found that with Oliver. He's a great guy."
Kara smiled warmly. "Yeah, he really is isn't he? Thanks Aunt Martha." Martha gasped, a hand flying up to cover her open mouth. She had been telling Kara to call her that since she had arrived but Kara had confided to Lois that it just never seemed to feel right. Obviously now, it did.
"You're very welcome." As Lois watched the heart-warming interaction between the two women, she felt her phone vibrate in her hand bag. Sliding it up, she saw it was a text message.
"How's my girls? Havin' fun? xx"
Lois grinned as she began typing, deciding to have a little fun with him.
"Can't you go more than two hours without contacting me Smallville? Lol, we're having a lot of fun actually, there's naked strippers everywhere, it's fantastic! Oh and your mom's a little drunk. Love ya, xx"
"Come on Lo…" Chloe stood over her, holding out her hand. "Let's boogie."
"I'm good thanks Chlo…"
"No, you're not getting out of this. Come on." She grabbed her hand and pulled her gently out of her seat, then made her way to the dance floor where Martha and Kara were already dancing.
"Martha?" Lois said quietly, astounded by the red haired woman gyrating to the beat of the music. She turned her head towards Lois and smiled. Yep, she was definitely drunk.
"Come on Lois, show us your moves." Martha called.
"Yeah, come on beautiful, show us." A voice said behind her. She turned around to see three burly young men, all watching her with lust filled eyes.
She held up her hand and wiggled her wedding ring in front of them. "Sorry fellas, you're gonna have to find someone else to harass."
"Ah come on sweet cheeks, dance with us." One of them said, stepping forward to reach for her hand. She quickly took a step back.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm just going to pretend that you didn't see the obvious sign I just sent you and tell you again, I'm married and pregnant and soooo not interested. So take a hike."
"Doesn't mean you can't have a little fun with me." He teased and as she turned away from him, he grabbed her butt.
Before he could make contact a second time, his wrist was grabbed in a vice like grip, making him wince. She had momentarily forgotten about her new strength, it was still taking some getting used to. She felt something crack as he let out a yelp and quickly released him. He cradled his arm against his chest, his two buddies looking on in amazement.
"You broke my wrist, you b***h!" He yelled.
"Maybe next time, when a woman tells you she's not interested, you'll do the sensible thing and back off." She replied flatly, though inside she felt terrible. She didn't know she was capable of causing pain like that. It was rather unnerving.
"Lois, you okay?" Kara was right by her side, watching the men with a clear distaste.
"Yeah, I'm good." She smiled as the men slowly walked away. She'd be damned if she'd let this ruin Kara's night. "Come on, let's dance."
"Kara Kent?" Lois rolled her eyes at another voice behind them. She saw Kara freeze with a look of horror on her face as they stared up at the policeman.
"Yes?" She said nervously.
"Oh no," Lois groaned and looked over at her cousin. "Chloe please tell me you didn't…"
"What?" Chloe said, her eyes widening innocently. A little too innocently for Lois' liking. She had no idea how Kara was going to react to a stripper. She would've booked one if she knew that Kara would've been okay with it. After all, it was tradition.
Chloe smiled sweetly at her. "I didn't do anything."
Lois frowned at her sceptically. "Uh-huh. I'm sure."
"Ah come on Lois, this is gonna be fun." Lois' jaw dropped at the person who'd uttered that statement.
"Martha!"
"I'm telling you Oliver, they're not gonna like it."
"What are you talking about Clark? They'll love it." He opened the door and let Clark and Jimmy in before him.
"Okay but when Lois asks, this was all your idea." He replied, shaking his head.
"You are so whipped Clark. When are you gonna learn to have a little fun? Lois has hers, so why don't you do the same?"
Clark sighed. Lois was going to kill him. He had no idea how he had let a drunken Jimmy and Oliver talk him into this. The girls would not be happy about their party being crashed. Though he had to admit, he was eager to see for himself, what they were up to.
His response to her earlier message about the strippers had received no reply and he figured she was probably just having too good a time to notice her phone. He hoped so, she needed to have a night off, to let her hair down and unwind. Also, he hoped that she was just trying to wind him up about the strippers.
He knew that it was all harmless fun, but the thought of men gyrating their private parts in front of his pregnant wife, was a little disconcerting.
Oliver clapped him on the shoulder."Oh don't worry Clark, Lois loves me too. She can never be angry at me."
As they stepped off the elevator, Clark suddenly wished he was able to get drunk like the other two. There she was, his wife sitting with his mother, cousin and best friend, whooping and laughing at the naked male swaying in front of a very red faced Kara.
But even though Kara looked uncomfortable, Clark could see she was enjoying herself.
He was suddenly faced with two options, he could either turn and walk out, or he could stay and get his ass kicked by his very pregnant and very hormonal wife. The second option was one he'd rather avoid since she was strong enough to actually dish some pain out to him.
That was still taking some getting used to. It felt strange to not have to concentrate on not hurting her when they made love. She gave as good as she got. And the result had left him breathless.
"Clark!" Jimmy snapped, forcing him back to reality. "Aren't you gonna do anything?"
"What am I supposed to do exactly?" He asked, Jimmy looked like he was about ready to attack the stripper and do some damage.
"That guy is naked. Naked CK, in front of our wives! Do something!"
"Like what? Throw him off the balcony?" Clark chuckled. Though the idea did have some appeal.
"That's not a bad idea." Oliver murmured, his earlier good mood waning as he watched his fiancée.
"Look guys, I'm not very fond of the idea either, but we did crash their party and to be honest, men have strippers at their bachelor parties all the time. I know women do too, so maybe we should cut them a little slack." Clark couldn't believe these words were coming out of his own mouth.
"Kara's not like the rest of them Clark."
"She seems to be enjoying herself." Jimmy said, his eyes narrowing as he zeroed in on his own wife holding out a twenty dollar bill. Where on earth was she going to put that?
Jimmy wasn't waiting to find out. Without thinking, he stormed over there. Clark hung back with Oliver near the bar, wanting to be as far away from the fireworks that were about to go off, as possible.
"Okay pal, I think you're done here." Jimmy said, his eyes glaring at the male, who simply smiled at the intrusion.
"But I was just getting started." He smirked. Clark could see Jimmy's fists bunch and was surprised at the way Jimmy was getting fired up.
"Started? You don't have anything left to take off!"
"Jimmy!" Chloe's voice sounded out, and boy was she angry. "What are you doing here?"
Jimmy briefly glanced at her, and then turned back to the man who was still smiling obnoxiously.
"Okay man, I get the picture. Don't get your tidy whities in a bunch. Ladies, it's been a pleasure." He blew the ladies an exaggerated kiss, grabbed his clothes and sauntered off. Which left Jimmy facing a very angry crowd of women. Even Martha looked annoyed.
"You have ten seconds to explain yourself." Chloe demanded, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.
"Uh…well…" Clark chuckled, now Jimmy lost his cool? Way to go Jimmy.
"Come on, I'm dying to hear your explanation for this!" Chloe said.
"I just uh…I didn't like seeing that guy push his private parts in your face, you're only supposed to look at…" He stopped abruptly, his face turning beet red as he realised what he'd been about to say.
Chloe's face softened, but only a little. She was still angry, but not furious. She grabbed his arm and led him away from the table, over into one of the corners and Clark didn't envy the guy for the conversation he was about to have. He turned his back on the scene, making it look like he was about to order a drink.
"Should we sneak out?" Oliver whispered to him, leaning on the bar.
"Smallville!" He groaned and closed his eyes. Busted. Turning around, he saw his wife and his cousin standing side by side, both with hands on their hips.
"Hey beautiful." He said, swallowing nervously. He was the strongest man in the world, but put him up against a mad Lois Lane and he was as helpless as a little kitten.
"Was that really necessary?" Kara asked Oliver.
"We just wanted to join you. Clark wouldn't shut up about Lois and I really wanted to see you. I just thought we could…" He hung his head.
"Ollie," Her soft tone had him rearing his head in surprise. "I like that you were missing me, I missed you too and to be honest, I was a little uncomfortable with all of that."
"Really?" She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. Clark smiled down at Lois, with a hopeful expression.
"Oh you're not getting off that easy Smallville." She said, crossing her arms over her bump.
"Hey, wait a second. It wasn't even my idea and I wanted to leave the second we got in here." He defended. Why was getting into trouble for something Oliver and Jimmy were responsible for?
"How come he gets a kiss and I get…" Lois raised one brow, daring him to finish that sentence. He quickly clamped his mouth shut.
"Relax Smallville," She said, stepping forward to cup his face in her hands. "I won't hurt you."
She chuckled. "Come on, we should really get your mom home, I think she's had a little too much champagne." Clark looked over the top of Lois' head and saw his mom swaying gently in her seat, smiling at the four of them. She waved as they made their way over to her.
"Mom? You ready to go?"
"Don't be such a party pooper Clark, we haven't even had our cocktails yet." She said, reaching for another glass.
"I think maybe you've had enough Martha." Lois chuckled, reaching over the table to take the glass away. As she stood back up, she was hit with an intense pain. She grabbed her stomach and bent over.
"Lois! What's wrong?" Clark grabbed her elbows, supporting her. He watched her face intently, as she began to breath normally and finally she looked up at him.
"I'm fine. It's gone. I don't know what that was…OW!" A second pain had her grabbing Clark's arm, gripping so tightly he could feel it.
Martha was by her side, her inebriated state fast wearing off in concern for her daughter. She held onto one of Lois' arms, but stayed quiet, letting Clark tend to her.
"Lois, what is it?" Clark asked, his voice thick with concern. "Talk to me."
"Whoa, that one wasn't as bad. I don't think anything's wrong Clark…" She said, looking thoughtful as she rubbed her hands over her bump. She stopped in one spot, wincing. "I think the baby's kicking me…"
"What?"
"The pain's fading…I can feel these little…thumps," She grabbed his hand. "Right here. Can you feel that?"
Clark waited, his hand resting lightly on her stomach, his forehead creasing in concern. And then…he felt it. A tiny little thump against the palm of his hand. He watched Lois' face, but the pain didn't seem to be affecting her much anymore. She winced a little but otherwise, seemed fine. "Is he hurting you?"
"Not really, I think the first few blows were the worst but it seems okay now. Can you feel it though?" She said, her tone hopeful.
"Yeah," He looked back down to where his hand was covering. His eyes glazed over with tears. That was his child, kicking. He didn't like the idea that it could hurt Lois, but he was so happy that he finally felt it. He was beginning to think he never would.
"Yeah I can feel it." He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her close. "He's strong."
"Tell me about it. Clark…" She looked up into his eyes. "You really felt it?"
He cupped her cheek. "Yeah Lo, I felt our baby kick. Finally, I felt him kick!"
Helen sat in her penthouse apartment, typing away on her computer, trying to work. But her mind kept revolving around one thing. Her deadline was tomorrow. She was to deliver the information and blood samples of Lois to Lex or face his wrath.
She had no doubt that he would do everything he had threatened her with and she knew that he wouldn't hesitate to have her killed. Just like her husband. Her heart clenched painfully at the knowledge that the man she had loved beyond anything in this world, was now dead because of her past mistakes. That was all Lex had been, a mistake.
But she couldn't do that to Lois. Or Clark. Even though he was still reluctant to trust her, the fact that he hadn't sent her packing was a good sign and she didn't want to let them down. Lois had been good to her, trusting her with the most important thing in her life. But what other choice did she have?
Suddenly, her phone started ringing, making her jump. She snatched up the receiver in frustration.
"Hello Helen." Her blood ran cold just at the sound of his voice.
"How did you get this number?" She demanded, but she should've known that when it came to Lex Luthor, nothing was out of his reach.
"Still so hostile Helen. I thought we came to an agreement." The teasing tone in his voice made her stomach churn.
"We did no such thing. I remember you delivering an ultimatum, hardly an agreement." She spat.
Lex chuckled. "Well if that's what you choose to remember. That's fine. Just remember this. Tomorrow is your cut off point, I won't be so polite after that. Bring me everything you have…"
"No."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I said no. I can't do that to them Lex. I won't." She said, defiantly.
"You can and you will."
"No I won't. The Kents have been good to me. So has Oliver. I won't let them down because of your threats."
"Oh believe me Helen, they're not simple threats, and you of all people should know not to cross me." The teasing tone was gone now, replaced with a menacing undercurrent.
Summoning up one last scrap of courage, Helen spoke slowly. "Go to hell Lex." And then she slammed the phone down.
To Be Continued...