It had been the nicest two weeks that she could ever remember.

For the duration of Clark's leave, Lois was out at the farm every day continuing to learn the finer points of preparing and cooking a meal from Mrs. Kent. And in spite of his jokes to the contrary, Clark never failed to compliment her when she'd made something he particularly enjoyed.

And during that time, she began to make a mental list of what he liked more and what he liked less. She began to really take notice what his drink of choice was with meals and what he preferred for dessert, milk and his mother's peach cobbler.

Lois hadn't tried to tackle the cobbler yet because Mrs. Kent was still trying to help her make apple turnovers. Dad had found her mother's recipe, written in her own hand and given it to her. She was determined to make them the same way her mother had, but the only one who could tell her if she got it right would be the General.

For the two weeks she'd been at the farm, and never overnight, she spent most of her time with Clark. They walked the length and breadth of his parent's property, talking and getting to know each other better.

As they strolled together hand in hand, he went into more detail about his job as an agent and talked about some of the situations he'd found himself in. She got the feeling that he was glossing over some of his more harrowing experiences, but that was fine by her. He was good at what he did and she knew he did his best to stay safe, but didn't want to know any more than he was willing to tell her because she worried about him enough as it was.

He also told her how it was growing up on a farm and how he sometimes wished that his parents had been able to have more children. As much as he loved them, he'd often wondered what it would have been like to have a brother or a sister to grow up with.

Lois joked that having a sister wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but admitted that it had been nice to have Lucy around.

She told him what it was like to grow up moving from base to base as her father's responsibilities increased with his rise in rank, which necessitated his more frequent transfers. A family of tumbleweeds is what he once called them and Lois couldn't say that she disagreed with his assessment.

Tumbleweeds though they were, the General did his best to make every house they lived in a home. But with his numerous absences and especially as Lois got older, it increasingly fell to her to make it as much a home for Lucy as shecould.

And she resented it.

She wasn't Lucy's mother and didn't like being saddled with the responsibility. So when she turned eighteen, that was her ticket out and she left the safety and security of being a military dependent to strike out on her own.

It had taken a long time before she and her father stopped being angry with each other enough to start talking, his transfer to Fort Ryan facilitated that, and they slowly began to mend their fences.

She hadn't told Clark any of that before, preferring that he think the relationship with her father had always been a good one. She was proud of what they had now, because they'd both worked at it and grown closer as a result.

And it was one of the reasons why she wanted to master her mother's apple turnovers.

The Kent's had invited the General for dinner the night before Clark was due to leave for Kansas City and it had been Lois' plan to spring them on him. But as was becoming a familiar refrain, her father had to cancel his dinner plans; he was being sent back to Fort Harrison with another of his battalions for more mountain training. When he would return, he wasn't even sure.

It frustrated her, not because of the cancelled dinner plans, because she wanted to talk to her father about Clark and how she'd missed her chance the second time he'd taken her into the barn.

He'd left the door wide open for her to tell him how she felt about him; how many she really loved him.

But with the circumstances of that afternoon, that being, his body so close to hers, she couldn't think clearly enough get the words to come out. Part of it was that if she had, his happiness at her declaration might have overridden their common sense and they would have ended up doing the very thing she'd already told him she didn't want to do in the barn.

And it wasn't his romantic advances that concerned her.

It felt odd that she would worry about such things, because it had never been an issue before. Lois had always been selective in the men that she chose to socialize with because of her job. Too often they thought that because she worked in a nightclub that her favors were there for the taking, in that they thought she was easy.

But just because she was selective, it didn't mean that she hadn't had any intimate relationships. The fact was, there had only been two and those paled in comparison to the intimacy she felt with Clark even though nothing had happened between them yet. It made her regretful that she hadn't waited for him, but knew the thought was foolish. If the situation with Lex and the Senator hadn't presented itself, they never would have met because there wouldn't have been any reason for him to come out from Washington.

'Everything happens for a reason', she remembered her mother telling her. Lois was too young to understand why her mother was slipping away from her and Lucy and the General, so that was how she tried to explain it to her six year old daughter.

It was something Lois had never forgotten because it definitely applied to her and to Clark. They were two very different people who had led very different lives and if it weren't because of his job, she would have had a difficult time seeing him spending his time in a nightclub, as he wasn't that kind of a man.

He was still a farm boy at heart and he wasn't the only one who was in love.

"I thought I'd find you out here." Lois looked up toward the front door and saw Mr. Kent standing there; she hadn't heard the screen door open. "That swing has become your favorite spot in the house."

"That's because I can see so much from here and it helps me think." She answered.

"You looked like you were thinking about something pretty serious." He replied. "Is it something I can help you with?"

Her cheeks warmed as she shrugged self-consciously. "No offense Mr. Kent, but I don't know that you're the one to talk to about this."

He grinned at her. "This is something you'd rather talk about with Martha."

"I don't think she's the one to talk to either." She shook her head.

Mr. Kent looked confused. "Can you give me a little more information?"

"You're Clark's parents." She said in a matter of fact way. "And it's not fair to talk to you about something when I should be talking to him."

"And why can't you talk to him?" His boots thumped across the porch as he walked to the swing and sat down on the opposite side. "Is it something that you don't want him to know?"

Lois shook her head again. "It's something he needs to know and something I want to tell him, I just don't know how."

He smiled again and nodded. He knew. "Lois, those sorts of things seem to find their own time and what you need to do is not worry. Whatever it is that you want to tell him will be there when you're ready."

"You sound so sure about it." She frowned.

"I know how much you care for my son and how much he cares for you. I know how much this situation surprised the both of you and I'm very proud of how you're handling it."

She couldn't help but smile. "I don't think avoiding him has been the best way to handle it."

"You've hardly been avoiding him, Lois." He corrected her. "Any more than he's been avoiding you, you're just using your common sense and keeping yourselves out of awkward situations."

"Like the barn." She laughed softly.

He agreed with an amused nod. "Like the barn."

"Is he almost packed?" Lois asked.

"Just about." He told her. "He's been dragging his feet because he doesn't want to leave again."

"I know, but at least he won't be so far away this time." She looked at him. "It was nice of Mr. Kelly to let Clark split his time between Smallville and Kansas City."

"My son can be stubborn when he really wants something, and it took some doing to get the field director to agree to it." Mr. Kent laughed. "But in the end, he felt that as long as Clark was at the field office to attend briefings and file his paperwork, he could just as easily get his assignments by telephone or the telegraph office."

"I don't know why he did that."

"Don't you?" He seemed truly puzzled. "You really don't know why he would talk the field director into it?"

The blue eyes that were so much like Clark's gazed at her steadily as though to impart the actions of his only child. Lois' pulse began to race as it dawned on her what his father was trying to tell her.

"Me?" It came out as a whisper.

"As much as I'd like to think that he would do it for his mother and me, and I'm sure that we were part of it, I believe he did it mostly for you." He revealed. "The idea of being so close to home and not being able to see you and us on a regular basis was something he couldn't accept. And he didn't."

"Can he really do that?"

"Men do things they wouldn't ordinarily do when they're in love." He chuckled as he stood. "So why don't you go light a fire under him and get him to finish packing? He said he wanted to get to Kansas City before dark and at the rate he's going, he's not going to make it."

"He's such a baby." Lois sighed as she got up from the swing. "It's not like he has to go back to Washington."

"That's what we've been trying to tell him, but at this point I think you're the only one he'll listen to." Mr. Kent smiled at her.

"Oh he'll listen all right." She looked at him.

As she walked to the screen door and opened it, she heard his soft laugh. "I have no doubt."

When Lois got upstairs, she walked down the hall toward Clark's room, wondering exactly how she could coax him into finishing his packing. She knew he wasn't looking forward to leaving, but couldn't quite understand why.

He'd gotten Mr. Kelly to agree to a pretty nice deal. Clark would be in Kansas City for four days and in Smallville for three. And while it wasn't perfect, at least it was better than being separated by hundreds of miles and not seeing each other at all.

When she got to his room, she knocked softly on the partially opened door and walked in. His suitcase was still open on the bed and he was standing by the window. "Your dad sent me up here to help you finish packing." She said quietly, so she wouldn't startle him.

"I'm just about finished." He told her.

Lois couldn't help but feel for him, he'd just gotten home and now he had to leave again. But the situation was so much different than it had been before. "Clark, you're only going to Kansas City. It's not like you're shipping out and going overseas."

"I know."

"Then let's get moving." She put her hands on her hips. "You wanted to get there before dark and as slow as you're going, you're not going to make it."

He turned to face her and she couldn't help but sigh because not only was he not packed, he hadn't finished getting dressed either. He'd at least managed to get his dress shirt buttoned and tucked in, but didn't have a tie.

He was just being stubborn about the whole thing but she didn't have the heart to tell him that and instead walked to his closet. She fingered his ties on the tie rack, trying to decide on one that would go best with his suit.

"Whichever one you pick will be fine; just don't make it too loud." Clark's voice was close to her ear and she jumped because she hadn't heard him approach. "Sorry."

Lois smiled, even though she knew she shouldn't, as she found one that she thought would be perfect. "You don't own any loud ties. Some of them might be a little noisy, but they're certainly not loud."

"I'll have to work on that then, won't I?" She felt his arms around her as he pulled her back against him. "I like this."

"What? Having someone pick out your clothes like you were a five-year-old?" She leaned back in his arms as he slipped the tie she'd picked out off of the rack.

"No. Having someone pick out my clothes, like a wife. That's what I like."

The smile grew and slowly spread across her face and Lois couldn't help but be glad that he couldn't see it because it certainly wouldn't have helped the situation. "Well you got the husband part down right, seeing as how you were banished to the sofa."

"And you certainly got the wife part down right, seeing as how you managed to kick me out of my bed for almost a month." He was enjoying their banter, she could tell.

"What kind of wife would kick her handsome husband out of their bed?" Lois mused quietly in the circle of his arms, knowing without a doubt that if Clark were her husband, it would never happen.

"And what kind of husband would let his incredibly beautiful wife kick him out of their bed." He wondered out loud as he tried to draw her closer to him. "You wouldn't do that to your husband, would you Lois?"

"I would if he refused to get dressed and finish packing." She couldn't help but laugh because he seemed more determined then ever to keep stalling. "So how about a little less courting and a little more dressing."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" He asked softly as his cheek came to rest against her hair; a feel that she had come to love and her knees started to shake.

"I know that's what you're doing."

The fiend.

His arms tightened around her just a little more. "Well if that's true, what are you going do about it?"

Lois leaned her head back against his shoulder and sighed. "I think I'll let you."

"Son, times a wasting!" She heard Mr. Kent call from downstairs, rescuing her from doing something that would have slowed Clark's progress even more. "It's time to get on the road now."

"I'm getting it from all sides." He sighed dramatically but Lois knew without a doubt that there was a smile on his face.

"It serves you right because you distracted me." She pulled herself gently out of his arms and when she turned around he looked a sight happier than he had when she walked in. "Which was your intention."

"It was." He nodded. "And it worked like a charm."

"That's what you think." Lois laughed as Clark put the tie around his neck. She stepped in close and grasped his shirt collar and buttoned it before she took the ends of the tie in her hands.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Since I picked out your tie, which is perfect for you by the way, it should be up to me to tie it." Which she proceeded to do as she tried to ignore the feel of his hands that had come to rest on her waist. When she finished, she slipped the knot into place and patted it as she stepped out of his light hold. "Now stop dawdling Agent Kent, and finish packing."

"Is that an order?" He smiled at her as she backed up toward the door.

"Yes." She smiled back before she turned and walked out of the room, his gentle laugh following her back down the stairs. Clark's parents were in the parlor when she walked in and his mother looked at her expectantly.

"Jonathan said he sent you up there to light a fire under him. Did it work?"

"It worked, Mom." Lois turned to see Clark walking down the stairs, his suitcase in hand. "I'm ready to go."

"I had a feeling sending Lois up there would do the trick." She heard Mr. Kent comment from behind her. "And I was right."

"Thanks Dad." He said as he set his suitcase down next to the staircase and walked into the parlor. "Ever since yesterday, this was feeling too much like it did when I had to go back to Washington. But it's not the same because I'll be home on Thursday night." And he laughed. "I couldn't have said that in January."

"You certainly couldn't have." His father agreed. "Just call us when you get to Kansas City so we know that you got there all right."

"I will." He promised. "I just want you to know that it's really been nice being home and I'm glad that Mr. Kelly agreed to this. He could have just as easily told me that my transfer to the field office meant just that, but because we're so close it tipped things in my favor."

"And don't think that we aren't happy about that." Mrs. Kent told him. "But it's time to go now. So get your suitcase and get moving."

"Yes, ma'am." Clark managed to keep a straight face as he turned for the hallway and picked up his suitcase and headed for the door.

"We'll say goodbye here and let Lois walk you out to your car." Mr. Kent put his hand out and they shook. "It's been nice having you home too son."

"I'll call you Wednesday evening and let you know when to expect me."

"Drive carefully." Clark's mother advised. "People are starting to come home from their Sunday drives."

"I'll be careful, Mom. Don't worry." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you in a few days."

Lois walked out of the parlor, toward the screen door and waited for him to follow. When she saw him approach, she opened the screen door and held it until he caught it with his free hand and she stepped out onto the porch.

She heard it close behind her and when she felt Clark take her hand, they stepped off the porch and walked to his car. "You know you can stay here while I'm gone."

Lois shook her head. "We've already had this discussion."

"I know and I do understand." He nodded as he let go of her hand so he could open the back door and slip his suitcase onto the back seat. "I just thought I'd put it out there."

"Just put that car on the road and drive safe." She smiled as he closed the door. "This is so different from the last time you left."

"It's better because I get to come home in a few days." He smiled in return. "It feels nice to be able to say that."

"It's feels nice to hear it." Lois agreed as she followed Clark to the driver's side door.

"I'm sorry your dad couldn't make it for dinner last night. I know how much you were looking forward to it." He took her hand and squeezed it.

"I'm used to it." She shrugged. "It's all a part of being in the service."

"But that doesn't mean that he wasn't looking forward to it too." He reasoned.

"I know he was." She nodded. "And that's why it was so disappointing."

"Well until he gets the order to ship out, we've got time." And he glanced at his watch. "But unfortunately I don't; so I've got to go."

"Get going then." Lois urged before she gave him a quick kiss. "Thursday will be here before you know it."

He kissed her back before he opened the door and got in. "I'm already counting the days."

"Same here." She closed his door and he put the key in the ignition. The engine turned over and before he put the car in gear promised to call her when he got to Kansas City. She waved as he started up the drive and watched as he reached the end, turned on to the main road and was gone.

She walked back to the house and his parents were standing on the porch. "I must say, that was a much easier goodbye this time." Mr. Kent commented.

"It sure was." Lois agreed.

"You're welcome to stay for coffee and dessert if you like." Clark's mother offered.

"Thanks just the same, Mrs. Kent." She declined. "But I've been spending so much of my time here for the last two weeks that I really should go home."

"You know you're always welcome."

"I know."

"You're practically family." She added.

Was she?

"Do you have your keys?" Mr. Kent asked and Lois checked her pants pocket. Check.

"Call us when you get home then." Mrs. Kent requested. "I like to know that all my chicks are home in their nests."

Lois smiled at her. "I will."

"Drive safe now." Mr. Kent added as he followed Clark's mother into the house.

After they went inside she stood and looked at the farm house that had become so much of a home to her and couldn't help but envy Clark the stability of growing up in one place.

She'd had an adventurous childhood, seeing places that most kids never would have dreamed of. But she had to admit that she would have traded it in a heartbeat if she knew that there could have been one place that she could have always called home.

But since her heart had already found a home, even if he didn't know it yet, there might yet be one special place for her.

Only time would tell.