A Summer in Love

Chapter Fifty-Three:


Chloe, Oliver and Bruce walked through the front doors of the hospital with worried and concerned expressions lingering on their faces, as they rushed towards their friend, who has been fighting for her life from the moment Steve stabbed her.

They all wished—hoped—prayed that she was alright, but even though they had faith that she would be alright they couldn't stop imagining all of the horrible possibilities once they reached her room.

Would she be awake? Would she be sleeping? Would she be in a coma? Would she be in surgery? Would she even be alive?

As soon as Clark had disappeared with the woman he loved—with the woman they all hoped would survive, every single one of them had cleaned up the entire warehouse, disposing of anything and everything that Lex, Murphy and Steve had used for their little plan.

The Kryptonite and their nephew' blood being the main two things they had to dispose of. No one could really know what happened here today. Even if the entire would knew about the planet Clark and Kara originated from they didn't know about their weakness, and it needed to remain that way.

After Oliver and Dinah explained to everyone what had really happened to Lex and Murphy they came up with a good enough cover story for them, even though it was self-defense no one else would see it the way they did, before they alerted the police of the situation, who arrested Steve right on the spot.

It would be months before his trial, but eventually he would be locked away in prison for a very, very long time. Even if he did manage to get released and make a move against them they would deal with him. Just like they dealt with any kind of danger to not only their family, but to the world.

It was over.

Lex and Murphy were gone.

Steve was going to prison.

It was all finally over.

All three of them quickly rounded the corner of one of the many corridors of the hospital, and came to a complete stop when they noticed Sam, Jonathon and Martha, who was holding a happy, active Lizzie, sitting in the waiting room.

As soon as Martha spotted them she stood up with a small smile lingering on her face, and walked towards them, as feelings of complete and utter relief surged throughout her entire body. "You have no idea how worried we've all been. I'm glad that you're all okay."

Bruce smiled, softly at her. "It's finally over."

She was about to question that, but every single one of them turned their attention towards the little girl, who made a cute little gurgling noise, as she looked at her parents with fascination before she outstretched her little arms towards them.

Chloe quickly picked her up, and held her close to her chest, rocking her back and forth, as she kissed the top of her head. "Oh my baby girl. I'm so happy to see you."

A few minutes later Oliver picked up his little girl, loving the way she automatically rested her head on his chest, just like she did every single time he held her, and rested his hand on her back, rubbing, soothingly before he glanced between the three of them. "I was so worried that something was going to happen to her."

Martha smiled, reassuringly at him. "She was sleeping in her crib the entire time. She only woke up a few minutes ago."

"I'm glad that you're all alright."

Chloe nodded her head in agreement. "What about Lana? Where is Pete?"

Jonathon took a few steps towards them. "She's out of surgery. It was touch and go there for a while, but the doctors were able to patch her up. Pete' in there with her now."

"She's awake?"

He nodded.

That's all she needed to hear before she started rushing down the corridor, intending to get to her best friend as soon as possible, but stopped in her tracks when she rounded the corner at the sound of her husband' voice lingering from behind her. "Chloe! Wait!"

She slowly turned back around towards him, and slowly closed the space between them. "What?"

Oliver kept his hand on his daughter' back, as his other hand rested against her cheek, his fingers gliding down the bruise on her cheek. "You should get checked out by a doctor."

"I'm fine, Ollie, it's just a bruise. I've dealt with worse."

A scowl appeared on his face from her words. He didn't need a reminder of what that disgusting man had not only did to her today, but in the past as well. "That's beside the point. You could have a concussion."

A heavy sigh escaped past her lips. "I don't have a concussion, Oliver, I don't even have a headache. I'm fine. I promise. The ones we should be concerned about is Lois and Kaleb, but since we can't do anything to help them I'm going to see my best friend. She deserves to know what happened and so does Pete."

He grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him when she attempted walking away from him. "If you don't want to see a doctor that's fine, but Chloe, you need to talk about what happened. You can't just ignore it."

"You want me to talk about the horrendous memory of being kidnapped? You want me to talk about watching those monsters hurt my family? You want me to talk about what I felt when I thought I was going to lose every single one of them?" She shook her head from side to side at him. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to think about it."

"I'm not talking about that, and you know it. We need to talk about what you did." He lowered his voice to a soft whisper, "You killed him, Chloe."

She glared, heatedly at him. "We won't be talking about that…ever."

He watched her walk away from him with a worried expression slowly spreading out across his face, as he wondered what was going through that head or hers or if she was even thinking at all. It was quite obvious that she was still in shock from everything that happened, but no matter what he had to do he would get her to open up to him, and when she broke down he would there for her.

As soon as he walked back into the waiting room he sat down on one of the hard chairs, sighing, heavily, as his mind was consumed with everything that had transpired today. From the moment he realized that Murphy and Steve had kidnapped his wife and nephew to the moment he watched her murder Lex.

The world was a better place without either of them in it, but that didn't mean death was the answer. They had so many other options, but they had taken matters into their own hands. He knew that his wife would feel guilty—would hate herself sooner rather than later, and so would his best friend if she survived.

That thought alone sent shivers up and down his spine. He had already almost lost both of them once before, and now it was happening again. He hoped that they would make it out of this not only because he needed them in his life, but also because he wasn't sure he could deal with losing them.

Martha sat down next to him. "Oliver? Are you okay, sweetie?"

"No. Not really."

Jonathon sat down on the other side of him. "What happened?"

He took a deep breath before telling them everything that had happened, including The Justice League saving Clark and Kara, finding Lois and Chloe baiting Lex before they killed him, and the fact that Steve would be going to prison, but purposefully left out all the details about Lois and Kaleb fighting for their lives.

They needed to know, but he just couldn't say the words out loud yet. He needed a little more time to process everything, besides they were already worried, and he didn't want to worry them even more than they already were.

Martha couldn't believe that all this had actually happened, and even though she didn't particularly like that they had taken matters into their own hands she understood that every single one of their emotions had been scattered all over the place at the time.

She was just glad that it was finally over.

They could all live normal lives again.

"I'm glad that everyone is alright."

Jonathon immediately noticed the way he cringed, slightly, and the expression on his face was telling him that he had more to tell them. "Everyone is okay, right?"

"Not exactly."

Sam frowned at him for several seconds before he realized that he hadn't uttered a single word about Lois, Kaleb or Clark for that matter, and that worried him…immensely. "Where are they?"

He glanced over at him with a dreadful expression plastered across his face. "We saved everyone, but it was too late…"

Martha' heart literally dropped into her stomach at the mere thought of something horrible happening to three of the most important people in her life. "Are they…Did they…"

When she couldn't even manage to get the words out of her mouth he squeezed her hand, comfortingly. "I don't know. All I know is that Lex almost killed Kaleb. According to Clark, Kara was taking him to the sun to heal him. He lost a lot of blood and was surrounded by Kryptonite the entire time."

He took a deep breath. "L-L-Lois was fine she was walking, talking, and functioning normally, but then she just collapsed. Lex injected her with Kryptonite, but she had told all of us that she fine. Clark took her to the Fortress. I-I-I don't know if they are going to make it."

Tears filled his eyes, as he stared down at the ground, and whispered, "I can't lose them…"

Every single one of their hearts shattered into a million pieces, as they listened to the prognosis of their daughter and grandson.

Sam staggered back several steps before he collapsed into the nearest chair, and whispered, "No…"

Jonathon couldn't believe this was happening right now. For years they had attempted protecting them, and now they were both fighting for their lives, even his little granddaughter or grandson was fighting for their life.

Even though he could feel the dread consume every fiber in his being he refused to believe that they were going to die. They would survive.

"Clark and Kara will save them. Our family is going to be alright. They have to be."

Martha nodded, absently, not really paying attention to anything anyone was saying. This was her worst nightmare come true. For the past three years their lives have been good—have been happy, but then Lex and Murphy returned, ruining that for them.

Even though they were all gone from their lives she couldn't help wondering if it was all for nothing. Would she ever see her daughter or grandson again? Would she see her unborn granddaughter or grandson? Would all three of them make it out of this…alive?

Bruce, who had listened and watched, silently, as every single one of their hearts broke inside their chests quickly stepped towards them. "I need to find Clark."

Oliver frowned at him. "He's at the Fortress."

"He won't be there forever. If her veins are filled with Kryptonite he won't be able to be with her when or if Jor-El is able to help. He's going to need someone to talk to."

Sam quickly stood up. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because he needs someone that just wants to comfort him when he needs it the most not someone who is just going to question him about the one thing he doesn't want to think about."

When he attempted rebuking his words he quickly moved closer to the man with a dead serious expression on his face. "His head and his heart are all over the place right now. None of you were with him when he broke down with his son in his arms. You didn't see the look on his face when he caught the woman he loves in his arms. He doesn't need someone badgering him. He needs someone who can relate to what he's going through right now. I'm the only person who can do that."

Before any of them could utter a single word, he walked away, intending to find his friend as soon as possible, and he had a pretty good idea where he was going to be.

It was the truth when he told them that he was the only person that could understand what he's going through right now. Years ago, he had fallen in love with a beautiful woman, Rachael Dawes, only to lose her from death, and he had refused to allow anyone into his heart after that until his beautiful wife came around.

It wasn't the same. He had lost the woman he loved. Clark hadn't lost them yet, and he hoped that he didn't not only because it was the worst pain imaginable, but also because it changed a person in more ways than one.

He would help his friend through this.

No matter what it took.


Clark flew faster than ever before, as he soared through the skies, high above the clouds, his arms clutching the love of his life to his chest with several tears rolling down his cheeks, hoping and praying that she would survive—that their baby would survive—that Jor-El would save them.

It was the only possibility.

He wasn't going to lose them.

No matter what he had to do.

As soon as he made it to his Fortress of Solitude he slowly lowered her unmoving body down to an ice platform a few feet away from the main console, and stared down at her, his fingers brushing the hair away from her beautiful face.

She looked so pale.

A few more tears fell down his cheeks from the sight of her, but before he could utter a single word the entire Fortress became warmer and warmer by the second. Even though he couldn't exactly see it was obvious that he sensed that someone was in need of help—in need of warmth.

"Kal-El, my son, this is no place for a human. Why have you brought her here?"

He very slowly stood up, and glanced at the main console. "She-she is dying. Our baby is dying. Please, Jor-El, I need your help. I can't lose them."

It was silent for a few seconds before he watched her body being lifted off the platform, as a bright, white light cascading around her entire body before she was softly lowered back down to the platform. "The Kryptonite is harming both her and the child, Kal-El, the pregnancy is what is causing the Kryptonite to affect her. The child isn't strong enough to fight off the poison."

His heart literally dropped down into his stomach before he croaked out, "C-c-can you save them?"

"I can extract all of the Kryptonite from her body, but I can't guarantee that they will both make it out of this alive."

There was a part of himself that wanted to order his father to save both of their lives no matter what, but the other part of himself understood that he could only do so much, and even though he didn't want to admit it to himself he knew that it was possible that he could lose one or both of them.

"You must leave now."

Complete and utter confusion took over his features before he shook his head from side to side, vehemently. "No, I'm not leaving her."

"You have no choice in the matter. When the Kryptonite is being extracted from her body you'll feel the effects. You must leave."

He nodded his head, softly, knowing that his father was right, even though he wanted to stay with her until she woke up—until she came back to him, but he knew that he couldn't do that. "I-I need to say goodbye."

"Very well, my son."

He dropped down to his knees beside her, his eyes scanning over every inch of her body, as one of his hands rested on the side of her face, while his other hand rested against her stomach, and very softly pressed light kisses all over her face, the tears falling down his cheeks at an alarmingly fast rate.

She was so pale.

She was so sickly looking.

"Lois, baby, I need you to come back to me. If you can hear me, please, just hold on a little longer. I'm going to make you and our baby better. We promised each other forever and for always, remember? That means you can't leave me or our son. We both need you. I need you and our baby to come back to me."

More and more tears streamed down his cheeks, as he softly kissed her lips. "We're supposed to get married, Lo, we're supposed to raise Kaleb and this little one together. I can't do that alone. Please, baby, please come back to me."

He whispered against her lips, "I love you, Lois, please come back to me. Come back to our son. Please."

After staring down at her for a few seconds he slowly stood up, and turned towards the console. "When can I come back?"

"You can't. I'll send her home if I can heal her."

His eyes glanced over at the love of his life one more time before he took off into the blue skies, hoping that his father could save both of their lives—hoping that he would be able to watch their child grow inside of her—hoping that he would see her beautiful face and hear her mesmerizing voice very, very soon.

As soon as he walked inside of their house he came to a complete stop when he noticed his friend sitting in the living room, completely lost in thought. "Bruce? What are you doing here?"

Bruce glanced over at him with a serious expression plastered across his face. "I'm here to make sure that you're doing alright."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"I don't want to talk about it."

He sighed, heavily, as he slowly stood up, and moved closer to his friend. "You might not want to, but you need to. You can't just keep it all bottled up inside of you forever."

"Watch me." He quickly brushed past him, and slowly collapsed down onto the couch, his hands covering his face, as he attempted to think of anything else, but it was nearly impossible.

It wouldn't leave his mind.

He just wanted it all to disappear, but he knew that it wouldn't until he had his family back in his arms.

Bruce watched, as he mentally broke down in front of him for a few seconds before he lowered himself down next to him. "You know, I've been right where you are right now. It's not the same thing or the same situation, but I lost the woman I loved."

He slowly lifted his head and glanced over at him with a confused expression. "You did?"

He nodded. "It was a long time ago, but I had truly loved this woman. She was engaged to another man, but that didn't really matter to me. All that mattered was that I loved her."

"What happened?"

"She died, Clark, she died before I could save her, and that wrecked me for years. After that happened I vowed that I would never allow myself to feel that way again, of course that all changed when I met Kara, but the point I'm attempting to get across is that I've always been terrified that I would lose someone I loved again. You're scared too. You just won't admit it to yourself yet."

Figures that he would bring it back around to his current dilemma, he thought to himself, before falling against the couch cushions. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You need to talk about it. I lost the woman I loved, but that doesn't mean you'll lose the people that you love."

His eyes locked onto his. "But I already have. My son might not make it. My fiancé might not make it. My unborn child might not make it."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." He quickly stood up, and started pacing back and forth. "Kara is going on a whim to save my son, and Jor-El—"

"And Jor-El what?" He interrupted him, as he stood up and walked closer to him. "What happened at the Fortress?"

A heavy sigh escaped past his lips. "Nothing happened. My father is going to try to save both of their lives, but I could lose one or both of them. I feel completely useless. I can't be there when or if she wakes up. She needs me, and I can't be there."

He smiled, softly at him. "She'll be fine, Clark, she's a fighter. She always has been. She came back to us when Murphy almost beat her to death. She came back to us when Lex and Murphy almost tortured her to death. She will come back from this too. She will come back to you. I promise."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know her. She will fight this tooth and nail, even if she is unconscious right now I can guarantee that she is fighting for her life, and so is that child of yours."

Those words brought a small smile to his face for a few seconds before it fell. "What happened after I left? I mean I figured that they had been taken down before I-I-I found my…" He trailed off unable to say the words out loud. "How did you stop them?"

Here we go, he thought to himself, he didn't want to tell him the truth not only because he was already in so much pain, but also because he didn't want him to worry about this on top of everything else. This would definitely send him over the edge, but he deserved to know.

"We didn't…"

He frowned at him. "What do you mean you didn't?"

"I mean The Justice League weren't the ones that took them down…it was Lois and Chloe…"

Those particular words coming out of his mouth surprised him more than anything else, but it also made him remember something Steve had muttered to him before he attempting eliminating him, and even though he didn't really understand what that meant at the time he was starting to understand it now.

"What did they do?"

"They killed them…"

His eyes widened to the size of saucers, as his heart pounded like a jackhammer inside of his chest. "They did what?"

A heavy sigh escaped past his lips. "According to Oliver, Lois took out Murphy when he came back to the room he had them locked up in. It's how they managed to escape. Chloe, on the other hand, took care of Lex right in front of him and Dinah. They both attempted talking her out of it, but they were determined to end this on their own terms."

"They didn't…" He slowly collapsed back down onto the couch, and covered his face with his hands, as his mind went over everything he had just learned.

It was more than a little upsetting that they both had committed a crime—that they both had done something so damaging, but that wasn't what was worrying him it was what this was going to do to them.

It would wreck them.

There was a sliver of himself that wanted to be angry with them for this, but the much bigger part of himself understood that they both had their own reasonings for doing this. Murphy has beaten and tortured them for years. Lex had made their lives a living hell for years.

It wasn't right for them to take matters into their own hands, but in a way, he understood that this was the only way they believed they would feel safe again. It didn't matter to them at that moment, but he knew without a doubt that they would both feel guilty about this as soon as the shock wore off.

Well, one of them, he thought to himself.

That thought alone caused his heart to clench in an unimaginable pain, but he quickly pushed it down, not wanting to think of the worst case possible.

She would come back to him.

His son would come back to him.

Their baby would survive.

That was the one and only thing he could focus on right now everything else would have to wait until he had his family back in his sights—back in his arms.

"Daddy!"

Clark quickly snapped his head towards the front door when he heard his son' soft voice, and felt his heart drop into his stomach from the mere sight of his son sitting in his cousin' arms. "Kaleb!"

Kaleb squirmed from her arms before he rushed straight to his daddy with tears streaming down his little cheeks, who quickly caught him in his arms, lifting him off the ground, and clung onto him for dear life, as he swung him from side to side. "Kal…My baby boy…"

He giggled softly, loving how happy and excited his daddy was to see him, and honestly, he was feeling very happy and excited too. He had thought that he was going to die. He had that his family was going to die. But, they were all still alive, and he couldn't be any happier about that.

"I missed you, daddy!"

"I missed you too, buddy, you have no idea how much." He slowly placed him back down on the ground, and crouched down to his level, his hands resting on his shoulders, as his eyes roamed over every inch of his body. "Are you okay? Do you feel alright?"

"Aunt Kara saved me." A frown took over his features. "I was confused. I was in that room with the bad men, and then I was at the sun."

"I'm sure you were, Kal, but your better now, and I'm never going to allow anything like that to happen to you again."

"Cause the bad men are gone?"

"Yes, but also because I won't ever let anything bad happen to you again. You're safe. We're all safe now."

A few tears fell from his eyes before he launched back into his arms. "I love you, daddy!"

Clark held him as close to his chest as possible, and softly closed his eyes, as he breathed in his familiar scent. "I love you too, Kal, I love you so much."

Kara smiled, widely at the family reunion, feeling thankful that there was a happy ending to this horrible story, and took a few steps towards them. "I wasn't sure it would work since he isn't full Kryptonian, but it worked just like it would work on either one of us."

He smiled, softly at her. "Thank you, Kara."

She smiled at him, but that smile quickly turned into a frown when she glanced around her surroundings, instantly realizing that a particular person was missing. "Where's Lois?"

Bruce and Clark cringed, outwardly from her words.

As soon as he heard his mommy' name, Kaleb squirmed from his arms, and started rushing throughout the entire house calling out her name over and over again, which only broke Clark and Bruce' hearts into a million pieces, while it made Kara question why she wasn't here.

When he couldn't find her he walked back over to his daddy, who had tears building in his eyes, and stared at him, inquisitively with a frown set in place. "Where's mommy?"

A soft sigh escaped past his lips, as he lowered down to him. "Kal, there is something I need to tell you."

Bruce quickly grabbed her arm, attempting to pull her away from them, intending on telling her himself, but she wouldn't move an inch. "Come on, Kara, I'll tell you what happened."

She glared at him. "No. I want to hear what he has to say."

This wasn't going to be good, he thought to himself, not only because this was going to affect his nephew in more ways than one since he had already experienced this once before, but also because his wife wasn't going to take this very well. They were best friends, and he wasn't sure how she would handle the news.

Clark stared deeply into his eyes, unable to hid the multitude of emotions he was feeling, and rested his hands on his shoulders, squeezing, slightly, as more and more tears filled his aquamarine eyes. "Kaleb, your mommy was hurt like you were. Do you remember when they injected her with that Kryptonite needle?"

He nodded.

"Well, when we were leaving the warehouse she collapsed. I-I took her to your grandfather, Jor-El, he is going to try to heal both her and your little brother or sister, but-but I don't know if they will ever be coming back to us."

"No…No…No…" His heart clenched, painfully inside of his little chest, as tears fell down his cheeks from the mere thought of his mommy being gone—of his brother or sister being gone, and took several steps backwards. "No! This can't be happening! I need to see mommy! I need to see mommy right now! Take me to her!"

Several tears cascaded down his cheeks from the obvious pain that his son was feeling. "We can't, Kal, we can't be near her right now."

"Why?"

"The Kryptonite is too dangerous for the both of us, but if your grandfather can heal her then she will come home to us. I promise."

More and more tears rocketed his entire body causing him to tremble before he collapsed to the ground, and screamed out, "No! No! Not my mommy! I want my mommy!"

Clark quickly pulled him into his arms, and whispered, "It's going to be alright, Kal."

He shook his head from side to side, vehemently before he pulled away from him, and stared deeply into his eyes. "I-I-I can't lose her daddy. I almost lost her once. I can't do that again."

"I know, buddy, me either."

Kaleb slowly crawled back into his lap, his head resting against his chest, as he cried harder and harder from the thought of her never coming back to him, and whispered, "I can't lose her…"

"It's going to be alright."

Kara stared at them, feeling her heart shatter into a million pieces, as tears cascaded down her cheeks. "No…"

Bruce quickly wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her into his side, and rubbed his hand up and down her bare arm. "She'll make it out of this."

After allowing him to comfort her for a few minutes she pulled away from his grasp, her emotions overtaking every single nerve in her body. "I-I'm sorry. I can't."

Before he could even attempt to stop her from making a move she super sped out of the house, shooting up into the sky, needing to be alone right now to think about everything she had just learned.

She didn't want to lose the one person that meant everything to her—the one person that had helped her acclimate to this strange world—the one person that had helped transform her into the person she was today.

She couldn't lose her.

Several hours later, Clark was sitting at the end of the bed, watching as his son slept, peacefully, and couldn't stop himself from smiling at how perfect he looked at this moment in time.

It had taken him a very long time to calm down his overwhelmed son, and even though he was feeling the same exact things he was he needed to keep his mind off things, which is exactly what he had attempted doing.

After telling Bruce that they would either stop by the hospital tonight or tomorrow morning he had spent the remainder of the day spending time with his little boy until he had fallen asleep in his arms while telling him a story he has heard a million times, and for the past hour he has been watching him sleep.

He was so peaceful—so at ease like this, and he wanted him to stay this way for the rest of his life, but he knew that things would change in the blink of an eye when he woke up, especially if his mommy wasn't back here. His little boy had almost lost her once, and he understood his fear of it happening again, hell, he was more than a little terrified.

He slowly stood up, and walked over to him before leaning down towards him, kissing the top of his head. "She'll come back to us."

After staring down at him for a few more seconds he quickly left his room, and plopped down to the couch when he made it to the living room, his eyes trained on the ceiling, as he thought about the love of his life.

Just a few days ago they were incredibly happy in Estes Park and Montana, but now she was in critical condition several miles away from him, and he couldn't help wondering if he was ever going to see her again—if he was ever going to meet their baby boy or baby girl.

It had been hours since he left her at the Fortress, and there wasn't a single sign of her returning to him, but he would give up hope.

Jor-El would save them.

She would come back to him—come back to their son.


Lois slowly blinked her eyes open, feeling incredibly groggy, but that grogginess quickly transformed into a feeling of confusion and wonder as soon as she realized that she was laying down inside of a palace of ice.

It was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her entire life.

She slowly stood up, glancing around the entire place with wonder and amazement lingering in her hazel eyes before she whispered, "What is this place…"

"Lois Lane."

Every single fiber in her body froze when she heard a loud, booming voice coming from everywhere and nowhere at the exact same time, as she turned around in circles, searching for the voice. "Who's there?"

"Jor-El."

That name immediately sent chills spiraling up and down her spine since she knew that was the name of Clark' biological father, which meant that she was standing in his Fortress of Solitude. "Jor-El? What am I doing here? Where is Clark?"

It was silent for a few seconds before he responded, "Kal-El brought you here. He is waiting for your return."

And that's when she remembered everything that had happened from the moment she found her best friend bleeding out on the ground to the moment she felt an immense pain before everything faded into a dark abyss of darkness and nothing.

Her hands quickly went to her stomach, as fear consumed every single part of her heart. "I-I-is my baby okay? What did you do?"

"I healed you, Lois Lane, your baby will live. I advise you to be more careful around green Kryptonite. That procedure can only be used once on a mere mortal. It's very rare that the individual survives."

"Right. Like I purposefully injected myself with green Kryptonite."

Silence.

"Obviously, you don't understand humor or anything else for that matter."

Silence again.

No wonder Clark didn't have too many good things to say about his biological father, she thought to herself, not only did he ruin his life for the first few years of his teenage years, but he also didn't have any sense of humor or excitement.

"Can I go home?"

"Step forward."

She slowly stepped towards the platform, nervously, and glanced around her surroundings, wondering what was supposed to happen, of course she understood that he was capable of many things since he had managed to heal both her and her child, but how the hell was he supposed to send her thousands of miles away?

"Until next time, Lois Lane."

Next time?

Before she could question him any further a bright, white light surrounded her, making it hard to see anything, and snapped her eyes closed, as a weird feeling encompassed her entire body.

A few seconds later, she slowly blinked her eyes open when she felt a little different than she was feeling a few seconds ago, instantly realizing that she was standing on her front porch, and rationalized that he was capable of more things than she previously realized.

She took a deep, deep breath before she opened the front door, her breath catching in her throat when she found her handsome man sitting on the couch with his head leaning back, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, and felt emotion after emotion consume every fiber of her being from the mere sight of him.

It was like seeing him for the first time.

"Clark…"

Clark, who had been completely lost in his own thoughts, snapped his head towards the door when he heard her soft, beautiful voice, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets from the sight of her standing in front of him.

It was a dream come true.

He grinned from ear to ear before jumping off the couch, and rushed towards her as fast as he possibly could. "Lois!"

They quickly crashed together, their arms wrapping around each other' bodies, as their fingers clenched around their clothes, their eyes closing, softly at the feel of each other, feeling happier than they've ever felt before.

Several minutes later he pulled away from her, slightly, his eyes roaming over every inch of her body, as his hands rested against her stomach. "Are you alright? Is the baby—"

She pressed her finger against his lips. "We're fine, Clark, he healed us."

A huge grin spread out across his face before he pulled her against his chest, tightly, lifting her off the ground, as he swirled and twirled them in circles over and over again. Once he placed her back on the ground he didn't move a inch he only clung onto her tighter and tighter. "Oh god, Lois, I thought I was going to lose you."

"Never, baby, I promised you forever and for always. I'll never break that promise."

They pulled away from each other, simultaneously, and stared deeply into each other' eyes, as their emotions radiated out of their bodies before they leaned forward, their lips connecting in a sweet, passionate kiss.

Everything was going to be perfectly alright.

She quickly pulled away from him with worry lingering in her eyes. "Where's Kaleb? Did Kara heal him?"

He nodded. "Come on, someone has been waiting quite a long time to see you."

As soon as she noticed her son sleeping, soundlessly on his bed the tears cascaded down her cheeks from the mere sight of him. She had been so worried about him, hell, she had thought she had lost him, but here he was sleeping like nothing mattered in the world.

It filled her heart with so much happiness and fulfillment.

She slowly walked towards him, and sat down next to him on the bed, her fingers brushing across his heated skin before she whispered, "Kal, baby, Kal, wake up."

Kaleb slowly blinked his eyes open when he heard her familiar voice calling out to him before they snapped open, widely when he realized that she was looming over him, and quickly leaped into her arms, loving how she automatically clutched him to her chest, tightly. "Mommy!"

"My baby boy…"

He pulled away from her, slightly, and stared deeply into her eyes. "He healed you?"

"Yes, baby. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Aunt Kara took me to the sun and healed me." His eyes fell down to her stomach with a worried expression slowly spreading out across his face before he placed his little hands there. "What about my baby brother or sister? Are they okay?"

"He or she is just fine."

A face-splitting grin spread out across his face before he lunged back into her arms. "I was so scared mommy. I thought I was going to lose you."

"Shh. That would never happen, baby, I'm never leaving you or your daddy."

"Good."

Clark smiled, softly, as he watched them reunite. It was the most beautiful and amazing thing he has seen all day. He had been thrilled when he saw her again, but their son was simply ecstatic, which made complete sense because for most of his life it had just been them, and he had been absolutely terrified at the thought of losing her.

Luckily, she was back where she belonged.

He had his family right where he wanted them to be.

"As much as I'd love to just stay here with the both of you all night long there are a few people that would love to see you."

Lois frowned, slightly before her facial expression transformed into one of realization. "Oh my god! Lana? Is she okay?"

"She's in the hospital. Everyone is there with her, and I believe that there are quite a few people that will be more that excited to see the two of you."

They quickly gathered their belongings, and left the house, intending to spend as much time with the several people, who were probably worrying sick about them.

It was time they reunited with their family, and put this horrendous memory behind them.

It was time they moved forward with their lives.

Later that night, Clark was standing in the kitchen of the farmhouse with his parents, who had practically ordered them to come home with them not only because they wanted them to be close, but also because they didn't want any of them to leave their sights for a very long time.

Martha eyed her son, curiously. "Are you doing alright, Clark?"

"I'm fine."

Jonathon stared at him with a serious expression, knowing that he was lying straight though his teeth right now. "Be honest, Clark, we know that you're not okay."

He glanced between the two of them before taking a deep, deep breath. "I'm fine. I promise, but I can't help thinking about what they did to them. They almost killed them. I almost lost both of them. How am I supposed to get over something like that?"

"You're not." At his frown she continued, "You're not going to just forget this happened. None of us are, but you need to focus on the good things instead of the bad. You have your son and your fiancé back. You're going to have a little boy or a little girl. You need to just focus on the things to come not things of the past."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Jonathon sighed, softly at his son. "Your mother is right. It's over. It's part of the past now. Neither of them will ever hurt them again. You have your family right upstairs. You have a little baby coming in a few months. Everything is going to be alright now."

As much as he wanted the believe their words he couldn't stop himself from thinking about what his son looked like when he held his cold body in his arms or how scared he had felt when he took the love of his life to his biological father.

They were alright.

Their baby was alright.

But…

He couldn't stop the memories from flooding to the forefront of his mind.

"I-I-I almost lost them. I don't know what I would have done if they didn't come back to me. I can't lose any of them. They are my world—my rock. I'd be lost without them in my life."

Martha and Jonathon quickly wrapped their arms around him, simultaneously, and glanced at each other, worriedly, as he completely broke down in their arms, hoping—praying that one day this would only just be a memory.

They needed their family to be perfectly intact.

No matter how long it took they would help them through this.

Upstairs, Lois was staring down at her beautiful son, watching him sleep, peacefully next to her, feeling incredibly thankful that they were both alright—that they were both alive not only because they had so much life they still had to live, especially her little boy, but also because she knew that Clark needed them just as much as they needed him.

As she stared down at him memories of what her and her cousin had done came rushing to the forefront of her mind, and she attempted pushing them down into the deepest part of herself, but it was nearly impossible.

Ever since she had arrived at the hospital she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

She had killed someone.

She had taken someone's life.

It didn't matter if he was a monster she shouldn't have taken matters into her own hands. It wasn't the mere fact that she had actually murdered someone that was haunting her—that was taunting her it was the reality of what her family would think if they found out what she had done.

Would they not trust her anymore? Would they look at her differently?

A low sounding groan escaped past her lips from the questions rattling through her head before she quickly jumped out of bed, careful not to wake up her sleeping son, and rushed down the stairs, intending on telling them herself, hoping—praying that they would find it in their hearts to forgive her, but came to a complete stop at the bottom of the stairs when she overheard her fiancé say, "I-I-I almost lost them. I don't know what I would have done if they didn't come back to me. I can't lose any of them. They are my world—my rock. I'd be lost without them in my life."

It shattered her hear into a million pieces.

The tears cascaded down her cheeks from the emotions he was revealing before she took a few unsteady steps towards them. "Clark…"

Clark slowly pulled away from his parents when he heard her voice, and turned towards her with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Lois, I thought you were sleeping."

Instead of responding to him she quickly rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist, tightly, wanting him to feel every inch of her—wanting him to understand that she was here with him and that she was never going anywhere.

"I'm right here, Clark, I'm not going anywhere."

He slowly wrapped his arounds around her body, pulling her flush against his chest, and buried his face into the crevasse of her neck, his tears rocking his entire body, as they fell faster and faster down his cheeks. "I-I-I almost lost you, Lo."

Martha and Jonathon glanced at each other, knowingly before heading upstairs, discreetly, wanting them to have some much needed privacy right now.

Lois clung onto him tighter and tighter. "But you didn't. I'm right here. Our son is upstairs sleeping. Our baby is going to be born happy and healthy. Everything is going to be alright now."

"But—"

"No!" She quickly interrupted him before slowly pulling away from him, her fingers wiping away his fallen tears, as she stared deeply into his eyes. "No, Clark, listen to me. We're right here. We're not going anywhere. Things have been so difficult for us from the moment we met, but we've always conquered through anything that got in our way. That's exactly what we're going to do now. I'm here with you. Kaleb is here with you. We're going to get married. We're going to be happy. Okay?"

His forehead rested against hers, softly. "Please, Lois, don't ever leave me. I can't deal with it. When I thought you were going to—"

"Shh. I'm not going anywhere. I promised you forever and—"

"And for always."

They smiled, softly at each other before their lips crashed together, passionately sealing the promises they had made and the love they felt for each other into that one kiss.

A few minutes later she pulled away from him, her heart beating, rapidly inside of her chest from the words she was about to speak to him, and took a few steps back away from him. "Clark, there is something I need to tell you…I killed Murphy…"

He sighed, heavily. "I know, Lois."

She frowned at him. "You know?"

"Bruce told me. I didn't want to bring it up, but I know that you've been thinking about it ever since we arrived at the hospital."

The tears fell down her cheeks faster and faster. "I'm so, so sorry Clark. I never thought that I would be capable of doing something like that and neither did Chloe. I'm sure she feels just as guilty as I do. I could see it in her eyes at the hospital. We just wanted this to be over, but now that it is I can't help feeling like I've made a horrible mistake."

"Shh. Stop it, Lois, you and Chloe only did what you thought was right at the time. I might not agree with it, but I understand why you did it."

"You do?"

"That man beat you, tortured you, and almost killed you twice. I understand that you were only doing what you believed was your only option in that moment. Don't feel guilty about this, please, baby, I know that it's going to haunt you for a very long time, but I need you to know that I'm going to help you through this. We're going to get through this together."

The tears streamed faster and faster down her cheeks. "Do you see me differently now?"

Those words literally broke his heart into a million pieces.

He grabbed her hands, squeezing them, softly, as he pulled her closer to him. "No, Lois, I don't see you differently. You are the woman I love. You are my fiancé. You are the mother of my children. You are the woman I'm going to marry."

She stared deeply into his eyes. "You promise?"

"I promise, baby, I love you nothing is ever going to change that."

"I love you too, Clark."

They slowly wrapped their arms around each other, clinging onto the other with as much strength as they could possibly manage, and relished in the fact that they were together—that they were both alright—that they were going to get through this one step at a time.

"NOOOOO! MOMMY! DADDY!"

They quickly ripped away from each other when they heard their son screaming at the top of his lungs, and without hesitating they rushed up the stairs, where they found him sitting in the middle of the bed with his arms wrapped around his little body, as he cried harder that he's ever cried before.

Lois made her way over to him with a worried expression plastered across her face. "Kaleb? What's wrong?"

His terrified eyes locked onto her concerned ones before he crawled into her hap, clinging onto her for dear life. "T-th-the bad men they-they were here they-they took you away from me." He locked eyes with his daddy. "They took you both away from me. I-I-I was all alone…"

Clark quickly sat down next to his son, and stared deeply into his tear-filled eyes. "It was just a nightmare, Kal, we're right here. We're not going anywhere. You'll never be alone."

"Promise?"

"I promise, buddy."

Clark and Lois glanced at each other, worriedly, as they wrapped their arms around their little boy, who was very slowly starting to calm down, both of them knowing that it would be quite a long time before he healed from this trauma completely.

It would take all of them a very long time.

A few hours later, Clark held his family in his arms, as he thought about everything they had been through over the years, and even though he despised that they had went through any of that he knew that things could only get better from here.

This is where their life truly began—where they could live without fear—where they could just be happy, and he couldn't wait to truly start living life with the family that meant absolutely everything to him.


Originally this chapter was supposed to include scenes with Lois and Kaleb reuniting with the family, and a scene where Chloe broke down from what she did to with Oliver, but I really just wanted to focus on Lois, Clark and Kaleb. There is only one more chapter and an epilogue left to this story.

I hope you enjoyed chapter fifty three!