[post-ZSJL] Clark and Lois return home to Metropolis
"Does it feel like you never left?" she asked as she dragged her fingers through his hair. Shampoo bubbles slipped from her knuckles and dissolved in the warm bath water.
"Kind of..." he said, "...You haven't changed anything."
"No." She adjusted her legs. The tiles were cold against her shins. "I wasn't ready yet."
A minute passed before she said, "I think I'm going to start crying again."
He reached back to squeeze her left hand. She answered his unspoken plea. "Not right now. I just have a feeling I will."
When he left the Kent farm to help the other heroes, she and Martha waited anxiously for his return. Afterwards, he briefly explained the situation, but she asked him to fill in the details now. He told her everything the others knew, which wasn't much, but enough to understand the scale and severity of the threat.
"I wish every time I met another alien, it didn't have to be a fight," he sighed.
She grabbed a towel for him when he got out of the tub. He tried to take it, but she dried his hair for him. He smiled and did the rest himself.
"Can you promise me something?" she asked.
He tied the towel around his waist and looked at her expectantly.
"If there is a war, and someone has to put themselves on the line, you won't be the first to volunteer."
He tilted his head. "Lo…"
"Promise."
He pulled her toward him. "I told Mom before that I wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't - "
"It's different now. I need you," she said in a firmer tone, "Our child needs you..."
She placed a hand on her belly. "...I can't lose you again."
He gazed at her intently and nodded. "I promise."
"Thank you."
A weight visibly fell from her as she gave in to the relief and exhaustion. He touched his forehead to hers.
"I'm here."