AN: I've just started rewatching this show and I felt inspired to write this next chapter.

Chapter Two

Lois blinked as the new Clark started looking around from side to side as if checking for something. Lois nodded. She needed to be careful. She was easily recognized but she didn't care about what some stupid low-class reporter would say about her but Clark Kent's image, his reputation, that mattered so much more to her. She gazed at him and smiled. He was still beyond gorgeous.

"I…" she closed her eyes and reached out for his hand, squeezing it a little and keeping it out of sight of anyone who could be watching them. She looked into his eyes and realized they were the same color, still those same amazing eyes that made her feel special and loved and safe. "I don't understand."

"I can't explain it myself, I wanted to come back for such a long time bu-"

"Why didn't you?" Lois cut him off as she saw the regret in his expression, that solemn silence that made her feel something else had gone wrong. She couldn't help but to gently brush his hair back, only noticing slightly the change in his skin color – no, that didn't matter. His racial identity didn't matter. He had been a Kryptonian anyway, not a human, and that still hadn't mattered to her.

"I was sick for a long time. I had to get better, get stronger, then I thought that if I came back like this after such a long period of being absent then -" he paused as he felt Lois's arms around him. She pressed her head against his chest.

"Don't you even think that I would reject you or turn you away or not love you anymore," she told him as she felt her tears roll down her cheeks and soak his shirt. So, what if he looked completely different and his voice sounded different – although the way he pronounced words was similar in tone and rhythm, - so what if he was younger than her, so what if he wasn't the same. She really didn't care what body he was in, he was here, with her. Looks weren't important.

He was someone who had felt himself an outcast in his childhood for his abilities and only in conquering those fears had gained the family he wanted. He was kind and humble and passionate and understanding. He was the truest and most moral person she had ever met. She had missed him more than even she could have understood and having nearly lost him before, she had expected that she would understand that grief. It was as if she had lost all her senses without him there.

"Chris," a young blonde woman said as she ran over to them and Lois took a step back, dabbing at her eyes. She saw the woman throw her arms around the new-Clark and he laughed weakly. Lois's eyes widened when she kissed his cheek. "I thought that you wouldn't leave me to go running off this time," she said teasingly and 'Chris' sighed.

"You know I get distracted," he said before gesturing to Lois, "This is…"

"Lois Kent," Lois said as she cut him off and held out her hand. Was this what had made it so that he hadn't returned to her as soon as possible? Had he started a new life where she would just be the other woman? She tried not to show a look of feeling hurt and betrayed. He deserved to live a new life. He deserved happiness.

"Kara Danvers," the blonde woman said and Lois smiled weakly. She knew that they looked more like a couple than she would with the new version of Clark. She knew that she should probably let him go. She was an older woman who was probably some dumpy housewife to them.

"I wish you all the happine-" Lois said shortly as she looked back at Johnathan and felt the new-Clark put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"My other name is Kara Zor-El," Kara tried to explain and 'Chris' laughed weakly as he gestured to her. However, Lois, always being able to get her word in first, looked between the two of them.

"Zor-El, like…like Kal-El?" she asked and Kara nodded.

"She's my cousin," 'Chris' attempted to explain. "She was able to help me when I was at my lowest points health wise. She was able to find me this body. She's Kryptonian, just like I am."

"Your cousin?" Lois asked as she looked between the two of them. She opened her mouth to say something and saw the similarities between the two of them in their mannerisms. She paused before trying to change her body posture so that she wasn't looking so desperate. "Well, I guess…I guess I should thank you," she said and Kara shook her head as she turned to the new-Clark.

"He's obsessed with you. You're all he's been talking about since he gained consciousness," Kara said as she put a hand on Clark's back, wanting to help support him in this interaction. He had been so nervous about it. "You and Johnathan and his parents. His Earth family," she said and Lois looked at him with a smile. So, he really hadn't changed. Under this coating, this body, he was the same person.

"You still should have come to me sooner. I mean, did you really think that I would have moved on? I mean, did you really think that of all the things that we've been through that just like that -"

"We should probably discuss this later," new-Clark said and Lois paused. She nodded before taking Johnathan out of his car seat and saw his father's face soften as he watched him.

"Before you go, I want for you to hold him. I know that you've probably been dy—wanting to," she said and Clark took the baby in his arms. He kissed the top of his son's head and rocked him carefully. Kara looked at him. She hadn't thought about being a mother before but seeing the way her younger cousin was interacting with the small child made her think about it. An Earth family was possible for both of them.

…

…

Lois couldn't remember the last time she had felt so restless. She knew that her husband was out there but he was in a different body and she didn't know where he was or if she would see him again. She would have to, right? He wasn't going to stay away forever. He was stubborn but she had already convinced him that she loved and accepted him, hadn't she?

She sighed as she looked over some notes for an article before her attention strayed to the photo album she always had close by. Pictures of the two of them together. Before tonight, she would talk to it as if he could hear her. Tonight though, she knew he was out there and she just wanted to see him the way she remembered him. After some digging, she had managed to find a hospital record for him with the only picture of his new body that she could. She placed it next to the album that she was looking at.

He was definitely young and she honestly wasn't sure of his racial makeup. He definitely had some Caucasian features but parts of him looked Asian in nature. She didn't care though. He was still incredibly attractive to her. She sighed before hearing the doorbell. She had ordered Chinese food for delivery, it had reminded her of the first time she and Clark had worked late into the night. She needed to remember those times.

Going to the door, she stopped short as she saw that the Chinese food was there but she also saw the young man standing opposite her with a grin. He didn't look out of place and that scared Lois. Yes, it wouldn't create such a stir in neighborhood gossip but she was scared of seeing him as someone different. He was the same man whom she had fallen in love with and married, he was still the father of her child.

"Hi," he said as he stood there at the doorway, "Can I come in?"

Lois felt her jaw drop as she studied him, she grabbed hold of his hand, pulling him in with a tug and then closed the door. Before she realized it, her hands were on his arms and she was leaning up to kiss him, as she slid her hand to his cheek she started kissing him, nuzzling him, anything to stop the cravings of his touch. She didn't care that as she felt his touch on her, the way his hands still felt on her, that the delivery food had been forgotten.

"Mmm, mmm," Lois murmured as she kissed him even when her lips felt raw. She held onto him, letting her head rest on his chest. She started crying and felt his arms embracing her. She clutched to a handful of the fabric of his shirt. "I love you," she told him as she listened to his heartbeat. "I love you so much," she said and felt his breaths. This was what she had been hoping for, the miracle that she had wanted so badly.

"I love you too," he replied and Lois held to him more and snuggled into his chest. It didn't matter what their relationship looked like or how he appeared. Nothing mattered right now. He was here with her, he was telling her he loved her, he was holding her. She closed her eyes and let the tears soak the fabric again.

"Welcome home," she said before looking up at him. It was almost as if she could see an outline, a shadow of how he had looked before placed over him in a ghostly manner. Even though he looked completely different, she could still see Clark Kent. She saw him smile and nod.

"I'm home," he whispered and Lois laughed as she wanted to get him seated and relaxed. They could figure everything else out the next day. All that mattered was that he was here with her. She watched as he lifted his head and looked around, his eyes widening. She heard a news report about a derailed train and saw him flinch a little.

"Honey, it's okay, things like this happen," she said before she saw him take off his shirt and change into a costume, it had similarities to Superman's outfit but it was different, green and black and with the Kryptonian symbol on the upper arm.

"I have to go. I promise, I'll be right back," he told her before flying out and Lois watched after him. He was still Kryptonian. At least she knew how to take care of him, she just hadn't believed that he would be anything more than human.

…

…

Lois stood paler than ever as she stood at the doorway of the room where Clark had passed away. His corpse was still there and she would soon have to call for someone to take him away. She didn't want to see him gone but he wasn't in there anymore. He couldn't be with them any longer. She stared at his face feeling absolutely broken. She would never see his eyes open or his mouth move or feel his lips again. She felt the guilt inside her as Martha slowly approached the corpse.

Martha put a hand over her mouth and sat on the floor near the corpse, "I'm sorry, my darling boy," she said as she kissed his forehead. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked up at her husband who was shaking and sobbing as he realized that there was no escape. They had seen him die before, or at least something close to it when he had failed in the eyes of the Kryptonian court but they had brought him back. This wasn't like that.

"Martha," Lois said as she choked on her words, "I'm sorry. I am so so sorry to the two of you."

"Don't….don't apologize," Johnathan said as he tried to wipe the tears away from his eyes. "It's not your fault. Clark wouldn't like you to blame yourself. To honor his mem—memory."

"Nobody blames you," Martha told her as she smoothed Clark's hair again as her sobs broke her. She could remember him as a small boy when he was just starting to learn about his powers. She could see their family doing their best to help him and protect him. Even as his mother, she couldn't protect him this time. "Sometimes, people just…" she shook her head.

"I'm still -" Lois began but Martha cut her off.

"Clark has always said that meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to him. I don't want you blaming yourself. It isn't your fault and it would break his heart to hear that you think it is. We need to honor him and what he would have wanted," Martha argued and Lois nodded as she put a hand over her heart. Martha was right. The most important thing was to honor him and continue loving him even after he was gone.

End of Chapter Two

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

Thank you to Janet Martini de La Ley for reviewing Chapter One. It means a lot to me.