Twenty minutes and a lot of convincing on Chloe's part later, found them in a car headed for Smallville. "Chloe, please, can't you just tell me what's going on? I don't want to walk into my house and be blown away."

"This is your mess, Clark, and it's not my place to tell you exactly what you dirtied."

Clark sighed and resumed staring out the window. Three hours later they were pulling into the driveway of the Kent farm. Chloe chanced a look over at Clark and couldn't help but feel a little smug about it. He had no idea what was about to happen.

She parked the car in the driveway but Clark made no move to get out. "Chloe-,"

"Look, Clark, just open the door, walk up the steps, and walk into the kitchen. I guarantee that you'll be welcomed back."

"I'm not sure I want to be."

"I think you will when you see what you left behind."

"I hate it when you're cryptic like this."

"Then go see what I'm being cryptic about and I'll stop."

He glanced over at her, sighed, and rolled his eyes. "You just never quit, do you?"

"I'm a journalist, Clark," she reminded him wryly.

He rolled his eyes again, opened the car door and stepped out. For him the walk to his house was probably the longest that he'd ever taken. He heard Chloe get out of the car and follow behind him.

After what seemed like years he got to the door and pushed it open gently. "Mom? Dad?" he called softly. He was about to turn around and walk back out when a reply rang out. "Clark? Oh my gosh, Clark, is that you?" he heard his mother practically shriek.

Footsteps echoed in the halls and suddenly his mother was wrapping her arms around him, crying and carrying on at the same time. "Oh, baby, we love you so much. We've missed you. We're so glad you're home. Oh, Clark."

He hugged her back and whispered, "It's ok, Mom. I'm home."

More arms wrapped around him and he looked up into his father's face. "Clark, son-," his voice broke and his father began to cry too. His father-Jonathan Kent-the strongest man that he knew was crying.

They stood like that for a few minutes until Clark looked over his dad's shoulder and lost his breath. Lana. She was there just standing in the doorway, tears streaming down her cheeks. Silently, she mouthed "Clark". He silently released his parents and started forward towards her. "Clark," she said, this time with words. "I've missed you so much."

He stopped in front of her and there was a slight pause before he wrapped his arms around her and she began to cry into her chest. Burying his face in her hair, he let the tears run as well. He was aware that he was doing just what he had told Chloe that he hadn't wanted to, but at the moment he didn't much care.

He had planned on standing there like that for a good long time, but a tiny soft voice startled him out of his revere. "Mommy, who's that?"

Clark raised his head from Lana's hair and looked down. Before him was a small girl, perhaps three at the most. Her hair was long and dark, with just the right texture and thickness to be absolutely breathtaking. But it was her eyes that got him. He knew them well, for they were the ones that stared back at him everyday when he looked in the mirror.

He raised his eyes back up from the little girl to Lana's face. "Lana?"

"Clark, this is Rose."

"Lana, how?"

"You know how, Clark."

Clark's face became a wash of guilt. "Lana, if I'd know, oh, I would have been home so much sooner-I never would have left!"

Lana brought a hand up to Clark's face and gently pushed his hair back. "I know." She paused and then took a deep breath. "But that doesn't matter now because you're here."

Clark nodded and shot a glance back at his parents and Chloe, who were all smiling slightly, although Chloe had a hint of an I-told-you-so look on her face. He nodded decisively. "Yes, I am, and I'm not leaving."

"Momma, what's going on?" Rose asked impatiently, but with the obvious air of a little girl trying to be good in the presence of company. Lana pulled away from Clark, knelt down, and picked Rose up.

"Rose, I want you to meet your father."

Rose's eyes became wide as saucers. "You're the one that Momma's told me all the stories about?" She looked at Clark as if sizing him up for a moment. "Mommy's right; I do have your hair and eyes."

Clark actually laughed. "I'm sorry that I wasn't here sooner," he said softly, reaching out and touching the little girl's soft dark curls. She smiled and grabbed his hand.

In a matter-of-fact tone she told him, "That's all right! Momma told me that you had some very important things to do and that you loved me very much and you'd come home when you could."

Clark swallowed heavily and nodded. "I do love you very much, Rose." He glanced up at Lana. "Both you and your Mom."

Lana smiled and locked eyes with Clark. "Mommy, you said you'd take me over to Uncle Lex's today! He said that I could play outside in the garden today since it was supposed to be nice out!"

Lana grinned at the slightly shocked look on Clark's face at hearing his best friend being addressed as "Uncle Lex". Still looking at Clark she said, "I think it would be a good idea if we all went over. I think that Daddy and Uncle Lex have some catching up to do."

Clark sighed. Seeing Lex again, especially when he'd been playing truant from a family with daughter he hadn't known about for the past four years, wasn't going to be easy. The fact that Lex knew more about his daughter than he did was pretty unnerving.

He sighed. He supposed he'd have to face the mess he'd made sometime. "Yeah, let's go see Uncle Lex."