Of course, his mom had left early that morning. So he has been experiencing the joys of fatherhood by himself for 4 hours and he was ready to stop experiencing it. Diapers were his least favorite part but Lilly's constant asking about her mother came in second place. She had forgiven him for 'lying', so he wasn't going to risk telling her about Chloe.
There was the sound of a car door. He thought that had to be the greatest sound in the world.
Lilly must've heard because she ran to the window and saw Chloe. She got a surprised look on her face and started smiling and yelling, "yippee!"
Clark drew in his breath. Chloe must be her mother. It's not that he didn't like her. She was his best friend. It's just that he couldn't picture her in that way. She was a chum, like a sister, his partner in crime sometimes but a wife?
Lilly threw open the door and hugged her.
"This is a monster?" mouthed Chloe.
Clark didn't know what to say. He just shrugged.
"Did you bring me a present, Aunt Chloe?" Lilly asked.
"Sorry. I just brought me."
Clark let the air out. He realized he'd been holding it in all that time. Of course, Lilly knew and liked Chloe. Chloe was his closest friend. She was probably not only an honorary aunt but the children's godmother.
Chloe took the baby and said, "half the day's gone, you better go. You told me it all over the phone."
"Right. You should be more than okay. They like you. Bye."
"Bye"
---
Chloe was lounging on the couch. This was a piece of cake.
Lilly had gone outside to play after she had asked Chloe if she knew where her mommy was and of course, Chloe had said no. Lilly had then explained that Mommy, Daddy, Brother, and her had been at the ice fort. Mommy felt sick because of the new baby brother or sister, so she had stepped outside. Chloe thought it was a good thing that Clark didn't know another one was on the way in the future or he might go off the deep end. She reckoned his older self must be better with kids if there was going to be a third one. Anyway, Lilly said while Daddy was playing with the crystals and not watching them, they had touched one of them. It felt blurry and then they were in the cave. They came out and found Daddy was acting like he didn't know what was going on and he had lost Mommy.
The baby was mesmerized by Blue's Clues.
"You like following clues," Chloe said, "you're going to be a reporter like your Aunt Chloe, aren't you?"
The baby laughed and kept watching TV.
There was a knock on the door. Clark shouldn't be back so soon and Martha wasn't supposed to be coming back until tonight. She had a luncheon to go to.
Chloe opened the door a crack. It was her cousin.
"The Kents aren't here, Lois."
"You don't think I know that?" she said pushing the door wide open and coming in, "Martha's my boss. She told me that you were going to baby sit their relatives."
"So why are you here?"
"I'm on a lunch break."
"I thought you didn't take lunch breaks, Miss Workaholic."
"Better a workaholic than an alcoholic. I ran into Lana this morning and heard all about the black sheep of the Kent Family. I had to see them and see how my cousin was suckered into babysitting."
"I wasn't suckered. I'm doing a friend a favor. They're not that bad."
"The heck they're not. Lana doesn't get on the verge of a nervous breakdown for nothing. Where are they?"
"The boy is watching TV."
Lois, keeping out of view, looked at the baby.
"And the girl is out back playing."
Lois went over to the blinds and pulled it carefully apart.
"Darn it! I wanted to see the horns and tails Lana was swearing they had," she said, walking over to the fridge, "I love spaghetti! The Kents don't usually have leftovers. The kids must be making them lose their appetites."
Lois also grabbed a slice of bread. She sat down at the table and pulled out another chair to prop her feet up on. Chloe sat across from her.
"You don't want to meet the kids personally?" Chloe teased.
"I hate kids and they hate me. I can't take their crap. So is Clark enjoying himself? Give me the scoop on his misery."
"You get joy from people's misery."
"No, I don't. Just Clark's. Now tell me."
"Lilly has kicked him in the shin and she yells a lot. That's all I can remember."
"Is that all? I used to be like that when I was little. Probably worse."
"You still are," Chloe laughed.
The baby began to cry.
"Hold on. I'll bring the baby in here, Lois."
"No, thank you. I should be getting back. I only get an hour."
"Sit down and finish your spaghetti. It's only a baby."
Lois looked wary but stayed in her seat. When Chloe brought the baby in, he began to reach for her.
"I think he wants you, Lois," she said sitting back in her seat.
"Yeah, right. I don't touch rug rats, especially ones from Smallville. You never know when they start moving glass or something equally weird and dangerous. I bet these kids have some sort of powers."
"That's ridiculous. This baby's perfectly normal." ( that was true for now)
The baby started to cry for Lois, so Chloe sat him in her lap whether she liked it or not.
"Get him off me!"
"He likes you. Look at him snuggling up to you. He must think you're his mommy."
A disturbing thought crossed Chloe's mind. Was Lois his mommy? That was insane. Lois wasn't the motherly type. She was the big sister type at best. Even more insane was the idea that Clark and Lois would have children together. They fought too much. They were as different as night and day but even night and day met together twice every 24 hours. 'Chloe Sullivan,' she told herself, 'don't be stupid!'
"Get him off. He's asleep," Lois whispered uncomfortably.
Chloe grabbed a pillow and laid him on the floor.
"I really do have to go. Is Clark going to finish this spaghetti do you think?"
"Probably. Why?"
"No reason," she said, as she dusted the bread crumbs from her hands over the spaghetti.
Yep. It was stupid to think that Lois could be the mother of Clark's children.
Lois put the spaghetti up.
"Aren't you going to get something to drink?" Chloe asked.
"I've still got pop at the office."
Lois cocked her head at the baby and said, "what is the baby's name?"
"I don't know. Why?"
"I just thought he looks like a Jason. I've always liked that name. It means 'to heal'."
Lois slammed the door, causing the baby to wake up."
"George?" no response "Jason?" The baby turned his head to look and then fell back asleep.
Lois always did have great instincts. She really should consider journalism.
---
Clark was talking to Jor-El.
"How did they get here and how do I send them back?" Clark asked.
"I used a crystal merely because they touched it at the same time. It has no powers. I picked up on your problems and sent them back to help make your decisions easier."
"What decisions?"
"You wanted to know what to choose as a major, you wanted to know if there was a woman out there for you, and if you could have and handle kids together. When they've helped you with those three things, come back and they will be sent back.
So he had to pick a major, find his future wife, and together they had to bond with their kids. This was just great!
TBC