----Chapter 5

Lois eyed Clark with a cocked eyebrow and a made a circling motion with her hand to get him to continue his story.

"So, six months go by and you show no signs of improvement. By this time, your father had been given an overseas assignment and been forced to leave. Lucy went with him. Mom and Chloe had both offered to give her a bed to sleep in, but she said she wanted to spend time with your father. I guess seeing you in the hospital scared her."

"So all it took for me to get through to her was being comatose? Would have done that years ago had I known."

"Scared straight, I guess. Anyway, after the doctors told us it was a their conclusion that you were never going to wake up and recommended letting you go in peace, you woke up. Flair for the dramatic, I maintain."

Lois opened her mouth to interrupt him with the real reason, but he continued on. "Your quote not long after waking up was 'Not a flair for the dramatic, Smallville. Just thought you had gone long enough without somebody making sure you didn't do anything stupid.' And you were just about to say that any longer than six months and I'd have been completely lost and would need you."

Lois eyes went wide as he said exactly what she was going to say. That didn't make her feel any better about everything. Seriously, who needed a guy that could talk for you? She was going to have to work on her original thoughts. She downed the rest of her water and watched as Clark did the same and took her glass from her. He filled up their glasses from the tap before starting again.

"To say you were angry would be doing your rage a disservice. There wasn't, and still isn't, a word to cover how mad you were at what had happened. The last thing you remembered then, and I'd say the last thing you remember now is saying bye to Chloe as she closed the cab door and starting to walk home, but not actually how far you got before the attack." Lois nodded as he sat back down, placing her glass in front of her.

"Chloe was inconsolable for weeks after it happened. She blamed herself and was convinced that nothing would have happened if she'd have been there. I think she still blames herself, at least a little, to this day."

"Oh come on," Lois moaned. "How could she have possibly made any difference? She'd have just ended up bloody and brain damaged like I supposedly am, if not dead!"

"I know, I know. She just had a hard time dealing with it, so about a week after your attack she wrote an article as an outlet for her anger, sadness and misplaced guilt because it was what she knew how to do. She never intended for it to be published, let alone seen, but I found it on her laptop one day, read it, and just about broke down. Chloe had never written something so beautiful. It was a tribute to you, but at the same time it was a scathing review of Metropolis and its growing inability to deal with crime.

"I thought it a travesty that nobody would ever see the truth in her words, so I printed a copy and took it to her editor." She gawked at him, and he nodded. "Yes, I too am surprised Chloe didn't cause me bodily harm. But, it was loved because it captured what the city was beginning to lack: heart. The article - well, it was more of an editorial, really - but anyway it got printed and Chloe was actually nominated for a Kerth award as a result. One of the youngest nominees in Kerth history."

Lois smiled and ate another cracker. "That's my girl," she said softly.

"Indeed," Clark responded. "More to this little Chloe tangent, though. As a result of her article and nomination, Chloe was pretty well known in the local journalism world. When the Planet scored an exclusive with Bruce Wayne soon after, the billionaire from Gotham you never bothered to tell us you knew, he requested that Chloe do the interview."

Lois was shocked. "Chloe met Bruce?"

"Hold that thought. Bruce didn't know what to expect out of Chloe, but he's said that he felt like he'd been pummeled by a tiny blonde 2x4 after the interview was over. He was fascinated by such a, and I quote, 'intriguing, ferocious and brilliant woman.' They started spending more time together, out of the public eye, and to make a long story less long, he's now your cousin-in-law."

Lois gawked at Clark again. Chloe and Bruce? Together? "But... how... what? Chloe and Bruce got married?"

"Yeah, those two together took us all by surprise. I always knew Chloe was good at keeping secrets when she wanted to because she's kept mine for... sixteen years now. Wow, has it really been that long..."

Clark trailed off, lost in thought. Lois snapped her fingers in front of his face to make him aware of what was going on again. He grinned at her sheepishly. "Sorry, doesn't seem like it's been that long since we were all in Smallville, does it?"

Lois stared at him flatly for a moment until he got her meaning. He winced as he answered. "Right, sorry. Seems I always do that once when you forget. Anyway, like I was saying, Chloe and Bruce kept their relationship secret for about a year. When they met again a day after the interview at the hospital and bonded over sadness, it led to the spending more time together I told you about.

"Bruce had actually come to Metropolis to offer your dad specialists and to cover all your medical costs before he agreed to the interview with the Planet, which is kind of what tipped us off about you two knowing each other. But that's not the point. The point is, they fell for each other hard. They got married September 14th, 2013, and had their son Jack in February 2014." He knew Lois wanted to interrupt and held up a hand so he could finish. "They also had twins in late 2017. Girls, Aly and Liz."

"I can't believe it. Chloe and Bruce with three kids. Hell, I can barely believe Chloe and Bruce!" Lois shook her head and looked to Clark, who was smiling like he had something else to say. "Out with it, Smallville. You look like you're about to burst."

Clark winked at her before continuing. "As it just so happens, you and Chloe are in a race of sorts. Since it's you two, of course it's a type of race few people bother to try. Guesses?"

Lois thought about it a moment before her eyes went wide when the answer dawned on her. "Chloe's pregnant?"

"The lady wins a prize." Clark picked up a cracker off the table and handed it to her. "Congratulations." She rolled her eyes and took a bite as he continued.

"As chance would have it, you and Chloe conceived at more or less the same time in August. While your pregnancy is because of a quick discussion, Chloe and Bruce were actively trying for theirs. It was something about wanting to even things out for Jack, who seems to be outnumbered two to one as you may have noted. I think Chloe just loves her babies more than she ever thought she could."

"Four kids... good lord, I never even thought Bruce would find a girl that could deal with his personality. Is he still as dark and, well, broody as he used to be?" Clark was about to answer her when Lois snapped her fingers. "That's why she could fall in love with him so easily! She pined over you and your brooding butt for all those years and she found a guy that not only brooded more often than you did, but he actually had it down to an art form!"

Clark rolled his eyes and continued. "My previously brooding butt aside, Bruce still has his dark moments, especially when he's having a tough time as Batman. Chlo keeps him grounded, though, as well as their kids."

That took Lois unawares. She was really surprised Bruce had let him know that. "You know he's Batman?"

She watched him shake his head and poke himself in the forehead a couple times. "Uh, Bruce let Chloe tell me that he's Batman. I think she felt bad keeping such a big secret from me, and you already knew."

"Bruce was broody and he was a hero. You two have a lot in common, though you always played the hero and weren't really ever one, so to speak. I can see why Chlo is with him. Makes perfect sense."

Lois noticed Clark shifting in his seat when she said it, but let it go as he spoke. "Anytime he starts falling too deep into the darkness, Chloe can pull him out. Gradually, sometimes, but it happens less often now because of the family he and Chloe have made together. She has admitted to using sex to get him to come out of the darkness. I think that's why their twins were born, really, even if they had been trying for a while."

Lois barked out a laugh. "So, what? Every time Chloe thinks Bruce is getting too dark she's going to have as much sex with him as she can and end up pregnant? Good way to end up with ten or eleven kids, knowing Bruce."

Clark took another sip of water before continuing. "Like I said, Bruce has mellowed out in the darkness area a bit. He'll always be haunted by his parents death, but it's not as intense as it used to be. And I'm fairly certain that Chloe has proclaimed this one their last baby. Of course, if it's another girl, who knows how many they may end up with."

"So, who's winning the race?"

"Like you even have to ask. You found out a day before Chloe did that you were pregnant, and have therefore claimed you're in the lead, though your due dates may as well be the same day."

For the first time that day, Lois smiled and felt like the world wasn't crushing in on her. It was a pleasant moment. "So Smallville, what are you hoping for? Boy?"

"To embrace the cliché, I hope for healthy. I will love this baby no matter what."

Lois smiled and looked down at the ground. Chloe married to Bruce and having a family in Gotham seemed something she couldn't dream up if she tried. Of course, the same could be said of her and Smallville with a daughter. It seemed so real, despite everything telling her it couldn't be.

"Well Smallville, as much fun as it is to hear that my cousin can now buy me thirty eight times over, how about we get to the heart of this whole thing. How the hell did we, as in you and I with Jordan and another one on the way, happen?"

Clark stood from the couch, smiling at her. "Great story. It has its highs, lows and tales you wouldn't believe. One for the ages, really." He paused a moment, looking at her. "It needs to be told after a meal though. Certainly can't happen on a mostly empty stomach, and I think I'll save the chicken for dinner later this week. How does Chinese sound?"