----Chapter 24

Lois looked down, finding Metropolis to be much smaller looking than it had been mere seconds ago. This whole flying thing was a little more nerve wracking than she thought it's be. "Aren't weekends supposed to be relaxing?"

Clark smiled up at her as the flew on. "See, I was kind of expecting that question last weekend. Really, today seems a lot less eventful than last Saturday. No confusion, no throwing up..."

"Oh, there's confusion. It's related to the fact that I remember having weekends where I relaxed. Technically they were quite a few years ago, but I remember them quite clearly for obvious reasons."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad. I think this is going very smoothly."

"We're miles above everything and if you drop me, I am most certainly doomed." Lois looked down again, gulped, and looked back at Clark. "How the hell is this going smoothly?"

"It's going smoothly because I am not going to drop you. Well, not unless you ask me to, which you've asked me to do before so you could free fall for a couple seconds. That wasn't long after the first time I told you about my powers."

It did sound like something she would do. Hell, it would sound fun if it didn't make her jumpy. "Well, I can see where that would be thrilling, but since we have a daughter and a fetus I'm thinking that would probably not be the best of ideas."

"I tend to agree. Though, since Almond Joy is, of course, half Lane, I'm sure the thrill would be enjoyable for him or her. I think if we started it on the adrenaline now, though, we'd never get it under control. Considering the fact that our children may one day develop powers... well, you see where this is going."

Oh God, that was a ridiculously scary thought. She had experience with girls like herself, obviously, but a boy like that was an especially scary thought if he inherited her tendency to act before thinking. But then again, a little boy that didn't have her personality... suddenly Lois zoned out and was seeing a vision of herself chasing after a little boy with his fathers dimples that ran just a little too fast. Exasperated, she finally cornered him and pulled him up into a hug, sweeping the dark curly hair out of his eyes and placing a kiss on his forehead as he giggled.

Shaking her head, she pushed the strange vision to the back of her mind and spoke. "An invincible adrenaline junkie... that would be ridiculous. I am fairly certain, though, that no child of yours would ever run wild. You have a lot of good sense to pass on which evens out the endless crazy that goes on in my head."

"Lo, I seriously doubt that inside your head is endless crazy."

Lois laughed at him a second before speaking.

"Let me take you through a thought process of mine from earlier today, Smallville. I started out curious about AJ. Are we going to have another girl or a little boy? Why do I feel so connected to a baby I don't remember conceiving? What's labor like? Will I realize I'm actually in labor this time or will I just think I'm having a backache again? Will it be long? Short? Will I stand up, have a contraction and start giving birth?

"From there I progressed to wondering if we could have baby back ribs for dinner. What kind of ribs would be best? Maybe Carolina style. Has Superman ever been to the Carolina's to make a save? How does this whole Superman thing work? Has Superman ever had to deliver a baby before, not counting his own daughter? How does a baby's head fit through a part of me I know for a fact is not that big? How long will it take me to get back into shape?

"And when I zoned out just a second ago, it was because I had what could only be described as a vision of me chasing a little boy with your hair and dimples. He was a little too fast for a toddler, really, so I had to corner him just to catch him. But when I did, the exasperation melted away and he was just my son, in my arms, right where he belonged. It was all sorts of vivid until I shook myself out of it."

Lois finished speaking and found herself out of breath, taking a second to regain it. Clark was silent for a minute, probably trying to process just how messed up his wife's thought process was. Hell, she was still trying to process some of the nonsense that was going through her head, and it was her own damn nonsense. She rested her head on his shoulder, her own thoughts overwhelming her. This seemed to prompt him to finally speak.

"That's... intense. Not endless crazy, though. There was a definite end to the crazy."

"How comforting of you."

"Those are all valid thoughts, Lois. I'm curious about Almond Joy too. Heck, I'm not afraid to admit that I scare myself when I think about all the mistakes I could possibly make with him or her. I had great role models for parenting, though, and I know that you were deprived of that. I do my best to emulate both of my parents.

"And hey, ribs for dinner sounds great; I can go for some at a barbecue place I know down in Texas."

"What's it called?"

"The Salt Lick. Not too far outside Austin."

"Sounds like it could be good."

"It is. Now, on your thoughts, the baby's head fits because, well, that's how women work. That's poorly phrased, but I think you get what I mean. You stretch around the baby."

Lois couldn't put a mental image with what he was saying. She didn't know if she wanted to. "There's a strange thought."

"Not really. Pretty natural thought, really. Women have been having babies for at least fifty years, maybe longer, and I'm sure every single one has thought 'How is this baby going to fit through there?'

"In most things, Lo, you're one of a kind. But, when it comes to wondering how childbirth works, and please take this well, you're just another person that has no idea, and can't know until you experience it."

Lois was quiet a moment. She figured that he had to be correct; what the hell could a person know about childbirth without going through it in all its gory detail? She figured it'd be like trying to describe love: you couldn't know until you felt it.

"Generally, I don't like being lumped in with all other women, but I think this time it's acceptable. I'm not against having normal worries in this situation because while I've been through it, I have no idea what's going to happen."

"Correct. Oh, and after Jordan you were back in the shape you wanted to be after about four months."

She frowned. "That long?"

"It's not something you have to rush, Lois. With Jordan, you gained something like forty three pounds. About ten days after she was born you'd lost near to fifteen of it because it was basically just baby and placenta. You took your time and lost the rest of the weight slowly but surely and you look almost no different now than you did in 2008."

"I'm starting to show, Smallville. Well, not show so much as have my pants be too tight. I know for a fact that my pants were not too tight in 2008. It's one of the many things I remember very well about my waking months in that year because tight pants annoy the crap outta me."

"You know what I mean, Lo. When you woke up and first saw yourself in the mirror, you didn't notice any drastic changes in your body from what you remembered, did you?"

"I was a little too shocked by having a face that looked like it had aged a decade overnight. When I gave myself the once over Sunday morning, I didn't notice any drastic changes, per se, but I did notice how my boobs looked and felt bigger and my stomach was a little round where it had been flat."

"The breasts thing I understand, but I don't think you would have even looked at your stomach had you not just been told you were pregnant. Had it not come up, I bet you would have been blissfully unaware and probably just asked about your breasts, which could have been a hilariously awkward conversation if we were having it in front of somebody else."

"That is so not the point." Lois would have protested further, but felt she'd been caught.

"Yeah, right. The point is, you can take however long you want to get yourself back in shape after Almond Joy is born. If it takes you a year to lose the weight you want gone, it's no problem. If you decide you don't want to lose the weight, more power to you. Heck, I like you looking curvy and soft. I will always love you, though, no matter what you look like."

Lois grinned mischievously; it was time to have some fun with him. "Alright, excuse to get fat. I think I'll just keep eating like I currently am and see how long it takes me to get to 200."

"An interesting goal. Do you want me to tally the days so you can focus on the baby?"

"You sound way too ok with my joke."

"I just said I will love you no matter what you look like. I married a woman with some pretty impressive scars on her face. If you want, I can show you the pictures some time so that you know just how bad they were. I love you, Lois, because of who you are. You drive me crazier than any other fifty people on the planet could hope to and it just makes me fall deeper in love with you."

"So, basically, you're a glutton for punishment?"

"I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text."

"I call it an accurate interpretation of the text. You fell in love with a woman you never though you'd have after getting your heart ripped out by a heartless bitch. After helping your unrequited love through a giant ordeal and gaining numerous brownie points, she forgets all your hard work while you're gone. You put in all the hard work again, she forgets again. It's a cycle that will repeat itself until the woman in question dies."

"I don't think..."

"You are married to a woman that will never be in love with you for more than three or four years at a time. How is that not being a glutton for punishment, Smallville?"

He was silent a moment before he spoke quietly but intensely. "Because it's worth it to be with her."

"What do you mean it's worth it? How could it be worth it?"

"To be with you, Lois... it's worth it. You make my life as Superman possible. You've given me a daughter I never thought I could have, and now we're having another baby. I thought my life was going to be very long and very alone. You made that the distant nightmare of a kid that moped too much. When you say you love me, it's the greatest joy I know, right along with Jordan saying she loves me. In short, you've given me love, Lois. That makes everything worth it."

She worked her jaw a couple times, trying to figure out something to say but failing miserably. What the hell could she say to a man that had just said she'd saved him from a long and lonely life he thought he was destined to live? How could she possibly respond to him telling her that she made it possible for him to make the world a better place?

"I, uh... wow. Quite the wordsmith, Clark Kent."

"You bring it out in me, Lois Lane Kent."

Lois plastered her usual smirk on her face, trying to get back into some kind of comfort zone where Clark wasn't blowing her mind with revelations about his love for her. "Damn right I do. Now, take us back home. I know Jordan's asleep, but if she wakes up and we're not there, she might be scared."

"Ok then, back home we go."

"By the way, won't people find it strange that I'm randomly out flying with Superman, world's most eligible bachelor according to the gossip section of today's Daily Planet?"

Clark laughed a little before responding. "Not even close. You, with your nose for trouble, have always required saving. Since Superman does a lot of saving, you and I have always been close. People have linked Superman and Lois Lane romantically since day one because you were the first person I saved. Even after you became Lois Lane Kent, the rumors never stopped."

"So, people seeing us flying together is no big deal."

"Exactly."

"It never fails to astound me at just how strange my life is these days." She looked down at the rapidly approaching ground, quickly becoming even more aware of just how true that statement was.