---- Chapter 55

Lois inspected the board games in front of her, trying to decide what Jordan would like best for Christmas. Chutes and Ladders was a classic, but could you really do any better than Candy Land? Lois was of that mind that when it came to children's games, Candy Land was the standard, so she loaded it into her shopping cart and took off towards the stuffed animals she'd passed earlier.

"I thought you were getting Chutes and Ladders, Lo. Why the change?"

"Because Candy Land is the best, Smallville. Always has been, always will be."

"No way Candy Land is better than Chutes and Ladders. There's no chuting and no laddering, therefore it cannot be a superior game."

Lois rolled her eyes as she stopped in front of the stuffed animals but turned to face Clark. "I can't possibly have married a man that doesn't think that Candy Land is the best. It's just not possible. When I made a list as a kid of what qualities my husband would have to have, loving Candy Land above all other board games was one of the things on it."

"You made lists of what qualities you needed your husband to have? Somehow that doesn't click in my mind with the you I know so well."

"I was five, Smallville. The other two things on the list were that he wasn't allowed to be smelly and he had to be awesome." She shrugged at him and turned to face the stuffed animals to hide her smile. "Ah well, one out of three isn't bad, I guess."

"Very funny." Clark wrapped his arms around her before pointing at one of the stuffed animals. "Is that a stuffed platypus?"

Lois looked where he was pointing, then felt her eyebrows rise a little as she spotted what he was talking about. It was a stuffed platypus. She reached out and grabbed it, squeezing it a couple times and seeing how soft it was before she tossed it into the basket.

"She is going to be so confused as to what a platypus is, but how do you pass that up?"

"You don't. So, what did Chloe say we should get for Jack, Aly and Liz? I can go grab those while you pick out another stuffed animal or two and some coloring books."

Lois pulled the list Chloe had given her out of her pocket, running through each child's wishes before she settled on the circled items Chloe had told her would be perfect.

"For Jack, a new basketball. They're putting up a hoop for him, so we'll enable his love for sports a little more. For Liz, the book 'Where The Wild Things Are.' Can't believe she doesn't have that already, or hasn't inherited it from Jack. Chloe really dropped the ball there. And for Aly, the Elementary School Musical 5 soundtrack." She turned in his arms to face him. "Did they seriously make that?"

"The will to be original died around the year 2017, shortly before our marriage."

"Still, that just seems to be taking things too far. Plus, how good can the kids singing possibly be? I doubt it was worth one spinoff, let alone five. Chloe's going to go nuts." She pointed up at him, though her arm was kind of smushed between their bodies. "We are NOT letting Jordan get sucked into that brand of nonsense."

"What brand of nonsense would you prefer we let her get sucked into?"

"Something original. Maybe even her very own nonsense, who knows."

Clark roll his eyes and took the list from as he let her out of his embrace. "Let our daughter find her own nonsense... well, nobody said raising kids was boring. I'll go get these things while you finish up with Jordan's stuff and meet you up front. It's three o'clock now, so if we're lucky, we'll be out of here and home by Thursday."

"Lines and traffic: what Christmas is all about."

"Amen." Clark kissed her and walked off. She started off the other way, going up and down the toy aisles and looking for anything she thought Jordan might like. She liked to think she had a pretty good grasp on what her daughter liked, having known her a whole month and four days now.

She grabbed a couple more things before she found herself in front of a couple stacks of coloring books. She picked out a Justice League book and a Warner Brothers cartoon character one as well before finding a couple more she might like and tossing them in the cart.

Christmas shopping for her daughter. Unbelievable.

Smiling, she made her way up to the front of the store, pushing her way through a few groups of people that had decided to take up the entire aisle, and found Clark standing at the end of one of the shorter lines.

"Good find. Maybe now we'll be home by Tuesday."

Clark smiled at her and placed all the stuff he'd picked up in the cart. "Here's hoping. Now, the real question is, what in the world should we get Chloe?"

"You're asking me? Remember the memory problem, Smallville? I have no idea what she does and does not have, or what she would even want. As much as I wish I did, and as much as she's still the awesome Chloe I knew back in 2008, I have no idea what we could get her now."

"Maybe I could ask mom what she thinks."

"No, we are not going to let your mother pick out what we give my cousin. And what about Bruce? What could he possibly need?"

"He's requested that any money we want to put towards presents for him be either put towards his family or given to charity. Very noble of him, and you've said for years that he was the one person you could never figure out a good gift for."

"True." Lois moved the cart up a couple feet as the line shifted oh so slowly, scratching her head as she looked back over at Clark. "Is there anything we can get Chloe and Bruce as a couple? That way we'd be getting him something, but it would be directed at his wife as well."

"I don't know. They have more electronics in their living room than we do in our entire apartment. They have numerous nice paintings."

"I'd say we could give them time alone to be with each other, but we're always available for that anyway. Hell, we're doing it tomorrow, though they are using that to finish shopping." Lois sighed. "Alright, I guess we can ask Martha about what we should get them. Since Christmas is a week away, it's not like we have a lot of time to be thinking about it."

They moved another few feet and were next in line, but Lois had to sigh when the cashier called for a price check on three different things. Rolling her eyes, she looked back to Clark. "What are we getting Martha?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"She asked that we spend the time we would use shopping for her gift volunteering at a children's shelter. Apparently she wants cared for children for Christmas."

Lois turned and started unloading the cart as she thought about that. Based on all the work she was doing with children's advocacy groups now, it wasn't a surprising request. There still had to be something they could get her. Or...

"Let's make dinner on Christmas."

"What?"

Lois placed the basketball on th counter along with the other stuff she'd unloaded while turning her head to face him. "Instead of having Martha do all the work for Christmas dinner, why don't you and I do it? Well, to avoid making everybody sick on Christmas, why don't you do it and I observe?"

Clark frowned at stared off for nothing a second before answering. "I don't know if she'll say thank you or scold us for taking away the privilege of cooking for her family. We will be cooking for children, though, so she can't disapprove too much." He smiled at her. "You always come through in the clutch."

She dropped the last items on the counter and smiled back at him. "I like to think so."

Two Days later

"I can't think of anything, Chloe! I only know everything that he USED to like, not everything he likes now! How the hell am I supposed to get Clark something for Christmas if everything I know is thirteen years old?"

Lois rubbed a hand over her face, slouching down as she frowned. Five days until Christmas, and she had nothing for Clark. She didn't even have an idea about what to think about getting him. She was giving life to his son, but that didn't seem so much a Christmas gift as part of life. Freaking life stealing all the good gifts.

"Lois, less stress and more calm. You're going to make your son tense before his time."

She turned her frown on Chloe for a second before sighing and letting her face slacken. Chloe was right, of course. Stress couldn't be good for AJ. It certainly wasn't doing her any favors at the moment.

"It's my first Christmas as part of a family. I want it to be as good as it was when I dreamed about these kind of things."

"Lois, you have nothing to worry about. You've never been the kind of person to get things done all that far ahead of time, and this is not the first time you've come down to the wire on needing a present for Clark."

"What did I do those other times?"

"Something very similar to what you're doing right now." Chloe stood up and walked around her desk, sitting down in the other chair. "Look, Clark will be happy with whatever you get him. This is not to say go out and buy him a six pack of socks, but if you put a little thought into how you two have spent your time together, the right gift will come to you. And if it doesn't, time heals all gift giving wounds."

Lois rolled her eyes and lightly wacked Chloe on the arm. "Not helpful. Well, helpful and then not helpful. Thank you for the advice, and next time you feel the need to be witty, do it when I'm less stressed."

Lois pushed herself up out of the chair and grabbed the clock Chloe had sitting on her desk, finding it to be a good deal later in the day than she'd expected. Had she even done any real work. She knew Clark had needed to fly off at some point to stop help clear up traffic from the icy roads, but she didn't think it had been two hours ago. How big could the pileup have been? And shouldn't somebody working at a newspaper have heard about it?

"Do you think Perry is going to need me sometime in the next four minutes?"

Chloe shook her head. "Why don't you wait four minutes and see?"

"That's the logical answer. Stupid logic keeping me in the office for four minutes."

"Ha! You know you'd have stayed anyway, even if you did want to leave. You're a workaholic, Lois, and a proud one at that. Any chance that a good story will pop up will keep you here."

"Yeah, you're right. Plus, I do seem to be cutting out before quitting time more than I used to, recently. Probably not a good habit to fall into."

"No, not unless you have good excuses like children."

Lois shook her head at Chloe, but couldn't help the grin that stole across her face. "I refuse to use my daughter to get out of work early. Well, no more than twice a month."

"That's why one has more children. The more children you have, the more days you can leave five or ten minutes early. Of course, it also ensures more days that you're going to miss while they're sick or bringing home germs to get you sick. I thoroughly enjoy that, and it generally happens once or twice a school year, and that's just with the one in there now."

"Fortunately for me, my daughter seems highly unlikely as one to get sick or carry it home to get her mother sick. Good daughter, Jordan." Lois looked at the clock again, finding that ten minutes has past. "That did not seem like ten minutes worth of conversation. What the hell happened to my sense of time? Is this a pregnancy thing?"

"You've never had a sense of time, Lois. This is how you've always been, so if you blame AJ for this, he'll take revenge and make your labor extra painful."

"Oh come on, he wouldn't do that to his one and only mother, the woman giving him life and allowing him to use me for food for months on end."

Lois watched Chloe stand up and walk back around her desk, grabbing her coat off the back of her chair and shrugging it on. "What was it you told me the other day... ah yes: you underestimate the ability of a Lane to hold a grudge."

"Oh sure, use my own words against me. What are your plans this evening?"

"Family dinner. Bruce is here all week so we're making everybody's favorite meals. Shockingly, we'll only be ordering food once or twice, depending on what the girls choose. You guys want to join us?"

"Thanks, but I think we'll try the same thing tonight. I guess it depends on whatever Clark has going on, but he'll let me know if he's going to be gone most of the night, or let Martha know. One way or another, I'll find something out."

Chloe slung her purse over her shoulder before walking around the desk pulling Lois into a one armed hug. "Nothing like concrete plans, eh?"

"No kidding. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"If everybody bails on you, call me. You can eat with us. In fact, I insist. I want our families together so much that our children are as close as siblings, like we are. Any night that you're alone, you're eating with us."

Lois rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, mom."

"Good, glad that's settled. Talk to ya later, cuz."

Lois walked out of Chloe's office with her and into hers, pulling on her coat and grabbing her bag before walking out again and closing the door behind her. Stopping, she walked back in and grabbed Clark's coat and briefcase before walking out again.

The better part of an hour and loads of annoyance later, Lois finally walked into the apartment and took off her coat, throwing it on its usual chair before tossing her bag onto the seat of it. She ran a hand through her hair, ridding it of the few snowflakes that hadn't melted on the elevator ride up. Freaking snow had only made the ride home worse.

Walking into the bedroom, she started shedding clothes and slipping into much more comfortable garments. When she finally got to slipping her feet into her old bunny slippers, she walked over to the door to the balcony and looked outside, finding the snow still coming down. How the hell was Clark going to fly Jordan home without turning her into a frozen version of herself?

Had she inherited her resistance to cold? Was she going to have to be bundled up in eighteen layers of clothes so that she didn't freeze on the flight home? She was seriously starting to think that this may not be the greatest system of childcare. She trusted Martha beyond words, but it seemed like it might be more prudent to keep her in the city.

Chloe probably wouldn't mind if Jordan stayed with her kids during the day. The twins and Jordan would start school at the same time, though Jordan would be at the younger edge of the grade. Given Jordan's development, the age thing probably wouldn't be a big deal.

Gah, this could wait. It was a problem for future Lois, or at least Lois after the holiday season and moving. She trusted that Clark would make sure Jordan was warm enough. Maybe he could use his heat, laser vision thingy to do the trick. It had to be good for something that didn't involve melting holes in metal, rock or some other substance difficult to melt.

Sighing as she watched the snow, she turned away from the door and walked to the dresser, kicking it so that the secret drawer opened up. She grabbed the diary and walked out to the living room, plopping herself down as best she could with her stomach the way it was. She grabbed the television remote and turned it to a music station, letting the classic rock soothe her dreary mood before opening the diary and turning to the next entry she hadn't read.

June 7, 2019

Eleven years. Eleven years since I was attacked and my life was forever altered. It's amazing how one decision to not go with Chloe changed the way I had to live my life.

And yes, I know that it's odd how I'm marking the eleventh anniversary when I didn't mark the tenth, the usual round number associated with anniversaries. I do have a valid excuse, though.

I was very busy being pregnant at the time, considering whether or not I would screw up my daughter before or after the age of ten. I still haven't come to a conclusive answer on that.

Anyway, that was taking up all my brain power and Clark didn't bother reminding me, so I blame him.

Alright, so I'm forgetful. You know as well as I do that Lois Baby no room in brain for anything else. Well, family and work fit in there, but that's only like eight percent.

(Wow, I really seem to be writing in little sections this time. Weird.)

I didn't even realize it had passed until I realized that it had been eleven years today. Jordan, the little angel/devil, put my world into such a new orbit that I can't even remember the defining moment of my life unless I stumble onto it. Apparently having kids does affect more than one's ability to love and carry giant amounts of stuff around.

On the subject of Jordan, she's quickly headed towards turning one. One! Jesus, the day before yesterday she was still inside me, and yesterday she was just born. Suddenly she's nearly ten months old and I have absolutely no idea where the better part of a year went.

I guess it's alright to get lost in her, though. I don't mind it, certainly. Spending time with her is still just about the coolest thing ever. Watching her figure out the world around her every day is almost as much a rewarding experience as teaching her. Of course, she's already starting to find her stubborn streak, so I fear rewarding is soon going to turn into exhausting.

The coolest thing she's done recently, though, is that she pulled herself up to a standing position all by herself for the first time.

She stood up! Well, she pulled herself up, but she stood! With or without help, she's awesome.

When I saw her doing it, I was extremely tempted to rush over and swoop her into my arms for a hug that last so long she would no longer be in diapers. I stopped myself so that I could get Clark to see her, too, and once he did, I then swooped her up and let her know just how much I love her.

I also let her know that I think she's growing up for too quickly. Granted, growing up quickly is in relative terms, since all of not quite ten months has passed, but she's now been out of my uterus longer than she was actually in it. When I realized that, I kind of just sat back and went 'woah' because I hadn't thought of it like that before.

When I was pregnant, it was just about making sure that she got into the world. Once she actually did get into the world, it became about making sure that she was always safe and healthy. Now she's been living outside as long as she was in, and she's safe, healthy and well on her way towards being a self-propelled person.

Crazy kid and her need to learn movement.

I say that because I'm sarcastic by nature and Jordan being mobile presents me with a whole new set of neuroses. Well, maybe not neuroses so much as worries. Given Clark's genes, I'm really hoping she does not develop his affinity for speed right away. If I have a daughter I can't keep up, I will not be pleased.

If she's a normal speed child, though, I still have to keep track of where she is and what she gets into now. While I've had to do that with crawling, that's not exactly a speed oriented movement. This also means she's going to be reaching new things now, so Clark and I are going to have to make sure that there's nothing harmful she can reach.

Of course, we've already baby-proofed the entire apartment, and I've been over it what feels like three times a week (probably feels like five to Clark) making sure everything is safe. As far as I can tell, she will be safe when walking, aside from falling over and hitting her head on things, but I doubt that can be avoided with any baby. Hopefully, watching the twins learn gave me a clue on what to expect.

So, taking a minute to read what I've been writing, I realize that this is nowhere near what I started about, nor is it being all that informative. Once again, Jordan has invaded my thoughts in the middle of something entirely unrelated to her.

Well, that may not be entirely true. Let's list the order of events.

First, I get attacked. This sets me down a path I can't avoid of forgetfulness and having to adjust myself in public every two to four years. After that, I go through physio, which Clark helped me with quite a bit. This apparently cements his feelings for me, though I think that may have actually happened while I was comatose.

So, that leads us to Clark leaving and finding himself while I really dig into being a reporter and make a name for myself. Basically, we both grow up. I don't think we could have been together before he left because he always seemed so unsure of himself and I was, well, me. How he manages to get me to fall in love with him so much hurts my brain, because I never thought I was so susceptible.

So, I forget while he's gone, and when he gets back the day of Chloe's wedding, I drink myself ridiculous and make sure everybody knows that I lost my memory the previous April. Typical Lois Lane behavior. Clark and I reconnect, I tell him all I know about my brain and it's forgetfulness, and then a week or two later, Superman makes his debut by saving me. I'm smitten, he's unavailable because he's Clark's alter ego.

I know you've been through all this before. Clark, Chloe and whoever had something to relate have probably told you things fifteen times. There is a point to this, so bear with me while I be long winded... would it be long penned while writing?

Anyway, after that, Clark asks me out, we have the first date from hell, and that same night Superman has to shoot me down. Rough night for the heart. There are months we barely speak, Jack is born and we hash everything out. Go us. Fast forward to The Cinco de Mayo incident. Revelations, realizations and sex. Crazy day.

So, we're together for a while, and then I propose to him. I guess somebody had to do it. Ring is put on finger, much sex is had, and I wake up the next morning to find myself sore and not remembering why. That had to be fun.

Then there was that whole Lex nearly buying the Planet fiasco. If I'd have woken up without my memory to find that Lex owned the Planet and I no longer worked there, I may have hurt somebody. A couple months later, Clark asks me out again, we have a much more successful first date and suddenly I'm falling for him again.

Six months after that, he proposes and we break up. That just sounded painful. Then there was that six weeks apart, which admittedly had to be a little cool just because I had my own wing of the Wayne Manor. But sad, of course, because it was sans Clark. But then we get back together and he proposes on Christmas and I say yes and life is good.

Lots of downtime, wedding that next October, honeymoon at Bruce's villa in Spain. Oh, right, night before the wedding: I confess to Chloe that I want to have a baby. That still seems hard to believe, though I'm really glad it happened because I love Jordan so much. You may have noted that by my Jordan related rambles.

The twin's birth rolls around, I do some leg holding and birth watching, and that night, Jordan is made. I get morning sickness, Clark is clueless and I finally tell him. I forget a month later. And that brings us to now, which I have covered in my entries.

So, now that I've wasted a whole bunch of space, here's the point: none of that would have happened had I not been attacked. What if it's not successful, I get away and Clark gets over his crush on me with time? He finds somebody else, I immerse myself in work and suddenly fifteen years have passed, he has a family and I still have work.

And of course, who knows if Bruce and Chloe ever get together without my attack. Who knows if they even ever meet. I never really had any intentions of introducing them. Bruce was a friend, but he wasn't in Metropolis that often. Though, of course, Superman probably would have gotten to know Batman and they might have met in spite of my lack of introductions.

Very literally, the lives of eight people were determined by the fact that I was attacked. Four of those people almost certainly wouldn't exist without the attack.

Therefore, it leads me to wonder just how bad a thing that attack was. Of course, it still affects me through the problems I have with my memory, and the scars I had for ten years were brutal, but would I possess the happiness that I have without that attack? Did it actually changed my life for the better? How wild a notion is that?

I guess all that's left, then, is a metaphorical toast. To Lex, without whom I may never have found a life I loved. I hope he burns in hell for everything he's done to people, but I say he gets a pass on this one. I owe him my life.

How about that. She'd never thought about that before. She really wouldn't have the life she did without the attack. She also wouldn't have a big hole in her memory, but she wouldn't trade that for her daughter or gestating son. Not in a million years.

Lois looked over at a clock and couldn't believe the time. She'd never been this bad with her sense of time. That had seemed like five minutes, not thirty. Why the hell hadn't Clark called yet? She sighed, standing up and going to look out the window again. Snow still falling, questions of Jordan's resistance to cold still floating through her mind.

She walked back over to the couch and sat down again. He had until five minutes after she finished the next diary entry to get back before she asked Martha to feed Jordan and found a way to get to Chloe's house to feed herself.

August 19th, 2019

And I now have a one year old daughter.

A crazier sentence has never been written.

Clark and I took one of the few days off we have left this year to spend the whole day with Jordan. Chloe and her family were in town to celebrate over the weekend, and Martha spent the evening with us. Clark is actually flying her home as we speak. She made dinner for us and fed Jordan her squishy carrots and plums, which tend to be her favorite these days.

It was so good spending the whole day with her without being distracted by work. It really wasn't that long ago since it had been just the three of us for most of the day, but Clark and I both went to the Planet a month and a half after she was born (hooray paternity leave) and since then, it's been the three of us and a crowd of people. Admittedly, she likes the groups of people, but still, it was nice for use to do the family thing for most of the daylight hours.

Once everybody was up and fed in the morning, we set out and went for a walk in the park. Jordan took in the sights and seemed to really enjoy herself. if the smiles were any indication. Of course, she may have just had gas. I like to think we were showing her a good time. After that, we went back to the apartment and did some reading. Clark and I read to her, I mean.

Then there was lunch, including more plums, and that was followed by a nap. She had a good, solid two hours of that, and when she woke up, we got her changed and took her to the zoo. Yeah, it's lame and what everybody does with kids, but who are we to deprive her of the regular childhood experiences? I didn't have 'em, and look how we turned out.

Just shuddered, didn't you? Me too.

So, she saw lions, and tigers and bears (oh my) with a side order of placid things like elephants and apes. Personally, I really enjoyed the kangaroo exhibit, but that may just be because they were giving a free show. Nothing like two kangaroos going at it to really complete your day.

So, we then came back here, Clark got Martha, and we had a good afternoon and evening. A very good day, in my book.

In fact, we did record some of it with what passes for a camcorder these days. I would suggest asking Clark about that. You could see Jordan looking at the cake and then staring at us as if we were toying with her by showing her real food and giving her goop instead. It was the craziest thing.

On non-birthday news, Jordan is officially walking. She does enjoy using her legs, and likes being quick, too. A good run around the apartment with her dad seems to be a daily happening now. Heck, I even take a jog with her some days to get a little exercise. Of course, when I run with her, I'm not quick enough to stop her from falling over.

Poor thing has a small knot on her forehead where she always seems to hit it when she falls. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she doesn't. Usually depends on how fast she was going. And actually, the faster she was running beforehand, the less she cries. I don't know why, but maybe when she's going slower she notices it more? No idea.

Another thing that isn't surprising is how much Jordan loves to go flying with Clark. When the two of them come back from that, she's always smiling for the next hour, no matter what happens. It's great having a happy little girl like that.

On the real news front, Clark and I haven't had any big articles lately. It's been an enjoyable respite from our usual insanity, but I am starting to itch for something good to come along. I like a peaceful city as much as the next person, but it only makes me suspicious that something is going on beneath the surface.

Ah well, something will turn up. It always does. Until next time.

Huh. Short entry. Lois looked over at a clock, finding that it hadn't taken very long to read, and started timing Clark to see if she would actually end up spending the evening with Chloe and her family.

She pushed herself up off the couch, patting her stomach a couple times as she walked to the bedroom and put the diary back into its hidden spot in the dresser. Eyeing the bracelet for a second, she picked it up and slid it on, and suddenly felt determination flowing into her. Smiling, she left it on for a moment and reveled in the feelings of Clark.

Taking it off and putting it back in the dresser, she closed the drawer with her hip and walked back out into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she grabbed the bottle of apple juice, took the top off and started drinking.

"Do you know how many times I've gotten in trouble with you for that?"

Lois jumped and spilled apple juice all over herself, soaking her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she spun and found Clark staring with wide eyes as he stood just inside the balcony door in his Superman suit, Jordan holding his hand and standing next to him.

"Whoops."

"Whoops?"

"Well, ya know, you weren't supposed to spill the apple juice all over yourself. I thought you heard us come in."

"Had I heard you come in, Smallville, I would have turned to greet you and Jordan." Lois took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. "Speaking of whom, how are you, baby girl?"

"Good. Are you going to take a bath?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Whenever I get apple juice all over my clothes you make me take them off and take a bath to get cleaned up. Do you have to do that now?"

Looking down at herself, Lois sighed. If nothing else, she had to change clothes, and she was going to be all sticky anyway... "Yeah, baby girl, mom's going to need a bath. I'm going to do that now before I get all sticky, and I expect a hug when I get out, alright?"

"Ok."

Lois looked up at Clark. "I also expect something quite tasty for dinner, dad. Something that says sorry for making you spill all over yourself."

"Ya know, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been drinking straight from the bottle."

She glared at him, and he smiled sheepishly before there was a quick whoosh of air and he appeared next to Jordan with normal clothes and his glasses on. "Right, jokes later. Jordan, why don't you go wash your hands so you can help the old man out."

Jordan took off, and Clark walked over to her. "I am sorry. I just thought it a good opportunity to bust you on something you've busted me for dozens of times over the years."

"I know. I'm going to go shower. What are you going to make?"

"It's a surprise."

"Make it a good one."

An hour later, Lois was walking out of the bedroom, working on drying her hair a little better, and was greeted with some delicious smells. She smiled as she took in a deep breath through her nose, then walked out into the kitchen to find Clark and Jordan working on something.

"Hey, so what'd you make?"

Clark turned around, holding a tray of... something. "Homemade pepperoni rolls, Lo, since you seem to be confused by what you see. And they will be accompanied by..."

There was a knock on the door, and after setting the tray down Clark walked over and soon came back in with a few pizzas in hand. She raised an eyebrow at him until he handed her a pizza. That made her happy, but this still hadn't been what she was expecting.

"I know this isn't what you were expecting..." Again with him knowing her thoughts! "...but we didn't have a whole lot to make since we haven't been to the grocery store recently. We did have the makings of pepperoni rolls, though, and since they go so well with pizza, we have both."

Lois smiled as she took a bite of her extremely meaty pizza, chewing and swallowing before she spoke. "Had me thinking it was just the pepperoni rolls for a second. I'm sure they're good, but it just didn't seem like a whole meal."

"Would I ever deprive my pregnant wife of as large a meal as she wants?"

"Not without risking bodily harm."

"Exactly. Therefore, we have plenty of food to enjoy."

"I thank you, and so does AJ. I'm sure he's giddy that he won't be malnourished. I think I should really start exercising more, though. All this eating sans exercise can't be good for him."

Clark shrugged. "It may not be best for entirely human children, but we have no idea what qualifies as good and bad for either of ours. I assume keeping them away from kryptonite is for the best, but they may have inherited your immunity to it, so who knows? I'm happy with not testing that until they're older, though."

"As am I."

"What's kryptonite?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, baby girl. Say, what'd you do at the farm today?"

While Jordan started talking about her day, Lois looked over at Clark, who met her eyes. She smiled, and he smiled back as they both got back to listening to Jordan talk about her day. No need to ruin her innocence by telling her about a rock that could potentially kill her father.