Chapter 4: A Parent's Worry

He still didn't have any idea why Lois was so angry and his son hadn't enlightened him.

But Jonathan couldn't help but remember when he and Martha were first married and how they'd had to make the adjustments marriage brings to a relationship, living with his parents.

His mother had done everything she could to ease his bride into the everyday life of living on a farm, but even Jonathan had to admit that Lois had a leg up on Martha because she'd lived with them before she and Clark were married.

But times were different and the country was at war.

Lois was already doing what so many women were doing now, she was working and she was also trying to forge a new life with a man who found himself gone so much because of the nature of his own job. And she was doing it in her husband's childhood home; just as Martha had had to do.

He believed it was why the two Kent women in his and his son's life had formed such a strong bond with each other and now his new daughter-in-law was going to be a mother. The happiness she and Clark felt at the unexpected news had put a glow in their cheeks and that made the Grandpa-to-be smile. So it puzzled him why that glow was suddenly gone.

When Clark had returned from Kansas City the previous afternoon, Jonathan had left him alone with Lois so he could get a proper welcome home. And when she showed up at the truck sooner than he expected, his son was nowhere to be found.

She was visibly agitated and he'd had no idea why because Lois had been so eager to see her husband and he could barely contain her from running up the platform as the train came in, to meet him.

So her stiff posture as he'd driven them back to the farm worried him and it only got worse when they got back to the house.

He'd left them alone again, in the truck in hopes that they would hash out what ever was wrong. But he was disappointed on that score when he'd turned around from tending the fire to see Lois hurrying up the stairs to her room.

Clark had followed in behind her, glancing at his father and he'd shaken his head as he'd done earlier. 'This is between us, Dad.'

It wasn't good, for either of them; but Jonathan had nodded just the same. They weren't children anymore and he couldn't treat them like it.

The chill between them didn't thaw for the rest of the day and dinner was the most awkward affair he'd ever sat through since Lois had come into their lives. She'd always been a reliable chatterbox, keeping the meal conversations lively, but not that night.

It didn't get any better when bedtime came around and Martha shot him a worried look when Clark came downstairs with blankets and a pillow, dumping them on the sofa.

Practically from the day they were married, Lois had always joked that the slightest infraction would put him on the sofa and they'd all chuckled about it because they knew she didn't mean it. So it was with a lot of worry that Jonathan and Martha saw their newlywed son actually sleeping there that night.

He was usually such a sound sleeper because he had to be. Mornings always came early and he needed every bit of rest he could manage. But sleep eluded Jonathan that night and uncharacteristically, Martha had had to rouse him out of bed.

He knew she understood why he'd been so restless because she confessed to being just as restless. But what ever was happening between their son and daughter-in-law was between them and until, or unless they chose to enlighten their parents, it was none of their business.

Clark was still asleep when he got downstairs and sighed when he saw how fitfully his son was sleeping. It reminded him of when Clark was a little boy and would sometimes toss and turn while he slumbered. Jonathan would quiet him with a gentle hand on his hair and tell him everything was all right.

So he stopped at the back of the sofa, leaned over and put his hand on his son's hair, voicing a soft promise. "Settle down, son. Everything will be fine."

He wasn't sure it would work because his son was a grown man. But the frown on his face eventually eased and after letting out a sigh, buried his face in the pillow and calmed down.

As Jonathan watched him, it brought something to mind his father had said after Clark was born and now knew how true it was. 'No matter how old your kids get, Johnny; they're still your kids.'

And the father in him wanted to protect his kids, as well.

Before he headed out to the kitchen to start the morning coffee, something he'd done since he and Martha had been married, he walked to the fireplace and put the fire screen aside. The days were getting warmer, but the mornings were still cold and there was something about a fire that made a house more cheerful and welcoming; she'd mentioned that to him early on in their marriage and he never forgot it.

She'd actually said it after giving him a kiss that he'd felt straight down to his toes. After that, he swore he'd give her the moon and the stars just to get her to kiss him like that again.

When the fire was burning steadily, he put the fire screen back in place and turned for the kitchen. It surprised him to see Martha already there, stoking the fire in the stove. He walked out to greet her and kiss her cheek. "You're up earlier than usual."

"Our children are fighting." She grasped his arm. "In all the time we've known Lois, she's never been so quiet and our son has never looked so unhappy."

"I know." He nodded his agreement. "It's not like them to not talk and that has me worried."

"It has me worried, too." She sighed softly and kissed his cheek before she turned to put the percolator on the back burner of the stove. "But you know as well as I do that we can't treat them like kids, as much as we'd like to."

"I'd like to put the both of them over my knee." He couldn't help but grin as he sat down and opened the morning edition of The Smallville Ledger. "And if Lois weren't carrying our grandchild, I'd seriously consider it."

"Jonathan." His wife tried to be serious, but couldn't quite do it and laughed softly as she sat down next to him. "You never put Clark over your knee when he was a boy and you certainly would not consider anything of the kind with Lois, grandchild or not."

"You're right." He agreed.

"They've been through a lot in the last few months and now they're expecting a baby." Martha shrugged and looked into his eyes. "Clark is gone so much and with that girl making trouble for Lois again-"

"What trouble?" Jonathan felt Martha start at the sound of their son's voice coming from the parlor. "Are you talking about Lana Luthor?"

They looked at each other and he wondered if he should say anything.

"Dad?" Clark walked into the kitchen looking tired and agitated, running a hand through his sleep rumpled hair.

"Son, this is something Lois needs to talk to you about."

"Probably. But she's not speaking to me at the moment." He sighed and sat down heavily across from them. "Not that I blame her. But if she weren't so stubborn-"

Martha smiled at him. "Kind of like her husband, don't you think?"

"I'm not-" He stopped and then looked down at the table; Martha must have given him her 'Don't fib' look. "She drives me crazy."

"And that's one of the reasons you love her so much." His mother reached over and grasped his hand. "Clark, you have to remember that Lois is going through a lot of changes right now and you have to be patient with her."

"It's not that." He shook his head. "I just worry about her."

"And something tells me that in your worry you said something you shouldn't have?" Martha asked him and Jonathan could hear a scolding tone.

"Mom, it's not just her anymore." Clark put his hands flat down on the table and looked up at them, almost defensively. "She's one of the strongest and bravest women I know and my life is so much better having her in it."

"But?" It was his turn to ask, knowing that his son wasn't finished.

"But in six months, we're both going to have someone else in our lives." He answered, looking down at the table again. "I just don't want her to forget that." When he looked up again, Martha was smiling at him. His face flushed and in Lois fashion, he rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Clark, as someone who's been through what Lois is going through, I can assure you that all she's thinking about is that baby." Her gentle tone still held a scold. "And you need to trust her that she can take care of the both of them."

"I do." He looked at them and Jonathan could see that he meant it. "I just don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her."

"And you don't think I wonder what I'd do if anything happened to you?" They all looked up to see Lois on the landing of the stairs. She looked tired and pale and it crossed Jonathan's mind that she might have already been sick that morning. "And now with this little one coming, I worry even more because I don't particularly want to raise him without you."

"Lois." Clark stood up and walked to the stairs, meeting her at the bottom. "You should still be in bed."

"I'll think about it, but we need to talk first." She then looked at Jonathan and Martha. "All of us. I never got to finish what I started to say."

"That's my fault."

"No kidding." She frowned at him and Jonathan dipped his head to hide a smile. She didn't mince words, that was for sure. "And if you hadn't been so annoyingly overprotective, I could have told you everything."

"Well, since we're all here I have some news, too." Clark reached out for Lois' hand and she seemed to think about it for a moment before she took it. Things were still tense between them, but he suspected that the worst of it might be over. "But you need to go first, so you can finish what you started to tell me."

She nodded and then fairly launched herself into his arms. He heard whispers from the pair and he hoped that they were patching things up. His son nodded to whatever Lois had said and she stepped away.

He took her hand again and led her to the table and waited for her to sit, but she shook her head. "You first." And after he did, she sat in his lap and put an arm around his shoulders.

The startled look on his son's face made Jonathan chuckle because he hadn't seen her do that in months, but Lois continued on as though nothing was out of the ordinary even as Clark's face flushed. "Your mom and dad already know about this because they were in the kitchen when Lionel came over, so none of this is going to come as a surprise to them."

"What is it?" He looked at her and then at them.

"She needs to tell you, son." He inclined his head toward Lois.

"I already told you that Lionel wants me to work from the farm, but it's not strictly because Lana is haunting the Falcon." She swallowed and her face paled again before she gripped Clark's hand and took a breath.

'You can do this.' Jonathan caught her eye and tried to telegraph the message to her with a nod and she seemed to understand when she took another breath and let it out.

"It seems that Lana still sees me as an obstacle and may be trying to get me out of the way. She's denied it, of course." She swallowed again. "But Lionel is sure that she's looking for the fellow who took those pot shots at me."

"I know." Clark told her and she looked genuinely surprised. "That's what the trip to Kansas City was about. Lionel called the field office and talked to Mr. Kelly to tell him what he'd heard. So I'm being sent back to the Planet as a reporter and I've also been assigned to protect you."

"Protect me? You're my husband, so doesn't that disqualify you?"

"Ordinarily it would." He explained. "But I told Mr. Kelly that since I already live here and people know me, it would be less conspicuous than having other agents here and he agreed."

"So now instead of my being confined here because of Lex, I'm being confined here because of Lana?" She sighed and put her head down on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, honey." He pressed a kiss to her hair. "We're going to make sure and put her away this time."

"Does this mean I have to have an escort every time I go outside?" She looked up at him and Jonathan could see the worry on her face. "Again?"

"Just be observant." Clark shook his head. "Lana doesn't know where the farm is, but if at any time you feel something isn't right when you're out taking a walk, come back to the house and call me. He didn't say as much, but I have the feeling Mr. Kelly will be sending another agent out here for backup, so there'll probably be someone close by until I can get home."

"Great."

"With any luck, this'll all be over soon and you can go back into town to work." He tried to reassure her. "Or maybe-"

"Don't even say it." Lois shook her head. "We agreed it would be my decision."

"We did." He nodded reluctantly and Jonathan could see how much his son wanted to insist she give up her job, but wouldn't because he knew she wanted to work. "So how will this work? Doing your job from home, I mean."

"Lionel said he'd send out whatever I need to set up an office here." She told him. "He's hired a courier service to come pick up my paper work every couple of days and leave whatever I need in the mailbox up by the main road. He said the fewer fingerprints he leaves on things, it'll make it more difficult for Lana to figure out what's going on."

"He's really worried, isn't he?" Clark asked her and the look of worry on his own face was evident. "That's why he's doing all of this."

"He's doing it as a precautionary measure." Lois answered with a shrug. "I don't think Lionel believes she'd actually do anything, but he's not going to take any chances either."

"I don't like this." He shook his head. "It was different the last time because I didn't know you at the start. But now-" He shook his head again. "You're my wife and she's a real threat. And we've got so much more at stake then we did before." He pressed a hand to Lois' abdomen.

"Then do what you do best, son." Jonathan observed the protective gesture before he reached over and put his hand on Clark's arm, which at the moment was trembling badly. His baby boy was scared and there wasn't anything he could do. "Put those skills you learned at the Academy to work and put that girl away where she belongs."

"And if there is anything your father and I can do to help, just ask." Martha chimed in. "We're in this as a family and we'll face it as a family, too."

"Speaking of family, we're going to have to tell Dad about this." Lois sighed and leaned against Clark. "And knowing him, he'll insist I go to Fort Ryan."

"You're not going anywhere." He informed her and Jonathan felt Martha's hand on his arm. He looked down at her and she was trying not to laugh.

Lois' eyebrows went up at the firm command as though to say, 'Oh, really.' But instead she giggled. "You couldn't seem to get me there fast enough the last time."

"Well if I hadn't, I probably would have ravished you." His face flushed and he was barely containing a grin. And as Jonathan figured she would, Martha admonished him.

"Clark." She shook her head, but was having an equally hard time trying not to smile.

"Martha." He tried admonishing her, but all the four of them did was end up laughing together.

After their amusement subsided, the tension was finally gone. Clark and Lois had gotten through their first fight, hopefully none the worst for wear, but he knew they'd take a lesson from it. They were much like him and Martha in that way and Jonathan knew their marriage would only benefit.

Clark and Lois were whispering again and Clark nodded. Lois' face flushed and Jonathan was fairly certain that they were both headed upstairs for awhile. When she stood up and held out her hand, he knew he was right.

Neither said a word.

They just smiled at him and Martha as Clark got up. When they got to the foot of the stairs he scooped up Lois into his arms, pressed a kiss to her lips and proceeded to carry her up as she curled her arms around his neck.

Lois after all, needed her rest.

oooooo

"I think it's going to be awhile before they come back down." Martha watched Lois put her head down on Clark's shoulder as he carried her upstairs. "Those two had me worried."

"We could have built a snowman in here last night, as frosty as things were." Jonathan put his hand down on hers, and then he chuckled. "But they seem to have recovered."

"I'm certainly glad about that." She laughed with him. "Our son needs to remember that Lois was taking care of herself long before she met him and she's not used to being coddled."

"Give her time, sweetheart." He grasped her hand. "She'll get used to it."

"I hope she always has a bit of that independent spirit." She squeezed his hand in return. "It's one of the reasons Clark fell in love with her."

"And now he's being sent back to The Daily Planet." Jonathan laughed again. "Which means he's going to be wearing those glasses again."

"Did you notice that he never told us why?" Martha stood up and walked to the stove, picking up Jonathan's mug. She reached for the percolator and poured him a cup, carrying it back to the table. "Which means he's not telling us something."

She then went back, got a mug for herself and poured another cup.

"And that's probably because he can't." Jonathan commented as Martha sat back down next to him.

"Or he won't because he doesn't want us to worry." She replied and took a careful first sip.

"Martha, it's also possible he never got around to it because he had more important things he wanted to take care of."

Lois.

"That's true." She agreed. "So are you ready for breakfast?"

"I need to take care of the milking first." He took a sip of his coffee and then stood up, shaking his head. "Bessie's been making a racket, so I'd better get her taken care of."

"I'll have breakfast ready when you get back." She took another sip from her own cup and stood up next to him. "I just want to clear up the sofa."

"Martha, you know the rule. Clark needs to take care of that."

"I know." She nodded. "And if the circumstances were different, I'd expect him to. But just this one time, I'd like to take care of it for him."

"All right." He nodded and took another sip of coffee before he headed for the service porch door. "I won't be long."

"Don't try to rush her, Jonathan." She smiled at him. "She always seems to sense when you do and she doesn't give you anything."

"Then I'll just have to sweet talk it out of her, won't I?" He smiled back as he set his cup down, got his jacket from the peg and shrugged into it before he picked up his cup again. "After all, it always seems to work with you."

"You're comparing me with our cow?" Martha felt her cheeks warm as she tried to remain stoic, but having a difficult time.

"I'm not doing anything of the kind." He opened the door and just before he closed it smiled again. "And you know that."

"I certainly do." Martha smiled back listening to the sound of Jonathan's boots as he walked across the service porch and down the stairs. She turned for the parlor and walked to the sofa, picked up the rumpled blankets and folded them up. She stacked the pillow on top and carried the soft bundle up the stairs to put them away in the linen closet.

She was startled when she saw the door slowly open to Clark and Lois's room and Lois stepped out, closing it softly behind her. She was equally startled when she saw Martha in the hall, but she recovered with a smile. "He's out like a light."

"I'm not surprised. I don't imagine he slept any better than you did." She remarked and Lois nodded.

"It's bad enough having to sleep without him when he's gone." She sighed. "But I was mad at him."

"Why don't you stay with him, then?" Martha suggested. "He's sure to wake up without you there."

"It took some doing to get him to sleep." She shook her head and then blushed. "If I'd stayed, he would have wanted to do something else and my hard working G-man needs his rest."

"So does his wife, who's expecting."

"I can take a nap later." Lois shook her head again. "After we go for a walk, I'm sure."

"Then do you think you're ready to eat?" She offered. "Or maybe some hot cocoa?"

"Cocoa sounds good, because I'm not really hungry."

"You were sick again, weren't you?" It would explain why she was so pale earlier.

"Yeah." Her face flushed again. "Please don't tell Clark. It's not as bad as it was a month ago and Dr. Francis thinks that the way things are going, I should be through with it in another couple of weeks."

"Honey, why don't you want him to know?"

"Because the only thing he can do is worry and he's already worried enough with the trouble Lana Luthor is trying to stir up."

That piece of information made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. "What kind of trouble?"

"Clark never got around to that, did he?" Lois walked with her to the stairs leading down to the kitchen. "The reason he's going back to the Planet is to use that as his cover so he can start an investigation into who took those shots at me and find him before Lana does."

"Lois." She stopped as they got to the top of the stairs. "You said that she denied it. So why would Clark need to find out where this fellow is?"

"Martha, if there's one thing I've learned since I've known Clark is that nothing can be taken for granted. She could be bluffing, or she could be using this as a way to get to see him."

"For what reason?" She asked and the moment the words came out, she thought knew the answer. "You're married."

"The reason is; Lana won't let go of this idealized memory of something they didn't have." Lois took her arm and they walked down the stairs. "And being married to Lex, who can blame her?"

Martha should have admonished her for such an unkind statement, but she didn't.

"And since she blames me for losing what she thought she had with him-" The younger girl continued as they walked into the kitchen. "I wouldn't put it past her."

"Lois, maybe you should consider-"

She shook her head in the negative and Martha knew not to persist. It would only get Lois to dig her heels in even more. "If I quit, she's going to think she scares me and she doesn't because Lana Luthor is nothing more than a spoiled child who is throwing a tantrum."

"Fair enough." She nodded reluctantly before walking to the stove. She set the cast iron skillet on the front burner to heat, so she could fry up eggs for Jonathan's breakfast. She then got a sauce pan and put in on the other front burner to make some cocoa for Lois. "If you're feeling up to it later, we can start to alter some of your clothes if you like."

She watched as Lois put a hand on her abdomen. "I'd like that because I think this little one would like a little more room."

"So other than the morning sickness, how are you feeling?" She reached into the cabinet next to the stove for the can of cocoa.

"Pudgy." Martha heard her chuckle. "I haven't felt like this since I was a kid."

"Well, it's for a very good reason." She turned around to smile at her daughter-in-law. "And believe me when I say that it will be worth it."

"I know." Lois nodded. And before Martha had the chance to turn back to the stove, she saw Clark come down the stairs with a sleepy frown on his face and walk straight to Lois. He took her hand, pulled her gently up from her chair and led her back to the stairs. She turned back and her face was flushed. "I guess I'm going back to bed."

"Get some rest, the both of you." She smiled the sight of Clark and Lois disappearing up the stairs and it brought back happy memories of her own newlywed days. She put the can of cocoa back in the cabinet and took the sauce pan off the burner.

The cocoa could wait, but Jonathan's breakfast couldn't.

After checking to see if the heat under the skillet was just right, she laid out enough bacon for the both of them. The sizzle and smell of frying pork hit her nose and she took a whiff. Nothing smelled better in the morning than frying bacon.

By the time she had it cooked and out of the pan, Jonathan had come in. He set his empty cup down on the counter before shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it on the peg, next to the door.

"The kids haven't come back down yet?" He glanced up the stairs and chuckled.

"Lois did for a few minutes, but then Clark came down and got her." She commented as he walked to the stove and poured some coffee into his mug and took a careful sip. "I don't expect to see them for awhile."

"That's all right." He chuckled again. "It just means more bacon for me."

"The way she feels right now, she'd probably let you have it." She kissed his cheek and he kissed her back before he sat down and opened the paper. While he did that she turned back to the stove to start frying the eggs. "It's hard to say what she's going to be able to eat for awhile."

"Or what odd things she might crave." He chuckled again. "I seem to remember that you had a craving for pickles and strawberries."

"It's a good thing your mother had the strawberry patch." Martha remembered with a smile. "And then after we learned how to make pickles, I was never without while I was carrying Clark."

"Cravings or not, I wouldn't object if you decided to make a batch." Jonathan grinned at her. "You would get so upset with me when I would eat just one."

"And that was only while I was expecting." She admonished him with a look. "Honestly, Jonathan."

But all he did was laugh and Martha felt her face flush; he was the only man who could still make her blush like a school girl. "I'm not sure if that'll be possible. With so many things being rationed now-"

"Sweetheart, farms are considered a vital part of the war effort so we do get larger rations-" He started with a grin.

"But we both agreed that we wouldn't take advantage of that, didn't we?" She shook her head. "And now with the baby coming, we'll need to save as many of our ration stamps as possible so we'll be able to help the kids."

His grin softened into one of concern. "We need to careful about that, Martha; you know how Lois feels about wanting to take care of Clark on her own. It's why she insists on keeping their ration books separate from ours."

"It's our grandchild."

"It's their child." He smiled gently at her. "I know how much you want to help them because I do too, but put yourself in Lois's shoes. And then tell me how you'd feel if your mother-in-law wanted to help you take care of your husband, no matter how well intentioned it was."

Like a woman who didn't think her son's wife could take care of him as well as she could.

Martha closed her eyes and sighed. "After we got married, your mother made it very clear to me that it was my responsibility to make sure you got three square meals a day. She told me, 'Once a son becomes a husband, it's no longer his mother's duty to take care of him; that duty passes to his wife'." She sighed again. "And I forgot that."

"But we weren't expecting a baby within weeks of getting married." He reached for her hand and held it. "And I wasn't gone for weeks at a time, either. Our relationship with Lois is different than my parent's relationship with you because it's so often just the three of us. And I think because of that we're more protective of her than we would be otherwise."

"I can't imagine anyone else being married to our son." She squeezed his fingers and Jonathan smiled at her.

"My son and I are both very lucky men to have such head strong city girls in our lives."

"I haven't been a city girl since you carried me over that threshold-" She pointed toward the front door. "And Lois stopped being a city girl when Clark brought her here for safekeeping."

"It still doesn't change the fact that we're very lucky men." He laughed softly before he stood up and crowded her against the kitchen sink, sparing a glance at the kitchen stairs. "And since we have the kitchen to ourselves for the moment, I'd like to show you how lucky I feel."

"Jonathan?" Martha felt her knees start to shake as he got his arms around her waist and she rest her hands on his shoulders. It surprised her to feel the tremors in his arms because she realized that in spite of his bravado, he was suddenly as nervous as a new husband.

"It was such a blessing to have the kids come out here when they did because they reminded me how it felt when I was courting you." He leaned in. "And since they've been married, they've reminded me of how it felt to be newly married to you, too."

She tipped her face up toward his. "You still know how to turn a phrase, Jonathan Kent."

"Only for you, Martha Clark." He smiled and kissed her nose.

"That's Martha Kent, buster." She pressed her lips to his and smiled at the unintended use of a name she often heard her daughter-in-law use with her son.

"Just as it should be." His smile widened as he pulled her impossibly close before kissing her in a way he hadn't since the young years of their marriage and very nearly made her swoon.

The truth of it was; she and Lois were the lucky ones.