Jonathan came back to the house after dropping Clark off at the train station with the morning mail in his hand, including a large manila envelope addressed to Lois. It had postage and was hand cancelled from the main post office in Granville, but there was no return address.

He frowned as he handed it to her, unsure what it might be and didn't hesitate to say so. Lois reminded him that Lionel had said he would be sending her paperwork, but he shook his head stubbornly; just like Clark. "He said he'd have it delivered by courier and this came through the post office."

Martha was just as wary and urged her to call Lionel, just to be safe. So after she finished breakfast and got dressed, she put in a call to Lionel's office at the Falcon and spoke to him directly. He apologized for the change in delivery and explained why.

"The more I thought about sending it to you through a courier, the more nervous I became." Lionel elaborated. "And since the idea was to keep this as quiet as possible, I realized that a courier might draw too much attention. So I had my man take the envelope into Granville to have the postmaster hand cancel it himself and put it in the mail."

"Lionel, this is silly." Lois pressed a palm to her forehead and rubbed it. She understood what he was trying to do, but it was just too much. "She's turned our lives upside down long enough. So give me an hour and I'll be in to work."

"My dear, I would hesitate to say yes even if you weren't expecting." She heard him sigh on the other end of the line. "But as you are and with Lana's dislike of you no secret, we don't know what else she may do when she hears of your happy news. So I'm going to insist that you continue on from the farm."

"Lionel."

"Please don't argue." She could hear how worried he sounded. "Lois, I admire your fighting spirit and having met your father, I can see where you get it. But you know better than I that it is incumbent upon you to protect the life you're carrying because no one else can."

"I don't like this."

"I don't care for this subterfuge either. But as soon as my daughter-in-law is under lock and key, I promise that you can come back to the Falcon."

If Clark let her, after all of this was over.

Lois immediately chastised herself for the thought because she knew he wasn't the type of man to forbid her to do anything; it wasn't how their relationship worked, or their marriage for that matter.

From the night they met, he'd respected her independence and a need to stand on her own. And even though she didn't have to any longer, she certainly wasn't going to become one of those wives who depended on her husband for every little thing.

If she did, she wouldn't be the woman he loved or the woman he'd married.

"Lois?"

"I'm still here." She frowned and rubbed her forehead again. "The Lane in me wants to march over to the Luthor mansion right now and let her have it, for what she's doing to us. But I'm not a Lane anymore and I have a husband and a baby to think about. So the Kent in me says that I need to protect my family, just as Clark is."

"Well said, Lois; Clark is a very lucky man to have you." She could almost see him smile. "As for Lana, I don't think we're going to have to wait much longer for her to make her move. She's been like a cat on a hot tin roof lately and that isn't her way; she's usually an ice queen."

"And I should feel comforted by that?"

"Her behavior is always such when she's up to something." He explained. "I could always tell when she'd cast her net for some unsuspecting fellow because she was afraid of Lex discovering that she was cuckolding him. As much as she may have hated him, she was more afraid of him; of what she thought he might do to her."

"She always looked to me like the cat that got the cream."

"It's pure acting talent. Lana always tried to appear as though she didn't care what Lex thought of what she was doing. But once she was out of the public eye, she'd lock herself in her room."

"Did he ever strike her?" Lois couldn't comprehend a husband treating his wife in such a way, even if her name was Lana Luthor.

"I don't believe so. I think his power over her was always the possibility, not the inevitability."

"I almost feel sorry for her." Lois said quietly because she nearly did.

"I wouldn't waste your sympathy. Lana was no naive miss when she cast her net for Lex and I was heartsick when I found out she'd deliberately miscarried my grandchild. But at the same time I was relieved because I knew that poor child wouldn't have to grow up with parents such as my son and daughter-in-law."

"Lionel!" His harsh words surprised her because he'd never spoken so bluntly about his family.

"Did I shock you with such candor, my dear? I do apologize." She knew the apology was for shocking her, not for his admission. "Lillian tried to warn me our son would turn out as he did if I didn't start treating him more as my child and less as an acquisition. By the time I realized how true her words were, she was dying and Lex was beyond redemption."

"But you weren't." Lois wasn't going to let him take all the blame. "Lionel, Lex is a grown man and if you could see the error of yourways, maybe Lex can see the error of his."

"I appreciate your loyalty, Lois; but Lex truly may be out of reach. I dismissed him during much of his childhood, so to make up for it Lillian showered him with attention. Her purpose was sincere, to make up for the lack of his father, but I fear all she did was spoil him. And that, too, is my fault."

"Do you love Lex?" She asked because an idea came to her how the cue ball might be able to undo this whole mess.

She didn't hear anything for several moments before he finally answered. "I wasn't expecting such a question. But since you asked, yes; I do love my son. And if there were any way I could show him how it feels to do the right and proper thing, I would."

"Do you think he'd be willing to help us?"

"What makes you ask?"

"When we saw him at the Regent that night, Lex must have known about the affair because he seemed intent on rubbing Lana's nose in the fact that I was with Clark and not her."

"And because he was taking such pleasure in seeing her so unhappy, he'd take even more pleasure in seeing her in prison."

"You said yourself that she trapped him into marriage by getting herself in the family way. And then once she did, she remedied her condition. If I were in his shoes, I'd want to do what I could to make her pay for that."

"Alexander has never been one who likes to lose." Lois could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he mused out loud. "Even though he wasn't particularly keen on being a father or a husband for that matter that child was his. But the baby they may have had, had Lana been unsuccessful in her endeavor, would have merely been a pawn between them. And my grandchild would have grown up with two parents who didn't love him, unlike that little one you're carrying."

"Lionel." She didn't know what else to say. He sounded so sad, because in spite of Lana's machinations it sounded as though he'd been looking forward to becoming a grandfather; a clean slate with a new generation.

"Don't mind me." She heard a tight chuckle. "I seem to be mellowing in my later years and have become somewhat introspective."

"I know it's not the same thing-" Lois rest a gentle hand on her abdomen. "But Clark and I would like you to be part of our baby's life. He needs to know that not all Luthor's are bad."

He was quiet and she waited.

"Thank you." Lionel uncharacteristically cleared his throat. "If Lex will see me, I'll speak to him about offering some assistance to the both of you. I don't believe he ever had anything personal against Clark, in fact I think he was rather impressed that your husband was able to wrest himself away from Lana's charms."

"I gather that she was always the one to end her liaisons?"

"I had the misfortune of being witness to one such termination." He sighed. "She was quite blunt with the unfortunate fellow and informed him that she'd tired of him. If memory serves, it was just after she'd reeled in your unsuspecting FBI agent. She presented an engraved cigarette case to the poor boy with a one hundred dollar bill folded inside."

That pricey gift was in such stark contrast to what Clark had received when he'd broken things off with Lana; he'd gotten an ashtray thrown at his head. "Should I even ask what was engraved on the case?"

"I think you already know." He quipped and she smiled at her boss's amusement.

"Her initials."

"She wanted him to always remember her."

"And to think all Clark got from me last Christmas was a watch." She laughingly joked.

"It was a watch that you took a great deal of care in choosing." He chided her gently, not letting her demean her own gift; even in jest. "And that you had engraved with each of your initials and wedding date. It may not have seemed much of a gift to you, but I imagine it meant the world to him."

As Lois looked at her wrist, with the small charms on the bracelet Clark had given her, she knew just how he felt. "It did and I'm glad I did it."

"Very good. So is there anything else?"

"No." Lois shook her head and glanced at the two people responsible for giving her, her husband. "And now I can tell my in-law's that everything is all right because you did send the envelope."

That got their attention.

"You're very lucky to have them, Lois."

"Don't I know it." She smiled at them. "I'll have that paperwork sent back to you in the Wednesday morning mail."

"That's fine." He replied before his voice suddenly sounded muffled. Someone must have come into his office and he'd covered the telephone receiver. "Lois, I must run. Marco just came in from the kitchen and he's mumbling something in Italian. You don't happen to know Italian do you?"

"Not enough to help."

"Well, no matter; we always somehow manage to understand each other. If I'm able to speak to my son, I'll telephone you."

"Clark and I would appreciate that, thank you."

They exchanged good-byes and Lois hung up the receiver only to face Clark's parents.

"Is everything all right?" Jonathan put the newspaper down, a worried frown on his face.

"Everything is fine. Lionel sent the envelope because he thought a courier would bring too much attention. And he's also going to talk to Lex and see if he'd be willing to help us take care of the situation with Lana before it gets out of hand."

Martha's expression was troubled and she took a deep breath. "Honey, what did you mean when you said that she remedied her condition?"

Lois was fairly certain her mother-in-law already knew the answer, but needed to hear it for herself. "Lex and Lana had to get married because she was expecting. And at some point after the wedding, she did something to change that."

Her eyes teared up and Jonathan reached for her hand. "What did she do?"

Lois' fingers spread protectively over her abdomen, as though somehow trying to protect her own child and shook her head. "He didn't say and frankly, I'm glad he didn't because no matter how you feel about someone, you shouldn't take it out on a helpless child."

"Your baby is very lucky to have two parents who love him so much." Martha dashed a hand across her eyes.

"Or her." She giggled and they looked at her quizzically. "He won't come out and say it, but I think Clark really wants a girl."

Jonathan laughed softly and shook his head. "I can definitely see my son as a 'shotgun on the porch, waiting for his daughter' kind of a father; if you do have a girl."

"Don't laugh, Grandpa. You'd be right there, standing behind him."

His face flushed and he smiled at his wife. "That's the first time you've called me 'Grandpa', Grandma."

"So it's fitting that you're the first one to call me 'Grandma', isn't it?" She smiled back and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "And I sure like how it sounds, don't you?"

"It'll be even nicer when I hear it from our grandchild, boy or girl." He chuckled and looked at Lois.

"That was very diplomatic, Jonathan." She patted his arm and stood up. "Lois, I was planning on going over to the Carmichael's if you'd like to come with me. Lydia called me while you were upstairs and asked if I could bring her a half dozen eggs and some cream."

"A half dozen? Martha." Jonathan remarked as he stood up, coffee cup in hand. "The Carmichael's have their own chickens and a cow, for that matter."

"I know that, Jonathan." She calmly answered his slightly reproving tone. "But you forget that she came to my rescue when I needed extra eggs and cream so I could finish making the wedding cake for your son and daughter-in-law."

He chuckled again and put his hands up. "I give."

"I thought you would." She smiled and kissed his cheek again before she faced Lois. "If you're interested it would get you out of the house for awhile and we'll take the road through the back forty."

"I'd like that." Lois replied without a second thought.

"You might also think about bringing along some of your apple turnovers." Martha added with what Lois could only describe as a mischievous smile. "Lydia is convinced that a city girl can't manage her way around a kitchen."

"And you think I'm the city girl to prove her wrong?"

"Lydia and I were young brides together, and she's forgotten that I was a city girl before Jonathan and I were married." Her face flushed and she laughed softly.

"Martha." Jonathan chuckled as he shook his head. "I believe there is something in the Bible about-"

"I just want to remind her that you don't have to grow up on a farm to know how to cook, or bake." She crinkled her nose at him. "And my star pupil, who also happens to be my daughter-in-law, is the perfect example."

'Ladies and Gentlemen, step right up and see the culinary oddity, who couldn't find her way around a kitchen before she was taken in by a kindly farm family and taught how to cook.'

Lois gave herself a mental shake as she brushed away the unkind thought. Martha was proud of her and had every right to be because she'd taken a girl with two left thumbs under her wing and taught her not only how to cook, but plan a meal.

It was something a mother would have done for her daughter.

"Lois, are you all right?" She felt Martha's gentle hand on her arm and looked into a concerned pair of blue eyes that were so much like her husband's.

"Would it hurt your feelings if I said I felt like the bearded lady that you'd see at the circus?" She hunched her shoulders defensively and Jonathan laughed out loud. Martha tried to give him a quelling look, but was laughing herself. "I did make you sound something like a sideshow curiosity, didn't I?"

"Just a little." Lois was cringing inside. She'd never been even remotely critical of Clark's mother before because she loved and respected her.

"I'm sorry, honey; that's the last thing I wanted to do." The older woman was immediately contrite and took Lois' hand. "You've become a fine cook and wonderful baker all on your own."

And when Lois shook her head in protest, Martha shook hers to disagree. "Lois, whether you want to admit it or not, you always had the ability. The only thing that I did was give you some guidance."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"You most certainly could have, if you'd really wanted to. But it seems to me that you never had the desire before you came to stay with us."

Lois smiled and laughed self-consciously. "So this is all your fault."

"I take full responsibility." Martha nodded and then hugged her. "When you came out here, I saw a young woman who had some interest in the workings of a kitchen but didn't know how to go about learning. And I knew that before you got married, you were going to have to learn. Little did I know that it would be my son you'd end up marrying or having a baby with."

Her eyes started to glisten with unshed tears and Lois tried not to smile. "We were always a happy family, Lois. But when Clark brought you into our lives, you made us a complete family."

"That's because you finally got the daughter you always wanted." Jonathan grasped her shoulders from behind and pressed a kiss to her hair. "I've got chores to do, so I'll see you ladies later."

He flashed a grin at Lois as though to say, 'That's your mother-in-law, sentimental as always.'

'And we love her for it, don't we?' Her answering smile told him.

"All right, you." Martha patted one of the hands on her shoulder with a smile of her own. "Go do your chores while Lois and I go over to the Carmichael's."

"Yes, ma'am." He kissed her again before he picked up his coffee cup and headed to the front door. "I'll see you both when you get back."

After he'd closed the door behind him, Martha shook her head. "If you'd rather not, I understand."

"Well I'm not sure I do." Lois frowned in confusion. "You asked me if I wanted to go with you and I still do."

"All right. But you don't need to bring the turnovers." She replied. "Jonathan didn't say it, but I was being prideful. I wanted you to take something you baked to Lydia's because I wanted to show her that it is possible for city girls to cook."

"Mrs. Carmichael grew up out here, didn't she?"

Who knew that Martha Kent had a competitive streak?

"She grew up on a farm outside Granville." Martha shook her head again. "I met her when Jonathan took me to the Grange dance when we were courting. She was the only girl there who would talk to me and she-" Martha smiled. "Now how did she put it? She took me under her wing and taught me the ways of farm life."

"Sounds like someone I know." Lois teased.

"I didn't have the heart to tell her that Jonathan's mother had already begun to show me what I would need to know." She laughed softly and walked over to the ice box to collect the eggs and cream she'd set aside. "His parent's seemed to know before either one of us did, that I'd become part of their family."

"They sound like wonderful people."

"They were." She put the items in a paper sack. "My parent's weren't quite as accepting of Jonathan because they wanted more for me than being the wife of a farmer. But if I'd chosen the life they wanted me to have in Metropolis, I wouldn't have had the wonderful life I've had here with him and I wouldn't have had my baby boy."

"And I wouldn't be here." Lois stated as she walked to the counter to put some of her apple turnovers on a plate and then covered them with wax paper. She picked up the plate and walked through the parlor, headed to the front door. "Now let's go show Lydia Carmichael that it is possible for a city girl to make her way around a kitchen."

As she grabbed a light sweater off of the coat rack with her free hand, she heard her mother-in-law's soft response. "That's my girl."

oooooo

When they got to the Carmichael place, the first thing Mrs. Carmichael noticed was Lois.

She was nice as could be about it, but made no bones about the fact that she could tell Lois was expecting. "You have that glow about you, dear. And it looks as though you're trying to camouflage your figure."

"Lydia, don't embarrass her." Martha admonished her gently.

"What's there to be embarrassed about?" She smiled and slipped the plate of turnovers out of Lois' suddenly trembling hands as she ushered the women inside. "The cycle of life is nothing to be embarrassed about."

Oddly enough, she sounded like the General.

"How did you know?" Lois asked curiously because she knew Clark's mother wouldn't have divulged anything so personal without first asking if it was all right. "I haven't known that long myself."

"It's just a matter of observation." She shrugged and led the way into the Carmichael's kitchen. It was bigger than the Kent's, but it certainly didn't lack for charm. "And a little woman's intuition."

"Lydia." Lois heard the caution in Martha's voice as her friend took the bag she proffered and set it in the icebox before she moved to the stove.

"Thank you for that, Martha and don't worry." She shook her head and picked up the percolator to pour coffee into three cups. "No one will hear it from me. Nature will reveal it in time."

"Clark and I appreciate that." Lois sat down next to Martha as a cup of coffee was put down in front of her. The smell of the fresh brew wafted up and when it hit her nose, Lois' hands started to shake and she felt her stomach turn over. As calmly as she could, because she didn't want to offend Martha's friend, she slid the cup away from her.

"Lydia, would you mind making some chamomile tea for Lois instead?" A reassuring hand covered hers. "Coffee makes her green around the gills these days."

"I'm sorry, honey." Mrs. Carmichael apologized as she turned and whisked the cup off of the table. "I should have thought to ask. I had the same problem when I was carrying Becky."

Becky? Lois had wondered why the name Carmichael sounded so familiar to her and now she remembered why. Becky was the girl who'd coaxed Clark up into the Kent's hayloft the night of their Senior Prom and then got caught by Jonathan.

'When you get to know my dad a little better, you'll find out that nothing seems to happen on this farm without his knowing about it.' Then to Lois' utter astonishment, the Fed actually blushed and seemed to feel the need to explain. 'The night of Senior Prom, I brought my date back here to show her the hayloft.'

'Those farmerettes fall for anything, don't they?' Lois raised an eyebrow of her own at him. 'Really, G-man; the hayloft?'

His face reddened even more, if that were even possible and he cleared his throat. 'Actually, it was her idea.'

'Let me guess, she wanted a roll in the hay with a farmer?' And then she started to laugh. And she laughed.

'It's not funny.' He shoved his hands into the pockets of his overcoat and hunched his shoulders together, making him look less like a Fed and more like a disobedient son. 'Dad caught us up there, even though nothing happened.'

'Nothing happened because your dad caught you before anything could.' She couldn't help but interject with another snort of laughter.

Smallville just seemed that much smaller.

"Here you go." A cup of tea was set down in front of her and Mrs. Carmichael was smiling as she also put down the plate of turnovers. "I imagine chamomile tea is about all you can stomach these days."

"Sometimes I even have trouble with that." She admitted.

"It is hard to know what you can or can't eat in the beginning until your body tells you." The older woman sighed and speared a turnover with her fork, putting it on her dessert plate. "And every time I was expecting, it always seemed to be something different."

Lois sighed inwardly; it could be worse next time?

"Goodness, Martha; these turnovers are wonderful." Martha's friend took a bite and nodded. "Why haven't you ever shared these before?"

"Because I didn't make them, Lois did." Her mother-in-law revealed and though her outward demeanor was calm, Lois would bet that Martha was jumping up and down for joy inside and thinking, 'A city girl can cook.' "The recipe was her mother's and it was one of the first things Lois ever made for us."

'Please don't lay it on too thick.' Lois pleaded to Martha with a worried look and with another pat on her hand, she nodded her understanding.

"Well if you don't mind my suggesting it, I think you should enter these in the Lowell County Fair this summer." The unexpected suggestion had Lois blinking like an owl in disbelief and her mother-in-law smiling at her. "If you were farther along I wouldn't have even suggested it, because after six months you start to feel ungainly. But I do think these could win a prize, if you were interested."

Really?

"What do you think, Martha?"

Her look said it all, 'Yes!' But instead, she demurred. "I think that's really up to Lois. After all, she'll be the one making them."

"I'm not trying to put you on the spot, honey; honestly." Mrs. Carmichael shook her head. "It's just that the county fair is usually the time that the new brides in our community have a chance to meet each other and let others have the opportunity to sample what they're feeding their husbands."

Lois couldn't stop it before the question popped out. "And?"

She laughed, not taking offense as Lois belated worried she might, as she took another bite. "And it would give Smallville a chance this year to take home a prize." She sighed with a troubled frown on her face. "I don't mean to sound unkind, but Smallville has not been well represented with our young married girls in the last few years. And you, my dear, can change that."

"I'm really not that good of a cook yet." It was Lois' turn to demure as she took a sip of her tea. "Even with Martha helping me."

"My Ed would certainly disagree with you." Mrs. Carmichael wouldn't be deterred. "He got a sample of your beef stew one afternoon when he was helping Jonathan over at your place. And he was embarrassed to tell me that your cornbread nearly rivaled mine." She laughed and then took a sip of coffee before she got up and walked back to the stove. "Now for my wonderful husband to admit that, he had to have been mighty impressed."

"Welcome to Smallville, Lois." Martha said quietly with a proud smile. "You just got Lydia Carmichael's stamp of approval."

"Let's just hope I can live up to it." She replied and took another sip.

"I have no doubt you can."

"That makes one of us." Lois quipped and Martha laughed as Mrs. Carmichael came back to the table with the coffee pot in one hand and Martha's plate in the other. "I wanted to return this now because I'm likely to forget if I don't and I gave it a quick wash, so you won't have to."

"Thank you, Lydia." Martha took a sip of her coffee. "But you didn't need to do that."

"Nonsense." Mrs. Carmichael objected with a brush of her hand. "You've done the same for me and I just wanted to return the favor."

"I appreciate that."

"Well, Ed will appreciate the turnovers as much as I do." She smiled. "Jonathan happened to mention them the afternoon they had your stew. Those two men of yours are very lucky to have you and Martha feeding them."

"They'll never starve, that's for certain." Clark's mother joked. "If they didn't both work as hard as they did, we might have had a couple of chubby husbands on our hands."

"And seeing as how we already have a chubby wife-" Lois couldn't help but smile at her own humor and put a hand on her abdomen.

"Oh, pooh." Martha's friend smiled warmly at her. "You're not chubby, dear; you're expecting. And as one who has been through it a few times, I can tell you that there is a difference."

"Don't mind her." Martha tucked a loose lock of hair behind Lois' ear and then rubbed her shoulder. "My daughter-in-law may try to convince people that she's unhappy with how she looks, but all you have to do is look at her face and it tells the whole story."

"Yes, I'm gaining weight." She glanced at the woman sitting next to her, who slipped an arm around her shoulders and hugged Lois to her.

Mrs. Carmichael laughed as Martha feigned a frown. "All that matters is that my son thinks that you're even more beautiful than the day he married you."

"He needs glasses." She shook her head.

"Honey, I've known Clark since he was a baby. And I can tell you that he's never been one to throw away a compliment. And if he's said that, you can be darn sure he means it."

Lois looked at her mother-in-law and her friend, grateful that they had understood her attempt at sarcasm. "Daddy did say he was a keeper."

"And a three-star general can't be wrong." Martha laughed softly and then stood up. "I'm sorry, Lydia but I need to get this girl home because she's got some work to do."

Lois and the other woman stood. "Please think about what I said, Lois. I think your turnovers would do very well, if you chose to enter them."

"I'll think about it." She promised and Mrs. Carmichael led the way out of the kitchen and through to the front hallway.

"That's all I'm asking." She opened the door and Martha and Lois stepped out onto the porch. "It was nice to finally have a chance to talk to you Lois. Wedding days are never a good time to become acquainted with your newest neighbor. And I can honestly say that young Clark has a keeper himself."

That was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, outside of her family and Clark's and Lois was deeply touched. "Thank you."

"Thank you for making that boy so happy." She touched Lois' arm. "By the way; if you're in need of maternity clothes later on, please don't hesitate to ask. I saved everything and there might be something suitable for you to wear."

"You don't-"

"I know." She nodded. "I just figured that you probably didn't want to spend a lot of time altering clothes or spending money that you'll want to be saving. And with rationing the way it is, you might not be able to get anything anyway."

Lois wasn't sure what she'd find to wear from such outdated clothes, but appreciated the gesture just the same. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just let Martha know when you have some time and then you and I can go through them."

"I'll do that."

"Have a good day now." Mrs. Carmichael gave them a small wave and closed the door. They walked in silence to the truck and then Lois sighed.

"What is it, honey?"

She opened the passenger door and felt herself smile. "I was just thinking that the more people I meet and the less I'm in town, or in Metropolis for that matter, I feel less like a city girl." And she got in, closing the door.

"That's the way it should be." Martha handed her the clean dish and got in. She put the key in the ignition and started the engine. "It starts with little things like that and the next thing you know, you've built a life and raised a family."

"It still feels so strange, though." It was hard for her to admit that because she wasn't in the least bit unhappy.

"It probably will until the baby comes." She nodded. "But once you're changing diapers and walking the floor with him or her, you'll suddenly feel as though your whole life has fallen into place."

"Are you speaking from experience?" She laughed and her mother-in-law blushed.

"As a matter of fact, I am. And it's a life I wouldn't trade for anything."

"Me, either."

"And that's as it should be when you love someone."

It certainly was.