While I continue to work on Bundle of Joy, here is a chapter I'd held in reserve for when I was ready to start up again. I've no guarantees when the next chapter will be posted, but it won't be another year and a half, either.

Enjoy! Irish Rose

She could see something weighed on his mind, but Lois didn't know how to help.

With the recent installation of the Roll Call of Honor in front of Town Hall, which listed the young men of Smallville who had died overseas and the Ledger printing their names in the War News section on page two, Clark had become increasingly thoughtful and restless.

She was certain it didn't have anything to do with Lex Luthor. With his inadvertent confession to Clark at the penitentiary, he'd found himself with ten years added to his sentence for conspiracy to murder a federal agent and a swift transfer to Leavenworth.

At last report from Lionel, Lex's days of emulating Al Capone had come to an abrupt end and it was no more than he deserved.

No, Clark's restiveness seemed to begin after he'd run into two high school buddies home on leave. They'd crossed paths at the feed store one Saturday early in June and over coffee and pie at O'Brien's, recounted how they joined the Navy following Pearl Harbor. They'd described, in vivid detail the damage still visible when they arrived at their new post on Oahu in early 1942.

They'd talked about the smell of diesel fuel still hanging heavy in the air and seeing the remains of the Arizona first hand when they were ferried to Ford Island. The mortally wounded Utah still rested nearby where she'd been towed closer to shore after rolling over, to keep the channel clear during the attack.

Rescue efforts had long given way to salvage efforts as ships were pulled out of the harbor and put into dry dock. Clark's friends told him about the eerie silence as the men went about their work, trying to undo as much of the damage the Japs had caused and getting the fleet sea-worthy again as quickly as possible.

They were salvaging and repairing among the men entombed in both shipsand felt they deserved the reverent quiet in light of their sacrifice, the two new ensigns had been told.

Lois would have liked the chance to meet the two men, good friends from her husband's boyhood, but Martha and Lydia had persuaded her to enter her apple turnovers in the baking contest at the Lowell County Fair. So she'd been home that day, up to her elbows in flour.

As a result, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the end of June, she'd found herself corralled with other Smallville wives at the fairgrounds to await the decision on the best baked goods.

To tell the truth, she would rather have been anywhere else instead of on display, especially as rounded as she'd become. It must've shown on her face because her mother-in-law kept encouraging her to smile. Martha, Jonathan, the General and Clark stood in the crowd to wait with Lydia and Ed Carmichael for the verdict, and as the third-place winner was announced, Lois felt the baby move.

It was unmistakable and her eyes immediately found Clark's because it wasn't a flutter or a flap of butterfly wings this time, but honest to God movement that he should be able to feel.

In the last couple of months the activity of her little sprout had become so frequent even she knew baby Kent was moving, but still not strongly enough for Clark to feel and she was sure this time he could. But being surrounded by a large group of people as they were, it wasn't the best time to grab for his hand and place it over their energetic offspring.

Clark seemed to understand her predicament because she watched his hands ball up into fists. His evident frustration showed in his rigid stance and his flushed face had nothing to do with the warm afternoon. And as much as he might have wanted to, he wasn't about to embarrass her or their parents by doing something as bold as shouldering his way through the crowd to feel his baby moving.

The two of them had so much of her focus she didn't hear the name of the second place winner announced. But from Martha's reaction, Lois knew she would either take home a first prize ribbon or the remnants of her turnovers. It really didn't matter, she just wanted her husband near so she could share the moment with him.

Unfortunately, the moment passed and she must have telegraphed it to Clark because his deflated expression telegraphed back his own disappointment. But their disappointment was tempered with the announcement of the first prize to Mrs. Clark Kent for her exceptional apple turnovers.

Were those judges serious?

Even after she had the First Place ribbon in her hand and the twenty-five dollar prize money, a hug from her mother-in-law and hearty congratulations from the Carmichael's, Lois found it difficult to believe that her apple turnovers had been judged to be the best of the competition. Lois Joanne Kent was all thumbs when it came to making her way around a kitchen, it didn't matter what some dopey judge said.

"Hell's Bell's, Lo." Her father grinned at her before he got an arm around her shoulders and admired the blue ribbon. "First prize for my first-born."

"And you still insist you're not very good in the kitchen." Jonathan smiled at her, looking rather pleased himself. "I think that prize you just won says otherwise."

"It means those judges have been out in the sun too long." She rolled her eyes as Clark walked over to her.

"It means you underestimate yourself." He leaned close to her ear and his warm breath sent a thrill of awareness down to her toes. And then with his body blocking hers from view of their family, to give them a modicum of privacy, his hand curved around her belly. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"Me, too," She whispered back. "Maybe later."

"I'm counting on it." He caught her eye with a smile and kissed her. Not in the way she'd hoped, as he'd done at the barn-raising, but she felt the impact of his gentle kiss just the same.

"You're very good at that." She remarked and felt her face flush.

"Why do you think I do it?" He flashed an impish grin and kissed her nose before stepping back to take her hand.

The other wives took their turns congratulating Lois and their sincerity made her eyes tear. A few even asked her for her recipe, as they'd had the chance to sample the turnovers as well.

"Welcome to Smallville, honey." Clark stood proudly next to her as the last of the wives melted into the crowd with their own families.

"I guess that means I'm stuck here, huh?" She looked up and him with a teasing tone in her voice.

"As long as it's with me, I don't think you'll mind too much." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Will you?"

"Can I get back to you on that?" She laughed because he rolled his eyes with feigned exasperation.

"How about we get you home?" Martha interrupted their gentle teasing with a look of genuine concern. "You look like you're starting to wilt."

She was living in a house full of mother hens, but Lois didn't really mind. To have the people she loved concerned about her meant so much. She was getting used to it, even though it still nagged at her from time to time because Lane's could take care of themselves.

But as she still reminded herself every so often, she wasn't a Lane anymore - which was fine with her.

Becoming a Kent, and even before then, she'd finally been able set down deep roots because she'd found a man who'd given her a sense of permanence. And now that they were married and she in the family way, Lois was not only making a home for them, but giving the baby two strong families to rely on as he or she grew up.

This meant her father had to come through the war once he got sent overseas.

Lois wasn't a girl to frighten easily, but if she lost her father now, after they'd slowly rebuilt their relationship and strengthened their once tenuous bond, it would devastate her. Her baby had to have the chance to know Grandpa Sam, to have the chance to grow up with his gruff affection and dry sense of humor.

It had taken her so long to see how much he really did love her and Lucy and she found with the baby coming, she needed him more than she ever thought she would. And before she had the chance to think through her actions, Lois had her arms around her father and held him tight.

She'd obviously taken him by surprise because she felt him start, but he quickly recovered and got his arms around her. "Hey, what's this?"

Dad's voice held a note of humor in it, but when she looked up at him, he looked unduly concerned. "Can't a girl hug her father if she feels like it?"

"Sure she can." He seemed to know why when he replied. "But I would hope it's not because she's worried about something we can't do anything about."

"So what if she is?" She frowned, not wanting to come out and actually say it.

"How about she stops talking so we can get her home?" Dad gently chided her.

"Another mother hen," She quipped and he only smiled.

"And happy to be," He assured her with a gentle grip on her shoulder before he took her hand and gave it to Clark, who clasped it firmly in his. "Why don't you let this young fellow walk you to the car so he can protect that loot you're carrying?"

He was true to form.

"Thanks for the concern, Dad." Lois gave him a pointed look and he just chuckled.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do with twenty-five dollars?" Lydia Carmichael asked her, trying not to smile at her exasperated tone.

"I was thinking we could buy a war bond," Lois looked at Clark. "For the baby."

"I think the baby would appreciate it." He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze. "The boys overseas will, too."

"We have to do our part, so this little one doesn't have to face the possibility of going to war." She put her hand on her abdomen. "We have to get this business settled so our little squirt can live in a world without war."

"Well said, Lois." Martha nodded her approval. "Because I don't like the idea of my first grandchild having to face what our young men are facing now."

"And I'd rather not face an anxious cow that needs to be milked, so let's head out." Jonathan remarked in a joking manner, but Lois recognized his subtle effort to steer the conversation away from war talk. There had already been countless conversations at the dinner table, with Clark getting more agitated each time.

Ed Carmichael chuckled and put a hand on Jonathan's shoulder. "You don't want to keep the lady waiting."

As the older folks set off toward the main gate of the fairgrounds, Clark held Lois back for a moment, presumably so they could have some time to themselves. And with the opportunity given her, she wanted to find out what had recently been on the mind of her handsome husband. "Between seeing your friends and going back to the field office, you've been more pensive than usual."

She thought he would try to deny it, but the tension in his hand gave him away. "You know I've always been proud of my job as an agent," He began quietly, looking around to see if anyone had heard him. "Because I've always felt I'm serving my country. But then I run into fellows like Harry and George-"

"Your Navy buddies?"

He nodded and he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I run into them and I see what serving your country really means."

"Sweetheart, you are." She put a hand to his cheek. "You're just not doing it overseas." She understood in an instant what he meant and her heart began to thump hard in her chest. "You want to enlist, don't you?

"I didn't say that." He sounded defensive and Lois knew she was right.

"You didn't have to," She grasped his chin, the way she'd seen his mother do so often to get his undivided attention. "Clark, if you want to enlist, I'll stand by you." And she meant it. "I'd just like you to wait until the baby comes because the FBI keeps you away from me enough as it is." And then baby Kent kicked her, hard. "Oooh!"

"Lois?" He looked down at her stomach and his tanned face lost some of its summer color.

"Come with me, buster." She grabbed Clark by the wrist to lead him away from the main foot path. When the baby kicked again, Lois put her other hand on her belly and gently chided her unborn child as she rubbed the spot where she could have sworn she'd just seen the brief imprint of a tiny foot. "Will you stop that? Daddy's not going anywhere just yet."

"Was that-" He glanced down at her stomach again.

"I believe that was your baby expressing their opinion on the matter." She pulled him behind a small clapboard building and dropped his arm. "And if that kick means anything, we're going to have a strong-willed child."

"Just like their mother, I'd say."

"You're strong-willed in your own way, you know." Lois observed with a smile. "If you hadn't been, we wouldn't be here."

"That's because once I kissed you, I knew I couldn't let you go." He made an observation of his own before he gathered her into his arms and kissed her, with baby Kent wedged in between them. It was the kind of kiss he usually reserved for when they made love - a damp, heated and breath-stealing kiss that made her knees shake terribly and threaten to give way. And if it hadn't been for the baby's sudden movement, they very well might have.

Clark pulled back, his arms still around her, looking astounded. His dark hair was tousled, from Lois's fingers having rearranging it, while his blue eyes sparkled with passion and surprise. "Honey?"

It took Lois a couple of tries to clear her throat as she toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck. "You felt that?"

He blinked a few times before taking one of his hands from around her waist to put it on her rounded belly. The baby moved again and his eyes glassed over with tears and he shook his head. She understood how he felt, it had been a little overwhelming for her, too, the first time she'd felt their baby move.

He nodded slightly before kissing her again, his hand caressing her gently.

"There are beds for that sort of thing, you know." A humorous observation startled Lois and broke the couple apart. "Though from the looks of it, you already found one."

Clark's face turned the color of a ripe tomato, but he didn't apologize for being caught as he smiled. "I was congratulating my wife for winning first prize."

"That would explain it." The stranger grinned at them, even as his voice held a note of gentle reproof. "But if I were you, I'd get on home before you cause a stir because someone's looking for the necessary and finds you instead."

"We have a habit of doing that." Lois smiled with embarrassment and tucked herself into Clark's side.

"I was young once." His nodded, but stood his ground. "But seeing as how part of my job here is to make sure young couples such as yourself don't get carried away, I'm asking you to find your way back to the main path."

"Yes, sir." Clark slipped his hand around Lois's as they were led back out to the main walkway. When they had gotten a few feet up the path, she saw their parents and the Carmichael's waiting for them at the main gate.

"You think they know what we were doing?" Lois looked up at her husband, her cheeks warm and his face was flushed.

"I know they know what we were doing." He laughed softly and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "They were newlyweds, too."

They picked up their pace, just a little and finally joined the waiting group.

"We were starting to wonder if we were going to have to send out a search party for you." Dad quipped. "We were concerned you might have gotten lost."

"Just sidetracked." Clark glanced at Lois, a soft smile on his face.

"That tends to happen when you're newly married." Ed Carmichael nodded his head and it looked to Lois as though he tried not to smile as he gave his own wife a meaningful look. "And if you're really lucky, it still happens even after many happy years."

"Edwin Carmichael." Lydia's face bloomed the color of a pink rose as she tried to give him a stern look, and failed. "Honestly."

"Still my blushing bride after all these years." He got an arm around her shoulders and kissed her flushed cheek. "And still as beautiful as the day we said, 'I do'."

Lois had never seen Lydia Carmichael blush before and couldn't help but hope she and Clark would have the same kind of easy relationship that the Carmichael's and her in-law's had after they'd been married for so many years.

She also couldn't help but notice the brief wistful expression that flashed in her father's eyes as he observed them. It was easy to see he still missed her mother.

Jonathan seemed to see it too, because he put a hand on Dad's shoulder. "Sam, come on back to the farm for dinner and we'll make an evening of it."

The General tried to refuse, but Martha wouldn't let him. "We always have plenty to eat and you always say you can't resist my peach cobbler."

"True." He reluctantly agreed.

"And if you're of a mind to, the Hubbard's are having a barn dance tonight." Lydia chimed in with an invitation. "It's always the highlight of the summer."

"What do you say?" Jonathan grinned at him.

"I'd say I'm outnumbered and most definitely outmaneuvered." He shook his head and smiled. "So my only option is surrender."

Not for the first time, Lois wished her father would find someone to fill the empty space her mother's death had left in his heart. He might be a little rough around the edges, but he was a good man and good father and deserved to find happiness with someone as she had with Clark.

"But no matchmaking." He leveled a look at his daughter. How did he do that? "If I want to find someone to spend some time with, I'll do it."

Lois nodded her agreement, but what her father didn't seem to realize was that there were four other people who had not. And between the good intentions of Martha, Lydia, Jonathan and Ed, he might not have a choice.

And that was all right with her.