Lydia Carmichael knows how to throw a party, Lois couldn't help think as the Kent and Lane group walked into the Carmichael's front parlor and into a near crush.

Dad and Jonathan collected everyone's coats, while Lucy got Michael out of his snow suit and Lois unbundled Sam from his nest of blankets before the men were directed to a spare downstairs bedroom being used as a coat room for the evening.

Introductions of her sister, brother-in-law and nephew were done and Lydia made them as welcome as she'd made Lois when Clark first brought her. Ed offered them all something to drink and then disappeared into the kitchen to fill their orders.

Lois felt a gentle touch on her elbow and Lucy grinned at her. "I can see why you like it out here so much - everyone is so friendly."

She couldn't disagree as she watched her sister gravitate toward their father, who had gotten caught up in a conversation with Ben Hubbard and another neighboring farmer. Dad had worn civvies that night - his Sunday suit to be exact, because he wouldn't be able to wear it again for quite a while. Lois had chosen to wear the dress she'd bought for her anniversary.

"You look beautiful, honey." Lois felt her husband's arm slip around her waist as he gave her a peck on the cheek. "The dress suits you."

Her G-man could still be very smooth when he wanted to be.

It was a beautiful dress - Lois didn't hesitate in admitting it. The satin-lined black velvet creation hit just below the knees and the sleeves extended down to her wrists. A swath of jet black glass beads adorned the edge of the square cut neckline which sparkled in the low lights and the dress itself followed her richer curves without being indecent. It was perfect for presenting her new figure to her husband.

When she'd first decided to buy something special, Martha steered her toward the dress she knew her son would love, but it only left Lois convinced she'd never be able to fit into - and it had been a lot of trouble, at first. But it had been a challenge she'd issued to herself after she'd had Sam - to get her figure back as best she could so she could wear it well and give Clark an anniversary surprise.

But he'd gotten her out of it so fast he never had the chance to appreciate it. It was worth it, though, because they'd made love all through the night on their Christmas Eve anniversary and well into early Christmas morning. It had been their first time together since Sam's birth, his bout of colic, Clark being away on assignment and Lois just being too exhausted.

They'd since made up for lost time, with Jonathan and Martha taking Sam in with them after Christmas night. But they had also gotten the chance to get some much needed sleep as well - so the new parents were better rested.

"You look quite dashing, yourself." She patted the breast pocket of his suit jacket. "But my fingers are itching to disorder your hair."

"Maybe later," He took her free hand in his and kissed her fingers. "But I thought you liked my hair ordered."

"I do, and I count my lucky stars it's not severe as you wore it in the beginning." She brushed a soft kiss against his cheek and whispered. "You were quite the intimidating G-man when I first met you."

"It's what makes me so good at my job," He whispered back with a smile.

"True." She agreed with an answering smile and took a quick glance around the room, before determining no one was watching them and kissed him square on the mouth. She made sure it conveyed a promise of things to come without attracting undue attention.

He got the message because his face flushed and the blue of his eyes darkened with the same promise to her. "You certainly tempt a man, Mrs. Kent."

"The only man I want to tempt is you." Her face warmed under his heated glance and gave him a quick jab in the arm. "And don't you forget it, buster."

"When you look at me like that, I have trouble remembering my own name." He pulled her close for a moment. "But seeing as how we're in a crowded room, it'll have to come to me."

"I've a mind to send the two of you out to the mud room." Lydia Carmichael's amused chuckle caught their attention, but her voice held no censure as she held their baby in her arms. Lois took a deep breath, to try and cool the tinge of embarrassment in her cheeks. "This little one has been very good this evening."

"When we were going through the colic, I thought for sure he'd inherited my temper." She replied, with such pride in her sleeping child. "But after we got him through it, I could see he'll have Clark's temperament - thank goodness."

"He'll show you flashes of both as he gets older, I'm sure," She relayed with the surety of a mother who'd been through it herself. "As will any other children you have."

The very thought of it got the young parents to look at each other.

"You seem to like the notion, I see," Lydia observed. "That's good. I've seen the two of you with this young man and other children who come along are going to be very lucky to have you."

"Thank you," seemed inadequate, but Clark and Lois said it just the same - and meant it.

"You're welcome," She nodded. "Now, for tonight, just concentrate on having a nice time and I'll look after Sam. I've already told your parents and your sister we'll be happy to keep the children occupied. And when they nod off, Ed or I will put them up in our room where it's nice and quiet."

"You don't need to do that," Clark looked bemused by the offer of such hospitality for the young ones.

"It's true, I don't," She admitted at his perplexed expression. "You don't remember this, of course - but I did the same for your parents when you were a baby. Because it took them so long to have you, your mother didn't want to be away from you for very long. So my mother-in-law would take you to her room and she watched after you until they were ready to go home. And as I recall, you looked quite a bit like Sam here," She remarked as she rocked the baby in her arms.

Lois couldn't help but be pleased with that piece of information - her baby son was going to look like her G-man and she wanted very much to be alone with the man responsible for it. "I know you were just kidding, but would you mind if we slipped out to the mudroom for a few minutes?"

She gave Lois a look that said she understood and laughed. "It's much too cold out there, so why don't you slip into the downstairs bedroom? I'll give you five minutes and then either Ed or I will come and knock on the door for you to come on out."

"Thank you." Clark said and took Lois' hand in his. "We appreciate the consideration."

"Think nothing of it," She waved a dismissive hand. "I remember what it was like to be a young married and have a new baby, too. Having a few moments alone are a precious reminder as to why you got married in the first place. Now shoo and make the most of those five minutes, within reason."

"We won't embarrass you," Lois promised and Lydia put a hand on her arm.

"I know, so go."

She didn't need to be told twice and grasped Clark's fingers to lead him down the hallway to the spare bedroom. He ushered her in and closed the door behind them.

"Alone at last," He quipped and drew her into his arms.

"I don't suppose I need to ask what you've got in mind." Lois asked as she snuggled against him.

"Not what I'd really like to do with you, but holding you is a place to start for now." Clark replied and then he sighed. "It's hard to believe we've been married a whole year already."

"Next to the day you proposed to me and the day I had Sam, the day we got married is the happiest of my life." She confessed and then shook her head in embarrassment at the sloppy sentimentality. "But right now, I'd be happy if you stopped talking and kissed me, because I wish you would."

And because she knew how much he loved her, he did just that until a soft knock on the door beckoned them out to the parlor to listen to Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians until it was time to ring in the New Year with his "Auld Lang Syne".

When they did, Lois found herself with her sister and her father, holding on to each other and hoping that they might be together when the next New Year's Eve rolled around.

But for the moment, Dad kept his arm around her and Lucy and it brought to mind a vague memory of the three of them huddled together on a cold morning when she was six and they were burying her mother.

"I love you, Daddy." She whispered in his ear and held fast. "Please come home."

"I love you too, Pumpkin," He whispered back and pressed a kiss in her hair. "I'll do my best to get back to you girls, but it's in the hands of the Almighty now. So just keep your old dad in your prayers and leave the rest up to Him."

Lois had never been much for praying, but for her father, she'd do it.

She had to.

000000

Two days later, on the second of January in the Year of Our Lord, 1944, the small family contingent of Sam Lane's daughters, sons-in-law, both grandsons and Clark's parents, gathered at the Smallville train station to see him off.

It felt somehow fitting for the day to be colder than usual and overcast with steady snow showers, making it, as Grandpa Kent would have said, 'a day not fit for man nor beast'. As Clark kept his arm around Lois' trembling shoulders, he had a pretty clear picture of how she was faring - about as well as her younger sister he'd wager, whose own husband had his arm around her.

While both women tried to be stoic as they said goodbye to their father on that cold morning, the General's travel bag sat on the platform next to his feet and Clark couldn't remember ever seeing his father-in-law having so much trouble keeping his emotions in check. His throat had worked as he'd taken each of his daughters in his arms, holding them close, letting them both know in his own way they meant the world to him.

His own hand had been crushed with a heartfelt handshake and a promise extracted to take care of his 'Little Lo' and his namesake. After a salute and handshake from Lucy's husband Andrew, and a similar promise extracted to look after her and Michael, and a chance to hold each of his grandchildren for a few minutes, he said goodbye to Clark's parents.

Dad shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. Neither man said anything, but they didn't need to because each understood that their families were bound together through their son and daughter. Mom hugged him and thanked him for giving her child the love of his life.

"Couldn't have done it without my Ellen," he remarked after trying to clear his throat more than once. The faint whistle from a locomotive sounded off in the distance and everyone in the group looked toward the sound, knowing this was it.

Clark's mother handed Sam a box tied up with Christmas ribbon and a bow. "Lydia and Ed wanted to be here, but one of their cows is about to calve and Lydia doesn't like driving alone, especially when it's snowing."

He took it from her with a questioning look. "It's the box lunch she promised you and she sent it along with her and Ed's best wishes."

"Well, hell." He remarked to himself before he took a breath and chuckled as he looked at Lois and Lucy. "My grandkids didn't hear that."

"Hear what?" They chimed in together and everyone laughed until the whistle sounded again, closer this time and the group grew serious.

"Let's not get maudlin, now." General Lane made the gruff request. "We all knew this day would come. I'm just glad I had the chance to see both of my daughters married off and starting their own families before I had to ship out."

"Married off, Dad?" Lois gave her father a pointed look. "Honestly."

"That's what I said." He gave his oldest a pointed look. "Now I can go do what needs to be done and not worry about you two."

"That's going to be our job while you're gone." She didn't take the bait and reached for Clark's hand, grasping it tight. She's not going to last too much longer, he couldn't help but think to himself as he held it tight in his and her father knew it, too.

"Your job while I'm gone," he looked at each of his daughters, "Is to look after your own families and don't forget to send me a care package every once in a while."

"We can do that." Lucy grabbed her father in a hug as the platform began to vibrate under their feet. The train whistle sounded for a third time as it rounded the bend and came into view.

The noise rose to a crescendo, making it impossible to talk as Sam picked up his travel bag and they walked to the far end of the platform, where he would board and settle into his roomette paid, for the most part, from his own pocket. The Army had given him a travel allowance to cover the cost of a berth, but as he had explained it to Clark and his father the day before, it would be the last chance at such a small luxury for the duration.

As the General picked up his bag, something caught his attention and his face fell. "Oh, Lord."

His comment and solemn expression caused Clark to look were Sam's attention had been drawn and his heart skipped a hard beat. A hearse from the Hartley Brothers Mortuary had backed up to the platform, its back door open as the doors to the baggage car were opened from the inside and two Marines in dress blues walked out. They stationed themselves on either side of the doors ahead of a flag draped coffin that was rolled out and brought to rest.

He heard his mother's soft gasp as the family walked toward the coffin. "It's Helen and Martin's son."

And his father, who never swore, did just that. "Damn."

Connor Kelly had been a year behind Clark at Smallville High School and enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor – in the Marines, if he remembered right. He'd gotten married the last time he was home on leave and from the looks of it his wife was going to have a baby.

She was sheltered between Connor's parents as they stopped and she put a hand on the flag, looking as though she would swoon at any moment. Her mother-in-law leaned over and said something to her and she nodded.

After the coffin was loaded into the hearse, Connor's widow was escorted to the front and helped in while his parents were walked to the car parked next to it. After they were settled, the back door to the hearse was closed and it rolled away from the platform with the mortuary car behind it.

The absolute silence that accompanied the departure was deafening in its stillness and as Clark watched the two Marines get into a staff car of their own and follow, he knew what he had to do – and so did his wife.

She tucked her hand through his arm and as he'd done when they'd been courting, drew her hand to his side as she rested her cheek on his shoulder. "You're going to do it, aren't you?"

"I have to do my part, honey," He sighed and hoped she'd understand. "And I can't do it here."

"You wouldn't be my G-man if you didn't feel that way." She replied and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Go make the world safe for democracy, Clark. We'll be here when you get home."

"I love you, you know." He wasn't sure why he wanted her to hear it because he knew she didn't have to be told.

"It's a good thing I love you, too, buster." He heard her take a deep breath. "And just so you know, Sam and I would appreciate it if you didn't come home in a baggage car."

"I'll do my best not to." He could promise her that, but anything else was out of his hands.

The train whistle blew as the locomotive prepared to pull out and the young couple rejoined their family in saying goodbye to General Sam Lane, wishing him God's Speed in the mission he was embarking on.

"You young fellows look after my girls," He reminded his sons-in-law after he boarded. "I swore to Ellen I would take care of them and I did. More grandchildren would be nice, too."

He made the parting request as the train pulled out and he stayed put for as long as he could, not wanting to lose sight of his daughters, Clark wagered. Lois and her sister didn't seem to be inclined to leave either, until the train was out of sight, so they stayed.

"I'm scared, Lo," He heard Lucy whisper to her sister and Lois grabbed her hand.

"I am, too," She said as her back went ramrod straight. "But you heard the General - we look after our families and send him care packages. We can't do more than that."

"We can get back to the farm and get these children out of the cold." Clark's mother remarked as she checked on the baby she held close in her arms. "I'll make some hot cocoa and we can warm up before you have to be on your way."

"Why don't we head back to Dad's place instead?" Lucy took a sleeping Michael from her husband. "We can have some cocoa or coffee before Andrew and I get on the afternoon transport, because I promised I would secure his quarters before we left."

"Fort Ryan, it is." Clark's father agreed with a nod and held out his hand. "You four go ahead and Martha and I will be right behind you."

Clark got his car keys out of his overcoat pocket and handed them to his father. "We'll see you there."

The family parted at the platform – Clark's parents and Sam, toward his car while he and Lois walked to the General's staff car. She took his hand as they followed her sister and he gave her a reassuring smile.

He was nervous as hell at what lay ahead for him and for her and Sam, but he knew he was doing the right thing.

He only hoped the FBI would see it that way, too.