Here is the next chapter. For the purpose of this story, Tess and Lex are not related; Tess's father is not Lionel Luthor. Read and, please, enjoy:)
Chapter 2: The Lanes' visit.
Saturday morning arrived and Lois woke up and she did not want to get up; she was grateful that Clark had watched Jane and Ben after she had fed him, as he knew how much she was dreading this weekend. Her parents, Sam and Ellen Lane, were coming to see them. They had not seen her parents since the twins had been born and Lois was quite happy for it to stay that way, but her parents did want to see their grandchildren. Lois wondered if they would be so keen if Lucy had children.
Clark was playing with the twins in the kitchen. Jane's favourite toy at the moment was a toy bear and Ben's was a teddy, which had once been Clark's and his brother's after that. Clark smiled as he watched his children playing and he kissed both of them on the head; he loved them more than he had ever imagined he would ever love children. One of things he loved was that he could see both himself and Lois in their children; Jane looked like her mother, apart from having Clark's eyes and Ben looked exactly like Clark, apart from the fact that he had Lois's brown eyes. Lois was standing at the door, smiling, watching her husband and babies and it was the happiest sight she had ever seen. If only she could freeze this moment in time…
She sat down next to her husband and they kissed each other, before she rested her head against his shoulder, sighed. "I really don't want them to come."
"I know, but they want to see their grandchildren."
"Why can't your parents come instead?" Lois was very close to Clark's dad, Johnathan, and his mum, Martha, and she wished that they were coming instead of her parents. As she picked up Benjamin, she remarked, "Before they come, we need to baby-proof the house." She walked over to the table, with her son in her arms. Clark collected his daughter in his arms and asked, "Why do we have to do that-I know I'm going to regret asking this?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Lois sat down and began to eat breakfast, with her baby son in her arms. "They're our babies. We can't have them hurting themselves, can we? Babies are inquisitive and I don't want to take any chances."
"Lois, they're a couple of months old-they can't really do anything yet."
"I don't want to risk anything. Besides, Chloe and Jimmy have baby proofed their house and so has Tess. Oh my goodness, what if the babies don't like my parents? That would make everything so much easier!"
Clark sat down next to his wife, with his baby daughter in his arms and he passed her a rattle so that she had something with which she could fiddle, as Lois had done with Ben. "Lois, I could understand if you had a difficult relationship with your father, but it's with your mother that you have problems and I've never really understood?"
Lois kissed Ben's head and rested her head on his, closing her eyes, as she whispered, "I love my babies so much. I don't want them to ever feel how I felt growing up." There was a huge amount of sadness in her voice and Clark's heart ached; he knew that Lois's childhood had not been easy, but Lois never talked about it, so he did not know the details.
Before he could say anything else, the front door opened and Chloe and Oliver walked in. "Hey, are your parents not here yet?" Chloe asked her cousin, as she took Ben into her arms so that Lois could eat her own breakfast.
"We're going to collect them from the airport in about 2 hours." Lois sighed. "I haven't seen them since Jane and Ben were born. Why do they have to come now? You know what my mother's like, Chloe, you practically grew up with me and Lucy."
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I did, but it was easier than being in Smallville with my parents, believe me." She winced at the memories and pulled herself out of the memories and said that Ben needed to have a nappy-change, so she and Lois went upstairs to the bathroom. Oliver walked over to Clark and asked, "Can I hold her?" Clark nodded and passed his daughter to Oliver. Much to his surprise, Jane settled very easily into Oliver's arms Kissing her head, Oliver murmured, "You are so cute, aren't you, Janey? Yes, you are. Yes, you are and you are the luckiest child in the world."
"Do you think you'll ever have kids?" Clark asked, as he began to eat his own breakfast.
Oliver began to spin Jane around in the air, as he replied, "Yeah, I do. I know that Felicity really wants to have kids." He paused, then added, "I'm thinking of asking her to marry me. What do you think?"
Clark smiled at both joy of his friend and at seeing his daughter so happy. "It's about time you asked her-you guys have been together for a year and known each other since you were kids."
"You and Lois were together for 5 years before you asked her to marry you." Oliver remarked, smiling. "Although, we always knew that the two of you would end up together-even before you were friends and you didn't like each other, when we were first at Yale-it was obvious that you were going to end up together." He stopped spinning Jane around in the air and held the baby in his arms. "Is Lois really nervous about seeing her parents?"
Nodding, Clark answered, "Yeah. I really don't understand why. I mean, I know that her father was away a lot and her relationship with her mother isn't the best, but they're still her parents. I guess, because I'm close to my parents, I find it hard to imagine having a bad relationship with one's parents. Lois sees my mum and dad more than she sees her own." Clark stopped talking, seeing how Oliver seemed to be entirely absorbed with Jane and he sighed. "I'm sorry; I know that people talking about their parents must be hard."
Oliver looked up from Jane and forced a smile. "No-I mean, yes, but I had my parents for 10 years. It's better to have parents for a short time and to know that they love you than to have parents for years and have them not loving you." Clark was not convinced and he was sure that Oliver was putting up a façade. He could not imagine what his life would be like without his mum and dad and the idea of loosing them at the age of ten was too painful to comprehend.
Clark's thoughts were interrupted when Lois and Chloe returned and Chloe took Jane from Oliver, claiming that she looked more and more like Lois every day, with which the others agreed. Clark then asked his cousin-in-law if she would check their computer and she agreed and walked into the dining room, where Lois and Clark's main laptop was located after passing Jane back to Oliver. Lois and Clark placed their babies in a cot in the kitchen so that they could both eat their breakfast and the latter asked Oliver if he knew how he was going to propose to Felicity and when he was going to do it. Oliver replied that he was going to act on impulse, before abruptly leaving because he saw Lex's car pull into the drive.
Lex entered their house and remarked on how well they had decorated the new house, before asking his friend if he could help him with something at work. "Is that ok with you, Lois?" Clark turned to his wife.
"Of course, I've got to make the house safe. Just be back in time to get to the airport to pick up my parents." She and Clark kissed, then he kissed the twins, picked up his jacket and followed Lex.
Hearing the door close from the dining room, Chloe carried the laptop into the kitchen and sat at the table working, whilst Lois began to baby proof the kitchen with latches. "I'm so glad that I have work as well as Nicky or I would go crazy and I only have one baby." She murmured to herself; she had returned to work when Nicolas had been eight months old, as she and Jimmy had needed the money, so they had placed their baby in a nursery.
Lois returned to the kitchen after babyproofing some more of the house and she sat down to breast-feed Ben at the table, as she knew that Chloe would not be bothered by such an action. She watched her cousin working intently, with her eyes glued on the laptop screen and she realised how important Jimmy was in Chloe's life; he kept her head in the real world as well as the computer world and that was very important. Before she and Jimmy had started dating, Lois had been worried about losing her cousin, whom she loved as a sister, to the computer world.
Chloe fixed the problem with Lois and Clark's laptop, by which time Lois had fed both of the twins and she was packing their bag for the journey to the airport and she was stressed, trying to force something into a bag. Seeing her stress, Chloe stood up and put her hands on her cousin's preventing her from putting anything else into the bag. "Lois, I think that you need to sit down for minute."
Shaking her head, Lois replied, "No, I can't! I need to get this sorted, or my mother is going to think that I'm an unfit mother!"
"Lois!" Chloe raised her voice as she knew that it was the only way to catch her cousin's attention; Lois stopped and looked at her. Chloe led her over to the table and sat her down. Closing the laptop, she asked, "Lois, you saw your parents after Jane and Ben were born, why are you so nervous now?"
Lois sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "You lived with us, Chloe, you know that my relationship with my parents is less than perfect-my father was always away as a general and my mother…well, the less said about her, the better. I'm just-I'm worried that I'll turn into the kind of mother she was-is- and I don't want that to happen, for myself, Clark or our kids. I don't want to become my mother. I want to have a good relationship with Jane and Ben-I don't want them to feel this way in 30 years when Smallville and I go to visit them."
Chloe took hold of her cousin's hands and whispered, "Lois, we aren't destined to become our parents. If I'd been worried about becoming my mother, I would never have left the house." There was deep sadness in her eyes, she hid it quickly, but Lois saw it and she asked, "Chloe, when I went away to Yale, I left home, why didn't you leave too? Why did you stay living with my mother and sister and attend Met U?"
"I got dual-honours in ICT and journalism, I wouldn't be too snobby about Met U, Lo." Chloe quipped, smiling. Lois laughed, then looked at her cousin seriously and Chloe's smile fell. "I didn't want to leave Auntie Ellen because-because I felt as if I had already abandoned by own parents and I didn't want to do it again. I don't speak to my mother, I don't even know where she is."
"Chloe, you didn't abandon your parents-you were 11 and it wasn't safe for you to be at home anymore, that's why your dad sent you to Metropolis to live with us." Lois paused, then added, "What happened to your mother wasn't your fault."
There was a silence and the two young women looked down at their intertwined hands. Chloe looked up and looked into her cousin's eyes. "Lois, I know that Aunt Ellen makes your life difficult sometimes, but she does love you and so does your dad. You're lucky that you had her as your mother and not mine. What happened made me almost loose my faith." Tears appeared in her eyes and Lois stood up and pulled her into a hug.
The door opened and Oliver walked into the house. He stopped and stood in silence as he saw Lois and Chloe hugging and, much to his surprise, he saw that Chloe was crying. Chloe was one of the strongest people he knew and he had never seen her cry before and the sight and sound broke his heart. He backed out of the kitchen and walked out of the house before either Lois or Chloe could see or hear him.
An hour later, Lois was very stressed again as she was trying to organise what they needed for their journey to the airport. Clark was holding both of the twins and trying to assure that Lois that everything was going to be alright. "Do we have everything we need for the twins?"
Clark smiled at how much she cared. "Yes, honey, we do. Now, we need to get going so that we're not late." He walked over to her and said, "Honey, look at me. Your parents love you and they love their grandchildren. Everything's going to be fine, stop worrying." He could see the panic in his wife's eyes and it was very stressful. Lois flung the bag across her shoulder, before taking her daughter into her arms and walking out of the door. Clark sighed to himself and followed, with their son in his arms.
Upon arriving at the airport, Lois insisted upon holding Ben instead of Jane, as she did not want to appear as if she were possessive of her daughter or did not love her son as much as her daughter. Clark obliged, but he was secretly thinking that his wife was over-thinking every tiny detail. She had even suggested that her parents sleep in their bedroom, because that had an au suit and the guest room did not.
"Why are they not here yet?" Lois asked, through a fake smile which she had been pretending to have on her face for the past five minutes, with her eyes glued on the gate through which her mother and father were going to walk. "Lois, honey," Clark forced himself to smile in order to try to reassure her, "relax, ok? As I said before, everything is going to be fine." He could see the doubt in his wife's eyes and he internally sighed. Lois's silent pain of waiting was finally ended when Sam and Ellen Lane walked through the gate and they smiled upon seeing their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.
Ellen kissed her daughter quickly on the check, before lowering her face to the faces of Jane and Ben and smiling at them. "My, haven't you both grown since we saw you when you were tiny babies? Haven't they, Sam?"
Sam Lane nodded, as he collected their suitcases and kissed and hugged his daughter, before turning to Clark and kissing Jane and Ben on the head. His eyes met with Clark's and he smiled slightly and Clark nodded; before Lois and Clark had married, Clark had promised Sam that he would always love and protect Lois and the elder man was happy to see that Clark had followed that promise, as Lois was very happy with her husband and twins.
Clark handed Jane to Ellen and received a look from Lois, but he ignored her and made his way to the car park, so that he could collect their car. As soon as he left, Ellen overserved, "My dear, you are much too thin! You aren't breast-feeing, are you?"
Looking down at Ben in her arms, Lois replied, "No, I am, Mother. All of the research shows that it's the best thing to do."
"Well, I didn't breast feed either of you and you both turned out fine." Lois bit her lip, forcing herself not to retaliate and just nodded. When the car finally appeared, Ellen smiled, "Oh, wow. What a small car you have! Now, let your father take Ben in the back so that you can sit with your husband." Lois protested, but Sam took the baby from her arms, offering her a reassuring smile. As soon as both of her parents were in the car, Lois leaned against the car and rolled her eyes; her mother was already driving her crazy. She looked up to see her husband smiling at her. He opened the car door and whispered, "You're doing great. I love you." That made Lois smile and blush and she made her way into the car, trying to ignore her mother's criticisms of how she was raising her children.
There was a massive traffic jam, which meant that by the time they returned to Lois and Clark's house, it was almost dinner time. Clark entered the house first, with his son in his arms and Lois followed with Jane in her arms. Her parents entered, looking around the house. "I hadn't expected it to be this small, my dear, but each to their own, I suppose." Ellen remarked, as she laid down their suitcases. Lois glanced at Clark, who smiled at her, then said, "Erm.. Mum, Dad, we're going to put you into our bedroom, because it has an en suite and-well- we want you to be comfortable."
Ellen stared at her daughter, shocked. "Certainty not! We will not kick you and your husband out of your room! That is out of the question, Lois; your father and I will be more than happy in the guest room." She paused, before adding, "And maybe after dinner, I can help you put the little ones to bed, if that would help you."
"Well, Clark and I do it together and I don't want to confuse them, but thank you for the offer, Mother." As Lois said it, she could see the look of disappointment in the eyes of both of her parents and her heart sank; she was not trying to be hurtful, she was trying to have control over her own babies.
Clark sensed and saw the tension, so said, "How about you two make yourselves comfortable and we'll get dinner ready? Lois?" Their eyes met and he gave her the 'we need to talk' look. Lois nodded and begrudgingly passed Jane to her mother, Clark passed Ben to Sam and she made her way to the kitchen whilst Clark took Sam and Ellen's cases to the guest bedroom. Alone in the kitchen, Lois lent against the counter, closing her eyes, breathing deeply; she knew that, for her father's sake, she had to remain calm and not retaliate to her mother's comments, but that was easier said than done, especially when it concerned Clark or Jane or Ben. Lois knew that her mother did not approve of her marrying Clark and it broke her heart that she did not accept that person whom she loved.
Lois was pulled away from her thoughts by the sound of Clark's concerned voice and she opened her eyes. "What was all that about?" he asked, in a low voice so that nobody could overhear. "You let Chloe and Oliver put Jane and Ben to bed, so why not your mother?" He began to sort out things for dinner as he was waiting for an answer, as he could tell that his wife was stressed and needed her help. There was a silence and Lois pulled her hair together and put it into a bobble, so that her mother would not make a remark about her hair being so long. "It's just-I know it sounds crazy, Smallville, but I don't want my mother to have control of the situation and I don't want her to have control over my babies." She saw the look of confusion in Clark's eyes, so she took hold of his hands. "I know it sounds irrational, but trust me, I spend my entire life trying to break out of the plan she set out for me-that's why I went to Yale, to get away from her. I didn't want her to control my life. Had I still lived at home, she would never have let me date you." Clark placed his hand on the side of Lois's face and whispered, "Ok, I understand. Just remember that she isn't your enemy… and neither am I. I'm on your side."
"I know you are...you and Chloe are the only ones who are." Lois fell into his arms and sighed. She knew that, no matter what, she would always have Clark, their children and Chloe, they were the only people in her life who were reliable.
Meanwhile, in the guest room, Ellen sat down on the bed and sighed. "Do you think that Lois really doesn't want us here?" Sam was silent for a couple of seconds, before replying, "Of course she wants us here, dear. She's our daughter."
"She may want you here, but she doesn't want me!" Ellen looked at Jane in her arms. "You saw the look in her eyes when I offered to help her put the babies to bed; she looked like a dog who didn't want to loose her bone."
Sam sighed and kissed his grandson on the head. "Ellen, if I may say, you were the same with your mother; whenever she came to see us, you were really possessive of Lois and Lucy-Lo is only doing what she grew up seeing."
His wife turned to look at him and glared, snapped, "So, this is all my fault, is it? I was the one who raised her and her sister, whilst you were away fighting for our country. And then I had to take care of my niece after-when my brother-in-law sent her to Metropolis. I think her living with us made life easier for Lois. I hate the fact that Lois and Lucy don't get on well, they are sisters after all." She added in a soft voice, as Jane and Ben began to reach out to each other, seeking comfort and reassurance. "Look at least two-they know that they're safe as long as they have each other. Why can't our daughters be like that?"
At dinnertime, Lois sat as far away from her mother as was possible and she made sure that she was near her babies for when they needed feeding or needed her or Clark for comfort or love. "This is lovely food, Clark," Sam remarked, as they began to eat, "when did you learn to cook like this? I imagine it wasn't Lois who taught you!" He chuckled, Ellen did the same. Clark smiled slightly, glancing over at his wife, whose eyes were fixed on the plate of food. Clark internally sighed, then replied, "My mum taught me how to cook this meal, actually. It's a very simple and easy meal to make. Lois does make this for me and she makes it very well." He threw his wife a smile and she returned it, with gratitude in her eyes.
Ellen nodded, remarking, "Well, it's nice to see that one good thing came out of the two of you being married-that and the children of course." There was a silence, then Lois opened her mouth, but Clark rested his hand on hers and looking into her eyes, silently telling her that everything was alright and that reacting to her mother would make matters worse. Inhaling a deep breath, Lois forced a smile. "I need to go and change Jane's nappy. Excuse me." With that, she stood up, picked up her daughter and left the kitchen. Clark chuckled slightly, because of the awkward atmosphere and began to talk to Lois's father about football. Sam was sitting there, looking rather embarrassed at what his wife had said; he liked Clark, he could see how much he loved and cared about Lois and their children.
Just as Lois was about to go back into the kitchen, the doorbell rang. It was Chloe with Nicolas. "I thought I'd stop by with Nicky, Jimmy's working late." Lois gave her cousin a thankful look, before dragging her upstairs to her and Clark's bedroom.
Placing Nicolas down on the bed to play with Jane, Chloe asked, "Erm... Am I not going to go downstairs and say hello to your parents?"
"No, you're not-you're going to stay here with me for a while." Lois sat down on the bed, kissing Jane's hands. She sighed, then admitted, "I nearly exploded at my mother. She made a remark about my marriage to Clark-about how nothing good has come out of it apart from my improved cooking skills and the twins. How dare she? How very dare she make a comment about our marriage when I know that her marriage is not a great one? I mean, Clark may not earn a fortune and we don't live in a mansion, but he makes me happy, he loves and cares for me and the twins, so why is that not enough for her? Is anything I do ever going to be enough for that woman?"
Chloe sighed and stocked her son's head. "Lois, I'm sorry that I can't say anything to help, but I am here for you." She paused, then asked, "Has Aunt Ellen always had a problem with Clark?"
Her cousin nodded. "Yeah, she always has. I don't know why, because he's lovely. I think I'm going to text Oliver, ask him if he can come and spend some time with Clark tomorrow, because it isn't fair if he has to stay here with my parents. They're leaving on Monday morning, so they won't be here for…too long." She threw her head back in the air. "I just wish that my mother would accept the person I've chosen to spend my life with…she likes Jimmy, so I don't know why she doesn't like Smallville. I'm so glad that I have you, Chlo."
An hour later, after Jane and Ben were in bed, Lois and Clark said their goodnights and went to bed. They lay in bed together in silence and Lois whispered, "They're only here for two nights, right?"
Clark smiled and nodded. "Yeah, they are. I was very impressed that you didn't shout at your mother, by the way."
"I would have done if you hadn't been there, Smallville. Gosh, what gives her the right dislike you so much? Is it because I didn't marry someone like my father? Maybe. I love you for you."
Kissing her on the forehead, Clark smiled. "I know you do and I love you too. Get some sleep." He stroked her face slightly, their eyes locked on each other's, before lying down and falling to sleep.
Meanwhile, Chloe was sitting in the living room, holding a sleeping Nicolas in her arms. The door opened and Jimmy walked in and he immediately saw the tears in her eyes. "Hey, Chloe, what's wrong?"
Chloe laid her head against his shoulder, which was where she felt safe. "I guess…Lois's parents are staying with her and Clark and-seeing my aunt and uncle again is a reminder of my parents…what I lost. I still speak to my dad and I still see him, but my mother…I haven't seen her since I was 11. I don't even know where she is, but I don't want to find her. Not after what happened." She had never told Jimmy the full story, not even Lois knew the whole story, but he did not know the basics of what had happened.
"Well, I can't even remember my parents. They were arrested when I was a couple of weeks old and I've never tried to find them. They gave me away to my grandpa after I was born, I guess they knew that they were going to be arrested. My grandpa raised me and loved me, but I've never asked him about my parents or tried to contact them. What's the point? They weren't there when I needed them? I can understand why you don't want to speak to your mother. Besides, you have a family now. You're not alone." He said the last part in a whisper. Chloe turned her head to face him and gave him a true smile. Tears of joy fell down her face and they kissed, before taking their sleeping son to bed.
The next morning, Clark was the first awake, so he dressed and carried the twins downstairs so that they were downstairs. He put them in their highchairs and turned on the TV, whilst he read a book which Lois had published shortly before Jane and Ben had been born. He was glad that Oliver was coming round later, because he knew that he would cheer up Lois.
At 7:00, Lois woke up and went downstairs to find her husband asleep on the sofa, whilst their twins had their eyes glued on the TV. Smiling to herself, she draped a blanket over Clark and carried Jane and Ben into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. She knew that Clark had not slept well that night, so she wanted him to compensate for that now.
Just as Lois had prepared her breakfast and had breast-fed both Jane and Ben, the kitchen door opened and Ellen walked into the kitchen. "Let me get you some breakfast, Mother." Lois said, standing up, but her mother stood up and took hold of her wrist. Their eyes met and she replied, "No, I'll do it, dear. You sit down and have your own breakfast." Her fingers loosened and Lois pulled her wrist out of her grip, but smiled slightly, before turning away and sitting back down. With her eyes on her mother in the other part of the kitchen, she began to eat her own breakfast, wondering what was going through her mother's head.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Sam's arrival in the kitchen. He kissed his daughter and wife, then picked up the newspaper and began to read it. Lois saw a look in her mother's eyes, a look which looked like one of disappointment, but she quickly dismissed it as her seeing things.
The tension in the kitchen was interrupted by the doorbell and Lois knew that it was Oliver, so she sprang to her feet and almost ran into the hall to answer the door. "Hi, Lois," Oliver smiled his charming-Queen smile, "I hope this isn't a bad time."
"No, it's perfect. Thanks for coming." Lois almost pulled him into the house and closed the door. "How's Felicity?"
"She's fine, thanks. She's away at the moment, but she'll be back tonight." Oliver paused, then asked, in a low voice so that he could not be heard from the kitchen. "Lois, are you ok? You seem a bit…tense?"
Lois forced a smile. "I'm fine. Come on, come and meet my parents. I'm warning you-my mother hates Clark, so I don't know what she'll think of you." She gave Oliver a look to tell him that she was not joking and then walked back into the kitchen, where her mother and father were sitting having their breakfast, in silence. Oliver walked in cautiously; he had never met Lois's parents and, from everything Clark had told him, he did not really want to do so.
"Mum, Dad. This is Oliver Queen. He was Clark's roommate at Yale and he's a good friend. And he's Jane and Ben's godfather."
Oliver held his hand out, worried that neither of the older adults would shake it, but the general stood up and shook his hand, surveying Oliver with the same searching look he gave everyone when he met them for the first time. Sam frowned and asked, "Queen-where have I heard that name before? Do you run a business or a law firm?"
Glancing at Lois who was sitting with her babies, Oliver nodded. "Yes, General Lane. I inherited and I am CEO of Queen Industries."
"When did you inherit it?" Sam asked, as if he were conducting an interrogation.
Oliver swallowed before answering, "Er…I inherited it after I graduated from Yale. I inherited it from my parents." Sam looked Oliver up and down and remarked, in a very dry tone, "Well, it was very good of them go give you their business at 21-I tell you, I wouldn't give up something like that to my child."
"Daddy, it wasn't like that," Lois could see her friend's discomfort and she wanted to spare him the pain of explaining his situation and matters of inheritance to her father, "Oliver inherited the business because his parents died."
There was an awkward silence and Oliver looked down at his shoes. Ellen stood up and walked over to the fridge. "So, Oliver, what did you study at Yale?"
"I studied Business Studies, Arabic and Greek, Mrs. Lane."
Ellen's response was interrupted by one of Oliver's employees ringing him and information him that he was needed at Queen Industries, so he excused himself and left, noticing the disappointed look on Lois's face. He knew that she wanted him there, but he could not help it. As Oliver left, Clark walked into the kitchen, still looking tired. He kissed Lois on the head, before making himself some breakfast.
There was another silence in the kitchen, apart from the sounds of Ben and Jane, which was due to nobody knowing what to say, until Sam suggested that Lois and Ellen went shopping together. Before Lois could think of an excuse, her mother seemed to be very excited at the idea and Lois did not have the heart to tell her that she did not want to go. She shared a fleeting look of desperation, before Ellen dragged her off to the guest bedroom to pick out a set of clothes for herself.
Sam walked over to Clark and asked, "You and Lois are happy, aren't you? Because she seems to be a bit out of character." Clark was silent for a couple of seconds, before replying, "She-she's still adjusting to her new role of a mother, I think."
"She's doing a very good job-and so are you, son." Sam remarked, before walking into the living room with the newspaper to sit in silence for a while. Clark smiled to himself, glad that Lois's father at least seemed to think that he and Lois were doing a good job of being parents to their daughter and son, but he knew that Ellen did not approve of him and he was not sure what she thought of their parenting techniques.
An hour later, Lois and Ellen left to go shopping and Sam met up with an old friend in Metropolis, leaving Clark alone with Jane and Ben. He played with them for a while and was about to play another game with them when Lex walked into the living room with Alexander and James. The two boys ran over to their adoptive-cousins and began to play with them. Laughing slightly, Clark stood up and asked, "Do you have a key to this place?"
"Why, of course." Lex smiled, but Clark could tell that it was a forced one because it did not quite reach his eyes. "I-er-I wanted to get out of the house for a bit and I figured that you needed some company." He sat down on the sofa and Clark sat down in a chair, so that he was next to his children. "So, how are the in-laws?" there was humour in his voice, which made his friend smile.
Clark sighed. "Well, time hasn't made Lois's mother dislike me any more. That woman has always hated me. Her dad did, but he seems to be okay with me now. My mum isn't like this with you, is she?"
"No, she isn't, but she has known me since I was 18." Lex paused before continuing. "Tess's biological mother, on the other hand, Pam Mercer, she-er-she doesn't like me and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because she's so protective of her daughter, but she can't be too protective considering she gave her up when she was 11. My father doesn't acknowledge Tess-I think he's disappointed that I didn't marry someone from a 'right kind of family'. I know that what I told you may have made you think that I don't love your sister, but I do. With all of my heart."
Sighing, Clark stroked Ben's hair and murmured, "I really wish that I could believe that, Lex, but she is my sister and I don't want to see her hurt-that's the only reason I haven't told her. If anyone's going to tell her, it should be you."
Lex ran his hands over his head. "When we were first married-even after we had Alexander-things weren't this bad, but for some reason, we've just…stopped communicating. You and Lois will never have that problem, trust me; the two of you are made for each other." Clark smiled to himself and remarked, "Everyone has always said that about Lois and I. You know, ten years ago, Lois and I had just started dating…I would never have guessed that we would end up here, but I always knew that she was the one." He pronounced the last part in barley a whisper. He remembered the day he had told Lois that she was 'the one' and the love in her eyes when he had said it.
That evening, Clark made dinner with Felicity's help, as Lois was still out with her mother, Sam was still out with his old friend and Oliver was still at work. As the two friends stood there watching the food, Clark asked, "Are you ok? You seem a bit… off? Has something happened between you and Oliver?"
Felicity looked down at the ground for a while. "I've been offered a job, independent of my parents' company. It's a leading IT role, but it's in London. If I accepted it, I'd have to leave, leave Oliver and, whilst there is a part of me which would like to start over, I don't think I can leave him."
"Do you not love him anymore? Is this because he's in love with someone else?" Clark asked carefully, as he stirred the dinner.
"No! I love Oliver and I don't think that he loves this person anymore, but I want to travel, I want to see the world.. I think I have to go, I have to sacrifice my relationship with Oliver. If I don't, I think I'll regret it for the rest of my life." She paused, then whispered, "Can you understand that?"
Clark looked down at the food in the pan, as he answered, "Going to Yale was a big risk for me-it meant leaving my family, leaving Smallville, but if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't have met Lois. I think you need to discuss this with Oliver and explain to him the reasons for wanting to go." Secretly, he had no idea why Felicity was willing to give up on her relationship with his friend, but he was thinking of his relationship with Lois and he would sacrifice his life before sacrificing his relationship with her.
At that moment, the front door opened and Lois almost ran into the house and she wrapped her arms around her husband. "I have no idea how we're both back here alive." She whispered in his ear, before straightening up as her mother walked into the kitchen.
"Are you cooking, Clark?" she inquired, as she sat down at the table. "I'm glad that you do something useful around here."
Clark pressed his hand against Lois's in order to calm her down, but she ignored him and glared at Ellen. "Mother, can you please stop criticising Clark and me at same time? I love him and he loves me, what more can you ask for? I'm sorry that I'm not the loving, devoted daughter I know you always wanted, but that's your fault, because of how you treated me! I'd rather be the kind of mum am I to my children than the kind of mother you were!" With that, she stormed out of the kitchen. Clark ran after her, but their bedroom door was locked. Through the door, she told him that she was not angry with him, but she did not want to see anyone.
Upon Sam's arrival home, he noted his wife's distressed manner and she told him what their daughter had said. Felicity helped Clark with the dinner, then made her way out of the house as quickly as possible.
At dinner time, the kitchen was a silent room and Lois and Clark were the only ones to speak to each other. Sam did try to speak to his daughter, but Ellen kicked him when he did so, because she wanted him to be on 'her side'.
That evening, Lois collapsed in bed next to Clark and turned over to face him. "I can't believe that I spoke to my mother like that. I feel terrible, but she did deserve it."
Clark sighed and murmured, "Lois, you've been bottling up those feelings for years. I'm not surprised that you snapped at her… but I do think that you should try to remedy it-she is your mother, after all."
"Clark, I have no affection for her at all. If she weren't the woman who raised me, I would want nothing more to do with her." Lois sighed, cursing to herself, put on her dressing gown and went downstairs to the living room, hoping to find her mother there, but it was her dad.
"Daddy? What are you doing up?"
Sam chuckled and replied, "Old people don't sleep." Lois sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, Lo, your mother and I have been married for 30-something years. No marriage is going to be straight forward and, if it were, that would be very strange. Your mother may not be an easy person, but, if I asked Clark, I'm sure that he would say the same thing about you."
Lois closed her eyes. "I'm nothing like my mother."
"Yes, you are sweetheart. You may not realise it now, but you are as possessive of Ben and Jane as she was of you and Lucy. The difference is that you'll have Clark to help you, your mother didn't have my help. I guess that's why you blame her, because she was the one who raised you, not me. I know that she may have made your life hard and I know that she doesn't like Clark, but you make her life hard too. That's what mothers and daughters do."
The next morning, when Lois was feeding Jane and Ben in the kitchen, Ellen walked in. "I see you've baby-proofed the house. It's so easy when you can pull your child away from danger, harder when they have a mind of their own."
"Clark isn't a danger to me, Mother." Lois remarked, keeping her eyes glued on her babies.
Ellen sat down and sighed. "I know, darling, and I'm sorry that my coming causing you so much dread and pain, but all I ever wanted was for you to be happy and safe and now I see that Clark makes you happy and he keeps you safe. I was worried that your marriage may be like mine and your father's, but you and Clark are equal partners and I'm glad, both for you and for Jane and Ben." There was a pause, then Ellen put her hand on the side of Lois's face, forcing Lois to look up and saw that there were tears in her mother's eyes. "Trust me, baby girl, in thirty years, you'll be whishing that Jane and Ben ware the age they are now. It's easy when you can keep your child away from danger." She stood up and Lois called her back. "Mum, I am sorry for how I've acted-it was me trying to keep control of Jane and Ben and that must have been hard for you. You may not believe this, but I do love you."
"I do believe you, Lois, and I love you too." Ellen walked over to her daughter and they hugged. Lois rested her head under her mother's head, as she had done when she had been a small child and she felt safe.
After dropping off Sam and Ellen at the airport, Lois and Clark sat together on the sofa, with their son and daughter on their knees. Clark kissed Lois on the forehead, before whispering, "We have a great life."
"Yeah, we do and I'm so glad that I have you. I don't know what my life would be like without you." She smiled and they kissed, before talking to their babies.