Clark was old fashioned. Lizzie had always known that. He was a gentleman, a man who wanted to do things properly. That was why he had wanted to marry her before deciding to start a family. Of course, he had never planned to have children until that time. The sudden news of this baby was something which had startled Clark.

He had turned up to her pretend funeral the following day, dressed in his finest suit. He sat besides his mother and her mother, looking to the empty coffin. He still struggled to believe how much detail the FBI had gone into on the matter. He said nothing more, deciding to remain quiet and think of the question which he intended to ask Lizzie's mother.

The woman was playing a good part that day. She was holding a handkerchief to her eyes, dabbing at the tears which showed in her eyes. Clark would have given her an award then and there if he could.

The day seemed to go by slowly, Clark listening to people as they told him how sorry they were, and how lovely Lizzie was. None of them mentioned her powers, all of them deciding to keep quiet. Clark supposed he was thankful for that.

"I need a word with you, Kent," Ellie hissed once they had left the church.

People began to scatter from the churchyard whilst Ellie moved over into the graveyard, searching for her husband's plaque. Clark watched her move as he stood with his mother. Martha's brow furrowed before she whistled lowly.

"I don't think she's happy with you."

"Let me know when she is happy with me," Clark scoffed and dropped one hand into his pocket. His other adjusted the glasses which sat on the tip of his nose.

Martha ended up being swooped into conversation, her gaze watching as her son slowly moved down the churchyard to where Ellie stood away from prying eyes and ears.

Clark took to stand by her side, looking down at the gravestone of Lizzie's father. He kept quiet, deciding to allow Ellie to start the conversation. It seemed that they both needed to talk to each other for once.

"Liz called me last night," she whispered to Clark. "She told me everything."

A small gulp ran down Clark's throat. He was Superman, for heaven's sake. He shouldn't be scared of a middle aged woman. Yet he was petrified of her. He'd always been worried when it came to Ms Lowe.

"She told me that she's pregnant," Ellie said, her stern gaze looking to Clark.

Clark had thought that she would smile about it. He thought that she would be happy. He knew that his mother was thrilled with the piece of information.

"She is," Clark said, all other words seeming to fail him.

"She was thrilled," Ellie whispered. "I was too. I was happy because she was happy. It was when she hung up when I began to worry, Clark."

"About the baby?" Clark wondered from her.

She nodded once, wrapping her arms around her body as she did so. She supposed she had never thought of it before. She had urged her daughter to try and have a child, but she didn't think about it.

"I know that the baby may not be normal," Ellie spoke. "I can accept that. I trust you and Lizzie to look after your child. What worries me is Lizzie carrying this baby. I...the baby will be strong, won't it?"

Clark nodded.

"And when it kicks...will it hurt her? Will she be able to cope with this child inside of her?" Ellie worried. "I remember her telling me that you were Krypton's first natural birth. Apparently they never happened."

"No," Clark replied. "They never did happen. I know that you're worried about her, Ms Lowe. These are all the things that I have thought about too. Lizzie is strong. She has blood of Krypton running through her now. If my mother had the strength to give birth to me...then...I hope Lizzie has the strength to give birth to our child."

Ellie looked at him for a moment, regarding him with curiosity. Why could her daughter not have chosen a simple man? Why did she have to love a superhero? Ellie could swear that she made her life difficult on purpose.

"There is nothing we can but be there for her," Ellie sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "And I know that you will be by her side through this. You've been there for everything."

"I won't let her down," Clark promised Ms Lowe. "Anyway, there was a question which I wanted to ask you."

"Oh?"

"I know that...well...normally you would ask the father this kind of thing," Clark coughed, looking down to Mr Lowe's gravestone again. He took a deep breath before looking back to Ellie. Her eyes had widened in expectation and her lips were taut.

"But Lizzie is your daughter too," Clark nodded. "I thought it would only be right for me to ask you. I would like to ask Lizzie to marry me."

Ellie tried to keep a straight face, but she failed miserably. Clark didn't think he had ever seen a genuine smile on her face. She allowed herself one nod in response to his question. Breathing a sigh of relief, Clark gratefully grinned back to her.

"Of course," she said. "I doubt I could stop you two anyway."

"Thank you," Clark gratefully replied. "It means a lot to me."

"And to Lizzie too," Ellie replied. "I thought that this day would never come. I hope you're not doing it because she is pregnant."

"I'm doing it because I love her and I want our child to have a proper family," Clark promised Ellie. "I'd thought about it for a while."

"You spent too long thinking," Ellie laughed gently, her hand resting on Clark's shoulder. "Thank you for asking me Clark. It was...well...it was lovely. Truly, I appreciate it."

Clark did his best not to look too concerned at Ellie and her gracious attitude. It was something that Clark had not often encountered. He kept quiet for a few moments as Ellie looked down at her husband's stone.

"I should get going," Clark said. "Lizzie will be waiting. Do you want a ride or anything?"

"I'm good," Ellie promised him. "Tell Lizzie I will be round tomorrow. I'm going to stay here for a bit."

Bowing his head, Clark left her to her thoughts, hearing her as he wandered back to his mother;

"Did you hear that, Dan? Clark is finally going to propose to Lizzie; even after we spent months warning her off of him? It seems our daughter never will do what she's told."

...

Clark didn't know where to propose. He didn't know how to propose. Time seemed to pass and he grew more eager. His mother had given him a ring which had been her grandmother's. She had intended to pass it down to her daughter if she ever had one. She knew that Lizzie was the closest thing which she would have to a daughter now.

Lizzie could tell that something was off with Clark. He flew to work and flew home, his mind distracted all the time. Lizzie spent her days doing her best to control her powers and not focus on the growing bump which was her stomach. She doubted she would be carrying the baby for nine months; what with the alarming rate she was growing outwards.

It wasn't until three weeks after Clark had asked permission did he bite the bullet and fight his nerves. He had found Lizzie sat on the front step of the porch in the cold evening air, her mind obviously somewhere else. Clark pushed the outer door open and moved to sit next to her, his hands clasped together.

"What are you doing out here?" Clark wondered.

"Getting some air," she explained. "I could swear that this baby is making me feel sick all the time. I thought sickness was just reserved for the morning?"

"Do you need anything for it?" Clark wondered from her, the concern in his voice back. He always was worried when it came to her health and the baby's health.

"I'll be fine in a few moments," she promised, turning her head to offer him a small smile. "How was work?"

"Back to normal," Clark admitted to her. "Lois keeps trying to dig out more gossip on Superman. I'm winning in the ratings column and she needs more gossip. I only smile and tell her that she needs to pay more attention to her surroundings. That's what a good journalist would do."

"She's a prize winning journalist."

"Without any superpowers," Clark added on with a small smirk. "She really doesn't stand a chance against me, does she?"

"I suppose not," Lizzie said, shaking her head back and forth as she thought of the banter between Lois and Clark. She knew that she shouldn't be jealous. She was carrying Clark's child. She was living with Clark's mother. She supposed her mind always thought back to their kiss that day in Metropolis.

"Anyway," Clark spoke, shaking his head as he moved his hand to feel the lump in his pocket. "I do have something to ask you."

"If it is about dinner then you can go and find your own. You're like a school kid with an appetite whenever you come home from work." Lizzie complained to him, smirking as she did so.

Shaking his head, Clark slowly moved down the steps to rest on the grass, one knee bent down as Lizzie's eyes widened.

"Although I am hungry, I do think that there is another pressing question first," he smiled.

Clark pulled out the box he had kept the ring in, fiddling with the clasp before he opened the lid to reveal the glittering blue stone against the old gold band. Lizzie's mouth gaped open as Clark looked down to the ring.

"My grandmother had this ring. She passed it down to my mom. Mom was going to save it for when she had a daughter...and well...I suppose she could do that by gaining a daughter," Clark explained, his palms sweating as Lizzie stared at the ring. "I suppose what I'm wanting to really ask is if you would marry me?"

Lizzie froze for a moment, too overwhelmed to speak. Clark patiently waited for some kind of response before she muttered back to him.

"Yes," she said. "My God, yes."

She smiled as Clark hastily pulled the ring from the box and deposited it back in his pocket. He took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger, hoping that it fit perfectly. He saw that it was a little too big, but he could fix that. Lizzie admired the rock before she pushed her arms around Clark's neck, drawing him up to her height on the step as he clumsily fell over her.

Her lips pressed against his as she rested her hand on his cheek.

"I love you, Clark Kent." Lizzie whispered to him. "I love you so much."

"Likewise," Clark said, kissing her again. "Now you have to plan a wedding."

She laughed lightly. "I think I've already got my ideas for our wedding. I've waited a while for this."

"No more waiting now."

...

A/N: Thanks to anyone who is reviewing! Do let me know what you think and thanks for reading!