Lots of Clois drama in this one but I think you guys will enjoy how it ends ;)

Chapter Eighteen

Lois sat outside the coffee shop waiting for her date to show up when the waitress came by to give her another refill unaware that Clark was watching her from across the street, he had been standing there for a few minutes trying get up the courage to go over but for some reason he just stood there watching her wait for him.

There was so much he wanted to tell her before leaving but he knew that the most important thing for him to do was get back home to deal with his sick daughter and figure out who the kryptonian woman was that showed up on his family's doorstep.

Finally making a decision, Clark reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone where he dialed a number and watched as Lois looked down at hers before answering, "I was wondering where you were."

"Lo." He states with a small smile on his face despite the fact his insides were being torn apart by what he had to do, "Something came up and I have to leave. I'm sorry." He ends the call before she could even say anything and stays there to watch her.

When she tries to call him back he presses the ignore button, "Goodbye Lo." He whispers before heading off down the street ignoring the dull ache in his chest and the voice inside screaming for him to turn back around but he just ignored it.

Water cascaded down his back as he lifted his head letting it wash away the memory that had invaded his thoughts ever since Lois had pecked his cheek.

"Daddy!" a voice cried out from outside prompting the kryptonian to shut off the shower and super speed into the living room dressed in shorts and his Central Kansas shirt where he spotted Lois standing there, "Ms. Lane brought us pizza." The little girl states with a smile then bit into a slice.

Clark looked from the woman that had wormed her way into his mind and heart then to his daughter, "Make sure you have a napkin or something. I don't want to clean tomato sauce off the furniture tomorrow." She nods and walks back towards the pizza box where she pulled out a paper plate and went to go eat at the table.

"I went over everything Dr. Hamilton gave us and I thought that since he is your doctor that you would know what to look for." He looks back just as Lois pulls out the USB device and holds it out to him, "I hope you don't mind me showing up here like this."

He takes the device from her and shakes his head, "You just caught me off guard." 'Twice in one day' the little voice inside his head adds, "H-How did you get in?"

Lois looks past him towards Maggie, "She wouldn't let me in unless I showed her some identification. I guess she gets that from you." She nudges him playfully and walks off to grab a slice unaware of the small smirk that had appeared on his face.

Maggie was munching on her second slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza while Lois took a sip of her brew and Clark drank a soda.

"I've never see her take to someone so fast." Clark stated to Lois in a low voice so that Maggie wouldn't hear their conversation, "It took her months to get use to people she didn't know."

"I have many hidden talents." She jokes while taking another sip before continuing, "My sister has a little one at home except he's still in diapers and likes to crawl all over the place." She smiles a little at the mention of her nephew, "I watch him whenever the lovebirds want some alone time."

"I didn't know Lucy had a kid. I bet your dad wasn't happy about that."

She just shrugs, "We made sure to never leave them alone together in the room but the general changed his mind after little Sammy was born. I haven't seen him smile like that…" she pauses with the memory of her mother's passing, "He just hasn't smiled like that in a long time." She rephrases before reaching for her drink again unaware that Clark had noticed the shifting looks.

The silence between them was interrupted when Maggie looked up from her empty plate to notice her father occasionally looking over at Lois when she wasn't paying attention and decided to ask, "Are you and my dad dating?"

Clark immediately started choking on his soda at the impromptu query and let out a gasp for air when Lois patted him on the back, "Why would you ask something like that?" Clark asks after taking a few minutes to calm down.

She just shrugged and replied, "I don't know. It seemed like a good question at the time."

They share a look then he turns his attention back to the inquisitive child, "I think its time for someone to go to bed." He gets to his feet and begins to clear the table obviously trying to avoid the question.

"But you didn't answer my question."

Lois lets out a laugh while Clark just shakes his head, "Ms. Lane and I are just friends. The moment I start dating you will be the first one to know." He kisses her the forehead; "Now go get ready for bed before I change my mind about letting you stay up to watch…" before he could even finish his sentence she jumps out of her chair and runs into her room.

Hours later the movie had ended and Clark had tucked Maggie into her bed for the night leaving them alone to their own devices, "I guess I should head out." Lois went to get her things getting ready to leave.

"Don't go." Clark states almost immediately stepping towards her and placing his hand on hers stopping her movements, "There's something I've been meaning to say." She doesn't look at him afraid at what she was gonna see in his eyes, "Leaving you behind was one of the hardest things and I know you've already forgiven me or maybe you still secretly hate me for it but I'm sorry that I left without saying goodbye." He removes his hand from her arm and takes a step back as if to say that the ball was now in her court, "I just wanted you to know that."

"You can't just tell me that and not expect me to respond." She replies turning around to face her with her stuff forgotten on the floor, "I want to know why…why would you make me think there was something there between us if you were just gonna leave me."

Clark didn't answer her prompting the emotions she had kept bottled up boil to the surface causing her to push him, "Just tell me why!" she exclaims pushing him again, "Why would you make me fall in love with you?" his eyes immediately find hers after her confession which made him feel even worse about his decision to leave her.

Frustrated at his inability to answer her questions she just shook her head and grabbed her things ready to leave when his response stopped her, "I was scared. My life had revolved around trying to be a father and moving on with my life when I met you and for the first time in three years I was actually feeling something for once instead of closing myself off to the outside world."

"There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you." His voice breaks while his hand caresses her face causing her eyes to close at the warmth from his touch.

"Clark" her name falls of his lips in a low whisper as her eyes lock with his to see everything reflected in his eyes including the words he couldn't say and when he went to say something she placed her finger against his lips and shook her head while her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

A large smile spreads across his face and he leans in to brush his lips against hers as her arms wrap around him pulling them closer together unaware of that Maggie was spying on them from the doorway of her bedroom with a small smile on her face at her father's happiness.

TBC

Now you all know why he ran and never came back for Lois. Everything is falling into place and Lois and Clark are beginning to heal.