Chapter 1: The Photo album
Smallville 2022
The farmhouse was steady and quiet, aside from the giggles he heard coming from downstairs. He got up from his bed and put on the little cow slippers his mom left by his bedside and made his way down the stairs and saw his parents and little sister in the kitchen laughing over what appeared to be cups of hot cocoa. Mmm my favorite, he thought.
"I hope there's some hot cocoa left for me!", he shouted as he ran down the stairs and jumped on his dad's back.
"Well hello to you too, little man. You jump on my back like that again and your new-found strength might just break it", Clark said as he put the boy down and ruffled his hair, smiling proudly at his son.
"See mom! I told you I was getting stronger! Pretty soon, I'll take the skies just like Dad, though I'll never be as cool as he is."
"Hey buddy, with a mom as cool as yours, you're going to be more popular than me son" Clark smiled as he put him on the stool.
"That's true!" Lara butted into the conversation to make her presence known, since no one was paying her any attention. "Yesterday, I told Sophia that I had the coolest mom ever, but she just laughed. Hmph, when I get to the first grade and we have career day, I'll show her how cool my mommy is!"
"That's right baby." Lois sent her daughter an encouraging smile while Clark sent Lois a teasing glare and a head shake as she set Lara on the counter then squatted near her son. "Now, how's your stomach feeling? Did the nap help?"
As he nodded vigorously, she couldn't help but let out a small smile and brush her fingers over his forehead. "Are you up for some hot cocoa now or do you want some before bedtime?"
"Before bedtime! But can we pleaseee watch Cars after dinner? I don't want to watch Frozen again," he sent a glare to his younger sister and continued, "If I have to hear her sing that snowman song one more time, I'm gonna-"
"Okayyy, pipe down, mister" Lois said, coming to her feet, rubbing her growing baby bump.
"Yeah! Pipe down, mister. Or should I say mini smallville," the little girl teased, sticking her tongue out to her older brother and laughing.
"Okay you two," Clark said emerging from the stove with a small smile on his face, always amused by how much his baby girl not only resembled his wife in looks but also in personality. "Yes, we can watch Cars. How about the two of you go play in the barn while your mommy and I get started on dinner before Grandma gets home."
"Is mom cooking?" The two of them asked at the same time with horrified looks on their faces, grimacing at the memory of the last time their mom was in the kitchen, handling a pot on the stove.
As Clark laughed heavily from his spot, Lois sent the kids an exasperated look and huffed "No, I will not be cooking, but thank you two for your everlasting support. I'll just be in my corner, making sure your dad doesn't screw up. Now, does that work for you two?" At their relaxed nods, she finally said, "Good, now go play and your dad will call you in when it's time."
They both exclaimed okay as their son jumped off the stool and ran to the back door while their daughter held out her hands for her dad to take her off the counter but not before tapping her cheek, insisting that her daddy place his famous kisses on them. And she squealed in happiness and glee as he finally placed her feet on the floor and ran after her brother.
"You know, it's because of you that the kids continue to spread propaganda that I'm this big, bad, terrible cook." Lois sighed as she leaned her back into her husband's chest when he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, rubbing her baby bump, nuzzling his face in her neck and placing open mouth kisses down her throat.
"Yes, Lois. Because it's my fault you can't boil an egg without burning it."
"Yes, it is," she said firmly, turning in his arms, loving the warmth coming from his body. "The same way it's your fault we have another cookie baking in the oven."
"Last time I checked, it was a two-man job, Lo. And I didn't hear a single complaint coming from you when we were sharing our marital duties." As he saw a small smile grow on her lips, he lifted her chin and placed a small kiss on her, sucking her bottom lip before coming up for air.
"Besides, I can't help myself. The Lane genes have never done me wrong."
"Well, judging from how calm and well behaved she's been in here, I can tell you with full confidence that this little one is all Kent'' she breathed and rubbed her belly as he placed a kiss on her collarbone.
With a small laugh, Clark softly said "I know we didn't really plan for her but she's our love child and I can't wait to meet her." He placed a kiss on her forehead and pulled her closer, wanting to feel the warmth of his third miracle.
"Me too," she whispered. Looking up into his aquamarine eyes that she loved getting lost in, a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "You know, after last night, I think I deserve a little more TLC from my Superman, and I can't think of a better time than when the kids are occupied," she said, biting down on her bottom lip, wrapping her hands around his neck.
"I think we can squeeze in ten minutes before we get started on dinner," his facial expression perfectly matching his wife's.
"Keep an ear out for the kids?", she said as he lifted her up in his arms.
"Always." The next thing that was heard was a whoosh, giggles, and moans coming from the master bedroom.
Outside the farmhouse in the barn, the two siblings were playing with their toys in the loft when the boy came across a small box and decided to open it, of course. After all, he did have his mother's curiosity. As he opened it, he saw a small knitting and sewing kit and immediately knew the box belonged to none other than his Grandma. He saw a locket necklace in the shape of a heart. When he opened it up, he saw a small picture inside the glass frame of a couple. He first recognized his grandmother from pictures inside the house. He immediately noticed how young she looked and how vibrant her red hair was. He took a closer look at the picture and recognized his Grandpa Jonathan. He was wearing the same jacket his daddy wore around the farm. His daddy told him that when he becomes of age, he will pass the jacket on to him and he'll officially become a Kent farmer, just like his father and his father before him. The boy was proud that he got to share in that heritage even though they didn't always stay at the farm.
He put the locket down and reached for a photo album at the bottom of the box. As he picked it up, he read the label out loud as it said "Lois and Clark over the years. Wow, how cool is this?" he whispered to himself, but it didn't go unnoticed as his little sister, who had been playing with a mysterious ring with an L on it and looked up at her older brother.
"Hey, what are you doing? You know we're not supposed to go through stuff, that's what mommy said."
"Well I'm not going through just any stuff, I'm going through Grandma's stuff" he returned and opened the book, to see a picture of a small boy who he thought was him at first but figured it was his dad since his mom always called him mini smallville. She always said he looked just like his dad, well aside from his eyes. They were full of life and curiosity, just like his moms. If I look just like him, I'll be just as powerful as he is one day, I know it, he thought to himself as he stared at his father's younger self.
"Yeah, well same difference. And I'm telling," she huffed, still holding the ring in her hand and getting up to walk to the house, lavishing in just how much trouble her brother was going to be in.
"Hey, why don't you stop being annoying and come look at these awesome photos of mom and dad!" He held out his hand and pulled her down to sit by his side. Still holding hands as they sat crisscross applesauce, he placed the photo album between their laps.
"Wow, was that you when I was a baby?"
"No, that's dad! He looks just like me, doesn't he?" he said with such pride.
"Is that why mommy calls you mini smallville? Because you look just like daddy?"
He nodded and turned the page. "Look, that's mommy but you look just like her too!"
"Uh huh. That's why daddy calls me his little trouble maker," she giggled, and her brother rolled his eyes at another display of the daddy-daughter love fest.
"If you look like daddy and I look like mommy, who is the baby gonna look like?" the little girl asked her brother.
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe she'll look like all of us," he shrugged and turned the page.
As they continue to go through the book, the little boy wondered how his Grandma got all these pictures of his mom as a child, but figured the General must've given her some at a point. They turned another page and realized that it was the first picture of their parents together. It was a picture of just the two of them and they looked very young, almost like teenagers, the boy thought in his mind. Their mom had blondish hair and tied it up into a ponytail while their dad's hair was longer and spread across his forehead, almost shading his eyes. They stood awkwardly next to each other with forced smiles on their faces. The picture had a small caption that said "Lois' first day".
"This must've been when Mommy started going to Daddy's school," the boy squealed.
"Mommy doesn't look very happy. Neither does daddy. Were they not happy to be together?" the little girl said sadly. Her parents were always at their happiest when they were together, so the picture put her off.
"Well, Auntie Chloe told me that they didn't always like each other when they first met, this must've been during that time. But Mommy told me that she secretly liked daddy but liked to make fun of him, maybe Daddy didn't like it and that's why they look like this?"
"That's funny because daddy always tells me that he had a secret crush on mommy when they first met but she annoyed him so much, he became fru- fru-..."
"Frustrated," the boy helped his sister.
"Yeah", she giggled, "that word. Maybe if he just kissed her all the time the way he does now, he wouldn't have been so frwustarated, ugh," the little girl sighed in her own frustration, rolled her eyes, and slapped her free palm to her forehead at how slow her dad could be sometimes, at least that's what her mom and Aunt Chloe said.
"Frustrated," the boy said again, making sure his sister knew the correct pronunciation of the word.
Below, there were two more photos of their parents from what seemed to be the same event. The first was at their school in a field filled with students fading into the background. Their dad was wearing a white top that said "Go Crows" on it as the top and himself were drenched in water in a dunk tank, smiling like he never smiled before. Off to the side, they saw their mom wearing a blue tank top, grinning with her head held up high. Below that was a picture taken shortly after as Clark wrapped his wet arms around Lois trying to get her as wet as possible, no matter how much she was going to get him back for it. Lois had an annoyed expression on her face as the picture showed her trying to get free. In the corner, the picture captured a sad and disappointed Chloe looking over at them with slight jealousy.
"See, that's how mommy and daddy are now!" she exclaimed in pure glee as she looked at her parents, knowing that they had always made each other happy.
The little boy smiled but his mouth turned to a frown as he saw his Aunt Chloe in the corner of the picture. "Why does Auntie Chloe look sad?"
"Who cares?! Look at mommy and daddy at their prom!" she squealed in excitement at the next candid picture she saw. "Mommy's wearing pink? That's new," she pointed out.
"She looks really pretty, doesn't she?". At his sister's nod, he glanced at the candid one more time before looking at the next picture of his dad standing and smiling next to Lois outside the farmhouse with his cap and gown, Lois looking at the camera with a sense of pride. The picture was captioned "Before all hell broke loose". The two kids laughed as they knew their grandma almost never said any words that would cause her to put a dollar in the swear jar. Their mother on the other hand, well if she kept going at her rate, she was going to end up paying their college tuition.
All while still holding hands, he turned the page and saw two more pictures. Even though the one on the left caught his eye first, he quickly glanced at the picture that showed his mom kissing the Green Arrow, completely unaware of the picture being taken. "Why was mommy kissing Uncle Ollie", the girl said a bit grossed out. The boy shrugged and looked at the picture that originally caught his eye. It was a picture of his parents, but also of his grandparents Martha and Jonathan. This might have been his favorite picture yet. They were all smiles at the dinner table looking at the camera that must have been on a timer. Martha leaned into her husband's chest as his arm was wrapped around her shoulder. Lois and Clark sat on the other side. Their mom was wearing a nice long sleeve blue top with her hair down, falling to her shoulders. Clark was beside her, in his signature red, leaning into her, almost placing his chin on her shoulder, his forearm stretched across her chair. The photo was captioned "Thanksgiving with the Kent's, 2005".
"Wow, they all look so happy, huh?"
"Yeah, especially Grandpa Jonathan. I wish we got to meet him", the girl said sadly as she looked at the picture, longing to sit with her other Grandpa as he told stories of her daddy when he was her brother's age.
"Yeah me too. I wish we got to be with them during this time, that would've been cool." her brother replied.
As they turned the page, still holding hands, a white light, unknowingly to the children, engulfed them, transporting them to a time where they could finally meet the famous man on the farm, to a time before their parents fell in love. And as if nothing happened around them, the master bedroom on the farm went from a room filled with moans and whispers of love to a room where Jonathan was snoring away, taking his afternoon nap, resting before heading back out to the farm for the second part of his day. And as the barn became empty of noises coming from children, a great force in the arctic decided to freeze time, bending his rules just this once, so his grandchildren can experience a very special time in their parents lives, so a farmer he entrusted his only son with can see that his legacy will go on after him, and sent a signal to a certain Martian to be on the lookout for the best time to bring the two children back home, to their own timeline.