Thanks to Diane and TEEEJ, as always, who are suffering through my massive typo phase. 
A a special thanks to Paul who helped me keep a certain line that hadn't been working just right. 
SaraFrom part 14:
What if Clark was already dead? What if he’d been killed? What then? How would she know? The tears came again, flowing freely down her face. She wouldn’t know. She’d never know. No one on New Krypton cared about her. Why would they travel across space just to tell her that Clark was dead? They wouldn’t. She’d seen the way Zara and Ching were – void of emotion. And she knew they didn’t care much for her at all. She’d be left here wondering. Forever. And Clark…she tried not to imagine him dead, but the image came anyway. He’d be buried on a dead rock all alone and she wouldn’t even be able to mourn his death or visit his grave.
Lois covered her stomach with both hands. “At least I have you,” she whispered.
~~~~Part 15~~~~
Lois closed her eyes against the tears. Her doorbell rang and her eyes flew open. Clark would have called first. Who the heck was that at – she glanced at the clock – eleven o’clock at night? Seriously. She let out an aggravated sigh and got out of bed. Lois pulled on her robe and cinched it up as she headed for the door.
Her breath caught in her throat when she looked through the peephole.
H.G. Wells.
She didn’t know if she wanted to open the door. All those feelings of anger and hatred that had built up over the past few weeks suddenly turned to fear. Anxiety.
He was here to take Clark. Clark had done his duty, served his sentence, and now Wells was going to take him home. And she’d be alone. Again. And just as quickly as it had left, the anger came back with a vengeance and she ripped open the door. Or she would have if she’d unlocked it first. She growled and disengaged the locks. The door swung in easily this time and revealed the short insufferable man.
“What do you want?”
If Lois weren’t shaking with anger, she might have smiled at the utter shock on Wells’ face. But as it were, she just stared at him, waiting for him to come up with something intelligent to say.
“Uh...Ms. Lane...I take it you remember me from our last adventure together?”
“Adventure? Is that what this is to you? A little adventure? Gonna write a book about it? 101 Ways To Screw With My Emotions?" Lois took satisfaction in the fact that she’d made him speechless. Good. She didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. “Get out of here!” Lois screamed and slammed the door in his face.
Her hands were still shaking as she re-locked the door. She turned and sagged against the door, sliding to the floor. Why her? She’d just gotten used to having Clark around. He was her friend. But so much more that that. She didn’t want him to go. Why now? Why did Wells have to pick the absolute worst moments to come barging into her life? She didn’t think she could handle things on her own anymore. Wells was going to whisk Clark away and leave her... “Oh my God! Clark!” Wells wouldn’t take him without letting her say goodbye first. Would he? She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the phone.
The four rings she had to suffer through grated on her nerves. Pick up. Pick up!
The answering machine picked up. “Clark! Oh, God, please still be there. Wa—”
“Lois! What’s wrong?! Are you okay?”
Relief flooded through her when she heard his voice. “Yes. No. Can you come over, Clark? And if you can find that annoying little man with a bowler hat, bring him along. I have a few words for him.”
She heard Clark gasp on the other end of the line. And his voice came out strained. “He’s here?”
“Yeah.” She tried hard to hold on to the anger, but Clark’s response and the anxiety she could tell he was feeling were flowing through the phone line in waves. “Just get here soon, Clark.”
***
He hung up the phone with a trembling hand. Wells was back. That meant he was going home. He had been struggling here, true, but he didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to leave Lois, not while she was so emotional. Would she be okay?
By the way she’d sounded on the phone just now, somehow he knew she wouldn’t be. He’d better get over there. Clark spun into some dark clothing and was high in the air in seconds. It didn’t take him long to find Wells making his way to Clark’s apartment by foot. Clark swooped down and grabbed him unceremoniously by the back of his coat - much like a mother cat would carry her kitten by the scruff of the neck, though not at all with the same sentiment - before lifting high into the sky again. Clark smiled smugly at Wells’ yelp of protest and made his way quickly to Lois’ apartment.
After making sure there was no one around to see, he landed in front of Lois’ door. He let Wells’ feet touch the ground, but he kept a firm grip on the man’s collar. Not that he thought Wells would run – well, he *might* - but Clark liked that small amount of control he had left. It might be all he had in a short time.
Clark rapped on the door and listened to the multiple locks disengaging. He could feel Lois's relief at seeing him when the door opened, and felt a similar relief towards seeing her.
Lois stepped aside for them to enter, and Clark ushered his prisoner not so gently inside. He paused, waiting for Lois to lock up again, and then followed her to the sitting area where he brusquely tossed Wells into one of the armchairs. Clark took a seat next to Lois on the couch. They both stared at Wells for a moment. Even under the circumstances, Clark found Wells’ stunned silence slightly amusing. Clark glared at Wells, daring him to speak. Daring him to tell the Man of Steel he knew what was best for him.
After a few long moments, he risked speaking, “I may not quite understand this hostility towards me that you both seem to have, but I’m here because it is time for you to go home, Clark. Superman’s identity should remain intact. And the baby’s future is secure as well.” He paused and looked at Lois, obviously expecting some kind of grateful reaction from her for the good news. Lois didn’t flinch, so Wells continued, “So...yes...quite...whenever you’re ready to go, Clark, we’ll be on our way.”
Just like that? That’s it? No explanation why? No glimmer of hope for either of them? No, “I’m taking you back because Clark is coming home soon...” Who did he think he was? That wouldn’t do. Nope. If Wells was here, the *least* he could do was give them some answers. “Why?” Clark challenged. “Why now?”
Wells played with his hands nervously, finally settling on a steepled position in front of him. Maybe as a bit of a barrier. Who knew? Clark could tell Wells was beginning to realized the situation he was in. “Well...quite frankly, though I’m hesitant to give away any information regarding your futures...”
Clark narrowed his stare.
“I...uh...well, all I can really tell you is that Clark is needed back in his universe.”
That piqued Clark’s interest, but Lois needed answers too. “What about Lois? Is her Clark coming home?”
“Well, I really am reluctant to tell you...”
Clark actually *heard* Lois fume next to him before she yelled, “Spill it, Wells!”
Wells looked Lois squarely in the eye, “Your Clark is coming back, but I really just can’t say when.”
Clark felt the relief flood through Lois, though she somehow managed to keep her composure. She wasn’t going to let Wells off the hook that easily. “Why not? Is this part of your sick little game, too?”
“No. I cannot tell you because I don’t know. I feared you might be so eager to know that I didn’t look, and therefore I am able to resist you pleas, however much I may want to respond to them. See, you must both appreciate the delicate space-time continuum. It must not be tampered with too much or the future could change irrevocably.”
Lois snorted derisively. “So what is it you think *you’re* doing, Wells?”
“*Ms.* Lane, I am ensuring that your future and the future of your children don’t become the dismal wreck of a world I saw when I last visited. Utopia was in ruins, it was the most depressing sight I've ever seen, and I’ll thank you not to be so terse with me!”
Whoa. Clark hadn’t expected that from the man. And from the looks of it, Wells hadn’t expected the outburst himself. There was silence in the apartment.
Or at least there was until Clark heard Lois’ quiet whimpering next to him.
“Oh, Lois!” Clark watched her as she fled from the room and the next thing Clark heard was her bedroom door slamming shut.
Wells looked appropriately stricken and ashamed. “Oh, my! I don’t know where that came from. I—”
“Mr. Wells, I think it would be best if you left now.” Clark held up a hand to ward off the protest he saw forming on Wells’ lips. “Please, I accept that I’ll have to leave, but if you could come back tomorrow, give us time to say goodbye, I’d appreciated it.”
Wells still looked a little dazed, but he nodded and rose from the chair. Clark saw him to the door and locked up after Wells had left.
He sighed. He could feel how upset Lois was right now. He made his way to her bedroom door and knocked softly. “Lois? Can I come in?”
There was a weak “yeah” that he might not have even heard *with* his super hearing. He opened the door softly and found her lying face down on her bed, crying into her pillow. The sight and the emotions he felt coming from her were almost more than he could bear. He went to her, seating himself next to her on the bed. He laid a hand gently on her back.
“Lois.” He didn’t know what to say. There wasn’t much he *could* say. “Lois, c’mere.”
She raised her head slowly and he offered her his shoulder with his arms wide open. She came gratefully and he cradled her in his arms as she wept.
It was some time later when she calmed a bit and sat up to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and moisture still clung to her face like rain on a picture window. She spoke and her voice was soft.
“He said ‘children’, Clark. Which means Clark isn’t just coming home, we’re going to have more than one baby. That makes me so happy that everything he’s missed he’ll get to experience. But at the same time, I can’t help but wonder what else he might miss. This is his first child. There’s no other feeling like it, I know. Even though I know he’s coming home, he’s missed out on our first miracle together. You can’t get that back. And what else will he miss? Her birth, her first words, her first steps? I know I should be grateful for the knowledge that he’s coming home, but it’s hard not knowing when. When do I get to have my life back?”
“Oh, Lois. I know. But he’s coming home. Just try to focus on that. It’ll get you through. I know it will.”
She sniffled. “Thanks, Clark.”
“Anytime, Lois. You know that.”
***
Lois smiled at the man who’d been a true friend to her. Yeah, she knew.
Only...
Her smile faltered. There wouldn’t be any other times. Clark had to go back to his own universe and she’d probably never see him again. She could feel fresh tears stinging in her eyes. “Clark.”
He seemed to realize the weight of his words then too. But there was nothing she could say. She wanted him to stay. He was her friend and she hated the idea that she’d never see him again. But at the same time she knew he couldn’t stay. Not if he was needed back in his universe and not if Clark was coming home. And for that matter, did Clark even *want* to stay? If she’d had to hazard a guess, she’d say no. Oh, she had no doubt that he valued, maybe even treasured the friendship they’d forged, but he didn’t belong here. And though it hurt to think so, she knew she served as a painful daily reminder of what he wouldn’t have - would never have - back home. And here she’d gone on, bemoaning her good fortune. How awful of her. How selfish. He was probably itching to get home now so he wouldn’t have to deal any longer with the heartache she’d handed him.
“It’s okay, Clark. I’m okay. You can go back to the apartment if you want. You don’t have to stay with me tonight.”
“Lois! Why would I do that? Why would I miss the chance to spend my last night here with my best friend?”
His *best* friend? Oh! She didn’t say anything else, she simply returned to the comfort of his arms and he wrapped his arms around her willingly. She hugged him fiercely. “Oh, Clark! I don’t want you to go, but at the same time—”
“Shh, Lois. I know. It’s okay.”
She sat there in his embrace for what seemed like a long while before she pulled away slowly. She wondered how long she’d be alone. How long would it be before Clark came home to her? And...
“Oh my God!”
“What? What is it, Lois?”
“How am I supposed to explain Clark’s absence again? I don’t even know how long I have to cover for him. Wells is lucky he’s not here right now. I might just have enough energy to strangle him. Seriously. Did he even think this through?”
“I guess not, Lois.” Clark shook his head.
“Well, I’ll have to think of something.”
“*We*, Lois. I’ll help you, you know that. Now, what do you think would cause Clark to leave right now and stay away for a while, when everything seems to be going so great? Something that, knowing his personality, people will accept that he’d still come back to you? Whenever that is.”
Lois thought long and hard. Clark just wouldn’t leave her. Well, aside from the reason he had already left, but as far as their friends and coworkers were concerned, nothing short of...
Ohmygod. That was it. But just the thought made her ill.
“I think I have something that’ll work, Clark.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
Clark looked intrigued, amused even. But this wasn’t amusing at all. She sighed and told him her plan. He agreed grudgingly. It would be difficult, emotional, but neither of them could think of anything else. There simply wasn’t any other way.
***
tbc... 
