I decided not to keep you waiting. Enjoy!

++++

Lois chopped the carrots carefully, her thoughts as far from her task as they could get. She'd heard Clark earlier. That was the first time she'd ever known him to cry. What must he feel?

"Can I help?"

She turned to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs. He wore a pair of shorts and a tight muscle shirt. Instantly she was transported back to another night, another place.

It was all she could do to force herself not think about that time. <<Thank goodness the shirt's not white>> she thought. It was grey and so was his shorts. He was bigger, she noted, much bigger. His muscles were more defined and... <<My God, look at that chest!>>

His bare feet padded softly on the tile as he crossed the room and she noticed he'd combed his wet hair back. He looked a whole lot better.

"Ah, sure," she managed. "Want to put the rice on?"

"Absolutely." Clark moved down the length of the counter, opening the cabinet where his mother had always kept the rice cooker. He smiled when he found it still in its place- a newer model, but still in its place. By the time he'd flipped the switch on the cooker, more tears had filled his eyes.

"What's wrong, Clark?" Lois asked as she moved over to his side.

"It's just so nice that some things haven't changed."

She smiled sadly and reached up to tuck a wayward lock of hair back. "Some things will never change."

He didn't have to pretend he didn't know what she meant by that. He could see it in her eyes. His heart actually sighed in relief. He'd been filled with so much apprehension where Lois was concerned. He'd decided years ago that when he returned to Earth he would find Lois and make things right, prepared to do whatever it took to get her back. Of course, there had been tons of worries that came along with that decision. What if she wasn't interested anymore? What if he'd hurt her beyond repair? What if she was involved with someone? He never dreamed that 'someone' would be his son.

Leaning forward, he kissed her softly. "I think my life might depend on that fact," he told her when he pulled back to look at her.

She grinned wider just before she wrapped her arms around his neck. She knew her life depended on it. Out of all the changes, the one thing that hadn't was how she felt about him. And certainly a few... thousand hugs couldn't hurt either.

"I think I needed that," he told her when she'd stepped back.

"Any time." She patted his arm, then continued with her dinner preparations.

He helped her in silence for a bit before he poured himself a glass of iced tea and leaned against the counter. "It's not cream soda," he commented when he'd finished his drink.

"Yeah. We don't keep a lot of those any more. Too much sugar. Lane doesn't do well with a lot of sugar."

"Hyper is he?"

"That's one word for it." Lois dropped the vegetables in the wok.

Clark turned to watch her stir the incredients in the pan to coat them with sauce. "It's amazing to watch you do that."

"Your mother's a wonderful teacher," she commented. "And I had terrific motivation."

"Guess growing boys need more than Rocky Road and Chinese take-out."

"Just a little." She lifted a spoon to his lips for him to taste.

"Mmmm. That's really good, Lois," he said surprised.

"Don't sound so shocked, farmboy."

"Farmboy?"

"Would you prefer hick?"

"Ah, no," he replied with a smile. He eased closer to her side so he could place a kiss on her temple. "I'm finding it difficult to keep my hands and my lips to myself," he whispered in her ear.

She had to close her eyes. The feel of his hot breath across her ear was doing a number on her system.

He kissed her again, then moved over to drop heavily on a chair. He couldn't suppress a smile when she sighed. "I can't tell you how good this place smells," he said waywardly.

"Smells?" What an odd thing to say!

"You don't realize the things you miss until they're gone."

"Like a fresh cup of coffee on the corner of your desk first thing every morning," she said absently.

"Or the sound of the garbage truck at six in the morning."

"The smell of ink, stale donouts, or the sound of Ralph's voice."

"Perry's booming demands. Apple pie, baseball, flying."

"Flying," she agreed dreamily, then looked at Clark.

"That's the first thing we'll do when my powers return," he told her quickly.

"Absolutely." She stirred the vegetables again. "Oh, you know what else? Loud ties!"

"My ties were not loud."

"Yes, they are. And I kept them. They just don't look as good on me."

He said nothing, but his mind ran away with that statement as his eyes glossed over from trying to picture that image. Lois wearing one of his ties- and nothing else.

"You have a dirty mind, Clark Kent," Lois said as she shook the spoon at him.

A wide grin spread out across his face and he shrugged his shoulders. <Can't blame a guy for dreaming.> He shook away those thoughts and leaned forward on the table. "I miss television."

"I would have thought as advanced as Kryptonians are there would be televisions everywhere," Lois commented.

"Holograms... but only for informational purposes. They find entertainment a hard concept to grasp." But they knew how to play basketball. He'd introduced the game to a few of the guards and it had caught fire.

"Double fudge crunch bars," Lois continued their list. When he cast her a questioning glance, she said, "Lane likes them more than me. The sugar thing again."

"Ahh." Clark lifted the salt shaker, poured a bit in his hand, then licked it off. "I miss real food."

"Trading story ideas."

"Making love."

Lois stopped and faced him.

"It's true," he told her as he looked at her.

"I, ah, I thought... Lady Zara?" She could feel her face burn in embarrassment, unable to believe she'd just asked about his love life. She would never forget how Martha had struggled telling her about Zara, about the fact that she was Clark's wife. There was also no way she'd deny the jealousy that raged within her over that information. True, she and Clark had never made a committment to one another. But still...

"She was my *ceremonial* wife."

"But you were with her for six years." Six long years! <<Shut up, Lois!>> She didn't want to hear this!

"You're talking to the man who waited nearly thirty years to make love for the first time."

He'd told her that.

{{{{Lois sat on top of the counter in Clark's kitchen watching the muscles in his back ripple as he put together a couple of sandwiches for them. After three hours in bed, she was hungry.

"How's this look?" He asked as he held up the biggest sandwich she'd ever seen.

"Like too much for me to eat!"

He grinned. She loved his grin.

"You'll have some for later," he suggested as he moved over to the fridge to grab them a soda.

"I thought you looked good in black, but white... mmm, I think it's your color."

A deep shade of red colored his cheeks as he stood before her in nothing but his boxer briefs.

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed," she said around a mouthful of food. She was wearing the muscle shirt he'd had on earlier and found that amazingly she wasn't the least bit shy.

"Well..." He eased up to the counter beside her and took a bite of his sandwich.

"Clark, we've been naked together all night!" She just giggled when his color deepened even more. After another bite, she wiped her mouth. "You certainly weren't very shy in the throes of passion."

"Lo-is!" This time he looked scandled.

"You're weren't." She closed her eyes a moment, savoring the memory of their last encounter. It had been incredible. "The look in your eyes, the bead of sweat on your upper lip..."

"Can we talk about something else?" he asked, then took another bite from his meal.

She reached out to push his hair back on his head. "Relax. I'm just having fun teasing you."

He looked up at her, then smiled. "It's okay. I kinda' like to watch you, too." He moved their plates aside and eased between her legs, pushing his large hands under her shirt to smooth across her naked hips. She giggled as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. Fully expecting him to kiss her, she growled when he stopped mere inches from her mouth. "What's wrong?"

"I think you know what's wrong," she said reaching out to kiss him.

He pulled back again. "You are insatiable."

"Me? What about you, Mr. 'I can make love for hours'? That has to be a super trait."

"You don't seem to have a problem keeping up. Is that a 'Lois' trait?"

She grunted when he dragged her closer to his body. "Remind me to send her a thank you note," she said just before she pressed her lips to his again.

"Mmm," he moaned, then broke the kiss. "Her who?"

"The other crazy, insatiable woman who allowed you to perfect your techniques."

He kissed her neck, then put his head back so she could return the favor. "Ahh," he moaned an excited sigh. "Why would you want to send yourself a thank you note?" He sucked in a deep breath as she tugged on his ear lobe.

"Wh... oh, oh... like that." It was his turn to send shivers down her spine; he licked a sensitive spot behind her ear. Her hands gripped the sides of his neck so she could guide him toward the other side. "What?" she asked again, remembering his question.

"Note... to yourself." He looked up into her smoky gaze.

Huh? Note to myself? What was he talking about? It was hard to concentrate when he kissed her that way. Did he mean...?

Surely not. She pulled back and placed her palms on his chest to stop him from returning his lips to her neck. At his concerned look, she asked, "Myself? As in...?"

"You're the other insatiable woman who helped me perfect..."

"That's not possible!"

"That you're insatiable?" he teased.

"Funny, Kent." If he was implying what she thought he was, she needed to...

<<To what, Lois?>>

The smile faded from his face as he lifted his hands to frame her face. "It's very possible, and it's very true." Leaning forward, he kissed her softly.

"So, you're saying that..."

"You stole my virginity, you naughty girl." He was grinning again.

He was also doing that... thing he could do with his lips. That, that... gently nibble- definitely a super trait. There was just no way he was...

<<Like that, Kent. Just like that!>> Dropping her head back to allow him better access, she gave herself back over to him once again. That other thing would just have to wait until later.

Much later, she thought as he grasped her head so he could kiss her again.

<<Just like that!>>}}}}

She remembered thinking the next day that there was no way he'd been a virgin that night. He'd been much too confident. But later, as she'd gotten to know Clark better through his parents, she'd realized he'd told her the truth. In the many hours she'd had to think about him, and that night, she realized he'd been following the lead of his heart. There were times during their passion induced haze that she'd actually felt his love for her. So, why had she walked away?

"How about you?" he asked, cutting in to her thoughts. "Find someone special to spend time with?"

"Yeah," she said dreamily. "He's nearly four feet tall with gorgeous black hair and brown eyes."

Clark chuckled softly. "How do I compete with that?"

Lois cocked her head to the side and tried to look straight into his soul. "Competition is over rated."

He was caught slightly off guard by the expression on her face. Raw emotion burned deeply behind her dark eyes. What he wouldn't give to have saved her from a bit of the pain she'd suffered. They stared at one another for a moment before Clark cleared his throat and looked away.

"So, want to sit on my lap?" he asked and patted his thigh.

"Oh no! The last time I sat on your lap I got knocked up," she replied as she lifted the wok to pour the vegetables in a serving dish.

He clamped his mouth shut. Guess she had a point there. He'd made the suggestion in hopes of having her close again. But obviously her answer was meant to lighten the mood. It worked because after a beat, he burst out laughing.

It was Lois' eyes that filled with tears this time. The sound of his laughter was absolutely beautiful.

Ahh, how he'd missed this woman! He finally calmed and looked up at her. Did she have any idea how much he loved her?

Before either could say another word, the sound of a car door slamming ripped through the quiet night air.

****

"Mommy! We had so much fun. Gammy and Poppy took me to the fish tank." The door banged back against the wall as an excited little boy rushed into the kitchen. "You should have seen the..." He stopped in his tracks and stared at the man rising from the table.

"Slow down, Lane," Martha yelled after him. "There's plenty of time to tell Mom everything." She, too, stopped just inside the door when her eyes fell on the son she thought she'd never see again.

Clark had panicked when he'd heard the car door shut. For a brief second he'd wanted to be anywhere but in that kitchen.

"Why is everyone just standing in the... door?" Jonathan's mouth fell open, just like the others.

"Lane, honey, this is..." Lois started, holding out her hand as she moved toward Clark.

"My daddy," the boy whispered the rest for her.

Clark's throat felt as if it was closing up; his heart thundered against his chest. He could only stand there, staring down at the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. The pictures had shown Lane to be a gorgeous child, but standing just a few feet from him was something else altogether. He'd known he'd meet... his son. Yet, he'd tried not to think about it. Talking with Lois had helped keep his mind off this moment. What did he do now? What did he say? He watched as Lane took a step toward him and his large body started to shake.

"I didn't think this day could get any better." His little voice held just as much wonder as his eyes did. This child he'd help give life to knew him; he was glad to see him. He stopped directly in front of Clark and thrust out his hand. "I'm Lane Kent, your son," he said with pride.

Breathe, he told himself. <And don't let him see you cry!> Pure instinct took over. "I'm... I'm Clark," he whispered and reached out tentatively to grasp the small hand before him. <God, he feels so good!> "Your, ah, your..."

"Daddy!" the boy breathed as he squeezed the large hand he held. His eyes filled with tears and Clark felt like he'd die.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he kneeled before him, still holding his hand. Seeing his son's tears was worse than, than... kryptonite!

"Nothing," Lane told him. "I'm just... happy."

He lost the battle with holding back his tears and felt the first hot drop roll down his cheek.

"Don't cry, Daddy. I'm a really good boy."

Clark choked back a sob and pulled Lane into his arms, carefully enfolding him in his strong embrace. Every ounce of apprehension left him in a rush. His mind might not know this child, but his heart knew him well. This was his son. The son he and Lois had made- the product of their love for one another.

Lane accepted his father's reaction and wrapped his small arms around his large neck, giving the man all the time he needed. It was sometime later when he grunted. "Ah, Daddy?"

"Hhh?"

"You're squeezing me too tight."

Clark chuckled and drew Lane back to look at him. His large hands touched him gently, cupping his head, smoothing over his shoulders, down his arms. He took his hands in his, his thumbs rubbing his small fingers. "Until just this moment, I had no idea what to do when I saw you for the first time," he admitted.

Lane just smiled as he looked into his father's eyes- eyes like his own.

It wasn't until Martha suppressed a sob that Clark remembered they weren't alone. He looked up into the tear-filled eyes of his mother. "Hey, Mom!"

"Clark!"

Clark glanced back at Lane, reluctant to release his hands.

"Go on. There's nothing like Mommy's hugs," the smart guy told him. Lane pulled his hands from Clark's and stepped back out of the way.

Clark had barely stood up when his mother wrapped her arms around his neck. He was right. Lane was right. There was nothing like Mama's hugs.

Martha drew back to look at him, cupping his face in her hands. "You're home!"

"I'm home, Mama," he told her, then kissed her cheek. "Mama, Lois," he said as he closed his eyes to savor another hug. "I have really missed my mama."

Lois had to stifle her tears. She'd waited for this moment for so long. Martha had shared her fears about Clark never coming home. And since becoming a mother herself, she knew how the older woman felt now.

"Can your old dad get in on this?"

Clark chuckled softly as he pulled away from his mother and grabbed his father.

"And Dad?" Lois asked.

"Daddy, too," Clark agreed as he kissed the side of his father's neck.

Lois had to turn away. She concentrated on finishing dinner instead. If she continued to watch their reunion, she would break down.

Jonathan drew back, squeezing Clark's shoulder. "'Bout time those people brought my boy home."

Clark didn't say a word, just smiled at the two people who'd raised him as their own as he wrapped his arm around his mother's shoulder.

"How about that little guy?" Martha asked as she looked over at Lane.

Clark smiled at the small boy who stood a few feet away, waiting patiently while his father reunited with his own parents. Immediately Lane offered Clark a wide grin. "He's... the best surprise I've ever received." He pulled away from Martha and settled again on his chair, then motioned for Lane to come near. The boy chose the chair next to his dad, nevering taking his eyes from Clark's as he sat down.

"Tell me about Lane Kent," Clark said as he clasped his hands between his knees and faced Lane.

The boy smiled.

<He's a perfect mixture of me and Lois!>

"Watcha' wanna know?" He was small, and his feet hang a good two inches from the floor, swinging back and forth.

"Well, your mom tells me you're nearly six."

"Yep. My birthday's is in August. I'm having a Superman party!" Clark's brows rose toward his hair, but Lane kept talking. "Not many kids my age know who he is."

"Do you?" Clark asked him softly. Did he? Did Lane know who Superman was?

"Sure. He's strong, and smart, and fast, and his suit is really cool. His mom made it for him."

Clark didn't miss the glance Lane gave his grandmother. Obviously the little guy *did* know. He looked up when Lois touched his hand.

"He knows," she said softly and held Clark's gaze long enough to convey that Lane not only knew, he understood.

How much time had she spent talking with their son about his absent father? Clark indicated with a slight nod that everything was okay.

Lane stopping swinging his legs and the grin on his face faded. "Superman's cool, but you're better."

This child had just wrapped his father around his little finger. Gazing into his beautiful face, Clark reached out and cupped the child's cheek, his large hand nearly covering the entire side of his head. "And you're better than flying," he whispered, rubbing his thumb under his eye. "Brown eyes."

"The same color as yours," Lane said as he continued to look at his dad.

Clark moved his hand back through the hair just above Lane's ear. It was cut short, like a little man. Would this child suffer because of his absence?

"Know what?"

"What?" Clark pulled his hand away and sat attentively while he waited for Lane to answer.

"I'll be in second grade next year."

"I know. Mom told me. She said you are very smart."

"Good genes," Lane boasted with a bright smile. That caused his father to chuckle softly. "I like your laugh."

"Do you?" When he nodded, Clark said, "Well, maybe if we keep talking, I'll find something else to laugh about."

"Why don't we all talk for a while?" Martha asked as she set a bowl of salad on the table. "Over this wonderful meal."

Clark looked up at his mother. "We can do that." He glanced at Lane, who nodded his agreement, then turned to ease closer to the table.