By Laura Davies <brightfeather1.geo@yahoo.com>
Rated: PG
Submitted: November 2002
Summary: A WAFFy Christmas, spent with our favourite couple — and their family.
Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me, I'm just playing with them for a while. (Well, with the exception of the kids. ;) They're most definitely mine.)
Author's note: Well, ya'll… The muse seems to have taken a liking to this universe. <g> You don't need to have read any of F&AE-this story is takes place Christmas 2001; before the events of F&AE I: Fate.
***
Lois quietly left three-year-old Kiley's room, making sure to leave the door open a little bit behind her. It was Christmas Eve and it had taken forever for the child to fall asleep. Maybe now they could have enough time to play Santa for their little ones.
Silently, she went down the hallway and poked her head into Joseph's room. She smiled at the sight of him curled up on his tummy with his little bottom sticking up into the air. Lois crept in the room, carefully covered him with the blankets he had kicked off, and gently pulled his thumb from his mouth.
Lois tiptoed out of her son's room and headed downstairs to prepare for the next day. She was determined that her children would have much better childhood memories of Christmas than she had, and it was time to play Santa. Lois opened the secret compartment and began to pull the stocking stuffers out from it.
Just as she was sitting down to fill the stockings, a whoosh and a soft thump announced Clark's return. Clark spun out of the Suit, leaned down, and stole a quick kiss. "Hi, honey," he said quietly.
Lois reached out and caressed his face lightly. "Were there any serious injuries in the car wreck?" she asked.
Clark caught her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm. "No… we were lucky; I got there in time… and I swung by the farm and picked up a few presents for the kids that Mom and Dad accidentally left behind…" He sat down next to her on the couch and grabbed Kiley's stocking so that he could fill it.
"Did she say what they are?" Lois asked as she leaned over and kissed him.
The stocking fell from Clark's fingers as he brought his hands up to cup her face. A few moments later, the kiss ended. He caught her hand with his and laced his fingers through hers. "No," he began as he brushed a soft kiss against her lips, "but Mom did say that one of them was something she'd been working on for Joseph since he was born." He paused for a minute and looked at her, love and desire shining forth from his chocolate-brown eyes. "Does it really matter?" he asked quietly.
Lois squeezed his hand and smiled. "Not really," she said softly. "But we'd better get this done before the kids wake up and want to see what Santa brought."
Clark grinned. "And what happened to the Lois Lane I used to know, who hated Christmas and thought that Santa wasn't real?" he teased gently.
Lois looked at him and smiled. "She met you, got married, and had kids…" she said with a chuckle.
Clark smiled mischievously. "But the Lois Lane I knew would never take her children outside to sprinkle 'reindeer food' all over the backyard to convince Santa to land," he teased and kissed her lightly on the nose.
Lois gave him a 'who me?' look, blithely ignoring the fact that she had spent the afternoon doing just that. "The Lois Lane you first met would never do this either." Lois looked up at him through her eyelashes as she brought her arms up to link them around his neck. She tugged his head down to hers and kissed him. Without breaking the kiss, she slid onto his lap and pulled him closer to her. Slowly, the kiss ended and Lois contentedly leaned her head against his shoulder. "The Lois Lane you used to know wouldn't even admit to herself how much she cared about you." Lois looked up at her husband, a soft smile adorning her face. "I loved you, even then, you know…"
"I know," he said huskily as he brought his lips close to hers and hovered there for a moment, his breath soft and warm on her face. His lips brushed hers gently as she pulled him closer, opening her mouth under his in silent invitation. Clark smiled around the kiss and pushed his tongue into her mouth, exploring the familiar warmth as he had so many times before. He tangled his tongue with hers, reveling in the closeness that was expressed in a simple kiss. Slowly, the kiss ended and he brought his hand up to stroke her hair lightly. "I love you," he said softly.
Lois caressed his cheek lovingly. "I love you, too and that is what has made the difference…" She smiled and kissed him again quickly. "Now, Mister Kent, don't we have stockings to fill and presents to put out? Your parents put out the other presents that they brought and headed to bed early." She shot him a sultry look before continuing. "And going to bed early sounds like a *very* good idea…"
Clark laughed and stole a sweet kiss. "You," he began, brushing his lips across hers, "are insatiable," he said, capturing her lips once more. "Mrs. Kent," he finished as a large smile spread over his face.
Lois patted him on the chest and smiled. "You better believe it, sweetheart." She climbed out of his lap, picked up Joseph's stocking, and began to fill it quickly. She glanced over to see Clark doing the same with Kiley's stocking. They finished their tasks and carefully hung the stockings on the mantle.
Clark slid his arms around her waist and began to layer kisses on her neck. "Was there something else we need to do?" he whispered huskily.
Lois turned around in his arms and looked up at him through downswept eyelashes. "Sweetheart, we still have to put the presents under the tree…" She kissed him softly. "And Santa's snack needs to be eaten…"
Clark leaned a little closer to her and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "I can do that…" he said, smiling at her mischievously, "faster than a speeding bullet."
Lois smacked him on the chest playfully. "Then hurry," she said, her lips curving into a suggestive smile. "I want to unwrap *my* Christmas present."
"Just your Christmas present?" he inquired, his eyes full of devilment.
Lois laughed and kissed him again. "How about my forever present?" She winked before continuing, "You're just the gift that keeps on giving and giving."
Clark laughed and released her reluctantly. "I'll be right back," he murmured as he caressed her hair gently. Clark flew up the stairs and up into the attic where the presents were hidden. Carefully, he picked up as many as he could hold, brought them down in the living room, and placed them underneath the tree before going back upstairs for the more cumbersome items like Kiley's new tricycle. He put them carefully down, making sure that the 'from Santa' tags were prominently displayed.
Lois came up behind him and planted a gently kiss on his back. "Is that everything, sweetheart?" she asked softly.
Clark turned around and took her small hand in his. "Yeah." He smiled at her before leaning down for another kiss. Without losing lip contact, he scooped her into his arms and headed for the stairs.
***
Kiley reached up, grasped the doorknob, and ran into her parents' bedroom. She scrambled up on the bed and bounced a bit. "Mommy, Daddy, wake up! It's Christmas!"
Clark opened his eyes to find his little girl bouncing all over the bed. "Kiley, punkin' we're awake… now get off the bed and I'll be there in a minute to help you get dressed."
"But, D-addy," Kiley began, starting to pout.
"Punkin' if you like, you can go wake up Grandma and Grandpa… but your mom and I need a little time to get dressed, too."
Kiley's face brightened. "Okay!" She got down off the bed and made a beeline for the door. Quickly, she ran down the hallway and into the guestroom. "Grandma, Grandpa! It's Christmas! Wake up!"
Martha slowly opened her eyes to see her granddaughter's excited face. "Merry Christmas, punkin'." Martha slid out of bed and took Kiley by the hand. "Let's go get you dressed," she said with a smile. They walked to Kiley's room and began to get her ready for the day.
***
Clark leaned over and kissed Lois softly. "Sweetheart, it's morning—and Kiley just came looking for us."
Lois rested her hand on his chest and yawned sleepily. "She just *had* to inherit your 'morning person' gene, didn't she?" she grumbled, a slight smile hovering at the corners of her mouth.
Clark slid out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans from the dresser before answering. "Admit it," he said with a chuckle, "You wouldn't have us any other way…"
Lois sat up and admired the view as Clark leaned over to pull on his jeans. "You're right," she admitted, throwing back the covers and heading for the bathroom. She splashed water over her face, brushed her teeth, and ran a comb through her hair.
There would be time for a shower later… hopefully with Clark. She left the bathroom and began to get dressed as well. She finished quickly and reached for her husband's hand. "Do you want to get Joseph or shall I?"
Clark kissed the back of her hand gently. "I'll get him, if you go check on Kiley,"
Lois nodded, released his hand, and headed out the door. "I'll see you downstairs," she said quietly.
Clark got a small box out of his dresser and slipped it into his pocket before walking across the hall to Joseph's room to gently wake him up.
"Da da," Joseph said happily and held his arms out.
"Morning, scout," Clark said as he picked him up and checked his diaper. Swiftly, he changed him and got him dressed in warm clothes. He swung his son over his hip and tickled him. "Ready to go see what Santa Claus brought?"
Joseph put his thumb in his mouth and nodded.
Clark walked downstairs and joined the rest of his family. He set Joseph down and watched as he crawled over to where his sister sat on her new tricycle. Soon, Kiley got tired of sitting on it and made a beeline for the other presents. Martha joined her quickly and handed her a present marked with her name before getting one for Joseph. She leaned over, scooped him up, and held him in her lap to open the present. Clark smiled as he noticed that the present Martha was helping Joseph open was the one that she had asked him to pick up the previous day. Joseph pulled at the wrapping, more interested in it than what lay inside the package. Martha extracted a homemade teddy bear from the package, which Joseph ignored in favor of the brightly colored paper.
Clark walked over to Lois and put his arms around her. He leaned down and kissed her softly before reaching in his pocket and pulling out a small box. "This is for you," he said quietly. "Merry Christmas, honey."
Lois opened the box to find a small gold heart with a single diamond set in it. "Clark!" she exclaimed.
"Sweetheart, you've had my heart for eight years… I thought it was long past time I gave you a tangible one." Clark leaned down and captured her lips with his. It was Christmas and he was at home with his family, kissing his Lois. Life just couldn't get any better than that.
THE END