Like Father, Like Daughter

By bobbart - Bob Bartholomew <bobbart_99@yahoo.com>

Rated: PG

Submitted: January, 2010

Written: December 2009

Summary: Lois showed a lot of concern for Superman when he almost
died in the Season 3 episode "Home Is Where the Hurt Is." What
might have happened if Lois's parents had been watching her more
carefully than she realized? A 2009 holiday fanfic.

Disclaimer: This is a fanfic based on the television show, Lois
and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I have no claim on the
pre-existing characters whatsoever, nor am I profiting by their
use. The new story elements are mine. No infringement is intended
by this work.

This is for Elisabeth.

Time frame: Season 3. The morning after "Home is Where the Hurt
Is"

***

Sam couldn't believe it when Ellen asked to meet him for
breakfast at the little coffee shop down the street from Lois's
apartment. Sure, this breakfast was nothing more than coffee and
a pastry, but the fact that she wanted to meet at all meant
something. He just wished he knew what.

Ellen was already seated and waiting at a small table when he
arrived. Sam got a cup of coffee and sat down across from her. He
had only started to take his first sip when his ex-wife opened
up. "What are we going to do about your daughter?"

His daughter? That was a switch. Ellen being upset wasn't
surprising, but he usually had some idea what she was talking
about. "What?" was the only reply Sam could muster.

She was in rant mode and had started waving her arms around.
"Lois always wanted to make you proud. Leave it to her to take
your worst example and do you one better."

Now he was seriously confused. "Ellen, I have no idea what
you're talking about."

If she heard, it didn't show, as her rant — as well as her arm
flailing — continued. "At least you waited until we were married
for a few years before…your interests started to wander. Lois
isn't even married yet and she's already half-way to an affair
with Superman."

At least he knew what this was about now. And for once, he had to
admit that Ellen was right. When Superman had been sick and her
fiancé away on business, Lois had been all over the hero.
"Ellen, I saw the same thing that you did, but it wasn't just
Lois. Did you notice that the first thing that Superman did when
he woke up was say her name and then go looking for her?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I couldn't believe it. Okay, as it
turned out, I'm glad he did since she was in trouble, but
still."

"But what can we do?" Sam asked. "This is her life. I just
feel sorry for poor Clark. Do you think he knows?"

Ellen shook her head. "I'd like to think so, but I doubt it. I
wish he would have come home while this was happening so we could
see how Lois would have acted with both of them present. For that
matter, I'd like to have seen the look on his face if he came in
and saw his fiancée asleep on top of Superman." Ellen's
expression turned sad and thoughtful. "Then again, no I
wouldn't. I know how that feels." After another second, she
looked up at Sam. "How do you think most men would react to that
situation?"

Her reminder of his own infidelity stung and he took a few
seconds to compose himself before answering. "Well, I can't
speak for everyone, but I think most of the men I've known would
be very upset to walk in on that. That was a very…compelling
scene. If she was engaged to Superman, I'd be thrilled that they
were so close. Ellen, I hate to say this, but Lois is in love
with Superman. And, unless I completely misread the situation,
he's in love with her too."

Ellen nodded in agreement. "Based on what we saw, I can't
believe that she's engaged to Clark when she's clearly involved
with Superman. And she was acting like that in front of Clark's
parents. What could that possibly mean? It was like they didn't
even notice. Did you see how worried they were about Superman?
They seemed to be taking his illness personally."

Sam considered the way they had reacted. "I have an idea. What
if the reason that Clark is a friend of Superman's is that the
Kents sort of adopted him when he first came to Earth? It might
be that they think of Superman like Clark's brother."

Sam could see the idea register with Ellen. "You might be
right," she said. "That would explain why Superman was at
Clark's apartment and why the Kents didn't seem to notice
Lois's… indiscretion. They were probably so worried about him
that Lois's behavior never registered. But, Sam, even if he's
like a brother to Clark, there is still going to be a problem.
Brother or not, Lois shouldn't be in love with one when she's
about to marry the other."

"So what do you think we should do?" Sam asked.

She got a determined look on her face. "We need to talk to
her."

Sam shook his head. "If you and I corner Lois, she's going to
go into denial and ignore everything we try to say."

Ellen looked anxious for a second as if she wanted to say that
wouldn't happen, but then realized it would. Another few seconds
ticked by and her face lit up. "We'll get the Kents to help."

Sam considered it for a moment. "That might work. But we'll
need to convince them that there is a problem. How do you think
we can do that?" he asked.

Ellen seemed ready for the question. "They saw the same thing
that we did. If Superman is like a son to them, then Lois will
end up driving a wedge through their family. I'm sure that once
we point out what's happening, they'll help. After all, I just
want my little girl to be happy. I don't care which man Lois is
with, but if she's in love with Superman, then that's who she
should be marrying. I'm sure that they'll side with us enough
to insist Lois commit to one of them for the sake of their
family."

Sam knew that once Ellen got something like this in her head,
there was no point in opposing her. Besides, this time he pretty
much thought that she had the right idea. He didn't know what
had gotten into his daughter, but she needed to get her head
straight before she married anyone.

***

Fortunately, Ellen already had plans to meet Martha at Lois's
apartment. A phone call verified that Jonathan was also there.
Sam and Ellen had barely arrived at Lois's apartment when Clark
and Lois headed in to work for a few hours. A few minutes later
Ellen and Martha headed out to see the city, leaving Sam and
Jonathan in Lois's apartment. Sam was trying to figure out how
to bring up the problem about Lois and Superman with Clark's
dad. Almost in desperation he asked, "Jonathan, what do you
generally do at Christmas in Smallville?"

Jonathan was in front of the television watching a weather
channel. He looked over in a very casual way and said,
"Checkers."

"Checkers?" Sam asked.

"Sure. It may seem quaint, but there's really nothing better
than spending time with your friends and neighbors. Usually
Martha and I will head to a neighbor's house or into town and
talk with friends. If you don't have something to do, then
sooner or later you get to gossiping and that's not good for
anyone. So, before long we'll pull out a checker board and start
to play."

'Perfect,' Sam thought. That will give him time to figure out
how to raise the subject of Lois's behavior. "Jonathan, I've
played a game or two of checkers in my day but it's been years.
I saw a board in Lois's closet. Would you like to play?"

"Sure," Jonathan replied. Jonathan hoped that Sam didn't catch
the look of glee on his face when Sam had asked. He'd let Sam
win a few games but then he'd start playing for real. After all,
family or not, checkers was a game for men. It was no accident
that Jonathan had been the champion of Lowell County for the last
four years.

As for Sam, he was also looking forward to playing. Jonathan
probably played many games of checkers and might be good — for
Kansas — but Sam had played with people all over the country.
It's amazing how many lawyers and doctors that get pulled into
boxing find ways to kill time. In the circles that Sam used to
travel, you were judged by your ability to win even one game. Sam
won many.

Sam got down the board and set it up on the dining table. When
Jonathan sat down, Sam commented in his most casual tone, "Now,
if I remember correctly, the real rules for checkers are that you
always have to take a jump that is available. Is that right?"

Jonathan smiled in reply. "That's the way we play."

"Then that's the way we'll play today," Sam said.

The first few games were almost comical. Both men were trying to
let the other win, but not have it be obvious that they were
throwing the game. Sam didn't appreciate it at the time, but it
was a tribute to his skill as a player that he managed to lose
two of the first three games. By coincidence, as of the fourth
game, both men decided to give up on being polite and just play.
That game was a challenging affair that Sam managed to win
largely because he had been granted the opening move.

When the game was finally over, Jonathan pushed back from the
board and looked over at Sam thoughtfully. "I'd say you
weren't exactly trying your best those first few games."

Sam chuckled. "True, but I think that goes both ways. Based on
what I just saw, you've won your share of games."

"Well, if we're putting our cards on the table, then yes. I've
won a few. What about you?"

"I have. Shall we play again?"

Now that they were no longer trying to let the other win, Sam was
able to enjoy the games much more. Jonathan had a very aggressive
style. Had Sam not seen this in other players before, he might
have been surprised at the difference between Jonathan's
personality and his style of play. In Sam's experience,
successful players fell into two categories, attackers and
trappers. Jonathan seemed to play with an attacking style. The
intent of every move was to force the opponent into a position of
weakness usually resulting in a forced bad jump.

Sam was happy with Jonathan's approach to the game, since Sam
played a strategic trapping style. He'd learned that sometimes
people playing the all-out attack mode could be lured into
elaborate traps. He had evolved his game so that to most players
it looked like an attacking style, but his real objective was to
build a trap that he would spring in the late middle game.

Jonathan seemed to be unfamiliar with this approach and that
allowed Sam to take two of the next four games with one draw.
Although Jonathan didn't like losing, he remained cheerful and
talked about looking forward to trying some of Sam's techniques
on his friends back in Smallville.

After the fifth 'real' game, they took a short break. They were
in the kitchen next to the refrigerator when Sam realized this
was probably the best time to talk about the Lois intervention.
"Jonathan, Ellen and I are worried about Lois and Clark."

Jonathan's face turned serious. "What's wrong?"

"Well, when Superman was sick, Lois's concern seemed a bit
too…personal. You and Martha were there. You know what I'm
talking about. It seemed clear that her feelings for Superman go
way beyond just friendship. Ellen and I are worried that she's
not being fair to Clark." Sam paused. He knew that this would be
difficult. "We like Clark and don't think he's done anything
wrong. We want to approach Lois and talk to her about
commitments. Ellen and I were hoping that you would help."

Jonathan's mind was racing. "Sam, we've seen Lois a lot this
past year and we're sure of her feelings for Clark. I saw the
same thing you did, but I'm sure she was just worried about her
friend. I don't think there's anything to worry about."

This reaction surprised Sam. He didn't expect this level of
denial from one of Clark's parents. "I know this must be
difficult for you. I've seen how Clark looks at Lois and I think
he would be great for her. We just think if she's going to marry
Clark, she needs to recognize that she has to give up on
Superman. Ellen and I will talk to Lois alone if we have to, but
we think it would help if you were there. You and Martha don't
have to say anything, but we'd like your support."

Jonathan wasn't sure what to do. He should have paid more
attention to how Lois was acting while she was so worried about
Clark. Jonathan was so worried about his boy that the little
detail that Clark was in the suit had been completely lost. In
hindsight, it was easy to see from the way Lois had acted that
she was in love with the man in the suit. Jonathan could play
dumb, but that didn't seem like the best thing to do. For now
the best course of action would be to play along. "Sam, you're
right. That didn't look good, but I know Lois loves my boy so I
guess I didn't think much about her behavior. I'll need to talk
with Martha, but we'll stand with you when you talk to Lois."

***

For Martha, this trip to Metropolis had turned into a great
opportunity to bond with Lois's mother. It was almost funny to
see elements of Lois's personality in Ellen. Ellen had a
cynicism born of her own experiences, but underneath the layer of
negativism was an intensity that Martha had immediately
recognized for its similarity in her soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

Their initial meeting in Lois's apartment a few days ago had
been a disaster. Things would have been awkward enough if it
would have simply been that she and Jonathan had been in Lois's
apartment when Ellen came to visit for Christmas. Then Sam had
showed up with that silly robot. At least it served to deflect
Ellen's attention away from feeling like Lois had preferred
Clark's parents to her own mother.

Then Clark had gotten sick. As terrible as that had been, it had
served to unite the families. Sam had been great in taking care
of her boy. Not only that, but when the situation turned so
serious, Ellen had become both positive and supportive. It was
really too bad that they didn't know that Sam had saved not only
the famous hero, but his future son-in-law.

This morning had been pleasant enough. Ellen had been showing her
parts of Metropolis that she hadn't seen before. Ellen's
guidance was particularly helpful for seeing places that had
special Christmas decorations. Some of the window displays had
been nothing short of amazing. However, Martha was sure that
there was something else on Ellen's mind. Several times she had
been certain that Ellen had been on the verge of bringing up
whatever it was that had been bothering her, but each time it was
as if Lois's mom had gotten scared at the last minute.

They had just finished walking through an elaborate display in an
indoor shopping center. Ellen wanted to show this to Martha
because it was a mock small town. Ellen had told Martha that
after hearing Lois's description of Smallville, this was the
image that she couldn't get out of her mind. She stressed that
she knew that Smallville didn't look like this, but she wanted
to share her image just the same. Martha had to admit that she
could see why Ellen would think of this based on a description of
her home town. There were similarities in the same way that a
Norman Rockwell picture represented living in Small Town USA.
Martha had to admit that it was fun to see Ellen's image of
Smallville.

As they approached the exit door, Martha caught that look on
Ellen's face again. It was time to get to the bottom of this.
"Ellen, are you going to tell me what's on your mind this
morning?"

At first, Ellen just froze. After a second she stepped to Martha
and threw her arms around her. Martha didn't know how to react
to this. It was very different from what she'd come to expect
from her companion. This hug had an element of desperation, or
possibly supportiveness, Martha wasn't sure.

After a few seconds, Ellen pulled back and looked her future
in-law in the eyes. With a look of anguish on her face she said,
"Martha, I'm sorry about Lois's…" Ellen paused as if
struggling to find the right word. "…inappropriate behavior.
She… She gets it from her father."

Lois? Inappropriate behavior? Ellen sounded serious but what had
Lois done? "What in the world are you talking about? Lois is a
wonderful woman. She's a sweetheart."

The look on Ellen's face turned skeptical. "Don't tell me you
didn't notice how she was acting when Superman was sick."

Martha's voice caught in her throat. This was dangerous
territory. "Well, she's a good friend of Superman. She was very
worried."

"Martha. When you're sick, a good friend will hold your hand.
Lois was sleeping with her head on his chest. There's a lot more
going on there than friendship. I'm just glad that poor Clark
didn't walk in and see that."

Martha's mind was racing to try to figure out a reasonable
explanation for Lois's behavior. "Ellen, Clark knows that Lois
loves him very much. I'm sure he's not worried about
Superman."

Ellen didn't seem to be buying the 'just worried' explanation.
"Sam and I are worried that Lois hasn't reconciled her feelings
toward Superman. I remember her chasing him around when he first
appeared. The whole world saw her kiss him when he went to stop
the Nightfall asteroid. I thought she had given up on him, but
that's not what I saw the other day when he was sick. Even if
Clark trusts Lois for now, she needs to understand how that
looked. In the long run, that kind of thing will undermine their
marriage no matter how much Clark trusts her."

Martha didn't know where to take this. Ellen was right, based on
what she knew. Lois hadn't acted like a woman whose friend was
deathly ill. Lois had looked every bit the woman that was about
to lose the love of her life. Mostly because she couldn't think
of what else to say, Martha asked, "What do you think we should
do?"

"Sam and I are going to confront Lois this afternoon. We're
going to tell her what we saw and insist that if she's going to
marry Clark, she has to give up Superman. Since Sam and I don't
have the greatest relationship with Lois, we're afraid that if
it's just us, she won't admit that she did anything wrong. All
we want is for you and Jonathan to be with us when we talk to
Lois. She needs to know that you saw the same thing that we
did."

The look on Ellen's face had a sincerity that Martha hadn't
seen before in Lois's mom. Martha was trying to think of a way
to talk her out of this plan when Ellen continued. "I know what
it's like to have your marriage go bad because of…something like
this. I don't want that for Lois and you don't want that for
Clark."

In that instant Martha realized that however this was going to go
down, it would be better if she and Jonathan were there when Sam
and Ellen approached Lois. "Ellen, I know what we saw but I
still have confidence in our kids." She could see that Ellen was
about to make another plea. Martha held her hand up and
continued. "I'll tell Jonathan that I think we should support
you when you talk to Lois."

***

When they got back to Lois's apartment, the parents held a brief
meeting about how to proceed. They agreed that Sam and Ellen
would lead this discussion and Martha and Jonathan would only
speak up if Lois tried to dismiss her parents as not having seen
what they did. Jonathan tried again to make the case that it was
just a misunderstanding, but neither Lane would budge. They were
going to talk to Lois whether the Kents helped or not.

Martha and Jonathan were trying to figure out what to do. Their
hope was that they would be able to talk with the kids before Sam
and Ellen got around to having their intervention. It would
probably be enough to encourage Lois to go along with her mom and
dad. As long as they had the chance to talk with Lois and Clark
before any confrontation, things should work out fine.

It was about 2:30 in the afternoon when Lois arrived.
Unfortunately, the man that accompanied her was Sam, not Clark.
Sam had gone out for a walk and had run into Lois and Clark in
front of the building.

When they came in, both Martha and Jonathan had been in the
kitchen. As soon as they saw Lois, Jonathan asked, "Where's
Clark?"

Lois was still shedding her coat and answered from near her
doorway. "Dad wanted to have another look at Superman. Clark had
another errand that he just remembered and figured he could
contact Superman while he's out and ask him to drop by."

At that moment, Ellen spoke up. "Lois, there's something that
we all wanted to talk to you about. We'd like to do it now,
before Clark returns."

Lois looked curious but unconcerned. "Sure. What is it?"

Ellen made a motion to indicate the living room. "Please sit
down."

As Lois was sitting down on a chair, she asked, "Mom, what's
this about?" Lois could tell that something was wrong.

Sam moved over to sit beside Ellen, who was across from Lois.
"Martha, Jonathan, if you would please?" Sam indicated the
empty chairs around the room. Once everyone was sitting, Ellen
turned to Lois. "Honey, this is about how you acted when
Superman was sick."

Lois actually looked confused. "Mom, what do you mean?"

Ellen paused for a moment as if looking for the right words.
"Are you in love with Superman?"

A look of panic entered Lois's eyes, but it only took her a
second to recover. "Mom, how can you ask that? I love Clark."

Sam interjected. "Honey, you're marrying Clark, but, well, it
was pretty obvious that you're in love with the man that almost
died the other day."

In a flash, the confusion turned to anger and Lois responded with
a shout. "Don't start projecting your own history onto me!"
Then she took a second to compose herself. "Daddy, I appreciate
what you did for Superman, but you didn't see what you think."
She looked at Martha. "Martha, you know that they're wrong."

Ellen was ready for something like this. Before Martha could
reply, Ellen cut in. "Your dad and I asked Clark's parents to
be here because they saw the same thing we did. Lois, if you have
a relationship with Superman, that's your business, but based on
what we saw — what we all saw — we don't think you're ready to
marry anyone."

Lois was struggling with what to say. Part of her wanted to keep
yelling but she knew that her parents were trying in their own
way to help. She had never expected to be in a situation where
keeping the secret would lead to such a terrible
misunderstanding. In a flash of insight, she suddenly had a much
better appreciation of the tightrope that Clark had walked in
keeping the secret.

As Lois fumbled for a reply, Martha stood and moved behind her.
Martha put her arms on Lois's shoulders and looked at Sam and
Ellen. "We did see that Lois was very concerned about Superman.
Yes, Jonathan and I saw what you did, but we trust Lois
completely. We aren't worried about anything inappropriate
between Lois and Superman. I had hoped that you were just going
to caution Lois about appearances." Then Martha moved so that
she was standing in front of Lois. "Honey, you do understand how
it looked when Superman was ill. Your parents are just trying to
help."

Ellen and Sam looked at each other for a second before Sam
responded. "Martha, Ellen and I already figured out that you and
Jonathan think of Superman as part of your family. That was the
other thing that we noticed when Superman was sick. But you must
understand that this could tear your family apart."

There was a moment of silence while the Kents and Lois fumbled
for a response when they heard a tapping on the window. Superman
was floating outside. Before Lois could even react, Sam was out
of his seat. He opened the window and let Superman in.

Clark stopped right inside the window and addressed Sam. "Good
afternoon, Dr. Lane. Clark told me that you wanted to check on my
condition. I assure you that I feel fine. There seem to be no
lingering effects and I appear to be back to full strength."

Sam had already gone over exactly what he was going to say when
Superman arrived. "Superman, I'm glad to hear that, but the
real reason I asked you here is to talk about Lois."

"What about Lois?" Clark was confused and he looked to his
fiancée for guidance.

Lois stood and came over to stand next to her dad and Clark. "My
parents think we're having an affair. They've been telling me
that they don't think I'm ready to get married." Her voice was
a mixture of anger and irritation.

Clark looked around at the people in the room to try to gauge the
situation. The only thing he could tell for sure was that this
was a mess. He looked back to Sam. "Dr. Lane, I assure you that
there is nothing about my relationship with Lois that can
possibly harm her marriage to Clark."

That got Ellen out of her seat. She took a position beside Sam,
across from Lois. As she looked at Clark, her expression was a
mix of determination and anger. "Don't try to tell us you two
are just friends. We aren't stupid." It was obvious that she
was struggling to contain her emotions. "I don't want to see my
daughter head into a marriage that…" The words seemed to fail as
she was overcome by the stress of the moment.

Sam could see that this was getting to be too much for Ellen.
"Superman, in light of what has happened this past week, I think
you owe me honest answers. Will you swear to answer two questions
truthfully?"

While Sam was asking that question, Martha and Jonathan had come
up behind Lois so that the whole group was standing together.

Clark could sense the trap but didn't see a way out of it. He
took a deep breath and answered with a solemn, "Yes."

"Are you in love with my daughter?" The question was an
accusation.

Clark looked at Lois. He delivered his reply with his gaze locked
on Lois. "Yes."

Sam's only reaction was a tiny nod. "Good. So at least you can
keep your word about answering honestly."

Clark looked back at Sam. "Dr. Lane, I always keep my word.
Especially for something like this…and to you."

"Lois is about to get married. Will you promise to end whatever
relationship you two have and keep your distance?"

Clark barely hesitated. He turned back toward Lois then reached
toward her in a motion that was clearly an invitation to hold
hands. It only took Lois a second to respond and their hands were
intertwined. Clark looked at their clasped hands for a second and
then at Lois. After a moment, he turned back so that he was
facing both of Lois's parents. "I can't do that. I tried to
end our relationship once and it was the worst mistake I ever
made. I love Lois, and she loves me. That's why we're getting
married."

Sam just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Ellen was
quicker to respond, if not to understand. "But…" she stuttered,
"what about Clark?"

Clark let go of Lois's hand and stepped back to create some
space. "I'm sorry. We probably should have told you sooner, but
it's a very dangerous thing to know." They just stared as
Superman's image was replaced by a twirling blur and suddenly
Clark was standing there. "You see, I'm Clark." He stepped
over to Lois, put his arm around her shoulders and drew her into
a hug.

The silence dragged on for several seconds until Sam finally
found his voice. "So that's why you were at Clark's
apartment."

Before Clark could respond, Lois stepped away from Clark and
moved to her father. "Daddy, you didn't just save Superman, you
saved the life of my fiancé. At least now I can thank you
properly. Thank you." Sam found himself in a hug the likes of
which he hadn't gotten from Lois since she was a little girl.

While Lois was hugging her dad, Ellen looked at the various Kents
in the room in quick succession. "Why didn't you tell us?" she
asked.

Clark replied quickly. "Ellen, you must know that Superman has
powerful enemies. While Superman is invulnerable, the people I
care about aren't. If it ever got out that Superman was really
just Clark Kent in bright clothes, everyone in this room would be
at risk of being threatened, kidnapped or who knows what. As I
said, it's a very dangerous thing to know. From this point
forward, you have to be careful to never give any sign that Lois
is married to anyone other than Clark Kent."

While Ellen was fumbling for a reply, Martha stepped over to her.
"We're really sorry," Martha said. "Once we talked this
morning, I was pretty sure that you would know Clark's secret
before this was done. Please understand that this is Clark and
Lois's secret to tell, not ours."

Ellen was flustered. Part of her wanted to be mad but she just
didn't have enough energy left in her today. Then she realized
what the Kents must have been going through when Clark was sick.
"I guess I understand. The past few days must have been
especially difficult."

"Yes, it was." Martha replied. "But we were surrounded by
family."

The warm feelings filling the room were palatable. The smile on
Ellen's face made Martha think that 'happy' and 'family'
were not ideas that Ellen normally thought of together. She hoped
that today would be the first step toward a better feeling. Not
only would it be good for Ellen and Sam, it would help Lois and
Clark as well.

With that, Martha realized that she had one more obligation. She
stepped over to where Lois still had one arm around her dad.
"Lois, excuse me but I need your dad for a minute."

As Lois moved away from her father, Martha extended her arms in
an invitation for a hug. Sam hesitantly took the small woman in
his arms. As she pulled in close, in a voice only barely above a
whisper, she said, "Thanks for saving my boy."

At first, Sam was too choked up to reply. As he fumbled for
words, a question popped into his mind. "Are you and
Jonathan…super too?"

Jonathan burst into laughter as Martha pulled back and answered
with a smile. "No. Clark is adopted."

Clark cut in. "Can we all sit down? I have a feeling that the
questions could go on for a while."

As the family moved back to the seating area, Clark intercepted
Lois, pulled her into a hug and said, "With all the hugs going
on in here I was feeling a little left out."

Lois smiled and squeezed as hard as she could. "Well, you know
where you can always get one."

"Lois, are you okay with your parents knowing? I didn't know
what else to do, and in the long run I think it's for the
best."

"I understand," she replied. "I let too much show when you
were sick. I was just so worried that I didn't think about how
it looked."

"That's okay. What better time to share the truth with family
than Christmas?"

Lois pulled back to look at him. "I hadn't thought of that. In
some ways this might be my first real family Christmas."

Clark just had to smile even bigger at that. "Merry Christmas,
Lois."

"Merry Christmas, Clark."

As they drew together for a kiss, all thought of Christmas and
the future were lost to the joy of being together.

THE END

***

Elisabeth's requests:

Three things I want in my fic:

1. Martha

2. hug

3. friendly competition

Preferred season(s)/holiday [if applicable]: second to third
season

Three things I do not want in my fic:

1. villains

2. alcohol

3. anything above a PG rating