And that wasn't the only thing to disappear. Only he and Lois were left standing around her desk. They hugged each other at their obvious success.

Perry came out of his office and barked, "Lane, Kent! What are you two standing around for? Be mushy on your own time clock. We've got a paper to put out."

If they were unsure things were back to normal, that cinched it.

"You remember everything?" she asked Clark when he'd gone back into his office.

"Every nightmarish detail. Thank goodness you're not a clairvoyant."

"I mean your real memories."

"That too," he said, embracing her and kissing her, despite the fact they weren't on their own time clock.

"I guess we better call the others to make sure everything is back to normal for them too."

They divided the list. Lois called Chloe, Oliver, and Lana. Clark called his mother and J'onn. No one even remembered the alternate reality but Clark and Lois. They reasoned maybe it was because they were Mxyzptlk's intended targets.

"I did learn something interesting when I talked to Lana," Lois said.

"Oh?"

"She met a man in Africa. They just welcomed a son."

"Good for them. That explains it, and I'm glad he's not without a father."

"I would've sworn the baby looked like you. I almost expected him to be another part of the fantasy. I guess most babies have blue eyes when they're born. You'll be disappointed to know they didn't name it after you."

"That would've been kind of weird."

"I guess we better get to work before Perry comes back out and has a conniption." She was smiling though, glad to have her own life back.

sss

"You're due any day now. We have to pick a name," Clark said, holding a thick book of baby names.

"In the other reality, you seemed quite fond of the name Clark Jr., assuming it's a boy."

"That was all from your demented mind if you'll remember, not any sort of reality," he said. "Besides, I could never name a child after myself. You effectively ruined that for me if I had been so inclined."

"Yeah, you're right. It's too special a name to go spreading around."

"We could name it Lois Jr. if it's a girl," he teased.

"One Lois is enough in any household," she said, propping up her swollen ankles on the coffee table.

"Amen, " he said as he sat down on the arm of the chair, wearing a grin that earned him a playful punch.

"We could name the baby Kltpzyxm as insurance for the future," she suggested.

"Can you imagine a kid trying to learn to spell that in kindergarten? Our child and his teacher would hate us forever."

"At least he'd never meet another with his name."

"Really, we need to get serious. It's becoming the zero hour." He opened up the book. "What about Theodore?"

"No child of mine is going to be named after a chipmunk. Keep looking."

"How about Oakley? He's not likely to find a lot of Oakleys in his class either."

"That's just begging for the other kids to beat him up. Maybe we should ask your mom. She did help us come up with a name for Shelby that we both liked. I don't know. Maybe it'll come to us when we see his or her face for the first time."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

She bent over as a contraction hit her. "Which may come sooner than you think. Time to get to the hospital, Smallville."

sss

A few hours later found them with a healthy baby girl.

"No, Clark Jr. is definitely not going to work," Lois said as she held their daughter in her arms, who had the sweetest, scrunched up face he'd ever seen and a tuft of dark hair.

"I guess not."

"What about Lara Martha Kent?" Lois asked.

He had held onto the baby book all throughout the birth. He looked it up to make sure Lara was suitable for Earth. They didn't need a Kryptonian name giving them away. He found it. "Lara means cheerful, happy in Greek."

"That makes it even more perfect."

She was right. This one of the happiest days in his life and the melding of his biological mother's name with his mom's name showed that he accepted both of his heritages. "Mom will be pleased."

"I couldn't think of anyone I'd want to honor more: Lara for giving me you and your mom for turning out such a wonderful son and mothering me when I needed it. Where is your mom?"

"She went to get some doughnuts. She figured we'd be hungry since it's already after 10:00."

"God bless that woman. Would you like to hold your daughter?"

He did, but he was nervous. What if he didn't feel all fatherly after holding her? Nonetheless, he couldn't put it off forever, so he put out his arms.

He relaxed almost immediately as he felt an instant connection. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he would do anything in the world to protect her.

"She's going to grow up one loved and happy little girl," Lois said. "And we're going to live happily ever after."

"Is that another Lois Lane prediction?" he teased.

"It's a promise."

The End