Irene was reading the paper, the only thing she could do was read the Daily Planet to still feel like she was still a part of the job she once loved. The job that got her excited to get out of bed every morning.

She read the Daily Planet every morning hoping that feeling would come back. That she would wake up excited one morning to go back to work. Irene was still waiting for that day.

A small knock on the door caused Irene to freeze. It couldn't have been Jimmy or Angel, they both had keys to her apartment. It could have been anyone, but she didn't want to see anyone. She wanted to be alone.

When she opened the door she couldn't help but feel shocked. "Bruce?"

"Irene may I come in?" He questioned as he just looked at Irene expectantly.

"Sure." She said as she moved aside opening the door wider to let him in.

"Nice place." Bruce commented as he looked around the apartment, and Irene knew that he must have been lying. Her apartment must have paled in comparison to his mansions and five star resorts that he was used to.

He stood in her apartment as if it was his right. And if it was completely normal for him to be here.

"What are you doing here Bruce?"

"I haven't heard from you in almost three months." He stated his tone was almost accusing, as if she had done something wrong.

It was ridiculous.

It was ridiculous because Irene thought she would never see him again. That he was gone from her life.

"I didn't realize I was supposed to call."

"I expected you to call me a long time ago." He stated as he took a seat in one of the dinning room chairs like if this was his home too. Irene could only stare at him in disbelief.

She knew what this was about. She just never thought he would seek her out and ask her again. "Is this still about finding meta-humans?"

"This world needed Clark." He stated firmly and Irene could see that same guilt and shame in his eyes that he had the last time she had seen him. "This world needs you too Irene."

"Very funny." Irene said not entirely appreciating his words. "Didn't know you had the ability to be funny."

"Whatever is coming, we need to be prepared for it."

"I already told you Bruce I can't help you." She repeated trying not to get irrationally angry at him.

Bruce stood now and she realized that she wasn't the only one who was angry. "We've already lost a lot of time."

"I have a lot on my mind right now. I really can't do it right now Bruce."

"Alright." Bruce said as he headed towards the door.   "It seems I was wrong about you."

He left closing the door behind him and Irene could only look at the door in disbelief. It was like the only point of his visit was to make her angry, and he had definitely succeeded in that.

But he had treated her like she wasn't made of glass or like she was going to break at any moment. And Irene realized that she was tired of people treating her like that. Tired of people treating her like she was fragile and couldn't handle the truth.

Irene couldn't deny that she was still upset about Bruce's visit, but for some reason feeling angry was a lot better than feeling sad. She was tired of feeling sad, and although she knew that the sadness would come back eventually she was happy to feel a short relief from it.

Now she had to had prepared a dinner table for her brothers visit and she wasn't ready to see the sympathy on his face or Cat's face. Or to see the grief in Mia's face because she missed Clark probably as much as Irene did.

Irene wasn't ready to tell them that she was pregnant.

"I brought wine." Cat stated with a bright smile as she held it up in the air before handing it to Irene.

"Oh." Irene muttered as she set the wine on the table.

"Irene are you okay?" Her brother questioned as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Irene nodded unsure how she should tell him. But what she did know was that she wanted to tell him first privately before breaking the news to Cat and the children. "Can we can we talk?"

"Come on." He said as he gestured for her to follow. They stepped outside on the balcony and Irene couldn't help but think about all the times that Superman appeared on her balcony late at night.  "What wrong hermanita?"

"I'm pregnant Angel." Irene said quickly before she had too much time to think about it.

Angel froze as he looked at her with wide eyes. She didn't know how to read his reaction, sure he was shocked but there were so many layer to the look that came over him.

"You don't look pregnant."

"Not yet." Irene replied, she was going to start showing soon. She didn't know anything about being pregnant but she knew that much.

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Yes." Irene replied without hesitation. In the last couple of hours she had grown more sure of the decision that she was making but that didn't make her less scared.

Angel reached out and hugged her tightly. Irene couldn't help but feel relieved by his reaction, some part of her feared that he would tell her that she shouldn't raise a child on her own. That he knew how difficult it could be. "You're not alone. Cat and I will help you every step of the way." 

Irene took a step back feeling like she didn't want to be hugged like a child even though she did appreciate the gesture. "I think I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"It's just a baby Irene. It's hard but not as hard as you think." He assured her but he didn't know the whole story.

"This isn't just any baby." Irene began not knowing why she was hesitating, he needed to know everything. But even though Clark wasn't here anymore she still felt the need to protect his secret. "I'm going to tell you something but I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone. Not Cat and especially not the kids."

"What is it Irene?" Angel asked seeing Irene's hesitation. He worried for her it was normal, he practically raised her. "Come on you're starting to scare me."

"Clark is.... Clark was Superman."

"I don't know if you're joking or not." He said with a wide vacant look in his eyes. He was in shock, but after what felt like a long moment Irene could see him putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "You know the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. But the more I think about it the more stupid I feel."

Really it was obvious when you really thought about. Irene was always amazed by what a pair of glasses had done for Clark.

"This baby is half Kryptonian." Irene clarified wanting him to understand just how serious this all was. The responsibility and the weight of it. She had definitely been up all night thinking about it.

"Yeah I can see how that will be different from raising a regular baby."

Irene nodded slowly, she still hadn't told Martha and if there was anyone who was well equipped to raise a Kryptonian child it was her. "I think that I may be way in over my head."

"Don't doubt yourself. You're..."

"Luthor was right." Irene interrupted him, there was so much that she had time to think about since yesterday. The reason why Clark didn't abuse all the power he had was because Martha and Jonathan Kent raised him perfectly. "That things that Clark could do... that kind of power in the wrong hands is dangerous. But Clark he... was good, and kind, and selfless. He had amazing control of his emotions. If I raise this kid wrong... if I raise it wrong then..."

"You are not going to raise this baby wrong." Angel told her and Irene felt slightly relieved hearing how sure he was. "You're right Clark was all of those things but so are you. He wouldn't have fallen in love with you if you weren't."

"Look at me Angel. I can't even leave this damn apartment." Irene said as she looked out towards the city. It was a city that she loved and yet, all it did was remind her of Clark. Because Metropolis had become the city the Superman used to protect. "But I'm trying. I'll try harder."

"You had an amazing and accomplished life before Clark." He reminded her and it was true. She had enjoyed her life before Clark. But she wasn't that same person anymore.

"Yes, but I never imagined that there would a life after Clark."

Her right hand instinctively went to her left touching the ring that she still wore. She didn't know why she still wore it, like if she expected him to come back. Or like if she were a widow.

She continued to wear a ring that only reminded her of what could have been and never was. Of the life she wanted but could never have.

A/N: These first three chapters are kind of dialogue heavy and don't have a lot of action but I do believe they are incredibly important to Irene's character and for setting up the plot for the rest of the story.