Irene smiled as she practically ran across the lawn to where the plane had landed. Of course she knew that they were all going to return, but seeing them all step down the plane it was like she could breathe properly again.

Although she was headed directly towards Clark who was walking beside Kara as they stepped of the plane, Irene was suddenly swept up in a hug. It took Irene a moment to realize that it was Barry who had a wide smile on his lips.

"We did it." Barry exclaimed clearly unable to contain his excitement as he finally let go of her.

"Yeah I can see that." Irene said before he ran off, gone in a blink of the eye.

Clark approached her then placing a kiss on top on her head. "I told you I would be back."

Irene couldn't help but wrap her arms around him, needing to feel him close again. She was glad that the threat was over, and although she was aware that this wouldn't be the last time that all of their lives were going to get put in danger she didn't want to think about any of that. All that mattered was that they were together now, and they would deal with all the obstacles that life would throw their way as they came. "I never doubted that once."

"Really?" Kara questioned in disbelief but there was still a wide smile on her lips. A smile that everyone on the team seemed to not be able to get rid of. "I doubted it multiple times."

There was something beautiful about seeing Clark and Kara standing together. Clark had spent his entire life believing that he had no family from Krypton anymore. But Kara was here now, and it felt like things were falling into place.

Kara smiled pulling Irene into a hug, the energy practically radiated off of her. "Have you told Jimmy yet?"

"Umm no. Not yet." Irene admitted slowly once Kara had let go of her. Truthfully she hadn't even thought about telling Jimmy, her mind had mind entirely preoccupied with trying not to worry herself too much.

"I'll just call him."

"Call him?" Irene repeated not knowing that the had stayed in contact. She found it especially odd because Jimmy hadn't mentioned it to her considering that Jimmy always had a tendency to overshare.

Clark chuckled and it seemed that whatever was happening between Kara and Jimmy was not news to him. If Kara had already told Clark after only knowing him for a couple of hours it meant that maybe like Jimmy she tended to overshare too.

Placing a hand on her waist they headed back inside. "There must be something about Daily Planet reporters that have us Kryptonians going crazy."

Irene smiled not only because of Clark's words, but because she liked the idea of Jimmy finally finding someone. "Really?"

"Seems like Kyptonite isn't our only weakness."

Although it was well past midnight they all couldn't help but celebrate their incredible victory. Alfred had quickly appeared with bottles of wine and champagne for the team to enjoy. And it seemed that defeating Steppenwolf had become a bonding experience for them all as they talked amongst each other.

There was something extraordinary about them all being together. They were all so different and under any other circumstances they would have never met. But fate brought them all together and that was something worth celebrating.

Irene looked around the room to find Bruce standing on his own in the corner of the room. She wondered why he didn't want to celebrate, especially when he was the reason that they could even celebrate.

"I'll be right back." Irene whispered to Clark as she left his side and approached Bruce. "You take this loner thing a little too seriously."

Bruce looked at her a smiled a little before looking down at the drink in his hand. "I wouldn't want to dampen their fun."

Irene looked back at the group and some part of her understood why Bruce was standing apart from them. Seeing them all enjoying themselves, how happy they all looked... it was a good view. Though it was sad that Bruce wanted to take no part in that happiness.

"I still haven't thanked you for everything."

Bruce almost seemed shocked by her words, almost like he had never been thanked for anything before. And maybe he hadn't, his own city that he swore to protect labeled him as an enemy. The only constant person in his life seemed to be Alfred, all of this had to be new to him.

"We needed Clark back." He said simply.

"Bruce you helped me through one of the hardest moments of my life. I don't think I can ever thank you enough." Irene clarified, because although he had brought Clark back she knew it wasn't for her. It was all so much bigger than that, but if it hadn't been for Bruce she probably would have continued to lock herself in her apartment. Bruce gave her a purpose. "I lost myself in my grief. You helped me not lose the person I was before. So thank you for pushing me."

"You're a lot stronger than you think. You would have figured it out on your own eventually."

Irene shook her head knowing that he would never accept her gratitude or the fact that he played a part in her thinking that she had the ability to move on with her life. It surprised her but she considered Bruce Wayne a friend. Had someone told her before that she would ever find Bruce Wayne tolerable or that she would consider him important, Irene undoubtedly would have laughed.

"Before you annoyingly came to my apartment, demanding help that you didn't need may I add," Irene began causing Bruce to shake his head but she didn't miss the small smile on his lips. "I was actually thinking about moving to Mexico with my mom. I just... I still couldn't find a way to pull myself together. Even after finding out I was pregnant."

It wasn't something that was easy for her to admit. She normally wasn't the type of run away whenever a situation became difficult, but she had spent hours talking to her mom on the phone about moving. Although she was aware that it would have been difficult for her to move knowing that she was going to leave with her grandchild, Irene felt selfish. She didn't think that she would be able to go through it all alone. Not without her mother.

And she still felt that way but now that Clark was back everything was going to be easier.

"I still haven't congratulated you an Clark." Bruce said as he took a long sip from his drink. "You'll both be great parents."

She knew that his words were genuine, that he believed what he was saying. Although she had a long time to think about herself as a mother, it was something that Irene couldn't entirely believe was happening. There was no doubt in her mind that Clark would be an amazing father, it was herself that she doubted in.

Ever since losing Clark she had become incredibly aware of her own weaknesses. She really wasn't as strong as she once believed herself to be and beyond herself doubt there was fear in the world. The world felt incredibly dangerous now with all the new threats that would have seemed impossible before. And if Irene couldn't bear to lose Clark she couldn't even imagine the pain that would come with losing a child in the dangerous life they lived.

It felt as if it had been an eternity since Clark had stepped a foot in their apartment. Irene was aware that things weren't going to go back to the way that they once were. She and Clark had both experienced something incredibly traumatic and they would need to readjust.

"All your things are packed in the boxes," Irene explained as she walked over to the other end of the room where the boxes were stacked against the wall.

She had planned to ask Jimmy to help her move them to a storage unit, because even though she might have been able to pack his thing away she knew she would never be able to completely part with them. She also thought that maybe the baby she was having could have one day wanted their fathers things.

Grabbing the box the she knew had most of his clothes, Irene couldn't help but panic at the thought of him being hurt by seeing all his belongings packed away in the corner.

"Irene." Clark practically scolded as he took the box away from her. "Let me."

Irene sat down at the edge of the bed the exhaustion over everything that had happened in the span of a day finally coming over her. But she knew that there were things that she needed to talk about with Clark.

"I thought you weren't coming back." She tried to explain feeling guilty that she had packed his things away. Irene didn't want him to think that she found it easy to move on, especially when that hadn't been the case. "If I would have known I wouldn't have..."

"Honey I understand." Clark said as he set the box down again so that he could take her hand as he kneeled in front on her. "I'm glad that you were strong."

"You would have been so disappointed in me Clark." Irene said knowing that he probably thought that she handled his death well. That she had been able to move and be the strong woman that he believed her to be. "I wasn't strong. I could barely get out of bed each morning. Couldn't even go to work."

"Irene if I lost you... I don't know who I would become."

Irene shook her head knowing that Clark would have been a able to move on. Not because he wanted to but because he had to. He felt like he had a responsibility to the world, and even if he was grieving her he would find a way to push through, because that was who he was. "You would still be you."

"No." He said firmly. "I need you. What I said that night... it's true. You are my world."

Clark looked away from her as he placed a hand on her stomach. It was all so new, it almost felt weird. Irene still hadn't wrapped her mind around all of it, their lives were about to drastically change.

"Now that world has gotten bigger." He continued as he met her eyes again.

"We never talked about it. You know having kids." Irene said aware that this was a conversation that they couldn't ignore. Most couples would have had a conversation about have children before getting engaged, but they had never really had that chance.

Clark had never proposed properly, and now things had become complicated.

Very early in their relationship Irene knew that Clark was the one. That she wanted to marry him that was something that she had never had any doubts about.

"We never thought that it was possible." Clark admitted thoughtfully, both of them knowing that if they had known that this was a possibility that they would have been careful. They had never had a clear conversation on if they ever wanted kids, and the truth was that even if they had Irene had never planned on having children this early in her life. But they were here now and maybe she was scared. This was all new and unexpected.

And maybe they both weren't ready for this new chapter of their lives but they would figure it out together. They always did.

"So when do you think..." Clark began not finishing what he intended to say, but Irene understood him perfectly. He wanted to know what night she thought was the one that led to her being pregnant.

It was honestly something that had also been in her mind for a while. "I think it was that night in D.C."

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer and Irene realized that maybe she was wrong. Maybe things between them hadn't changed at all, even after everything this felt so natural for them.

"That was a good night."

Irene could feel herself blush not only at the memory but also at the way he was looking at her now.

"It was." Irene agreed just as Clark leaned forward and kissed her.

As much as she had enjoyed celebrating the team's victory, she much preferred it being just her and Clark. After having had him taken away from her for what had felt like an eternity she was selfish and wanted him all to herself.

A/N: Only got three more chapters left! There's still some good Irene and Clark moments left. I will say that I am going to miss writing them for a bit. Goal is to finish the story by the end of this month so hopefully I'll get the whole story to you all by then.