Title: Rewrite

Author: Nadia Mack

Rated: K+

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

Summary: Follows the storyline of Superman Returns with only one difference: Clark didn't come back the same bumbling, accident-prone reporter as he left.

Author's Notes: Thank you Barbara for taking a look at this new story.

Clark Kent stepped out of the elevators and walked towards the bullpen he had left behind five years ago. The air was electric, sounds of former and new co-workers bustling around everywhere to meet deadlines, people yelling, talking on the phone, speaking out loud – it was like he was finally coming home.

It almost overwhelmed him until he saw Jimmy Olsen halfway into the chaotic arena, his checkered sweater and bowtie easily identifying him in the mass of people.

Maneuvering his way through the throngs of people like an experienced city man, he quickly spotted another employee hitting Jimmy's desk with the fairly loud thud, pushing his expensive looking camera off the desk, but before it could touch the floor, Clark reached out and caught it in midair.

"That's just great," Jimmy threw his hands in the air in agitation and then spun around on his chair. "Look what you did…" at the sight of his former friend and co-worker looking back on him, the irritated look on the young man's face turned into a full out smile, which was followed by great excitement.

"Mister Clark!" Jimmy pulled Clark into a hug. "I mean, Mister Kent, how's it going? It's so good to have you back." Then, he looked like he just remembered something. "You know what, stay right here. There's something that I want to show you."

"Jimmy, could you tell me where Lois is?" But the photographer was already gone.

Chuckling, Clark turned around to take in the atmosphere and gave a moment to himself to think about the past. It was nice to know that Jimmy hadn't changed. While his age clearly showed his place in adulthood, Jimmy still displayed that youthful exuberance that always made him a pleasant company to be around.

At the corner of his eye, he spotted Editor-in-Chief Perry White standing near his office.

Clark raised his hand and gave him a hearty wave.

"Hey, Mr. White! I'd like to thank you for giving me my job back."

"Don't thank me," Perry responded flippantly. "Thank Norman Palmer for dying."

Clark raised his eyebrows as Jimmy joined him, carrying what looked like half-eaten cake. "It was his time," Jimmy said awkwardly but then quickly thrust the cake in front of him, the words 'Welcome Home –lark' written on top of the chocolate icing. "What do you think, CK?"

"Um… that looks delicious," Clark replied, keeping the amusement on his face from becoming too prominent.

Jimmy looked satisfied, placing the cake down on a nearby desk.

"It's really good to have you back, CK," Jimmy said genuinely before being called upon by a demanding reporter, leaving Clark alone to his thoughts once again. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and surveyed his work area when he spotted something familiar. Out of all the desks stationed on this floor, it was easy to pinpoint exactly to whom one desk belonged.

Taking a few steps forward, he saw Lois Lane's name on a plaque that said 'Pulitzer.' Clark's heart swelled with pride at her accomplishment knowing that it was well deserved.

That was until he saw what she won it for.

Looking closer, he read 'Why the World Doesn't Need Superman' and suddenly, everything was different. He reached out and grabbed one of the frames on her desk and stared dumbly at the family staring back at him.

There was Lois, a little boy, and a man in the photograph that he didn't recognize.

"Ha! Yeah! He looks just like his mom," Jimmy said over his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. "Already takes after her too, especially when it comes to getting into trouble."

"Mother?"

"Oh, yeah, I wasn't sure if you knew that. Fearless reporter Lois Lane is a mommy." At those words, Clark involuntary broke the glass on the frame. Seeing Jimmy's horror-filled-face, he let him take the photo from his hand, gently placing it back on her desk.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. She's got tons."

Then another revelation occurred to him.

"Wait, she's married?"

"Yeah," Jimmy immediately answered but then regretted it. Everyone in the office knew how much Clark Kent had a crush on Lois Lane. "Well, actually, no. It's sort of a prolonged engagement, but don't ask Ms. Lane when they're tying the knot 'cause she hates that question."

"Oh," was his only response while his heart sank at the shocking realization that any future he could have had with the woman he loved was no longer a possibility.

Seeing his good friend looking like he got hit with a freight train, Jimmy suggested they take a short break and head out to get a couple of drinks across from work. Office rules be damned.


Back at the Daily Planet, after a dreary couple of weeks in the news front, Superman's sudden appearance and rescue of the Boeing 777 shuttle after an EMP wave shut off Metropolis's power grid and all electrical devices in the Eastern seaboard had everybody talking.

After a huge conference meeting with all the reporters and photographers, Clark went back to his desk as he longingly watched Lois talk to their editor in his office when somebody quite small interrupted him.

"Hi!"

Clark looked down, surprised at himself for being caught off-guard, but when he faced the little boy, he was immediately struck at how familiar he looked, but then he realized who he was; it was the young boy he had seen in Lois's photo.

Her son.

Clark bent his leg slightly so he could sit on his desk. "Hello."

"I've never seen you around before. I'm Jason," he said, lifting his inhaler to his mouth and breathed in as he squeezed a puff out. "Who are you?"

"My name is Clark Kent," he replied, noting the close similarities Jason had with his mother. "I'm a friend of your mom's from before you were born."

"Really?" he asked truly surprised. "She never talked about you."

"No?" but Clark wasn't surprised; he wouldn't talk about himself either after all the times he made a fool of himself. "Never?" he added simply because a part of him hoped she did, but from the shake of Jason's head, didn't.

"Jason, sweetie, here you are." Lois pulled her son into a hug. What followed afterwards was an array of one-word questions about the medications Jason was taking, leaving Clark momentarily puzzled about the health of her child. Other than the inhaler he held, he didn't look unhealthy.

"He's a bit fragile," Lois said. "But he's going to grow up and be strong like his daddy, right?"

"Right," Jason agreed with a cute smile.

"He's beautiful, Lois." As much as it hurt to let her go, he meant that with all of his heart.

"Thank you," Lois said, and she finally looked up to take a good look at her former partner, colleague and at one point, rival. She couldn't quite figure out what was different. Maybe it was the different glasses he wore; gone were those god-awful black thick-rimmed glasses which were replaced with a more modern titanium frame. His suit, normally made of old-fashioned tweed, was dark and classic, bringing out his remarkably handsome features.

There was definitely something different about him.

After an awkward moment, Lois took the initiative and moved closer to give him a hug to welcome him back, and when she did, she felt the tension in his embrace relax. She didn't quite know what to make of this new Clark so different from the one she'd known five years ago.

"So do you," he whispered in her ear, letting her know in his own way that he was telling her she looked beautiful too.

"Uh… thanks," She replied, surprised.

"So…" he began. "You're a mother."

"I am," she smiled, staring proudly at Jason. "You should tell me how your trip went, though. Where'd you go, what'd you see," then she lightly tapped his right arm. "Meet anyone special?"

A wistful smile came over him until the sight of her fiancée getting closer squashed it.

"Not really."

"Hey there, little guy." Richard stood between Lois as he picked up Jason. The engaged couple briefly talked about Perry's decision about taking her off the blackout story and pushing her towards the Superman one. "By the way, Clark, this is Richard. Richard, this is Clark."

Richard moved Jason to his other arm to free his right hand. "Richard White." He shook Clark's hand.

"Richard's an assistant editor who basically saved our international section. He's also a pilot and he loves horror movies."

Clark didn't quite know why it was necessary for him to know that but returned the description with a faux smile as she continued.

"And Clark is, well… he's Clark."

"It's good to finally meet you, I've heard so much."

Clark is surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, Jimmy just won't shut up about you." Lois laughed and Clark felt like super speeding out of there.

Suddenly, coming home didn't feel like a good idea.


"Has anyone seen Clark?" Lois called out from her desk where she was typing furiously for a deadline due in five minutes. A week after New Krypton was thrown into space by Superman, Earth would never be the same, and that meant endless stories to write about. "I need his notes for the article we'll be working on next."

"Haven't seen him," Richard said as he walked up to her from behind. "Jimmy!" he yelled. "Has Clark called?"

"I don't think he has a cell phone yet, Mr. White," Jimmy replied.

Lois sighed. Once she pressed the 'send' button to file the story with her editor, she looked over her shoulder for Jimmy.

"Where's he staying?"

Jimmy took a moment to jot it down before running up to Lois and giving it to her.

"It's a motel."

"Yeah, it doesn't look like he found a place yet. I don't blame him, after what happened with Lex Luthor."

"Thanks, Jimmy." She turned to Richard. "I'll be home by six; I'm going to see what's taking Clark so long to get to work."

"Okay."


"Sweetie, you need to lie down," insisted Martha. "You've been flying all over the East Coast, the world will understand if you take just a few hours to recuperate." At the sight of her only son struggling, she immediately rushed to her side. "Son, everything will be okay."

Clark's tired eyes met his mother's soothing ones. Her strength and faith in him never seemed falter, even in the face of great adversity, she was always there, cheering him on and never wavering and he wondered every day what he did to deserve her.

"I thought the pain would be gone by now." His hand massaged the spot on his back where Luthor had stabbed him with the Kryptonite. "I can feel the scar," he gulped. "It's still there."

"Don't let it scare you."

"There's so much more at stake, now," he said, his words confusing Martha just a teensy bit.

"What do you mean?"

Clark realized he spoke out loud, but he knew this conversation was coming no matter how long he tried to prolong it.

"I – I don't really know how to say it."

"Take your time," she said supportively, and his love for his mother grew another ten fold.

"It's about Lois…" he ran a hand through his unruly hair; he had just got back from yet another rescue. The perspiration that ran down his face was proof of his exhaustion. "I found out about something that I… well… I didn't really think was possible."

Knowing her son too well, she remained quiet in order to let him continue on his own terms.

"Her son… Jason…" he took a deep breath before revealing the rest. "Well… he's my son, too."

The gasp it elicited from his mother was exactly what he expected, but it didn't make it any easier for him to explain.

"Clark…"

"I didn't know," he cut her off abruptly, jumping immediately to his own defense. "If I had known, I never would've left." Regret filled his voice and it broke Martha's heart. "His name is Jason. He's four and a half years old. He looks like his mother."

"I saw the resemblance," she said, surprising her son. "I was there when they admitted her to the hospital where you recovered."

Clark nodded. "Did you meet her?"

"I didn't get a chance to," she said, remembering that afternoon so vividly in her mind. Her heart called out to her son even when her voice couldn't. "It was quite crazy over there. Now I wished I did, if only just to introduce myself."

"I don't know what to do," Clark sighed.

"Have you thought about telling her?"

"Every day."

"What's stopping you?"

"Her family."

"She isn't married."

"Mom!" Clark was more than a bit shocked to hear that from his mother. "How did you even know that she isn't…"

"She's a reporter, sweetie," Martha chuckled softly. "And I've learned to channel surf quite well. The news made it a priority to point out that Lois Lane is still in the market after your return."

"She's engaged," he reminded her.

"I know, sweetheart. But that doesn't change what you have to do."


As soon as Clark fell asleep, Martha couldn't help but dwell on what she had learned today. She was a grandmother, and for five whole years, she didn't know. She knew it wasn't her son's fault, but she couldn't help but feel the loss of so much time between them and the time they could've shared with him.

Martha was taken out of her deep-filled thoughts when she heard a knock on her door.

Wondering who it could be considering that nobody knew where Clark was staying, she looked into the peep hole and was shocked to find Lois Lane behind it.

She opened the door. "Miss Lane?"

"Yeah, that's right," Lois said, looking at the crumpled piece of paper that held her on-and-off partner's address and then looked back towards the kind-looking woman. "I'm sorry for bothering you, I think I got the wrong room." When she turned to walk away, the old woman called out her name.

"Miss Lane, are you looking for my son?"

Lois stopped, and then turned back.

"Clark… isn't feeling well," Martha provided, her voice laced with genuine concern that Lois quickly noted.

"Is he all right?"

"Would you like to come in and see?" Martha opened the door wider to let Lois in. She couldn't force her son to come clean, but that didn't meant she wasn't going to stand by and let opportunities pass by. Besides, the young woman looked really concerned for her son's well-being and that earned plenty of points from his mother.

Lois hesitated for a moment, but she was anxious to see that he was okay. After the week she'd had, with Superman's return and the fact that she revealed her most precious secret to him when she thought he was going to die, well, she really didn't want to think about losing anyone else.

She didn't know what to expect when she walked into the hotel room, but the sight of Clark Kent sleeping on a twin bed was not what she expected. After knowing him for two years before he left, she didn't think she ever saw him asleep before, not even to take a half-hour nap at the office whenever they were working late.

"Is it the flu?"

"Possibly, this is the first time he's been sick since he was elementary school."

"That healthy, huh?" Lois smiled.

"I'm going to step out and grab some groceries. Would you mind if you just stayed here with him for a few minutes while I go across the street?"

Lois debated her answer before she agreed.

For the first time, she was alone with Clark in a most intimate setting. While he slept, she picked up his new glasses and inspected it. He sure was different from the mild-mannered man she remembered.

"Noooo… don't…" Lois turned at the sound of his troubled voice. She moved to his side and found that he was still asleep, but dreaming. He was thrashing a bit, his heading turning from left to right.

"Shhhhh…" she tried to soothe, her hand pushing his loose strands of hair away from his face.

His look momentarily sent a wave of familiarity she couldn't describe. There was something recognizable about the way he looked beneath her fingers.

"Clark," she whispered softly.

Her voice clearly came through but his eyes remained closed. "Lois," he said, his hand grasping hers and squeezing it lightly.

"It's going to be okay." Comforting him now when she'd never done it before was strange at first, but after becoming a mother, she had quickly adapted. She reached for a wet towel on a table next to his bed, the glasses she placed on her lap falling to the ground.

"Oops," she muttered softly. She bent to pick it up when she noticed something peculiar. Opening his glasses, she pulled it up to her face to look through the lenses. It wasn't a prescription. They were completely see-through.

What the…

"Lois."

Lois jerked back at the sound of his voice.

"Clark, you're awake."

With a confused and then horrified expression, his eyes darted away from her and moved around the room as if he was searching for something else until it occurred to her that he was looking for someone.

"Your mom went to the store, she'll be right back."

He faced her but avoided her eyes.

"You met my mom?"

Lois thought it was an odd question, but shrugged it off regardless. "She asked me if I could look after you for a few minutes. I stopped by to ask for your notes, but I didn't know you were sick." She handed him his glasses, she veered totally off-topic. "Pretending to be someone you aren't, Smallville? I'm disappointed."

"What?" he swallowed hard, reluctantly taking his glasses from her and putting them on.

"They're not a prescription," she pointed to them, which he suddenly put on like they were a lifeline or something. "You're a lot different than you used to be, less of a wimp and more like a man that can stand on two feet." A smile suddenly appeared on her face. "How you managed to scoop me several times when you first came on board was always a mystery to me until now."

When he realized his secret identity remained safe, his faced turned sheepish. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lois."

"You're secret is safe with me, if that's what you're worried about." She should be angry that he played her for a fool all those years, but instead, she was quite impressed and more than a little curious to learn what ticked beneath his hidden intelligence.

Clark was taken aback by her relaxed attitude. "You're not upset."

"Why should I be?"

"I lied to you," he said, stating the obvious.

"And I gave you a hard time and you never complained." She pulled out a seat and sat beside him. "Consider us even."

"Why are you being nice to me?"

Lois laughed. "Is that how I always came across to you? Oh, God. I'd apologize for that if I didn't have so much fun busting your chops." She wondered why it was suddenly so easy to talk to him. Perhaps it was nostalgia after not seeing him for so many years. If she couldn't have this kind of conversation with Superman, it was nice to have it with Clark. "And my partner smiles," she carefully observed.

His smile fell but it only made him more adorable. "Partner?"

"Oh, that's right. You've been MIA at the office. When Perry saw that you and I were working the same story, he paired us up. It'll be like old times."

Somehow, he couldn't help but imagine that this was going to be a lot different than the old times. When he woke up to find Lois beside him, he thought he was dreaming. When he focused even further, he realized she was really there. In his hotel room, his mother clearly nowhere in sight.

He thought she knew. That she discovered who he was.

A part of him wished she did.

But then something remarkable happened. Instead of calling him out of his lies, she accepted it at face value. She took the good with the bad, and instinctively knowing that even though he kept up a clumsy façade that wasn't really him, she didn't burn him at the stake for it. He thought maybe she even found it endearing.

That, he totally didn't expect.

To be continued…