Discussion
Rated: PG
Word Count: 1084
Prompt: The D Word

"All I'm saying, Lois, is that you don't need to break into a government official's office without concrete proof of wrong doing." Clark said quietly, trying to maintain his patience.

"And what I'm saying, Clark, is that by the time I would get said proof, the window of opportunity would be closed!" Lois' tone was jagged and icy, more from embarrassment than actual anger, but she wasn't about to let Clark know that.

"And the fact that your husband would be only too happy to fly over the building and keep an eye on things for you, thus keeping the window open, wasn't a favorable alternative?" He ran his heat vision over the dripping plate. Steam rose and evaporated into little wisps as the dish dried and he tucked it into its place in the cupboard.

"You were busy with that mudslide in Guadalajara or wherever." Lois pushed an errant lock of hair away from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her eyes remained fixed on a stubborn bit of casserole still stuck to the plate in her hand.

"Lois, I was in Fresno." Clark reached over and rubbed the food off the plate with the tip of his finger.

"I didn't have time." She dunked the dish back into the water one last time before rinsing it and handing it to him.

"Are you saying you couldn't have waited twenty more minutes for the warrant?" Clark's expression was incredulous. "Agent Davis was driving to the scene when he found you up to your arm pits in the senator's files."

"I was just speeding up the process." Lois muttered, reached for another dish and dropped it into the water, causing a small wave of suds to leap from the sink onto her blouse.

"And did Agent Davis find the paper trail you were so sure was there?" Clark stopped to look at her, a coffee mug that read '#1 Dad', hanging from his fingers.

Lois paused, her jaw set. "No."

Clark sighed opened the cupboard door again. "Lois-"

"But only because he knew we were onto him! He probably relocated them, or encrypted them onto a disk, or shredded them!" Lois was losing ground, and that fact irritated her more than the actual issue. She blew at the strand of hair that had wriggled its way back across her forehead.

Clark set down the mug gently and turned his frame toward her, dwarfing her in size. His fingers reached out and brushed along her forehead and down her cheek until her tucked the wayward strand behind her ear.

"Lois," His was voice low and colored with concern. "If this man is as dangerous as you say he is, you took a real risk going to his office alone. It's not that I don't believe that there may have been something to find, it's the fact you put yourself into danger without a second thought."

Lois craned her neck to look into his face, her hands fiddling with the dish rag. "I was careful, Clark." She said in a more even tone.

"I know, Lois. It just seems like every week we have this conversation. Today we were lucky it was the police that found you and not one of the bad guys. What if something were to happen, Lois? I can't be everywhere at once. You take these risks, and one of these days I might not be there to-"

"Clark!" Lois said sharply and then lowered her voice. "I don't get myself into dangerous situations for the fun of it. They just happen. And if I get hurt or…whatever, it's my fault. Not yours! You're my husband. Not my babysitter!"

"Sometimes I can't tell the difference!" Clark's eyes flashed slightly. "We have a son now. You need to think of him."

"You think I don't? What do you want me to do? Take a desk job down in Classifieds so that I won't be in any danger? Meanwhile, you are flying around the world pulling lost ships into port and stopping volcanic eruptions!" Lois hissed.

"It's not the same and you know it."

"Do I? When every common criminal could have a chunk of kryptonite? When some new mastermind could come up with a deathray or a bomb or whatever else they would use that could kill you? Do you think you're the only one who worries?" Lois squeezed the water from the dishrag and laid it across the sink. She turned her face away from him, wiping away the frustrated tear that had escaped from the corner of her eye.

"Lois…" Clark's face softened and he pulled her against him.

"You can hear everything, Clark. You know when you can't see me that I'm okay." She sniffed quietly. "I just have to wait, and hope tonight isn't the night you don't come home." Her breath shuddered unevenly.

Clark ran his hand over her hair soothingly. "I didn't realize you felt this way." He held her away from him and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I don't think about those things when I go because I know what I'm doing. I'm care….ful." He trailed off and understanding flooded his eyes.

Lois's eyes regarded him somewhat victoriously behind a veil of moisture.

"Are you guys fighting?" Jason's anxious voice came from the kitchen doorway.

Lois ducked behind the expanse of Clark's back and quickly wiped the tears from her face.

"No buddy. We're just having a discussion." Clark said reassuringly.

"Noah's parents were having 'discussions' and then Noah's daddy moved to Seattle." Jason's lips trembled and his eyes widened slightly.

Lois and Clark looked at each other in understanding. As one they crossed the kitchen and held their son.

"Baby, it's alright," Lois said soothingly. "Sometimes grown ups disagree and they get carried away." She placed a kiss on the crown of Jason's head. "Nobody's going to move to Seattle." She cupped his cheeks in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Okay?"

Jason's uncertain eyes passed from his mother to his father.

Clark nodded and smiled, his fingers intertwining with Lois', helaid a kiss on the back of her palm thatw as as much for her benefit as their son's. "It's ok, son, you're mom and I only bicker because we love each other."

"You guys love each other a LOT." Jason exclaimed.

A smile crept onto Clark's face as he looked at Lois out of the corner of his eye.

Lois turned to Clark and their eyes met. Her features softened into a smile. "Yes, we do."

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