DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, but I'd like to thank the late Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster for creating them. I also do not own anything borrowed from Disney's Pixar (you'll see what I mean later).

A/N:This is a re-vamped version of the original tale that I posted on the site many months ago. I hope you enjoy it!

Late March, 2007. Clark heaved his shoulders and let out a deep sigh as he settled back into his desk chair at the Planet once more. Just another day at the office, he thought to himself, as he mused over the days events. Since stepping into the bull pen at 9:01 am, he had stopped an out-of-control car from careening off a cliff, saved a group of hikers that had fallen into an underground cave and been pinned by that cave's partial collapse, put out a 130 acre forest fire, ended three different robberies (One bank, two convenience stores) and completed two separate news articles. All he wanted to do was finish this last story and get home to a hot shower and a relatively relaxing evening out of both suits.

A dinging sound at the end of the room roused him out of his thoughts in time to see Lois Lane step out of the elevator with Jason in tow. It was 6:45 pm on a Friday and she was dressed for a night out on the town; her long black dress accentuated her curves, and he couldn't help but allow his eyes to follow the simple strand of white pearls around her neck that trailed down with the v-neck of her ensemble. When he remembered himself he quickly looked away and behind him towards Richard's office, only to see the man all decked out in a new black Armani suit, complete with a perfectly tied bow-tie, a lá Jimmy Olsen. Clark turned back to catch Lois charging toward him, only to brush past hastily before he could open his mouth and deliver her a compliment. He smiled to himself as he inhaled the trail of perfume she left behind, and it was in that moment that Clark realized that Jason was still in his play clothes, clutching an overstuffed backpack with an action figure sticking out, being dragged along behind his mother. The little boy turned and gave a quick smile and a wave to Clark before reaching his Father's office with his Mother.

Richard caught sight of Lois and smiled as she weaved among the desks. "Hey Hun!" he called out as he held open his office door to greet her, "Ready for our big date…" he trailed off as Jason came into view. He loved the little guy, but Lois had asked that they take some time to talk together, alone, and that's when he proposed a date night to her. So what is Jason doing here? "Hey Munchkin!" he cried, scooping his son up into his arms and trying to mask the twinge of disappointment, "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to hang out with Connie tonight?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and said, "Connie can't play tonight." Richard looked at him quizzically.

"Her great-aunt of a friend's friend died and she just had to go console them," Lois said, dripping with sarcasm. "Puh-leeze. She just wanted to go to the Mall, to heck with responsibilities and prior commitments! UGH!! Teenagers today!" she flopped down in a nearby chair in frustration.

Clark, who had been listening in on the conversation, chuckled at Lois' drollness. Luckily, not many people were left to notice his little outburst, so he sobered up and went on eavesdropping.

"…go home and re-schedule?"

"No Richard!" she replied exasperated, "It took two weeks for us to coordinate our schedules, five days to pick the restaurant and an hour and a half for me to get ready! And besides, we really need to have this conversation. It can't wait any longer."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to bring Jason along…" he said, trailing off and looking at the boy on the sofa, who was playing absent-mindedly with his Sky Captain figurine in his hands.

A knock on the door reminded Lois and Richard that they were not alone and they watched in amusement as Clark pulled on the handle instead of pushing the door in. Finally, he remembered himself and stepped into the expansive corner office. How he makes it in investigative journalism I'll never understand, Lois thought, as she gave Clark a good once-over. Sure, he's plain enough, you'd never notice him in a crowd, which makes it a heck of a lot easier to slip in and out of places, but he can't seem to stand up for more than five minutes altogether without tripping over a wastebasket or knocking into a door! Just how in the world does he get his scoops?

Clark glanced over and saw Lois scanning him and furrowing her brows in deep thought. She always got that look when pondering how best to break a dead end in a story. What have I done to deserve that look Lois?

"Ahem," coughed Richard, trying to get Clark's attention.

"Oh right, sorry," he mumbled as he headed towards Richard's desk. "Here's that article you asked for earlier." His toe caught on Jason's backpack and Clark practically threw the papers into Richard's hands before catching himself on the back of a nearby chair. The boy giggled.

"Jason, that's not very nice…" Richard started to reprimand his son, before noticing that Lois had let out a little chuckle too.

Clark straightened himself out, at least, as much as he would allow himself to straighten up while in the office and added, "Well, if you don't need anything else, I think I'll be heading home for the evening." He turned to try and make an unceremonious getaway while wishing he had a reason to linger. He was almost at the door when Lois piped up.

"Clark, did you say you were going home? You don't, maybe, have any other plans for the night, now do you?"

His heart skipped a beat; it was exactly what he hoped she'd ask him. Still, he couldn't help but think, Gee Lois, now that you mention it…I had thought about flying over to your place to tuck Jason into bed then I'd do one final fly-by around the globe before hitting the hay myself; you know, stopping natural and man-made disasters and whatnot. But other than that…"No Lois, I don't have any plans, why do you ask?"

"Well, I know this is very last minute, and you can feel free to say no, but as you can see," she gestured to her lavish attire, as if he needed her to remind him how breathtaking she looked, "Richard and I had plans, and, well, the babysitter canceled on us at the last minute. There was a death in the family," she added soberly, for extra-emphasis.

He resisted laughing out loud, knowing full well the truth of the situation. Although he desperately wanted to spend more time with his son, and she practically handed him over to her on a silver platter, he didn't want to appear over-eager and arouse suspicion. Taking a deep breath, he shirked his shoulders and thrust his hands deep in his pockets before briefly locking eyes with Jason.

"Lois, I don't think this is very fair," Richard said, looking up while absently flipping through the pages Clark had just given him. "Really Clark, she shouldn't shanghai you like this. Honestly Honey, we can just take him with us to the restaurant, it won't be a problem." Lois shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the mention of bringing Jason along. Clearly she wants to spend some 'alone time' with her fiancée…Clark mused to himself.

"I wouldn't mind watching him, Richard. Really, it wouldn't be any trouble at all," he said all in one breath, afraid he may have missed his chance.

Lois turned to face her son. "Jason, Sweetie, what do you want to do? Do you want to go to the boring grown-up restaurant with Mommy and Daddy, or do you want to color pictures and have fun with Mr. Clark?" she asked mock-innocently, knowing full-well that she had manipulated his options. No small child would willingly choose the 'boring grown-up restaurant' option, no matter how mysterious it sounded.

"I want to go with Mr. Clark!" he exclaimed happily, much to Lois and Clark's relief.

"Ok then, go get your stuff together," she said, gently nudging him off the sofa. Richard let out a sigh of defeat and turned back to Clark's article, grabbing a pen and bending over his desk. Lois turned her attention back to Clark.

"Thank you so much," she said, letting loose a sigh of relief. "By the way, the gig pays $12 an hour."

"Lois! You know I'll watch Jason for free ANYTIME!" he replied, a little peeved that the mother of his own child would offer to pay him to spend time with his son. And so much for not appearing over-anxious there Clark…

"I know, Smallville," she said, grinning mischievously, "I was only teasing. Besides, you owe me for that thing I did for you way back when…"

"What thing?" he cocked his head to the side, trying to recall what 'thing' she was referring to.

"You know, that one time…you remember, that time I saved your butt? We were working on that article…you know, before you went away…" she went on teasing him vaguely.

"Riiiiight,that time. Uh-huh…sure Lois, whatever you say." He was grinning like a maniac now; first he got to spend an evening with hi son, and now Lois was horsing around with him, actually paying him some attention! It was practically perfect.

"I'm ready Mommy!" Jason cried, tugging eagerly on her dress. She took her son's hand and placed it in Clark's large one, which soon enveloped it completely. Funny, she thought to herself, as klutzy as he is, I don't think I'd so readily entrust Jason to anybody else. He just seems so protective of him, like it's the most natural thing in the world.

"Alright Buddy," Clark said, looking down at the little boy, "Let's get out of here." He pushed the door open and headed for his desk to retrieve his coat and briefcase.

"Goodnight, Little Guy! Make sure and be on your best behavior!" Richard called out, looking up from the note he had scribbled in the margin of Clark's article.

They hadn't made it very far when Lois realized she'd forgotten something and called out to them.

"Clark!"

But Clark didn't hear her; he was so busy staring down at the little face looking happily back up at him that no other sound in the world reached his ears.

"CLARK!" she called out again, more forcefully this time, effectively breaking him out of his reverie.

"Uh, yes Lois?" he asked, almost guiltily.

"I need your address…you know, so I can pick Jason up later. I mean, I could go through the personnel files and get it, but that would just take more time, and we really need to get out of here," she said, glancing back at Richard in his office.

Clark grabbed a scrap sheet of paper and wrote his address and phone number on it for her. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, just one second…" she dove into her clutch bag and pulled out a few pieces of paper for him. "Here's the name and number of the restaurant we'll be going to…there's my cell phone number and Richard's…this is Jason's Doctor's office…oh, and here's my sister Lucy's address and phone number, just in case something should happen and you can't reach us at the restaurant. And the rest of these," she said, flipping the remaining pages, "are Jason's known allergies." A look of panic briefly swept across Clark's face at the length of the list. "But don't worry!" she hastened to reassure him, "He hasn't had an allergic reaction or an asthma attack in months! And he has all his medications and his inhaler in his bag if anything should happen."

Richard sidled up beside her, her coat draped over his arm, "Are you ready?" he asked in a husky voice, taking her coat and holding it open for her.

"Yes," she answered back, inserting her elegant arms through the sleeves. Clark, in-between mentally registering how stunning she looked this evening, couldn't help but detect a lack of feeling between Lois' words and her actions toward Richard; he even thought it bordered on indifference. But he just shook it off as wishful thinking and tucked Lois' list into his briefcase.

"Goodnight, Sweetie," she said, bending down to give Jason a good-bye kiss. "Be good for Mr. Clark, ok?"

"I will Mommy."

"'Night, Kiddo," Richard said again, tousling Jason's hair. One misguided lock fell in front of Jason's forehead, giving him the distinct look of his biological father; fortunately for Richard, he hadn't noticed a thing. He knew he wasn't Jason's true father, but he was his Dad in every way that mattered, and any reminder of the man who had sired his son always roused him a little to anger. Lois quickly pushed it back into place, but not before Clark saw it and felt a surge of paternal pride well up within him. And with that, Richard and Lois strode across the bullpen, entered an awaiting elevator, and were gone for the evening.