Lois arrived home that night exhausted. Richard had obviously gone to bed, but there was a note explaining that there was Chinese in the oven. Didn't matter anyway, she wasn't that hungry. She quickly went upstairs to check on Jason, he was sleeping soundly. He was so beautiful. On his wall beside him, a huge Superman poster loomed, watching over him. It was nice for Jason to have such a wonderful role model to aspire to, and eventually become. Since she told Superman that Jason was his son, she hadn't really seen him aside from that night where she discovered him floating by Jason's window. "I'm always around."

In a way, Jason being the son of Superman could present so many problems, but now at least, Superman knows that he is not alone. And Jason can now learn what he can do and how to do it. She had been alone in her secret for so long, carrying Superman's baby for five years.

FIVE YEARS PRIOR:
Lois stood, rocking back and forth in her bathroom for the last forty seconds, biting her fingernails in anticipation. The last twenty seconds almost killing her as her one-minute pregnancy test sat before her.

It's probably just a false alarm, Lois thought. It has to be.

The timer went off that she had set. The test was ready. Slowly, she picked up the little white stick. Two blue sticks meant positive, one blue stick was negative. She closed her eyes, holding her breath. She forced her eyes open, to look at the item that may change her life forever.

She exhaled. Two blue sticks. She was pregnant. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Lois supported herself from collapsing against the bathtub. Pregnant? She'd only just met Richard, the chief's nephew. He had asked her out and she genuinely had a nice time. Then, once her inhibitions were lowered by one too many glasses of wine, and the grief over losing Superman the week before had kicked in, she had slept with Richard. That was a week ago. Richard was a nice man, but it was far too soon to have a child, it would change her entire life.

She looked to her belly, resting her hand protectively over the child growing inside of her. She could almost feel it. Lois pictured her son or daughter, she pictured herself as a mother – possibly a single mother. She doubted that Richard would be sticking around.

A tear slipped down her cheek. There was always abortion, but something felt so wrong about that. It was almost as if the baby was meant to be born, something deep down told her that this baby, her baby, was meant to live. It was here for a special reason. Adoption was out of the question – if this baby were to be born, then it would be hers – all hers. Nobody could love her baby more than her – nobody.

Lois wiped her tear away. Oh God, She sniffled. I'm going to be a mother.

PRESENT:
Lois locked the house, turned off all the lights and continued with her daily ritual as she had everyday before that. Clearing out the oven of the Chinese leftovers, Lois caught sight of the picture that Jason drew of Superman flying with 'mommy', 'daddy' and Jason. She brushed her fingers down Superman's drawing, and then Richard's. She sighed.

Inwardly, Lois knew that she had done a terrible, unforgivable thing. She had known all these years that she never really loved Richard, not like her love for Superman, despite trying. This prolonged engagement; it was all a charade. As a single parent, Lois was scared. Out of that fear, she promised to marry Richard, knowing that he was all she had. And even now, she was still stringing him along, deceiving him – making him believe she loves him. That night when Richard asked if she was still in love with Superman, her heart kept screaming yes, against all her better judgement, against all her will power.

One day, Lois would have to do the right thing. She just didn't know whether that meant leaving Richard or marrying him. Richard was such a kind man, the perfect man – the problem was, she wasn't sure that he was her perfect man. She gazed at Superman's picture again. She had never really let him go, just forced herself to believe that he was never coming back.

"But he is back." She whispered to herself. But what does that mean? For her or Jason?