A/N: much thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter one. I'm not sure all of the review responses went through though, given that ffnet kindly held all alerts back for a while. Therefore, I'm thanking everyone here who reviewed chapter one: katie, Mr. Firenze, Extracurriculariffic, whiteroses12, marielise, Nautica7mk, hollywoodgal205, rajen48, muser321, Sunny2006, Alphie, septempopuli, estetson47, LegendLover, Jedi-Bant, Chixawitch and Speakfire

I'm currently writing chapter 13, but I can't update the fic any quicker, as my beta is really busy and it takes her usually over a week to correct a chapter.

Note for this chapter: I don't remember if Superman ever told Lois that his real name was Kal-El. Perhaps he did, but in this fic I assumed that he didn't, so Lois doesn't know.

Also, I don't know if it was ever mentioned what kind of job Richard's father used to have, but I decided he was an actor, because it fit the plot. Call it artistic licence or whatever you want ;)

Chapter 2

Superman Needs a Saviour

She had been prepared for everything since Superman had been taken to hospital. Everything from a quick healing to a tragically sudden death, everything, that is, but this.

Two days had passed since Superman had awoken from his coma, and his state hadn't improved a bit.

Looking out the window, staring out into the dusk, Lois rubbed her temples, unable to close out the murmur of the crowd gathered before the hospital's entrance. During Superman's coma, most of the crowd had consisted of average people waiting to hear news about his condition, some holding boards with the legend 'We love you, Superman!', others just silently praying. Now most of the crowd consisted of journalists. The average citizen was happy enough to know that their hero had awoken and having even seen him fly around satisfied them enough to go home and keep rooting for his complete healing from their comfortable armchairs. The journalists, however, were more than excited to get news about their hero's alleged amnesia.

Lois didn't know which stupid nurse had leaked the truth to the rest of the press, as she had wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible. She was aware that a headline saying 'SUPERMAN SUFFERS FROM AMNESIA' would have sold hundreds of thousands of copies of the Daily Planet, but she just couldn't bring herself to write an article on it, and was exasperated when she saw that others from other newspapers had done exactly that!

Perry White had instructed her to spend as much time at Superman's side as possible, her being the only reporter that the doctors allowed into the hero's room. Lois was grateful that Richard wasn't complaining about her spending most of her time with Superman, though she had seen the pain in his eyes whenever she announced she was leaving for the hospital to… interview its most famous patient.

Perry kept calling her on the phone, urging her to submit an article on Superman's mental status (the mere term 'mental' made her blood boil with anger), but the article she had promised her chief never seemed to get finished.

Superman had insisted he felt perfectly all right and wanted to leave the ward, but Lois reasoned with him that he needed help, so, two days after having awoken from his coma, the hero was still a guest of the hospital.

Lois couldn't have told what angered her more – the fact that Superman couldn't leave the hospital because of the journalists (and of the danger of getting lost without his memories) or the fact that every time she visited him, she found him surrounded by various nurses and female doctors pretending to be examining him. "They were practically ravishing you with their eyes," she told him sharply after a very blond, giggling nurse had scurried out of the room. "And judging by your dishevelled hair and half-open shirt, not just their eyes," she added with a disgusted expression.

"Oh come on, Lois, they weren't doing anything improper," Superman replied with a rosy tinge on his cheeks. "That blond lady just… gave me a massage. She said it might trigger certain memories…" He scrutinised her face. "It wouldn't, would it? I should have known." He hung his head. "I want to leave this place."

"Su… er…" Lois began, sitting down next to him on the bed. "Listen here. What the women here are doing to you is nothing compared to what they would if you left here without your memories. You could be used. Deceived. You don't know who your friends or who your enemies are. Your immense powers could be used for bad if someone managed to convince you that they're say, your… wife."

"I have a wife?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

"I hope not," she replied, then realised what she'd said and blushing furiously, she added: "I mean, I don't know of you having a wife. Besides, even if you did have one, you never told me, and then I'd be hurt because it would mean you didn't trust me as your friend." And because that would mean you regarded our relationship as nothing more than a one-night stand. Her eyes shifted to his face, and she felt herself drowning in the blue depths of his eyes. They held eye-contact for a few seconds, and the intensity of his gaze made her direct her eyes elsewhere, which happened to be his chest. Again, through his tight-fitting shirt, his muscles looked perfect. She forced herself to look away, fearing that she'd involuntarily start drooling if she continued staring at him.

"How can I be sure that you are my friend?" he asked suddenly. "You said people would want to use my predicament against me. How can I know that you aren't doing just that?"

Lois didn't know why her eyes filled with tears. She defiantly kept looking away from him, examining the freshly rebuilt part of the ward's wall. I can't tell him what we were to each other… not yet. He would think I'm trying to take advantage of him…

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned back to face him. "I'm sorry, Lois," he said with a serene expression. "You are the only one they let in here to visit me… apparently the whole world knows we used to be friends… are friends."

Sniffing, she nodded. "Yes, we are friends."

"But how come you don't know my real name if we're friends? Surely I couldn't have lived as Superman all the time…"

She shook her head. "Sometimes… sometimes I get the feeling that once I knew who you were… I just don't remember it."

His eyes widened. "So you too have amnesia!"

She laughed. "Sort of, but only partially. I… I remember almost everything of my life… except certain aspects of our… friendship."

He knitted his eyebrows. "And what aspects of our friendship do you remember? I mean, how did we meet? How did we become friends? Do I have other friends as well?"

"I don't know if you have other friends… As for how we met… I fell out of a helicopter, and you caught me." A small smile appeared on her face. "Whenever I got into trouble, you came along and saved me. And apparently it's up to me now to save you."

"What do you mean? Save me from whom? Am I not invulnerable… save that Kryptonite thingie? That's what you said the other day…"

He was again chewing his lower lip, his shoulders hunched. He looked like an oversized, lost puppy, she couldn't have described him with any other word. She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I have to save you from yourself."

He gave her an expression that suggested he didn't fully understand what she meant. "And… how do you intend to do that?"

"I'll get you out of here."

"But didn't you say you thought it would be best if I stayed here?"

She heaved a sigh. "Yes, because I was hoping the docs would find out how to help you… but I was wrong. You aren't showing any signs of improvement. Day after day I come here only to find that the doctors are pretending to be examining you, but they aren't doing anything that really helps, simply because they don't know how to help. I could help you, but only outside these walls."

"And where exactly?"

"At various places that you used to know. Something might trigger your memories there."

"What kinds of places?"

She mentioned the first place that came to her mind. "Niagara Falls."

"Why, what happened there?"

She had to admit she wasn't sure why Niagara Falls was the first place she had thought of. She had gone there with Clark Kent… but she also remembered seeing Superman there. There were certain hazy details in the picture. She could easily have mentioned any other place she had seen Superman saving people in, but for some reason Niagara Falls felt special. She couldn't have explained why, though.

"You… saved a little child there, as far as I remember," she replied, not meeting his eyes. There was something awkward about this conversation, and about the place she intended to visit with him, but strangely it felt right. Awkward but right.

"Well…" He shrugged. "Anything for my memories. I would fly to the Arctic if that was what I needed to remember who I really am…"

You might just need to do that, she thought. But Niagara Falls first. Perhaps she too would find answers to her questions there…

"All right, let's go then." He stood up, starting to pull the pyjamas off himself.

Lois's cheeks turned ruby red and she quickly looked away. Heavens, why does he always have to make me blush when he's not wearing a top? She felt like kicking herself for the stupid schoolgirl crush she still had on him. Then again, every nurse in the hospital seemed to have the same kind of schoolgirl crush on him… so why feel ashamed? It was normal. Absolutely normal. He was the most gorgeous male being she had ever laid eyes upon, so drooling a bit was perfectly natural. "Wait," she said, casting a sideways glance at him to make sure he was decent.

"Wait for what?" he asked, almost fully dressed, pulling on the burgundy boots of his Superman suit.

"We can't leave right now." Seeing the confusion on his face, she stood up and started pacing the room. "We have to think things over. First, you must escape from here. I will tell everyone that you just left, no matter how hard I was trying to hold you back."

"Sounds like a plan. And then we go someplace where I'm likely to remember who I am?"

"Something like that. But… If we're to leave on a trip in search of your memories, we can't go as Superman and Lois."

"Oh." He nodded. "We would attract too much attention if we did."

"Exactly. You will have to wear everyday clothes. Not that I can imagine you in an Armani suit, for example…" She laughed, as though the mere thought of Superman wearing anything else than his blue costume was ridiculous. "Here." She pulled her notebook out of her pocket and jotted down her address. "Find this house. I trust with your special vision you can find it within five minutes. Here's the keys. Try to get into the house without drawing attention to yourself. You can go at super-speed, just try not to ruin any of our walls."

He took the piece of paper and the set of keys from her, chuckling. "Don't worry, I think I've relearned to slow down just in time. Been practicing."

"Practicing?" She blinked. "Where?"

"You know…" He shuffled his feet, looking like a little boy who was going to confess some misdeed to his mother, "I went flying last night. And the night before it. No one saw me, though, I was quick as lightning."

She hadn't read any news about Superman's secret night-time flights, so apparently none of the journalists had noticed. "I'm sure you were," she said in a motherly voice that she usually used when talking to Jason, and gently patted his arm. "It's dark already, I'm sure no one will notice you if you left now."

"But Lois… What would your fiancé say if I just broke into your house?"

"Don't worry, I'll phone him and tell him that you're going there. He can give you some decent clothes… I mean, average clothes. Your suit is decent, of course, but…"

"Is not," he replied, sounding like a defiant child. "I don't like it."

"Whatever. Richard will lend you some clothes, and we'll get you something to make you less…" Handsome, she wanted to say, but held back. "Less conspicuous."

"Do you think people would still recognise me, even if I wore normal clothes?"

"Surely they would. Your face is too well-known to not recognise it. But if you had a moustache or glasses or… I don't know…"

"Glasses sound good," he said automatically. "Thick-rimmed ones."

"Speaking of thick-rimmed glasses, I think a colleague of mine would be able to help us. You know, Richard's smaller than you, but Clark Kent is around your height. He will surely lend you some clothes if I ask him."

"I don't know this Clark Kent, is he trustworthy?"

"I don't know how trustworthy he is, but he has a good heart… and a crush on me." Lois's eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief. "He'd do anything for me."

"Oh. Listen, Lois, I don't want to use anyone, and don't want you to use this Clark Kent either just to help me…"

Lois again found herself thinking that he reminded her of someone. He wasn't behaving like a self-confident superhero at all. He had moments when he seemed serious, but other moments he got strangely mild-mannered. She shrugged. He must be going through an identity-crisis, and the lack of self-confidence was surely part of it.

She fished her cell phone out of her bag and chose her boss's number from the speed-dial. "Perry?"

"Lois? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm in the hospital, chief, working on the… article."

"I've been waiting for that article for two days, Lois!" Perry White's voice boomed through her cell phone, forcing the woman to keep it at a distance from her ear if she didn't want to go deaf any time soon.

"I'm on it, Perry, but I need to ask Clark about something. Can you give me his phone number?"

"I can't, Lois. Clark's simply disappeared."

"Disappeared?" she gasped.

"Yes, vanished from the face of Earth. Can you imagine that? He left for years, came back for a week, then left again, without a word. He never gave us his address, let alone his phone number. If he has an address at all, which I doubt. Jimmy found his suitcases in a storage room yesterday."

"Great," Lois muttered. "Well, thanks, Perry."

"Lois, I want that article as soon as po-"

The female reporter ended the call, then turned to Superman. "Apparently I won't even have a chance to use Clark Kent to help you. I fear you'll have to put up with Richard's clothes, even if they're a few sizes too small."

"It's okay. I involuntarily overheard your discussion with your boss. Do you have an idea where this Kent had gone?"

She shook her head. "He keeps disappearing all the time. He left for five years without even saying good-bye…" Her voice wavered, not meeting his eyes. Just like you did…

A dark expression flashed across Superman's face. Had Lois seen it, she would have sworn he had remembered something. Not a particular event, not a particular person, just a feeling. The feeling of guilt.

"I'm sorry… that he left you," he said insecurely.

Lois shook her head. "It's not Clark's leaving without a word that really hurts."

"Then?"

Before she knew what was happening, he was facing her, his warm, big hands on her shoulders, his sapphire eyes boring into hers.

"It's… it's nothing Su…" she stammered. "Oh for heaven's sake… what shall I call you? I don't know you by any other name."

He pursed his lips, thinking. "Call me Jonathan. I like that name for some reason."

"Jonathan…" she savoured the word. "Okay, Jonathan. It's time for your escape."

He flashed her with a huge smile and ran to the window, opening it. Then, instead of seeing him fly away, Lois was shocked to find him by her side again, feeling his hot breath against her skin… He pecked her on the cheek. "Thank you, Lois. For trying to save me."

She gazed at him for a while, unblinking. She even forgot to breathe.

"You okay?"

She nodded numbly. "Uh-huh… Go."

In a blur of blue and red he was off, and Lois dialled Richard's number. "Honey, I don't want to startle you, but we're going to have a special guest for the night. I hope you don't mind…"

From the intonation of Richard's voice, she had the idea that he did mind (especially because Lois told him she was about to leave for who knows how long with every woman's Dream Boy to help him find his memories), but he was as polite as ever. Lois couldn't feel thankful enough for a man this loving and understanding… and couldn't help feeling ashamed of the emotions that Superman's closeness had awoken in her. She wasn't supposed to have dirty thoughts about him… not, because she had a fiancé, and because he, Superman, was completely vulnerable now. Not physically, but psychically. She couldn't just tell him that they had been lovers and that Jason was his son… it could only worsen his mental condition.

She chided herself for even thinking of him as a lover, and decided it was time to distract her thoughts from his chiselled chest, dreamy eyes, cute backside… Lois Lane, get a grip!

She dishevelled her hair to look as though she'd been putting up a fight, then threw the door open. "Heeelp! Superman's escaped!"

o O o

Half an hour later Lois entered her home to see a nervous-looking Richard sitting on the sofa in the living room.

"He hasn't arrived," he said dryly.

"What?" Lois gasped. "Oh no… he got lost… how are we going to find him in a huge city like Metropolis?" She sank onto the sofa next to her fiancé. "Where's Jason?"

"Up in his room, doing his homework," replied the man. A minute of silence ensued. Finally Lois felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to face Richard.

"You didn't mean it when you said you never loved him… did you?" he asked simply.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I was so… mad at him that I couldn't see straight… So mad that I didn't want to admit it to anyone, not even myself that I had once loved him. But it's over, Richard. It belongs to the past."

"Are you sure?"

Lois let out a nervous laugh. "Of course. What makes you think I'm not sure?"

He made a grimace. "You jumped into the sea to save him."

"Anyone would have done it for him after he'd saved them!" she said a bit more harshly than she had intended. "I was just… grateful to him."

Richard gave her a sad smile. "If you say so… You know, you could call out to him. He has that enhanced hearing or whatever… if he heard you, he might find his way here, following your voice."

"I'm not sure he'd listen to the usual 'Superman!' call," Lois said, shaking her head. "He insists that he dislikes being called Superman and wants me to call him Jonathan. But I doubt if he'd appear here if I started shouting 'Jonathan!'"

Richard stroked his jaw. "But why Jonathan?"

"I have no idea. He said he liked the name for some reason. Do you think it could be the name he goes by when he's not playing Superman, and he subconsciously remembered it?"

Before Richard could voice his opinion on the subject, the front door opened and closed in the blink of an eye, and Superman was standing before them, grinning. "Sorry I'm late, Lois, I saw people needing help in a car crash on my way here. I never thought it would be such a wonderful feeling to help people! I enjoyed it! And wow, I'm strong! When you said I could lift airplanes with my bare hands, I thought you were exaggerating a bit, but now I see you weren't!" His glance fell upon Richard. "Er, hello. My name is… Jonathan. You must be Richard White, Lois's fiancé." He held out his hand.

Richard produced a fake smile and accepted the outstretched hand. The smile disappeared from his face as soon Superman grasped his right and gave it a 'friendly' shake.

"Oops. I think I haven't yet fully learned how to control my strength… Sorry, Mr. White," Superman said with an embarrassed face. "At least no bone is broken."

"A…are you sure?" Richard winced, cradling his battered-looking hand.

"Absolutely. X-ray vision." Superman smiled proudly. "Lois told me I had it, and I've been practising it for over a day. I can tell for example that Lois has lilac underwear and that the little guy who said my handshake was like a dead fish is upstairs, scribbling in an exercise book. I just wanted to make sure my handshake wasn't like a dead fish this time… sorry I overdid it. He's a really nice kid, by the way, you must be very proud of him, Mr. White."

"Oh… oh, yeah." Richard nodded with an unreadable expression. Lois's face though was so red that one could have scrambled eggs on it.

"What?" Superman blinked. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, not in being late, at least… it was really nice of you to help those people," Richard said in a voice that adults used when talking to small children. "But you know… Jonathan, it's not really nice to check out a lady's underwear…"

"Oh. I didn't mean to be impolite… I won't do it again. Lois too has seen me in underwear, though. We're even."

Richard raised an eyebrow at Lois who blushed even more. "Let's just… just find Jonathan some normal clothes, shall we? Richard, you said you kept your father's old things in the attic. I'm sure you could find something there that would disguise Su… Jonathan's face somehow. While you look for something, I'll pack my suitcase." With that she stormed off, seemingly relieved to get as far from Superman as possible.

In her and Richard's bedroom, she dropped herself on the bed, letting out a sigh. She was beginning to think she'd taken on more than she could bear. Perry was badgering her about the Superman exclusive that she hadn't even started to write, and now she was leaving with the hero to find his lost memories, plus she couldn't even tell Perry where she was going. She would be risking her job, not to mention her relationship to Richard if she left on a 'vacation' with Superman, but she was the only one who knew him enough to help him. And he badly needed help. Without his memories he was acting like a five-year-old child who was discovering the world for the first time. Everything seemed new to him, and he seemed to have lost the ability to tell good from bad or polite from indecent. He was practically like a big baby who needed his mommy… But I'm not his mommy, for heaven's sake! I'm the mother of his child!

She groaned in frustration. Out of the three most important males in her life, two were behaving like five-year-olds, and only one of the two was really a child. Sometimes she had the feeling that Jason acted more maturely than his father.

His father…

Pangs of remorse tore at Lois's heart. She still hadn't told Richard about Jason's paternity, and felt she was living a lie. Okay, Lois, pull yourself together! - she shouted at herself, and forced herself to get up and start packing. Superman may have left her when she most needed him, but she won't leave him now when he needs her so much. Besides, he didn't know about my pregnancy, she reasoned with herself. Had he known, he wouldn't have let me down. He would have stayed and helped, and… things would be different now. She caught herself on the verge of tears, but sniffed and continued packing. Things are good as they are. Richard is a wonderful partner and an excellent father. I don't need anything more than I have. I'm completely satisfied with my life! I don't need bloody Superman to ruin it all!

That was when she realised she was clutching at a high-heeled shoe, ready to throw it. Its mate was lying in the corner where she had chucked it already. Apparently, Superman's mental illness is infectious. I'm throwing shoes.

o O o

"Lois, dear, are you all right?" Richard called out to her when he heard a soft thump coming from their bedroom.

"Don't worry, she's just throwing shoes at the wall," Superman said casually.

Richard knitted his eyebrows, but didn't ask why Superman had been looking at his fiancé through the wall, rather he directed his attention back to the crate full of his late father's old gadgets from the good old times when he'd played as an actor in the Metropolis Theatre. "Aha! I think I've found something for you, S… Jonathan."

o O o

Once Lois was finished packing, she went to check on Jason's homework, while Richard helped Superman choose some of his clothes.

"Are you really leaving tomorrow, Mommy? Daddy told me that you would," Jason said with a pout.

"I have to, munchkin. Only Mommy can help Superman so that he heals and can help people in the future."

The little boy looked contemplative for a second. "Why, can't he help people now?"

"Jason, honey, Superman is rather… vulnerable right now."

"But nothing can injure him," the boy reasoned.

"No, physically nothing can… but he's vulnerable in another way," Lois explained.

"He's a bit crazy, isn't he, Mommy?"

"Crazy?" She blinked. "No, of course not."

"But he was so weird when I talked to him in the hospital. He didn't recognise us. He even forgot he was Superman."

Lois put an arm around the boy's thin frame. "He has an illness called amnesia."

"Is it catching?"

Lois laughed. "No, thankfully not. You know I wouldn't let you near anyone with a catching disease… you get ill so easily." She pressed a kiss on his temple. "But you'll get stronger and healthier when you grow older, I promise you that."

"I'm healthier already," Jason said. "I haven't used my inhaler for three days! And I'm strong too, I threw…" He fell silent and hung his head.

"The piano," his mother finished the sentence.

Jason nodded. "How could I push it, Mom? I didn't mean to. I didn't want to hurt that man…" Tears welled up in his eyes.

"I know you didn't, munchkin. You acted on instinct, to save Mommy. One day, you will learn to control your… strength." At least I hope so. That is partly why I want to help your daddy so much… so that he can help you later. Oh my gosh… aren't I horribly selfish? I want to help him so that he can help my… our son and I have completely forgotten about the millions whose lives would be less secure without him…

"Do you think so?" Jason asked after a while, shaking her out of her reverie. "I'm afraid I won't. I always get a D in gym… You know what, Mommy?"

"What, dear?"

"I don't think even my P.E. teacher would be able to push a piano. No one I know can do things like that… except Superman. Do you think Superman can push a piano?"

Lois gave her son a gentle smile. "Yes, munchkin, I'm sure he can push a piano. Even two at a time."

"Wow. Two pianos at a time… And three? Can he push three?"

The woman let out a laugh. Spending time with her son always brightened her mood, except when he was seriously ill. "Yes, I'm sure he can push even three. And now, let's see that picture you drew at school today…"

"Lois! We're ready!" came Richard's voice from their bedroom.

"Ready? For what?" Jason asked.

"Mommy and Daddy have invited Superman over and by the sound of it, Daddy has just found some clothes that Superman can wear on our trip."

"Superman's here?" the little boy exclaimed excitedly. "May I see him?"

"Of course you may, honey. But just for a short while, then it's dinner and bedtime for you."

"Okay." Jason grinned happily.

o O o

Superman was examining himself in the full-length mirror built into the inside of Lois and Richard's wardrobe. True, Richard's shirt was a little too tight, but if he didn't do any gymnastics, it might not tear. There was nothing he could do with the trousers, though – those were unfortunately too short, showing several inches of his socks.

"I'm sure people won't notice," Richard said good-naturedly. "Besides, there's always some crazy new trend… you could say short trousers are extremely fashionable in… Kuala Lumpur, where you bought this pair. People will be so fascinated that you were in exotic places like Malaysia that they will completely forget about the size of your clothes."

"Thanks, Mr. White." Superman smiled at him.

"Just call me Richard."

"Um, Richard…" Superman gave him an embarrassed smile. "I didn't mean to look at your fiancée's underwear… it was unintentional. Sometimes I hear and see things that I never wanted to hear or see. I think this is something I haven't yet learned… relearned to control…"

"No problem, Su… Jonathan. I understand. It must be difficult to have abilities you cannot control."

"Yes, it is, surely for Jason too." Superman nodded absent-mindedly.

"For Jason?" the other man echoed his words. "What do you mean by that?"

"He just said… Oh, sorry. Again, my uncontrolled hearing. I'm sure I could learn how to not listen in on conversations, I just need to practice…"

"Yes, surely you will. But what did Jason say?"

"He said he'd thrown a piano and hurt someone and didn't know how he did it." Superman shrugged, turning back to the mirror to straighten his tie. "Weird, huh? I thought humans couldn't do things like that…"

Richard was staring at the Man of Steel's back, horror-struck. Jason… with super-strength? Jason… born two months prematurely but still looking as well-developed as any child born in the ninth month… And Lois had always loved Superman… Always. Loved. Him.

"Uh, Richard, you all right?" Superman turned around, frowning at him. "You look as white as a sheet."

"Er… yes." The other man nodded, forcing his voice to sound as normal as possible, while his mind was reeling. Jason had been the first to spot the sunken and drowning Superman in the sea… enhanced vision? When he, Richard, had thought he would not be able to pull the plane up in time and they'd crash into the enormous crystals, the plane mysteriously took off at the last second… Had Jason involuntarily flown, bringing the plane with himself? Best not to think of that… not now… he'd think of it later. Act natural, he told himself. "Lois!" he shouted. "We're ready!"

Lois entered the room, smiling. Apparently her visit with Jason had improved her mood a bit. "Well, Jonathan…" She sized Superman up from head to toe. Even if her fiancé's clothes were too small for him, he looked good. And familiar. She couldn't have told whom he resembled in the suit and tie, though.

"And the accessories?" she asked. "Haven't you found anything to… you know, disguise him?"

"Only this." Superman held up a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. "According to Richard, the lenses are simple glass. Completely fake, so they won't make anyone with a good vision dizzy, nor will they blur my vision in any way."

"Go on, put them on!" Lois urged him.

Superman complied. "Well, what do I look like?" he asked with a goofy smile.

Both Richard and Lois froze. Time seemed to stand still in the room. It was Richard who finally broke the silence. "You look like… like…"

"…Clark Kent," Lois whispered.

"Hey, Mr. Superman!" Jason came bursting into the room. "Or can I call you Mr. Clark at last?"

All three adults gaped at the child. "Jason, honey…" Lois began, her voice shaking, "you knew that Mr. Clark was Superman?"

The child frowned upon his mother. "Why, didn't you?" Judging by his mommy's glance, she didn't. Judging by his daddy's glance, he didn't either. "Grown-ups can be reeeeeal stupid."

o O o

A/N: be so kind and leave a review:)