2

Clark blinked at Chloe. He couldn't be hearing her right. Oliver loved Dinah. He'd been a playboy in the past but had gotten so much better. After Tess, he'd become a loyal boyfriend and husband, treating Lois, Chloe and then Dinah with nothing but respect and care each. Yes, Clark had always wondered about Christopher, who was as fair as Oliver was and looked nothing like George. The timing of her and George marrying and then Christopher being born four months later was suspicious, but he assumed they'd married as the right thing to do after George had gotten Chloe pregnant.

The timing...it was possible Oliver had had one last dalliance with Chloe before she'd left for Asia.

Clark swallowed and tasted something bitter in his throat. Apparently Chloe must have been doing a lot of "one last times" before she left for the Orient. "Does Dinah know?"

Chloe blinked. "Huh?"

"That he's Oliver's?"

Chloe laughed. "Christopher? Oliver's? Yeah, right, because Oliver is invulnerable and would be imminently valuable to the army. I mean, come on."

Clark blinked, realizing how stupid that had even sounded, embarrassed by how he'd focused on appearance over the obvious.. "Well he's blond too and George isn't the father then...no."
He stepped back and began to pace, his mind doing to the math brilliantly, faster than it probably had ever added before. "I...Christopher's six in October."

"Yes."

"So about six years ago total and...Christ, Chlo, that's...it's not possible."

She arched her eyebrow at him. "Why wouldn't it be. The Kawatchee-"

Clark was churning with emotions. A ridiculous amount of hope and desire, the thought that he was actually compatible, something that he'd not hoped for since he'd gotten heat vision. At the same time, he could feel so much anger bubbling over. Anger that she'd kept this from him, that she'd lied. Chloe had taken his son a world away and, as a result, he'd missed so many milestones, barely knew Christopher beyond a few Christmases and postcards exchanged with Chloe who had become less and less consistent with her communication after moving to Singapore.

Now Clark knew why.

"He's mine." She nodded and he reached over to her chin, forcing her to face him. "Say it, Chloe."

"I...yes, he is yours. I realized it when I hit about two months and that's why I left the Star City Register and took the opening for the DP foreign correspondent. I already didn't have a reason to stay after Oliver and I got everything annulled when we realized we weren't compatible. I wasn't going to stay and be third wheel to the Oliver and Dinah destiny show. I'd done that twice over with you."

Clark didn't know how to answer that. "I...who knows?"

"Me. Oliver knows. He helped pull the strings I needed to get the position. I hadn't just applied here. I applied as a foreign correspondent with the Register, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and with the Gotham Gazette. Oliver was able to call in a favor with an old Excelsior friend and that's how I got here. I can't pretend that him helping me flee wasn't at least partially selfish. Things just got complicated."

"Complicated? Chloe you took my son and hid him in another hemisphere. What the Hell?"

"Shh, don't yell or he'll figure it out. Jesus Christ, Clark. What was I supposed to do? Stay around in Star City and raise him alone? Or maybe I was going to move into your apartment with Lois, your fucking fiance, and take the spare room. That wasn't going to be awkward."

"He's my son."

"No, we had sex, Clark. I was feeling vulnerable after the annulment of a second shitty marriage and you and Lois were 'taking a break.' Then she batted her eyelashes and took you back and I was yesterday's garbage."

"You had a responsibility to tell me."

"Did you tell Lois we slept together when you broke your engagement?"

"Of course not."

"Did you ever tell her, even now?"

"No...it wasn't when we were together though, it wasn't cheating. Wait? Did you tell her?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No, moron, I moved to Singapore and made up a lot of transparent excuses to avoid seeing her in person or her getting a good look at her nephew. Of course she doesn't know."

"I...is this about spiting me because I am happy with her?"

She snorted. "No, actually. You're one of my best friends or you were, same difference, but Lois is practically my sister. I couldn't bear to let her know what we did. I knew it'd kill her and there was no point in complicating your fairy tale lives. I'm here, Christoper's been here, and we've been happy with George."

"Does George know?"

Chloe sighed and hunched over on herself a little. "No, he thinks he did the right thing by me and that Christopher was a preemie."

"I...there aren't words for this Chloe. You lied to everyone but Oliver as your accomplice. You cost me five years with my son and I can't even fathom how confused Christopher must be after today or what this will do to George. What the Hell were you thinking?"

"That I'd just spare you and Lois a lot of pain and embarrassment and make a life for myself with a man who actually cares about me. I was hoping Christopher wouldn't be like you."

"So he has my powers?"

She sighed. "Just the strength but of course I didn't want anyone examining him, looking too close. This is exactly why."

"I cannot believe you. I just can't. It's best if we ask him what the doctors did do. We have to figure out what we do from here and I think your time in Singapore is probably over, unless you call in a massive favor from your uncle to call off the dogs."

Chloe didn't know how she'd gotten here so soon. She realized when Christopher was three and had a tantrum that had resulted in him kicking a hole through the wall, that it couldn't stay hidden forever. Hell, if she were honest, she'd started lying to herself even that day back plotting her escape with Oliver. For three years after Christopher's birth, she'd prayed that the strength she'd developed during the pregnancy was fluke that her son wouldn't develop it.

Stupid but no less true.

Still, Chloe figured she could handle it. She'd already taught her son how to hide his strength and would teach him to deal with the speed. It wasn't perfect but she thought she could buy time for a decade until the heat vision and floating became impossible to deal with. It wasn't rational but nothing she'd done, starting with giving into Clark had been. She was trailing him down the hall now, back to their son's room, and she watched the cape flare out behind him. There was something tainted about Superman, even if it was merely an image Clark had cultivated, with a love child.

Clark wasn't turning back to look at her. In fact, Chloe wondered if he'd ever look at her again. She hadn't heard him scream like that at since everything with her Big Sister routine and their disagreements over how to handle the Kandorians.

She'd been distant from him to hide her secrets, but he was always warm with her on the phone or over email. She'd forgotten how much it hurt to deal with the cold, accusing version of her friend.

When they came back into the room, Christopher dropped his bow finally and ran back to hug her. She hissed when he gripped her right arm and he dropped it, eyes wide.

"Mommy? Did I hurt you?"

She knelt down and stroked his hair. "No baby, you didn't. You were gentle like we practiced. Mommy hurt her arm in the explosion, just like daddy hit his head."

He considered that, large green eyes staring up at her. So much trust there and she'd betrayed that too. "I'm okay."

"Yes you are."

"I got hit by some of the ceiling when it fell. It didn't hurt."

Instinctively, despite his parentage, despite the fact he was standing whole in front of her, Chloe started running her hands over him, trying to find any bruises and cuts. "Are you alright?"

Christopher nodded again. "I said it was okay. Then the doctor tried to give me a shot just in case. He said there were lots of splinters and sharp things and that I might get tett...tetti-"

"Tetanus," Clark supplied, easily slipping back into the Superman voice.

"Yeah, that but the needle did weird things."

Chloe swallowed and forced herself not to cry. Instead she cupped her son's cheek with her good hand. "Honey, what happened?"

"It bent. It wouldn't go through and then he tried more times."

"How many?" Clark asked.

"Hmm, maybe 3?"

Four total. Four bent needles. More than enough to establish her son wasn't normal. "Okay, that's important to know and then what happened?"

"Then he said 'just a minute,' and then you found me and then there were the guards and Superman and what's wrong, mommy?"

She took a few minutes to find her voice. "I...you know how you're very strong?"

Christopher didn't say anything but looked at Clark. "No."

Chloe smiled. She'd raised such a smart boy. "It's okay, Christopher, Superman's my friend. He won't tell anybody anything, I promise."

"Mommy-"

She kissed his cheek. "It's alright."

"Then yeah."

"Well now your skin's very strong too. You're not going to get cuts anymore."

"So no more Dr. Fong?"

Clark quirked his head at Chloe, clearly confused on how she'd allowed doctor's appointments. "No he's a special doctor, the good kind, not like the other ones. You're just a very strong boy."

"Okay...I...okay," he said, shaking his head a little. "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"When can we see daddy?"

"I'm working on that, baby, I am."

"Lois, yes, they were visiting George at the time," Clark said, checking his watch. Was it noon here already? Christ that was just at 11:00 PM for Metropolis. "No, it's fine. No, they weren't hurt except for George is in observation for a concussion, getting MRIs. They were very lucky, yes. I...no, I'm going to be here one more day until they release George and, no, I mean...you don't have to have Diana bring you. Actually, it's probably best if you don't. I...yes, I'll talk to you later. Yes, I have my glasses with me and won't be too normal. No...yes...gotcha, sure." He said, trying to keep up with his fiancé's list of rapid-fire orders. "Alright, agreed. Love yo-" He said, cut off by her clicking off the phone before he could say "too."

Sighing, he clicked the cellphone off.

"She's not coming here is she?"

"She's worried about your family, Chloe," he replied, slipping an old Crows t-shirt over his head. Chloe kept several spare "Clark Kent" outfits for him if he ever had to drop by unannounced. He rarely had but old habits and security protocol were hard to break. "I can't stay for very long or she'll come herself, probably beg Wonder Woman or the Manhunter into dropping her off here."

Chloe nodded. "I know. I...we need to drop Christopher off at Dr. Fong's first, and we can both go to see George."

Clark frowned. "Who is that? I know you. You're not dumb enough to send him to a normal pediatrician."

"Of course not," she said, handing him a spare red jacket. Where she'd even found one of those was a mystery. He'd donated the lot of them to the Goodwill when he'd sold the farm. At least he thought he had. His old red jacket was comfortable when he slipped it on and he almost forgot why he'd stopped wearing it. He was about to head out the door of Chloe's bedroom when she shoved a spare pair of Drew Carey style glasses into his palm. "Ahem."

Clark sighed and looked down at the glasses. He remembered now. He couldn't wear blue and red in civvies. He couldn't confuse "Clark Kent" and "Superman." Rolling his eyes, he shoved the glasses on his face. "I hate these things."

"Weren't they your idea?" she asked as they headed to the living room. Christopher was waiting there so they could walk the several blocks to Dr. Fong's before she and Clark took the subway uptown to the hospital.

"Yes, once," he said, not sure how to explain he'd had a change of heart about the time he'd first met Jaime Reyes and Booster Gold. "I still don't have to like them."

"They don't do you any favors. If you were going to wear glasses, I don't see why you don't reuse the ones from high school."

"I never thought of that."

Chloe sighed. "I don't suppose you kept that in the purge of all things Smallvillian."

"The purge?" he asked, as they stepped into the living room.

"Yeah, everything from before 2011 must vanish," she snarked, her demeanor brightening for her...their son. "Baby, you ready?"

"Mommy, I wanna go with you."

She nodded and took his hand. "I know you do, but I think it's better if Dr. Fong looks after you for a bit."

"In case some of the soldiers came to see daddy too," she replied.

"Why is that bad? They all know him!"

She sighed and Clark could tell she was trying to come up with another lie. She was good at that. He trained her in it long, long ago back in just high school. "Right now they know you're special and that might not be a good thing. Let me just check with daddy to see if things are okay and then we'll come get you from Dr. Fong's."

Christopher bit his lip in a gesture that was pure Chloe and nodded. "Okay but I want to see daddy soon." Then, as if he'd finally noticed Clark, he quirked his head at him. It was also so very Chloe of him. Clark was having a hard time seeing any of himself in his son and, if it weren't for Christopher's abilities causing trouble, never would have believed it. "When did Uncle Clark get here?"

"I got sent out by the Planet to help cover the embassy story," he lied.

"It happened four hours ago," and the scrutiny brought him back to eighth grade. Chloe Sullivan, sorry Dean's son was no fool.

"Fast plane," Clark lied.

Chloe shook her head. "Once more with feeling there, Clark?"

Christopher mirrored his mother's movement and walked over to him. He pulled on Clark's jacket sleeve until Clark knelt to his level. Grinning, Christopher tore off his glasses. "I knew it! Just like in the comics!"

Clark blinked and grabbed his glasses back. "Huh?"

Chloe blushed. "I..."

Christopher laughed. "You've never seen them? Mom has them."

"I know that there's a lot of unauthorized cr...stuff out there about me," he asked, amending his statement when he remembered Christopher was in the room. "But I know there are no comics about me that actually mention, you know, real me."

Chloe smirked at the contradictions in his statement. "It's something I made for him. I'm not a good drawer, I admit it, but I just thought...I dunno, they're silly but we have them for when it's just bedtime with us. I have them locked up in a place...I keep them between us is all you need to know."

"Chlo-"

"Superman," she said, winking. "Look let's get a move on. Daylight's burning."

Dr. Fong, it turned out, was barely taller than Chloe. A wizened man with a long beard and even longer mustaches, the doctor smiled when he took Clark's hand. "A pleasure, Superman."

Instinctively, Clark looked around the exam room, even opening up his hearing to make sure there were no bugs or cameras. "Excuse me."

Dr. Fong settled the wire rim spectacles up on his nose. "Oliver Queen located me here. I specialize in treating metahumans and in being discrete about it and have for decades. As you've learned by now, Smallville is hardly a unique town."

"Yeah," Clark said, admitting that there were more people with abilities out there than even he could have imagined.

"He knew Chloe'd need good care and privacy with Christopher and I've done that. He's not my only special patient but perhaps he's still the most exceptional."

Clark sighed. Christopher was in the lobby, playing on the indoor slide in the pediatric waiting room. "I feel at a loss here."

"Realizing you're a father for the first time and that he's already five would be daunting," the doctor replied.

"No," Clark replied shortly. "I don't usually deal with people who know me and certainly not one's I haven't told myself."

Dr. Fong nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, I have no idea what your alias is. I know Oliver's nighttime hobby and of Ms. Lance's since she's come here for doctor's care before. However, Superman, one would have to be a fool to see you here, in this office, hovering over Christopher and not know who you are. Besides, if one might be subjective, he has your eyes."

Clark shrugged. "I think he looks like Chloe, myself. However, if anything happens to him while we're at the hospital-"

"I don't hurt my patients. He'll be upstairs in my apartment, safe as houses." The doctor smiled and suddenly Clark could feel energy crackling all around him. It was then he noticed that the doctor's eyes were glowing a fluorescent magenta. "Like I said, more of us out there than you realize. It'd be my honor to look after him."

"I-"

"Thanks, Liu," Chloe replied, dragging him out the door.

George was lying in a temporary bed in the corner of the emergency room, his head wrapped in gauze. He looked like Clark, Chloe couldn't deny that. It had probably been what had attracted her to him. He was tall, dark and very handsome and, not surprisingly, looked amazing in a uniform. Chloe had a type, really she did. Jimmy had been a bit of an aberration, but she understood now why she'd tried to tell herself she loved him. He was the geeky part that she'd always loved about Clark growing up. Davis was a no brainer, how similar he'd been to Clark. Oliver was different at least with respect to being fair and really only mortal, but that hadn't lasted, had it?

Still, standing there in the corner of the room, with Clark behind her and George lying before them, one would easily mistake Clark and George for brothers. God she was so fucking transparent.

"Chloe, thank God!" he said, still remaining still. "I was so worried. Where's Christopher?"

The look of fear and apprehension on his face stabbed right through her. George loved Christopher as much as any father had ever loved a son and she'd always hoped that by the time Christopher's parentage came out that it'd be too late to make much of a difference. It always would, of course, but if she could have maintained until Christopher was fifteen or sixteen, things might have worked better. Then George could always say he had had the childhood, and Christopher would never think of anyone else as his father.

It was always going to be a clusterfuck but this was the least pretty of her options.

"He's fine," Clark said when she failed to answer. "He doesn't have a scratch on him and he's at Dr. Fong's waiting for you and Chloe to get back to him."

George frowned. "Clark? I didn't know you were visiting?"

Clark fidgeted with his glasses but Chloe noticed he'd dropped the high octave whine he usually had and was standing as confidently as he ever had. She approved. Why Clark had to pretend to be a complete loser all the time, why he'd do that to himself, she really didn't understand. It seemed unnatural and stifling.

"I am. I was in Shanghai, covering something and had Lois call in a favor to Oliver to get me here as soon as was possible once the AP wire picked up the story. Chloe asked me to come with her to get you."

"Good, that's good. I was so worried."

Chloe nodded and hugged him, part of her feeling sick when he kissed her cheek. She really was a horrible person for doing this to him, using him like this. "We're fine. Well, Dr. Fong had to set my cast first. I cracked my ulna, but nothing happened to Christopher."

And nothing physically had and probably wouldn't ever considering they were thousands upon thousands of miles from Lex's infamous Kryptonite stash.

"Why is he with Dr. Fong, then?" George asked warily.

"George, Christopher's not hurt but there are things we do need to talk about," she said, feeling Clark looming over her. "But first what did the doctors say?"

"No hemorrhaging. No indication of subdural hematoma. I...is it true?"

Chloe blinked. There was no way he had any idea that something was different about Christopher. He'd been isolated in the ER for nearly six hours. "What's true?"

"The ambassador and his wife. They're dead aren't they? I heard it but I didn't want to believe it."

"I'm sorry," Clark said. "It's been verified."

George swore and shook his head. "Then I failed. I don't even...oh Chloe, I don't know what's going to happen now. I might be court marshaled for missing something. I don't even...fuck Gerard didn't do anything to deserve this."

Chloe swallowed, thinking about the ambassador who'd been nothing but jovial and kind to her. "No, he didn't. It's not your fault."

"I was head of security. I'd say I fucked up a lot, Chloe."

"Sometimes things surprise you, like Pearl Harbor," she floundered.

"Bad example. They still interview the 'responsible' party's grandchildren about him being a fuck up. We can't move. You're posted here. I just...all those people. I can't believe I did this to them. I can't believe that...I can't believe at all. This has to be the worst day of my life."

Chloe swallowed and stole a glance at Clark. It was about to get a whole lot worse. She was about to say something funny, something to try and dissipate the tension when she really noticed Clark, the way his head was quirked and his eyes slightly glazed over. Most people just assumed Clark had a touch of ADD, was easily distracted. To be fair, he was, but always by hearing things humans couldn't. "Clark what is it?"

He looked back at her, focusing again. "We have to go now." Then he turned to George. "Are you cleared?"

"Yeah...just been waiting for Chloe to come. I'm pretty dizzy so walking sucks but I signed all my paperwork."

"Good, we need to move," Clark said, helping George to his feet and bracing one arm under the other man's shoulders. Chloe trotted up behind them as Clark started half dragging George to the stairway door.

Her husband was struggling against him. "Wait, stop, the elevator's the other way."

"We're not taking the elevator," Clark replied, forcing open the door. "Look I'll support you all the way down. I understand that you're dizzy, I do, but we have to get out of here." He said, as he started down the stairs. Chloe followed behind them and shut the door after her.

"Clark?"

"There are people coming," he answered as they made their way down the first set of stairs. They were on the fourth floor, three to go.

George was flailing but it didn't really matter what he wanted at this point. Clark wasn't letting him go. "Chloe! Clark! Just stop! I'd like someone to explain to me what the Hell is going on. Why are we suddenly acting like a Tom Clancy novel? People come up through the elevator all the time."

Clark kept moving but no faster than a human could have. "Be quiet. I...some of the soldiers from the embassy wanted to take Christopher. I don't know where. I know the why, and that's why he's not with us or still at your home. They can't have him."

"Soldiers? What are you even talking about? Let me stop and catch my breath!" George demanded, yanking at Clark's arms for all the good it did him.

"You can catch your breath-" Chloe started, stopping and shushing herself instantly when the door two flights above them opened. "Faster," she hissed as they surged down the stairs. They made it to the exit out to the parking lot and her hand was on the push bar when Clark stopped her.

"I...shit."

In his lack of concentration, Clark's grip loosened enough for George to break away from him. "No, wait. Now we're going to answer my questions."

Chloe didn't even bother to turn around but instead pressed Clark. "What do you mean?"

"We're surrounded."

She rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be smarter than that."

"I was and this was clear but I don't do my best work with people screaming in my ears."

Chloe nodded and looked up the stairwell, there were at least six armed soldiers running down it who had spotted them by now and who were rounding the final flight. To her horror, she felt the bar she clutched move out from under her grip. Someone was coming in.

"I don't suppose this is going to be the janitor?" she said.

"No," Clark replied, nudging her behind him and, despite herself, Chloe grabbed his hand as she looked around him as the door opened.

The general who stepped through it wasn't high ranking, only a one star, nowhere near the clearance of her uncle, but military was military. Besides, General Alan Flynn had been the bane of her family's existence for years. He was the head of military security of the embassy and had clashed often and vocally with George, the head of the secret service. Dealing with him over her son just added insult to injury.

"Chloe, George, imagine meeting you here," Flynn said, nodding to his own dozen soldiers, all of them joining the men from the stairs in fanning around them.

"What the Hell is going on?" George asked. "Flynn what are you even doing here when half the embassy is gone?"

Flynn nodded, "A pity that. I guess all those arguments we had over how much security was too intrusive has gotten an unequivocal answer. I was right and you were too lax."

Chloe wanted to surge forward and claw Flynn's eyes out. She settled for glaring back at him. "This is really not the time for that."

Flynn nodded. "I suppose not, but this tragedy has given us something much more interesting, hasn't it?"

"Flynn, I need to go home. I need to get a clean suit on and go back to ground zero and do my damn job. I don't have time for you to ambush me in an 'I told you so' contest," her husband said.

The general nodded. "You really don't know, do you, George?"

"Know what? I'm incredibly confused."

Chloe tensed and was grateful when Clark squeezed her hand to calm her. "We want to leave," she said.

"I suppose that you would," Flynn said, giving a nod. She struggled as several men grabbed her but she wasn't what she'd once been with the League and three large men on her she couldn't buck off.

Clark let a group of men swarm over and restrain him as well, feigning a struggle but not putting up half the fight that George actually was. She understood that and didn't begrudge him for it. The last thing any of them needed was for Clark to get caught, especially when Christopher was safe in hiding. If they had to be taken in for a bit before they could plan escape, then so be it.

George was almost more angry than he was confused. "Let me go. Flynn, what is this? Are you charging treason? I didn't learn about the bombing...I admit it shocked me, I do, but I certainly didn't let it happen or help someone plan it."

Flynn laughed. "Chloe, all this time and you never even told your husband? I'm shocked."

"Told me what?" George asked.

Flynn stopped laughing but couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Christopher's not your son. Now take them."