Clark quickly, yet gently, retrieved his glasses from his son's hands and put them back on before taking a quick glance around to see if anybody had overheard the boy's question. To his relief, the desks immediately around him were empty. There was still activity in the office, but the headcount thinned out once the afternoon edition's deadline had come and gone. Reporters were out on the street following leads, interviewing people, and such, rather than being in the office scurrying to get stories filed by deadline. He turned back to his son, and quietly whispered "Wh-What do mean, 'Superman suit?'"
"You're Superman," Jason whispered back. "Don't you need your glasses when you're Superman?"
Clark chuckled nervously, and whispered "You think I'm Superman? What makes you think that?"
"I can just tell," Jason replied, with a puppy-dog look on his face, still waiting for answer. "So why don't your wear your ---"
"Jason," Clark interrupted, "we need to keep that our secret." After making the claim to Lois in their first interview that he never lied, he really didn't want to start lying to his son. He also concluded that it wouldn't likely have convinced him, anyways. He had really hoped that this conversation could have waited a number of years. Five-year-olds were not known for keeping secrets. He continued speaking to his son in a whisper, "The glasses are my disguise so people won't know I'm Superman – I don't really need them. If people knew that I was Superman, some bad people might try to cause trouble for people that I care about."
"Bad men like the ones on the boat?" Jason asked quietly, with fear in his voice.
Clark had read Lois' story on her ordeal aboard the Gertrude, and knew Jason was referring to Lex Luthor. He wondered what had happened on the boat that she had left out of the article. "Yes, bad men like the ones on the boat," Clark informed Jason. As he recognized the terror in his son's eyes, he quickly added, "Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you."
That earned him a weak smile, replaced by a huge grin a moment later. "Can we go flying?" Jason asked. The idea seemed like a lot more fun than begin stuck in his daddy's office until either he or his mommy were ready to go home.
Clark loved the idea, but he couldn't just fly off with the boy. "Maybe later. We need to talk to your mother about that fir --" Clark was abruptly interrupted as Jason had spun around and started to take off for his mother, who was currently speaking with Richard in his office, trying to decide when they'd be able to head home. Clark barely got a grasp on the boy's wrist before he was out of arm's reach. Another moment, and he would have needed to use super-speed to catch up with the tyke. "Whoa there, kiddo. Where are you off to so fast?"
"To ask Mommy if we can go flying." The boy's eyes pleaded with him.
Clark again looked around to make sure he and Jason were still under the radar. "Mommy and Richard don't know that I'm Superman," he whispered. "We can't ask them like this without telling them my secret, and we don't want to do that. We'll have to wait until I can come back in my Superman suit." Clark hated to disappoint the boy, as he saw his son's gaze fall to the floor. "I promise, that I'll speak to your mother later, and then we can go flying."
The boy looked up at Clark with a smile on his face, as he exclaimed, "Thanks!" Jason moved towards Clark, and again reached his arms up.
This time, Clark kept one hand on his glasses as he reached down. To his relief, this time Jason's arms went around his neck in a tight hug. He returned the hug warmly, and pulled back to again see a confused look on his son's face. "Is something wrong Jason?" Clark asked.
"How do I know when to call you 'Clark', and when to call you 'Superman?'" the boy whispered.
Clark smiled back at the boy. "When I'm wearing the Superman suit, I'm Superman. When I'm not, I'm Clark," he whispered. Clark reflected on his oversimplified answer, and hoped they wouldn't run into any situation where that would blow up in his face. He wasn't planning on spending any more time as a hospital patient, but Lex Luthor was still at large. After a moment, he added, "If other people are calling me Superman, like when I was in the hospital, then I'm still Superman, even though I'm not wearing the suit." He hoped the boy could keep it straight.
Clark looked up to see Lois heading over towards them, with a weak smile on her face, the first one that he'd seen on her face all day. "Looks like my son has found a new best friend. I hope Jimmy won't be too disappointed."
She had seen her son hug Clark from Richard's office, and took the excuse to get away from Richard's unasked questions. Things had been a bit tense between them ever since she took up her vigil during Superman's illness, the only clue to his thoughts a comment to Jimmy that she hadn't been meant to overhear. "I guess Superman was more than just a story for her..."
Clark smiled back up at her. "He's a great kid, Lois. You've done a good job with him."
Despite her mood, Lois couldn't help but to let her smile grow a bit bigger at that. "Thanks, Clark. It's good to hear things like that every so often." She thought back to the camaraderie that she had shared with Clark before he left for his "World Tour." This was the first time since he returned that she felt the warmth of that friendship return. There was also something there that she couldn't quite place her finger on. "You know, sometime soon, you're going to have to tell us all about your trip," she warned him.
"Sure thing, Lois," Clark replied. He still wasn't sure what he would say if pressed on the details of his trip. He'd been avoiding the discussion ever since he got his job back at the Daily Planet.
Lois looked down at her son for a moment before beckoning him. "Come on, munchkin. You've bothered Clark long enough." Father and son both responded immediately.
"I wasn't bothering him!" --
"Oh, he was no trouble, Lois." --
"Well, looks like I may have found a new babysitter," Lois stated as she glanced between them, noticing for the first time the identical uncommon shade of blue in their eyes. Oblivious to her observation, Clark's smile couldn't help but grow at the thought of spending time with his son, albeit as a babysitter.
Lois was distracted from her observation as Jimmy came back around. "Any luck with the apartment, Clark?"
Lois turned back to Clark. "Still apartment hunting?" she inquired. Clark nodded, before turning to Jimmy and answering "I'm taking a look at it at 7:00." Turning back to Lois, Clark clarified "Jimmy found out about an opening in his building".
"Well, good luck", Lois offered, before inquiring "Have you been living out of a hotel all this time?" Clark nodded meekly. "The Planet's reimbursing, right?"
Clark nodded again, "For up to 30 days. It'll be close. Even if I can get this apartment, it'll still be another two weeks before I can move in."
"Well, good luck, again", Lois said before returning her gaze toward her son. "Come on, munchkin, Clark's got work to do, and it's time for us to go home". Lois noticed her son's smile fade at that. He'd really taken to Clark. Perhaps she had found a new babysitter.
