"Wake up," said one of the female servants outside the door. "Mrs. Luthor, you have an important phone call."

Lois sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. The knocking continued. "Mrs. Luthor?"

"I heard you. I'll get it in here."

She saw her phone line blinking. She hoped Lex was already out of the house. She hated when he eavesdropped on her calls. His bedroom was next to hers, so she should know if he had been up and stirring, but she was a heavy sleeper. It was 8:10; he should've already left the house.

"Lois Luthor," she stated, as she answered it.

"I wish you wouldn't answer your phone like that," Clark said.

"It is my name and a handy one at that. I didn't have to change my initials."

"Lucky you. Listen, what have you got planned for today?"

"A couple of things. I have a ladies luncheon to go to."

He snorted from contained laughter.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Nothing. I just got this funny image of you sipping tea with some old ladies and comparing first families."

"That's about what it's like. I thought sure they would have kicked me and my snarky comments out of there years ago, but I think a lot of it goes over their heads and the richer and more connections you have, the more likely they are to overlook your quirks. I also have a Red Cross meeting at 4:00 to attend, not a busy day at all. Why?"

"Mr. White gave me a story to cover and I was hoping you would come along."

"You're joking, right?"

"No. I think you reporting is a great way to becoming more like it is in my universe. My Lois is happiest covering a story. It won't do much for our relationship, but it'll give us more time together to reflect on how to solve the problem."

"I want to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Lex has a public image of me that he wants to keep and that is one of a homemaker and hostess. It wouldn't be good for his campaign if I spent my time getting into dangerous situations for the sake of a story and let's be real. I get in enough of those without investigating."

"It's just a robbery story and I'll be with you."

"It's not myself that I worry about. It's Jonathan. That's been the primary reason why we've never done anything that might make Lex angry."

"If things are ever going to change, we have to take risks. I can protect Jonathan. Can Jonathan do anything to protect himself?"

"No. He's perfectly normal. Not that I'm implying you're not. I just mean he takes after my side of the family."

Clark laughed, "I understand. We can take him to my mom's house, so he won't be anywhere near Lex, in case he should find out and I'll have Jimmy help to keep a watch on Lex."

"Well…"

"It's up to you, but I really think you should."

"Okay. I'll meet you a block down from the Planet in half an hour. I've got to cancel Jonathan's lessons and my stuff."

sss

"I'm glad to see you didn't bring the chauffeur," Clark said when Lois stepped out of her dark red Cadillac. Jonathan was in the back seat.

"I don't take him everywhere, especially on an investigation. Where's your car?"

"Up the street. I can fly us to Mom's. My body at home is still working on it, but this one can do it. At least that's what Lana said. Otherwise, it's going to take too long."

She motioned to the back seat.

"He doesn't know about the powers?" Clark asked

"No. When do you have to turn in your story?"

"1:00."

"It's 8:43 now. I can get us there and back in an hour and a half," she said confidently.

"Yeah, right."

"I can. I know shortcuts and I'm a fast driver, who knows where the cop lookout points are. Get in the backseat with Jonathan, so people are less likely to see us together."

Clark got in against his better judgment.

22 minutes later, they were halfway there.

"Sorry, you had to miss school," Clark said to Jonathan to break the silence. Looking at the scenery wasn't an option. It was nothing but a blur.

"That's okay. I don't like Mr. Rhodes. He won't let me play, just work. I'm glad I got the day off."

"But he gave you a book of letters to trace," Lois said. "He wants you to grow up smart, so you better have it done when I come back for you."

"I know, Mommy. Where are you taking me?"

"You get to meet Uncle Clark's mommy."

"I don't like meeting new people."

"I know, sweetheart, but you'll like Mrs. Kent. She's very motherly."

"She's like you?" Jonathan asked.

"I forgot your definition of mother is warped," she laughed. "She's more like Beaver's mother."

"Mr. Rhodes taught me about beavers. She's like an animal?" he asked confused.

"Just wait until you meet her."

"He's never even met my mother?" Clark asked.

"No, I haven't talked to Mrs. Kent in years, ever since I got married. I'm kind of nervous about seeing her again."

"Don't worry. Sometimes I think Mom likes you better than she likes me."

"That's a lie. Quit trying to make me feel better."

"It was a slight exaggeration, but she does like you."

Lois wasn't so sure when she saw Mrs. Kent's unsmiling face at the door. 5 years had put deeper creases on her face and a little gray in her hair.

"This is my son, Jonathan," Lois announced, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

Martha smiled at the little boy and said hi. Jonathan blushed and hid his face behind his mother.

"He's a little shy," Lois told her.

"It's okay. Clark was like that too. Why don't all of you come in for a few minutes?"

"We've really got to go, Mom, but I can't thank you enough for agreeing to watch him."

"Just stay a few minutes until Jonathan gets more comfortable."

Clark looked at Lois to see what she thought. She nodded and they stepped in.

"I baked some chocolate chip cookies. Do you like them?" she asked Jonathan.

He nodded but still clung to Lois.

Lois whispered jokingly to Clark, "If the cookies don't win him over, nothing will."

"What are you two up to together?" Martha asked with suspicion in her voice.

"Clark's covering a story and he thought my skills would be helpful."

"Really? Here's some cookies and milk, honey," she said, putting Jonathan at the table. "He doesn't look very much like Lex."

"Wait until he gets older and goes bald. Then you'll see the resemblance," Lois said.

Jonathan grabbed his hair. "I'm going to lose my hair, Mommy?"

"I was just joking with Mrs. Kent, sweetheart. You're not going to lose your hair."

He looked relieved and went back to his cookies and milk.

Martha took Lois and Clark into the living room. "Why are you letting me see him after all these years?"

"It was an emergency," Lois said, "and it was Clark's idea."

"You don't have to defend yourself. I'm not upset about it. I'm upset that it took this long. You were like a daughter to me and it hurt that you broke off contact with me and never let me see your son, my husband's namesake."

"I know it was an awful thing to do, but I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me after I married Lex."

"It's true that I don't approve of your husband, but that doesn't mean I never wanted to see you again."

"If you only knew the whole story," Lois muttered.

"What?" Martha asked.

"Listen, I'd like to catch up," Lois said, "but now's not a good time."

"I understand," she said, although she clearly wanted to talk with Lois some more.

Clark hugged his alternate mom, and he and Lois told Jonathan goodbye and they left.

"So somebody stole a painting from this little museum?" Lois asked during the ride back. "Why? It's hardly an expensive one. You'd be lucky to get 500 for it. It's not even the best one in the museum. There's some that are worth a whole lot more."

"That's what we have to find out. I was thinking we could start by interviewing the museum curator."

They got to the museum and interviewed the elderly curator, but she was completely baffled by the robbery. She said that while it was a pretty painting and a good example of the impressionistic style, it was an unknown artist. Names were everything when it came to art and just as important as the work itself.

"Now what?" Lois asked when they left the museum.

"I don't know. You're the reporter."

"Your Lois is the reporter. I only ever wrote for the Torch."

"Well, we're in the same boat then. I scanned the room for clues but didn't find any. I suppose we could compile a list of known art thieves and check them out. If we can find the suspect, it would be a good start."

"Sounds good to me. If anything, you could write an article on why the robbery is strange and how the police don't know who did it."

Clark's cell phone went off. "Oh, hi. Is everything okay?"

"Who is it?" Lois asked.

Clark held up a finger for her to wait. "That's not good…Don't get mad at me…I know we should have told you. We'll talk about it when we pick him up. Bye…bye, Mom."

"What did she want? What's the matter?"

"It's nothing too major. Mom figured out Jonathan's paternity when he lifted the tractor up."

Lois shut her eyes and shook her head. "This is bad on so many levels."