7:45 AM.

CHRISTMAS DAY

The sound of his doorbell brought Jimmy Olsen out of a sound sleep. He tried to ignore it, but then his muzzy mind explained to him what day it was, and he rose groggily from his nice, warm bed and stumbled toward the hallway of his modest apartment, still in his Lycra bikini briefs. Yes, James Bartholomew Olsen, Chief Photographer for The Daily Planet, was a closet Lycra fetishist. Hey, he figured, why should girls be the only ones to get to wear sexy, sensuous underwear? He might not have a girlfriend (or boyfriend, for that matter, as he was always open-minded) but at least he got to enjoy some pleasant sensations while wearing more-or-less conventional clothing during the day. Without even looking, he grabbed his robe from the coat rack in the corner near the bedroom door, donned the robe (inside out by accident) and made his way to the front door. His red hair was sticking out at all angles. As he entered the front room, the smell of his Douglas Fir Christmas tree greeted him, and he smiled tiredly. It had been a long night for Jimmy. He had spent much of it volunteering at a nearby homeless shelter, and had been rewarded for his efforts with some very good turkey dinner, some of which he still had in the fridge. As he had no close family, he had bought a present for himself the day before: a new video game system, along with some recent DVD's. His plan for this Christmas Day was to enjoy himself with a rare, quiet day on the couch in front of his widescreen plasma TV, one of his most prized possessions.

The knocking came again, a bit more insistently this time.

Jimmy looked through the peep-hole, and was rather surprised to find one of his two best friends, Clark Kent, out in the hall. Quickly Jimmy flung open the door.

"Clark! Wow, what are you doing here at this hour of the morning?"

Clark gave him a slight frown, before breaking into a big grin. "Merry Christmas to you, too, Jim!"

Chagrined, Jimmy stepped back to allow Clark to enter. He was carrying a small, wrapped package. Jimmy beckoned him to the couch. "Sorry for my appearance, Clark, but I wasn't expecting company today. Aren't you with your family? Or… something?"

"Well, actually Jim, that's why I came by. Oh, by the way, I have a couple of presents for you. Here's one of them," he said, handing Jim the medium-sized package. It was wrapped in silvery wrapping, and was rather heavy.

"Oh, Clark, you didn't have to do that…"

"Nah, nah, nah, I won't have any of that, kiddo," Clark stated. Jimmy looked at him for a moment. This didn't seem like the klutzy, stuttering Clark he was used to seeing at the office. He seemed relaxed (the T-shirt and jeans helped), and even somehow…taller. And his voice lacked the squeakiness it normally had.

"Go ahead, open it!" Clark smiled, hands behind his back.

Jimmy needed no further urging, and quickly opened the package. Inside was a box, unadorned except for a card, which read, 'To Jim Olsen, photojournalist and best friend, who has the eye of an artist, the soul of a poet, and the love of photographic history. Here is a Vision To See The Treasured Past. Merry Christmas, Clark Kent.'

Opening the box, Jimmy was stunned to find an antique, mint-condition Graflex Speed Graphic 4X5 press camera.

"Oh my God! Clark, this is a Speed Graphic! This is the kind of camera they shot news photos with for decades! WOW!! Thank you!" Before he could restrain himself, Jimmy grabbed Clark in a bear hug that the Kryptonian could actually feel crushing his ribs!

"Oh, yes! I have a present for you, too." Jimmy said. "It's under the tree, go find it!"

"Jimmy, I never took you for a traditionalist. This tree is lovely! Who are all these other presents for?" Indeed, there were several other wrapped gifts under the tree. Clark quickly found his, a flat, wrapped package about… it figured… eight inches by ten inches. Clark quickly opened it up, and was stunned to see in beautiful Black & White, a framed photo of himself and his son, Jason. It had obviously been taken one day in the Bullpen at work. Jason and Clark were huddled together over one of Clark's stories in the newspaper. Jason had his index finger tracing the page, obviously reading, and Clark was holding him from slightly behind, and clearly reading along with him. In the background, slightly out of focus due to the image's shallow depth-of-field, was Lois. Even with the soft focus, it was clear that she was secretly watching them, an expression of contentment on her face. To anyone looking at the image Clark held in his hands, the parental connection would be glaringly obvious.

"I hope it's okay that I shot that without your knowing it. You guys just looked so…" Jimmy couldn't find the words, but he looked at Clark with a mixture of affection and uncertainty. A second later Clark had swept Jimmy up in a return hug. "Like I said, Jim, you have the eye of an artist. I'll treasure this always."

For a moment the two friends just looked at each other, before they both began to laugh together as only two old friends can.

"Which brings me to my second present. Now, I'll tell you right out, this present comes with a kind of… price tag," Clark said.

"Uhhh… like, whaddya mean?" Jimmy asked, uncertain where Clark was going with this.

"Well, Jim, first let me ask you this: Did you have any major plans for today? I know it's ridiculously short notice, but I could really use your help right now."

"Hey, Clark, of course! Whatever you need. What are best friends for?" Jimmy stated flatly.

Clark let out the breath he had been holding. So far, he thought, so good. My sinister plot is working! "Well, what I need for you to do is watch Jason for a couple of hours this morning. Are you game?" Clark asked.

"Sure! What… are you and Lois going out on a story or something? On Christmas Day?" Jimmy responded, clearly confused.

"Well, we need to head out for a little while, and it's not like it's anything for the paper, but if it works out, well, we'll have one hell of a story when we get back!" Clark was trying not to grin like a goofball, but he was clearly having a hard time keeping a straight face. Jimmy seemed to be steamrollered for a moment at Clark's uncharacteristic use of profanity, however mild.

"Clark, I am at your disposal," Jimmy smiled, placing his hand over his heart in a rather gallant, and somewhat silly, gesture.

"Excellent. James Olsen, you've just earned your second present," Clark declared.

Jimmy looked a bit taken aback at that remark, but said nothing. Clark began speaking rapidly. "Okay, first things first. I need you to get dressed. And dress warmly, it's cold out there."

"Be out in two minutes," Jimmy stated, heading for the bedroom. Sure enough, two minutes later, Jimmy emerged, dressed casually in khakis and a sweatshirt emblazoned with the logo for The Daily Planet softball team.

"Get your jacket, and we'll head out," Clark said.

"Oh, wait a sec! Who's gonna be there?" Jimmy asked as he pulled his down jacket from the hall closet.

"Uhhm… well, Lois and Jason, of course. And I'm pretty sure Perry and his wife, and probably Lois's sister and her folks." Clark replied, counting each one off on his fingers. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, I was going to give them these at work," Jimmy said as he scooped up some presents from under the tree. "But, this way, I can give them to everyone personally."

"Ah! Good thinking," Clark responded.

Jimmy came to face Clark, the presents (all framed photos by the look of them, with one exception, which appeared to be the size of a DVD case) in his arms in a small bundle.

Clark put his arm around Jimmy's shoulders, and led him to the small balcony overlooking the street, eight stories below. Turning the younger man to face him, Clark looked Jimmy in the eye. For a moment, Clark looked… uncertain. But it passed almost before Jimmy could register it.

"James Olsen. You have been a dear and true friend. You offered me your friendship from the first moment I came to The Planet, and you've always been there for me when I needed to talk to someone. I, uhh… I have to admit to you, I haven't been as forthcoming with you as I should have been. But, there were reasons for that. But, now, things are different. You are a fine young man, a man of wisdom and decency. So, I want to give you the only other gift that truly means anything to me. The gift of my complete friendship and honesty."

Jimmy, to his credit, remained completely neutral, his face revealing nothing.

"I will admit," Clark continued, "that I sometimes have a flair for the… dramatic. But, right now, I can't think of any better way to reveal this… gift to you. I only hope you'll forgive me."

"Forgive you? Forgive you for what?" Jimmy asked, uncertain as to his friend's intent.

"Are you ready to go?" Clark asked, seemingly without connection.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Shouldn't we head down to catch a cab?" Jimmy asked.

"We can get there much faster… my way." Clark stated, his voice much deeper than usual. "Just relax." Clark stepped behind his young friend, who felt a sudden, brief swirl of wind but was unable to see what was happening due to his facing forward position.

Taking Jimmy by the waist, Clark suddenly carried both of them into the air. As they cleared the rooftops, Jimmy turned his head and found himself looking into the eyes of his other best friend: Superman!

For a few endless moments, Jimmy simply stared at the Kryptonian. Then, slowly, his face broke into a wide, beaming smile. "I knew it!!! I knew it was you! It had to be! My God, Clark, you really are Superman. Wow!"

That brought Clark to a sudden, shocked stop. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Jimmy, are you telling me you knew? All along? You knew I was … Superman? And you never said anything?" Clark found this more shocking than Perry's outing him the other night.

"Clark, of course I never said anything. I knew the ramifications of that knowledge. I figured you had you own good reasons for keeping your identity secret, and I valued your friendship. I wasn't about to say anything until and unless you invited me to. But, I will say, I'm glad Superman turned out to be you!" And with that, Jimmy Olsen kissed The Man of Steel on the cheek. Promptly, Clark wiped his cheek off with his sleeve before looking at Jimmy for a moment before he began to crack-up, laughing with a freedom that he hadn't felt in a long time.

As they flew along, Clark asked his friend, "How did you figure it out?"

"DUH! Glasses... no glasses... glasses again…a spit curl? Helloo! What the hell kind of a disguise is that? I mean, okay, maybe for those who only ever meet you once, but I see you every day. Plus, I'm a photographer, a trained observer. Just because I look like a nerd doesn't mean I'm stupid. And no bow tie jokes, please."

"And here you've kept my secret all along," Clark stated, awe and respect in his voice.

"Well, man, I figured you'd tell me in your own good time. I have to admit, it's a pretty cool Christmas present. Can I ask you a question, though?"

Clark gave his friend a squeeze around the waist. "Anything, pal."

Jimmy seemed to be trying to frame the question. "Who… I mean, who are you? Wait, that's not how I … I mean, what should I call you?"

The superhero gave him a look like he'd grown a second head, before smiling like it was all a big joke. "Think of it this way: Clark Kent is who I am. Superman is what I do. Basically, I think of Superman as a job title. And frankly, just between you and me? I think the name Superman is very pretentious. It's still me, Jim. I grew up in Kansas. Jonathan and Martha Kent were my parents. Well, Martha still is my mom, of course. They adopted me when I first landed here. I was about three years old."

Jimmy looked thoughtful. "It all falls into place, now. The disappearances. The somewhat twisted stories of your life. I guess you really didn't see llamas on your sabbatical, huh?"

"Jimmy, most of the llamas I've ever personally seen are at the Metropolis Zoo!"

"Y'know, Clark, I'll never forget the first time you rescued me, off the parapet at Hoover Dam as it collapsed. You flew us down Black Canyon about half a mile. As we heard the dam fail, you turned us around, hovering in midair 600 feet over the gorge. We both looked at each other in amazement, then you held me out at arm's length and said, 'Go ahead, Kid, shoot!' Too bad I didn't have the proper exposure set, those shots would won me a Pulitzer," the young photojournalist mused.

"It's just a good thing I set you down in time to divert the flooding, or those shots would have cost a lot of lives," the newswriting superhero retorted.

Jimmy actually felt Clark shudder, so close was Clark holding him. "Man, I was really arrogant back then," Clark admitted.

"I think," Jimmy began at length, "that you have shown great restraint and wisdom in regards to your powers. You are a very good man, and I think it's safe to say that Lois, Perry, and I would never have been able to love you if you were anything other than truly decent, humble, and kind. You know, as weird as this will sound, there really is a kind of… holiness about you…"

"No, no no no! I'm just a guy like you. So I have these powers. So what. That's just a biological effect. It's NOT holy. It's just… a gift from God, like the many gifts everyone else on this planet has. Mine are just somewhat unusual, due to the fact that I'm an extraterrestrial."

Jimmy looked at Clark as they flew along through the sky, undisguised wonder on his face. "You really believe that, don't you? It's not just false modesty, is it?" Jimmy asked.

"I have to. If I didn't feel that way, I'd be far more dangerous than even Lex Luthor!"

All too soon Clark and Jimmy began their descent toward Lois' home on Riverside Drive. The dock was still there, although there was no longer the seaplane moored alongside. Not long after Superman had returned, Richard White had been able to read the writing on the wall, and had painfully, but gently broken his engagement to Lois Lane. He was however, as Lois had told Superman that first evening they had spoken, a good man. As painful as it was for him, Richard understood Lois' feelings. Lois had been pleased when Richard had asked if he could still be a part of Lois and Jason's lives, and she had gladly allowed him to do so. Richard could not, for all his pain, find it in himself to hate Clark. Part of that was his own natural generosity, but part of it was also that he knew that his love for Jason was far stronger than his resentment for Superman. Over the next year, Richard and Superman had become something of friends, and had even started their own working relationship. Richard had since transferred to the Planet's offices in Washington, D.C. as editor of their Political Bureau. There were times when Richard was called upon to get an interview with the Kryptonian that, for logistical reasons, Lois might not be able to land. And, in so doing, Richard had found that Superman felt great respect for this human who had raised his child, and had made a point of allowing their relationship to grow into a real friendship.

As a result, Clark was rather surprised to see that the seaplane was nowhere in sight. Clark knew that Richard was now involved in a serious relationship with Lois' cousin, Chloe Sullivan. Still, something in his memory had the impression that they were going to make an appearance here today. Landing on the back porch, Clark, still in his Suit, knocked on the French doors that lead into the den. Quickly, Lois approached and opened the doors, with Jason hot on her heels. However, before they could say anything, they both caught sight of Jimmy Olsen standing next to the Caped Superhero, and for a moment were too surprised to speak. After a beat, Superman and Jimmy looked at each other, shrugged, and simultaneously said, "Merry Christmas!" To Lois, they almost looked like they had rehearsed it.

"Uh… Hi! C'mon in!" she backed away from the doors, allowing both men to enter. "Superman, what brings you to my house? Jimmy, what's going on? Is he delivering you as a Christmas present?"

That got a laugh out of Superman, Jimmy, and even Jason, who was all but peeing in his PJ's with excitement, but who, like his mom, was trying to keep his familiarity with the superhero on the down-low due to Jimmy's presence.

For a moment, Superman and Jimmy looked at each other. A very secret look, it seemed to Lois, who rarely missed anything. She could see the twinkle in both men's eyes, but couldn't for the life of her figure out what was going on.

Jimmy finally broke the ice. He handed Lois the group of presents. "Here, Lois, these should go under the tree." Lois took the gifts with a flustered "Thank you," but made no move to leave. She was looking at Superman as though she was trying to communicate some private question. Jimmy saw this, of course, and decided the time had come for some fun. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Clark's horn-rimmed glasses, and handed them to him.

"Here, these almost fell out of your cape on the flight over," he stated in a deadpan voice. He then looked right at Lois, and winked.

Lois Lane, for one of the few times in her life, was momentarily speechless. She looked from one man to the other, then back to the first. Both simply smiled sweetly at her before the dam broke, and they both dissolved into gales of laughter. Clark managed to get to the couch before falling over, and Jimmy simply collapsed onto the floor. Both men roared with laughter, and Clark even pointed his finger at the expression on Lois' face, choking on fits of giggling.

Shaking her head at the both of them, she finally screwed her face up into a convincing expression of disgust. "Oh, you…you!"

Clark lifted his head up from the couch. "Who are you calling a 'You-you?!'"

At that, Jason began to giggle uncontrollably.

"Sorry, Lois," Jimmy began between aftershock giggles. "He came over to my place this morning and, uhhh… came out, as it were."

"Jimmy," Lois stated flatly, "the only person in this room who needs to come out is you!"

"Come out of what?" Jason asked.

"Nothing, sweetie. It's just a figure of speech," Lois advised her son.

Jimmy looked slightly stricken, but recovered quickly. "Wait a minute. You knew?" he asked, clearly caught off guard.

"The bow tie pretty-much gives you away, Kiddo," she cracked.

Jimmy looked at Clark as though he'd been betrayed.

"Hey, Jim, I never said anything. I swear to God!" Clark defended, raising his hands in surrender. Jimmy looked between his two best friends for a moment, consternation clear on his face.

"Oh, come on, James, it's just us," Lois explained. "We're your family. We love you, but do you really think we don't see how you melt into a puddle every time LeVar Burton appears on TV?"

At that point, Clark came over to Jim, put his arm around Lois, and said, "Jimmy, as far as I'm concerned, I have only two words about your preferences: 'So What!'" Before anything more could be said, Clark opened the doors to the patio. "I have some presents to bring, but I had Jimmy to bring, too, and even Superman has only two hands. I'll be right back, and I'll explain the situation in a few minutes. Gimme a hug, Sport!" He knelt down and Jason ran into his arms. "I'll be back in a flash. Don't anybody move!"

And just that quick, he was gone.