Chapter 25: Change Begins Today

The white, furry creature curled up in Jason's arms gave a slight shiver. The boy, completely enthralled with the snow-white bunny rabbit, continued to pat it gently. "Can't we keep him, Daddy?" he asked, looking hopefully at his father.

Clark turned to look at Jason. He and Lois had been discussing whether Clark should ask Perry for his job back or just find work elsewhere. Clark looked regretfully at his son, and bit his lower lip. He could sense Lois behind him, staring him down. "Sorry, kiddo," he apologized. "We can't take care of a pet right now. You have school, and Mommy and Daddy have jobs."

Jason furrowed his brows. He looked disbelievingly at Clark. "You don't have a job, Daddy," he said flatly, making Lois burst out laughing as Clark felt completely floored by his six-year-old.

Lois' hearty laugh echoed through the area. They were in the petting zoo, a new addition to Centennial Park. It was Saturday afternoon, and Clark thought they deserved to spend time together—especially as it had been busy for Superman for the past days. As they continued playing with the animals, Clark spotted two people coming their way—a brown-haired man and a blond little girl, both with bright, blue eyes.

-oOo-

Richard held Anna's hand as they made their way to the petting zoo. They had spent the whole day together, just the two of them, and the zoo was their last stop. As they walked, Richard recalled how their day had gone.

When the little girl had woken up early in the morning, Richard had taken her to the nearest IHOP for breakfast. They then made their way to the aquarium, and Richard took pleasure in hearing the girl's shrieks of delight as she pointed at the brightly-colored fishes swimming around her. For lunch, Richard brought her to a pizza place in the mall, and afterwards they went around buying Anna more dresses and toys.

Before going to the park, they made their way to the candy shop across from it. Anna's eyes twinkled with glee as she looked at the colorful candy wrappers, but had hesitated when Richard told her to take whatever she liked. "Go on, sweetheart, choose whatever you like," Richard said.

Watching the little girl walking around the candy store, Richard tried to remember when he had last felt this happy. It's been a while, he thought to himself. The little girl made her way back to Richard, and Richard laughed as Anna used her white dress to store all the candy packs she had picked up. "I should've known you'd need a basket for those," Richard chuckled as he took the bags of candies from Anna and placed them on the counter.

"Aww, how sweet," the young cashier told Richard. "Daddy's little girl, I see. And she's got your blue eyes."

Richard smiled, scooping up Anna and eliciting a giggle from her. He looked into the child's bright blue eyes and flashed a proud smile at the cashier. "She does have my eyes, doesn't she?"

He smiled at the memories of the day, but his smile quickly faded as he noticed Lois, Clark and Jason just up ahead of the path. Jason. It had been four days since he last saw the boy—and that last meeting ended in disaster and some harsh words from the six-year-old whom he raised as his son. Anxiety overcame Richard, and he slowed his walk to the petting zoo.

When Richard and Anna were only a few feet away from the animals' pens, Clark greeted them. "Hi, Richard. Hi, Anna."

"Hello," the little girl said, smiling brightly. It was a challenge to Richard, trying to teach the child English—but she was picking up on the language well.

Richard gave his friends a curt nod. "Lois, Clark," he said, the strain in his voice evident. He looked at Jason, who was still holding the bunny in his arms, and offered a weak smile to the boy. He hoped Jason wasn't mad at him anymore. He still loved him, and he couldn't bear to have Jason be angry with him.

Lois went over to Richard and Anna, giving them each a kiss on the cheek and greeting them. Clark looked over at his son, who had not moved from his spot but kept staring at Richard and Anna. Clark gave Jason a stern look, which the boy was quick to notice.

Jason wasn't expecting to see his Daddy Richard and Anna. He still didn't like seeing his other Daddy holding another kid's hand instead of his. But he remembered what he and his Daddy Clark talked about a few days ago, and he told himself he was going to be nice to Daddy Richard and Anna now. He heaved a sigh and bit his lower lip. Hesitantly, he shuffled to Richard and Anna. He stopped when he was right in front of Anna, but his eyes were on his shoes, and he didn't look up. It took a few seconds before he looked at the little blond girl before him, and showed her the bunny he was holding. "Hi, Anna," he said quietly. "Wanplaywimeanabunny?"

Anna looked at Jason blankly, not understanding a word from the other child's mouth.

Jason took a deep breath and repeated his question. "Wanna play with me and the bunny?"

Clark and Lois watched their son. They both knew he was trying—the events of the past months have been a lot to take in for a child as young as Jason, but he was doing his best to cope and be understanding of it all. Both Clark and Lois couldn't be any prouder of their little boy.

Jason waited for Anna's answer. He stood staring at her, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. He brought the bunny closer to Anna, making the little girl jump back into Richard.

Seeing that Jason was making an effort, Richard helped him out. He knelt down and took Anna's hand gently. Then he laid it on the bunny. "See? It's alright to touch it, honey," Richard assured Anna. "Does your rabbit have a name, Jason?"

Jason stood awkwardly and looked at Richard. The older man smiled to himself—Jason looked very much like Clark, the bumbling reporter of the Planet. Jason swallowed before answering unsurely, "Buster. Me an' Mommy named him Buster. I think he likes his name a lot because he comes to me when I call him that."

"I like his name, too. It's a really cool name, kiddo." Richard offered a genuine smile at Jason.

The little boy seemed pleased with Richard's compliment and began to warm up to him. He grinned at Richard and then turned to Anna, "Come on, Anna. We can play with him. He won't bite." Jason put the bunny down, and watched it hop off to the direction of the other rabbits in the pen. The boy smiled at Anna and extended his hand to her.

Anna looked questioningly at Richard, and when he nodded and smiled reassuringly, Anna grinned and took Jason's hand. Together, they went to play with the rabbits as Richard, Lois and Clark watched them with amusement.

The day wore on, and before they knew it, it was time to go home. Clark drove Lois and Jason back to 312 Riverside Drive.

Clark looked at the rearview mirror and saw his son fast asleep on his booster seat. He spoke to Lois, "The day with Richard and Anna went well." Then he added, "Fortunately."

Lois nodded and smiled. "Jason was very good today. I guess your talk a few nights ago really got to him."

"Well, what can I say? I'm getting better with this 'Daddy' thing."

Lois let out a chuckle. "You know," she said quietly, "I think Jason's going to be okay with a little sibling."

"I hope so."

"I overheard him asking Richard if Anna could come over and play with him again—tomorrow."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Did he, really?"

"Uh huh. But of course, Jason wouldn't say anything to us. I think he secretly likes having a younger child like Anna to play with—he's just too proud to tell us that."

"He gets that pride from you," Clark teased.

Lois playfully punched Clark on the shoulder, and the two quietly shared a laugh.

They arrived at the riverside house a few minutes later. Following Lois' lead, Clark went into the house, carrying Jason in his arms. After setting his son on the bed, Clark went to Lois' bedroom to check up on her.

Lois had changed into her sleeping wear by the time Clark entered the room. She was wearing a rose-colored night gown. She found Clark staring at her from the doorway. "What?" she asked.

Clark smiled. He loved simply staring at his woman—he marveled at her beauty. "You look…lovely," he quietly replied. "That's all."

Silently, Clark made his way to Lois, who was standing at the center of the room. He cupped her face and brought it closer to his, catching her lips in a soft kiss. Lois didn't object. She responded to Clark's kiss as her hands encircled around his neck, bringing Clark's face closer to hers and deepening the kiss.

After what seemed like forever, they broke their kiss, but stayed in their spot. Clark smiled, enjoying having Lois so close to him. He circled his right arm on Lois' waist and took Lois' right hand in his left. Slowly, he began to sway, bringing Lois with him.

"Clark, what…?" Lois began to ask quietly.

"Shh," Clark silenced her gently. "We're dancing."

"Dancing?" Lois asked, continuing to follow Clark's lead.

"Yes," Clark simply replied, looking at Lois with those eyes that looked like deep pools of blue.

Lois held his gaze for a moment, letting herself drown in the deep blues. Then slowly, she stepped closer to Clark, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes as she listened to Clark's heart beating.

Clark began to hum a soft tune as they continued their slow dance.

"What song are you humming?" Lois asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Clark grinned as pressed his cheek close to Lois'. "I actually don't know," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I'm just humming."

Lois looked up at him and smiled, then leaned in to give him a light kiss. "Don't stop," she whispered. "I like it."

And they continued to glide and sway, slow dancing to their own silent music.

A/N: Short chapter, I know. A little bit of Richard/Anna, a little bit of Jason/Richard/Anna and a little bit of Clois—just simple things to get the story rolling.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, "A Father, First."