AN: You're not imagining things. I'm back! I'm sorry I've been away for so long and I wish I could tell you that all is well in my family and that everything is back to normal, but that isn't the case. However, the Jason muse hit me hard and wouldn't be ignored. Thanks for hanging in there with me until I could find it in me to write again.

I've had this scene with Clark in my head for months now, specifically one line in particular. I'm happy to say that each member of the beta team commented on the line, so I think I nailed it! And while I'm talking about the betas, thanks to Htbthomas and Mithah, as usual, for catching all my horrid typos. And to Van-el for the car and Trekkie for the kiss.

You may want to read the Clois one shot called "The Big Question" written by your's truly for the alternate side of this scene. If you can stick with me and wait a while longer, I do have one more chapter planned for this fic.

Age 27: The Whole Truth

It started with a simple question from Eric one morning over breakfast.

"How's come Gwamma Loith and Gwampa Cwark aren't mawied?"

My eyes shifted to Kate's for support and were met with a mere shrug.

"Well," I said, swallowing my food. "Grandpa Clark left and Grandma Lois got married to Grandpa Richard."

Puzzled, Eric asked, "When did he weve?"

"A long time ago."

"Nuh-uh," he said pointing at the television proudly. "He's white der!"

The news had footage of Superman rescuing some people from a bank robbery and handing the criminals over to the authorities.

"Eric, honey," Kate said. "He left a long time ago, before you were born."

"But he came back," Eric stated with wide eyes.

"Yes, he came back," I repeated, "but Grandma Lois is still pretty upset with him."

The little face I loved so well scrunched into a funny grimace. "Isth sthe gonna be upthet wif him at Chrithmath?"

Again, my eyes met Kate's. We had talked about this, worried about it to the point that we wondered if we had made the right decision to ask Mom and Clark to come over at the same time for Christmas Day. It was what Eric had wanted, but at three and a half years old, he didn't understand the dynamics of adult relationships, especially one as complicated as his grandparents. All he understood was that his grandma and grandpa, both whom he adored, weren't ever together like other grandparents. So, we gave in to his wish and asked them to celebrate the holiday with us together, rather than us dividing up the day between them as we had the previous few Christmases.

Eric's comment at breakfast led to another discussion between Kate and I about how to avoid the possibility of an argument between the two on a day that should be the happiest of days, especially for Eric. Clark wouldn't start anything, of that I was certain, but he wouldn't do anything to finish it either. Mom was bound to say something obviously cruel to get his back up, which she had done several times in the past, and Clark would sit there and take it like he usually did, not objecting to her complaints. I'd seen it played out a few times in the last several years. Not so much since Dad died, but it had been known to happen. The idea of it happening on Christmas didn't sit well with either Kate or myself.

Something had to be done, and that something, we decided, was to have a preliminary run-through of the day. We'd invite them both over for brunch on one of my Sundays off and see how it went. The only problem was, as their son, I was designated to be the one to explain to them the reason behind the invitation. I figured if I didn't give them much time to think it over and stew on it that they would be less likely to call up and cancel, so I waited until the day before to make my move. I also thought it would be best to start with Mom. Clark wouldn't object to anything; he was always ready to come to anything I invited him to. Mom was my main worry. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't want to spend any more time with Clark than necessary.

It was around eleven when I actually placed the first phone call. "Hi, Jason," Mom answered after letting the phone ring about a half dozen times. It didn't surprise me. Mom loved sleeping in on her days off. I was actually more surprised that she answered the phone at all.

"Hi, Mom. Did I wake you up?"

"No. I've been up for a while."

That was a surprise. "Really? On a Saturday?"

"Oh, I've been awake, I've just been… lying in bed. I haven't really gotten up yet. But I've been awake. You know what I mean." It had all come out in an odd sort of jumble. "What exactly do you need, honey?"

Ignoring her unusual explanation, I went in for my own. "Well, Kate and I have been thinking about Christmas."

"What about it?"

"Okay…" I slurred. "Please hear me out before you get mad at me, but… we're worried about you and Clark… for Eric's sake really. See, he is old enough to recognize that you and Clark aren't exactly on the best of terms, and I'm just worried that it will put a damper on Christmas Day having you both over here." My words had been just as jumbled as mom's. Like mother like son, I supposed. "We don't want anything to ruin his fun that day."

"Jason, we wouldn't do anything that would upset him," she said.

"But you don't know that. Eric might pick up on it if you are just being distant and cold towards Clark. Or if you two get into an argument or something like that." It was a genuine concern, and one Mom had to realize and own up to.

"Honey, we wouldn't. We won't," she stressed.

"But you can't be sure," I countered. "So, to help kind of ease into things, we'd like to have you both over for brunch tomorrow as a sort of practice run for Christmas Day. That way you two can work out any difficulties now that might arise from spending a long time together, so that we all can better know what to expect on Christmas."

"Jason, really, that isn't necessary."

"Mom, please." For the sake of my son, I wasn't above begging.

"I will come to brunch, but I think you should know that a Clark and I…" She paused as if trying to find the right words, "…are on much better terms than you think. We can be very um… civil to each other."

I couldn't help but frown. Civil? What did she mean by that? "Even still," I said, putting the question in the back of my mind for later, "I'd like you both to come over. I just wanted to give you the heads up that I'll be inviting Clark, too."

"All right. What time?"

She gave in pretty quickly, and that seemed even odder than anything else.

"About ten o'clock."

"Need me to bring anything?"

"No, just come with a good attitude. Okay?"

She snorted. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Well, I know how well you and Clark get along."

"Not as well as you think," she replied. And then came the most bizarre moment of all; she laughed.

"Mom? You okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Without so much as another word, the line went dead. I thought about that laugh for a minute. The laugh and the strange way she defined her relationship with Clark as being… civil.

"What's up?" Kate asked when she saw my face.

"I just had a weird conversation with my mom. She didn't sound like herself."

"Maybe she was sleepy," Kate offered.

"I dunno, but she did agree to come over tomorrow for brunch."

"Great!"

Something thudded to the floor in the other room. "MOMMY!"

Kate rolled her eyes. "I'll go see what damage he's done now. You call Clark. Oh, and ask if he can bring some of those French pastry things he brought for my last birthday."

Again the phone rang a fair number of times before he answered it. And again, this was no surprise to me. Clark might be more of a morning person than Mom, but he was also one of, if not the busiest man on the whole planet.

"Good morning, Jason," he said rather enthusiastically.

"Hi," I slurred. "You're awfully cheerful this morning."

"Am I?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Nothing. Nothing's up. Nothing at all."

On the other end of the phone I could hear a woman's voice mumble something. "Who is that?"

"It's… em…" For the second time that morning I was met with an awkward pause that sounded as if the speaker was trying to come up with something clever to say. What Clark came up with was the last thing I'd ever expect to hear from him. "Oh, you know, that was just my half naked girlfriend making off-handed comments from the other side of the room."

I made a face at the very idea. "Ha," I mocked.

"What did you need, Jason?"

"I just wondered if you might want to come over for brunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure."

"With Mom," I added, expecting a reaction.

Clark didn't even miss a beat. "Sure. Why wouldn't I want to be there with your mom?"

"It isn't that. It's just that I think it would make things on Christmas Day go over a lot more smoothly if we gave it a trial run first since you two haven't been on the best of terms lately."

"Oh, now come on," he sighed. "Things have been a lot better recently. We've even worked on a couple of stories together."

"I know, but when you two are alone together for any length of time, things kind of start to get messy."

"Yeah," he said in a tone that I'd never heard before. "Messy."

I wasn't sure what was going on, but I had to push through this. "I just don't want things to go badly at Christmas this year for Eric's sake."

"Look, Jason," he said, and his tone was suddenly very focused and sincere. "You don't have to worry about that. I promise you, Lois and I will be fine. We wouldn't do anything that would upset Eric."

"That's what Mom said."

"Well, she's right. She's right a lot of the time, actually."

Wow. That was a shock. Clark and Mom agreeing on something? "Still, will you be here tomorrow around ten?"

"Of course."

"And um…" I hesitated. "Do you think you could bring some of those pastries like you did for Kate's birthday?"

He chuckled. "She liked those, did she?"

"Yeah, she did. Could you bring about a dozen?"

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks."

Then, with what had become his usual way of ending conversations with me just to make sure I didn't forget, he said, "I love you."

I smiled. "I know."

I clicked off the phone and stood for a moment, lost in thought. Something wasn't right; I could feel it. I couldn't place it, but it was certainly there. To have Mom sound strange is one thing. Odd behavior from Clark at this point in our relationship was also unusual. But to get it from both of them left me uneasier than I was comfortable with.

"Maybe they've worked out their differences," Kate suggested when I voiced my concerns.

"That fast? Uh-uh." I made a face at her. "I don't buy it. It's something else. Problem is, I don't know what."

"You know what I think it is?" Kate said, popping her hip.

"What?"

"I think you have lived your whole life thinking people are keeping secrets from you."

"Which they were," I said pointedly.

"Yes, they were. But now you're expecting it – looking for it even."

"You think I'm imagining things here?"

"No, I think you're displacing your fears and interpreting events the way you want to rather than the way they really are."

I just smirked at her in response.

"Okay," she laughed. "I'll stop with the psychoanalysis if you stop with the empty assumptions about tomorrow."

We both agreed to do just that, but not talking about it didn't mean that I didn't still feel it. I knew something was up; I just couldn't put a finger on it. The anticipation of finding out what that something was grew overnight and through the next morning. Thankfully, Eric was oblivious to it and Kate was able to brush it off. Everything was pretty much ready to go when the doorbell rang just a few minutes after ten.

"Clark's here," Kate announced while washing up a few of the dishes she had used to prepare the quiche.

Placing the last set of silverware down on the table, I reached out with my hearing to confirm our guest and was surprised to hear the more rapid heartbeat and distinctly feminine fidgeting that accompanied my mother. "Nope. It's Mom."

"Lois? Hum… I didn't think she'd be so prompt."

I had to agree with Kate. Mom wasn't prone to lateness – a reporter had to follow a deadline for everything or miss the scoop. Yet Clark was always the first one on the scene for any event. It wasn't just that his speed gave him the advantage, but he also genuinely desired to be part of everything. I'd come to understand that he felt he'd missed so much in the past that he would do everything he could to not miss a moment from here on out. However, Mom showed up first today.

I opened the door to find her smiling a bright, toothy grin. "Hi, Jason!" She leaned in and hugged me tight.

"Hi, Mom," I said, slightly taken aback by her exuberance. Not that mom wasn't affectionate, it just seemed that she was overly so this morning. As we looked at each other, her heart rate started to race.

"Gwamma!" came the squeal from over my shoulder.

Eric ran to her, and she scooped him up in her arms. "How's my favorite little guy?"

"I'm happy. Daddy says you an' Gwampa Cwark are gonna be weel nice today!"

I rolled my eyes, but mom didn't even seem phased.

"That's right. We are. Now, why don't you show me that train set you love so much?"

I watched as Eric tugged on her arm and led her up into his bedroom. Kate and I shared a smile before we headed back into the kitchen.

"She seemed pretty calm," Kate said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out the fruit she had prepared earlier.

"You think so? I thought she seemed a bit too… happy."

Kate chuckled. "I don't know if it's possible for anyone to be too happy. Now make yourself useful and take this to the table."

I did as requested, but there was still something that didn't sit right with me about mom. "Maybe too happy is the wrong way to describe it. It's more like she's being purposefully happy."

"Isn't that what you asked her to do?"

I shrugged and leaned against the wall. "Her heart was racing," I explained.

"So? This is the first time we're going to do something with your mom and Clark together. Isn't your heart racing just a little bit?"

She had a point.

The doorbell rang again. "That will be Clark," I said, heading for the door.

"Morning, Jason," he greeted.

It took me all of two seconds to catch on to the fact that Clark was about as nervous as I'd ever seen him in his whole life. His smile, his light laugh, and his body language all reflected a man desperate to make a good impression.

"Come on in," I said stepping aside to let him pass. "Mom's already here."

"I know," he said quickly. "I mean, um," he stammered, "I can hear that she's – she's playing with Eric. That's – that's how I know she's already here."

"I figured," I replied, but there was something in the way he nervously fidgeted with his pockets and shifted his weight that left me wondering.

"Did you bring the food?" I asked, hoping to ease some of the tension.

"Oh! Of course," he said, turning around quickly. "I left it in the car."

"The car?" I asked in surprise. "Since when do you have a car?"

Clark turned back around. "Um…"

"Since when do you even need a car?"

"I don't. I… um…"

"Gwampa! Gwampa!" Eric called, charging down the steps toward his grandfather and saving Clark from whatever explanation he had up his sleeve.

"Hey there, big guy!" Clark picked him up with ease and spun him around. "You are getting so big!"

"I am?"

"Every time I see you I'm amazed at how much bigger you are!"

"I c'be big and swtong wike you!"

Clark smiled. "Someday you will be."

Just then, mom came down the stairs, too. It was as if the temperature in the apartment dropped 20 degrees. Everyone froze in place as Clark and Mom looked at each other for a long moment.

Mom smiled a small smile. "Hello, Clark."

"Hello, Lois," he said gently.

Another tense moment passed as they just held each other's gaze.

"Gwama was pwaying twains wif me. Do you wanna pway, too, Gwampa?"

Smiling down at the little boy in his arms, Clark said, "I would love to play with you." He looked back at Mom, "If that's all right with your grandma."

"Of course."

"Good," Kate spoke up. "That will give Jason and I a chance to finish getting everything on the table. Then we can eat in a few minutes."

"Okay," Mom said, still looking at Clark.

"Sounds good," Clark agreed.

I watched as they hesitantly walked upstairs towards Eric's bedroom. My son laughed and chattered away endlessly, but Mom and Clark were pretty quiet and reserved. Something was going on. Something wasn't right. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"So?" Kate said, diverting my attention away from the back bedroom. "What do you think?"

"I think something isn't exactly right."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. They just… seem… off. They aren't acting like themselves."

Kate picked up the champagne bottle and tried to pop the cork. "Honey, you asked them to behave this way. You asked them to be polite and civil and not fight. So you should get suspicious when they do what you ask. By the way, did he bring my French yummies?"

"See, it's things like that. He said he left them in the car, but he doesn't even have a car."

"Hum," she considered. "Maybe he took a taxi so he wouldn't look suspicious just showing up at our front door." Handing the bottle to me she said, "Here, you open this. I'm not good at this sort of thing. I'll get the orange juice."

I wasn't too fond of mimosas, but Kate thought the touch of alcohol would help settle whatever nerves any of us might have today. "I just get the feeling that there is something going on that I'm not seeing," I stated as I worked at the cork.

"Like what?"

"Again, I don't know."

"So, then look."

"Look?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head in the direction of Eric's room.

Understanding her, I looked up and squinted my eyes until I could see Eric playing quietly in his room… alone. "Wait a sec," I said. "Where'd they go?"

Turning my head, I found them standing close together next to the downstairs fireplace, whispering nervously.

"I think we should wait until after we eat," Mom said.

"Lois, no. I can't. We've got to say something now."

"And I still think we should wait until Eric is sleepy and goes down for a nap."

Clark wet his lips. "I don't know, Lois," he sighed deeply. "I hate keeping things from him. I don't want to upset him."

"He won't be upset." She took his hands in hers and squeezed them. "Trust me. We will do this together and it will be fine."

"But Lois—"

"Shhh…" She placed a finger over his lips.

My whole body chilled at what I saw next. Mom pulled his face down to hers and kissed him lightly on the lips.

From somewhere beside me I heard Kate say, "Jason, are you okay?"

But my full attention was on Mom and how she was mumbling the words, "Trust me" and "I love you" against Clark's mouth. I tensed up, my heart thudding madly and my hands clenching into fists.

Well… one fist. The other hand still held onto the champagne bottle.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the cork on the bottle went flying through the kitchen and shattered a few glasses on the other side of the room. The frothy liquid erupted out of its containment and splattered all over me and the floor. Kate gasped and rushed toward me in a futile attempt at stopping the champagne from spilling out too much. I simply stood there in total shock at the whole situation, unable to wrap my mind around what I had seen and heard, let alone clean myself up.

"Jason!" she said, trying to snap me out of it.

But it wasn't of much use, for when Mom and Clark came around the corner to see what the matter was, I could do nothing but stare at them in utter confusion. Not realizing this, Mom went to work helping Kate at mopping up the liquid from all over the floor. However, Clark understood my expression right away. His eyes met mine and he seemed to instantly know what had happened. We wordlessly stared at one another until guilt took over and he looked away.

Keeping my eyes fixed on Clark I muttered, "How long?"

Mom turned to look at me and then up at Clark. With a small gasp, she froze.

The silence that filled the room was deafening.

Looking from face to face, Kate asked a very hesitant, "What's going on?"

"How long?" I repeated.

Clark swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, but Mom answered for him.

"It isn't what you think, Jason." She stood up and faced me.

"It isn't?" I said doubtfully. "Given what I just saw happen between the two of you, I think—"

"Friday," she interrupted. "I asked Clark to come over Friday evening. We worked through things. We… talked."

The way she hesitated over the word "talked" gave a clear indication that there was more than just talking involved.

"Okay, what's going on?" Kate asked.

"Well, you see, honey," I said in a bitter tone, "it seems that once again my parents have forgotten that I happen to have the ability to see through walls and hear what's going on in the next room and decided to talk about some rather personal details that they are keeping a secret from me in a place where I can clearly see and hear them."

"That isn't what we were doing," Clark said.

"Yes, it is," I countered. "You were talking about keeping secrets from me and then you kissed her! I think that's a pretty big secret!"

"Jason—"

Ignoring Clark, I turned to mom. "Did Dad know about this?"

"You mean, Richard?"

"Yeah, did he know this was going on?"

Before Mom even got a word in, Clark stepped forward and spoke up. "Nothing ever happened between Lois and I while she was married to Richard. Ever. You have my word on that."

"And your word is worth so much," I retorted.

But that didn't stop him. "And you need to apologize for even suggesting that your mother would be unfaithful to Richard. I swear to you, Jason, nothing ever happened."

"Until this weekend," I added.

Clark didn't have a comeback for that one.

"I still don't understand why you felt you needed to keep this a secret from me?" I continued, looking at mom. "Why didn't you just tell me on the phone? I called you on Saturday. I called both of you. Either one of you could have said that you…"

The pieces fell together in my brain in an instant.

"You were together when I called. Weren't you?"

Again there was no reply.

I closed my eyes and started to chuckle. "What did you think? I wouldn't be able to handle it? That I didn't know there were feelings and issues between you two?"

"We wanted to tell you face-to-face," Mom said. "I didn't think that this was something you should hear over the phone. And like you said, there were details we had to work out first."

"What kind of details? So, you're together. As surprising as it is, I'm not so clueless as to not know that you both have feelings for each other. It's not like you're getting married."

For what seemed like the hundredth time that morning, my comment was met with silence. Mom and Clark glanced at each other nervously. Both of their heart rates were quickly picking up speed. I only blinked in utter shock as I took in the full meaning of that silence.

Finding my voice, I said, "You're getting married?" I looked from mom back to Clark and waited for the confirmation, which came in the form of a small nod. "Publicly?" I added. "I mean, you're going to get married in front of God and everybody?"

"That's what a wedding is, Jason," Mom said softly, but my eyes never left Clark's face.

After a long pause, Clark said, "I love your mother, Jason. I've never made that a secret from you."

"No, you haven't," I agreed. "But it's been a secret from the world."

He sighed. "I love her, Jason. I have the chance to spend the rest of my life with her, and I'm not going to risk losing her again."

"But… married? I mean…" I was at a total loss for words. Not that they were in love, because any idiot could see that Mom's anger over what he had done in the past came from the fact that she loved him. And it wasn't over the fact that they wanted to be together now, because I could support that. What I couldn't support was him being so open about a relationship he repeatedly told me had to remain a secret. Just like his relationship with me had to be a secret.

I ran my fingers through my hair and looked at Clark expectantly, waiting for him to explain his reasoning. "This is important to me, Jason," he said. "I have wanted this for so long. I had hoped that you would understand."

"I do understand. I understand perfectly," I bit out. "This is important to you… and some things are just too important. Some things are more important than others. So, you just go and do whatever it is you need to do so you can have what you want. That's the way you've always lived your life. Why should you change now?"

"That's not what I—"

But I didn't want to hear it. I couldn't stand still anymore and had to get out of there. "No, no need to explain. I get it. And I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I just can't." Kate reached for me as I stormed out of the kitchen. I looked back at her and shook my head before heading up to my bedroom where I slammed the door and tried to force myself to calm down before I did any damage to anything or anyone.

My calm was put on hold, though, when a knock sounded on the door. I didn't even need to use X-ray vision to know who it was. I knew that heartbeat too well.

"Go away," I said.

"No, Jason. Not this time," Clark replied.

"I do not want to talk to you!"

"I don't care. We have to talk about this."

"No, we really don't. I just want you to leave me alone."

"Well, sorry, but I know that game and you yourself told me that you only say that as a test to see if I will be bold enough to stay and work things out with you. So, I'm not leaving this time."

It was a cruel thing to use a man's own words against him. But I had just as much ammunition as he did.

I squinted at the door until Clark came into focus. He was looking at me, too, just as if the door wasn't even there. You'd think I would have learned by now that there really isn't a way to hide from him, no matter how much I wanted to.

"We can talk through the door if you want, but I think it'd be a lot easier if you let me in," he said.

I sneered at him and flung the door open. "You know, not only can you be totally annoying, but you really are the biggest liar I have ever met."

"What did I lie about this time?" he frowned.

I just shook my head at him. "I've told you so many times that I'm sick to death of repeating myself! It just goes in one ear and out the other. You may have super hearing, but your listening skills are seriously lacking!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"My point exactly! You don't get it. You never have got it and you never will! So, what's the point of going over it again?"

Eric chose that exact moment to come out from his room. He looked right up at us with a sad little frown on his face. "Whas wong, Daddy?"

I took a deep, steadying breath. "Daddy and Grandpa Clark are just having a disagreement. Don't worry though. We're used to this."

Clark flinched.

I patted Eric's head and said, "Why don't you go find Mommy and let us finish talking, okay?"

"You were shouting," he whined.

"We won't shout anymore," I promised. "In fact, we're done talking." I made eye contact with Clark to make sure he got my meaning before smiling down at Eric. "Let's go find Mommy, okay?"

"'K," he said sadly. I picked him up and carried him down the steps with Clark trailing behind us. At the bottom, I put Eric down and waited for him to make his way around the corner.

When he was well out of sight Clark said, "We are not done talking."

"Yes, we are, because I will not do this in front of my son."

"Fine, then we will go someplace more private."

I laughed at him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Without even acknowledging my words, he took hold of my arm and pulled me towards the front door. "What are you doing?" I shouted. Yet I already knew what he was doing. He meant it when he said we'd go someplace private. And once he had me out of the house and checked to make sure no one was looking, we were in the air, flying. The crisp, winter air brushed around us. The only question I had now was where we were going. Several times I demanded that he put me down, but it wasn't until the city was far behind us and there was nothing around but trees and distant houses that he actually responded.

We landed and I immediately jerked around to yell at him. "Are you insane? What the hell is with you today?"

"I have the same question about you!"

I gaped at him. "I'm angry! That's what's with me. And I have every right to be!"

"I'm angry, too," he stated. "I have spent years trying to work things out with you and with Lois. I have apologized for my mistakes and have done everything I can to set things right. Now, it was wrong for us to not tell you right away what was going on between your mother and me, but that does not make me a liar. And I refuse to just let you yell at me and accuse me and end up where we were ten years ago. I've fought too hard."

"I've fought too hard!" I lashed out. "I'm the one who has fought through this to try to make you understand what it's like for me, and every time I get my hopes up you do something like this to put me back in place and make me feel like crap!"

"What did I do, Jason?" he said, and I could almost feel his anger rising.

"You're gonna marry Mom!"

"I have always made it clear to you that I love Lois. Why is that so hard for you to accept?"

"It's not that I don't accept it. I completely understand that you love her. No big surprise there."

"Is it because you think she is betraying Richard by loving me?"

I scowled at him. "Oh, please. Don't you think I'm old enough to understand that people can fall in love again when they lose someone?"

"But you asked about Richard."

"Yeah! Because I wanted to know if you guys were together while he was still alive. I don't care if it started after he died."

"Then why don't you want me to marry her?"

"It's public!"

"Most weddings are, Jason."

I just gaped at him for a moment. "You know, I've been jealous lots of times in my life. Jealous of kids who were normal. Jealous of the people who got to be rescued by you and spend a moment with you. Jealous of normal families who aren't keeping their identities a secret. But never in a million years did I ever expect to be jealous of my own mother."

He blinked in confusion. "Why are you jealous of Lois?"

"Because you'll break the rules for her and not for me."

He looked back at me with the same puzzled expression as before.

"You love her that much," I continued. "The rules don't matter where she is concerned. From what I understand, they never have. You'll bend and break the rules for her every time. But not for me. NEVER for me."

He looked dazed. "I don't know what you mean here, Jason."

Laughing, I said, "And with that, you've just proved my point."

"What rules did I—"

"No one can know, Jason," I snapped, walking closer with each step. "No one can ever know. This has to be a secret. You can't ever tell anyone." I was now standing right in front of him, shouting in his face. "No one can EVER know! How many times have you drilled that into my brain? How many times have I lied for you to keep your precious little secret at the expense of what I wanted? All because no one can ever know! I could never do to Eric what you have done to me. I could never look him in the eyes and tell him he has to deny me as his father. I could never pass him off as someone else's son and never claim him as my own, because I know how that feels. As a son, I know all too well. And as a father… it just leaves me breathless that you've done it for all these years. How you do it is beyond me!"

He was breathing quickly as he spoke. "That was about Superman, Jason. And I still stand by that one hundred percent. No one can know that Superman has a son."

"But they can know he has a wife!" I spat.

"No," he said quickly. "Lois is marrying me as Clark, not Superman. Her relationship will be with Clark and only Clark."

I waited a second for him to go on, but he didn't. "So?" I said, not following his logic. "It will still be public."

"As Clark, not Superman."

"But it's still you! Talk about yourself in the third person all you want but you are still Clark and you are still Superman."

"But it's different."

"Not to me."

"Superman cannot have a family, Jason. It's too dangerous!"

"Fine! I agree with you! But what about Clark?"

The shouting stopped abruptly and Clark just stared back at me as if he'd never really looked at me before.

"Are you saying…" He wet his lips. "Are you saying that you… would be okay if people knew that you were… my son?"

I made a face at him. "You're kidding me, right? You didn't just ask me that."

He took a few breaths. "That's… what this is all about?"

"That's what it's always been about."

He shook his head in disagreement. "No, I thought we always had problems with keeping it a secret that you are Superman's son."

"Clark… Superman…" I shrugged. "You've always been the same person to me."

"So you want… you want to be… Clark Kent's son?"

I gaped at him in confusion. "I am Clark Kent's son."

We stared at each other for a long time, not saying a word. After a few moments, there was a wetness in Clark's eyes that made me slightly uncomfortable and I had to look away.

"I'm sorry I've been so…" Clark started, but didn't finish. "I'm sorry, Jason. I never thought that you would want… me… as a father. I mean, publicly. Being able to say Superman is your father is one thing, because with that might come some dignity and respect. Even with Richard as your father, there's more there. Richard was well liked and talented and popular. But Clark… Clark isn't as smooth or so cool."

"So?" I shrugged again. "It doesn't make you any less decent of a person. And it doesn't change the fact that you are my father and I'd like to… just once… be able to claim that as the truth."

"And you think I don't want that, too?" he asked.

"You never have. I can't be a part of your public life. Yet you'll run off and marry Mom and say that you're in love with her and have a public life with her."

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Nothing would give me greater honor than to be able to tell the world that you are my son."

"Then why don't you? Why haven't you?" I asked, fighting off the stinging wetness I felt in my eyes.

"If that's what you want, Jason, then consider it done."

My heart thudded madly against my chest, partially in happiness and partially in disbelief. "Really?" I said.

"Yes. And that's not a lie. Not even a little bit of a lie."

"Okay," I nodded.

He smiled and pulled me towards him for an all-encompassing hug. "I love you, Jason." He said. "Please tell me you know that."

"I know," I said. "I love you, too… Dad."

His grip on me tightened significantly. And then I felt something I had never felt before from him; he kissed my hair along my temple. I closed my eyes and let the sensation wash over me. It lasted a few seconds, but they meant the world to me.

After a moment he added, "I still want to marry Lois."

I laughed and pulled away from him. "I know that, too."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "Actually, when you think about it, I will probably be able to help you with that."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you have to know that there will be a lot of people very surprised when you announce your engagement."

"Yes. Lois and I have talked about that, but we aren't too worried. We figured we could tell them that we had feelings about each other years ago, but that she fell in love with Richard while I was gone and… the rest they know."

"So, basically, you'll tell the truth."

"Yes," he agreed.

"So, having a secret love child would only prove your point."

His face went from shock to amused disbelief. "How is it that you can go from being angry to sentimental to a cracking a joke all in a matter of minutes? Where did that come from?"

I cocked my head. "Richard." Before the smile on Clark's face started to fade, I added, "But the superpowers, those are definitely from you."

He sighed and wet his lips in thought. "So, we're okay then?"

"Better than okay."

"Then let's head back and make sure the ladies know."

"Agreed. And we want to make sure and bring in the pastries this time as a peace offering."

"They're in Lois' car," he informed me.

"I knew it!" I said. "I just knew it!"

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed as we rose up into the air and headed back to where our family waited for us.

It was a slightly uncomfortable reunion, but both Mom and Kate took the news as to what I wanted pretty well. We spent the afternoon eating and talking and playing with Eric the way a perfectly normal family would, and only once found ourselves interrupted by a request for help from a stranger.

When Clark returned from his rescue mission, it was late in the afternoon and Eric had gone down for his nap. Clark asked if he could talk with me alone for a minute, and I followed him into the front room where he stood holding a small, rectangular box wrapped up for Christmas.

He didn't look up from the box as he said, "I know I should probably wait until Christmas Day to give you this, but I think it might be more meaningful if you were to open it now. I wrote this card last night. It might prove to you how sorry I really am that Lois and I didn't tell you what was going on right away."

I took the gift from him and opened the card to read:

Jason –

If you are reading this then I've failed to keep my promise to you and have upset you once again. It was never my intention to upset you in any way by loving your mother. I love you both so very much and want both of you in my life for always. I can understand why you are angry with me, and I will continue to apologize until the time comes when you can again trust me. Hopefully, it won't be too long. It's my greatest wish that your life be a steady one and that I can play some part in it. Until then, I hope that this gift will serve as a reminder that I will be here for you when you need me.

Dad

I looked up at him. "But I'm not angry anymore."

"I know. Like I said, I wrote that last night in anticipation of you getting angry."

I frowned. "I guess it's kind of a habit. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," he smiled. "Just open it and tell me what you think."

I began to tear away the wrapping only to stop when I realized what it was. "Oh, my gosh," I breathed quietly. "Dad… I…"

Words failed me as I took the object out of it's box. In my hands I held a solid ebony, key wound metronome. The Wittner label on the front was good indication that this cost Clark a pretty penny.

"The last time I was over here I noticed that yours was kind of old," he said. "I figured a professional concert pianist should have only the best."

"It's beautiful," I mumbled, fingering the wood of the metronome and trying not to smudge or leave finger prints on the gloss. "But these are so expensive."

"Don't worry about it. I have about twenty-seven birthdays and Christmases to catch up on here."

I hugged him in gratitude. Grateful for the gift. Grateful that we were all together. That there were no more secrets. That I could openly call him my father. And that for this brief moment in time, all was right in the world.