"How come every new base we go to, Superman is there?" Lieutenant Luthor asked of his wife.
"Because he's a friend, and you should be thankful he does follow me around. Do you know how many times he has saved my life? I lost count."
"You probably wouldn't be so reckless if you didn't have the guarantee that he's always there, waiting for you in the wings."
He was embarrassed to be hearing this conversation about himself, but they weren't exactly being quiet about it, and he was waiting on the balcony of their current apartment for an interview with her.
"He's here. Be nice, or better yet, find something to keep you busy."
He grumbled, but he went into another room to tinker.
She came out with her baby in her arms.
He looked at the infant tenderly. He could see Lois in her. He ignored the yearning he had then for a child of his own. He loved children, but his lifestyle didn't allow for it, yet a part of him still hoped he could adopt one day the way his parents had adopted him. He could think of few greater ways to give back then to give a child all that he'd been given growing up. Family didn't always come from blood ties but that didn't make the love and bond any less real.
"I hope you don't mind if she joins us. I'm trying to get her to take a nap, and she cries if I put her in her crib. She only falls asleep when she's being held."
He smiled. "I don't mind at all. What's her name?"
"Natalie. We named her after my grandmother."
"It's a beautiful name for a beautiful baby."
"Would you like to hold her?" she asked.
The alarm must have shown in his eyes. He'd never held such a small human being, who he wasn't rescuing anyway. What if he held her too tightly? What if he didn't hold her the right way?
"She won't break, but if you're uncomfortable, it's fine."
"No, I'd like to hold her," he said, and she placed her gently into his arms. He didn't know why he tortured himself this way, reminding himself he'd never have a family of his own and he'd never be with the woman that he loved, but it wasn't Natalie's fault. She closed her eyes and snuggled against his suit.
"She likes you," Lois said before getting down to business.
"How are you liking California?" he asked.
"Off the record, the people here are as nutty and fruity as all the orchards that grow round here. I guess though I just miss the East Coast, Metropolis. I should be used to moving around as an army brat. But I lived there longer than I have any other place in my life, and I miss my boss, who was like a second father to me and an intern who was like the little brother I never had. Crazy, right?"
"Not so crazy. It'd be crazier if you didn't form attachments to the people who are a part of your life. Think you'll go back?"
"I hope so. I'm sure my dad can arrange it if I ask him to." Then she chuckled. "Hey, who's interviewing who here?"
He gave her an apologetic smile, but he wasn't really sorry. He was interested in everything about her.
It was a typical interview. These conversations with the press had become an old hat to him now as she asked questions about his latest saves and where the next threats might arise from.
"Any special women in your life?" she asked with a cute wiggle of her eyebrows. She'd probably be trying to set him up if they worked in an office together, which would have made it all even more painful.
"I try to avoid answering personal questions, Ms. Lane," he said, passing back the now sleeping Natalie back to her.
"Okay," she said with a dramatic, tragic sigh. "Keep your mystery then and string millions of single women along."
After all these years, she still didn't know that she was the only woman he cared about. "I'll see you around just try not to let it be in a life and death situation."
"I can't make any promises," she teased.
He left with a wide smile. She was always lightening his mood even when the disappointment of not being together hit him hard. Both heaven and hell. That's how it was being around her.