Blissful Ignorance

"Lois, that's not what I meant at all," Clark told the love of his life. He sighed heavily, looking at the negative pregnancy test in the bathroom trash can. So, it was going to be one of those days. It always was after she found out that she wasn't pregnant.

"You just think I'm going to-" The reporter cut herself off mid-sentence when she noticed her husband digging through the trash. Suddenly furious with him, she snatched the garbage can away from him. "And stop rooting through the garbage like a-"

"I don't know why you keep torturing yourself like this, Lois. I don't need a child from you to make our lives complete. You are my life." And just like that, her anger was defused. The brunette hugged her husband of eight years.

"Clark, I love you, but I know how much you enjoy children. I just want to be able to give you that gift."

"We could adopt," he whispered against her ear. "There are plenty of children without the love of a parent who would appreciate it. We're very well off and can give a baby a-"

"Clark… you know it's not the same. I want you to see me swell up with our child growing inside of me. Adoption is… it's not the same." This was an argument that the couple had gone through since they found out that they couldn't have children five years ago.

"No, adoption is not the same," Clark grinned with a twinkle in his eye as he held his wife, "but it would be fun to see you adjust to having a child in your life."

"Clark!" She giggled, hugging him close and thanking God that he was hers. The two had been destined for each other since they were twelve years old. They'd met when she moved to Smallville after her parents' deaths. Something about him… It had been like fate. Like destiny. She almost laughed when she thought of all the years the two had spent trying not to get pregnant before they were ready. All that time and it turned out that they weren't compatible in the first place. A Kryptonian male and a human female just weren't meant to be in the cosmic scheme of things. She'd been devastated, but her precious Clark had simply put that dream away and moved on to the next option. Lois Kent wasn't quite ready to give up on her dream of having his baby though. She wasn't a quitter and she was stubborn by nature. Qualities that made her one of the best reporters in the business.

Before she could argue with him, he cocked his head in that way that said he was hearing something beyond her hearing.

"Work?" She asked tentatively.

"Bank robbery. I gotta go, Lois. I'll catch up with you at the Planet alright?" With a peck on the cheek he took off to protect Metropolis as Superman. Lois watched him go, wondering why people attempted wrongdoing in this city in the first place. It always ended up the same way.

… …

As Superman helped the police gather the thugs from the robbery, he felt a deep satisfaction with his life. Lois was successful in her career - and so was he. So what if they couldn't have a child? So what if he was the last of his kind, the last of a dead race? Maybe that was for the best. He would enjoy his life and his love. He was a year, two years tops, from having an adopted child to raise.

"Thank you, citizens," he said firmly, a big smile on his face as he rose in the air to fly away. He didn't expect a ninja wannabe - covered head to toe in black cloth to completely obscure his features - to suddenly soar through the sky and uppercut him during his dramatic exit. The figure didn't stay to chat, soaring away almost too fast to be seen. People had been taking pictures of the superhero, so most caught blurry shots of the assault.

"Superman, are you alright?"

"Who was that?"

"Is there a new supervillain in town?"

Clark heard none of this speculation. As soon as he registered the punch - which hadn't hurt per se, but he'd definitely felt it - he took off after his attacker. He chased him halfway around the world, the one who attacked him was fast, but obviously not used to flying. He caught up with him on the top of the Himalayas. Ripping his black hood off, he blinked, staring at a younger version of himself. The only difference was the boy's brilliant green eyes, eyes filled with hatred at the moment. Hatred for him.

"I gotta get to class," the boy, who couldn't be more than fifteen, spat at him furiously. He snatched his hood from Superman, stuck it over his head, and flew off before he was discovered.

Clark was too stunned to follow him. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place almost immediately. The only other female he had ever slept with. But there shouldn't have been a child from that drunken accident after high school graduation. His seed was incompatible with humanity. Unless…

Quick as thought, he was flying to the Fortress of Solitude. "Father? FATHER?"

"I am here, my son," the interactive visage of Jor-El appeared before him.

"Was I the only one you were able to send to Earth, father?" Clark asked without prelude.

"There was one sent before you, Kal-El. But we lost contact and assumed that she hadn't made it. Would that we had been able to send a variety of children for you to choose from, son. We meant to send a generation to Earth to continue our species, but-"

"Earth women are not compatible with me," he said severely, feeling like his world was coming apart. Jor-El considered this for a while, taking in his son's angry visage.

"They are a simple species. We tried to pick a place where you could flourish. There just wasn't time. I am sorry to have failed you so completely."

"I have a son," Clark said quietly, taking in the enormity of that statement. "I must have found the missing Kryptonian. We… we only had one night together, but the boy is the right age for our tryst."

"But that is wonderful news. You must find her and produce as many heirs as you can. That way-"

"What's the point, father! My son won't be able to make babies in this world."

"Then you must find him a new world," Jor-El said practically. "You must find a new world for your wife and all of your progeny. It's what your mother and I did for you. Perhaps you shall have better luck than we did. You have time." Clark was staring at the image of his father as if seeing him for the first time. "Kal-El?"

Clark walked out of the Fortress of Solitude, roaming the frozen Arctic as he attempted to process his thoughts. He refused to think about that drunken night as he wandered. That one insane moment in time when he granted her one wish. He'd never looked back after that, hadn't thought of it except in the dreams he refused to have. Well, he thought about it now. Her moans and sighs of pleasure. The way she'd just fit against him. The tears of acceptance on her gawky face in the end. She'd known, just as he had, that there would never be more than this between them. His heart belonged to another. So he'd given her all that he could of himself - apparently, he'd given Alana more than he thought he had - and then moved on with his life. That would make the boy he'd just seen twelve years old. High school was roughly thirteen years ago. Why hadn't she told him?

He snorted at the baby polar bear and his mother as they roamed the wasteland looking for food. "She wanted at least one of us to have our happily ever after," he murmured. Coming to a stop at the edge of a snowy cliff, he really thought about that. Yes, he had his fairytale ending. Sort of. He had the woman he loved, but no children. Except now he had a child. Pride swirled through him. He had a son!

"A son who seems to hate you. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he muttered softly, deep in thought. What had Alana been telling him all these years? What if she had a life by now, a life that didn't include him? Somehow the thought of her with another man, the thought of another man raising his son, left him extremely angry and frustrated. Alana Brighton had always been his shadow, his… How did he feel about her? She'd followed him around like a lovesick puppy when they were in Smallville, and had been the target of a few mean jokes on behalf of his friends because of it. He'd never tried to hurt her, but she'd just… been there. Knowing that he didn't feel the same way. Knowing that it was hopeless. How exactly was he going to explain this to his wife? HIS WIFE!

He shot off the cliff, headed back to Metropolis fast enough to break the sound barrier. He'd forgotten all about his wife and his job in his shock of being a father. He was supposed to be at work right now and it had been hours since he met his son.

Arriving in Metropolis, and more specifically The Daily Planet, proved easy. Managing to stay focused on his work was considerably harder.

"Do you want to talk about something, Clark?" Lois asked sometime later that afternoon.

"No. Why?" She brandished his latest articles with a smirk.

"Because you talked about Professor Godwin's newest theory in terms of millihelens," she grinned mischievously as he sat back and groaned. "And this article on public safety has an in-depth discussion of bananoseconds, something I didn't know existed. How one can make the time between slipping on a banana peel and-"

"Alright, alright, you win. I'll redo my articles." He took back the morning's work and started speed typing to correct them.

"So… it's been all over the news that Superman got punched in the face this morning. Any leads?" Clark pressed down on the keyboard too hard just then and broke it in half. "Wow! I take that as a yes?"

The superhero in disguise stood up with as much dignity as he could muster, adjusted his glasses, and went to the supply closet to get a new keyboard.

"There is something that we need to discuss," he whispered to her once he had his emotions in check. "But just know that I'm looking into this situation closely. Do you remember Alana Brighton from Smallville?" And just like that the majority of the talk they had to have went out the window as his brilliant wife put the pieces together in her head.

"How?" she asked quietly but furiously.

"She's from Krypton. The last female of my species." Lois sat down hard in his chair blinking unseeing eyes as she tried to grasp the enormity of that statement.

"Hey, you okay Lois? You look like a woman who just got kicked in the head by a small pony," Jimmy Olson said as he passed the couple on his way home.

"I'm… I'm fine, Jimmy. Goodnight." The woman nodded to herself, gathering her supplies for the day. "I'm just fine."

"Lois, what-"

"I need some time, Clark. We were never apart. When?"

"High school graduation. The after-after party. It was just the one time, Lois. She was just so sad and-"

"Spare me the details. You're on the couch for the foreseeable future. But right now we need to find that child-"

"My son."

"-your son before he turns out to be a supervillain. Where did Alana end up after graduation?"

"I don't have a clue." At Lois' disbelieving look, he threw up his hands. "I haven't actually been in contact with her since that night. The Brightons pulled up stakes after graduation, remember? They left like the ground had been salted."

"Oh right, I remember that. I remember feeling relieved when she was suddenly gone. I guess that was short-lived."

"Thirteen years, Lois." The look on her face could have peeled paint.

"Do you think Jonathan or Martha might have a clue where they went?"

"I'll call them after I get off work tonight." He looked at his furious bride and knew that it would take time to make this right. What exactly would this family portrait look like now?

How will it look indeed? Clark just had a MAJOR bombshell dropped in his lap. Let's see what he does about it. Until next time! :D