Lois hurried down the stairs the next morning, dressed in black suit, with a skirt and high heels. She hummed as she made her way into the kitchen, where Chloe, Cordy and Clark already were.
"Well, I see Daddy is missing. Connor have an early class or something?" Lois asked, taking the orange juice that Chloe was about to hand to Clark. He rolled his eyes and got up to get his own.
"Something like that." Chloe said in a tight sounding voice. Lois eyed her, as did Clark, but neither pushed the subject. Chloe noted that Cordy was done with her breakfast.
"Let's go upstairs and get changed, okay? We're going to the park with Kyle today."
"You are?" Clark asked, in between sips of his orange juice. "Do you think Faith would mind if I came along?"
"Oh Faith won't be with us. She has to work and I look after Kyle while she's gone."
"Really? Does she pay you?" Lois asked, sitting down.
"No! Faith is on a budget. I mean affording and maintaining that house is hard enough work without Dan's salary. I don't mind."
"I think that's nice." Clark said, looking at Lois. Lois was smearing some sort of jam on a bagel. She did not comment, as she looked through the morning paper. Chloe pulled Cordy out of her chair and left the kitchen. Clark looked at Lois.
"You look nice today." he commented.
"I know." she answered.
"Your welcome." Clark said, shaking his head. Lois put down the paper and wagged a finger at him.
"I think you lied to me last night, Clark Kent."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Smallville. That 'hypothetical' situation you were talking about last night? We were really talking about Lana and you, weren't we?"
"Lana?"
"Clark, come on! You had a seizure last night when you saw that necklace...."
"Lois, for the last time, I did not have a seizure!"
"Okay, okay! There's no need to get sensitive. I just think that you're here in San Francisco, because you want to find your lovechild. Maybe Lana isn't the mother....which would mean that you cheated on her at some point. But that's neither here nor there...."
"Actually, Lois, let me ask you something: what kind of a woman do you think I would cheat on Lana with?"
"So you are admitting it? Lana is not the mother of your lovechild?"
"I'm not admitting anything. I told you last night the whole thing was hypothetical. And I was applying it to you."
"Yes, but you were only applying it to me, do deflect suspicion off of yourself!"
"What?!"
Lois scooted her chair towards him.
"Look, Clark, you don't have to be ashamed. I mean, obviously, either your child was stolen, either by the woman you had the kid by or...or the kid was stolen from both of you, is that it?"
Clark was not ready to admit anything to Lois. He didn't think she was ready to hear any of it. Even if she thought it didn't apply to herself.
"How about I answer your question, when you answer mine?"
"About?"
"About what kind of woman you think I would cheat on Lana with?"
"So you are admitting you cheated on her?" "Lois! Just answer my question."
"Why? What does it matter what type of woman she was...or is?"
"Just humor me."
Lois became quiet and stared at him. She then began recalling her own vivid, sensual dreams she had of making love to him....someplace.....the place was never really clear. Lois calmly stood up and walked over to the sink to get a drink of water!
"Lois? Are you alright?"
Lois did not answer, but drank the glass down. When she caught her breath again, she looked at him.
"I'm fine. Now, back to your question: what type of woman would you cheat on Lana Lang with? The answer is some hussy/tramp."
Clark raised a brow.
"Really?"
"Yes, really!"
"So, what does this tramp look like in your mind?" Clark asked.
"That's two questions, Clark. Now you answer one of mine: was I right? Are you here looking for something...or someone? Is that why you left Smallville?"
"That's more than one too." Clark reminded her.
"Clark!"
Clark scrutinized her. Maybe this could be a way to ease Lois into finding out the truth. He leaned back in his chair.
"Okay, Lois. Yes, I am here looking for my son."
Lois just stared at him.
"You have a son?"
"Yes."
"With who? Lana isn't the mother, is she? Though you did say something about maybe a spell would make her not remember or something?"
"Yes, I did say that, didn't I?"
"Clark, I could help you! My investigative skills are top notch! I could help you find your son."
How are your mothering skills? Clark thought.
"Clark? Did you hear me?"
"Lois, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone. I mean it. I'm just not ready for everyone to know."
Lois nodded, though she wondered if 'everyone' included his parents. Did they know? Her mind then jumped to Kyle Gordon. Clark's apparent fondess for the boy, probably stemmed from the fact that he had a son somewhere out there.
Somewhere in San Francisco.
"Okay, Clark. My lips are sealed." she said standing up and patting him on the head as if he were a dog. Clark straighted up his hair.
"Good luck today." Clark said. Lois nodded, but her mind was on her conversation with Clark. She hadn't expected to be right. She really hadn't expected him to admit everything so easily.
"Oh and Lois?"
Lois pulled herself out of her reverie, and looked at Clark.
"Tonight, you're going to answer that question for me."
Now Lois looked puzzled.
"What question?"
"About what the woman I would cheat on Lana with, looks like?"
Lois grinnned!
"I can answer that now! She was probably some cheap red-head, of course." Lois said with surprising certainty, before turning to walk out of the kitchen. Clark shook his head, just as Chloe walked back into the kitchen.
"Where's Cordy?"
"Upstairs putting away some of her toys. Her room didn't look like that last night. Lois is gone I see."
"Uh yes. Listen, are you alright?"
Chloe sat down at the table across from Clark.
"Yes, of course."
"Okay.....it's just that when Lois asked about Connor, you looked kind of funny."
Chloe took a deep breath.
"Connor went to L.A. this morning. He's at Wolfram & Hart."
"That's his father's business, right?" Clark asked, trying to sound obtuse.
"Yes. His visit has to do with Faith."
"Faith? Why?"
"Connor wouldn't say much, except that Faith could lose Kyle."
Clark had been about to but a bagel in his mouth, when she said that.
"What do you mean?"
"Dan, that was Faith's late husband, he arranged Kyle's adoption through Angel's firm. All Connor would say is that something has come up, that makes it imperative that they find out who Kyle's real parents are."
Clark dropped his bagel onto his plate. Was it possible that he wouldn't have to sit back and lie? Was there something on paper somewhere, that named him and Lois as Kyle's biological parents?
"I just feel bad for Faith. I mean I know that boy is her whole world."
Before Clark could answer, he and Chloe both heard Faith call out hello. Chloe stood up as Clark eyed Faith's work outfit. She was wearing a contruction uniform. Kyle was holding her hard hat. Faith was a construction worker? How? He knew what he was thinking was sexist, and it wasn't as if there weren't women construction workers, but somehow he just hadn't been expectiing this.
"Hey Clark! How goes it this morning?" Faith addressed him.
"Uh, not bad. And yourself?"
"Five by five."
"What?" he asked, a bit confused. Kyle giggled. Chloe smiled.
"That's a Faith phrase....never mind. Faith, Clark and I will be escorting Cordy and Kyle to the park today."
Kyle peeked up at Clark. He was glad he was coming. Today would be fun. Clark smiled down at his son. He wondered how long it would take Connor and Angel, to figure out Kyle's true origins today?
Spike and Wesley, shook their heads, as they watched the videotape for the third time. Angel paced the room, while Connor just sat in a chair frowning.
"Where is Gunn?" Angel asked.
"Addressing the senior partners about getting Lilah up here from hell. Apparently she's in negotiations down there."
"I don't care!" Angel snapped. "She was the lawyer that handled Kyle's adoption and she knows what that is we're looking at on the tape."
"Why don't you settle down over there, mate." Spike said in a cool voice. "We don't know that Faith's kid and this tape are even related."
Wesley stood up.
"You know, we could've been sucked into a portal?"
"A portal that apparently we're still in!" Angel huffed. Connor shook his head.
"Look who's with us though in this tape. General Lane and Luthor. Why were they in this building?"
"There's no evidence that they were here. Just that Lex Luthor is a client of this firm." Wesley pointed out.
"Look, guys, that tape was in the spot where Kyle's adoption file was. I don't think that was an accident. Now the best we can figure is that those wavey things we were sucked into, were part of a spell." Angel said.
"A spell to reverse time, for some reason." Wesley concluded.
"So, do you think that we knew who Kyle's real parents were, before those wavey things got to us?" Spike asked.
Connor stood up.
"I know who Kyle's father is already."
"Connor...." Angel said warningly. Wesley eyed them both.
"What's going on?"
Angel took a deep breath.
"Someone from Smallville is staying with Connor. He appears to have taken an interest in Kyle."
"It's more than that!" Connor snapped. "Kyle touched this person and when he did, the two of them appeared inside a....a....I don't know, like a family crest or something. I know Clark Kent is Kyle's father."
"Clark Kent? Poor Kyle's real father is some ponce named Clark?" Spike smirked. Wesley took a deep breath.
"Faith needs to know this."
"Faith wants to run." Angel said.
"If what Connor says is true about Kyle's abilities, then he gets them from either one or both of his parents. Connor, does this Clark Kent have any powers that you have seen?"
Connor nodded slowly.
"And you don't know who the mother is?" Wesley asked him. Again, Connor shook his head.
"He used to go out with a woman named Lana Lang. She's engaged to Lex Luthor. If there was a spell, maybe, just maybe, Lana doesn't remember having Kyle. Maybe....I don't know."
"We won't know until we hear from Gunn. We need Lilah up here." Angel said.
Charles Gunn fell back into his chair, the file slipping from his fingers and onto the table. He looked at Lilah.
"I can't believe I'm reading this."
Lilah smirked, then stared out of the window.
"It's true. This is the original deal we made with Connor."
Gunn licked his lips.
"So....this deal here....the one where he entered The Initiative to protect his wife and unborn child.....in the end, this was about Connor covering his butt, right? The General had to have known the truth too?"
"At the time, yes. He wouldn't remember it now." Lilah answered him.
"Damn, damn, damn!" Gunn huffed, shaking his head.
Lilah said nothing. Gunn then stood up.
"I can't keep this from Angel! Damn, he's the most affected by this! And what the hell is wrong with Connor here? Why doesn't he just tell the truth?"
"Could you if you were in his situation? You know Angel...."
"I do know him! That's why he has to be told the truth here!"
"That isn't going to happen. And your affection for him is going to keep you from confronting anyone about this."
Gunn said nothing for a moment. He then took a deep breath.
"You at least have to help us with that video. I didn't send for you for nothing."
"I can tell you but it won't matter. When Kyle Gordon reaches adulthood, he belongs to Wolfram & Hart. And neither his mother, the vampire slayer, nor his biological parents, will be able to stop this firm from collecting on what's ours."
"We'll see, won't we?" Gunn challenged her. He snatched the file up and left the conference room. Lilah dissolved into mist, and returned to her own part of hell.