Chp 28 – Convergence



-- Metropolis – October 2010 --

Lois opened her eyes and smiled as she found that she was already the object of someone's focus. "What time is it?" she asked, stretching.

Clark reached out to brush hair from her forehead and placed a kiss in the revealed spot. "Early."

Lois frowned, lifting her head to see the bedroom window. "Early, what?"

"Early afternoon."

"We're late!" she exclaimed, pushing him off of her. She loved the fact that he had a super stamina, but it had resulted in them being up until the edges of sunlight had graced the horizon.

She jumped out of the bed, pulling the top sheet with her, and wrapped it around her body. "We were supposed to be in Smallville by now!"

Clark watched as she dug in the top drawer of her dresser for undergarments. "We've got plenty of time," he told her.

"Not if we're driving…" She turned and gave him a pointed look. "And we are driving, Fly Boy." She darted out of the room and headed to the bathroom. "Call your parents and tell them we're on our way!" she shouted, shutting the door behind her.

Clark resisted the temptation to peek. If he did, they would probably never leave.



-- Smallville – October 2010 --

Lois bounded up the porch stairs and into the outstretched arms of Martha Kent. Coming here always felt like coming home to her. They parted after a long embrace and Martha placed a kiss on her cheek. With a grin, Lois turned to hug Jonathan. When everyone had been greeted, they went inside.

"Where's Cole," Lois asked.

"He hasn't been sleeping well the past few days. I finally got him down for a nap, but you can go wake him if you want," Martha explained.

Lois shook her head. "No, I want him to rest, but I will go up and take a peek."

Jonathan clapped Clark on the shoulder. "You think you can give me a hand in the barn?"

"Yeah, no problem." Clark glanced at Lois, and turned to follow his father back outside, while Lois smirked and headed up the stairs.

Martha caught a soft undertone in the interaction and smiled. It was about time her kids found each other again.


Clark entered the kitchen and quietly climbed the stairs so he could wash up in the bathroom. Lois and his mother were talking in the den, catching up, and enjoying each other's company.

After drying his hands on a towel, he peeked into his old room to check on Cole. He smiled when he saw that the little boy was standing in the crib, seeming to contemplate how he was going to escape its bars. If he was anything like his mother, nothing would be able to hold him for long.

Clark stepped into the room.

"Hi, Daddee," Cole sang out, bouncing on the mattress.

"Hey, Big Guy. You ready to get up?"

Cole nodded his hands and reached for Clark, indicating he wanted to be picked up. When Clark complied, Cole wrapped his arms around his neck and squeezed. Clark kissed him on the cheek and carried him toward the door.

"I missed you, Buddy," he whispered.

At the stairs, Clark shifted Cole to his side so he could use a hand to unlatch the baby gate that blocked the way. Cole laid his head on Clark's shoulder and reached out to grab his father's nose.

"Hey, that's mine," Clark teased, moving his face side to side as he and the giggling child descended.

When they reached the landing, the laughing voices from the den became audible. Cole's head popped up from Clark's shoulder, and he looked around the room curiously. Lois laughed again, and Cole looked at his father with wide eyes.

Clark smiled at his expression. "Who is that?"

Cole pushed against Clark's chest and would have jumped out of his arms if Clark hadn't set him on the floor. As soon as his feet touched, he scrambled through the archway to the den.

Lois turned just in time to catch the bundle of energy that launched itself toward the couch.

"Hi, Baby!" she exclaimed as Cole tightly wrapped himself around her.

Martha laughed. She didn't think that Cole was planning to let Lois go anytime soon.


Clark frowned at the twin bed in Cole's room. The little white teddy bear seated on the pillow was going to his only company for the night.

Cole had clung to Lois for the rest of the night, whimpering anytime she put him down. Clark had some sympathy for the child- he was addicted to her, too.

Finally, the child had grown sleepy, curled in Lois's lap, but this time it was she that was reluctant to let go. She had taken Cole to the attic room so that she could spend the night holding him, just as she once did when he was a baby.

Clark glared at the teddy bear and flopped onto the bed. "Lucky, kid," he muttered, gazing up at the ceiling longingly.


The next day marked the next appearance by Superman. He flew the skies of Metropolis, stopping burglaries, preventing accidents, and catching crooks. He even pulled a young girl's cat out of a tree for good measure. By the end of the day, everyone in Metropolis knew that Superman had arrived.

Clark flew back to the farm that night with a troubled mind. The events of that day had revealed to him just how demanding this second job could potentially be. Already, the criminal element had begun to get more drastic in their approaches, testing the super hero's ability to fight crime. And he had hardly even started.

Clark made his way up the stairs and ran into Lois as she stepped out of Cole's room.

"Looks like you had an eventful day," she commented. "The news couldn't get enough of 'Superman to the rescue.'"

Clark smiled at her and peeked into the room at the sleeping child. "I didn't get a chance to say goodnight."

"I told him for you," she assured, patting his chest as she stepped past him and walked toward the stairs to the attic.

Clark turned and trailed behind her.

"Where are you going?" Lois asked.

"Can I stay in the big bed tonight?" Clark pleaded in a childlike tone.

Lois's gaze flicked over his shoulder. "We can't do that! Your parents!" She shook her head.

"What about them," Clark asked, stepping closer.

"No."

"But we're married," he persisted.

"Not really. Remember the shower incident? We don't want to revisit that."

Clark frowned. "Come on, Lois. They wouldn't care. We have a son. They know we did something for him to get here."

"Maybe, but they don't know that we've done that something since then!"

"Please- we won't do anything. Just for a little while- I promise I'll leave before morning."

Lois narrowed her eyes as she studied his face. She could see that something was weighing on his mind.

"Okay," she sighed, taking his hand.

After entering the room, they slid under the covers. Clark pulled her close and buried his face in her hair. Soon they were both asleep.


When Rusty, the old crow, announced daybreak, Clark jumped from the bed. He must have slept too well because he'd forgotten to sneak back to the nursery. He crept softly down the steps to the second level, attempting to get there without being discovered. When he reached the last stair, his father stepped from his parent's room.

Clark's cheeks flushed at his father's pointed look. "Uh, morning Dad." He gestured to the stairs behind him. "I was just… sleepwalking?" he attempted.

Jonathan successfully hid his smirk behind a stern parental expression. "Clark."

Clark shrugged. "Yeah, sorry. That was bad. But nothing happened. Honest."

"So, you're going to tell me that you just talked?"

Clark's head bobbed as he nodded emphatically, then slowed when he realized that the motion probably made it look worse.

Jonathan's eyebrows rose. "Well, since you're already up, you won't mind helping me mend some fences, will you?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, No. Um, I'll be glad to help."


Lois pulled her jacket tighter around her and climbed the steps to the loft. She shook her head as she took in Clark's profile as he stood gazing through the opening that served as his window. It was just like old times.

She stepped up next to him and ran a hand along the surface of his old telescope. "We need to talk about last night."

Clark turned to face her. "I'm sorry... I should have left earlier," he offered, guiltily.

"That's not what I'm talking about," she said, her eyes meeting his. "It's Superman. Something happened yesterday. What was it?"

Clark smirked. She had always been able to read him like a book. "I… um, decided not to be Superman anymore."

Lois's eyes grew wide. "You what!"

Clark looked down at his hands. "I was flying around all day yesterday, and there was still more to be done. I stopped because I felt that it was time to come home, but I probably should have kept going. Did you see what the editor of the Star wrote today?"

The Metropolis Star, a rival newspaper to the Planet, had run a short opinion piece that had accused Superman of having a hidden agenda behind his benevolent acts. It urged the public to not allow an alien to have the power of authority in their lives.

The article wasn't the only issue Clark was dealing with. While he had been gone, the rest of his family had been enjoying themselves. His mother had excitedly described the pictures she had been able to take of Cole and Lois interacting on the farm. She had even shown him one photo that she'd developed the night before. It showed mother and son, asleep, with Lois's arms curled protectively around Cole. This was his family, and he wanted to be part of it whole-heartedly.

"I remembered that you said you had a hard time sharing people- and I don't want you to have to do that with me. The cape just takes all of that away. This way, you don't have to share me with the world."

Lois glared at him; her face turning red with anger. "You decided?" she spat. "What happened to the team? You remember that speech you gave me about us doing this thing together? About the team making decisions that affected the team?"

She turned and stalked toward the stairs, stopping when she reached them to turn and face him. "And the Star?" She walked back toward him, pointing a finger at him. "Why would you even stoop so low as to read that drivel? Pierson's an idiot! If you had taken the time to read the responses, you would see that the entire city is behind 'the cape.'"

She spun around and walked back the stairs. "And now you just want to quit?" she demanded, halting on the first step to face him again. "News flash, for you Kent. Superman isn't about you… or me, or Cole… he's about hope. Sure there was more you probably could have done. And that will be true every day… but there's something else that will happen every day. People will start to become more confident in doing what's right. Superman can't save everyone, but he can set an example, and help people save each other… and save themselves."

Lois went down one more step, before turned to glare. "Even after all this time- after everything that's happened- you're still looking for black and white in a world of colors, aren't you? You have to learn balance- sometimes you can fly as the boy wonder, other times you walk as Clark Kent. It's not about what Superman can't do. What ever he can do… it's enough."

She sighed. "I told you I wouldn't be the one to hold you back. If it's me and Cole that are causing the distraction- we can get out of your way." With a flip of her hair, she stomped down the rest of the stairs and out of the barn.

Clark stood dumbfounded. He had made the decision out of a desire to prove his love to her. The actual outcome was not quite what he'd bargained for. With a start, he came to his senses and sped out of the barn.

He stopped in front of her just as she reached the porch. She jumped slightly at his sudden appearance, but shook off the surprise and moved to go around him.

Clark reached out and took her shoulders. "Lois, you didn't mean that about you and Cole leaving, did you?"

She sighed and looked away from him. "No. I didn't." She ran a hand through her hair. "But you make me so frustrated!"

He dropped his arms, shaking his head in relief. "I'm sorry."

Lois stepped past him and sat on the second porch stair. "You don't get it. I used to think that love was about sacrifice. All I knew to do was to put what I wanted aside so that I could make sure that the people I loved knew that I loved them. That's what I did for Lucy, for my father… for Cole… for you. But I've started to understand that I was wrong."

She looked up and extended a hand, waiting until he took it before she continued. "Love is not about sacrifice. It's about compromise. No one person should be the one to give all- and no one person should be the one to take all. We've got to meet somewhere in the middle if this thing is going to work. If I were to accept you giving up your powers, or giving up the suit, I wouldn't be accepting all of you. I don't like to share- but I'm willing to share you… a little bit," she added with a smirk. "Because I love you."

Clark gazed into her eyes. He didn't know what to say.

Lois smiled softly at his expression. "Yes. I love you. There's no telling what's going to happen, and how it's going to affect us as a family- but for now, the fact that I love you, and you love me- that's enough. We can work out the details later…"

Clark bent down and halted the rest of her speech with his lips. He was still worried about how Superman would change their lives, but felt that they could work that out together. The kiss broke and he moved to sit on the step behind her so he could wrap his arms around her from behind.

Lois pulled something from her pocket and reached over her shoulder to hand it to him.

Clark pulled the wedding band from her hand and looked at her with a perplexed expression. "Why are you giving this back?"

Lois shifted her position so she could see him. "So that you can ask for real."

Clark smiled and slipped the ring into the pocket of his jeans.

Lois frowned at the action. "Aren't you going to ask?" she questioned, surprised. "We're having a moment, here… in case you missed it!"

Clark turned her back around and placed his chin on her shoulder, so they could gaze out at the fields together. "I'm going to ask. Just not yet."

Lois was appalled. How dare he make her wait? "And what if I don't want to say yes by the time you get around to it?"

"You'll say yes," he replied confidently.

Lois elbowed him. "Well, you can forget about the benefits of this arrangement until then."

Clark laughed and pressed a kiss against a special spot behind her ear. "We'll see about that."


Clark's parents smiled at one other as they approached the house. Cole was walking in-between them, holding tightly to their hands as he jumped over imaginary pits in the path. They were returning from an afternoon walk, and Martha had her camera hanging around her neck. She had gotten a number of great shots of her favorite three-year old model.

Winking at her husband, she released Cole's hand and lifted the camera to her eye. Zooming in she took a couple of snapshots of the couple sitting on the porch steps. The image of Clark nuzzling against Lois's ear as she playfully swatted him away was too good to pass up.

Cole noticed the two and shot away from his grandparents, running to take his place on Lois's lap. He still was a little bit clingy after spending so long away from her. Lois laughed as she scooped him up, and soon she was fighting off the affections of both of her men, as Cole had decided that he needed to kiss her, too.

Martha had finished a second role of film by the time they all were ready to go inside for hot chocolate.



tbc