Title: Unmasked

Author: Nadia Mack

Rating: K

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

Author's Notes: Thanks again for the feedback; your continued interest is what makes each chapter coming. Someone once asked if I knew how long this story was going to take, but I think saying so just takes away the anticipation. I'll try not to keep this going too long though, because I may run into the trouble of dragging the story, and I detest stories dragging. Constructive criticism is welcomed, and 99 of you are pretty honest and great on that front so thank you. I hope you like this next chapter, I have a habit of converging various canon into my stories, so perhaps you'll catch some of them. They're everywhere.

Chapter 8: Smallville

Frustration.

Undoubtedly, Lois had plenty of it. Nobody but her seemed inclined to hate the circumstances that have her traveling on a bus to a small town ironically called Smallville. Between the flight and the bus drive there, all she could see was endless fields of corn. How anyone could live here is beyond her.

Lois sighed; her thoughts getting the better of her while her two other companions remained blissfully unaware of her troubles. Jason sat in the middle, with Lois by the window seat and Clark by the isle. Clark was gracious enough to switch seats with her both times, and she's reminded back to their past and how easily it is not to be angry with him too long.

Fortunately, Jason was having a great time, doing nothing but talking to Clark about almost everything. To Lois's continued surprise, her co-worker had a lot more to say than she was ever used to him hearing. Every question her son asked, Clark took it head on knowledgeably with an easiness that seemed devoid whenever they were at the office.

Clark was soft-spoken yet earnest. Excited about answering Jason's question yet patient. Even the stuttering tendencies that normally described Clark Kent are gone.

Lois wondered momentarily what has become of her colleague until she brushed it aside, wondering herself why she was curious. Her growing interest with the farm boy wasn't helping her at all fix her fractured and confusing life, and continuing on those train of thoughts will only lead to further complications.

Then her thoughts drifted back to Richard. After she revealed her true relationship with Superman the night before the meteor shower, they were both careful not to bring it up again. After tiptoeing over the subject for the past several years, she knew he needed time to adjust, and a part of her believed that one of the reasons he supported the idea of her going to Smallville was to get some space between them.

Lois truly couldn't blame him for that. In her heart, she needed the distance as well. As much as she didn't want to hurt Richard any more than she already has, her greatest fear was her son, Jason, and how he would absorb the changes in his life if it came to that.

When he was born, she reluctantly enlisted her father's help throughout her pregnancy. The doctor that watched after her from the beginning all the way through Jason's birth and then his subsequent stay at the hospital afterwards served in Lois's family for a couple generations.

Lois knew if there was a doctor to trust, it was Dr. Stevenson. As soon as the first set of blood work came, she urged him to keep his findings confidential, and it was only when he first took a look at them that he finally succumbed to her request. Dr. Stevenson never asked for the truth, but she had a feeling he knew, and Lois was grateful all the same for his discretion.

In the end, he was a doctor, and his focus was solely to ensure the health and survival of mother and child.

Suddenly, her son's voice pushed her out of her thoughts.

"Look mommy! It's Smallville!" His arm was outstretched and his smile was as cute and wide as can be as he pointed to a sign a close distance away. Welcome to Smallville. The Corn Capital of the World!

"That's great, sweetie," she replied, hoping her feelings on this assignment didn't expose itself in front of her son.

Jason turned to Clark; his eyes were filled with excited wonder. Clark understood his anxiousness, and grinned at his reaction. Lois tried to ignore the looks that passed between her son and co-worker. It left her still amazed at how well Clark responds to children. It was a different sight of him, and it made her pleased in spite of her protests on the subject.

By the time Lois, Clark and Jason arrived at their hotel, the establishment was already booked to capacity. Smallville, Kansas was suddenly the place to be. Lois fumed, making Clark and Jason duck out from behind her to watch from afar. The front desk clerk was going to get it and neither of them wanted to be near Lois Lane whenever she's on fire.

"What do you mean we're not listed? We made reservations!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Lane, but you're not listed here. It's possible that in your end – "

Lois cut her off venomously. "The Planet doesn't make mistakes. If we could make a flight out here, and then a ride out here, then there should not have been a problem getting a motel room here!"

Meanwhile, Clark pitied the young woman behind the counter. She looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. He knew what that was like, it happens to him all the time at the office, but scarcely when he's Superman.

"Mommy's upset."

Clark stuffed his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels as he watched Lois giving the desk clerk the 3rd degree. "Yup!"

"Can't we stay with you, Mister Clark?"

All of the sudden, Clark dropped his head and stared at Jason surprisingly. It never occurred to him that he could actually bring Lois and Jason to the farm. His mind was so set on the assignment and getting to spend time with Lois and Jason that he'd forgotten all about his childhood home.

Clark hesitated. "I don't… I'm not sure, Jason."

"Why not?" Jason replied sadly, and Clark wondered if that's how his face used to look like whenever he couldn't get something from his mom and dad when he was little. Jason had this puppy dog eyed look that was practically impossible to refuse.

"Um…" Clark cleared his throat, and when he thought about it further he really didn't have anything else to lose. His mother was still in Montana, and his spaceship was buried beneath several meters of dirt. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea. "I'll go ask your mom."

"Yes!" Jason replied excitedly.

"No!" Lois said angrily. "You're going to go back into that system, and find us a room. I don't know how you guys do things here in the country, but in the city, we always – "

"Excuse us," Clark interrupted, grabbing a hold of Lois's arm and turning her around. The desk clerk sent a thankful smile his way. "I have an idea," he said almost cautiously.

"What?" Lois asked, annoyed by the disruption. If she couldn't get a room, she would at least satisfy herself by giving the hotel staff a terrible time; and worry about their rooming situation later.

"My house is not too far out of town, you and Jason are welcome to stay there with me, and you'll have all the privacy you need unlike here," he pitched with remarkable ease. "Besides, this place is filled with enough out-of-towners, you and Jason would probably be more comfortable away from here anyway."

Lois didn't know whether to be angry or thankful for his intrusion. Behind her steely gaze, she didn't really want to deal with all the things associated with motels and the protocols that go with it, especially when other reporters and various other folks are cramming up the place. Inevitably, Clark's offer seemed like heaven.

"Okay, you win," she decided, her pride cracking. "We'll have to go right now, though. It's been a long day, and I want to make sure Jason gets some food in his stomach and take all his medicine before we proceed to the disaster sites."

"Fair enough," Clark smiled, and it caught Lois off guard because it lacked the goofiness she normally saw it with.

Shaking her head, Lois reached out for Jason, and he skipped along happily, grabbing a hold of Clark's hand again like he did at the office. Lois couldn't shake the feeling of comfort and familiarity the mere sight of it gave her, and that, frankly, didn't set well with her. She has enough problems to deal with.

When they pulled into the driveway, the sight before her was exactly what Lois Lane has pictured farm life to be. The stone dirt road. The crusty red barn. The wooden fences the separated the farm from the fields. Even the yellow golden retriever that came running out of the house didn't surprise her.

"It's a dog!" Jason yelped excitedly. He unbuckled his seat belt as soon as the car came to a halt and quickly exited the vehicle.

"Jason, sweetie!" Lois called after him. "Be careful!"

"Don't worry, Lois. Shelby won't hurt him."

Lois quirked an eyebrow as she unbuckled her own seat belt. "Shelby?" Clark offered to drive but she insisted on doing it herself. Unbeknownst to him, it helped her from thinking of anything else other than driving and the assignment at hand.

Clark shrugged. "My mom named her after her childhood dog. I couldn't argue."

Lois chuckled, and he was glad of it. "You never cease to surprise me, Kent," she admits absentmindedly, stepping out of the driver's seat. Even if she didn't make her comment out more than what it was, Clark was thrilled by the compliment. They were too few and far between.

"Nice house," Lois observed.

"Thank you." Clark personally let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the farm was unharmed by the meteor fall. Ben Hubbard's family had told his mother that the farm was still in tact, and in turn, she told him, but the worry didn't fade until he finally saw it with his own two eyes.

At the front porch, Lois and Clark could hear giggles of laughter and they looked back to see Jason playing wildly with Shelby, the Kent family dog. "Look, mommy!" Jason yelled for his mother's attention. "He listens to me!" Jason said 'sit' and the dog sat.

The two adults chuckled at the memorable scene before them. Lois had been allergic to dogs when she was a child, but outgrew it when she grew older. She worried Jason would have the same affect so she and Richard made it a point not to bring any pets with fur home for Jason. She was relieved to see that her one allergy didn't get passed onto her son.

"Let's leave the bags here for the moment," Clark said. "I want to show you around the house, and maybe even make something for lunch. Are you up for sandwiches or spaghetti?" Then he realized… "Can Jason eat spaghetti?"

Lois couldn't help but smirk at him.

"You can actually cook?"

Clark smiled, and then nodded sheepishly. "I'm all right," he replied, becoming not at all comfortable with the sudden attention Lois was giving him. He led her up the front steps and opened the door.

"And don't you lock your doors?" she inquired, her mind taking in every detail. It's a work hazard that comes even at the most inopportune moments.

"We're a small town," Clark said, giving the only answer he could.

"Right." Lois was proud of herself, she didn't roll her eyes. She glanced back to her son, who was far too occupied making new friends than to notice her.

"He'll be all right," Clark assured, holding the door open for her as Lois smiled graciously.

She didn't know what to expect as the afternoon wore on. From the moment they drove into Smallville, Lois knew that they weren't going to get any solid work done immediately, so they decided to take a few hours off in the afternoon, starting with lunch.

"Mmm…" the smell of freshly cooked spaghetti sauce invaded her senses. "All this time, I didn't even know you could cook. If I had, I would've taken advantage of your culinary abilities years ago," she commented, helping to set the table.

Clark wished he could've showed her years ago as well, but he squashed his feelings of regret quickly. He wanted to avoid spending the next two days in his own private pity party. He just wanted to appreciate the time he gets to spend with Lois and Jason, even though his heart breaks that neither knew just how much this weekend means to him.

"Is this you?" she asked, picking up a framed photo of Clark when he was a kid after she set the last plate down. It was the first time she ever got to see him without his glasses on, and his smile oddly reminded her of someone else's. "You look very handsome." He must've been at least four years old in the picture.

"Uh… yeah," Clark answered a bit shyly. "That was taken after my parents brought me home."

Lois looked at Clark confused by his answer. "What'd you do, break a leg?" she asked with a grin.

Clark laughed, and Lois reluctantly decided that it looked really nice on him.

"No, actually, it was taken after they adopted me."

Lois's mouth fell slightly open at the fact she wasn't aware of. "You're adopted?" she questioned further, something she's been avidly doing since they started this whole trip. When he nodded, she felt an awful sense of disappointment in herself for not knowing something so important about him. "We've known each other for years, but I never knew you were adopted."

"It's okay," Clark said, in his trademark way to appeal to others. "I barely really notice, and it's not something I talk about." He moved to another frame and showed it to her. "That's my parent's."

Early in their professional relationship, Lois has always been aware of her co-worker's crush on her. And while she never encouraged him or led him on, she welcomed his shy and often happy manner. She rarely ever saw him sad, but now she had to admit, there was a difference between appearing happy, and feeling it. Clark was really the only person she's ever met that never asked for anything in return and she cursed herself for not taking an active interest in her friend's life.

"They look like good people," she commented, looking between the husband and wife. They looked so happy. In love. Something she always said couldn't be accomplished but inwardly wished would happen to her one day.

"They're the best people I've ever known."

While Clark lost himself in the memory of having both his parents, Lois couldn't help but look closer at the man she thought she knew fairly well. When he first got back, she described her fiancée in short detail whereas she couldn't even think of even one fact about Clark. Thinking back on it, she was even more ashamed of herself and wondered why, after being so insensitive to him for so many years, did he still bother to be her friend?

Clark Kent was almost too good of a man, just like Richard White. It dawned on her now that the situation has become impossible to resolve.

"We should start eating before the food gets cold," Clark said, and Lois, after her quiet reflection, made a promise to herself to make more of an effort to really get to know Clark Kent.

After a deeper look, he really wasn't all that bad.

To be continued…