Title: Unmasked

Author: Nadia Mack

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

Summary: Post Superman Returns. Behind the hero is a man longing to be free.

Author's Notes: Whew! My draft last night got lost in cyberspace, so this came a little later than usual. I can't stress this enough, but you all are remarkable. And I appreciate the comments. I will try to respond individually and I apologize in advance if I miss anyone. You all continue to be a pleasant group to write for.

Chapter 15: Casualty

The next few weeks came and went, and to her utter surprise, her co-worker and sometime partner had become curiously distant. He kept his distance as Superman as well, choosing just to hover outside his son's window instead of sneaking inside. At first, she wondered why, but then she realized that her ex-fiancé's absence from the office gave her ample proof that Clark probably knew that they weren't together anymore.

With immense effort, she had tried to ignore the changes, but this afternoon, she couldn't anymore. She had to say something.

"Hey Smallville, you have a minute?"

Clark stopped typing on his keyboard and looked up. "Of course," he replied delightfully.

"Good, because I really need to talk to you," she said, glancing at the office clock and remembering she had to pick up their son. While she had vowed to keep the knowledge of his dual-identity a secret, even to Clark, it didn't mean she had to keep all of her secrets from him.

"Uh, Lois, are you sure right now is a good time, though? Perry's got us working on all these side stories."

Lois shook her head, ignoring his attempt to avoid her. She understood his reasoning. Shortly after they broke up, she and Richard continued to talk about everything that had happened in their lives and how much things had changed. They were both surprised at the relative ease with which they were able to talk to one another about things now that they weren't together.

The future was unknown to both of them, but they had agreed to remain friends, if not for themselves, for Jason. She only hoped that she could reach this same level of ease with Clark one day. Superman was constantly needed all over the world, and while she envied people for his attention, she was proud of him too.

"This is a better time as any," she said, pulling Clark's coat from his chair. "I have to pick Jason up; we can talk on the way." She knew he wouldn't be able to refuse now, and she mentally gave herself a pat on the back for maneuvering him into her company so smoothly, with hardly any guilt about using their son to her advantage.

On the way to Jason's school, Clark cracked his knuckles for a good five minutes. After he had gone through it once already, he would do it again. Then a third time. Lois knew he was nervous about this discussion, but she couldn't hold it off anymore. She already had one secret to worry about; she didn't want to have to hide another.

"Richard and I aren't together anymore, by the way," she spoke in such a nonchalant manner that Clark's expression afterward nearly had her laughing. She stopped at a light and waited for his response.

"Oh."

Unaffected, Lois said, "I presume you already knew." It was a statement, not a question.

Clark finally nodded. "Yes," he said with a low voice.

"When did you find out?" she asked, curious and not at all angry.

Clark shifted in the passenger's seat rather uncomfortably, but at least the truth about the demise of her relationship with Richard was out. She could care less what the office thought, but with Clark, it was one less thing to worry about. Now if he could stop dwelling on the truth and fill the air between them with words, all would be somewhat complete.

"I'm really sorry things didn't work out," he said, the sincerity in his voice honest and pure.

"Yeah…" she was going to follow that automatically with 'me too' but it didn't feel right or ring true with what she was feeling. She was ashamed of herself for committing only a part of her heart to a man who deserved better. Richard, despite everything that had happened, was more than just a good man, he was perfect. He just wasn't perfect for her, and for that, she would always be sorry.

"How's Jason?"

"He's holding up," she replied, her eyes focused on the road as the topic of their son became the center of attention. "We… Richard and I… we decided to take it slow with him, you know." She could tell he wanted to respond to that, so to make it easier for him, she answered his unspoken question. "He's thinking about getting his job back in Europe, but until then, he'll be spending time with Jason on the weekends. We haven't really talked about what's going to happen to the house, and neither of us want to ignore that we actually had a life together so…"

"I understand," he said, some of his composure returning. "You don't have to tell me these things."

"But I want to," she admits readily. "And selfishly, I'm tired of keeping it to myself. I'd talk to Chief about it but he's too close to Richard… and Jimmy...?" She chuckled at the thought. "That's out of the question."

She caught him smile, it was small but it was there, and that mattered to her more than he could ever know.

They finally pulled over next to the school entrance when Jason came bouncing down the front steps. The adults could hear him racing off the sidewalk and by the time Lois stepped out of the car, her son was already wrapped in the comfort of her arms. She glanced over to find Clark watching with a wistful expression and she longed to share the happiness of parenthood with him.

Over her shoulder, Jason waved. "Hi, Mister Clark!"

Lois chuckled softly whenever she heard her son call him 'mister.' One day, when all was said and done, there would be a moment when Clark would no longer be the other man in his mother's life; he would know him as his father.

Clark returned the wave with equal enthusiasm.

"Hey, Jason!"

Jason smiled and turned back to his mother. "What are we doing today, Mom?"

"Well…" she looked between father and son and a thought suddenly sprang to mind. "There's a city fair at the park today, do you want to go?"

Jason's eyes became so wide, his mother worried his eyes would pop out. He looked so happy, and she was glad of it. Anything to lessen the pain that her son would eventually endure once he understood why his daddy was no longer living with them would help her immeasurably.

"Can Mister Clark come too?"

She saw her partner fidget in the car and her heart went out to him. How he could handle living his life like this so utterly alone is beyond her, and she hoped, with their friendship, he'd be ready to open up to her one day. Although for her benefit and everyone else involved, she hoped it was soon.

"Yeah," she answered softly, her eyes showing so much love for the little boy she and Clark had made together. "He's more than welcome to join us." She turned to Clark. "Right?"

Clark swallowed hard and then nodded his decision. "Yay!" Jason said before jumping into the back seat.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the early evening at the city fair at Metropolis's popular Centennial Park. They watched puppet shows, played games, bought cotton candy and even took a ride on a Ferris Wheel. Speaking of Ferris Wheels, as the three sat together on their swing with Jason in between, she couldn't help but watch Clark intently.

"What's turning in that head of yours, Smallville?"

His smile was endearing, and she wondered why it had taken her so long to notice its appeal. Another moment passed by before he finally answered.

"I just… I was just thinking."

"About?"

He smiled. "I used to be afraid of heights."

Back in the day, learning that Clark Kent was afraid of heights wouldn't have come as a surprise, but Superman? Afraid of heights? It was practically unfathomable at this moment.

"Really?" Jason said, speaking up before she could. "I like flying."

Clark smiled down on him with such adoring eyes. "Mm hmm, but not anymore."

"Thank God," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Clark asked, not hearing her because his attention was so engrossed in the other Lane seated with them.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I'm glad your phobia is gone."

Clark shrugged and offered nothing else, much to her disappointment. After their ride on the Ferris Wheel, Jason urged Clark to play Tin Can Alley, a game that might force the shy reporter into using his hidden athletic abilities to knock all the cans off the 18" platform with 2 bean bags. Clark believed Jason wanted to win a stuffed Superman doll so he gave in, although reluctantly.

Lois stood to the side, amused yet wondering what he was going to do. Surely, he wouldn't let his son down.

Swoosh! Lois tried to hide her laughter with little success. The toss was so wide, Clark could've knocked out somebody else's platform.

"Sorry," he said softly after he witnessed the frown on his son's face. Clark tried again, and this time, he decided to just let go and have fun. So with one quick toss, he knocked it out easily, making Jason happy.

Clark lifted him up and asked, "So which one do you want?"

Jason looked at the options for a moment before deciding. There was a teddy bear, a dragon, Batman and Superman.

"Well…" Clark waited.

"That one!" Jason pointed to the last option he would have suspected Jason to want. The Teddy Bear.

"Are you sure?"

Behind them, Lois looked on with admiration. She was so proud of Jason for his choice. Everyone knew how much Jason loved Superman, he was a constant topic of conversation for them, but tonight, being in the arms of his biological father without the worry of madmen trying to take over the world, Jason was just a normal little boy.

When they reached the next game, Lois smirked. This should be interesting.

It was the High Striker. An old time traditional carnival game where a person takes a mallet and hits the rubber level as hard as they can to try and send the dinger to ring the bell that was situated 17 feet high. It sounded simple enough, but it really wasn't. With Clark though, she believed it would be a no-brainer until somebody else spoke up.

"Can I do it?"

Lois and Clark looked down on Jason dumbfounded. "Huh?" "What?" they both said in unison.

"I wanna play," Jason said, giving them his best puppy dog look that had even the barker wanting to obey his every command.

"Uh…." Impersonating Clark wasn't Lois' strong suit.

"Please!" Jason pleaded.

"It's all right, ma'am," the barker jumped in. "We have a smaller mallet here, he'll be perfectly fine."

Lois exchanged glances with Clark but her son's easy gaze had her giving up sooner than she expected. She'd never given it a name before, but she's dubbed it the Kent Charm.

"Sure, why not," she said nervously.

"Yes!" Jason said, grabbing the mallet and going to position. Lois's heart began to beat rapidly, something that wasn't unnoticed by Clark while he stood by hoping nothing out of the ordinary happened. The extent of Jason's strength was still unknown to them.

"Whenever you're ready, kid," the barker said.

"Thank you," Jason replied politely, raising the mallet high over his head. Lois and Clark's mouth opened in anticipation, and as soon as the mallet fell, the dinger barely reached a few feet. Jason scowled at his pathetic first try but inwardly, his parents were relieved.

Jason tried again, and this time, it only reached five feet. At this point, his parents weren't worried anymore, but Jason was growing so upset that he started wheezing. Lois quickly reached into her purse for an inhaler when suddenly; Jason slammed the mallet onto the rubber level so hard that it sent the dinger on a crash course toward the ringer, almost breaking it.

Lois dropped her son's inhaler and gasped, while Clark came in and did damage control, mentioning how something must've come loose on the game as the barker looked over the apparatus with mild confusion. Jason, on the other hand, looked between his mom and friend and uttered, "I'm sorry."

"No, sweetie." Lois pulled her son in her arms. "It wasn't your fault."

Clark moved to her side and rubbed Jason's arm softly. "I'm sure it happens all the time, don't worry about it."

Lois glanced his way appreciatively while Clark could only respond with a smile. The only explanation he could think of at the moment is that Jason's powers were triggered whenever he was upset or scared. While this moment further pushed his decision to tell Lois the truth, it was Lois herself that gave him the final nudge in the right direction. It was the way she tried to protect Jason that made him believe that they really had a chance, a chance he was finally willing to take.

"Lois, I should take you home."

Lois nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." She carried Jason the rest of the way to their car when they were stopped all of a sudden by a man dressed in ragged clothing and a ski mask holding a small handgun.

"Don't move or I'll hurt you!" he said forcefully, sticking the handgun into their faces. Jason wrapped his arms around his mother tightly and she was surprised to find her neck completely intact until she noticed Clark's hands around Jason's wrists. He must've kept the pressure of her son's hold from taking her head off.

"Look, sir, we don't want any trouble," Clark said, always the calm one even in the face of death.

"Give me your keys!" he demanded.

"Lois—"

But she was already way ahead of him. "Here," she said, tossing the hoodlum her keys. "Now go."

"Don't tell me what to do, lady!" he said, swinging his handgun from left to right, aiming it between the two adults. "Put your wallets in the car!"

Lois felt her son stiffen, as if he was waiting for something to happen. She looked at Clark briefly and noted the look of concern on his face. She looked back at her son and saw his fearful look in Clark's direction, and she knew although she didn't know how, that her son also knew who Superman was.

"Do it!" the man said, pointing the gun now at their son.

"Wait, don't!" Clark interjected when suddenly; he felt the weakening affect of Kryptonite start to take hold of him. He began sweating. "No," he whispered. "Not now."

"Here!" Lois threw her purse at man. "Take it and go!" Just then, she quickly dropped Jason in Clark's arms as she kicked the purse out of the mugger's hands. The surprise in the mugger's reaction compelled him to instinctively fire. BANG! Lois closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable when she heard a soft voice.

"Lois."

She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Clark, who stood in front of her, one hand on his stomach. She found Jason just a few feet away, crying. When she turned back to Clark, he was breathing heavily, and both their eyes made their way down to his stomach. She gasped; he was bleeding, blood dripping between his fingers to the pavement as he collapsed on the ground.

Meanwhile, on the ground just a few feet away from them, lay a necklace with a green stone.

To be continued…