Title: Unmasked

Author: Nadia Mack

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

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

Author's Notes: Yay! Here comes another chapter. I had to take some time yesterday to figure things out, because I'd like to at least pretend I know what I'm talking about and I hope you can excuse some of my ignorance. Thanks again to Barbara; I'll never stop saying my appreciation for her beta-reading skills. Her advice and suggestions have been invaluable. Thanks for all the feedback once again, you all continue to astound me.

Chapter 16: Vigil

Lois sat in a chair diligently by his side. She had refused to leave the moment she had been allowed into his company. Was this how their life was going to be from now on? Watching the man she loved and respected fighting for his life for the rest of their lives? She didn't know, yet one thing she did know without a shadow of a doubt.

She wouldn't leave him.

Lois held his hand as a way to keep him near. As a way to prove that he was real. This was worse than the events that followed the incident with the Gertrude and New Krypton, and she had thought naively that something like that would never happen again. Yet even with that belief, this time it was different. Before Superman had come flying back into her life two months ago, he had only been a memory from a past she had willed herself to forget but failed to do so. The difference that lay between then and now was the knowledge she possessed concerning the man before her.

That Superman was Clark Kent.

For weeks she had struggled with her feelings. Once Lois accepted that realization that she felt more connected to Superman, not just through their son, but through Clark, made loving him even that much more powerful, more real, and above all, more confusing. But she couldn't lose him. She refused to. After everything that had happened, there was no way she was going to stand by and watch him slip away from her.

"Stay with me," she whispered to him, her eyes closing as the events of the last twenty four hours replayed in her head.

- 18 Hours Ago -

"Oh, my God." When Clark fell to the ground, Lois dropped to her knees. "Clark!" Her hand made its way to his lower abdomen, her hand applying pressure to his wound. He was losing a lot of blood and her composure was quickly leaving her. "Clark!" she said, panic escaping her voice, too shocked to think of anything else. At this moment, she didn't see him as Superman, she saw him as just Clark, normal, humble and kind-hearted Clark Kent.

"Mommy, what's wrong with him?"

She looked up at her son and saw how equally sickly he looked beyond his tear-strained face. "Come here beside me, sweetie," she said and Jason immediately obeyed. Jason moved behind her as he helplessly watched his mommy holding his friend.

"Clark," she said once more, cradling his head on her lap as he grew paler by the moment. "I… I don't… I don't know how to help you." Her tears were falling as she sat helpless, holding onto him tightly.

"Lois," he spoke out softly.

"Stay with me, Clark!" she urged, pressing harder in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. Her lips touched his forehead. "Stay with me," she whispered with a even lower voice. "Don't leave me again."

He coughed, her words registering in his mind despite all the pain. With two little words, he confirmed his suspicions, "You… know?"

She nodded, wiping the sweat from his head before removing his glasses. Even in the cover of darkness, she could see clearly into his deep blue eyes.

"Tell me how to help you," she asked him desperately. "Please."

"Kry…kryp…kryptonite."

Her mind snapped into focus as his words registered in her mind. She should've known. She looked up frantically trying to see through the darkness. "Jason!" she called out to him.

"Mommy," he responded, scared.

"I need you to do something for me, baby, okay?" Jason nodded and Lois explained. "I need you to put your hand here where mine is." Slowly, Jason reached out and placed his hand over his mother's without question when she quickly slid it away. "Now press down, sweetie."

"Kay."

"Good boy," she said, kissing him on the cheek before standing up and searching the vicinity for the rock in question.

"I don't want him to die, mommy."

Her heart broke at his quiet declaration. She didn't want him to die, either. Not now, not ever and by the time she found it, lying on the ground disguised as a necklace, her mind reeled with fear. Someone must have taken the one of the meteors that fell and used it to create this piece of jewelry. The mere thought of thieves and crooks with a piece of what could kill Clark brought out a hateful feeling inside her. It was common knowledge that kryptonite had the ability to harm him, and she cursed her inability to prevent his weaknesses from being exposed in the media.

Angrily, she grabbed it and ran a few more yards away and dropped it in a sewage drain. She turned and ran back only to find her son crying as Clark fell in and out of unconsciousness.

"Clark!" she kneeled on the opposite side of her son as she tried to wake him. "Come on, Clark!" she panicked. "Jason, I need you to call 911."

Jason shook his head, nervous.

"Sweetie, please!"

"He said… he said to call Mister Bruce."

Lois remained confused. "Who?" What she didn't see was the cell phone Jason held shakily with his free hand.

"Mister Bruce."

"I don't know who that is," Lois replied, scared of her inability to help. "Get me the phone, and call 911."

Suddenly, she felt the wind blowing all around and the loud deafening sound of something above them started descending from the sky. Lois's eyes blinked as she tried to focus on the light that was coming down on them. The helicopter landed a few feet away and it was then that she could finally see what she was looking at.

The logo of Wayne Enterprises.

"Clark!" the unfamiliar voice yelled through the loud sounds of the propeller.

Just then, Jason stood up and ran towards the stranger Lois had never met before as she continued to press down on her beloved's wound.

"Mister Bruce!" Jason jumped in Bruce's arms and whispered, "Mister Clark is hurt. Please help him."

"It's going to be okay, Jason." He set him down, and said, "I need you to sit next to Alfred in the helicopter, okay?"

Jason nodded, taking one last look back at his mom and friend before heading toward the helicopter. Bruce ran over to Lois's side and found his friend in the worst state he had ever seen him.

"Jesus!" he said. "Clark." Lois didn't know what to say or do so Bruce took the lead. "My name is Bruce Wayne, I'm a friend. We have to get him out of here."

"No, don't touch him!" she said, defensively.

"Miss Lane, please. If we don't get him help, he'll die!" he pleaded.

It was only by chance that Bruce happened to be at a charity banquet his company was holding in Metropolis when he received a frantic call from Jason. With a few words, Bruce and Alfred were out the door. "You can trust me!" he continued. Time was running out and his best friend's life was in her hands.

Lois held onto Clark even stronger until she found her eyes setting their sights on her son, who sat buckled up in the helicopter, nodding his head, a show of trust that this man, whoever he was, could help.

The flashback ended when a voice interrupted her emotion-filled thoughts. "Miss Lane."

Lois looked up and smiled at the kind butler. Alfred Pennyworth. He walked up beside her with grace and placed her tray of food on a nearby side table. "You must eat something, Miss Lane."

"Thank you, Alfred, but I'm not hungry."

"But I insist," he said with such a refined demeanor it made Lois smile. She'd known him barely a day and she found his presence comforting, like a child would feel in the presence of their grandfather. It was no wonder that Bruce Wayne kept him for company.

"I will, I promise," she said, turning her attention back to Clark who lay unconscious on the king-size bed. Wayne Manor's guest rooms were ten times far more comfortable than anything a hospital could provide, and she was secretly glad of it.

"Very well then, Miss Lane."

Alfred bowed and exited, his presence replaced by another.

"How is he?"

After the tumultuous events of the past evening, she was finally able to look at Bruce with thankful, albeit tired, eyes.

"No change," she answered softly. Holding one hand with her own while the other stroked his hair softly. "I never got the chance to thank you… for helping him."

Bruce moved closer to the bed, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "He's like a brother to me; I could never abandon him when there's something I could do to help. God knows, he's saved me more times than I care to count."

Lois smiled weakly. "Always the boy scout."

"The guy can't help himself," Bruce joked.

Lois held her chuckle and moved to an entirely different topic. "Where's Jason?"

"Reading Dr. Seuss to my daughter," he answered with a smile. "I swear; those two are becoming thick as thieves."

Lois remembered meeting his daughter briefly when they arrived. She was a shy little girl who carried much of her father's features, marking her clearly as a Wayne both by looks, and by further observation, also in demeanor. It surprised her to learn that the infamous and reclusive Bruce Wayne was a loving father and friend.

The kind of friend she expected Superman to have.

Another thing to be grateful for.

She was definitely surprised to learn that it was Bruce that had sheltered her son during the meteor showers in Metropolis. It seemed that no matter how much she thought she knew Clark now that she was aware of his other identity; he still had a way of surprising her. When the surprise finally wore off, it was easy to accept Bruce Wayne into their lives.

"How long have you two known each other?"

Bruce took a deep breath and grabbed a seat to keep her company and answer any questions she wanted.

"Since college," he said, recalling the simple things in the past he rarely shared with anyone, even Alfred. "Clark attended Met U for a couple of semesters before going out on his own. I had just finished my sophomore year at Princeton when I decided that I needed to see the world, too. We met overseas when he helped me out of a jam."

Lois wasn't surprised. With or without the costume, Clark always had to lend a hand. Another endearing trait she couldn't help but admire.

"So you've known all along?"

To her surprise, Bruce shook his head. "Not a clue at first," he admitted. "I had my suspicions that there was a lot more to my miraculous rescues than met the eye, but I wasn't really forward about it. It wasn't until I saw Superman on television for the first time that I really knew."

Lois smirked a little as she remembered the very first time Superman had rescued her.

"It's funny, you know." Bruce raised his eyebrows as Lois continued. "You were able to recognize him in an instant, while I found out by accident."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Clark never meant to form any lasting relationships when he first took the job at the Planet. It was a place for him to be close to the news, to filter out where he would be needed most."

Lois smiled knowingly; she had already figured that much of it out. "I know."

"Truthfully, I think he had made it work so well that telling you was almost impossible."

"Almost?"

Bruce wished he hadn't said anything. Before Clark had left for Krypton, he had plans for telling Lois everything. Bruce had tried to convince him not to go, telling him that he could get himself killed out there or worse, or find out they were all gone, which sadly, in the end, was what happened to Krypton.

"I'll let him tell you about it," he said instead.

"Fair enough."

"Mommy?"

Bruce and Lois turned to see Jason in a pair of Bruce's old childhood pajamas by the room's entrance. Helena was next to him, holding his hand like he was her big brother. In his other arm, Jason held tightly onto the teddy bear that Clark had won him at the fair. He refused to be parted from it since they had left Metropolis.

"Hi, sweetie," Lois responded. "Want to sit with me?"

Jason nodded.

Bruce went over to them and lifted his daughter, securing her in his arms, giving Jason the freedom to make his way to his mother. After a moment, Bruce left the family alone, giving them all the space they needed.

Lois let Jason sit on her lap as mother and son watched Clark sleep. Lucius Fox, a former scientist and chairman of Wayne Enterprises, had done all he could to remove the bullet that had lodged itself in Clark's abdomen. Lois had decided to take the risk of requesting the assistance of Dr. Stevenson shortly thereafter, but if the doctor was surprised to see Superman lying unconscious and seriously hurt, he didn't show it.

She had wondered why it was taking him so long to recover, but both scientist and doctor assured her that the near miss of the bullet to Clark's vital organs probably would cause his recovery to take a little longer than usual. That and his limited exposure to the sun might prevent him from healing more quickly.

"I don't want Mister Clark to die," Jason said, his sadness was overwhelming him. "He's Superman."

Lois tried to give her son a reassuring smile but found that she couldn't. She held onto him tighter than a life raft. They had created this beautiful boy together, and it was the one true and pure link she had to Clark that she desperately clinged to.

"He'd never leave us," she said, hoping her words held the truth she wanted it to. "You want to know why?"

Jason nodded.

"Because he loves us."

"He does?" Jason asked, hopeful.

"Yes, he does," she confirmed. "Do you want to know why he loves us?"

Jason nodded again.

"Because even though Richard is your daddy, Clark is too," she revealed softly. After tonight, she couldn't allow them to live in half-truths anymore. Not when the things she held dear were falling away from her again.

Jason gasped, but it was one of astonishment and happiness. Instinctively, he squeezed his teddy bear even tighter. "Really?" he asked so innocently, his eyes boring so intensely into hers. The same eyes as his father.

"He's your father, Jason."

Jason looked at Mister Clark sleeping and reached out to hold his hand. He smiled when he turned back to look at his mother.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked, concerned that maybe she had told him too soon and too quickly, but the gleaming look in his eyes proved her wrong.

"Now I know why I love him," Jason said.

For the first time, Lois openly shared her tears in front of her son. If Clark would just wake up, this moment would be perfect.

To be continued…