Chapter 10: After the Storm
The sun was just beginning to rise over the great city of Metropolis, and across the bay from the city, Lois sat on the small patio in front of her house, facing the water as she watched the city come to life. Last night had been more than she could handle, and she was grateful that Clark had arrived to take care of their very distraught son. As she sat in one of the chairs watching the city, Lois took a cup off of the table to the right of where she was sitting and brought it too her lips. She drank in the coffee, letting it warm her up and help wake her up.
Last night Jason had slept with her, and a few times she had woken up to his thrashing about, and his cries. His little heart was broken, and she hated herself for letting that happen. Richard was gone now, a decision he had made once he realized what Superman had been about to do. Somehow he realized that Jason needed his father with him, and even though Richard had been there for him as a father, he was willing to give that up for the sake of their little boy.
Standing just a few feet away, Clark watched Lois as she took a drink from the tan mug she held in her hands. He had spent all night flying around the world helping people, because that had been easy for him. The one thing that hurt him the most was that he couldn't seem to help the two people he loved the most, Lois and his little boy. "Lois," he called out, managing not to startle her. He was wearing an old worn pair of jeans, and a flannel shirt which was unbuttoned over a white t-shirt, and on his feet he had on an old pair of old Canvas High-tops.
Not having the strength to get on her feet, Lois nodded as Clark walked over to where she was sitting. She noticed that he was dressed in a casual outfit, and had to admit to herself that she liked how he looked. "He's still asleep," she said as Clark sat down beside her.
"I was wondering how you were," he said, knowing by the pained look in her eyes that she wasn't well.
"Tired, angry, confused," she said as she set her coffee mug down before she finally mustered up the strength to face him. Lois didn't blame him anymore for his return, though she was still angry that he had wiped her memory of their time together.
Clark tried to find the right words to say, but there were none, and when she turned away from him to look out over the bay, he reached out and took her left hand in his. For a moment he was sure she was going to pull away, but instead she gripped his hand and for a while they sat there quietly looking at the place where it had all started for them.
It seemed like hours later, when both of them heard Jason's small voice call out to them from the door to their left. Again Clark was surprised when Lois kept her hand in his, and watched as their little boy walked over in front of her. For a moment Lois let go of his hand and then, once Jason was settled on her lap, she reached out and took his hand back.
Much later on that Sunday, Superman landed on the wooden pier just in front of his mother's house, and in the blink of an eye he was wearing the same attire he had worn when he visited Lois that morning. Without a pause, he walked through the grass to the cabin door hearing without the need for superpowers the jovial laughter inside. Hearing his mother laugh brought a smile to his grim face. Clark knocked on the door, and a moment later his mom was there hugging him. When they parted he could tell she was trying to read his current mood and then at once she was pulling him into the house. Clark greeted Ben before he left the house to go out to the store and get some supplies, and when he was gone he let his mom lead him to the sofa close to the fireplace, which had a warm fire to keep the cabin heated, along with the central heating and air unit.
"Now, I know you have something on your mind," Martha said as she sat across from her son on another couch. Clark visited her so seldom, and the past few times he had been here to visit her, Martha could tell he had been struggling.
"Richard stopped by the house last night, and on top of that Lois and her parents had an argument which upset Jason. I was on my way to look in on them when I picked up the sound of something breaking, and when I landed not far from the house, Jason was running blindly down the street." Clark stopped as he recalled trying to hold Jason as he struggled against him. He wasn't sure if his son had known how hard it had been even for Superman to hold him still. "When Jason is angry or upset his powers are present, that is why Lois and I agreed that he should know about me," he said watching as a look of concern passed over his mother's face. "He has a wisdom about him that defies his age mom, and I think it comforts him to know that all of this that has happened to him, well he knows he has me," he said as he sighed and leaned his head back.
Getting up from the sofa where she was seated, Martha walked over to her son and took a seat to his left, on the beige colored couch. "When you were just a little boy, when we first found you, you were already able to do things. That day when we found you in your ship, your father was fixing a flat tire on his truck when the jack slipped out from under it. The back end of the truck seemed to lift off the ground on its own, and then both of us looked, and there you were holding it up with this proud grin on your face."
"How did you keep my powers a secret?" he asked, needing to know so that he and Lois could help keep Jason protected.
"After that day you never really showed your abilities, although there were times, when like Jason, if you were afraid or angry, you could do some pretty amazing things. I think Jason needs to know that you will help him, and that it is very important that he keeps his anger in check," she said as Clark nodded his head. She thought of other times Clark's power's had manifested and then decided they had talked enough about that for today. "Ben and I have both agreed that you should bring Lois and Jason here to spend the Holidays."
The change of topic was a blessing, and Clark thought about that. "I don't know, getting her away from work, well it may be easier now, she's having a really hard time with all of this as well as Jason, let me head back home and I'll let you know."
December arrived, and with it the hustle of the holidays. Lois was back at work, and Jason back at school, and Clark tried to find time to talk to her about his mother's offer, but work took up both of their free time. It was the second week of December, just before lunch when Clark finally caught her, and managed to get her to go out to lunch with him.
The small café close to the planet served the best Club Sandwiches in Metropolis, and as Clark took a bite if his, he noticed that Lois hadn't even touched the Garden salad she had ordered. "Lois, I was kind of wondering what you and Jason were doing for Christmas this year," he said getting straight to the point.
For the past 10 days, Lois had been trying not to think about Christmas this year. Jason had also avoided the topic and hadn't even mentioned Santa, which was unlike him. "I haven't really thought anything about it," she admitted as she stabbed a peace of lettuce with her fork and brought it up to her mouth.
"Well, I was thinking maybe you and Jason could come to Montana with me to my Mom's house. She has been after me to invite you over so that she can meet you and Jason," Clark said watching as Lois thought that over.
Usually, going away from Metropolis didn't appeal to her, Lois liked her life here and her work, but now with the thought of having to face Christmas in the house she had spent five years in with Richard, Montana suddenly sounded really good. "If she is sure she wants the munchkin around, then I guess we could manage that, when do you want to go there?" Lois looked up at Clark and saw the joy in his eyes, and something in side of her began to warm.
"I don't know, when does Jason's school let out for the holiday, maybe we could go a few days after that." When Lois agreed, Clark couldn't help but smile, and noticed that she wasn't looking as sad as she had when they arrived at the Cafe.
Lois had just tucked Jason into his bed when they both felt a breeze blow through his open window, and then Superman was floating in. Lois had turned to the window to watch him come in, and then she turned back to her son, and kissed him goodnight. "I love you," she said as she walked toward the door.
Once Lois had gone, Superman walked over to his son's bed and knelt down. "How was school today?" he asked. By the time Jason's school had let out, Superman had flown to Italy to help workers there who were trying to fix up one of the oldest buildings in a small town not far from Florence. The work had been something he needed, and a pleasant change to going after criminals, or cleaning up after some sort of disaster.
"I don't like it there much," Jason admitted.
Hearing that concerned him a little, and when he asked Jason why, his little boy looked away from him. "Jason?"
"I don't like it there because I can't do all the things the other kids can. I still have to use my inhaler, and I shouldn't because I'm like you," he said as he again looked at his father.
Superman could see the hurt behind his little boys eyes, and when he reached his hand out Jason held onto him as he had several times in the past, pulling his hand to rest against his chest. "I don't know when or why you have so many things that hurt you like your asthma, but you may have to wait until you're older before they will go away," he said.
"When I'm big as you daddy, can I fly?" Jason asked with hope replacing the pain that had been in his eyes just moments before.
A smile spread across Superman's face, and even though he wasn't sure what Jason would inherit he couldn't deny him something to give him hope. "I think so, you stay here for a moment," he said as he stood up.
Jason turned onto his left side, resting his head on his soft pillow. A yawn escaped him and he rubbed his eyes. He was very sleepy, and his eyes were starting to close when his father walked back into his room and knelt down. Without a word, Jason found himself held cradled in his daddy's arms, and the little boy pressed his right cheek against the left side of his chest feeling safe. He shut his eyes for a moment feeling warm and safe, and then felt a cool breeze on his left cheek. When he opened his eyes, and looked straight up he could see the stars, and when he looked a little to his left and down he could see the entire city of Metropolis far below him. Jason didn't feel one bit of fear, because he knew that the arms holding him would keep him safe, and when he looked back up he saw a smile on his father's face.
Superman took Jason a little higher in the sky than he had with Lois, using his hearing to monitor Jason's heart beat, making sure that he could endure this altitude. He stopped his assent standing up in the air as if his feet had ground to touch even though they did not. "What do you think?" he asked as he pressed a gently kiss to Jason's soft head of hair.
"Everything is very small," Jason said, amazed out how tiny things were. Even when his Daddy Richard had taken him in the sea plane, he had never been up so high "Daddy, can we go into outer space?" Jason asked looking into his father's eyes as they gazed back down at him.
"Only when I'm sure that you can handle that. I don't think your body is quite ready for such a journey," he said as he began to float down toward the city. Superman flew toward the other end of the city high above the tall buildings so that no one would see him holding his son, and by the time he floated into Jason's room, the small boy was sound asleep in his arms, and Lois was waiting for them.
Lois stood by the door and watched how gentle Superman was with their son. This man could move mountains, stop earthquakes, endure bullets and missiles being shot at him, but he also had such a gentle touch, especially now as he laid their little boy down in his bed. She heard Jason call out a sleepy no, and observed Superman as he placed kisses on both of Jason's cheeks, telling him that he wouldn't be far away. That seemed to give Jason comfort, because he turned over on is right side, and was fast asleep.
For a few moments, Superman stood watching Jason sleep, realizing that he would never grow tired of seeing him. He was also aware of Lois behind him, and as he turned around he saw a smile on her face. "Thank you for letting me share that with him," he said as he closed the distance between them.
Lois looked up at him, seeing the man she was beginning to fall in love with all over again. Once, not so long ago, Richard had asked if she loved Superman back when it all began, and Lois had lied to him. She had not done it out of spite, or to be mean, but to protect her heart, because it had hurt so much when he had gone away, and had not told her goodbye. Those thoughts haunted her even now, and when she looked away from him she felt his hand gently tilt her face back up so that they could see one another.
What she was thinking about to make her turn away from him, Superman knew it likely had to do with his time away. That night on the roof when he had come to her at the Planet, she asked him, "How could you leave us?" At the time he thought she had meant us, as in the world, but now he knew that she had been referring to Jason as well, and he regretted that. Holding the right side of her face gently cupped in his hand and without any doubt of what he was doing, Superman closed the small distance between them. He took her lips in a gentle but demanding kiss, inhaling the sweet scent of the perfume she was wearing, and tasting her as her lips parted under his own. Slowly he ended the kiss, drawing away as he kept his hand where it had remained. Her eyes were closed, but she was now fully aware of everything he had taken from her.
In a blinding flash she remembered everything, even the parts he had left out the first time he had kissed her to let her remember. Lois felt her heart race as the images ran through her mind, and with them, she felt the ache of loss during those times when she knew he would be away. When she opened her eyes he was watching her and she didn't know what to say. "I guess I know why you didn't want me to remember everything," she said, feeling suddenly cold.
"Now that you know, what do you want us to do?" he asked softly very aware of his son sleeping not far from where they were standing. Jason was sound asleep, though Superman was keeping a listen for any signs that he might wake up.
"I want to go with you to Montana, beyond that I don't really know," she answered honestly. When he reached for her she went willingly into his arms. She knew how hard it would be for them to have a normal life, but Lois also knew that the greatest things worth having in life were those that you sometimes had to fight for, and now she would do just that.
Long moments after he had gone, and after they shared another kiss, Lois stood watching Jason sleep, he was so much like his father, and she had never regretted having him, even when she wasn't sure if Superman would ever have the chance to know that he had such a wonderful little boy for a son.
Back in her room, Lois knelt down by one of several book shelves against the far wall, and pulled out a photo album with tiny pink and blue flowers on the cover. She took it over to her bed and after propping her two pillows against the bed post she sat down on the firm soft mattress, drawing the burgundy comforter over the lower half of her body.
Lois opened the album and tears sprang to her eyes as she viewed the first photo taken of Jason two days after he was born. One of the nurses had snapped a shot of him in his incubator, and it was hard to see him among all of the wires attached to his tiny body. Lois pulled that photo out and put it on the bed, and then turned past the first few pages which were all of him in the hospital.
On the forth page was a picture of him in his infant seat, wearing a yellow sleeper that was way too big on him. Jason had still been on Oxygen then, and in his tiny nose were the oxygen prongs that had been a life saver for him. Lois also saw the box next to his infant seat which they had put on the coffee table in the Living room the day he came home, and remembered how for the first two months they would on occasion wake up to the loud alarm, telling them that he had stopped breathing. The alarm always did its job to alert Jason and get him to take a breath, but that had always frightened Lois.
For the next two hours, Lois spent time pulling the pictures of Jason's first few years out of the albums, and once she had all she wanted she reached over to her bedside table and opened the top drawer. She dug around with her right hand until she found a box of large envelopes and took one out. She put the photos, at least fifty of them, into the envelope, and tomorrow she would go to the craft store and get what she needed for Clarks present this year.
High above the world, Superman was again in a standing position with his eyes closed. He had filtered through all of the noises and was listening to the steady breath of his sleeping son, and also the steady breath of the woman he loved. He wasn't sure how he and Lois would make things work, but knew now that he could no longer remain a passive observer in her life. He wanted to be there for her and for their son, and what ever sacrifices he would have to make along the way he was willing to make.
A very long time ago his own father had said the words which he repeated to Jason the first night he had gone to see him after Lois told him the truth. "You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son." Superman opened his eyes as he thought about those words, and would strive to raise Jason the way his own earth father had.
As that thought passed through his head, he heard an alarm and screams and for now he was needed by the people of the Planet earth. He spun around and flew faster than the speed of light toward a small town in Indiana, where someone's home had just been broken into, and Superman was ready to do the job he had been born to do.