NOTE: I'm glad you guys like it so far and special thanks to those who reviewed! I like the end of this chap. so I hope you do too. Enjoy! (and please tell me what you think!)
UPDATE: I fixed all the chapters after watching the movie again today. Some of the dialogue is now more acurate and I took a small piece out of this ch. because it did not work yet. Just thought I'd let you all know.
Thousands gathered in the streets of Metropolis near the hospital where Superman lay in a state of unconsciousness. There were even those who had traveled from around the world to show support for their beloved hero. Everyone waited in hopeful anticipation as his life lay in the balance.
Many were there…except Lois Lane. She sat slumped in a chair at the Daily Planet office with her head in her hands. Once more she did not know what to do. Superman was alive, but would she let him live again inside her heart? And the biggest question of all: would she let him be a part of Jason's life and tell him of his son? Her usual high spirits were not so high for once just like the time when Superman flew right out of her life for a few years. So intertwined with her heart was he that he tended to lift it or bring it down in hard tugs.
She also couldn't escape from him since his situation was plastered all over the TVs.
Richard laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She truly appreciated him and even harbored some love for him, yet it would never be the same. He had been there when Superman was not and, most importantly, for Jason.
"I'm ready to go when you are," he said.
"Where else would I be?" She knew it sounded stupid as soon as it came out.
They both looked up at the TV screen.
"Can we go, mommy?" Jason pleaded quietly, his large blue eyes—his true father's eyes—looked into hers.
"I'll drive," said Richard.
Lois had seen the mass of people standing outside the hospital and filling the streets, but it still did not fully prepare her for the sight in person. I wish he could see this.
She took Jason in her arms and wove her way through the crowd after leaving Richard in the car. Jason gaped at the heartening sight, and his eyes followed the height of the hospital building up to a high window. Lois wondered if that was where Superman was.
The police standing guard stopped her until she told them her name and they recognized her.
One of the men smiled and stepped aside. "Go right ahead, Miss Lane."
She was escorted into the elevator and down the halls. She was not prepared to see him like this. He had always been strong and healthy and helping others. Now he lay stripped of his suit in a hospital bed with white linens pulled up to his chest and propped up on pillows. It was quite the blow to her heart. She was holding Jason's hand and he strained his head back to look up at her.
"Mommy, is he going to get better?"
"I sure hope so."
"I want him to. I like him."
The tone of his small voice made her smile. "Me too."
She released his hand and went to stand at the bedside. Jason's big blue eyes wandered the room till they fastened on the blue and red suit laying across the hospital room chair. It drew him forward like walking into open arms.
Lois leant over Superman and started murmuring what was on her heart.
"I wanted to tell you that…" She glanced over her shoulder. Jason had paused when he heard her, his hand still feeling the large 'S' on Superman's suit, so she leaned even closer. Her lips were by his ear and her cheek nearly against his.
"I wanted to tell you that Jason isn't Richard's son. He's yours." She lingered near his face and pressed her lips against his. Though there was no response, Lois looked up at the vitals monitor with a sliver of hope that somehow it might revive him; but she laughed softly at her own girlish fantasies. She stroked his brow and jaw line before stepping back.
"Come on, kiddo."
But as she moved towards the door, Jason ran up to the bed and planted a sweet kiss on Superman's forehead. Feelings of joy and sorrow joined inside her to see their son unknowingly care for his true father.
Richard waited until they were home before talking to Lois alone or even at all. She had been unusually quiet the entire way from the hospital, continually glancing back at Jason. Jason hadn't really said much either now that he thought of it.
Lois seemed in a daze as they got out of the car and entered the house. She wandered into the dining room and sat in one of the chairs. Richard hugged Jason and sent him to go play. He sat beside Lois.
"How is he doing?"
She did not raise her eyes to his face. "I think he's going to be okay."
"Well…that's good. He did save our lives."
She nodded and waited a long moment before speaking again. "I'm sorry Richard, but we're going to have to talk later." Her eyes were finally on his. "But thank you for taking us." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
The night was cool and breezy with the stars blooming in the heavens beside a brilliant moon. Jason was fast asleep in his bed with his small body wrapped in the blankets. But he did not rest unwatched.
Standing in the shadows tall and silent was a figure of serene majesty. Superman looked upon his son, and his eyes welled with unshed tears of joy, true joy. Here was his precious child, his own blood mingled with that of his beloved. How could he feel alone now when he knew his son lived loved and surrounded by a good family?
He drew closer to where the dim light seeping through the door fell upon his finely chiseled face and knelt at the bedside.
"You will be different. Sometimes you will feel like an outcast, but you will never be alone. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine." A soft smile on his lips was only a glimpse of the happiness bursting within him. "The son becomes the father, and the father the son."
He stroked Jason's head and rose to his feet again with one last study of his son's face. In the next moment he was gone and the curtains were stirring in the breeze from the open window.
"Why the World Needs Superman."
The black words stared at Lois from the screen of her laptop. I owe him this at the least, she thought. I was a fool to scorn him when all he's ever done for me is protect me, save me, and love me. I need to write this for myself and all the world as well.
She closed her eyes and recalled the night she flew up above the city with him. "You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one."
She hoped he could forgive her. But he already has. And that was what tore her apart. There were two men who loved her: the one her first love and son's true father and the other her comforter and a father who was really there for her son.
Superman and she seemed destined to be together from the beginning. He was a charismatic, gentle, noble man loved by the world and not even human. She had had a son with him because of how much she dearly loved him; although, that whole situation was still a bit fuzzy. She had never stopped loving Superman even when Richard came along.
Yet Richard was real and had always been there. He came into her life when all was hopeless and dim, and took Jason under his wing. Of course, he didn't know he wasn't really his flesh and blood, but Lois knew he would still love Jason just as much and care for him when he found out.
When he found out…
She had to tell Richard soon even if she waited to tell Jason.
Lois knew Superman would show up again soon, so she stood outside at the water's edge still in her work clothes. He hadn't shown up the night before, but he had good reason as he continued to save the world.
She was just about to go back inside when she heard the flutter of his cape and his usual greeting.
"Hello, Lois."
"I hoped you would come," she said, watching him glide over the water and land on the grass.
He smiled. "How could I not? All that I love most in the world is right here."
She bit her lip and crossed her arms over her stomach. "I put Jason to bed early, so I hope he stays there so we can talk."
Superman regarded her with a questioning expression.
"And Richard is busy right now with a story he's working on."
He nodded and moved closer. "Then I'll be forward and tell you something. Lois, if I had known you were pregnant, I never would have left you. Never. The things that I missed will forever haunt me, and I want you to know that I am sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone…"
She shook her head and interrupted. "No, it's past now and we shouldn't have to look back on it every time we're together. I forgave you a long time ago."
"But I missed the birth of my son! I missed him growing up."
"And he still has quite a few years to go, and you're here. He's still barely five."
He looked out over the placid waters. "Are you going to tell him?"
"At some point I have to…and I want to. He should know who his true father is. And there is something you should know about."
Superman looked at her with an intense gaze.
"The only reason I didn't know for certain Jason was yours until recently was because of an incident on Lex Luthor's boat. He threw a piano through the air at one of Lex's men."
His eyebrows rose.
"As a baby, he was sort of sickly, and he has had asthma since except in that moment. Is that…normal? I thought a child of yours would be, well, like you."
Superman's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "I wasn't always this way, Lois. I didn't gain full potential and knowledge of my powers till I was a teenager. So Jason will most likely show only small signs until he's older as well." He frowned. "Richard will have to be told soon."
"I know. I will tell him."
They had grown close together in the last few minutes, and Lois suddenly realized just how close. She was looking up into his face, and he was gazing down at her with mixed emotions churning in his eyes.
"It will all come together," he murmured. "Don't worry about anything, Lois. What is best for Jason is what will be done."
"Thank you." Did that mean her having to put aside her love for Superman? Could Jason handle the turmoil of losing Richard and gaining a sometimes-there father? He's only five though. "You can come and see him whenever you like. For now though, you may have to do it when he's asleep since I'm not sure how long it will be till I tell him."
"I'm sorry you have to go through this," he said. As she looked up at him, he leant down to kiss her but stopped and sighed. "Good night, Lois."
