NOTE: Hey guys! You are all so awesome! Thanks for your positive feedback and here is chapter 11. I kind of made this 'visit' sound really, extremely important but don't get your hopes up. It's more of a routine visit :). This a bit of a filler chap. I'm afraid but necessary like all the rest. Enjoy!
Mr. Firenze: Thank you! I feel bad for Richard too.
Angel452: Richard's feelings about this whole thing are coming up soon...
Nightcrawler8: Ah, here is the visit though maybe not what you'd hoped :). Thanks for the review!
queequeg1013: First of all, have no fear! I completely agree with you and you don't have to worry about Richard being told about Clark/Superman at all. I really would not want to do it that way. If I had Lois find out on 'accident' I certainly would not have Richard just be told about it. I don't even know if he'll ever know actually. Thank you for your concern and for the feedback. Those were very kind words about my pacing, characters, and clear purposes. Thank you so very much!
1eclecticreader: Wow, thank you so much! You were very encouraging and inspiring with your review. I'm really glad you were so touched by the stuff going on in the story. That's exactly what a writer loves to hear :). And yes, I believe Grandma Kent will show up sometime...eventually...lol. Thank you again.
The Kiss of Death: Yeah, I liked the Jason/Clark stuff. It was fun to write. Mr. Luthor will show up in the sequel to this story (yes, I'm going to write a sequel once this is finished...whenever that is :)). Thank you!
Nette: Wow, thanks! It's so very nice of you to compliment my writing :). It makes me want to keep writing lots more!
Thank you very much to everyone else who reviewed: Jedi X-man Serena Kenobi, skinnyrita, Maddi-B, and Sunny2006. You guys rock!
Clark did not have to be told that Lois and Richard were separated. They arrived at the Daily Planet at different times and barely exchanged a 'good morning' when they happened to pass close by each other. The open wound was evident and needed time to heal.
He walked close to Lois's desk, and she lifted her head.
"Clark," she said a little too earnestly. "How are you today?"
"Doing pretty well. How are you, Lois?" A gleam of concern shone in his eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses.
She sighed with a morose smile. "Okay."
He lowered his voice. "How's Jason?"
"He's fine for now, but it's hard to tell. This is a lot for a five year old."
Clark pursed his lips and saw the dark circles under her eyes when she turned her head. He was worried the stress had taken its toll.
She noticed his anxious scrutiny and lowered her head. "I'm fine really."
"I hope that's true. If you need anything…I'm only a few feet away."
"Thanks, Clark." She stopped him when he began to walk away. "Could you…could you maybe…come over tonight?" He agreed to. "Jason would like that," she hastily added.
"Just Jason?" The tone of his voice was knowing and prodding.
Lois shot him an exasperated look. "No, I would like you to come too. I would really appreciate it, not just for Jason."
He smiled at her as Clark Kent again. "I'm glad. I'll see you tonight, though I don't know when exactly."
"Jason, we're having a special visitor tonight."
His head popped up from the book he was reading. "Superman's gonna be here?"
"Yes. He likes coming to see us," said Lois.
He grinned and continued in his book, his head buried in the pages.
Lois set down the papers she was perusing and stood at the window after pulling back the drapes. At first all she could see was the reflection of the living room: Jason on the floor with his feet kicking in the air, the two lamps illuminating the room in warm light, and her with the light crowning her head. She actually looked at herself and saw the lack of sleep beneath her eyes.
"Jason, let's go outside on the porch."
She bundled him up in a warm coat and grabbed one herself, the tan one she had worn to see Superman in the hospital. It hit her knees as she descended the stairs. They sat in the patio chairs. The evening air was cool and fresh, smelling faintly of water and fresh-cut grass.
Lois could not stop the heavy beating of her heart as she anticipated his coming. Even after all they had been through and shared, she still got a thrill when he was around. She found herself stealing glances—or long looks—at work now that she knew he was there. It was going to take some time to get used to seeing him as Clark Kent and Superman because he was both men, not just one.
Will we ever be able to have a normal life? She laughed softly at herself. How can you have a 'normal' life with Superman? What really itched at the back of her mind was an idea she hardly wanted to consider. Marriage. Richard and she had been engaged, yet she never let it go further because of the loyalty she still felt to her love for Superman. Would she and Superman ever consider more than occasional meetings when he wasn't off helping others?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Jason hopped out of his chair and walked in the grass. His face was lifted up to the sky and his lips were parted in concentration. Lois rose from the porch chair, her fingers slipping over the smooth surface and her jacket rustling against the plastic.
His cape stilled and his high red boots landed noiselessly in the grass. His tempered gaze slid over them both with his welcoming smile that often graced his handsome face.
"Hey, Jason," he said. He met Lois's gaze when she stepped off the porch. "Hello, Lois."
"Hi," said Jason. Awe and admiration glimmered in his gaze. He looked up at his father like he so often had to do.
One day, thought Lois, he won't have to anymore.
He gradually came forward and hugged Superman with his little arms. Superman lifted his son into his arms and drew closer to Lois.
"How long can you stay?" she asked.
"As long as you want."
She smiled and reached out to touch his cheek. "If you stayed that long, people would think you were gone again."
He laughed. "Well, then I'll figure that out later."
Jason fingered his crimson cape and stared in wonder at the suit that had so captured his imagination. But now he was beginning to see. It was not the suit that made the man or the legend; it was the man who made the suit. The pure, giving heart of Superman was what burned his legend into time itself. Who could dislike a man who sacrificed his safety and his life for the world?
"Are you all right here by yourself?" Superman asked Lois. He had looked into the house and saw Richard was gone.
"Yeah, I did it before. There's not as much to worry about now that you're back."
"Good. I'm glad to be of help…especially for you."
"Thank you, Superman." Her voice was layered with amusement. "What would I do without you?"
"Life would just be dull, I'm sure. Of course, how could life ever be dull for the intrepid Lois Lane?"
She shrugged. "Probably not. I have a knack for getting into trouble."
"Yes, I know that too well. It seems every time I approach the most dangerous or harrowing situations in Metropolis area, you're there already. Anything for a good story right?" he joked.
Her eyes settled on Jason who was falling asleep on Superman's shoulder. "Not so much these days. It's hard, but it's worth the price." She brushed hair out of her son's face. He really had fallen asleep holding onto his father. It sent a wave of warmth through her.
Superman was gazing down at his son. "I'll put him in his bed. You can stay here." He floated up to Jason's window, opened it, and placed him snugly under his covers.
Lois crossed her arms over her stomach and admired the evening scene. Metropolis glittered in the darkness like a beacon of hope and reflected in shimmering ripples on the river. Superman settled beside her.
"It's beautiful," she murmured. "But even better up in the air."
A slow smile from him melted her heart. He laid out an open hand. She hesitated only an instant before slipping her hand in his.
"We won't leave him long," he assured her.
"I know." The simple phrase had come to mean a lot to them. What she really meant was "I trust you."
Lois awoke from one of the most fitful rests she could remember. She lifted her head from the plush pillow where morning sunlight had pooled in golden puddles. She stretched her legs and started to get ready to go to work. She was buttoning her pale blue blouse when her memories of the previous night returned.
Superman had taken her high into Metropolis and on the top of the tallest building. There they listened and watched as their beloved city prepared fore a restful night. But Lois knew it would never be completely tranquil for him when he could hear everything.
"Is it hard for you?" she had asked, leaning against him. "To be here where you hear things…"
"Sometimes. But I know you like being in high places like these. How can I be unhappy when you're happy?"
She entwined her arms around his. "I still can't believe you would take me back after all I did to you."
"Love is selfless and forgiving. And you didn't do anything wrong. I understand perfectly well why you moved on. I didn't exactly handle things well with leaving out of the blue."
"I never told Richard, but one of the biggest reasons I took up with him so quickly was because I found out I was pregnant." Her head dropped. "I was afraid what would happen if people thought Jason was your son. You do have enemies…" She gasped as she remembered something. "Lex Luthor knows about Jason."
Superman had then turned to face her. "What? How…Oh. The piano. I may have to look for that scheming villain before he shows up again with another plot to make himself rich. It only makes things worse that he knows."
"Now you have two weaknesses."
"Three. There's a good chunk of kryptonite somewhere in the ocean off the coast. Pieces anyway. Not all of it stayed on the main land when I lifted it away. Lex knows that too."
"Then we should let someone know since you can't do anything with it. I'll talk to Perry maybe," she said.
"I may just go to higher powers for that myself."
Lois laughed at herself. "I always forget how much of a celebrity you are and that you have so much sway."
He looked at her seriously again. "But that will never change being with you or how much I care for you."
Lois's mind returned to the present as she was sliding her feet into her shoes. She could not help but smile faintly at the memory of the stolen kiss when he brought her back to the house.
And I can go to work and see him almost every day. But she was sobered by the next thought. And I can't show any affection whatsoever or treat him any different…
That seemed to touch upon a distant, hazy memory that she tried to recall. It wouldn't come. Why are there so many things lately reminding me of things I can't remember? Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me like last time.
NOTE: Coming soon-Lois and Clark get assigned together at the Daily Planet, and they have a run in with a man with a bad temper...
