Disclaimer: I don't own Superman.

This is another filler chapter, not part of the main plot, but has important information all the same. Please review! Oh yeah, just as a reminder, Lucy Lane isn't married in my story.


Lois sat in her office, stressed beyond belief. She rubbed her temples, wishing the migraine would go away for once. Clark entered the cubicle holding two coffees.

"I though you might need some energy," he said shyly, watching her snatch and down the whole cup. She sighed and sat back into the chair.

"Oh, Clark, you have no idea how tense I am right now. Richard and I had a little fight, I mean, we got over it, but it really takes it out of me, and I had to go to a parent-teacher conference for Jason, he…" she stopped half way, obviously casting ideas around. She gave up and changed the subject.

"Hey, want to go up on the roof," she said, her face a mask of indifference, but her eyes pleading him not to push the question. He sighed and decided to appreciate any time spent with her.

"Sure, why not," he said, letting Lois drag him to the elevator. Sometimes, indifference was better than interest. He followed her to the edge of the building.

He also snuck occasional glances at her. She was so lovely, with the wind caressing her face and blowing her back. He blushed a little and looked at his hands. Would she ever love him for Clark? Would she always see Superman as her one and only love?

"You know, Clark, I think you're the only friend I can really, honestly trust," said Lois, staring out at Metropolis. Clark swallowed and nodded, feeling that little pang of guilt somewhere in his gut. It made him feel bad to hide something so big from Lois. Could she really trust him?

"No, don't say that," he managed to say, and she looked up and smiled at him. He avoided her gaze, but she didn't notice.

"Yeah, it's true. I mean, Rachel turned out to be one crazy bitch, and Richard…well, I think it's more of the matter that he doesn't trust me; not that I blame him, I don't trust me," she said, more to herself than to Clark. He felt his hair stand on end when her shoulder brushed his, but she didn't seem to notice. How could she not see what she did to him, and yet she could see it oh so clearly in Superman?

Lois looked up at Clark, who pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose self-consciously. Frowning, she reached up to take them off, cleaning them affectionately on her long skirt.

"You're such a good friend, Clark. I know I can always depend on you," she said, handing his glasses back to him. Muttering thanks, he slipped them back on. Lois leaned forward to catch his eye. When she did, she was stunned.

Clark had some of the most beautiful blue eyes that she had ever seen. Well, there was one exception, but…he couldn't possibly be…Lois blinked, reaching up to smooth Clark's hair. Clark instinctively pulled away, starting to say something, but stopping when he heard sirens. Someone screamed…someone familiar.

"I have to go, Lois," he exclaimed, turning to race down the stairs, not even taking the elevator. Lois stared after him, confused beyond belief with a killer migraine to boot.

Clark didn't even waste time unbuttoning. He just tore off his clothes and rocketed out of the building at top speed. He blasted into the air, leaving a whirlwind of dust and wind behind him.


"Look! Up in the sky! It's Superman!"

People were calling his name all over the city. As he shot by the bridge, he heard multiple exclamations, all of which were lost to him right now. This wasn't the time to bask in the publicity, not that he ever did.

He reached the building before the fire truck did. There, he saw his house, the house that wasn't even his, completely and utterly consumed with fire. Without a second glance, he shot into the building.

The rooms were filled with smoke and flames. Wood covered in fire tumbled everywhere, and Clark heard the floorboards beneath him groan under his weight. He instantly levitated an inch above the ground as he ran through the house.

He remembered that Richard was here, too. His uncle Perry had given him the day off, and it was being spent with Jason, babysitting him for Lois.

"Richard? Jason?" he called, searching everywhere. He was frantic and ready to tear down the walls to find his family. He was about to leave the room when he heard a faint cry.

Whipping around, he scanned the room with his X-ray vision to find two figures crouched behind the sofa. Zooming over, he lifted the coughing Jason and the unconscious Richard over his shoulders. Then, he flew out the bay window to touch down safely onto the ground. Jason looked like he was having trouble breathing. Clark noticed, with a sickening drop in his stomach, the inhaler clutched in the tiny hand.

"Please! He has asthma," he told the firemen, reluctantly handing them his son. He then handed them Richard. He turned to notice the police dragging two struggling boys to the cop car. Filled with rage and terror for his only son, he felt like no matter what he did for the world, they always paid it back doubled with hatred. Sometimes he wondered if it was worth it. Then, he looked at Jason and knew it was.

"He's going to be okay. I'm not sure why, he…he shouldn't have been able to survive that fire with asthma…but he's okay," said a fireman, handing Jason to his father…his father meaning Clark, not Richard.

Richard walked over, scared but okay. He smiled at his friend.

"Well, that was definitely one of the scarier moments in my life, not including the ones that have that have something to do with villains aiming revenge at you, where I'm the bait. Note to self, avoid all contact with Superman," teased Richard wearily, patting Clark on the shoulder.

"On the other hand, I suppose it is an advantage having you constantly watching out for the kid," added Richard, ruffling Jason's hair. Jason nodded tearfully and clung to Clark's neck.

"Hey, do you mind if I talk to Jason for a bit?" asked Clark, and Richard shrugged.

"Sure, but I won't cover for you. Lois is going to be furious when she finds out that you didn't come to her first, and I don't want to get in between that," he said, grinning. Clark thanked him and flew off, Jason hugging him tightly.


After a few minutes of flying, the noise and commotion of the city faded to a faint hum, and Clark flipped onto his back, with Jason sitting on his stomach. He appeared to have recovered from his incident of terror fairly well. He was still a bit pale, but that was okay.

"So, how's school?" he asked, and Jason smiled. Clark loved to spend time with his son. Every moment counted.

"It's okay. I got an A in science and an A minus in math, but I got a C in gym," said Jason, frowning.

"Well, I assume you'll get better at it. Did you make any new friends?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. He wasn't much of a people person when he was younger, maybe Jason wasn't, either.

"Yeah, there's this girl, Katie, she's nice," said Jason, leaning over to look down at the water. It was so far below them!

"Can we go faster?" asked Jason, his eyes gleaming with hope. Clark laughed and shook his head.

"No, I don't think so; at least, not until you're older," he said, flipping over and flying back towards the house. Jason laughed, stretching his arms like a bird. Flying was fun.


Lois stood outside the building, waiting. She was terrified when she heard that their house had caught fire, and had raced over. Of course, nobody was there, and she started panicking until she saw Richard.

"Richard? Richard, where is he? Where's Jason?" she demanded, her motherly instinct overriding her good sense. Of course, it was obvious where he was, but she needed to hear it. If she didn't…

"It's alright, Lois, calm down. He's with…with Superman," he finished, unable to say it. No matter how convinced he was that it was true, he could never call Clark Jason's father. He would always be Jason's father, no matter what. Lois seemed not to notice his internal struggle.

"Ooh, that Superman, when he lands, I'm going to shred him. I don't care if he's made of steel or if he's made of cotton…that man dies," she hissed so venomously that Richard actually recoiled. Lois hadn't relinquished Jason willingly since the ship accident, and she wasn't likely to now. She searched the skyline, waiting for it. Finally, there it was. A distinct blue splotch in the sky, and something small and brown…Jason's brown jacket!

She waited. It could wait until he landed. Once Superman's feet touched ground, she stomped over, the fury and passion that had made her a star reported and could bring the man of steel to his knees crackling in her eyes. When Superman noticed her, a guilty look shadowed his face, tinted with mild amusement that infuriated Lois.

"You…you…you think you can just fly off with my son, right after a fire, and poof away to happy-flying world without telling his mother?" she raged, every word making the son of Krypton cringe. She smacked his shoulder, wishing that she had a nice chunk of kryptonite right now.

"We need to have a talk, Superman, and you better not put this off," she snarled, snatching Jason from his grip. Clark smiled mildly as he watched her storm off, not a single reporter daring to stand in her way. That was the woman he fell in love with. Suddenly, a cry for help reached his ears, and he flew off with a sigh.


Less than ten minutes later, he reappeared onto the scene, straightening his tie. He even managed an amazed cry.

"What happened? My house!" he yelled, pushing through the crowd to find Lois standing in front of the burned building, looking forlorn.

"Some crazy teenagers started this fire. I'm just glad Superman managed to save Jason and Richard," she said despondently, staring at the remains of the house. Clark tried to see anything worth saving in the ashen pile, but saw nothing. Richard frowned.

"You guys can stay at my uncle Perry's, with me," he said, trying to think of a way to fit them all in the house. His uncle was fairly rich, but preferred a smaller, cozier dwelling.

"No, we couldn't, but thank you, Richard," said Lois, thinking hard. Suddenly, she remembered something about her sister, Lucy, moving to Metropolis.

"Clark, would you mind terribly if we stayed at my sister's house?" she asked. Clark looked at his hands unhappily.

"Well, no…I mean, no, I don't mind, not no you can't…not that I could stop you…not that I want to, I mean," he stuttered, and Lois smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"And by we, I mean all of us," she said, and Clark looked considerably more cheerful.

"Oh…well, alright, then, I guess, until I can get back on my feet," he said, grinning a little, and Lois laughed. Was this some big plot? To destroy whatever house Lois lived in so she would be forced into the streets? 'Well, I better warn Lucy," thought Lois, laughing a little. If anyone was going to burn down Lucy's house, it was going to be Lucy.


"Are you sure it's okay? I mean, are you sure?" insisted Lois, and Lucy groaned again.

"Yes, I'm sure, Lois, its fine. Seriously, it's okay! Honestly, it's like you want me to say no," grumbled Lucy, leading her sister and family into the house. It was small, smaller than Clark's, but it was well-furnished and mildly neat.

"You're staying in the guest room, Lois, Jason is in the game room, there's a twin bed in there, and you…" she pointed at Clark and hesitated, thinking.

"I'll stay on the pull-out couch?" he suggested humbly, pushing his glasses up with the tip of his finger. Lucy nodded, and then stopped.

"Wait, how did you know it was a pull-out?" she asked, staring at him. He gulped and shrugged, not liking the spotlight.

"I've seen the model before…somewhere. It was at a furniture store," he said, hoping it would be bland enough to work. It wasn't.

"I got that couch when I was on vacation in Hawaii," she said, and Clark did some super-fast thinking. It worked, and a thought popped to mind.

"Really? I went traveling, too! I was actually gone for the last five years doing some soul-searching," he said, and Lucy laughed and her hand flew up to her chest.

"Oh, that's amazing! You were in Honolulu, right?" she asked, and Clark nodded eagerly, relieved. "Yeah, I found the most original bits of furniture there, and I just couldn't help it, I had to have the set."

"Aunt Lucy, is it okay if Muffy stays here, too?" asked Jason timidly, holding the leash of the half-grown puppy. Lucy knelt next to Muffy and scratched her pointed ears.

"Why, sure, Jason, I don't mind dogs at all," she reassured him, standing up and taking Lois' bags.

"Okay, the guest room is down this hall, I'll show Jason where he'll be sleeping in a minute, and Clark," she said, turning to face him, but he was gone. Looking around confusedly, she noticed Lois sigh.

"He does this a lot."


Clark circled the globe, searching and searching. He had just stopped a tsunami from hitting the east coast of Japan, and decided to think up a good excuse while he looked for Rachel Jennings. It was odd, it seemed like she was never around when he looked. Being super fast, he could search every nook and cranny of the earth in record time, which he tried to do every night, but he couldn't seem to find her. It was almost like she disappeared from the planet!

Lucy unpacked the results of their shopping trip and paid the babysitter. Lois had been very, very reluctant to leave Jason at home, but couldn't deny that she needed some time for herself. As a result, Lucy had taken her shopping, convincing her that she needed more clothes. All of the clothes that she had owned were burned in the fire, and she couldn't wear Lucy's clothes forever.

"Okay, we got groceries, we paid the babysitter, and we got clothes…"said Lucy, checking off the items on her fingers. "But where's Clark? I haven't seen him all day, ever since I was showing you guys to your rooms!"

Lois shrugged, and right then Clark walked in, looking breathless and rumpled. The two girls stared at him.

"I…I forgot something at work," he admitted, wriggling a little under the double stare down he was receiving.

"And so you decided to run there?" asked Lucy, bewildered. Clark paused, realizing that he left his car in the driveway, and then nodded. Lucy was sharp. He had to be careful around her.

"Clark, why didn't you just take the car?" inquired Lucy, and Clark looked around desperately.

"I felt like I needed a workout. You went shopping?" he changed the subject swiftly, and the girls didn't seem to notice. Lucy excitedly showed him everything she had bought. She was much different than Lois, Clark perceived. Pretending to be interested, he let her carry on for a while.

"Yeah, listen, I'm kind of tired, I think I'll go to sleep," he said, not even needing to fake a yawn. He was tired, but he wouldn't be sleeping. He would wait until the others were asleep before he left to fight crime. Lucy and Lois nodded, dismissing him from the kitchen to the living room. He left wearily. Lucy shot a mischievous glance at Lois.

"He's kind of cute. Can I have him?" asked Lucy, and Lois felt an odd sensation, like when she and Clark had that waitress that kept hitting on him. What was that feeling again…oh yeah, envy.

"No, Lucy! Leave poor Clark alone," she snapped, and Lucy pulled back.

"Geez, Lois, do you want him?" asked Lucy skeptically. Lois thought for a moment. She was in love with Superman, not Clark, wasn't she? And Lucy was her sister; she couldn't do that much damage. Reluctantly, Lois shook her head.

"No. He's fair game," she said, hating the way she said it. Lucy always considered unmarried guys 'fair game,' and Lois hated talking like that. It didn't seem right. Lucy grinned and headed off to bed, winking at her older sister. Meanwhile, Clark was secretly listening from another room, flattered but deeply hurt.