A/N: As Ethan's starting to get older, this chapter is set in season 5.

A warm thanks, as always, to my lovely readers and reviewers.


5: Birthday Boy

Clark stared out the window of his quiet apartment. Even in the late hour, the city was alive with activity and glittering lights. Sirens wailed in the distance, sharp in his ears as he tried to ignore them. Resisting cries for help or signs of city unrest was a constant struggle.

Despite moving to the big city, being confined to an apartment with a baby kept his world small. He ventured out often, and did some job hunting, but the change wasn't living up to his expectations. Not even his weekly runs to the farm eased the emptiness, though he slowed long enough to pet Shelby before leaving.

Answering a knock at the door, a stack of boxes were thrust into his arms.

'Sorry for the short notice,' Lois said. 'I'm moving in. Don't worry, it's just temporary until I find a place, but it's this or the streets. And let's face it, I would not make a good hobo.'

'It's your apartment too.' He placed boxes on the dining table.

'Right.' She checked her CDs were all there. 'Where's Junior?'

'Ethan. He's sleeping.' Clark gave her a stern look as she rummaged in a drawer for a pen. 'I'd like to keep it that way.'

Lois scribbled down notes, then stuffed it into a file. She juggled a stack of papers on her way to the kitchen to inspect his coffee options, and made a noise of disapproval.

'I heard you've been helping Chloe at the Daily Planet?' He sighed as she rearranged his mugs. 'How is she?'

'Sorry, I'm not allowed to answer that,' Lois said. 'Chloe says if you want to catch up then you need to be a big boy and go talk to her yourself.'

Her intrusion broke not only the stillness but its repetition. For months, he spent his days so focused on Ethan that he'd overlooked how empty the nights were. When his son was asleep, it's like he just stopped.

'What do you do around here?' Lois sipped coffee, pulling a face at how clean yet impersonal the apartment was.

Read books, watch cooking shows, do laundry – anything to pass the time.

'I keep busy,' he said.

'Next month's the big one, right?' She flipped through her files. 'How's the tractor cake coming along?'

Clark sat on the couch armrest, contemplating what to say. He could feel her watching him. She gave him a curious, impatient look – crumbling his resolve.

'I've been thinking-'

'Now there's a bad omen,' she teased.

He shot her an annoyed look.

'I was thinking...' he tried again. 'Ethan deserves a party – something special for the big day. I want to invite Chloe and my parents. I think it's time.' He tried to anticipate her reaction.

'I think that's a great idea,' Lois said. 'What better way to bring the band back together than over cake? And to celebrate the birthday of an adorable little monster who's not half as annoying as I thought he would be.'

'You've barely seen him since we moved here.'

'Exactly,' she said. 'But hey, since I'll be crashing here for a while, and I have a bit of free time here or there, when Chloe's not tracking down weirdos - I'd be happy to help. Not with babysitting - I meant the party. Order balloons, stuff like that.'

'Thanks, but I think I've got it covered.' Clark nodded. 'It's kind of a big deal, you know? I can't believe he's almost one already.'

'From the dozens of videos and messages you've sent me... he's already gone mobile,' Lois tossed files back into boxes. 'If he's crawling around now, I'll have to watch my keys. He's almost a little kid, and that means trouble. Soon he'll be running around and getting sticky hands everywhere.'

'He's been using the coffee table to pull himself up.' He grinned, then evaded eye contact. 'I'm sorry about the messages. I was just excited. Maybe I went a bit overboard? There was no one else to...'

'Hey, you don't need to explain,' Lois said. Her smile was reassuring. 'You're a proud dad, Clark. I don't mind.'

'You don't?'

'Actually, it's been kinda nice to take a break from the idiotic and macabre to just appreciate the little things.' She put her coffee mug in the sink. 'Seeing this little boy learning how to be a person – crawling around, stuffing food in his face... it puts things into perspective. I could do without the extra angles and zoom-ins, but keep 'em coming.'

'Yeah?' He stood taller, proud of Ethan's achievements.

She nodded. 'I think it'll be nice to have them to look back on someday.'

... ~ …

To say that Lois Lane had made herself at home was an understatement.

'Well maybe you need to get your eyes checked, if you can't read a simple police report that clearly says it wasn't an accident...' Lois tucked her phone into the crook of her neck, multi-tasking as she placed Ethan in his high chair. 'Nope. Not good enough. So how about you-?' She scoffed as the clerk hung up.

Putting her phone a safe distance away, she gave Ethan a determined look.

'Okay, look, we've got history here, kid.' She reached for a bowl of oatmeal, afraid to make any sudden moves. 'I know it's tempting to make a mess and go ape with your food, but how about we play nice and spare Lois the dry-cleaning bill today, huh?'

'Dada?' Ethan's eyes were bright with curiosity and hope. Not even Lois could stay annoyed with him when he played the cute card.

'Your daddy is...' Lois frowned, glancing round the apartment. 'He was right here a minute ago. Besides, I'm trying to prove a point. Full disclosure, I did not make this oatmeal - your daddy did. So no excuses, all right?'

The apartment door opened behind her. Clark must be back.

'Here we go...' Lois grimaced, "flying" the spoon towards Ethan.

She waited for an overexcited disaster; overturned bowl, flung spoon, or gross oatmeal rejection. Instead, he rewarded bravery with hungry co-operation.

'It's yummy, right?' Lois grinned, relief flooding her. 'Way to go, kiddo.'

Ethan clapped his hands, then glanced to her right.

'Wow,' Chloe said. 'I feel like I took a wrong turn and walked into a different dimension.'

Lois startled. 'It's not what it looks like.' She shoved the bowl aside.

'It looks like you and Clark are playing house.' Chloe observed the apartment, scattered with various blankets and toys. It was impossible to distinguish what belonged to Clark or Lois, apart from differing tastes in music.

Ethan whined, reaching for Lois.

She retrieved the bowl and set it closer, hoping he'd overturn it. Any excuse to break the uncomfortable moment and her cousin's amused staring.

Spaceships of oatmeal continued without resistance.

'Now I know why we always hung out at my place, not yours,' Chloe said. 'When you said you had your own apartment, I didn't expect you'd be keeping something like this from me.'

'Something like what?' Lois tried to sound nonchalant, turning her back as she scooped oatmeal. 'I wasn't exactly keeping it a secret, Clo. Whatever distance thing you and Clark have going on, it's none of business. I've only been living here a week.'

'Not according to your lease,' Chloe said.

She hesitated. If only Chloe hadn't caught her watching videos from Clark during lunch breaks, seen the occasional parenting book she'd scanned and tried to hide, or judged her hasty shopping choices that included baby books and cute outfits. If she denied being a part of Clark and Ethan's lives, it'd be a hard lie to sell – to Chloe and herself.

Hard, but not impossible.

'Yeah, well, it's not easy getting a nice place in Metropolis when you're a teen parent without a job.' Lois shrugged. 'Clark and Junior needed all the help they could get.'

Despite the tense moment, a proud smile escaped her when Ethan finished his breakfast without incident.

'Lois, I'm not mad at you,' Chloe said, offering a sympathetic look. 'Yeah, it hurts that you said nothing when I asked if you've seen Clark, or heard from him at all, but I know you mean well. I just don't understand why he would leave the way he did. Not even telling his parents, rarely answering my calls, and yet here you are feeding his son.'

She rinsed the bowl, shooting Chloe an apprehensive look. Her cousin shook her head. As long as there wasn't anger or judgement, it was a good sign. Chloe had fair points, but Lois wasn't an expert on all things Clark Kent.

That was hard-to-sell lie number two.

'I guess, when he said he didn't want any help from anyone, we had no idea that didn't include you,' Chloe added, suspicious. 'Where is he, anyway?'

'Here.' Clark shut the apartment door. 'This isn't Lois' fault, it's mine. I didn't plan everything – I just needed to get away, to figure things out on my own. I didn't mean to hurt anyone.'

'I know you didn't, Clark.' Chloe faced him, letting Lois off the hook. 'But what did you think would happen? Your parents were devastated. They didn't even know where you were until I tracked you down, not that you wanted to see me either. Why would you do this to them, again?'

'It wasn't like that,' he said. 'This was different. Please, just let me explain...'

'Now you wanna explain?' Chloe crossed her arms, though hostility faded. 'Okay. I'm listening.'

To avoid the awkward catch-up, Lois took Ethan to the nursery.

'Dada.' He frowned over her shoulder.

'Daddy will be right back,' she said, laying him on the change table. 'Daddy and your Aunt Chloe have just been missing their best friend. But hey, tomorrow's all about you, kiddo. I bet your grandparents are so excited to see how much you've grown. Phone calls and photos don't do it justice, huh?'

He watched her, playing with his foot, while she tried to change him into a blue outfit. Not willing to give up on his father yet, Ethan pulled a face that forewarned waterworks were the next step in his argument.

'Here.' Lois handed him a foam letter S toy. 'I promise, as soon as they're done hugging things out, you can go drool on your daddy's shirt instead of mine.'

He gave her his brightest and most trusting smile. Lois held him close, wincing as he smacked her in the ear with the toy while playing. He rested his head against her shoulder, sighing at her neck.

She could feel the drool already.

'Playing house?' Lois muttered, rubbing his back. 'You feed one impatient little monster and people assume the worst...'

... ~ …

Ethan babbled to himself, crawling fast by the coffee table to seek his yellow truck.

'He's so big now,' Chloe said. 'It must be great though, watching him learn new skills? Has he done anything... weird?'

'Weird?' Lois frowned. 'Like what?'

'Oh, you know...' Chloe shook her head. 'Never mind. What's the theme?'

There were balloons, birthday banners, and streamers everywhere. In their attempt to keep things simple, Lois and Clark went overboard to celebrate Ethan's big day.

'I'm not sure there is one.' Lois eyed the red/blue colour scheme. 'I'm just amazed Clark's lungs are still going strong.'

He was in the kitchen, going through a third packet of balloons without any sign of being out of breath. The apartment wasn't big enough for Clark to be oblivious of their conversation, or remarks about the effort he put into something Ethan won't remember, but he pretended it was.

His refusal to be drawn into conversation, no matter the topic, showed how nervous he was. Chloe was amused, but Lois understood. He wanted everything to be perfect for the first birthday he and Ethan celebrated together.

The Kents were due to arrive any minute.

Ethan crawled to Lois and raised his hands. She scooped him onto her lap without a second thought, hugging him around the middle when he leaned back. Then she shot Chloe a "stop staring at me" look when her cousin smiled at them.

'It's still hard to believe Clark's a dad now,' Chloe said. 'Ethan's the spitting image of him.' She admired the little boy's blue eyes, dark hair, and chubby cheeks.

'Except Ethan's cute.' Lois gave Clark a teasing grin.

He continued blowing up balloons, with an unamused shift in his expression.

'Is there a cake?' Chloe asked, handing Ethan his truck when he stared at it.

'Don't even go there. Do you have any idea how insane the prices are for bakery-made custom cakes?' Lois scoffed. 'I offered to make one instead... or try to, anyway, but Clark banned me from the kitchen and called Mrs Kent. It's been supply runs and tablecloths for me.'

A balloon burst in Clark's hand. Everyone jumped, and Ethan cried. Lois cradled the little monster in an effort to save her ears.

The Kents took everything in, as nervous as Clark was. He stared at his empty hands, at a loss of what to do, then hurried to welcome his parents. He wiped his hands on his suit pants, looking out of place in his own apartment.

The awkward and emotional silence was unbearable. Lois went to rescue Clark, holding Ethan out as if presenting him like the Lion King.

'Oh, my goodness.' Martha smiled tearfully at her one-year-old grandson, who wore red and blue to match the decorations. She placed a cake box on the kitchen counter to free her hands, but Ethan wasn't on board with a change of caregiver.

He wailed when the Kents approached, pivoting to cling to Lois.

'Hey, that's not- ow, ow, ow.' Lois tried to ease the toddler's painful grip.

Clark grabbed him. 'It's okay, buddy.' His voice was soothing and gentle. 'These are your grandparents, remember?' he said, as Ethan peeked at the Kents.

Lois excused herself to rejoin Chloe, not wanting to intrude on a family moment.

'He's a strong little guy,' she said, rubbing her neck. It only ached now, but was unexpected for one so small.

'Yeah,' Chloe said, watching Clark re-introduce his son to the Kents. 'Must be in the genes.'

Clark realised he'd been naïve to think he was prepared for the reunion, but refused to slip up now. He straightened his posture and eased Ethan into Martha's arms. Though reluctant, the boy soon settled in her warm embrace. It was the safest place Clark knew as a child.

It'd been six months since he saw his parents or they'd been in the same room as their grandson, yet they kept tears at bay the best they could. It did nothing to ease his guilt.

'Everything looks great, son.' Jonathan examined the open-plan apartment, with only the bathroom and bedrooms tucked away behind closed doors. 'How did you afford all of this?'

Clark wanted to believe it was curiosity, not suspicion, in his father's gaze, so he chose not to answer. Revealing he'd accepted money from Lex, even as a parting gift, wouldn't earn any good graces. Today was about Ethan. Not for dwelling in the past, but celebrating the adventures to come.

Jonathan sighed, nodding at his stern look. He placed a wrapped present on a table by the door, adding to a modest stack.

'He looks more like you every day, Clark.' Martha gushed over her grandson. 'Thank you for inviting us.'

Clark smiled. 'I may want to do things on my own for a while, but I have no intention of excluding you from his life. Ethan deserves to know there are plenty of people who love him.' He glanced round the room, including everyone with such appreciation and hope.

'Damn right,' Lois added. 'Junior's the luckiest kid in the world.'

... ~ …

A simple birthday party for a toddler went well into the afternoon. Ethan blew out his candles without help, clapping for himself while everyone sang Happy Birthday. He tore open his presents, enjoying the wrapping more than what it contained.

As the afternoon wore on, Chloe got called into the Daily Planet and had to leave. It surprised Clark when Lois turned down the invitation to tag along, though she wasn't sure why.

Enthralled by Martha's reading of an animal book she bought him, Ethan crawled onto Jonathan's lap and remained there. Clark and Lois began the party clean-up, giving the Kents space to make the most of their visit with their grandson.

'How are you holding up?' Lois nudged him.

'Great.' Clark nodded, gathering torn wrapping paper to bin it. 'I'm glad they got to see him.'

She traced the ears of a brown teddy rabbit the Kents gifted Ethan. She added it to the pile of new toys, clothes, and books.

'Told you he'd be spoiled,' she teased. 'Is this visit a one off or a regular thing now?' Lois gave him an encouraging look.

'Definitely a regular thing.' Clark nodded. 'They really missed him.' He glanced at Jonathan fixing a sock on Ethan's little foot.

She'd never doubted he could take care of his son, but was proud of how far he'd come in the past six months. Knowing the little monster would have other babysitters in his life was a relief, though they had some firm rules about not turning her into a nanny just because she lived there. And Clark insisted on avoiding hospitals, if Ethan were ever to get sick.

'I'm sorry you couldn't be there when he was born,' she said. 'It's why this party was such a big deal to you, more than just the excitement of celebrating a milestone, right?'

Clark sighed, nodding. It'd been weighing on him for a while.

'I guess it doesn't really matter if Ethan doesn't remember it.' She shrugged, untangling ribbons to keep her hands busy. 'You got to share this with him. Besides, that's the whole point of photos, right? God knows we took enough of them.'

'Lois, I never got to thank you.' Clark turned his attention to her. 'For everything. You helped me get this far – the lift to Metropolis, the apartment, the annoying yet surprisingly useful bouts of tough love, and now helping with this party and... I really appreciate it.'

'Of course.' Her eyes were wide at the sincerity in his words and gaze. She hadn't helped that much, had she? 'I wouldn't let you face this alone, Smallville. Who else would I have to pick on?' She playfully punched his arm.