Sharks

July, 2019

Lois brought the red blanket up over herself and her daughter as they watched television in the living room. A bowl of popcorn between them, Callie munched away as the animated movie she had seen numerous times was about to conclude. Clark was out on patrol for the night, so this was their "Girls Night In" in matching cupcake pajama sets. However, Lois was starting to slumber during their party.

"Mommy, you can't go to sleep yet!" Callie said tugging at her mother's sleeve.

Lois blinked her eyes furiously to stay awake. It had been a long day at work, interviewing the mayor then looking into some research on a story of smuggling at the ports with Intergang and still waiting for her source to be in touch with her. But for her daughter, she tried to remain vigil.

"I wasn't asleep, I was just deep in thought thinking over what we just watched."

"You were?"

"Sure." She lied.

"What were you thinking about?" Callie asked, genuinely curious. She felt like she could talk about her favorite movie forever.

"Uh, well, Hercules was this guy who didn't know where he belonged and he... went the distance."

"He became a real hero because he loved Meg. I like that part."

"Yeah, she's the best one."

"It's my favorite."

"I know since we've watched it like a million times." She said, turning to tickle Callie.

Her daughter squealed with glee and giggled.

"What do we do next?"

"Sleep?" She suggested.

"No!" Callie cried. "I want to have a real slumber party like what the big girls do!"

"I guess we can just watch something else."

With her hands in the air, Callie celebrated, "Yay!"

She took control of the remote, working it like second nature. She filtered through apps and then to the cable and different stations.

"Look, Mommy! Your favorite!" Callie exclaimed as the highlighted channel showed the title Jaws.

Before Lois could grab the remote back, Callie had already pressed the button to turn it on. The movie was already in progress, Chief Brody running toward the water telling everyone to get out and a stampede of people clamoring back to the beach. When Lois had managed to get the remote, a woman was calling out "Alex" and a torn deflated raft washed up in red tinted water. Lois turned it to the next channel, which happened to be a cartoon movie.

"Why did you change it?" Callie asked. She was excited to share watching one of her mother's favorite movies.

"Because you're not ready for that yet."

"But I'm five!" She said, holding up her hand, five digits dancing "I'm a big girl now. I can watch it."

"Not tonight."

Callie pouted, not wanting to be treated like a child. She could handle watching the movie. She didn't understand why her mother thought differently. She snuggled under the covers again and leaned against her mother, laying her head on her lap. The blanket draped over her head like a hood. She closed her eyes, defeated.

After some time, Lois peeked over the blanket to check on her daughter. She saw her eyes closed and breathing evenly. Thinking Callie had fallen asleep, she turned the channel back to Jaws . The movie had moved along to the bridge scene. A woman was screaming "Shark!" toward the pond and Brody running because his son was there.

Callie opened one eye and recognized the bridge in the background. They had visited it when they had been on Martha's Vineyard. Her mother had even jumped off of it, her father saying he would catch her if he needed to. That had been a fun day, she recalled

She knew the movie was about a shark, but that was really all she knew about it. She watched intently as a man ran, the music getting louder and faster, making her just the slightest bit nervous. There was a fin moving the water, hitting a small boat and thrusting another man into the water. The face of a scared boy was on the screen and then the shark popped up as the guy was on his overturned boat.

Callie gasped, which resulted in her mother moving and the blanket falling over her face, missing the rest of the scene but hearing the screaming.

Lois, hearing the gasp, realized her daughter was not sleeping like she had thought.

"Callie Kent, are you awake?"

"No." She heard from under the covers.

Lois turned the channel again and whipped the blanket away, revealing her daughter's guilty face.

"Hi." Callie said with a small wave.

"Callie, you can't watch this movie."

"But…"

"No, buts." Lois said firmly.

Callie's lip started to tremble and she hung her head low, her eyes looking up at her mother.

Lois rolled her eyes. "That's not going to work on me, kid."

Callie's face straightened and she relented. "Fine."

She was once again disappointed. She did admit that scene had made her nervous, but she reminded herself she was five now. She had seen scary things before and they hadn't bothered her. Why would her mom not want her to see a movie about a shark? How bad could it possibly be?

As an hour passed, Lois could feel sleep starting to take over again. She tried to keep her eyes open, the animation of Scooby Doo on the screen flashing before her. She moved the empty popcorn bowl and checked again that her daughter was actually asleep.

Just as Lois nodded off, Callie started to wake up. Again thoughts of the movie she couldn't watch swam in her brain. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but she reached for the remote. The movie was still on and almost over. Wanting to prove how brave she truly was she switched it back.

The scene on screen showed a man in a cage under the water. The music started again and her heart started to race along with it. Then, all of a sudden, the shark appeared and hit the cage. With every ram of its nose, she jolted backward. Her eyes were wide as the shark attacked and kept attacking. She then threw the covers over her head, but continued to listen. By the time her head reappeared to look at the screen there were two men on a boat, water flooding it. Out the water came the shark and she jumped. It was massive! The boat dipped and then men lost their grip on each other. The shark's giant mouth opened wide as one of the men slid towards it. His leg entered and the shark chomped down. When he screamed, so did she and then dove back under the blanket.

" Aaaaaaaah! Mommy !"

Lois was startled awake from the combined screams and Callie's deathgrip on her.

"What? Callie? What happened?"

She recognized what was on the television and quickly turned it off. As soon as she had done that Clark had flown into the room, panicked.

"What's wrong?"

Callie trembled under the covers, still holding on to her mother. When the blanket was peeled back she saw the concerned faces of her parents.

"Callie? Are you okay?" Her father asked.

She shook her head.

Clark looked up at Lois, concerned. He had been on patrol and could hear his daughter's heartbeat increasing. When he heard her scream he sped home.

Lois, holding her forehead with her hand, was feeling a mixture of anger and sympathy at the situation and her daughter.

"She was watching Jaws."

"What?!" Clark yelped. "Lois, she's not old enough…"

Irritated, she replied, "I know she's not! I told her not to! She turned it back on when I fell asleep!"

Clark turned to his daughter. "Callie, is that true?"

Callie nodded sadly. Clark sighed, wanting to reprimand her, but also seeing the fear in her little blue eyes.

"Why would you do that?"

"Mommy watched my favorite movie and I wanted to watch hers."

"And I told you that you weren't ready." Lois said, pointedly.

"I thought I was brave enough." She sniffed back some tears. She realized she had made a huge mistake. She wasn't brave at all. Sandwiched between her parents, she was comforted by their presence. She felt safer and sniffed back more tears. She didn't want to cry.

"Let's get you to bed." Her mother said. "Girls' Night In is officially over."

"Forever?"

Callie's downcast expression tugged at Lois' heart.

"Not forever."

As her mother sat up, Callie was carried from the living room to her bedroom. Her father, alongside the both of them, rubbed her back until she was laid down on her bed.

Lois brushed back some hair from Callie's forehead and gave her a kiss.

"We're going to have a long talk about this in the morning, young lady. Until then, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite."

Callie's eyes widened at the word bite . When Lois realized this she added, "But there won't be any tonight. No biting whatsoever."

Clark, shaking his head as the poorly chosen words, kissed Callie's forehead as well. He brought the covers up and said, "Sweet dreams."

Callie stared at her father, standing tall in his Superman suit. The light from the moon came in from the window and cast a glow on him, especially the S on his chest. While she knew her mom was tough, she was happy that her other hero was there to protect her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and just kept picturing their image in her mind.

As Clark closed the door, Lois paced in the hallway, her head in her hands.

"Lois…"

"I know. I screwed up. Why didn't we parental lock that thing? Ugh. I can't believe she pulled a Lois on me. I'm Lois! I should expect these things!"

"Lois…" He tried to interject.

"When she screamed my heart stopped. I can't believe this!"

His voice was more forceful as he tried to get her attention again, "Lois!"

"What?!" She hissed, tears in her eyes.

He grabbed her shoulder. "She's okay."

Lois shook her head and continued to ramble. "She was so scared and I didn't prevent it well enough. She first pretended to be asleep when I had it on. That was my first red flag and I didn't think… I knew this would happen. I'm surprised it took me this long. You even thought I let her watch it. So, you expected it, too!"

Clark knew what words she was alluding to and grabbed both shoulders to look at him, deep into his eyes.

"Lois, I would never imply that you're anything but a wonderful mother and you know that."

"But, I should have…"

She had started to turn, but he shifted her back to him. "Hey, it could have been anyone. You, me, my mom. You told her she couldn't watch it and she's smart enough to know not to, but she made the wrong decision. Just like you've said to me, stop blaming yourself. We'll talk to her in the morning."

Clark pulled Lois into a hug and she reached around and held him tight, her arms getting tangled in his cape.

"I thought we had more time until the rebellion years." She mumbled into his chest.

"She's not rebelling. She just made a wrong choice. I can understand that. I know I made wrong choices growing up, too, thinking I knew better than my parents. Even as an adult."

"Present company excluded, of course?" She asked, looking up at him.

He smirked. "Present company most definitely excluded. You were the right choice and my parents even thought so." He brushed back some of her hair back behind her ear. "The only wrong thing I did was not realize it sooner."

She shrugged. "You weren't ready for me yet."

"Probably not."

"I just think about how I was growing up." She sighed, thinking about how many times she defied The General.

"Different circumstances, Lo. And Callie was just trying to act older and thought she could handle it. Now she knows she was wrong. It's normal."

Lois chuckled under her breath as the book-nerd side of her husband surfaced.

"Okay, Dr. Spock."

Clark smiled at her nickname. "Let's go to bed, hmm?"

"Aren't you still on duty?"

Clark looked at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was 4am.

"I'll keep an ear out."

Lois nodded into his chest. "Okay. Bed it is."


4:27am

Callie's eyes snapped open. As hard as she tried she couldn't sleep. Her eyes bounced all across the walls and ceiling of her room. They landed on a strange triangular shadow and she swore it looked like the open mouth of a shark. It started to move and she flashed back to the man being gobbled up in the movie.

Throwing the covers off of her she grabbed her stuffed bunny and ran for her door. Her breathing picked up as she raced down the hallway for her parents' room. She opened their door slowly and saw them asleep in the bed. She climbed up and landed right in the middle of them.

Both Lois and Clark awoke at the new presence on their mattress. Lois was counting their lucky stars that Callie didn't walk in on them doing anything, like their game of "bed shark". That would have been a whole other issue to deal with.

"Callie, why are you in here?" Clark asked, rubbing his eyes

"I thought I saw something." She whispered.

"Saw what?"

"A shark."

Lois closed her eyes and sighed. She was afraid of this.

"Honey, there aren't any sharks outside or inside your bedroom." She said, trying to dissuade her paranoia about the sea creature.

"How do you know?"

"Because they don't live on land." She answered with logic.

"But what if it's a new kind of shark?"

"Callie…"

"It could be!" The little girl pressed.

"Sweetie, there's nothing there." Clark chimed in.

"But how do you know?"

"Because Daddy has x-ray vision and he checked. Right, honey?" Lois' eyes pleaded with her husband to follow along.

Clark nodded his head, jumping on his wife's thought process. "Exactly. All clear."

"Okay." Callie sighed.

"Now, let's get you back to bed." Clark said, about to lead his daughter back.

"Can I stay here? Just for tonight?" She whimpered. She knew that if a shark did come her mom could kick it and her dad could punch it into the sun. She definitely wanted to stay with them.

Lois and Clark looked at each other. They caved and nodded in affirmation to her request. She smiled and snuggled in between them with her bunny. The parents sighed as they tucked her in, with full acknowledgement that allowing her to stay could be opening a can of worms and just one night could grow to more if they didn't figure this situation out quickly.

The next morning, Clark and Lois had sat down with Callie and had a long talk. They reaffirmed that she knew right from wrong and even if she felt brave to do something, she needed to make the right decision with what her parents have taught her. She apologized and asked if she was punished. The fear she felt was punishment enough in their eyes.

Feeling as if they had squared away the problem, the day went on as normal until lunch time. Sitting at the table Clark and Lois stared at each other. Having Callie physically between them in the night prevented any type of adult activity and Lois was particularly stressed and needed to loosen the tension. Extending her leg, she reached for Clark and rubbed her foot against his shin. Clark jolted forward at the unexpected touch and Lois wiggled her eyebrows. His cheeks turned the crimson color of her shirt.

Callie looked on curiously. Suddenly, she was worried something was under the table. Her eyes darted back and forth in thought. What if her yellow sundress had attracted the creature? She tried to focus on her macaroni and cheese, but the mystery beneath the table was eating at her instead.

Clark, returning the gesture, reached his leg out and touched Lois' foot with his. He felt like he was a teenager again trying to have contact with his girlfriend secretly. Lois smirked and her foot travelled up the dark denim of his leg and towards another part of his body, which caused him to move forward a second time, almost spilling his water glass on his blue T-shirt, his eyes surprised as he stared across the table.

That again caught Callie's attention. There was something under there. She wasn't brave enough to look, so she sat still. Well, that was until she felt something quickly brush past her dangling feet.

"Shark!" She called out and stood on the chair.

"Huh?" "What?" Her parents asked, pulled out of a daze.

She pointed her finger downward. "There's something under the table! It's a shark!"

Lois slapped her hand against her forehead.

Just when she thought it was safe….

"Callie, that was Mommy's leg." Her father said.

Not convinced, she asked, "Why would her leg reach out like that?"

"Daddy had an itch and my foot was scratching it." Her mother replied.

"Lois…" He warned.

She shrugged.

"So, there's no shark?" Callie asked, sitting back down.

Lois bent over in her seat and looked under the table. "See for yourself."

Callie watched her father do the same thing and she tentatively followed. All she saw were everyone's legs, feet, and heads.

"Feel better?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah." Callie said.

They all returned above the table.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Okay?" Her father said.

Callie nodded. False alarm. For now.


6pm

As bath time rolled around, Callie got ready in her lavender robe by herself. As she walked down the hallway and entered the bathroom she realized that a bath meant going into water. Now, this wasn't the ocean by any means, but thoughts about something suddenly jumping out, possibly from the drain, started to fill her little imaginative brain.

"Are you ready?" Lois asked, running the water into the tub.

Callie took a step back. "I don't know."

"It's just a bath."

As Lois was about to argue the point again, the doorbell rang and Callie ran out of the room. Sighing, Lois went after her.

"Callie, it's bath time!" She announced again.

"But something is at the door!" Callie called out, racing down the hallway.

Clark, already in the living room, was about to open the door when Callie held up her hands and yelled, "Stop!"

He turned to his commanding daughter. "What?"

"What if it's a shark at the door?"

"Callie, that's not possible. We told you that." He reminded her.

It's true that they kept telling her that, but in her mind one day she was going to see a shark walking around and tell them she told them so. She had done some research herself like her parents would do at their jobs at the Daily Planet. She knew some things.

"But there are all kinds of sharks! Hammer, sand, saw, cat, dog, cow, carpet! They could be anything!" She rambled and sounded like Lois to Clark at that moment.

He raised an eyebrow as he mulled over her list. "Where did you learn all of this?"

She gave him a tiny shrug, "Mommy has the internet on her phone."

"Callie-" He began but was cut off when she exclaimed, "What if sharks evolved and it's a land shark?!"

Clark shook his head that his daughter could use the word evolved, use the internet to gather information, but still think a shark was at the door.

"If they say 'candygram' then I'll be concerned." Lois said, catching up to Callie and scooping her up. To appease her she called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Oliver!"

She looked back at Callie. "See."

"What if it's a trick?" Callie asked. She yelled at the door, "Are you sure?!"

"Uh, yes?" Oliver replied tentatively.

"He doesn't sound too sure." She said, wiggling out of Lois' grasp and jumping to the floor.

Clark shook his head again and opened the door, revealing Oliver Queen in a casual forest green T-shirt and jeans. Callie sighed in relief, but stuck her head out the door and around him to check the hallway just in case one was lurking.

"Hi, Uncle Ollie." She said quickly.

"Hey, kiddo. On hallway patrol?"

She nodded her head. "Just making sure it's safe."

His eyebrows were knitted in confusion as he watched her. "Uh, good job."

"What's the housecall for?" Clark asked, bringing his attention back.

"I was in the neighborhood and had a few things to drop off. One being," Oliver said, digging into his messenger bag, "this for Callie."

He pulled out a Metropolis Sharks stuffed animal and waved it in front of the child.

Callie's eyes widened at the sight of the animal.

"Shark! Ahhhhhhhhh !" She screamed and ran back down the hallway, her dark hair and lavender robe flowing behind her.

Lois bent over in a huff, her hands clapping on her knees before she stood back up, looked at her husband for an ounce of strength, and then stalked back to chase their daughter.

"Something I said?" Oliver asked, looking at Clark perplexed about Callie's reaction.

"Callie watched a part of Jaws without us knowing until it was too late." He explained.

Oliver started to laugh, but his chuckles ceased when he saw the serious look on Clark's face.

"Sorry." Digging back into his bag, he traded the stuffed creature for a manila envelope and handed it to Big Blue . "These are for you. Surveillance photos of the mission of the LexCorp facilities in Singapore. We thought you could use that eye thing you do to take a closer look."

"Microvison." Clark supplied with a nod.

" Right… "

"Hey, I don't tell you how to name your arrows." He argued.

" Pffft . I don't name my arrows." Clark gave him a look and Oliver relented. "Okay. Lips are sealed."

"I'll take a look at these and let you know."

"The kid won't come out from under the bed." Lois reported when she returned. She punched Clark in the shoulder. "Tag, you're it."

Clark accepted the task, handing the envelope to his wife and heading for Callie's room. Lois' attention went from the documents in hand to the billionaire hero in front of her.

"So, how's parenthood?" Oliver teased with a smile.

She rolled her eyes at the blond. "Very funny."

"Well, this is for her when she's ready." He said, handing Lois the stuffed animal.

"Thanks." She looked at the toy then back at him. "So, Sharks game, huh?"

He bounced on the heels of his feet, "Yup."

"You go alone?"

"Lois."

"What?" She asked, innocently.

"No, I didn't go alone. It was a work thing."

"Queen Industries work thing or League work thing?" She pried.

"What does it matter?" He asked, knowing the nosy reporter was trying to get tidbits on his love life.

"Because I want to know if you took Dinah and if there's any news."

Oliver started to turn red. He could feel a hole burning in the pocket of his bag.

" Oooh , so she was there."

"Platonic work thing. Team workshop." He waved off.

"So, not the right moment." She presumed.

"Nothing on the jumbotron, no." He had every intention, but had called off his plans at the last moment.

"Oliver."

"What?"

"It's okay." She said, supportive. She knew this was the first person he had been truly serious about pursuing since Chloe. The two had been going back and forth for years and Ollie was finally ready to take the next step and make it official. She wanted to let him know that she was in his corner.

"I know." He cleared his throat and said, "I'm going to head out. Good luck with the whole Jaws thing."

"Yeah, well right now we need the jaws of life in there to pry her out."

"Have fun." Oliver said with a wave as the front door closed.

Back in Callie's room, Clark was on his hands and knees barely under the small twin bed with his daughter.

"Callie, you have to come out from under here. Please?"

"But there are sharks everywhere!"

"The Metropolis team is the Sharks and you know that. You've watched games with me. So, come out from under there."

He had actually purposefully missed the game today to not heighten her anxiety. So much for that.

His words also seemed to be meaningless as she just stared at him. There was one last thing he could try and he wasn't proud of it.

"Callie if you come out from under there I'll give you ice cream before bed."

Callie's eyes lit up and she crawled backward in a scurry.

"We've resorted to bribing now?" Lois smirked as she leaned on the door frame. "I didn't think you'd be the one to crack like that."

Clark grabbed Callie and swooped her up into his arms and headed for the bathroom.

"Bath first, then ice cream." He stated.

She poked at his chest. "Hey, you didn't say that!"

"Got to read the fine print before you commit, babe." Lois said following them.

"But what if there's a shark in the pipes?"

"They don't fit."

"What about baby sharks? They might fit." She argued.

"Nope."

"What if a shark has eaten kryptonite?"

"Callie…." He warned in the same tone he reserved for his wife.

"But sharks will eat anything!" She shrieked.

Clark put her down on the edge of the tub. "Just put your feet in and you'll see it's fine." Clark took his house shoes off and sat on the edge next to her. "I'll even do it with you."

Clark spun around and put his feet in the warm water.

"Now you."

Callie slowly started to put her foot in, her eyes staring at the drain. One foot in, then the next foot. She took a breath, and as she was about to settle down she heard the music play. Duh num. Duh num. Duhnumduhnum . Callie gasped.

"Crap!" Lois said as she ran out of the room for her phone, forgetting that the theme was the ringtone set for her source in the slums.

That phone was always causing trouble.

Spooked by the music, she started to splash hectically trying to get out. Clark caught her before she slipped over the side, causing him to get water all over his shirt and her robe. When he spun them back around she slid from his grasp.

"I'm never taking a bath again!" She declared.

"Great, we're going to have the stinky kid." Lois said reentering the space, her phone now on silent.

Clark looked down at his soaked blue T-shirt and sighed. He peeled it off and threw it towards the hamper in the bathroom closet.

Lois watched as he took off his shirt, biting her lower lip, and was disappointed that his action was during such an unromantic situation.

"There has to be something we haven't thought of that will get through to her."

"What, like getting a friendly shark to come and talk to her?" Suddenly Lois' eyes lit up. She held up her arm triumphantly and smiled, "I have an idea."

" It better not involve me in a shark costume."

"As much as I want to see that now, no it doesn't. Trust me." Then she looked at him with a sultry grin, "And I wouldn't mind it being a Metropolis Sharks uniform, either."

Filing future bedroom escapades away for later, Lois pulled out her phone and dialed the one person who she thought could talk to their daughter.


About twenty minutes later there was a knock at the door. Lois bounced up off the couch in anticipation as Clark, having changed into his gray T-shirt, opened the door to reveal Arthur Curry in his signature orange and green.

"Someone call for the coolest superhero?" He smiled.

"Thanks for coming." Clark said, welcoming him in.

"No problem, bro. Always here to help. So, where is the little guppy?"

"She's in her room." Lois then handed him the stuffed shark Oliver had left for Callie. "In case you need a prop."

A.C. took the stuffed animal and held it behind his back with one hand. He walked down the hallway and knocked on Callie's door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Uncle A.C."

The door slowly opened and he saw her little blue eyes inspect him to make sure. The door opened completely and he entered the room. Callie climbed into her bed and sat in the middle, pretzel style.

"Did mommy and daddy call you?"

"Yeah, they did." He confirmed.

"What did they say?"

"That you watched a scary movie and you're nervous about sharks."

She leaned in closer to him, "There could be sharks anywhere!"

He shook his head. "Nah. Take it from me. Who knows the water and what lives there better? Hmm?"

"What kind of water?"

He knew what she was hinting at from the information he received from Lois. "The water outside. No bathtubs."

Callie breathed a sigh of relief, but was still worried. "What if there was a land shark?"

"Well, that would be something one of a kind. And then you know your dad and your Uncle A.C. would be on the case. No sweat." He added, "I think you also have the wrong idea about sharks."

"It was really mean in the movie."

A.C. rolled his eyes. "Oh, I know the movie. But sharks don't act like that "

"No?"

"No. They're afraid of people."

"But they attack people! They have signs at the beach! I saw them!" She countered.

"They do, but if they attack it's because they got confused." He sat on the edge of the bed as he explained, "Sharks go after things like seals and other fish. They don't like the taste of humans. If they bite it's because they thought it was what they usually eat or they feel threatened. Like, someone broke into their house."

"So, they don't eat people?" She inquired further.

"No, they don't. That was just what the movie said to tell a scary story. It's not real."

"You're sure?"

"Positive. I swim with them. They're cool." He smiled.

Her eyes lit up in surprise as she exclaimed, "You swim with sharks?!"

"Yeah. There are all different kinds of sharks. They can be friendly. They also help the environment. Because of that movie people became afraid of them even more and didn't understand the truth about them. They need to be protected. They're really important for the ecosystem."

"Do you protect them?"

"I do." He then handed her the stuffed shark he had hidden behind him. "And since I swim with them, I also talk with them. And you won't have to worry. This guy will protect you, too."

She looked at the stuffed shark in her hands, its face not as scary anymore.

"Can I swim with the sharks and protect them?"

" Uuhhh , I don't think so. Not for a while. You can do plenty to protect them from the surface, though."

"Okay."

Not wanting to create new trouble he focused his attention on the stuffed shark she was holding.

"What are you going to name him?"

Callie thought for a moment and then smiled. "Arthur."

"Good strong name."

He reached out his hand and ruffled the hair on her head.

"Listen to your parents, okay? And if you have questions about sea creatures, you just call Uncle A.C. and I'll set the record straight. Got it?"

"Got it." She said affirmatively.

"Now go take a bath, you stinker."

Callie laughed and hopped out of the bed holding her shark. They both exited the room and she headed for the threshold of the bathroom.

"I'm ready now!" She called out.

"Oh, thank God " Lois breathed, heading for the bathroom. "Thanks, Flipper." She said, patting him on the shoulder and then closed the bathroom door.

A.C. just laughed and walked toward Clark.

"We really appreciate this." Extending his hand to shake the ruler of Atlantis'.

"You have a cool kid, of course I'm going to help."

"And she's okay?"

"More than okay." A.C opened the front door and remarked, "She might want to swim with sharks now to protect them, so I would watch out for that. Night."

Clark let his head fall forward and said to himself, "That's better than being afraid of them, I guess."

He stared down the hallway, lending an ear to make sure Callie was being cooperative, which she was. He strode over to the couch and put on the Sharks game he had recorded from earlier. As the players ran out onto the field, Callie's question about land sharks popped into his brain.

Weirder things had certainly happened in his life, but he wasn't about to reveal that to her. Not any time soon. He would just keep an eye out. Just in case.


Bath time had finally been successful. After one scoop of ice cream and a toothbrushing, Clark and Lois tucked Callie in for bed. She was still sad that she hadn't been brave enough to watch the movie yet, but the parents reassured her that the bravest thing she did was overcome her fear. Callie went to sleep without issues, hugging her new stuffed shark Arthur.

Fulfilling the day's tasks and hurdling misinformation about the king fish of the ocean, Lois and Clark collapsed on their bed exhausted.

"Calling A.C. was a great idea." He said.

"Glad I still have some."

"Lo-"

She cut him off. "I know. I know. I'm just not looking forward to when she gets older and defying us can't be solved by taking away movie night or something. I miss the baby years."

"I find that hard to believe." He chuckled.

"It's true."

Clark looked over at his wife, wondering what she was thinking. If it was the same as him.

"You want another one?"

She shrugged. "We paused our efforts a couple years ago. Why not press resume?"

They had dabbled with the idea when Callie was about three, but after a couple disappointments they decided to put it on hold. Raising Callie and saving the world had certainly taken time to master the balance. He thought maybe it was time to try again.

"Are you serious?"

Lois nodded. "You?"

"Of course, it's just that we haven't talked about it in a while and with everything that happened when Callie was born…"

"We'd be prepared, " she finished. "Just like we'd be prepared to raise number two and not let them watch Jaws. Ever."

Clark started to laugh. He rolled to his side and stretched his arm out to curl around Lois. Even with everything they just went through, expanding his family with Lois was an offer he couldn't refuse.

"Let's do it."

Lois smiled and leaned in, her lips crashing on his. She pulled back and asked, "Is the door locked?"

In a flash he was off the bed and back, Lois' hair flying in the breeze.

"It is now."

Lois watched as Clark's face changed as his head tilted, like he heard something.

"Uh oh, do you need to save the day?"

He shook his head. "Just making sure Callie's asleep."

"I would double and triple check now since she's a little faker." Lois said.

Clark laughed and listened again. "She's definitely asleep."

"Good," she said, kissing him once more. He then pulled back and gave her a playful grin, all the talk about sharks giving him an idea.

She watched as he slithered away in his gray shirt and pulled the covers up over him. His outline moving under the comforter and closing in on her.

In her head she could hear: Duh num. Duh num. Duh num duhnum duhnumduhnum duhnumduhnumduhnum dum!

By the time Clark the shark was done with his "attack", and Lois had reciprocated with her own mounting charge, the couple hung over the side catching their breath. The motion of the ocean had rocked the bed, a front leg broken and causing a downward slant of the mattress.

With the waves of pleasure starting to ebb away, Lois sighed into Clark's chest, "We're going to need a bigger boat."