Richard was storming around the bedroom, packing his suitcases and Lois was following him, trying to have a conversation with him.
"You can't leave," she said.
"Watch me."
"I know I shouldn't have kissed him, but are you going to let one little lapse of judgment wreck everything?"
"Why didn't you tell me Clark Kent was Jason's father? I thought Jason's father was a man you barely knew and hated."
"Why do you assume Clark's the father?"
"Isn't he?"
"Yes, but it's complicated. I was going to tell you the truth."
"Were you? The bad thing is I never even suspected mild-mannered Clark. I suspected Superman. Remember when I asked you if you ever loved Superman and you said no? I thought you were lying to me but apparently you weren't. I should've never gotten involved in this in the first place."
"Please, I'm begging you not to go."
"Are you begging for yourself or Jason?"
She hung her head.
"If you can look me in the eye and tell me that you love me and want to marry me, I won't go."
"Doesn't Jason mean anything to you? Won't you stay for his sake?"
"I only pretended to be his father for your sake. I hate to tell you this, but I never loved him like a son. Sure he's a good kid and I'm fond of him, but he's not my son."
"But he loves you like a father."
"I know, and it was wrong to be what I wasn't, but he's only 5 and he's already taken a liking to Clark."
"Where are you going?"
"Far away from here. I might leave the U.S." he said, heading into the living room.
"At least tell Jason, goodbye."
"Why? He's not my son!"
"Keep your voice down! I know you have enough of a heart left to keep him from finding out like this."
"I'm angry, Lois, and I don't trust myself around the boy right now, but I'll give it a go. Where is he?"
"He's in his bedroom. Angie's watching him."
"Who's Angie? See this is one reason why I don't feel a lot like his father. You try and take care of him by yourself and make all the decisions."
"Angie is his babysitter. She's a college student at Met U. She's a responsible girl and she needs the extra cash. What do you mean you don't know who Angie is? You met her when we went out last Monday night."
"The kid with the short blonde hair? I remember her now. Speaking of…"
Angie came out of the bedroom. Her face was ashen white. She was trembling. "I don't—I don't know what happened. We were playing with his hot wheels and then he just collapsed for no reason."
Richard and Lois rushed in. Jason was lying on the floor. Richard examined him. He began CPR. He tilted back Jason's head and made his chest rise and fall once. Then he pressed on his chest 5 times.
"Dear God, no. Please, no," Lois whispered, sinking to the floor. She turned around and saw Angie watching with horror. "Don't just stand there! Call 911!"
Lois got more and more afraid as the seconds rolled by. The seconds turned into minutes. She pleaded and bargained with God but nothing was helping.
"I'm sorry, Lois," he said, as he continued pressing on his chest, "but even if he were to revive, he would be brain dead at this point. I'll continue though until the ambulance shows up."
Lois' vision blurred with tears. It had to be a bad dream, but she knew it wasn't. At last, the paramedics showed up. They confirmed Richard's diagnosis. Jason was dead. She began to sob when they started to roll him away on the stretcher. She brushed the bangs to the side of his cold forehead and cried over his body. It was real.