AN: I want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I'm having a lot of fun writing this story, and hope that you are enjoying reading what I am writing. To my friends from : welcome. As soon as is up I'll make sure that I get this moved over there as well! Thanks once again to my beta Mak5258 for getting this back to me so quickly, and fixing my punctuation mistakes.

The small print: I don't own Superman…

Chapter 16

Lois stopped at the split rail fence dividing the fields and placed her hand on the top slat. Looking off to the distance, she watched the last of the receding sunlight fade into darkness. The earlier storm spent, its downpour mourning a life too soon taken, a family torn asunder by thoughtless actions, and violent repercussions.

There was no moon tonight, the sky empty but for the stars. Millions of stars twinkling, suns to distant worlds: suns bringing life on some, death and destruction on others. Did Rao still shine upon the graveyard that was Krypton? Kal El hadn't said. He never did tell her how his world was destroyed, only that it was, and that Zod played a part in its destruction.

It must have been difficult for Lara to place her infant son in the tiny craft that would ferry him across the cosmos. Trusting that her husband had made the small ship safe, that it would make it to its destination, that her son would be found and raised by a loving family. To ultimately trust that her husband's research was correct, that their world would soon end, that this was the only way to protect their child, to give him a chance at life. Lois closed her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered to the wind.

Kal El had told her that the only way to protect his family from Zod was for him to acknowledge them to Zod, but Lois knew Superman couldn't have a family, that it would put them at risk from others. They needed a paper trail to prove that Clark Kent was married to Lois Lane, and that he was Jason's father. They needed to become a family to prevent Zod from acting. Why did Jason need protecting from Zod in the first place? What did Kal El know? What was he keeping from her? That was the ultimate question: What was Zod up to?

Lois watched as the investigators started to load up their vehicles, too dark now for them to continue. The burned-out hull of the car was loaded onto a tow truck, and what minimal remains of Richard White that could be recovered had been taken by the coroner's office. A technicality, there wasn't enough to bury.

Was it only a few hours ago she had wondered how she was going to tell Richard that she could not be with him any longer? A few hours ago that she had told him that she was already a married woman?

Now she had to tell their son that the only father he had known was gone, never to return. She looked at the engagement ring gracing her left hand. "Richard was a good man. He deserved better than this."

She slipped the ring from her finger.

Studying the gold band that had become part of her she tried valiantly to garner some control of her emotions. She failed. Tears fell freely, her heart aching as if it would explode as the car had. Would the pain ever go away? Was she responsible for his death? If he hadn't gotten involved in her life would he still be alive?

A tall, slender woman about Lois's age approached her. As she reached Lois she placed a wool blanket around her. She spoke words of comfort. Lois just looked at the woman as she spoke, not really hearing what she said, not caring for any company but her own.

"It's freezing out here. Let's get you in out of the cold," the woman gently guided Lois back to the farmhouse.

******

"Where's Daddy?" Jason asked Clark as he prepared to rinse the shampoo from the child's hair. Clark was hoping that he wasn't going to have to be the one to explain what had happened to Richard. He was just beginning to build a relationship with his son, how can he tell him his daddy was dead?

"Is Grampa Sam friends with Gramma? Is that why he's here?"

"Your granddad is here for your mommy, and you."

"Grampa knows about you. He called you Kal El," Jason stated, stepping out of the tub and onto the plush rug. Clark wrapped a big red towel around the small child, and "flew" him to his childhood bedroom to get dressed. Jason giggled as he put his arms out in front of him, just like Superman.

"We've met – before," Clark answered as he placed Jason on the bed, and handed him a pair of pajamas that Martha had purchased for occasions as this. Clark wondered how long his mother had known about his son. From her reaction, he knew it had been a while.

Clark's bedroom wasn't as big as Jason's bedroom back home. The boyish cowboy and Indian wallpaper had faded over the years. Books and pictures were piled on the tall narrow chest of drawers. A twin-sized bed stood high under a window, a night table with an ancient clock radio stood vigil next to the bed. Jason looked up to see stars on the ceiling. "Is that where you came from?" he asked as he pointed to a big red star.

Clark nodded. "Krypton."

"Will you take me to Krypton?"

Clark knelt down so that that he was at eye-level with the child. "No son, I won't ever be going back. There is no reason, it's gone."

Jason looked at his father, his big blue eyes reflecting the sadness his father felt.

"Is Daddy gonna be back tonight?" Jason asked again, this time looking to his father for an answer.

Clark thought about how he could answer his son's question about his daddy. He deserved an answer, but Clark felt that Lois should be there when he was told. He decided to just keep his answer as simple as possible for the time being, "Your daddy can't come back."

Clark heard a noise deep inside the earth, one that preceded a devastating quake. Why can't a disaster ever wait for a more convenient time?

"What's that rumbling noise?" Jason asked looking down as if he were trying to see through the floor.

"You can hear it?" Clark was astonished. He was much older when his super hearing came.

"Uh huh."

"That's an earthquake, somewhere very far away. Let's go downstairs, get you some supper."

Clark rushed the child out the bedroom and down the narrow stairs that led to the kitchen. A television somewhere announced that an earthquake had devastated the capital city of a small African nation; people were already crying out for help. Handing off Jason to his grandfather, Superman was already out the door and in the air before anyone could react.

Lois flinched as the woman started to lead her back to the house. She wasn't ready to go in, but she was getting cold. As they walked back towards the farmhouse a sudden gust of wind blew by, and she could have sworn she heard a soft "I love you," as it blew by, a gentle kiss brushing her cheek. "Keep safe," she whispered to herself, knowing that the man to whom she spoke would hear her, no matter how softly she spoke.

The warm air of the farmhouse began to take the chill off of her. She noticed that she was sitting at the kitchen table as Jason climbed up into her lap. A cup of coffee was placed in front of her, dinner waiting. The aroma tempted her stomach, but her mind was not ready to receive any comfort quite yet.

"Would you like some dinner?" Lois heard Martha ask the woman who had brought her in. She didn't remember her introducing herself.

"That would be lovely, thank you, Mrs. Kent, but I should be going. If you need me for any reason, please call," the young woman handed Martha her business card, a strange but somewhat familiar symbol was embossed in the right top corner.

Lois wrapped her arms around her son as he snuggled against her.

"Where's Daddy?"

Lois's eyes filled with tears as she looked over to her father for support. Whatever it was that called Clark away must have been terrible. He had promised to stay, to be there for Jason. Now she had to explain to their son the cold hard facts of life, people die, and not even Superman can stop that.

Sam Lane rose from his seat and lifted his grandson from her lap. "Jason, I think it is time for you and I to have a talk, okay?" Jason looked at his grandfather, " 'kay." They walked into the dimly lit living room and sat down on the threadbare divan.

"Nobody will tell me when Daddy's coming," Jason pleaded with his grandfather, his four-year-old countenance growing older by the minute.

General Samuel Lane had years of experience with the unpleasant task of informing families of their loss. He had written more letters of condolence, informed more heartbroken parents – or spouses, than he would ever wish upon another being, yet he was completely unnerved at the prospect of explaining to his very precocious, but very young grandson the death of his daddy.

"Jason, sometimes things happen, things nobody expects."

"Like when Mommy and me got stuck on that boat?"

"Just like when you and your mommy got stuck on the boat," he agreed. "You and your mother were lucky, your daddy and Superman were able to save you. But sometimes things happen so fast that even Superman can't help. That happened today, with your daddy."

"Superman was with me today," Jason scuffed his foot on the wood floor.

"Yes, he was. What you did today was very important."

"But something happened to Daddy because Superman was with me?" Jason voice quivered, guilt filled his face.

"No, not because Superman was with you." Sam hugged his grandson close to his chest, hoping that he would be able to convince him that what happened today wasn't his fault.

"Even if he wasn't with you, if you were both here, he could not have stopped what happened. Jason, your daddy won't be coming back, ever. He's dead. Do you understand?"

Jason looked at his grandfather, and nodded. "It means that he went someplace far away, and can never come back. But Superman went away, and he came back." Jason was adamant.

"Yes, he did go away, he went looking for his home. But he didn't die, he just went away. When somebody dies, their heart doesn't beat, they don't breathe, their body stops living."

"Jor El and Lara are dead. Is Daddy going to be in the crystal house with them?" Sam was puzzled by this response. He looked up at Lois standing in the doorway. Her puffy eyes brimming with tears as she listened to him try to explain death to a four-year-old.

"Your daddy couldn't do what they did, Jason. Jor El and Lara were from a different planet – Krypton. They knew things that we don't, could do things we don't understand or could even dream of," Lois explained.

"When they knew they were going to die – that their planet was going to die – they had time to prepare, and knowledge we don't. They put their essence in the crystals before they died. Do you remember Lara telling you that?

Jason nodded.

"But we can't do that. We don't know how."

Jason's eyes filled with tears. Sam pulled him close to his heart to comfort him.

"Did it hurt, when Daddy got dead?" Jason looked to the adults.

The adults in the room got quiet. Looking to each other they silently agreed that it was too much for a child to know. "I don't think so," General Lane answered hoping he was being honest.

"Why don't we go eat some of that delicious food your grandmother made for us."

The family gathered back at the kitchen table, but nobody felt like eating. They picked at small servings, and wished they could wake up from this nightmare.

General Lane noticed that Lois was all but asleep in her chair. "I remember when Lois was little. She was so full of energy, never stopping for anything, even to eat. When Ella, her mother, would finally make her sit down to eat her lunch or dinner, Lois would take a couple bites and promptly fall asleep, still holding her sandwich, or fork.

"I think she still forgets to eat," he chuckled, Martha smiled as she listened to General Lane reminisce about Lois' childhood.

Sam smiled as he looked over to Jason who had fallen asleep. "He is so much like his mother."

Sam gently lifted the boy from the chair, extracting a fork from his hand. Martha pointed out the room he would sleep in. "He'll sleep in Clark's old room: up to the top of the stairs, first door to your right, you can't miss it: it has cowboy wallpaper."

Martha walked over to her antique crystal radio, and turned to the news.

"The devastation is beyond belief. What was once a promising City of the Future for Africa is now a pile of rubble. Superman has been working non-stop helping uncover survivors, but even he is showing signs of fatigue. One wonders if he has completely recovered from his recent injuries…."

"Gee, go figure. A guy falls out of the sky after lifting a radioactive piece of rock to the outer atmosphere. Ya think he might still be suffering from some side effects?" Lois asked mockingly. Martha smiled at her outburst.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Dear, you're exhausted. I'll make up the bed in the guest room for you. Your father is going to stay at a motel in town." Martha stood up to go makeup the bed for her daughter-in-law.

"Thank you."

What a wonderful, giving person Martha Kent was; opening her home to strangers, AND aliens. For all she knew, Martha entertained angels in her spare time.

Lois walked to the living room, the piano stood with a collage of photos on top chronicling the life of the Kent family. She recognized Clark's dad from a photo he had kept on his desk back at the office, smiling she picked up a photo of Clark. She figured it was his senior picture from high school.

As homey as the farm was she was reminded that she had never been to Clark's place in the city. The first time he had taken her to the fortress she had asked Superman if that was where he lived, he answered simply that it was a place he went to learn, and to get away.

"Actually, I live a couple blocks away from you."

Did he have a place in Metropolis now? Would he return to it or would they live together? Maybe they should wait a while?

Lois sat down on the sofa, covering herself with a tartan plaid wool throw that was neatly folded over the back. She liked the living room; its cozy clutter was somehow calming. There were logs in the fireplace, ready to be lit should the night grow too cold. An antique Tiffany lamp on the round end table released a soothing glow. Lois watched out the window, seeing nothing but a dim reflection of the room. The wind had picked up, and was blowing strongly, making the house creak and groan in protest.

"He'll be back," Martha promised as she entered the room, settling on the couch next to Lois.

Lois looked at the elderly woman. "I know, he won't leave us again. Not now."

"I don't think he'd dare." Martha patted Lois on the knee. "Your room is right down the hall. You should get some sleep. Good-night, dear," Martha gave Lois a hug then headed upstairs to her bedroom.

Lois awoke as she felt the weight of a blanket placed upon her. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep. "This is the second night in a row that I have had to move you from my bed," he teased as he brushed her hair from her face. Clark stood up to leave the room.

"Don't leave. I don't want to be alone. Not now." She reached out for him.

Clark sighed as he climbed into the bed, pulling her into his arms. Contentment fell over him.

"How are we going to make this work? Why is this happening to us?" Lois mumbled sleepily.

Clark nuzzled Lois's ear, whispering softly, "We're Lane and Kent, it will all work out." as if that were answer enough, then drifted off into what he hoped would be a refreshing slumber.