8

She found Clark on the bridge, monitoring alone, probably trying to lose himself in his shift. Chloe sat down next to him and was grateful no one else was on duty. Hell, maybe J'onn had arranged it, assuming she'd seek Clark out over the most awkward day ever. She had to give him extra Oreos as soon as she could get to a store (most likely incognito).

"Hey," she said, hoping he was still going to talk to her and that he didn't have mopes or regrets about Lois leaving.

"Hi," he said and some days it was hard to see him in uniform. To her, he always looked right in flannel or in his old red coat. Lois wasn't wrong about some things. She didn't know Superman as well as she could, and she didn't recognize him in his horrible three piece polyester suits and outdated trench coat. That just wasn't her Clark, but maybe she couldn't get him back.

"I...Lois told me she's leaving for Africa."

"Yeah, I am sorry about that."

Chloe's heart stopped for a second. "What?"

He turned away from the monitors to face her, his head held low. "I didn't mean for her to interrupt her career."

"Being a foreign correspondent doesn't stop that. It's how I got my Pulitzer after all."

He nodded, "I suppose. I still know she likes Metropolis. I figured she could stay where she was, but maybe it's better this way, the distance."

"Sometimes it gets perspective. I think traveling when I was 'dead' helped. I think meeting Bruce and Diana was a good growing experience for me. Being in Singapore, being loved, no matter how badly this marriage is turning out-par for my course, though-I needed not to be with you."

"That's encouraging," he snarked.

"No, I just meant you can be all-consuming. I needed to remember who I was and I found my reporter self again. Realized I could be more than second choice to someone, and I am actually number one to two people, and I'd not trade Christopher for anything."

"You could have stayed in Star City."

She considered that. "If I had known that Lois wasn't fooled by me moving or my marriage, I would have come home. I did all of it to spare both of you, but I think I just made your life worse and Lois was mad either way."

"That's something. I can't believe you had to go half a world away."

"Distance, even if you could be there in thirty seconds, I knew you'd respect my space. I needed that."

"Maybe I needed to grow too."

"Into someone with no friends? Someone cut off from human emotions outside of clinging to Lois?"

"I don't cling!"

"It's my fault too. I encouraged it. I told her the day you didn't get married, um, the first time, that she could be your anchor in your mission. I didn't realize how wrong I was. I...ever since my Lionel deal, I wanted to make everything up to you, be your friend."

"And not more?"

"I've always wanted more, no matter what, and no matter how hard I tried with Jimmy, Oliver, and George. I can't get you out of my system. I just...unrequited sucks for everyone and that's why I couldn't shove Christopher into that life and that situation. I don't...I know I'm last place to you. You made it clear at Lana's engagement party. I'm the 'back-pocket' girl."

"I was high you know."

She shrugged and forced herself not to cry. She wouldn't do that for him ever again. God knew she'd cried so hard when she realized she was pregnant and in an impossible situation and, again, when she was sure that Christopher had inherited his father's powers and she'd have to raise a Kryptonian alone. Not for Clark, not ever again.

"You were honest. You're always honest on red Kryptonite. I told Lois that I know you had to be thinking of her when you were...when we slept together."

"I swear I wasn't."

She laughed. "I've never been good enough, Clark. The fact Christopher exists doesn't really change that. We can work something out, but I get that it's for him, more than because you love me most, and that's okay, I got used to that fact long ago, that we're friends and nothing more."

"I...would it be wrong to say that that's not true. I...I think I got more equal footing during that Zod year. I think I came out of being so angry and violent, but by the time I did, you and Oliver were pretty much inseparable and, yeah, I knew Lois had a weird Blur worshipping thing and was dumb enough to fall for Zod's tricks, but she was all I had. Then you were dead and left me and I hurt so badly for that, for the loss of all our trust from Davis to your return to save us, I just...Lois was like you."

Chloe snorted and stood up. "Clark, I don't think I'll ever believe that. I saw the future and you two were on the marriage path when I left. I saw how happy you were at your engagement party, magic champagne or not. I know how crushed you were when she left you. I'm not blind and, Christopher or no, that doesn't change a thing."

Clark nodded and picked his head up to stare at her with all the power and grace Superman commanded. "I still told her it was over; I still never felt happy with her and all the walls I put up. That doesn't change a thing."

"Still," Chloe said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "I don't know if I'd never gotten pregnant if you'd still be with me or if it's all duty, obligation and your personal desire for a child, something Lois denied you. I need to go collect Christopher from the cafeteria and we all need to figure out our next move in order to elude Flynn and Uncle Sam, the metaphorical one."

"Chlo-"

She sighed and withdrew her hand. "Never mind, Clark, it doesn't matter anyway."

Clark was disappointed that Christopher wasn't sitting around the conference table. When he asked where his son was, besides getting a death glare from George, he was informed that Impulse and Christopher were hanging in his room and playing with his Warrior Angel collection. It was better that way, Clark knew, because there was nothing they'd discuss that five year old ears should hear. Still, now that he knew of Christopher's existence, now that he'd held his son, it was addictive. He wanted to hold him close and relish being a father.

Now was not that time.

Now was the time to figure out exactly how they'd get out of the mess Chloe and her family were in. Honestly, Clark didn't have a clue how to remedy that either. "So," he said, swiveling his chair a little to face Chloe and George (who were separated by several seats). "What do you want to do?"

George scowled. "What? You and Wonder Woman and The Martian Manhunter don't have some scheme going? You all don't have a top secret mission to take out Flynn and Company and then fly off with my wife and son?"

Clark stiffened at that, because, frankly, hurt feelings aside, he'd considered that plan already. "I have no intention of ex-ing you out."

"That's news to me," George said. "I know you're supposed to be about truth and justice, but since I've been cuckolded, I don't feel like you're all that honorable."

"I didn't know."

"I didn't tell him," Chloe said. "We went through that."

"Because you've been so honest this far, Ms. Sullivan," George bit out and it gave Clark the weirdest flash back to when Lionel did it.

"I really didn't know. Either you can believe that or think that I was swooping in behind your back to see Chloe and Christopher, whichever you prefer. It's moot now because your lives as you knew them are over." Chloe looked down at her lap, and George sagged.

"I know that much," he answered. "I was never military but I worked a long time with Flynn, and I know how he thinks. He's not even the most opportunistic military man I've come up against when working for embassies. I can't even imagine what they'd do with Christopher."

Chloe paled and gripped the table ledge. "Nothing good. It'd be like you and Pierce all over again, Clark."

"Pierce?"

Clark shrugged. "I've been caught once or twice before. Once was a Kryptonite cage and it was far from pleasant. If Supergirl hadn't saved me, I probably would have died. I'm not even worried about that part of it, to be honest."

"I would be," George said.

"No," Chloe said, shaking her head. "The big problem is not experimentation," and she had to swallow with some effort to continue, "the big issue is training or brainwashing. He'd be the best soldier ever with his powers: bullet proof, fast, heat vision. I won't let him grow up like that."

George nodded. "I'm on board with hiding him and with going underground. My career is over either way after what happened in Singapore. I won't let him become government property."

"So this is about your job?" Chloe said, her tone taking on a hard edge.

"No, it's about being realistic too. There wouldn't be anything for me if we even were suicidal enough to go back to Singapore. I'm just with you. I...am I with both of you?"

Clark frowned. "What does that mean?"

George sighed. "How big a factor are you going to be in our lives now, Superman...Clark...whoever?"

"I don't know. I was hoping for however much Chloe was going to let me."

"And what about me? What about what I want? I was there when she was pregnant, and you were an ocean or two away. I was there for everything in Christopher's life. Since you're the superhero, you'll just slide in and be the amazing dad?"

Clark looked at Chloe who turned away from him. "I just want to be allowed in his life. He's going to have it harder than I did because even though he's only five, he's going to have to learn how to hide not just his powers but who he used to be. He'll need all of us."

"But Superman most of all?" George said bitterly.

"All of us. I am not going to force his father out of the picture. For lack of a better explanation, my birth father did that with my dad and it got him killed. My dad meant more to me than almost anyone and..." he said, trailing off. He couldn't explain all of it anymore, couldn't think about it. It was what Brainiac Five said was where his corruption started. He'd put it behind him after the trip through time with the Legion ring, and definitely after burying his father's watch. He no longer could afford to think about Jonathan Kent.

It hurt too much.

Suddenly, he realized Chloe was studying him. It was his turn to look down at his lap and avoid eye contact.

She nodded. "I made this mess and you care about Christopher more than anything. He deserves to have a family. I just don't know how we do it."

"What? Do I get to be weekend dad? How exactly do we split this. Hell, where do we go?" George asked. "Foreign countries sound nice in theory and after you created Elizabeth Cochran from scratch, I don't doubt you could fake the right social security numbers and passports. Do you think it's best for Christopher though?"

Clark sighed. "He didn't grow up in America. I...a Chinese-speaking country?"

"That's where we started," Chloe said. "I think for all the talk of foreign places that I want to come home. I'd like to go to Metropolis or Star City or Gotham. You know I have friends in all places, people from the League who can protect me."

His eyes widened. "You mean you'd come home to Metropolis and let me protect you?"

George let out a long breath. "Yes, please pass me to the side. I'll just let you two lovebirds continue ruining my life."

"Your records are all for Elizabeth Cochran, right?" Clark prodded.

"We've established that," she said.

"There's no tie with you to 'Chloe Sullivan?'" Clark asked.

"No. She died in 2010 and all her records say as much. She doesn't exist. Why?"

"Because I can think of a place even better to hide than Metropolis or even with The Batman in Gotham."

"Oh is there a place to move in with Wonder Woman?" George snarked.

"No, but I had something else in mind."