Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for taking the time and reviewing, I'm relieved that I haven't completely chased everyone away from the long absence. I'd like to thank Barbara for her magical ability to correct all wrong-doings in my writing. She's the best!

Chapter 8

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." – Marcel Proust

Lois woke up the next morning thinking the last few days had been a dream. A single look at her surroundings proved her wrong. After dinner, Mrs. Kent went above and beyond the call of hostess. The older woman insisted that after years being alone on the secret, it was a pleasant change to finally feel at home with guests and not have to worry about hiding her son's abilities.

This surprised Lois.

So much had happened in her life that she never stopped to think about anybody else. All night, while Clark slept, Lois and Richard were given a private look into the life of the man behind Superman through various stories and adventures that Martha Kent was more than happy to share.

"And this picture was taken by a neighbor at his father's funeral. I know I shouldn't have it, it was a very sad time for the both of us, but there was just something about it that I couldn't part with."

Lois stared at the photo with fascination. In the picture, Clark stood before his father's grave, his eyes never leaving the stone marker that held his loving father. It was the first time out of all the pictures his mother had shown her, even with the glasses, that she saw a Superman.

"All this time, it never occurred to me he still had a family out there. After what he told me about Krypton, I just never…"

"Clark did a good job keeping his dual identity a secret," Martha said with understanding.

"A little too good a job," Lois sighed regretfully.

Martha took one of the young woman's hands and smiled at her fondly. Getting to know her a little bit more beyond the brief descriptions her son had shared, she was finally able to see a little of what it was about Lois Lane that captured her son's heart so. She could only hope to learn more.

"I want you to have this," Lois said.

Martha looked at the photo that Lois herself took out of her own purse; and Martha put her hand to her mouth as she realized what it was.

"It's the most recent I have, and I've got plenty more at home. I thought you might like to have this since I don't really know how soon you two can meet," Lois added nervously.

With tears falling at the image of her grandson, Martha breathed, "He's beautiful, Lois."

Lois beamed at the compliment.

"Yes. Yes, he is."

Lois remembered last night so clearly, and the pain of feeling betrayed had slowly disappeared.

Now she was awake to a new day, and the problems she had before remained the same. Sure, she knew more about the man that had fathered her child, but in a lot of ways, he was still a stranger, and she believed that the only way they could ever move forward, toward anywhere, was if the man himself showed his true colors.

On the way up the stairs, she spared a glance at the living room floor and found Richard quietly sleeping.

Bless that man for putting up with her and Clark.

By the time she got to Clark's room, she found his bed empty. Thinking he had gone to the bathroom or something, she slowly stepped inside, allowing herself to get a better glimpse of the son Martha Kent was so proud to have raised.

Along one wall was a group of certificates outlining his academic achievements. There were photos of him and his parents, his dad especially, and him as a kid. Smiling and laughing so much that it was unbelievable to realize he would one day grow up to be the world's savior.

Then she saw a ribbon hanging at the edge of his dresser and she smiled.

It was a 1st Place ribbon for spelling.

Clearly, Jason's aptitude in that area came from his father and not her, thank goodness.

A moment later she heard a bark outside and she automatically knew it was Shelby. Walking closer to the window, she spotted Clark playing catch with the hairy golden retriever.

She breathed in deeply. He looked better – no longer limping. She wondered momentarily if the light of the rising sun had anything to do with it.

Boy, did the land of Smallville have a great sunrise!

In the yard, when Clark looked up to his window, Lois froze. He waved awkwardly to her, and she noticed how remarkably he looked like the co-worker she supposedly knew for so many years at the Daily Planet and she realized that maybe not all of his behavior was an act.

The thought gave her some relief.

When she finally made it outside and toward Clark, she took the time to take a good look at him in his blue jeans and plain white t-shirt. Without his glasses, he looked like a definite mixture of Superman and Clark Kent and it made her wonder more than once how she couldn't have noticed.

"Hey," he said slowly.

Shelby was immediately by Lois' side making her sneeze. "I hate this dog," she said, but the comment didn't faze the canine.

"Don't be judgmental, you'll hurt his feelings."

Lois smirked before turning to the dog. "He doesn't look offended."

"That's because he's a softy."

She smiled and then commented on the obvious. "How are you? You look like you're feeling a whole lot better."

Clark stuffed his hands in his jean pockets and shrugged. "By the time I woke up this morning, I couldn't get back to sleep," he lied. He had been awake all night inadvertently listening to his mother and Lois talk. He didn't mean to, it was just, for a while, he couldn't turn it off.

Discovering that he was an alien from another planet and the father of Lois' child sent his mind and feelings into overdrive. He couldn't get a handle on them even if he tried.

She stared at him and it made Clark a little uneasy.

"Did you sleep all right?" he asked in a pathetic attempt at small talk.

"Better than I have in the last couple of weeks."

"Good."

"Um… did you remember anything else while you've been here?" she asked curiously. "Seems like coming home yesterday brought out a lot of memories."

Clark shook his head.

Disappointed, Lois took a deep breath and looked out into the cornfield.

"Is this what it was like growing up here?"

Clark smiled, thankful that it was a question he could answer honestly.

"Yeah. This farm has been in the family for a long time." Then the light in his eyes fell when he recalled something important. Lois would be a fool to have missed it.

"What's wrong?"

"My mom's selling the farm," he remembered a little bitterly.

"She is?"

"I just remembered that she's moving to Montana with Mr. Hubbard." He couldn't quite make himself call him his mother's boyfriend. With a guilty look on his face, he turned to Lois. "Is it wrong not to like it?"

Lois chuckled. "This is your home, you're attached to it. It's okay to feel that way."

"Doesn't feel like it."

Titling her head, she had to ask, "Is that all you remember?"

"Mostly memories growing up, that's pretty much it." Feeling the need to be honest now, "And then there's…" Lois waited patiently for him to finish even though she was a naturally impatient woman. "Well… I heard you and my mother talking last night."

Lois's eyes snapped up toward his.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… last night… I… uh… heard you," he gulped and then started to babble. "I didn't mean to, it just happened. I was trying to sleep but all of a sudden, I started to hear voices."

Realization hit Lois hard.

"Oh."

She suddenly found herself sinking to the bottom of the porch steps. She looked at him, her emotions finally spilling over.

"I'm sorry, you weren't supposed to…"

"Why not?" he cut her off quite sharply. He wasn't angry; he just wanted to know why they tried so hard to keep that kind of information from him. "You should've told me."

Lois's burgeoning anger flared to the surface at his accusing tone.

"Don't even think of going there, Clark," she warned dangerously. "You're not going to win." Of all the times to get righteous, he had chosen now. "I've been living in the dark for too many years, and I'm not about to let you get away with it because you happen to lose a few memories."

Clark looked away, ashamed. He had no right to question her methods when his own has been just as questionable. At least, what he could remember and what he'd been able to piece together.

"I'm sorry."

Lois's anger was still at an all-time high, yet she knew he was being sincere.

"How much do you know?" she asked, calming herself.

"Um… I'm an alien." The knowledge of that remained surreal. "And uh… you and I… were…" his eyes skittered from left to right nervously, "…together once."

Lois grinned. A part of her was getting perverse pleasure at seeing him squirm his way through his answer.

"You know about Jason," she said, relieving him of his embarrassment.

Clark nodded.

"I should be relieved that you know, but I was kind of hoping…"

"I remembered it myself."

"Yeah," she replied truthfully.

"When can I see him?"

"Who?"

"Our son."

"Our," and then she realized that he wasn't entirely aware of the circumstances of Jason's birth, and how much he wasn't really a part of their lives. "Oh, that's… I don't think that's a good idea."

Clark frowned. "Why not?" A part of him was impatient to see Jason. After a whole night of thinking, it came down to something very simple. He was excited.

"Because," Lois said uncomfortably.

"What?"

"Jason is your son." Clark smiled further at the confirmation. "But you're not… he's not… you're really not a part of his life."

Clark stared at her in confusion.

"I don't understand."

"Yeah, I know, and here's where it gets complicated." Lois wished he had his memories back already; it would make more sense to him than the mumbo jumbo she was spewing out. "You see," she began, "You left."

"Left," he repeated.

"For Krypton."

"Krypton?"

"Your home planet."

Clark frowned again. "This is my home."

"Okay, your birth planet," she reiterated differently. "When we said you were an alien, we weren't kidding. Like we mentioned before, your birth name is Kal-El and you come from a planet called Krypton."

Even knowing half of what she said, he still didn't understand why he couldn't see Jason.

Lois sighed. "A few years ago, you left Earth to find Krypton." And then her voice turned soft. Calm. "You were gone a long time. You didn't even know that I was pregnant."

Even though he was outside, the walls around him began to close at a menacing speed.

"You mean…"

Sadly, she answered for him. "You weren't here when Jason was born, or when he took his first steps, his first words. You missed the earliest part of his childhood."

"Does he know who I am?"

Again, she had to be the bearer of bad news.

"No."

Joining her on the porch steps, Clark sank besides her.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry; I didn't want to have to tell you any of this."

"It's not your fault," Clark said. "It's mine."

"Look, we can apologize until we're blue in the face but that's just not going to help, is it? We can't change the past, but there is a future out there, and I do want you to be a part of Jason's life. It's just… without all your memories; I don't want to rush things, especially where our child is concerned."

With his elbows leaning against his knees, he nodded.

"Okay."

Before she realized what she was doing, she reached out and held his hand. He looked at her and smiled, albeit weakly, but she was glad he still could.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For everything."

Lois smiled her first real smile that didn't have remnants of pain and betrayal etched in it since discovering who he truly was. They were facing each other, their gazes becoming lost in each other's eyes. As the moment stilled, she did the impossible and leaned in, his lips so close to hers as he did the same. Just as she nearly captured him, the ground shook and the air went stale with fear.

"What's happening?"

Clark looked around, forcing his hearing to do what it did the previous night.

"Lois, get inside," he softly commanded.

"Clark…"

"Wake everybody up and find some shelter."

"What's going on?" she pressed for more information, the military brat and reporter side of her mixing together and rising to the forefront.

Clark turned and looked at her straight in the eye and she shivered. "He's coming," he said cryptically. There was something more intimately familiar in the way he looked at her this time than all the others since his amnesia began.

When it dawned on her.

He was back.

To be continued…