Lois sighed in exasperation as she listened to the message she had missed from Richard on her phone, "Hi Babe, it's just me, I will be late tonight, there is a pickup game of basketball over at the Y tonight straight after work and the boys are short a couple of players. See you around 8, love ya."

She had plans of her own tonight and she wasn't happy to have them upset at such late notice. There was no one should could leave Jason with now so she was just going to have to drop Jason off at the Y so Richard could bring him home. Driving over she listened to Jason talk about his day. She really worried about him but Superman had been so good about ensuring that Jason understood the extent of his power, which up to now had only been erratic episodes of strength.

Superman was an enigma to Lois as the only point of contact she had with him was through Jason. She knew that in all probability that if it wasn't for Jason then Superman would most probably not be interested in her at all. The last time he had visited Jason she had not even been aware that it had occurred. She only found out in the morning when Jason told her about the flight he had taken with Superman.

That had pissed her off so much that she had marched outside and yelled out his name. He had appeared quickly and stayed floating in the air looking down at her. She had yelled her frustration at him over taking liberties with her son behind her back with him saying nothing, just looking at her. Feeling herself under that implacable gaze she had slowly lost her anger, how could one fight if the other person refused to? Once she had stopped talking he had said "have you finished?" and she was taken back to the impersonal tone he used.

"Yes", she had replied, "but . . ."

"No buts, he is my son and I will be part of his life and I will make decisions that I feel are the best for him. I will never put him in a position that endangers him or you but do not presume to tell me what I can and can't do with my son" he had stated calmly.

"I need to know" she had replied.

"No, you need to control and have everything in the little package you like. Life isn't like that Lois and you can't hope to control everything in your life."

"That's not true," she had replied "I respect what you have to offer Jason but he must be brought up as a human being and I need to know what you are teaching him."

"What I am teaching him?" he had asked with an exasperated tone, "Lois I am teaching him to respect and love the world around him and to understand that he will have a power that has to be controlled with a solid moral core. He will need to make decisions that you will never understand and he must always make the decision that is the best for everyone. As for being a human that's just a word, human's can be the meanest of people and their fallibilities and insecurities are passed onto their children so that is no recommendation."

She had never heard him talk like this, to be fair she hadn't had a conversation with him that was other than simple pleasantries for quite a long time. "I need to know what you are teaching, how else can I support you in your teaching?"

"Lois I will inform you what I am teaching him, but a father must pass so many things to his son that a mother can never pass on. What I give to my son must remain between him and I and you will never be a part of that."

"Don't you dare," she had replied with anger.

"I dare because he is my son and I will not have him thinking that friendship and love is dictated only by Richard and your frame of reference. He will understand that some things are just too precious to be thrown away with such casual abandonment." He had replied with a hint of anger in his voice.

That had confused her and when she had pushed he had refused to say anymore before he finally said, "I have to go," and flew off. To this day she still could not understand how Superman of all people could be so dismissive of her and her values.

Arriving at the Y she had walked into the court with Jason and stopped short as she approached the game. The game wasn't what made her stop but the sheer masculine physique of one of the players. His back rippled with muscles as he moved around the court. For the first time in many years the feeling she felt was sheer unrelenting instant lust for another human being. It felt like hours but would only have been a couple of seconds before she looked up into his face as he spun away from a perfect 3-point shot.

"Oh my god it's Clark Kent," was the thought that smashed into her mind.

To be continued . . .