- - - Chapter Four
"Mommy! Mr. Clark!" Jason shouted when he rose with the sun the next morning. He had woken and gotten a jolt when his mother wasn't lying next to him. He'd quickly made his way into the living room and been very surprised to find the pair of them, his mother still on top of Clark, fast asleep on the couch even with the morning sunlight falling on them through the windows that they'd forgotten to close the night before.
"Shh," Clark said softly, coming back into the waking world with a start. First he registered Lois on top of him with her son in the same room, then he realized that his shirt was still open underneath Lois, therefore he couldn't stand up without revealing the outfit underneath to Jason. "Jason, could you hand me my glasses?" he whispered, trying not to wake Lois. Jason looked at him sideways, about to ask a question, but Clark beat him to it, "Nevermind."
Jason just smiled and let the glasses lie where they were. Clark stood up, keeping Lois close to his chest with her legs pulled up as well so he could carry her into the bedroom. After setting her down, Clark buttoned his shirt quickly before turning back towards his son. Even if the boy knew that he was Superman, he still didn't like to feel so exposed.
"So what's on the schedule today, Jason?" He asked, still whispering. Jason was sitting at the kitchen table, watching him carefully.
"Mommy said I could go to Matt's house to play today," Jason said, sounding excited.
"Do you like playing at Matt's?" Clark asked, rummaging through the fridge until he found the eggs, and the turning to a cabinet to look for a frying pan.
"Yeah, his Dad's really cool… he lets us help him build things in his workshop, and we play soccer, and last time I went there,-" Jason launched into a detailed recount of everything he'd done at Matt's house on his previous visit. Clark listened patiently, smiling in the right parts and asking the right questions, including how he liked his eggs, silently glad that Jason didn't seem overly eager in talking about a few things that had come into light in the past twenty-four hours.
Lois was having what could only be a nightmare. She kept seeing herself shooting Clark in a hotel room. Over and over again the scene played in her mind, and then she'd see his face contorted in pain, reddish light shining, reflecting almost, off his skin. She woke up in a cold sweat and shook herself, getting her bearings. She was in the same room she'd slept in the night before, only on the wrong side of the bed, and Jason was gone.
"Jason?" She asked, walking out into the main room worriedly.
"Right here, mom!" Jason said, running over and giving her a warm hug. "Did you sleep good?"
"Yes honey, thank you," she said smiling. Her smile widened when she saw Clark, alive and well, and making eggs.
"Will scrambled work for you?" He asked, all traces of a stutter gone.
"Scrambled is perfect," she said, making her way to the coffee pot and avoiding eye contact. Last night had been a rush of emotions, and she needed time to process the information.
"Jason was just telling me that he had plans to go to Matt's house today," Clark said, bringing Lois her eggs and taking a plate of fried eggs out of the microwave, where they'd been keeping warm, for himself.
"Oh yeah!" Lois said, jerking herself away from the dream she'd been reliving. It hadn't been a normal nightmare, it had seemed real. "Jason do you remember what time we said I'd drop you off…?"
"Ten o'clock," Jason said matter-o-factly. Lois glanced up at the clock.
"Well, that gives me a half an hour to eat and get dressed before we've got to leave," she sighed, squirting ketchup all over her eggs and shoveling a forkful into her mouth. Jason wrinkled up his nose at the ketchup.
"Slow down, Lois, I can take him over," Clark suggested, his eggs were already half gone and he was still dressed.
"What?" Lois looked a little surprised, assuming he was talking about flying Jason to his friend's house. "Is that really…"
"Well I would just borrow your car and get the directions," he put on a classic Clark goofy smile. "That way you could have a little time to yourself."
"Well, um, if you're sure," Lois said, glancing at her son. "What do you think honey, is it okay if Clark drives you to Matt's house?"
"Sure!" Jason said, swinging his legs happily beneath the table. "I can show you the treehouse we built last summer then, Mr. Clark!" The pair of them exchanged nearly identical goofy grins.
"Sounds great!"
Matt's family lived in a nice house close to the house that Jason and Lois used to live in with Richard. In fact, Clark could see Richard's sea plane tied up in the bay just a few houses down. Lois hadn't mentioned his being in town; he scanned the house for any signs of activity. Richard was inside with a small group of people, Clark realized one was a realtor whose face was on the sign in the yard. Frowning a little, Clark followed Jason through the gate and knocked on the door.
"That's the tree house we built, Mr. Clark," Jason said, pointing up to a huge wooden structure nailed into the branches of a tall oak tree in the front yard.
"That's quite a tree house," Clark said, meaning it. "Doesn't look like you'll get much use out of it today, though, eh?" Jason shook his head. The wind was gusting around them, blowing their hair all over the place; it would've led to very cold hands and noses, but the pair of them had a few special genes helping out on that one.
"What're you doing waiting out there?!" A woman's voice came through the door and Clark could hear her fiddling with the lock. "It's got to be three below zero!" The door finally came open, revealing a plump woman in her early thirties wearing jeans and a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt.
"Hi," Clark said awkwardly as Jason stepped over the threshold calmly.
"Who've you brought with you, Jason?" The woman asked cheerily, ushering Clark in to the foyer where Jason was sitting on a bench pulling off his shoes.
"This is Mr. Clark, Mommy's friend from work," Jason said, smiling at Clark. "I showed him our treehouse."
"That's excellent!" The woman said, smiling, "Matt's up in his bedroom waiting for you."
"Thanks Mrs. Gallagher!" And then Jason was gone. He rushed up the staircase and burst into his friend's room, Clark watched through the ceiling, smiling as he watched the pair of them start building something Lego right away.
"They have fun together," Mrs. Gallagher said, still smiling. She was looking up the staircase Jason had just run up, not noticing that Clark had been able to follow the boy's progress through to his destination.
"Thanks for letting him come over today," Clark said nervously. "He's been talking about coming all morning."
"So has Matt. They're going to be busy all afternoon," she smiled warmly, finally looking away from the staircase and turning her attention to Clark.
"Do you want a cup of coffee before you head back out in the cold, Mr. Clark?" She asked, getting ready to move down the hall toward the kitchen to make him coffee.
"Only if you've got some ready," Clark said, "I don't want to be a bother…"
"It's no bother," she was already in the kitchen, pressing buttons on her coffee pot. "I'm Melissa Gallagher, by the way, you can call me Melissa," she smiled as he came in the room.
"Clark Kent," Clark said warmly.
"Why does he call you Mr. Clark, then?" She raised a curious eyebrow.
"Just what he calls me," Clark said, shrugging. The house was suddenly filled by the loud sound of a two things impacting each other, and, though only Clark could hear, the slight groaning of wood. "What's that?"
"That would be my husband," Melissa said lovingly, patting the door to the basement as she passed.
"He seems… loud."
"Sometimes," Melissa chuckled, pulling two mugs out of a high cupboard. "So you work at the Daily Planet with Lois?"
"Yep," he said, standing awkwardly just inside the doorway. "For a couple of years now, actually."
"Really, what section do you write for?"
"I write where it fits," he shrugged. "Lois gets the front page, I take what I can get," he smiled humbly.
"Funny that a girl like Lois would fall for a guy like you," Melissa said, not rudely, just an observation. "You'd think she'd have learned her lesson about office romance by now… Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to insult you, just…?"
"Oh, we're not together!" Clark said quickly, Melissa raised a curious eyebrow.
"And yet you're dropping her son off at his Sunday afternoon play-date?"
"She's just staying with me until she can find an apartment that suits her needs," he explained, shrugging. "I offered to drop Jason off. Give her a little quiet time."
"That woman's never heard of 'quiet time,'" Melissa chuckled.
"Probably not, she's probably writing her next big article as we speak," Clark said, chuckling at the truth of it.
The coffee maker dinged, and the hot black liquid trickled into the waiting pot, steaming all the way down.
"Thank you for the coffee," Clark said, taking the steaming mug from her with a smile.
"Not at all," Melissa said, smiling right back. There was thunder on the stairs and a second later two little boys of about the same height, Jason was a little taller, burst through the kitchen door. "Boys don't run in the house," Melissa instructed, not looking up from pouring her own coffee.
"Sorry Mrs. Gallagher," Jason said, walking a little softer as he followed Matt towards the basement steps. "Hey, Mr. Clark, do you want to come down and see the boat Matt's Dad is building?"
"Sure," Clark said after a glance at Melissa for approval.
The downstairs level seemed to have been entirely converted into a workshop. A man stood in on corner, driving nails into a huge wooden structure that looked like it could be a boat, like it wanted to be a boat but wasn't sure yet.
"Wow!" Jason said, running up behind Matt to get a closer look. The man stopped hammering and turned to face the three people that were interrupting his work. Wow, Clark thought, more concerned about his hearing than the odd-looking boat.
"Can we help, Dad?!" Matt asked, rocking up and down on his heals while looking extremely excited, though not quite so excited as Jason.
"Sure, sport," Mr. Gallagher said, going over to another bench and pulling out a toolbox full of kid-sized tools. He handed each boy a hammer and a fistful of nails, "I need you to nail this board," he held up a plain plank, "onto this one," he held up another, slightly larger plank," for me and then you can paint the name of our boat onto it."
"Okay!" Said Matt, immediately getting himself set up on the floor to start pounding on the nails.
"What's it going to be called?" Jason asked, still just holding the tools he'd been given.
"The Gertrude," Mr. Gallagher said happily, "after Matt's grandma."
"Oh," Jason said, not quite so happy anymore. He walked over to where Matt was happily pounding the nails through the smaller board and into the second, joining him with equal enthusiasm after a moment. Clark frowned slightly, but smiled when he noticed Mr. Gallagher's eyes on him.
"They wanted me to come see the boat," Clark said, Mr. Gallagher smiled at him, looking slightly curious. "Oh, I'm Clark Kent. I work with Lois- they're staying with me till they find an apartment."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kent, I'm Chris Gallagher," they shook hands.
"Call me Clark."
"Chris."
"Chris it is… well, I'll leave you guys to it then," he smiled down at the boys, who had stopped hammering for a brief moment. "Have fun, Jason, I'll see you later."
"K, bye Mr. Clark."
Clark smiled at him, nodded to Chris, and went back up the stairs. "It's a nice boat," Clark told Melissa, handing her his now empty mug.
"Yeah, Chris goes kind of crazy on his weekend projects like that," she smiled.
"I think I'd better get going," Clark said, smiling back. "What time did you want us to come pick him up?"
"Oh, whenever's fine… He can stay for dinner, if you like," she suggested. "We're having a simple dinner, chicken soup and bread. His allergies will be fine with that, right?"
"Yes, that should be great," Clark said, not wanting to explain why Jason's allergies were no longer a problem. "Give us a call if he needs to come home sooner," Clark said, handing her Lois's cell phone number. "Lois should have her phone on all day, knowing Lois," he smiled.
"Sounds great, Clark, thanks for bringing him over," they were at the door now, and Clark was putting on his jacket.
"Thanks for having him, we'll see you around seven, then?"
"Sounds perfect, have a nice day, Mr. Kent," there was something in her voice and her smile that made Clark look back at her from the driveway. He shook his head, pulling Lois's keys out of his pocket and waving before heading down the street.
Clark's prolonged absence had driven Lois to channel surfing to see if he'd gone off to save some small country from destruction. Finding no traces of Superman on the morning news, Lois hit mute and let her thoughts boil over.
Clark is Superman. Well, that makes things a lot less complicated... and a lot more complicated. My best friend who I might've been falling for also happens to be the world's greatest hero that I've been drooling over for years. He's got some explaining to do. Lois returned her attention to the TV, hoping to keep herself from getting angry before he had a chance to explain. Just give him a chance. He's probably got a great explanation for why you can't remember anything about Jason's conception or the days surrounding that... Yeah. Sure he does.
"That has to be the longest it's taken anybody to drop Jason off anywhere," Lois commented when he walked through the door, holding her anger in check.
"Well, fist Jason showed me the treehouse, then I had to have a cup of coffee with Mrs. Gallagher, then Jason had to show me the boat Mr. Gallagher was building, all that stuff," he said plopping onto the couch next to her and touching his cheeks softly. "They seem to smile an awful lot."
"Yeah," Lois said, smiling stiffly. "They do that."
"Looks like Jason will have fun though," he didn't smile back at her, still pushing on his sore cheeks. "Isn't it a little long for a play day, though? She said we didn't have to come get him 'til after dinner."
"That's the way we've always done it with Matt," Lois shrugged. "The boys love playing together so much, and it's really not a problem because they keep each other out of trouble."
"If you say so," Clark smiled, then the smile faded when he finally noticed the anger behind her eyes. "What's wrong?"
She just stared at him for a moment. What do you mean "what's wrong?!" You should know what's wrong. It's your fault. She decided not to say anything, turning her face away from him to watch whatever channel she'd settled on.
"Have you told him Super-I'm his dad?" Clark asked a little nervously after a few minutes of tense silence.
"He knows that Richard wasn't his real father," she said, trying not to glare at him. "Richard made that clear when he walked out giving us the rest of the night to pack…" Clark moved closer on the couch. He'd heard that conversation, having come to check up on them. He'd been about to come in through the window to settle them down when he'd heard his own name shouted back and forth and decided against it.
"Lois I'm so sor-"
"No, Clark," she stopped him point blank, pulling away from and looking him in the eye.
"Lois-"
"Let's not talk about that," she said decisively, Clark could only nod.
"So what does Jason know?"
"He knows Richard wasn't his father," she paused. "I think he suspects that he's related to Superman, but he doesn't know how… it makes it hard for him to guess when he doesn't really know how... you know."
"Yeah," Clark said, uncomfortable again.
"Anyway," Lois said, shrugging. "He's doing alright," she smiled. "He clamped onto Mr. Gallagher about a week after Richard kicked us out. Father figure, I guess. He's also been drawing Superman a lot, and of himself with Superman. He asked me the other night if I could get him to visit; he wants to connect with, well, you- being you."
"And you…?"
"What?"
"What's wrong, Lois?"
"You left me," she said, accusing, finally letting some of her anger out. "You left me and I was pregnant with your child. I can't even remember becoming pregnant with your child," her face and voice screamed accusation, but her eyes revealed only hurt. "You left the world alone, me alone... you left Jason alone. When you came back I was confused for about a day. Why would Superman come back to the people he forgot? But then we were on the Gertrude, and Jason threw a piano across the room. Why would Superman come back? For the son he made his lover forget!" She was on her feet, as far from Clark as she could get, pacing the length of the room in agitation. She turned to face him, crossing her arms and glaring at him, "You were my friend, Clark, and Superman was my dream guy… both of you disappeared, which makes sense now, but…" she finally trailed off, stomping out onto the balcony and slamming the door behind her so had that the glass nearly shattered.
Clark sighed heavily, leaning forward and massaging his temples. How had they gone from happily reunited the previous evening back to this strained- whatever it was they had. Taking a deep breath, he got up and went to join Lois on the balcony.
"Lois," he said slowly, not sure whether he was asking permission to speak or asking not to be interrupted. She didn't turn towards him, but she didn't turn away either. "I'm sorry for putting you through everything I put you through; I swear I didn't know that you were pregnant… I never would've left if I'd known." She turned to face him, glaring.
"Why don't I remember?"
"That time was forgotten," he said evasively, something not missed by Lois. He sighed,
"It was a… complicated choice," he shifted from foot to foot.
"A choice? I had a choice?"
He was silent.
"I'm sorry, Clark, but I would never have chosen to forget something like that."
"Under the circumstances, it was the best option," he pulled his glasses off, scrubbing a tired hand over his eyes and looking her in the eye.
"Why was it the best option?" She asked, not backing down.
"It was eating you up," he said almost too quietly for her to hear. "We couldn't... it was too dangerous... I was so stupid...!"
"I'll agree with that last part," Lois said, but her glare had softened. They stood there for a moment, staring at each other.
"Lois, I stand by what I said last night," Clark finally said. "I love you. I never want to leave you again. I want to be able to stand by you, raise your, our, son…"
"Clark-"
"Lois-"
"I want to love you too, but…" she sighed, looking down at her feet. "You weren't there," she said softly, almost too softly for a normal person to hear her, but Clark heard it just fine.
"I want to be here for you now," he took a step closer. "I was such an idiot before... I didn't think we could make it work... It was so painful for you- I just took the easiest way out. Lois... I'm so sorry."
Lois finally looked up at him. She was crying a little, silent tears wetting her cheeks; Clark put a gentle hand on her face, wiping the tears away, still thankful that she didn't push his small attempts at contact away.
"I wish I could remember," Lois finally said.
"I don't know how to help you with that," he said, smiling sadly. "I think, now that you know there's something missing, you might start to remember little things, but…"
"There's nothing you can do? No magic pill to swallow...?" Clark just shook his head, daring another step closer. She didn't speak, just lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Immediately, the dream she'd had the previous night returned to her; the view of herself shooting a gun at Clark in a hotel room. "Did I shoot you?" Clark chuckled and she tipped her head up to look at him.
"You fired an empty round at me to get me to think you'd shot me and get me to admit that I was Superman," he said.
"Oh, good."
"What?"
"I've been having this dream," she said, smiling at his almost offended reaction. "I thought I shot you- not a very good way to prove a theory if you ask me…"
"Well, it couldn't have hurt me… wouldn't have been so pleasant if you were wrong about me, though…"
"But you said it was an empty round."
"It was."
"Then it would've been okay," she smiled at him, knowing she'd won. Clark just smiled, shook his head, and kissed her forehead. They just stood there, slightly stunned; it seemed such a natural thing for him to do even though they were supposed to be mad at each other, or at least she was supposed to be mad at him. "This is so confusing," Lois admitted, leaning into his chest again. For the moment, her anger had dissipated, and Clark didn't want to say anything to upset the moment, so he just put his arms around her.
"You're freezing," he informed her. She shrugged apathetically in his arms. Ignoring her indifference, Clark flew a few inches above the balcony and maneuvered them into the apartment.
"No fair," Lois protested, but she smiled at him. Clark was about to respond, but was cut off by Lois's cell phone ringing. With an apologetic smile, Lois walked over to her purse and began digging through it for the phone mumbling something along the lines of, "Need x-ray vision just to find anything in here…"
"Hello? – What? – Melissa, what's wrong? – Is he okay? – Well what's the… okay – I'll be right there," she flipped the phone shut.
"What's wrong?" Clark asked. "Jason already tired of the Gallaghers after, what, three hours?"
"No," Lois looked worried. "Melissa wouldn't say exactly what. Said I wouldn't believe her if she said, but that I should get over there right now."
"Do you want me to take you?" Clark asked, becoming a little concerned for Jason himself. Lois only nodded, letting him don the costume before wrapping her arms around his chest.
They landed a block away from the Gallagher household; close enough to walk and get there quickly, but far enough away so that they could say 'we parked around the corner.'
"No, leave that on!" Lois complained when he changed back into his Clark Kent clothes.
"I don't hear anything going wrong," Clark said, noting to himself that his hearing hadn't been entirely accurate as of late. "I don't think you'll need Superman this time."
"Can you see anything gone wrong?" Lois asked, looking in the direction of the Gallagher house. Clark looked, and couldn't see anything that stood out.
Clark gave a few hearty knocks to get Melissa to the door. Lois stood there, shifting her weight and glancing from Clark to the door and back.
"Oh thank goodness," Melissa said, dismissing the fact that they'd arrived a full two minutes after she'd called, which was impossible over lunch hour in Metropolis. "Nobody's hurt, he's just…" she made a confused face and led them into the house and down the stairs.
The huge workshop was completely still, no banging hammers or laughing children this time. The boat had come along quickly in the short time since Clark had left, it now sat, at tallest, almost ten feet off the floor from its place on the supports. At first look, nothing seemed to be wrong.
And then Lois noticed her son curled in a ball in the corner, as far away from the boat as possible.
"Honey, what's wrong?" She asked, running to his side and hearing Clark follow almost as quickly. Matt and his father were standing next to the boat, looking completely lost.
"Mom?" He asked in a voice so small it made Lois's heart hurt. He didnt' look hurt, or like he'd been crying. He looked utterly terrified, though.
"It's okay, honey, I'm here. What happened?" She wasn't sure if she was asking Jason or the Gallagher men, who still hadn't moved. Jason didn't move to explain, just turned his gaze to Clark. Something seemed to click behind his eyes and he relaxed slightly. Losi turned to face Chris Gallagher, waiting for an explanation.
"We're not sure," Chris said slowly, looking at Jason carefully. "One minute he was fine, the next he was terrified and all bunched up in the corner like that," he gestured helplessly at the still scared but not quite so terrified form of Jason in the corner. "I thought he hit himself with the hammer, but he says he's not hurt..."
"Honey?" Lois asked again, but Jason wouldn' t look at her.
"Jason?" Clark asked, holding Jason's gaze. Jason didn't say a word, but he unfolded himself and stood up. He was holding his hammer in his hands like a lifeline, completely hiding the part used for hitting the nails. Clark x-rayed through his son's fingers and suddenly knew exactly what was going on. "It's okay, Jason," he said quietly, walking over and picking the boy up. "Let's just go home, now."
Jason just nodded, and Lois gave them both a look that told them she'd be getting an explanation as soon as the door closed behind them.
"I'm sorry, Melissa," Lois said when they entered the kitchen again. "I don't know what came over him... we'll give you a call, okay?"
"Alright."
"I'll see you at school!" Matt yelled to Jason when they reached the door. Jason nodded over Clark's shoulder but didn't look any more comfortable.
"Well?" Lois asked after they'd walked about a half a block and were approaching the alley they'd landed in.
"I'll explain it when we get home," Clark said and Jason nodded into his chest, still clutching the hammer tight. Clark handed their son to Lois and ducked down the alley to change into Superman. Wordlessly, he came forward again and pulled the pair of them close, sandwiching Jason protectively between both of them.
The flight back to Clark's apartment was silent. Lois watched her son, trying to find any reaction in his features, but his face was unusually quiet as he looked up at the man who was his father. They landed, and Clark set the pair of them gently on the balcony and changed back into Clark.
"You can show your mother the hammer, Jason," Clark said carefully. Jason looked up at him, reluctant. "It's okay."
Slowly, Jason unfolded his hands to reveal the metal 'grown-up' hammer he'd been using under carefull supervision. The head was bent almost as a ninety degree angle from the handle. Lois gaped, reaching out and taking the hammer so that she could examine it herself.
"But.. how...?" She looked at Jason's hands, examining him for injuries, then looked up at Clark and was surprised to see him smiling.
"It's okay, Lois," he assured her. "It used to happen all the time when I was a kid."
"You used to bend metal hammers out of shape?"
"Not on purpose."
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Jason said defensively. "I was just hitting the top of the nail like Mr. Matt's Dad showed me, and then I missed and it hit my hand instead. I thought it was going to hurt, but it didn't and I was confused... And then the hammer looked like that..."
"It's okay, Jason," Clark assured him quickly. "You're going to be like me, is all."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean things don't hurt me, us, like they hurt normal people," he said, crouching down to Jason's level and taking the hammer from Lois and bending it even further out of shape by striking his knee with it. Jason just stared at it and at Clark's undented knee. "When I started to not get hurt by things," he paused, trying to think of a way to explain it. "It didn't always work all the time, so you need to be careful. Sometimes things might hurt you, sometimes they might end up like this hammer."
"How will I know when I can get hurt and when I can't?"
"I don't know, Jason," Clark said sadly. "We just have to be careful."
Jason nodded, looking at the hammer again. Clark gripped it carefully, bending it easily back into shape and smiling at Jason. "We can just give this back to Matt at school Monday and they won't even know our secrets." Jason smiled at that, and the adults could see questions building up behind his eyes.
"What's that?" He asked, his smile faltering and his head twitching to the side at the same moment Clark's sensitive ears picked up the sound of a bank alarm going off.
"Bank robbery," Clark said, spinning on the spot, "I'll be right back," he promised before taking off from the balcony.
"No fair," Lois whispered under her breath as her son's father escaped the questions that began pouring out of Jason's mouth the moment he left.
Lois answered as best as she could, explaining that Clark was Superman and that Superman was his real Daddy; therefore Clark was his real Daddy. Surprisingly, Jason was overjoyed at the news.
"Can we see if he's on TV?" Jason asked after asking all the questions he could think of, most of which Lois had no idea how to answer. It wasn't that they were awkward questions; it was just that she didn't know why Superman wore red boots instead of green ones, or if he needed eye drops because of the wind when he flew.
"Sure," Lois said, thankful for a short break.
They channel surfed, finding Superman on the three prime news channels, each covering a different amazing feat. First, he'd stopped a notorious bank robber from robbing the Metropolis bank and turned him over to the police. Then, he'd appeared in China to save a group of nuns on vacation from being mugged. That odd story had been interrupted by an alert that, only seconds after he'd waved goodbye to the cameras in Shanghai, he'd been spotted in Yellowstone National park, keeping a couple of tourists from making some serious mistakes near the geysers.
"Wimp," Lois said under her breath as Superman continued to show up at various emergencies around the world, big and small. It was obvious he was taking as much time as possible, even taking on a few tasks that the police could've handled themselves.
Just seconds after he was seen saving a trio of beached dolphins in Hawaii, he was back in his living room. He didn't look tired, exhilarated would almost describe him. Jason got a hungry look on his face, as though he wanted to be able to help people, and fly and feel as good as Clark looked like he was feeling just then. But the sight faded, and Superman spun on the spot and became regular Clark again, though Lois would never see him as 'regular Clark' ever again. At least he left the glasses off now; knowing he was wearing them when he didn't need them would've been too much.
"Is you costume itchy and that's why you don't wear it all the time? How did you learn how to fly? Do you ever need to use eye drops so your eyes don't hurt when you're flying? Why is your suit blue and yellow and red? Why not different colors, like green? Will you take me flying? Can we come with you to Hawaii next time? I like the dolphins. What's China like? Do you speak lots of different languages so you can help lots of different people? How come you work with Mommy when you're really Superman? Do you have a Mommy? What do clouds taste like? How do you hide your cape inside your shirt? Am I going to be just like you when I'm big? When will I be able to really fly? Mommy said this has to be kept secret; do I have to keep this a secret? Can you read books without opening them because of your x-ray vision? What's your favorite movie? Do you watch movies? Can we fly kites above the clouds someday? What's your favorite color? Is it blue? I like blue. Mommy said you took her flying before I was born; did you really? Why do they call you Superman? Is that your real name? Or is your real name Clark? What am I supposed to call you? Does the Superman costume ever get itchy? How come…?" He stopped when Clark started laughing.
"And you thought you'd wait out the questions," Lois said, smiling as well. Jason looked between the two, confused.
"You certainly have a lot of questions," Clark sighed, flopping down onto the couch next to the pair of them. The tension was gone, Lois having forgotten her anger in the wake of all of Jason's questions.
"Did you get all of them, or should I go grab a notebook?" Lois asked. Clark just chuckled.
"Let's see, I'll tell you the answers to the ones I remember, and you can ask me the ones I forgot again, okay?"
"Okay," Jason said, settling onto his mother's lap, eager to hear the answers.
"Okay," Clark said, thinking back to the first question. "The costume is not itchy, but I can't wear it all the time or everybody would know who I am- I can't really go grocery shopping or to the park when I'm Superman, can I?" Jason shook his head, satisfied with the answer and waiting for the next one. "Figuring out how to fly is kind of a long story; I figured out I could jump really high and run really fast first. So, one day I was jumping around on the farm that I grew up on and I accidentally jumped onto the roof of our old barn and fell through. Instead of falling all the way to the ground I caught myself kind of like you did today, only I didn't get stuck," he smiled, glancing at Lois. She was paying as close attention to this as Jason was, knowing it was probably the only chance she'd have to hear stories like these. "I don't have to use eye drops because my eyes are built to stand up to the wind when I'm flying. I like green too, but blue and red and yellow just seemed like the right colors. I can take you flying anytime you want, but I don't think I should take you to Hawaii; somebody would get suspicious. China is very nice," he took a breath before continuing. "I do speak lots of different languages because it would be difficult to keep the people I'm rescuing calm if they don't understand what I'm saying. I work at the Daily Planet because it would be too tiring to be Superman all the time. I have two mothers and two fathers; both of my fathers are dead, though. One mother and one father died when the planet that I come from died," Jason started to ask, "You're from another planet?" but Clark held up a finger, nodding. "When I came here, my parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, were the ones that found me and took me to live in their house. My Dad died a few months after I finished high school, but my mother is still alive."
"Can I meet her?"
"Of course, she really wants to meet you," Clark said, pausing to try and remember the next question. "Clouds don't taste like anything, really. They're made of water so they're cold and wet, but they aren't solid enough to even taste like water. I don't hide my cape in my shirt; I roll it up and keep it in my pocket. For all I know, you will be able to do all the special things that I can do when you're big enough; we just have to wait and see. I don't know how long it will be before you can fly safely, it will probably still be a couple of years. Like I said, I was twelve before the possibility even occurred to me. Yes, you do have to keep all of this a secret," he said sternly. "Especially since your mother said so. Yes I can read books without opening them, but its not as much fun. I don't really have a favorite movie, but I get to watch a few now and then. It would be hard to fly kites above the clouds because that's where all the planes are and they'd be able to see us. I like blue too. I took your Mommy flying a couple of times before you were born. She was the one who called me Superman, but my parents from Krypton called me Kal-El, but everybody here knows me as Clark. So really, I have three real names, but most people I know call me Clark," he smiled. He wasn't sure what Jason was supposed to call him. He wanted Jason to call him 'Daddy," but that was probably asking too much. "What was the next one," he feigned forgetfulness despite the fact that he'd just answered every other question in order. "No, the blue suit doesn't ever get itchy; I'm too used to it."
"What am I supposed to call you?" Jason asked, not forgetting his question so easily. Clark glanced at Lois, though she looked as unsure as he was. "I called Richard 'Daddy,' but he wasn't my real Daddy. You're my real Daddy, but I always call you Clark. And besides, you said all of this had to be a secret and so if I called you Daddy or Superman somebody else might learn the secret," Jason said, looking at the adults carefully.
"Jason," Clark said carefully, thinking his answer through and glancing at Lois. "You can call me whatever you want when we're at home or there's nobody else around, but you might want to stick to 'Clark' when we're at work, okay?"
"Okay," Jason said, thinking.
"Can I call you Daddy?" Clark's chest felt like it might burst. Jason wanted to call him Daddy. He glanced at Lois; she seemed to be fighting emotions as well, though her face wasn't quite so easy to read.
"Of course," Clark said after a moment.
"Good," said Jason, crawling from his mother's lap to Clark's and wrapping his arms around his neck. "I'm glad you're my Daddy, I like you."
A/N: Just so you know- I went back and changed chapter 2 so that the police officers don't know that Superman has a Mom. As so many of you told me, Superman would never be that irresponsible. Sorry if you liked that part, it just didn't have anything to do with anything else in the plot, and, once it was pointed out, it made sense to get rid of it. Thanks for reviewing!!!!