- - - Chapter Twenty-Three

Jason threw the ball for Shelby again, watching the golden retriever happily lope across the yard and retrieve it. For an aging dog, Shelby was remarkably energetic, and it was a good thing. Jason had a lot of energy too, especially since he was getting so much sunshine.

He'd gotten the window seat yesterday morning when they'd flown to Smallville. He'd been a little disappointed by the plain, telling his grandma that it wasn't the same as flying with his dad. Martha had nodded knowingly, but reminded him to keep quiet about it. They'd stopped by Ben's farm to pick up Shelby, who he'd been keeping an eye on while Martha was in Metropolis. Ben had taken them to lunch at the Talon, Lana's coffee shop / bistro, before bidding them goodbye to go tend his vegetable garden.

Jason had had trouble deciding what to do first. Since they'd arrived on kind of a dreary day, Jason had spent the last half of Sunday watching the old home movies with Martha, going through half the popcorn and all of the crème soda in the house. He'd had trouble getting to sleep that night, staring at the red dot glowing on his father's old bedroom ceiling and wishing he was with his parents. He'd eventually fallen asleep and felt immediately better when he woke to find fluffy blueberry pancakes waiting for him downstairs and endless sunshine pouring down on them outside.

Martha watched from the window as her grandson played with the dog. He was very good at controlling his strength now, and he seemed to know the dog's limits. Eventually, though, the boy and dog got tired of playing that game and went into the barn to explore. Martha wasn't worried about him, there wasn't much in the barn he could hurt or be hurt by. The horses were and had always been docile, and the only piece of equipment not out in the fields today was the old tractor that had broken again. She made a mental note to have Clark giving the tractor a good talking to when he came to pick Jason up.

"Jason, lunch!" Martha called about an hour later. Boy and dog were still in the barn happily occupied, she'd been able to hear him giggling almost the entire time.

"Coming!" Jason called back.

They had the most excellent peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Jason had ever tasted, or so he told his grandma, for lunch with crunchy apples and chocolate milk. Jason happily ate everything on the table, surprising his grandma.

"You're a bottomless pit, aren't you?" She asked, laughing. Clark hadn't eaten that much until he was at least five years older, beginning to show his abilities. But then Martha remembered Jason was developing powers and probably needed the extra energy. She'd never been sure if food did anything for Clark, but the boy working his way through the third apple she'd cut certainly seemed to need it; he was half human, after all. Maybe he'd need a balance of what served as nutrition for his Kryptonian father, and what worked for his Earth-bound mother.

"Mom says I have a hollow leg," Jason said, shoving another apple wedge into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. "Is that possible, Grandma?"

"No," Martha chuckled, shaking her head. "But people say it a lot. Just like we say that you're a bottomless pit even though you're really not."

"Oh," Jason moved on, shoving another wedge in his mouth and looking out the window. "I like it here."

"Me too, dear," Martha smiled. They were interrupted a moment later by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Jason said, hopping out of his chair and jogging to the door. Martha smiles, clearing the table off quickly before joining him at the now open door.

"Lana!" Martha says, surprised. Lana looks equally surprised, but she's looking at Jason.

"Mrs. Kent!" Lana says, her head jerking up. "Hi! I just, um, I found this at the Talon last night when we closed… it's yours, isn't it?"

"Yes, dear, thank you… do you want to come in? Have some coffee? It's been awhile since we've had a moment," Martha says, taking the light jacket she'd left at the Talon the previous afternoon.

"Um, sure," Lana says against her better judgment, looking at the familiar boy with curiosity. She knows she's seem him somewhere before but can't put her finger on it.

"Jason, honey, you can go ahead back out with Shelby if you want," Martha says when the boy follows them back into the kitchen.

"K," Jason replies, whistling softly for the dog before they both disappear into the barn again.

"Jason…?" Lana asks, suddenly making the connection. "As in Jason Lane? Lois Lanes' son?"

"Yes, and Clark's son," Martha replies with an affectionate smile.

"… Clark's son…?" Lana manages.

"Yes, he's six years old," Martha was still smiling with grandmotherly pride, not noticing the other woman's discomfort. "Lois and Clark are on their honeymoon in Paris this week and I offered to keep track of Jason while they were away."

"They weren't married before?" Lana asks, not able to imagine Clark of all people having a child out of wedlock.

"No, that was a bit… complicated," Martha says, finally seeing a bit of the discomfort Lana was feeling. "So, how have you been lately, Lana? I haven't seen you around as much as usual."

"Oh, you know," Lana shrugs casually. "I've been keeping things up at the Talon… I was thinking about buying that empty building across the street, fixing it up and moving over there; it's got more space and the business is going really well. I might turn the lower level of the Talon into more apartments to rent out then."

"That's a great idea, dear," Martha says, letting the conversation take its course away from her son and grandson, knowing Lana didn't feel that things were truly resolved between them.

- - -

Lois and Clark strolled through Paris hand in hand. Their week was reaching its end and they were about ready to call in to Perry and beg for another week. But they couldn't do that to Jason.

They'd spent the first half of the week in their room ordering room service and enjoying the luxurious life. On Wednesday, though, they'd gone out of dinner at a fancy restaurant with the best food they'd ever tasted. Now it was Thursday and they were wandering around the park, looking up at the Eiffel Tower. Lunch had been almost an hour ago at a corner café. They couldn't get over how relaxed they were.

"I wish life could be like this every day," Lois admitted, hugging his arm close as they walked.

"Me too," Clark sighed. He'd fallen asleep and woken up by her side every day all week. That would probably never happen again during their marriage and he regretted it. "Well, Mrs. Kent," he said, smiling down at her, "what are you going to do with me for the rest of the day?"

"Well," she said, grinning back, "I think its about time we saw some of the sights."

"We've seen all the sights," he reminded her. They'd flown over Paris a couple of times when they'd found time to go flying together in recent months, it was how they had decided where to go on their honeymoon; flying over famous cities and popular honeymoon destinations to come to a decision.

"Yes," Lois confirmed, "but not from the ground… and we don't have any pictures."

"I never expected to find a photographer in you, 'Lo," he said, chuckling and she smiled back. They set off again, Lois pulling out the small digital camera to take photos of the places they were seeing, trying to get themselves in the shot as well.

They'd spent hours talking about the change in name that usually followed a marriage. Clark had suggested she keep her own name because she was famous for it, after all. Lois, however, admitted that she wanted to have his name. She wanted Jason to have his name, too. For awhile they'd considered hyphenating their names, but Lois thought it was tacky, as though they weren't really committed to each other. Clark had admonished that sharing a name didn't define their relationship. Eventually, though, he'd given in. Lois would change her name to Kent, as would Jason, but she would continue to use her maiden name for her articles.

- - -

Lois came into full consciousness with a groan. It was Saturday morning. They'd be heading to Smallville in the afternoon to spend some time with Martha and Jason before they returned to Metropolis after dinner. Oh the benefits of knowing a man that can fly.

She sighed, rolling over and finding herself falling into the deep blue eyes of her husband. Husband. That had taken all week to settle into her mind, but it had finally made it and couldn't help but smile.

"They sure make some nice eyes on Krypton," she said, stroking his cheek before letting her hand fall to the back of his head and play with the hair it happened upon.

"They don't make 'em so bad on Earth either," he said, not breaking eye contact.

"I'm going to miss this," Lois admits after a minute. Even without saying it, Clark knows exactly what she's talking about.

"Me too," he sighs. "I think its one of the only things I dislike about helping people."

"Well, maybe you should just talk to Batman or somebody and he can cover for you," Lois smirked, not able to see Superman and Batman having a conversation. Clark smiles knowingly, making Lois narrow her eyes at him. "What?"

"Batman's covering for me right now," he chuckles at the astonished look on her face.

"You mean you know Batman?"

"We all know each other," he admits. "The Green Arrow had this idea that we should for a group, the Justice League, he calls it… We mostly keep to ourselves and our cities, but it helps when we can contact and cover for each other."

"Really?"

"Yep," Clark shrugs, sitting up in bed. Lois sighs again, missing his heat immediately. Hearing the sigh he smiles over his shoulder and leans in for a kiss.

"So what do you know about them?" Lois asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "How much do they know about you?"

"We know who each other are," he shrugged. "The Green Arrow has three kids, Batman got married right before I left; I covered for him during his honeymoon."

"That's weird."

"It's nice to have people to talk to about it," he admitted. "I think their wives are planning a party for you."

"What?"

"They call it their Superhero Support Group," he chuckled. "They sit around and complain about things that you can all identify with… waking up alone, for instance," he said sadly. She sat up and wrapped her arms around him again.

"Is there some pact about not even mentioning other superdudes until we're married or something?" Lois asked, fishing through her suitcase for fresh clothes.

"No, it just… didn't come up, I guess," he shrugged, doing similarly with his own suitcase.

"It's an interesting… thing, though," Lois said, stopping her search to look at Clark again. "I guess I never thought about any of the others, Batman or somebody, having a life outside of what they do."

"Well, people really aren't supposed to," Clark shrugged. "That's just the way it works."

"Thank goodness for that," Lois said, not wanting to think about what would happen if another 'bad guy' found out that she was Superman's family.

- - -

Lana was back at the Kent farm when Lois and Clark arrived, claiming to have taken a taxi.

"So how was your, um, honeymoon?" Lana asked awkwardly. "In Paris, was it?"

"Yeah, um," Clark said, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"It's a beautiful city," Lois said, smiling warmly at her husband.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Jason said, running out of the barn closely followed by the dog.

"Jason!" Lois said, taking a few steps and getting to him first, bending over to scoop him up in her arms. Lana's smile faltered for a moment, she'd known Jason was Clark's son, but seeing them in the same place and hearing the words made it all the more real. They had the same eyes, their hair parted the same way… the little things.

"So what're you doing here?" Clark asked conversationally after he'd hugged his son and watched Jason drag Lois off by the hand towards the barn to show her 'something really cool.'

"Oh, you know," Lana shrugged. "It's a small town, I'm just out visiting," Clark nodded, accepting the excuse. In truth Lana had wanted to see Clark again, see for herself that her high school flame had really moved on. She hadn't believed that he had a son, not able to put the little boy she'd watched play with the dog for hours on end that afternoon next to the young man she'd grown up with and even dated for a few months. She had trouble putting Clark Kent next to Lois Lane as well, knowing a bit about Lois's personality from their first meeting months ago and from the types of articles she wrote.

"Well, it's good to see you again so soon, Lana," he said, trying to let the awkwardness pass by ignoring it. It didn't work. "So, you know what Jason has in the barn that's so amazing?"

"No, he was just going to show me, actually," Lana said. They walked together to the barn after Clark had put the luggage on the front porch.

"Daddy, look!" Jason said, crawling out from a hollow he'd made in the square bales of hay stacked against the far wall. Clark narrowed his eyes, looking closely at the structure his son created, noticing Lois looking on with similar awe. Lana's mouth fell open slightly. It looked like he had made a castle out of the hay with a tunnel through the bottom that Clark could see turned into two different chambers near the back of the barn. Surprisingly, the structure was stable, almost as though they'd been stacked like that to begin with instead of burrowed through after the fact.

"Wow, Jason," Clark managed. His son's smile was huge before he disappeared into his fort.

"Clark? Lois? Was that you I just heard?" Martha's voice came from just outside the barn. "I saw the luggage…"

"Hi Mom, we're in here," Clark called, walking out into the yard to give her a hug.

Okay, if you can't tell, I'm running out of ideas here. Where do you want to see this fic go? Are we ready to say 'and they all lived happily ever after'? Or is there some lane I should be walking down before this comes to an end? Personally, I don't really want it to end yet, but it just kind of feels like its winding down. Opinions?