3.

It was nearly six a.m. when Clark Kent heard a car pull into the gravel and dirt driveway. He stood from the kitchen table, where he had been distractedly nursing a strong cup of coffee, and walked over to the kitchen window. He squinted and leaned in closer, unsure he was seeing the image before him correctly. If his vision wasn't failing him, which is almost certainly was not, his eyes spotted Perry White hopping out of the driver seat. Moving over to the passenger side, Perry opened the car door and helped his mother out. She was still wearing the deep red evening gown she had been wearing the evening before.

Clark shook his head in disbelief, now remembering Chloe's text message from yesterday. The two made their way up the walkway toward the front porch, both in a contagious fit of laughter, about what, Clark could not discern. Martha put her hand on Perry's shoulder affectionately, almost as if to keep her from doubling over in laughter. Clark frowned thoughtfully at the sight before him. It had been years since he had seen his mother laugh like that. He hadn't realized it had been so long.

The two entered through the front door, and Clark prepared himself for their inevitable entrance into the kitchen. He stood against the sink and took a deep breath. Their laughter was louder now, as they got closer, and Martha was whispering "shhh" between fits of uncontrollable laughter. When they finally entered the kitchen, Clark regarded them with wide, suspicious eyes as they stopped short in the doorway, clearly shocked by his presence.

"Clark!" Martha exclaimed, surprised. "Uh. You remember Perry White."

Clark folded his arms across his chest defiantly, shooting Perry a stony glare. Perry smiled sheepishly, letting out a nervous chuckle at he looked at Martha for guidance.

"Where've you been?" Clark questioned, even as he himself was struck by the sudden role reversal. "It's almost six in the morning."

"Oh, sweetheart, you weren't waiting up, were you?" Martha asked, feeling guilty. "I thought you'd be out with Chloe until late. I didn't think you'd even notice."

"I noticed."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, honey. Really. I wasn't planning to be out so late, but then Perry and I went out for coffee and suddenly coffee turned into breakfast and…I don't know, I guess we just lost track of time," Martha explained, glancing at Perry, who nodded in agreement.

"That's all?" Clark replied doubtfully. "Coffee."

Martha rolled her eyes at him, offended by the suggestion it would be anything otherwise. "Of course."

"Clark," Perry chimed in. "If I've learned anything tonight – last night- it's that your mother is nothing if not a virtuous, respectable woman. Had I so much as tried to make a move on her, she would have been gone in an instant," he explained. "You don't have to worry."

Clark looked from Perry to Martha back to Perry again, eyeing them with rampant suspicion. "Uh," Perry muttered awkwardly, turning to Martha. "I think I should go. I'll give you a call." She nodded reluctantly. "It was…nice seeing you again, Clark."

Clark merely scowled back, anxiously waiting for him to leave. Perry flashed Martha a neutral smile, then exited through the back door. When he was out of sight, Martha glared at Clark, setting her purse down on the counter and moving to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"So, is this how it's going to be now?" She questioned, taking a sip from Jonathan's favorite mug. "I bring home a man of the opposite sex and you automatically give him the cold shoulder? I thought our relationship was more…evolved than that, Clark."

"Yeah, well, that was before you showed up here with Perry White at six in the morning!" Clark retorted.

"Oh, Clark." Martha shook her head, disappointed in his immaturity. "I had coffee with a friend. There was hardly anything to it."

"A friend?" Clark repeated dubiously. "Five years ago he was tearing through this town interrogating everyone, he almost got me killed jumping off that bridge. Now he's a friend?"

She sighed, reaching down to pull off her strappy high heeled sandals, as they had started to irritate her feet. "People change, Clark."

Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. "People change?! Mom, you should know better than anyone, people don't change."

"Perry was an alcoholic, down-on-his-luck reporter, not a mass murderer," Martha replied, defensively. "Cut him a little slack."

With that, she placed her mug in the kitchen, grabbed her heels, and walked across the kitchen to exit. "Where are you going?" Clark asked. "We need to talk about this."

Martha spun around in the doorway. "There's nothing to talk about, Clark. Perry is my friend. We're both adults and we've done nothing wrong."

Clark groaned, sitting down beside the counter, watching her walk down the hall and up the stairs. Had he been out of line?

--

"She's a single woman, Clark."

Clark groaned, taking a seat on top of Chloe's desk at The Daily Planet. That had not been what he wanted to hear from his best friend. "She's my mother. And she's a widow."

Chloe nodded, trying to be as sympathetic as possible while still being realistic. "Yes, and it's been almost three years. Did you ever stop to think she might be a little…lonely?"

Clark sighed, unable to protest. He hated to think of his mother as lonely or unhappy, but he also hated to think of her with anyone besides his father, especially not someone like Perry White or Lionel Luthor. It seemed his mother was purposely taunting him with her taste in the opposite sex. "That's not the point."

"I'm sorry, what's the point?" Chloe questioned with a bubbly confusion.

"You should have seen them, Chloe," Clark explained, obviously distressed by the memory. "They were out all night doing god only knows what. And there was so much…laughter."

"Oh, no, laughter? You're right. They must be stopped," Chloe deadpanned, rolling her eyes at him.

"Thanks for your support, Chloe."

"Clark, listen," she said, crossing her legs and leaning back into her chair, facing him. "If Perry White has the ability to put a smile back on your mother's face, isn't that good enough?"

He paused, considering the notion for a moment. "But he's…him."

"You really don't trust your mother's judgment?" Chloe asked doubtfully. "I mean, she was married to your dad for twenty-five years. You'd think she has pretty good taste in men."

Clark let out a heavy sigh. "You're right. I just don't know if I'll ever get used to the idea of seeing her with anyone but Dad."

Chloe reached forward and placed her hand over his reassuringly. Clark smiled faintly, missing the memories he had of his parents holding hands across the dinner table, their infectious laughter emanating from the master bedroom, washing the car together on Saturday mornings and somehow inevitably ending up in each other's arms. He would give anything to have those days back.

--

"Hi, Chloe!" Martha greeted the young girl contentedly upon opening the back door and finding her waiting. "Come on in."

Chloe smiled cordially letting herself in. "Do you mind if I…" She gestured toward the coffee pot.

"Oh, no, go right ahead," Martha replied, sitting down at the counter with a few documents laid out before her, preparing for her upcoming press conference. "If you're looking for Clark, he's not here." She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "I don't know where that boy gets to."

"Actually, Mrs. Kent," Chloe answered, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "I came to see you."

"Oh." Martha looked up, pleasantly surprised. "All right."

A steaming mug in her hand, Chloe sat down on the stool beside her and smiled a bit nervously, unsure where to begin. "Well. I've heard, through our own personal 6-foot, lightning fast runner of a grapevine, that you and Perry White have been…enjoying each other's company."

Martha blushed, but attempted to hide it with a confident, nonchalant smile. "We've had a few…conversations."

"Conversations." Chloe nodded knowingly. "Right."

Sighing, Martha responded, "If you've come here to dissuade me…"

"Oh, no." Chloe shook her head fervently. "Just the opposite actually. But Clark would skin me alive if he knew we were having this conversation, so if you wouldn't mind…"

Martha smirked. "Secrets are kind of a house specialty around here, I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Okay, well, Clark's got his flannel all in a knot about this, but I've been thinking a little about it, and honestly? I think Perry could be good for you. And you would certainly be good for him, that's for sure."

Martha looked down at her coffee cup, a little unsure and a little embarrassed, and shrugged. "A few conversations, Chloe…"

Chloe lifted a curious eyebrow. "A few conversations that must have been prolific enough to inspire him to make up excuses to run downstairs and see me almost once an hour since, so he can fish for the details on you."

Martha glanced up, surprised. "Really?"

Chloe smiled and nodded subtly. "Really." She leaned forward then, looking at Martha intently. "He's a good guy, Mrs. Kent. And if you could see the way his ears perk up whenever someone mentions you. He's got it bad."

Martha lifted her coffee mug to take a sip, hiding her smile behind it. "Well then…"

--

As she and Martha walked up the steps of the Metropolis city hall building, where the press conference was to be held, Lois couldn't help but keep glancing over at her boss. She had a certain glow about her. It wasn't quite the light that illuminated her when her husband was alive, but it was a distinct change in her usual appearance. When they reached the doors, Martha stopped and blocked Lois's hands from opening them.

"All right, what is it?" Martha questioned with determination. Lois looked confused. "You've been stealing glances at me all morning. Either I have something in my teeth or you've gone and started playing for the other team. Spill."

Lois was a bit taken aback. She hadn't heard Martha speak with such wit or conviction for years. "I, uh…well, it's just that you look…different."

"Different?"

"Happy," Lois revised quickly.

Martha smiled, almost shyly. "Well. I guess I got up on the right side of the bed this morning." With that, she flung the doors open and Lois had to scurry to catch up with her.

As they walked through the security check, Martha's cell phone began ringing. She smiled sheepishly at the guard, handing it to him as she passed underneath the arch. When she reached the other side, she grabbed her things, and immediately put her cell phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

She smiled on impulse when she heard the voice on the other line. "I left you at six a.m yesterday morning and I've had your number typed into my phone since 6:15," Perry announced, matter-of-factly. "It has taken all of the strength and willpower within me to keep from calling you not once, not twice, but fifty times, at least, prior to this moment. You have to admit, that's pretty impressive."

Martha bit her lip, trying to hide her enchanted grin from Lois as they walked through the main foyer of city hall. "I'm impressed."

"Good, because yours is the only opinion I care about," Perry replied without missing a beat. "What are your plans for the afternoon?"

"Well, I have a press conference in about three minutes," Martha answered, silently anticipating whatever he may have had in mind. "After that, I'm free until my four o'clock meeting with the City Commissioner."

Lois looked up, intrigued by the Senator's mention of her schedule for the day. The smile on her face told her it had to be Perry White on the other line.

"How about lunch then?" He suggested.

"I'm game," Martha agreed, feeling the conversation come to an end as she entered the ballroom full of rowdy reporters preparing for her press conference. "Where do you want to meet?"

Perry chuckled. "I'll find you."

She pursed her lips, considering the ambiguity of his words. "Should I be afraid?"

"Mmm, yes," he said in a low whisper. "Very afraid."

"Mrs. Kent," Lois interjected, jabbing her lightly. "The conference is about to start."

"Right." She turned back away from her. "I have to go. I guess I'll…see you."

"You bet," Perry replied.

Martha hung up the phone and dropped it in her purse, handing the bag to Lois as she took her notes and ascended onto the stage. Approaching the podium, Martha looked out into the sea of cameras and reporters, lights flashing in her eyes, and spotted a certain Perry White in the corner, almost lost within the chaos. They locked eyes, and she shook her head, a smile plain on her face. Perry grinned back, winking at her.

Lois stepped back, standing on the wings as Martha began the press conference. Within seconds, Chloe appeared beside her, watching the Senator with interest.

"Wow," Chloe muttered. "She sure wasn't wearing that when I saw her at the farm this morning."

She was wearing a thigh-length purple skirt, and a black spaghetti strap top covered by short, curve-hugging jacket, which revealed a bit more cleavage than she was used to.

Lois shrugged. "She's dressing for a man now." Chloe glanced over at her quizzically. "Before, she was just dressing for herself, she had no one to impress. Now she has to…dress for success, if you know what I mean."

Chloe chuckled at Lois's suggestive wink and shook her head. "Ohh, Clark is going to have a coronary," Chloe said, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Lois asked, as Chloe began typing a message.

"Texting Clark," Chloe replied. "Although I wish I could see his face when he learns that his mom is showing off the girls to his favorite reporter."

Lois laughed at her cousin, with a quick roll of the eyes. "Okay, while you're texting Clark about his mom's boobs, I think I'm gonna, you know, do my job."

Chloe nudged her playfully, not moving her eyes from her cell phone as she typed her message, as Lois jogged up onto the stage and stood behind Martha as she fielded questions from a mob of over-jealous reporters. Somewhere in the crowd, a smitten Perry White was anxiously awaiting his turn.

TBC.