Chapter Ten

The stains on his costume had taken a lot of pressure and patience until they finally came out, he had been busy whizzing through the city saving people for several weeks since first saving Lois and it didn't help that his only costume kept getting burned, shot and stabbed leaving him to call Martha numerous times for help.

Maggie came walking out of her room with the folded up boxes signaling that she was finally done unpacking her room, "Daddy?"

"Yeah pumpkin" he responded with his face still buried in his suit with his glasses hanging on the edge of his nose.

"Will I get to wear a costume like yours when I get older?"

The question caused him to stop and look up at her, the subject of her nonexistent powers was something they didn't talk about but her positive attitude towards it always surprised him especially for someone so young.

She already knew the answer by the look on her face and the smile immediately disappeared from her eyes, "I'm going to be stuck this way forever, aren't I?"

Clark took his glasses off and placed them near his suit as he immediately kneeled down in front of her placing his hands on her shoulders like he always did whenever she was upset, "Just because you don't have superpowers like me and Aunt Kara doesn't mean that you're not special." He moves a strand of hair out of the way and gave her an encouraging smile, "Everyone is different in their own unique way."

"Was mom different to?"

Alicia was another subject he didn't like discussing especially when the questions came from his daughter but he just smile and kissed his daughter on the forehead before rising up to his feet, "Your mother was smart like you but she never let anything like having powers or not having them stand in the way of what she wanted. Just remember that no matter how alone you feel that there are people that love you unconditionally."

"I love you too dad." She hugs him before running off back into her room with Shelby following close behind allowing Clark to take a nervous breath and rub the back of his neck.

He turned back to his suit where he neatly folded it and walked into his room where he pulled out the steamer trunk from his loft and place the suit inside careful to cover it with an assortment of memories until he reached for the now empty velvet ring box.

It was winter time again but there was something different about it almost like he had entered a bubble silencing the outside world as he climbed up the small hill with a three year old Maggie bundled up in his arms fast asleep.

His heart began to beat faster when he reached the headstone her with name and just stood there unmoving contemplating if he could do what he had set out to do…move on.

Standing there looking down at the words etched on the stone would've sent him reeling back to when they buried her but he held his daughter close to him for support as he reached into his coat pocket to pull out a small band with a single diamond, "I would've come sooner but things have been so hectic lately and I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing by coming here with Maggie." He holds onto the ring allowing the cool metal to touch his palm, "To be honest I don't know why I'm even here or think that you can hear me. This went so much better in my head." He lets out a sad laugh and just shakes his head trying to find the right words despite the pain he felt being here again.

"Nothing I can say or do will bring you back but I want you to know that I'm going to be the best father I can be for both of us." He looks down at the ring, "Today would've been our wedding anniversary." The ring is placed on top of the headstone and just stood there for several minutes until Maggie began to squirm causing a small smile to appear on his face and he placed a kiss on her head, "Goodbye." He says in a hushed tone having one last look before heading off towards the truck.

Shaking himself out of the memory and putting the box back into the trunk Clark shut the lid and slid the trunk back into his closet making sure to close the door behind him just as the phone began ringing and Maggie called out for him, "Daddy! Ms. Lane's on the phone!"

Taking the phone from her, "This is a pleasant surprise Lois. I thought you were busy trying to find your mysterious hero. Did you miss me?" he jokes causing Maggie to let out a small giggle before quickly disappearing back in her room allowing Clark some privacy.

"That's real cute Clark." She faked a smile before quickly growing serious, "I thought you might want to know that Schott's popped up on the radar again. Police tried to get to him but by time they got there he was gone probably back in his little hole."

Even though Winslow Schott aka Toyman as Lois referred to him in their article had gotten away that didn't stop Clark from hunting him down as both the mild mannered reporter and as his yet to be named hero persona, "He must be using the sewer system to get around." He peeked into Maggie's room to see her finishing off a page in her math workbook before turning back around, "I can't really race down to the Daily Planet. Chloe's away at a tech convention in Star City and my parents are kind of busy with my cousin."

"Just bring the munchkin with you. Chief doesn't mind when Cat brings her son into the office."

Running his hand through his hair as he replied, "I'll be there as soon as I can." He hangs up and places the phone back on the charger, "Maggie get your stuff. I've got to head back to work."

He hears a small groan followed by the sound of someone moving around the room and his daughter walked out with her backpack, "Am I staying with Aunt Chloe?"

"No. You're coming with me to work."

Suddenly her disappointment quickly turns to excitement as he grabs their coats and prepares to leave, "Did you remember to feed Shelby?" she asks stopping her father from walking towards the freight elevator and used his super speed to refill the bowls before appearing at her side once again, "That is so cool." She exclaims never getting tired of seeing her father use his abilities.

Maggie sat at her father's desk playing Mahjong on his computer while he sat near Lois's desk gathering the information she had received about Winslow Schott, "How's she doing?" Lois asked gesturing towards the child, "Is she still having trouble adjusting?"

"Believe it or not she likes it here. I thought she would still be having trouble but I guess she got her resilience from her mother." He cast one look towards his daughter before going right back to jotting down note clearly trying to distract himself.

"Have you been to see her yet?" she asks out of the blue causing Clark to look towards the curious reporter, "Chloe called me a couple weeks ago venting about you being stubborn."

Shaking his head in disbelief, "I guess I can't hide anything from you or your cousin and no I haven't been to see her yet nor do I plan on it."

"Why is that if you don't me asking?"

Shutting his notepad and removing his glasses to rub his eyes which quickly caused something familiar to strike Lois before he put the glasses back on and the feeling went away, "I said my goodbye's years ago and I don't need to reopen those old wounds." He looks back towards his daughter, "Right now my focus is on raising my raising daughter and giving her the best life I can."

Lois pushes aside her hesitancy and places a comforting hand on his arm giving it a soft squeeze which makes him turn his head where his eyes locked with hers, "I'm here if you ever need me Clark. You're not alone as you think."

He places his hand on top of hers allowing himself a moment to feel her touch unaware that a small smile had appeared on his face, "I've never stopped thinking about you." He says softly still holding her hand in his, "Leaving you without saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I ever had to do."

"You don't need to apologize." She slips her hand out his turning back towards her computer, "It was the past, and we were both young still trying to find our place in the world. To tell you the truth I forgave you a long time ago."

Looking at her surprised, Clark was about to say something when his superhearing picked up on sounds from a police scanner talking about reports of fire.

While Lois was busy working on the computer and Maggie was safe at his desk, Clark quickly managed to slip away where he sped back home to put his suit on and sped towards the fire which was put out as quickly as it started.

Curious towards his sudden silence, she looked towards the empty chair and scanned the area to see him walking out of the bathroom, "How did you manage to disappear like that? No one's ever managed to sneak away from me before not even a Navy Seal."

Clark just shrugged while adjusting his tie, "I'm not like most men." She murmurs something in response but he couldn't quite hear what it was as he just shook his head and looked down at his watch, "Why don't we take a break to get some lunch?" she looks up at him surprised by the offer, "You can come with me and Maggie."

Lois looked a little apprehensive until finally giving in and agreeing to go with them with a small smile on her face which she quickly hid when they all got into the elevator.

To people that didn't know them they seemed like the perfect little family but what caught Lois by surprise was when Maggie grabbed her hand and just smiled up at her causing her to smile right back.

TBC

So Lois and Clark kind of talk about what happened between them while also showing a little bit of Maggie growing closer to Lois. The whole Toyman situation will be resolved soon but not before something happens that nearly causes Clark to cross the line and also coming up Lois comes face to face with Superman again.

Reader Question: Are you happy or curious about whether or not Lois will find out on her own that Clark is Superman?

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