The Day After

Chapter VII

"The four of us under one roof. This is going to be interesting."

"I hope this works," he said. Life was definitely going to be interesting for the next few days. It also wasn't going to be easy. Lois and Richard were together, with his son, and he didn't know how well he was going to handle that. He would have to see them together, as a family. It was going to be hard, but as Jason's biological father, he had responsibilities that he couldn't – and wouldn't – turn his back on.

"I'm sure everything is going to work out. It just has to."

He just hummed in agreement, too exhausted to speak. She sighed and fell silent, too, lost in her thoughts. He would've died if she hadn't taken him to the hospital. He was looking much better, but she was still worried about him. He was almost as vulnerable as any human. She couldn't imagine how it felt to be invulnerable your entire life only to lose that in one day. At least he still had his dense molecular structure, whatever that was. How did this "aura" of his work anyway? If he had an impenetrable force field, then how come she could touch him? Well, she had plenty of time to ask him questions now that he was their guest.

Superman, their guest. It was still hard to believe. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she was confident that they were doing the right thing. Superman needed to get to know his son, and he had to learn to get along with Richard, and what better time to do it? He didn't have a place to stay, he was vulnerable, and he needed time to recover. Somehow, things had to work between the four of them.

Clark was leaning back in his seat, trying to get comfortable despite his understandable fear of Lois behind the wheel, even if she was driving at a slower pace. He kept looking out the window, amused that people stuck behind Lois kept changing lanes and moving in front of her. He was avoiding looking at Lois at all costs and he felt silly about it. She looked so beautiful despite her ragged appearance, and oh, those wet clothes clinging to her body... but he was a gentleman, so he was stuck looking out the window. His mother taught him better, and besides, Lois was engaged to Richard.

Richard. He was going to meet him soon. He was the man who helped save his life, won Lois' heart, raised his son, had everything in life that Superman couldn't even dream of... What could he possibly say to Richard? He would also have to tell him who he really was if he wanted to be part of their family. One of the reasons he lost Lois' love was because he kept secrets from her, and he didn't want to lose Jason, too. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Clark?"

"Oh, sorry, Lois." He glanced at her briefly, then caught himself and looked out the window again. It was raining hard, and his solar-powered body was reacting accordingly. He was incredibly sore and he just wanted to fly above the clouds and soak in the sun's rays. He never noticed it before, but his mood always seemed to change whenever it rained. Maybe the sun had something to do with it. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Richard. I will have to tell him the truth." He caught Lois' worried glance, and once again, the thought of Richard finding out the truth about Jason pained him. He wished there was another way, but sadly, there wasn't. "About who I really am. If I want things to work, then there can be no more secrets."

Her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips, and Clark almost wished he hadn't said anything. He mentally kicked himself as Lois silently fumed. "You know, it's amazing," she grumbled, "You're so ready to tell Richard, and yet, you never told me. I had to find out by myself, and even then, you tried to deny it."

He knew what was coming. "Lois, it's different with you."

"Boy, I'm glad you think so!" she said, her tone of voice rising with anger. "I'd hate to think that telling Richard would be the same as telling me!"