The Day After

Chapter VIII

"Lois... we have to talk."

Richard was deadly serious indeed. Lois was still a mystery to him, but what he did know was that she didn't like talking about her feelings for Superman, or whatever had happened between them in the past. She would always change the subject and talk about something else, or completely deny everything, but not anymore. He was going to find out who Jason's real father was and nobody was going to stop him.

"Richard..." He could see how hesitant she was and he knew what was coming next. She was going to change the subject because she knew exactly what he wanted to ask her. "Listen, Jason's alone in the kitchen, I've got an article to write, and Superman's..."

"Lois," he cut her off before she started rambling about Superman again, "I've waited all day to talk to you, alone. Now we're alone. So, what's it going to be?"

She looked to be weighing her options for a moment, then finally gave in to his demands. "All right. Here?"

Richard glanced at the door to the guest room, where Superman was, then at the kitchen, where Jason was sitting all by himself. "No, they could hear us," he said, starting to head outside, "And you know how good Jason's hearing is." He heard her stop dead in her tracks, but after the momentary shock, she continued following him outside.

"Yeah, and Superman still has his super-hearing." He stared at her, finally realizing that Superman could hear their private conversation. "But he's asleep, so..."

"I doubt he'd eavesdrop on our private conversation anyway," he said pointedly, just in case he was listening so he'd take the hint and tune in elsewhere.

"Oh, stop, he wouldn't do that." Then she seemed to remember something and turned back. "I have to take care of Jason first. I'll be with you in a minute, okay?"

"I'll be outside," he said, then left without another word.

He sat down on the porch and just thought about what he was going to say. His heart was racing and he took deep breaths to calm down. He had to stay calm; he knew getting upset wouldn't help him and it would only push Lois away. The last thing he wanted was to give her a reason to take Jason and leave with Superman. He loved her, and he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she didn't know that Superman was the father. Maybe he was just imagining things and Jason was really his. Or maybe... no, he refused to believe that Lois knew the truth and kept him in the dark all these years. He would never be able to forgive her for that.

He looked out at the dark clouds and pouring rain, lost in his thoughts. e If it wasn't for the weather, maybe Superman wouldn't be in their house, and he never would've realized the striking similarities between him and Jason. Eventually, he would've written off Superman's visit the night before as being another routine check by the superhero. Superman doing that was rare, but not entirely unheard of. But he'd seen those unnaturally blue eyes on both of them and he could never go back to being in the dark. Now his entire family was in jeopardy and it wasn't from a sinking yacht, but from Superman coming into their lives and possibly claiming what was rightfully his. How was he supposed to compete with that? He just didn't know what to do.

So, Richard just sat there for a while, going over all his options, when he finally heard the door open. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Lois at the door, looking just as nervous as he was. He quickly left his seat and motioned for Lois to sit down, which she did after some hesitation. He paced back and forth for a while, thinking of what to say, but came up empty.

"Lois," he finally said, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to find the words, "I don't know how to say this..." She just stared at him, waiting for him to continue, and he finally decided that it would be fitting to begin the interrogation with the event that started it all. "I saw Superman visit Jason last night."