By Marcia DeCaro (jmdecaro@pacifier.com)
Summary: Lois and Clark head to the Kents' anniversary party in Smallville, where Lois meets Clark's old friends and also learns some old secrets.
I haven't been able to come up with a name I like for this piece, my working title has been ' Meeting Buddy,' as I started writing it to give Clark a few high school/college friends and to answer the question on how Martha and Jonathan can come to Metropolis so frequently. It kind of evolved from there. I started writing this about three months ago and got stuck, but when the Kents came to Metropolis for their anniversary in ATAI, I felt that I had to finish it. I am very open to suggestions for improvement. I haven't written much fiction, but am finding it relaxing.
***
Perry strode out of his office toward Lois and Clark, his voice carrying over the whole newsroom. "Kids, this three- parter is great, I wouldn't be surprised if you two won another Kirth for this expose. Why don't you two get an early start on the weekend and leave now. Clark, I'm sure you still have a million things to do to get ready for your parent's anniversary party. And be sure to wish them a happy anniversary from me and Alice."
"Well, the extra time would be helpful, thanks." said Clark as he picked up his sport jacket from the coat rack. "Lois, how about if I pick you up about 3:00 and we can head out to the airport then? I'll let Buddy know that we can head for Smallville a little earlier than planned. I can't wait for you to meet Buddy, I just know that you two will hit it off." With that, Clark headed out of the newsroom
"Who's Buddy?" asked Jimmy as he came around the corner.
"From what I can gather, he's one of Clark's oldest and best friends. He, his twin brother, Brian, and another friend from Smallville all lived together in college. Buddy is a one of those corporate pilots and the guy he flies for doesn't mind riders, so he flies Clark and his parents between Smallville and Metropolis when he can." said Lois as she gathered up her bag.
"I think that I'm going to be on display this weekend!" Lois sighed, "And since I have the time, I think that possibly a new dress is in order. Clark said that I only need something nice for the dinner/dance and blue jeans for the rest of the time. But, I'm not sure if what I picked put last night will be right for Smallville."
"Well, have a good time, Lois," smiled Jimmy as Lois walked into the waiting elevator.
***
"Lois, I'm glad you were able to come with this weekend." said Clark as they pulled into the hanger parking lot. "Buddy said she'd be able to leave as soon as we got here."
"She?" questioned Lois, "I assumed that Buddy was male, didn't you say that you lived with her in college?"
"Not in that sense, we shared a four bedroom house that Buddy and her brother inherited from their grandmother." said Clark with a smile. "It will be great to see them all again, I haven't seen any of them since last summer."
At that moment, a petite, blond woman came tearing up and enveloped Clark in a large, bear hug. "Clark, you old dog, it's great to see you again. I've almost forgiven you for standing us up at Christmas." said Buddy with a grin. "You must be Lois. I've heard a lot about you from Martha—all good, so don't worry. I'm Beatrice Larson, but everyone calls me Buddy."
"You can sit up front with me, that way we can talk about Clark and he won't be able to hear a thing!. Besides, he usually falls asleep on me, when we are flying. Clark, put the bags in the back and we can get going. The plane's ready." Buddy said, as she put her arm through Lois' and started toward a small jet.
With that, Clark shrugged his shoulders and followed his oldest friend and his best friend to the plane.
***
"Well, now that we are out of Metropolis' airspace, I can relax a little and we can gossip." Buddy said with a grin. "Let me know if I start babbling too much, Clark and Paul both say that I babble far too much, and they are probably right. Paul is my husband, by the way. I assume that Clark told you that we were house mates during college. Well, Paul and my brother, Brian, were the other two people sharing the place. I've known Clark for all my life, his mom and my mom went through school together and they used to get together just so the three of us could play. In fact, it was my brother's fault that Clark broke his arm when he was four. He dared Clark to climb the tree out back of their house, Clark did and he fell out. Boy, we all got into trouble for that one. Clark and I dated for a while in high school, but realized that we were better at being good friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. I mean kissing Clark felt like I was kissing my brother. Do you know what I mean? O-boy, I am babbling, aren't I?"
Lois smiled and said, "I don't mind, Clark doesn't talk much about growing up, I know that he had a great childhood, he just has never expanded on it much. I'm enjoying hearing about it. I do have one question, though, what did you mean when you said that Clark stood you up at Christmas time?"
"Oh, that," responded Buddy, "He was supposed to fly back to Smallville with Paul and me on Christmas eve. We had plans on getting together on Christmas day, especially since Brian was going to be in town for the first time in several years, but when Paul and I got back to the plane, there was a box of gifts, and a note from Clark. The note said that something important had come up, he wouldn't be able to get away and could we please drop off the box at his parents and that he would call them later and explain. Never did find out what it was, but it must have been big. I've never known Clark to miss Christmas with his family. They are too important to him."
Lois sat back in her seat and smiled to herself. She was really starting to look forward to this weekend.
Then Buddy started in again. "You know, Clark is really the reason that Paul and I got together. Clark, Brian and I were like the three musketeers, doing everything together. Then in seventh grade, Paul moved to town and Clark immediately started asking him to join us. Soon we were the four musketeers. Like I said before, in high school, Clark and I tried dating, but it didn't work, I mean, every girl in school was interested in Clark and I wasn't really interested in sharing him. When it didn't work out between us, I realized that I would never lose Clark as a friend. He's not that way, although, I think he lost a couple of girlfriends because they couldn't handle me being around. And Paul is a lot like Clark in that he is fine being friends with women, but when he starts to think about us females as sexual beings, he gets real shy. I mean, you practically have to throw yourself at either of them to get any results. And with Paul, it was especially hard since we had been such good friends for so many years. Clark realized during our senior year in college that both Paul and I were considering the other as more than a friend, but didn't know what to do about it. Clark talked me into asking him for a date, it was the hardest thing I had ever done, it took us a long time to admit to each other, or ourselves for that matter, that we were in love, but once we did…it was wonderful."
"You know Clark's head over heels in love with you, don't you? Buddy continued. "It's written all over his face when he looks at you."
"Sometimes I wonder," replied Lois softly. "He's told me so, in fact he asked me to marry him, but I can't help feeling that he's keeping something from me and I can't say yes, until I shake that feeling or figure out what it is."
Buddy looked at Lois thoughtfully and said, "I think I may know what it is. Check if Clark is asleep, I don't want him to overhear what I am going to tell you."
Lois went to the back of the plane where Clark was stretched out and peeked at him, confident he was asleep, she headed back to the front, missing the slight smile that crossed his face. 'I really shouldn't listen,' thought Clark, 'but, I gotta know what Buddy knows, or thinks she knows.'
"Sound asleep, with his glasses on as usual." announced Lois as she sat back down in the co-pilot's seat.
Buddy chuckled, "That sounds normal, I sometimes think that they are glued to his face. But, back to Clark's secret." She turned to look at Lois and continued, "Are you aware that Clark is adopted?" Lois' startled face was answer enough. "I thought not, it's an open secret in Smallville, just never talked about, nobody in the Kent family ever talks about it at all. I mean, when Clark appeared, Martha and Jonathan just told everyone that they had adopted Clark and wouldn't give a single detail."
Lois turned to look at Buddy, "But why is that such a deep dark secret? It's no crime to be adopted. A lot of people are."
Buddy nodded her head, "I know, but here is where we get into rumor and hearsay, I don't think that Clark was ever formally adopted and there is something really strange about the whole thing."
"What do you mean?" responded Lois.
Buddy looked at Lois, "Sit back and I'll tell you all I know, the truth and the guesses, but remember this happened before I was born. My mom and Martha have always been really good friends. Martha and Jonathan found out that they were unable to have children about the same time my mom found out that she was pregnant with Brian and me. Martha was devastated. Then about two months before I was born, they appear with Clark. Neither she or Jonathan had ever said anything to anyone that they were considering adoption. Jonathan and Martha told Clark he was adopted about 15-20 years ago. I don't remember exactly when, but Clark was really upset about it. He told Brian, Paul and me, but then would never talk about it again. Now, jump ahead to our senior year in college, I drove Clark to get his passport and afterwards, he left his birth certificate in my car. I peeked at it and it said that Clark was a home birth to Martha Kent, with Jonathan attending and no one else present!!!"
Lois turned to Buddy, "What? That doesn't make sense. What could be so awful that Jonathan and Martha would lie on a legal document? They are two of the most honest people I know."
Buddy agreed saying, "I know, so I went and asked my mom what she knew about Clark's adoption. I didn't tell her about the birth certificate, but here's what she told me and this is where we get into rumors and hearsay. She said that there were a lot of really strange rumors going round about where Clark came from, but only told me the most logical one. Mom thinks that Clark is really the son of his mom's college roommate and good friend, Beth Jackson. Clark always refers to her as Aunt Beth. You will meet her this weekend. She has been helping Clark plan this anniversary party for his folks. After college, Martha came back to Smallville to marry Jonathan and Beth went on to become a foreign correspondent for the AP over in Europe. She never married, but would frequently come to visit the Kents, and usually had some good looking guy on her arm that barely spoke English. Well, several people reported seeing her in town, the day before Clark appeared. Or rather, several people saw a very attractive, petite, brunette with a tall, dark hunk of a man rent a car and head out to the Kent place. They were supposedly dressed in real high fashion, so people assumed that Beth and a friend had come to visit the Kents. But both Jonathan and Martha deny that Beth was in Smallville around that time. Sooo… mom thinks that Beth had a baby and gave it to the Kents to raise, but they never did any paperwork, because if it had gotten out that Beth had a baby, it would have ruined her career and life. You have to remember that this was the 60's and girls weren't suppose to do that sort of thing. I can always remember being envious of Clark, because he was always getting great presents from all over the world from his Aunt Beth. I think that he got his love of journalism and his wanderlust from her."
With that, Buddy returned her concentration to the instrument panel in front of her and said, "Why don't you wake Clark and tell him to buckle up. We're just about to Smallville's airport."
Lois opened the door from the cockpit and went into the back where she saw Clark stretched out and sleeping on the couch. She went over to him and gently shook him awake. "Clark, we are almost to Smallville, you need to get up and put your seat belt on."
Clark smiled and asked, "Did you have a good chat with Buddy? What stories am I going to have to live down?"
Lois just smiled back and commented, "I'll never tell. But tell me about some of the people that I will be meet at your parents' party."
Clark settled back into his chair and started in. "Well, mostly they are people I grew up knowing, Buddy and Paul Peterson, Paul is the pharmacist in town. His father recently retired and Paul took over the business. Buddy's parents, Emil and Lisa Bertels, will be there, they were best man and maid of honor at mom and dad's wedding. Brian and his fiancee are suppose to be coming. Brian lives on the west coast. He works as a computer programmer for some small company, and I have never met his fiancee so I don't know what she will be like. My Aunt Beth is coming. She's an old family friend, not really my aunt, but I've always thought of her that way. You'll like her. She was a foreign correspondent in the 60's and 70's, so she's lived in Europe most of my life. But she used to whirl into town every couple of years, shower me with presents and stories of far away places and then leave again. I haven't seen the final guest list, so I don't know who all is coming. Well, it looks like we are here. I have rented a car for us, mom told me she would hold dinner until we got there. I called her just before we left, so she has a rough idea of when to expect us."
As they got out of the plane, Buddy said, "It was great getting to know you, Lois, give me a call if the Kent clan gets to be too much for you and you want to get away. Otherwise, I'll see the two of you tomorrow night."
***
"Martha, that was a delightful dinner, thank you. Now, Clark and I will do the dishes. This is suppose to be your anniversary weekend. You should be relaxing." said Lois with a satisfied sigh.
"Yes, you and dad should go take a walk or something. We'll clean up." added Clark.
"That sounds nice, are you sure? After all, this is also a mini vacation for the two of you." responded Martha.
"We insist. Now out the door, the evening is perfect for a walk." Clark added as he handed them their coats and walked them out the door. He then turned back and began clearing the table with Lois. He sighed to himself, thinking how right it felt to do these domestic type chores with her and headed for the kitchen.
He was still daydreaming about it as he started washing the dishes, when Lois' voice broke into his thoughts. "You are so lucky, Clark, there are very few people our age who can say that their parents are still in love after 35 years of marriage. Just look at them."
Clark glanced out of the kitchen window into the back yard and saw his parents walking arm and arm away from the house and he started to smile when he realized that his dad had gathered his mom into an embrace and kiss.
With that, he turned to Lois, and commented softly, "sometimes my father has the best ideas," and gathered a slightly surprised Lois into his arms. She responded immediately to his kiss, returning it with one of her own.
Jonathan and Martha turned back toward the house, glanced up at the silhouette in the kitchen window, and without a word, turned back away from the house and began walking slowly across the yard, both softly smiling.
***
When they returned to the house forty-five minutes later, they found the dishes were done and Lois and Clark were stretched out on the sofa watching television. Martha cleared her throat and said, "Clark, I've got clean sheets on both the bed in your old room and on the hide-a-bed in here, you know where towels and things are. We're going to bed It's been a long day. See you two in the morning."
"Sounds good, mom, Lois and I are probably just going to watch a little more TV and then call it a day also. Let us know if the TV is too loud." responded Clark as he settled back against the sofa, put his arm around Lois and began watching the TV again.
"Lois, it's 11:30. Which would you prefer to watch Leno or Letterman? Lois, are you awake? Lois?" asked Clark softly. "Asleep already, what am I going to do with you?" as Lois gently stirred against him.
"Oh, Lois, I do love you. How am I ever going to tell you? I want to tell you everything, but I'm so afraid of losing you again. What should I do?" whispered Clark into Lois' hair, not realized that he had woken her enough for her to hear what he was saying.
"So that's the problem," thought Lois. "Buddy was right. I'm going to have to take charge of this relationship. He's afraid of losing me, the big dummy. Why would he think that his being illegitimate would have any bearing on my feeling for him? And I guess I shouldn't have assumed that he knows why I didn't marry Lex. I guess I will have to tell him." With that settled in her mind, Lois promptly fell back asleep.
Clark lay looking at Lois for a long time, thinking that he ought to carry her up and put her to bed, but didn't want to disturb her and had to admit that he really enjoyed her asleep next to him. Before long, Clark was asleep also.
***
Sometime later, Jonathan woke up and heard the TV still on. He went into the living room, saw them both asleep, smiled to himself, turned off the TV, covered them both with a spare blanket, started to take Clark's glasses off, then thought better of it and headed back to bed. As he got back into bed, Martha woke and asked what was the matter. Jonathan told her that both Clark and Lois had fallen asleep watching TV, so not to be surprised if they were still both there in the morning.
***
Lois woke as the smell of coffee drifted toward her and for a moment couldn't figure out where she was. As she lay there, she remembered what Clark had said last night when he thought she was asleep and smiled. Suddenly, she realized that she was still on the couch with Clark. "Clark, are you awake? wake up," Lois whispered to Clark as she shook him awake. Clark awoke, smiled sleepily at Lois as she continued, "We fell asleep watching TV. What must your parents think?" Clark immediately reached for his glasses, and was relieved to find that they were still firmly on his nose.
"Lois, calm down. Considering the TV is off and there is a blanket on us now, let's assume that at least one of my parents realized sometime last night that we fell asleep watching TV." responded Clark with a smile and with a teasing tone creeping into his voice he added, "Besides, it wouldn't bother them anyway, but if it will make you feel better, I'll make sure they know what happened…or should I say didn't happen. Why don't you take the first shower, while I get a cup of coffee and talk to my parents."
***
"Lois, I'm going into town to check on all the arrangements for the party. Do you want to come with? I won't be gone more than a couple of hours. We could have lunch somewhere when I'm finished." asked Clark as he walked into the kitchen after his shower.
"Sounds great. How about a picnic? After all, we are in the country." responded Lois.
At that, Martha chimed in, "Clark, stop at the deli when you are done in town. There are several things I need from there anyway and I'll call them with my order and ask them to pack you two up a nice picnic lunch. That will save me a trip into town this morning."
***
"Where all are we going this morning?" Lois asked as they got into the car.
"I want to check on the banquet room and make sure that the caterer doesn't need anything else from me and then I thought that we could swing by Peterson's Pharmacy and you could meet Paul. That way you will know someone else at the party. Besides he just put in Smallville's first espresso machine, and I have to tease him about that. Buddy tells me he got hooked on lattes on a recent trip to Metropolis and decided that this was the best way to support his 'habit.'" replied Clark as they drove into town.
After settling everything with the caterer, they walked the couple of blocks to the pharmacy. Clark saying hello and seeming to know everyone they walked past.
They entered the shop and wove their way to the pharmacy counter before the tall, dark haired man looked up. "Clark, I was hoping you would have a chance to stop by, and you must be Lois. I would have recognized you anywhere from Buddy's description of you." said Paul as he came round from behind the counter to give Clark a big hug and slap on the back. "The place is fairly quiet this morning. How about checking out my new toy and joining me for a latte?." continued Paul.
They sat down at a small table by the espresso machine and began to talk. "Did Buddy tell you that I met my birth mother last fall? It was a nice, but weird experience. She called my parents and asked them if they would mind if she contacted me. Have you ever considered looking for yours, Clark?" Paul questioned.
Then turning to Lois, he commented, "That's something that has always bonded Clark and me. We were both adopted and lucky enough to get great parents out of the deal."
Lois quickly put a surprised look on her face and was trying so hard to think of something to say that she almost missed Clark's reply. "About a year ago, I learned their names and that fact that they were killed in an explosion shortly after I was born. I'm alive today only because I wasn't with them at the time of the accident." Lois noted that he sounded slightly sad and looked like he was a million miles away as he talked about them.
***
Lois waited until they had finished lunch and were sitting on the blanket talking aimlessly before broaching the subject again. "Clark, I know it's none of my business, but why didn't you ever tell me you were adopted?"
Clark paused for a second, then replied, "I guess the topic never came up. I promise I'll tell you the whole story someday soon, but today I want to focus on my real parents, the ones who raised me, rather than the people who provided me with my genetic make-up."
Lois nodded, "I understand, but I'm going to hold you to that promise. I want to know everything about you, Clark Kent. You can be a mystery man at times." With that she leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. Then she sat back up and said, "I've been thinking, and there is something I have been meaning to tell you for a long time. You've never asked why I didn't marry Lex, but I need for you to know." Lois took a deep breath, turned to look into his eyes and continued, "As I was getting ready for the wedding, at a time I should have been thinking about how wonderful my future was going to be, all I could think about was how awful it was going to be without you in it. As I walked up that aisle, I realized that I didn't want a future without you being a part of it, and I know now that I love you, Clark Kent, and I want you to be part of my future, so yes, I will marry you, but only if you agree not tell anyone until tomorrow. I want tonight to be for your parents only."
With that, Clark reached over and drew Lois into his arms for a long kiss, before replying, "That makes me more happy than you can ever imagine, Lois, because I have loved you for a very long time." Then he kissed her again, and again, and again. Much too quickly they realized that they had better get back to the house, and get ready for the party that evening. So, slowly, they walked back to the house arm in arm.
***
Martha stood in the kitchen watching the two of them approach the house for a few minutes, then turned and said to Jonathan, "I think that the two of them have finally decided something, but not a word about it, you hear. We have to let them tell us on their own time and in their own way. But this does make for a nice anniversary present. Now I had better get going and get dressed for tonight."
Jonathan glanced out the window, smiled, and replied, "You're right, Martha, and I had better get into that bathroom now, or I may never have another chance."
***
"Clark, you gave your parents a beautiful party. You could tell that they were so pleased." remarked Lois as they drove back from the party. "I can't believe it's already past midnight. I'm not even tired."
"In that case, how about a walk, Lois? It's a beautiful evening," Clark replied as he turned the car off the main road and onto the drive leading to the house.
"That sounds nice, besides I want to have you all to myself for at least a short while tonight." sighed Lois. "But I need to change clothes first. These high heels won't do for soft ground."
"That's probably a good idea. You might want to put on a sweatshirt too., It's colder than it looks. There should be some in my old dresser, if you didn't bring one along." said Clark as they walked through the kitchen and toward the bedrooms.
Clark watched her walk into his room and close the door. He stood staring at the door for a few seconds and then with super speed changed into jeans and a tee shirt. Then turned back to the kitchen where his parents were just coming into the house.
"Clark, that was a wonderful party. Thank you again." said Martha, "Are you going somewhere? You changed your clothes."
"Lois and I are going to take a walk. We both are too awake to try to go to sleep." said Clark giving his mom a hug and kiss on the cheek, "Don't wait up. I don't know how long we will be."
At that moment, Lois returned to the room, wearing an oversized sweatshirt, with the mask from the play 'Phantom of the Opera' on the front, and blue jeans, smiled at the scene and said, "Love this sweatshirt, Clark, don't be surprised if somehow it ends up in Metropolis! I brought you one too," Lois impulsively gave Martha a hug, handed Clark the sweatshirt she was carrying and walked toward the back door, adding, "A walk will be a perfect ending to a perfect evening."
Clark started to follow her out the door, then stopped and said "I'd better grab a flashlight, Lois. It will be very dark once we get past the barn light." Turning to his mom, he asked "Is the big tornado light still in the pantry?" Martha nodded as Clark took it off the shelf, kissed her again and headed for the door. As he reached it, he turned and looked at his mother, took a deep breath, removed his glasses, set them on the counter, turned and went outside to join Lois.
Martha stood still for a moment, then turned to discover that Jonathan had left the room already. "Jonathan, come back in here." she said softly. He quickly came back into the kitchen to find her staring at the kitchen door with her hands over her mouth.
"What's the matter, Martha?" he asked immediately concerned.
Martha just pointed at Clark's glasses and sat down.
Jonathan stated the obvious, "He's going to tell her. I hope he hasn't waited too long, I have a feeling that there will be fireworks. Now what should we do?"
Martha thought for a moment, then replied, "Give me your glasses, you can see better without them than I can." Jonathan looked slightly perplexed, but handed her his glasses. Martha set the glasses next to Clark's and then turned to Jonathan and said, "Now we go to bed, we can't sit here and wait for them to come back, but Clark will see that we know what he is doing, and that if he needs to talk he'll come find us."
***
Clark quickly walked out of the house and into the dark where Lois stood gazing at the clear, star filled sky. "I forget how big and beautiful the sky looks when you are away from the city lights," sighed Lois.
Clark smiled at Lois in the dark and replied, "I know, besides seeing my parents, that's one of the reasons, I like to come home so frequently."
Lois laughed slightly, "Tell me all of the other reasons that you like to come here. I want to know what draws you here."
Clark shook his head slightly, "Not here. What I need to tell you, I want to tell you at a spot that is very important to me. Let's walk this way."
Lois looked up at Clark in the dark and asked, "What do you need to tell me, and where are we going?"
With a smile in his voice, Clark replied, "Always the reporter, let me get one thing out of my old treehouse and we can continue on our way." With that Clark climbed up the tree and reached in and grabbed a small black cloth bag, and quickly returned to the ground. "Let's go, and before you ask, no, I'm not telling you what is in the bag yet!"
Clark guided Lois across the field, helped her over an old fence and then pointed toward a grove of trees, "'That's where we are headed."
Lois then asked, "Why is this spot so important to you?"
Clark paused for a second and then replied, "Because, I guess, you could say that this is where it all started. It's now part of my parent's property, they bought it about 10-15 years ago when old Mr. Schuster died and his heirs didn't want to live in Smallville."
"All what started? What are you talking about? Does this have something to do with what you are afraid to tell me? You know, I was awake last night." Lois added softly taking Clark's arm. "Where are your glasses? I just noticed that you don't have them on. Do we need to look for them? Turn on that lantern thing you have. I don't think that I have ever seen you with out them."
"I left them back at the house. I don't need them here. Now sit down, we need to talk." Clark replied as Lois settled down on a large rock and Clark began to pace.
"Clark, sit down. What has you so nervous? There isn't anything that you could possibly tell me about you that we can't deal with together. Does this have anything to do with your adoption?" said Lois quietly as she patted the rock beside her.
"Oh, Lois, this is harder than I thought it would be. I know that I should have told you this long ago, and I know that I should have told you before I asked you to marry me, but I have kept it a secret for so long. I have never told this to anyone and I just don't know how to begin." cried Clark.
"Then start at the beginning. You said that this spot is where it all began, so begin here." replied Lois taking Clark's hand and gently pulling him down to sit beside her.
"OK," said Clark, taking a deep breath, "maybe you're right. I will start at the beginning. As I told Paul, my biological parents were killed in an explosion, but what I didn't tell him, was that they knew that they were going to die in that explosion, but didn't want me to die also. So they put me into a small spaceship and sent it away and it landed here and mom and dad found it and me. Lois, that explosion was the end of the planet Krypton."
Lois caught her breath, then said with a slight tremble in her voice, "but that is where…oh my god, you're Superman."
Clark just nodded his head and then after a minute of watching Lois and all of the hundreds of emotions playing across her face, continued, "Can you ever forgive me for not telling you sooner? I started to a hundred times, but either lost my courage or we were interrupted. A couple of days ago, I realized that the best place to tell you would be right here, where I wouldn't get called away and I could tell you everything without being interrupted."
Lois looked back up at him and gave a slight smile, "So tell all, I'm not sure why I'm not mad at you, but I guess that I just want to know everything. Do any of your friends know?"
Clark shook his head, "Only mom and dad and now you. I once briefly considered telling Buddy, but it never felt right. Jack has hinted that he guessed, but I have never confirmed or denied it, so he's not sure. What else do you want to know? Ask anything and I promise I will answer it, if I can."
Lois thought for a moment and then asked, "What did your parents' think when they found you, I mean…" her voice trailing off.
Clark smiled, "Well, they thought that I was either a Russian or NASA space project or something like that. They were afraid that if anyone found out that they had found me in a space ship, I would be taken away and put in some laboratory or something like that."
"'But didn't they notice things like…that you were invulnerable and could fly?" Lois continued.
"All of my powers came on gradually, and I didn't fly until I was about 18. By then, we realized that we couldn't tell anyone about me, so they played up the story that I was Beth's son, denying it, but leaving room for doubt. Early on, they realized that I would someday need a birth certificate, so they came up with the idea of the unplanned home birth."
"When did you find out that you were from Krypton? My god, I'm beginning to sound like I'm interviewing you for the paper." Lois said with a laugh.
Clark replied with a smile, "I don't mind, it's easier this way and believe it or not, Trask is responsible for that piece of information."
"Trask, that fruitcake!!!…My god, no wonder you didn't want to write about it." exclaimed Lois.
"Do you remember the globe? The one that Jack stole?" Clark asked as he picked up the small black bag.
"Is that what is in that bag? I often wondered where Superman kept it. I guess I should say, where you kept it." Lois added with a smile.
Clark pulled the globe from the bag and handed it to Lois, suddenly it began to glow and the form of a woman appeared before the two of them.
Clark whispered, "my mother," and then fell silent as the figure began to speak.
"Greetings, I am Lara. The thought that the two of you are seeing this makes me very happy. For it means that my son has found love and is loved. I programmed this globe to reveal this message only when held jointly by Ka-El and his life-mate. I wish that I could meet you, the woman that my son has chosen to share his life with, but I can only guess what you are like. I envision you to be strong, independent and beautiful of soul. I realize that you may have many questions about what life will be like with my son, so I will try to answer those that I can in the short time that I have. Jor-El thought this message unnecessary, so he knows nothing of this. We chose your planet because your people were the closest genetically to our own that we could find in the time we had. I believe that it may be possible for you to bear him children, but we didn't have time to ascertain whether yours or Ka-El's genes would dominate. I hope for a blending of both. Kryptonian males are loyal people, once they have chosen a life-mate, they stay faithful to them for life. Our average lifespan is only slightly longer than yours, but how your yellow sun will affect that we can't even begin to guess. I envy you, my daughter, hold him close as I cannot. May the Goddesses guide you and keep you in their stead. Farewell, my loves, farewell."
As the glow from the globe faded, Lois, with tears in her eyes, turned to Clark, noticing the tears slowly making their way down his face said softly "She was beautiful, but I'm glad you had the mother you had. She made you into the man that I love today. Let's get married out here. This would be the perfect spot."
THE END
(buddy.txt)