As he flew over his city, Superman let out a long sigh.

Why was Batman so stubborn? He thought that the caped crusader would have been happy that Superman agreed with him- agreed that they shouldn't kill Dick, but instead bring him back.

But, no. True to form, Batman had been a contrarian. Instead of accepting Superman's help, he continued to wallow in self-pity. It wasn't, in Superman's opinion, a very heroic thing to do, but Batman's ideas of heroics often differed from his own, though they both still held to mutual goals for the common good.

Superman shook his head. Batman wasn't thinking straight. Grief had clouded his judgement, even shrouding his path to relief in a thick fog. He couldn't blame him, of course. Dick was so much more than Batman's partner, he was his son. And no father should have to lose a son.

Robin, he knew, had chosen to leave, but he also knew that family couldn't be thrown aside without consequences. Superman was sure that, wherever Robin was, he had to be feeling a nagging sense of guilt and loss.

So, despite Batman's protest, Superman was going to do his best to reunite the Bat-family before it was too late.

With a nod of finality, Superman mentally approved of his plan, and started his descent towards home. Landing quietly on his balcony, he took a moment to brush himself down before slipping inside.

It was dark. Lois was most likely asleep. Though, funny, she wasn't in bed. Maybe she was pouring over research downstairs. Or out, doing what she did best, and investigating a hot lead.

Tilting his head to the side, he listened for any sign of her.

Yes. Downstairs.

In a second, he was out of his suit, in his pajamas, and heading down the stairs.

Darkness. Strange. "Lois?"

Suddenly, the lights came on. Lois was leaning against the wall, finger still on the switch, with one arm crossed over her stomach. Clark almost chuckled at the over the top drama of it all, but one glance at Lois' face killed all levity. She was angry. No. Furious.

"Ummm." Probably not the most intelligent reply, but it was all he had at the moment. Clark quickly racked his brain for what he might have done, but came up with nothing. As far as he knew, he had been a model husband lately.

"I had visitors today."

A swell of panic rose in his chest. "Who was it? Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Don't worry, I'll-"

Lois held up a hand, stopping him. "Kid Flash."

"Kid Flash?" What had he been doing here. Talking to Lois? Why? Wait, she had said visitors.

The pieces fell into place and Clark suddenly felt a rush of shame. He hadn't told her. He just hadn't known how. He didn't want it to break her heart.

"Yeah, him too," Lois said tersely. She held his gaze, eyes hard, before suddenly looking away, and wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Her lip quivered, but there were no tears. Not yet anyway. "Clark, why didn't you tell me?"

Clark took a step forward, reaching out to comfort her.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a son?"

Clark stopped cold, and then turned hot as anger boiled up inside him, turning his hand into a tight fist. "Is that what he told you? That he's my son? Because he's not, Lois. He's not. He's a clone. Cadmus stole my DNA and made a clone. He's not my son."

Lois was taken aback for a moment before meeting his anger with her own. "Hey! Stop yelling at me. You don't get to be angry here; I'm the one who was lied to. You were the liar, I was the lie-ee. I am the only one who gets to be mad and yell in this situation. Not you, me! And, no, he didn't say that. He told me he was a clone."

"Good."

Lois looked confused. "Clark, why does that even matter? Son, clone, the point is, he's a part of you, and you didn't tell me about him. I'm your wife. You're supposed to tell me about huge, big deals like this!"

Clark hung his head, ashamed. "I just didn't want to hurt you."

"Well, you failed on that, big time. Because I'm hurt. I'm very, very hurt."

Clark winced as the tears finally formed, welling up in Lois' eyes, though she stubbornly refused to let them fall. He deserved her harsh words, and he regretted his own harsh tones, though his anger hadn't been directed at her.

Clark took her hands, and held them to his chest. "Lois, I'm sorry." He didn't dare look at her. "It's just that Bruce, Barry, everyone, even you now, keep calling him my son, and he's not. He can't be. Because my son, the son I want, the son I dream about, is the one we're going to have together. Our son. From our LOVE. Not a science experiment from stolen DNA.

"And I didn't want you to know about SuperBoy because I thought that maybe you'd think that if I acknowledged him, if I accepted him, that I would give up on us having children. And I won't do that, Lois. I won't ever do that. Somehow, some way, we're going to figure out how to make it happen. You and me, together."

His peace said, Clark felt drained, but found the strength to look up, hoping to meet Lois' eyes. But they were downcast, moving side to side as if she were processing everything he had said.

"Oh, Clark." She looked up at him, the tears finally breaking free, sliding down her cheeks ever so gracefully. She was so perfect, Clark didn't deserve her.

They held each other's gaze for a long moment before he broke contact to kiss her hands, before dropping his head to rest it on them. "I'm sorry."

"I know." She caressed his cheek before, gently grabbing his chin, forcing him to look at her. "One day, we will beat the odds, and we'll have a whole litter of kids flying around the house, causing all sorts of super trouble." She let at a little laugh which he echoed. "But, Clark," she continued, her voice serious again, "we can't just ignore what is. The reality is, there is someone out there like you. Another, Kryptonian. The only other Kryptonian. That's a big deal. It means you're not alone anymore."

"I can never be alone, as long as I have you."

"I know. You and I are two halves of one whole. But, this is different. I know that you've felt the loneliness of being the last of you your kind."

"I-"

"No." Lois put a finger to his lips. "I know. It doesn't hurt me that you feel that way."

Clark didn't bother to argue. Yes. It was lonely to be the only survivor. Lonely to know your entire planet, and everyone and everything on it, was dead.

"But you're not the only one now. However he came to be, SuperBoy is a part of you. He's a connection to your home, someone who can understand you in a way I never can, no matter how much I love you. And you can't just turn your back on that. You need him. And you know he needs you too. I saw it. He's lost, angry. You need to find him, hold onto him, keep him in the light and teach him about power and responsibility."

"Dad stuff-" Clark replied weakly.

"Big brother stuff-" Lois corrected. "You don't have to treat him as a son. I understand now. But, you're still family. You should be family."

"Big brother, huh?"

It was like a weight lifted off his shoulder. Big brother. He could handle that. It was less pressure, with less guilt, but there was still a responsibility, still a connection.

It was funny, Clark thought with a little snort. Flying home, he had been worried about Batman's family. It turned out he should have been focusing on his own.

"Clark?"

Clark shook himself out of his thoughts, and gave her a smile. "Okay. I'll make it right. I promise. Thank you."

"Well, I'm glad I got through that thick head of yours." Lois knocked on his forehead before giving him a quick kiss. "Oh, and nono more lies. No more secrets. Right?"

"Right. Now, speaking of family and thick heads, we're not the only one with a problem."

"Bruce?"

"Bruce."

"That's a tough one." Lois sighed. "I can't think of an answer that won't make someone miserable. Can't we- I mean, is it wrong to just focus on our family first?"

Clark echoed her sigh. "I don't know." He paused. "All right. I'll do what I can with SuperBoy- Conner, I think that's his name." Oh man, he didn't even know his name. "I don't know if he'll accept me now, but I'll do my best, I promise."

Bruce would have to wait.

He only hoped that he could.