Almost there! Enjoy!
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Lois and Clark reluctantly parted ways with their son so the boy could go shopping with his grandparents. The team decided to go into work to keep their minds occupied, but Superman was needed before the trip to the Planet could be completed. They'd have to discuss the Superman issue very seriously soon. The small guy was so observant it was only a matter of time before he figured it out on his own. The couple wanted to tell him so they could answer any questions he might have.
Though not very much work was done that afternoon, Lois and Clark were able to keep their mind off of Robin. They arrived at Clark's apartment to the wonderful smells of a home-cooked meal. They also noticed the table had been set for two extra people.
"Mom," Clark asked. "Is someone else coming?"
"I thought maybe a couple of other people would like to meet their future grandson," she told him. While extremely presumptuous of Martha to invite Lois' parents to dinner, she also felt the younger couple might need someone to run interference for them. Learning of Robin's existence and being thrust into instant parenthood was enough for anyone to handle. They certainly didn't need an overbearing mother breaking their spirits as well.
"My parents are coming?" Lois' expression looked a little worried.
"Yes. I hope it was all right that I invited them." Now Martha was the one worried.
"Well, I had planned to ease them into this, but..."
"Martha smiled and placed a hand on the younger woman's arm. "They both sounded excited to be coming... if that's any consolation."
Clark reached out to touch Lois' shoulders. "We have to do this sometime, honey. Might as well be now."
Lois offered a small smile and leaned her head against his chest for a moment. When she leaned back, her eyes were searching the room. "Where's Robin?"
"And Dad?" Clark added.
"They are... trying out a new bike," she finished in a rush as she went back to the stove, clearly avoiding the younger couple.
"New bike? What new..." Clark stopped when he realized what she meant. "Mom!"
"What?" She faced her son with a stern glare. "We wanted to buy him a gift. And the bike was on sale," she told him defensively.
Lois lifted her hand to Clark's chest. "Clark, don't. They have the right to spoil their grandson. They have seven years to make up for."
Clark smiled and looked down at Lois. "I was only going to say that I hate I missed his reaction to such a generous gift." His eyes went back to his mom's. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome. He thanked us over and over as well. He's such a sweet little boy. Kim instilled him with a good character." His mother remembered Clark's college sweetheart. She'd thought at first that the young woman was all wrong for her son, having met Kim on a trip to visit her son. In fact, she'd never believed she could make him truly happy, but had liked her none the less. Most importantly, she'd made her son happy at the time and that was enough for Martha.
"That she did," Clark agreed. "I just wish she'd told me about him from the beginning."
Lois rubbed Clark's chest again. "You've got to stop beating yourself up about this. That's the past. He's here now and that's our future."
Clark lifted his hand to cup her cheek. "Our future... I like the sound of that. And I love you," he told her softly just before he kissed her lips.
The door banged open and a happy little boy bounded down the stairs. "Hey!" Clark released Lois just in time to catch his son.
"Hey!" Clark was thrilled the child was displaying this kind of affection for him.
"Miss me?" Robin asked when Clark settled him on his arm to look at him. The boy's outgoing, trusting personality was so much like himself.
"I did... very much." He ruffled the boy's hair before receiving a fierce hug.
Robin was grinning at a surprised Clark when he drew back. He didn't wait long before he reached for Lois, who took him straight from Clark's arm to hug him tightly against her chest. The boy wrapped his arms around her neck and laid his head down on her shoulder.
"Hey, why does she get the full treatment?" Clark protested.
"Because she smells good," Robin told him without lifting his head from the shoulder he was snuggled into. And she felt good. He was no little kid anymore, but it sure felt nice to be held. It made him feel safe.
"Good point." Clark shrugged and went to help his dad tuck the new bike out of the way beside the door.
"Thank you, son," Jonathan told him. "That boy rides like a pro. I think I'll buy your mom and me a bike so we can ride with him some days."
"You really do want to move here, huh?"
Jonathan reached out and clapped Clark's shoulder. "We really do. I'm looking forward to spending my retirement playing with my grandson."
"Are you going to be able to do that? Retire, I mean."
"Yeah. Your mom and I have talked and our savings is enough for me to be able to stay home and your mother..." He looked up to the kitchen where the woman in question was working. "Well, I think she may want to tell you something."
Clark looked up at his mom. "Mom?"
The woman turned and smiled at her son. "I had a talk with Perry today."
Lois shifted Robin so she could listen to the news as well.
"He thinks it would be a good idea if I came to work for him."
"At the Planet?" Clark asked.
"Yes. You're looking at the Planet's newest advice columnist." Martha smiled proudly.
"It's going to be called 'Ask Mom'," Robin announced proudly. "The Chief said he wished he'd thought of it a long time ago."
"How did he come up with the idea now?" Clark asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. He called here before we left and congratulated us on the addition to our family, then he paused a moment before he invited us to stop by the Planet. He asked how we felt about our grandson and we told him we were planning to move to Metropolis. He said he thought that might be the case and offered me the position. He said that with my life experience I'd be perfect for the position." Martha finished with a shrug.
"But I thought the point of coming here was to spend time with Robin," Clark continued.
"We will be spending time with Robin," his dad told him. "She'll go into the office while Robin's at school. The Planet's also generously giving us a computer to have at home, so she'll be able to check mail and whatever extra work she chooses." Jonathan smiled then. He was proud of his wife as well.
"Wow!" Clark said as he beamed at his mother. "I'm very proud of you, Mom. Congratulations!"
"Thank you." She smiled and leaned into the half hug that Lois was offering.
"Yes. Congratulations," Lois told her. She struggled to adjust Robin's position in her arms.
"Hey, Sport, maybe you need to get back down to your feet. I'm sure you're a little heavy..."
"No!" Lois cradled Robin's head against her shoulder and walked around Clark back to the living room. They settled on the sofa and Clark could only smile as they rattled on about Robin's new bike. He didn't have long to enjoy the scene because his hearing picked up a call for help.
"I, ah, I need to run to the store..." Clark started, catching the attention of those around him. "... to get some milk!" He hurried through the front door without a backwards glance.
The adults knew what had happened, of course, but Robin stared at the door for a moment before turning to his grandmother. "Guess you should have told him we picked up milk today."
Martha smiled at him. "Yeah. I guess I should have." She gave him a wink, then continued with dinner preparations.
Robin faced Lois again, Clark's departure forgotten, and continued talking about his bike.
****
The table had been set, dinner was waiting on the stove, and a pair of small hands had been washed when a knock sounded on the door.
"I'll get it," Robin announced as he ran up the stairs. He opened the partition and immediately recognized Lois' parents from the pictures she'd shown him. What took him by surprise was that they were engaged in a heated embrace. He smothered a giggle, waiting patiently for them to separate.
"Mother! Daddy!" Lois had made it to Robin's side and was shocked to see her parents kissing. The last time they'd been together, the older couple had argued the entire time.
Sam and Ellen pulled apart and faced their daughter. "Hi, sweetheart," Ellen said cheerfully. "It was so nice to get an invitation to dinner from Martha tonight. I've been dying to see her again." In usual Ellen fashion, she breezed in past Lois and Robin, greeting the Kents first and commenting on the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.
"Hi ya', Pumpkin," Sam told his daughter as he leaned to kiss her cheek. "And who's this?" he asked of Robin.
Lois, who was still too stunned to speak, could only stare at him with a gaping mouth.
Robin smiled and reached out to shake Sam's hand. "Hi. I'm Robin." He chose wisely to wait for Lois to explain exactly who he was.
"Hi, Robin. It's nice to meet you." Sam smiled brightly as he shook the boy's hand.
For the first time, Ellen noticed the small boy. When she'd shrugged from her coat and allowed Jonathan to take it, she turned to Lois again. "He must be one of your assignments," she commented. "I swear, Lois, you and that fiancee of yours have some of the strangest cases."
Lois pulled Robin over in front of her protectively after they'd stepped back down into the living room. "Actually, Mother, Robin's not an assignment. He's our son. Well, Clark's son, but he'll be mine, too, considering we're getting married and all. So, meet your future grandson!" She finished with a wide grin, not knowing exactly when she'd decided to just spring that on her parents like that.
Ellen's mouth dropped open, while Sam could only stare between Lois and Robin. "What?!" It was Ellen who found her voice first.
"Robin is Clark's son," Lois repeated. She looked down at the small boy and smiled. "Our son."
"Please tell me you're kidding," her mother said.
"Not a bit. We only found out about him a few days ago. Due to situations beyond Clark's control, we never knew about him. His mother died two years ago and he's been in foster care. The agency finally found Clark and now Robin's home." She finished her explanation with a note of finality, daring her mother to question it.
Of course, Ellen Lane questioned everything. That was the one trait she'd passed along to her award-winning daughter. "This is Clark's son?"
"Yes," Lois told her.
"And he didn't have any idea he'd had a son until a few days ago?" Lois nodded. "Come on, Lois. You're not that naive! Men tell you things like that when they want to cover their own..."
"Ellen!" Sam cut off the swear word he knew was coming.
"Well, they do, Sam! Think about it. This child has to be about six or seven years old. How could Clark not know about him?!"
"Because my mom never told him," the boy spoke up. All eyes focused on the child, who was clearly distressed by Ellen's reaction. He was terrified that a negative reaction from Lois' parents might cause Lois and Clark to rethink having him here. But what could he say to make her like him? "He really didn't know, Mrs. Lane," Robin told Ellen, then looked up at Lois. "I'll wait in my room until dinner's over." He'd just wait out the storm and pray for the best. Ellen's initial reaction hurt so badly that there was no way he could sit through dinner with her.
"No you won't. We're having dinner together," Lois said.
"Please, Lois. I don't feel much like eating now."
Lois wanted to smack some sense into her mother. How could she have hurt Robin's feelings like this? "Tell you what," she started as she kneeled before Robin. "How about you go on up, then I'll join you as soon as I have a word with my... *mother*." She flashed an angry glare toward Ellen before refocusing on Robin. He simply nodded sadly and turned toward the other room. He stopped just inside the doorway and faced the adults again. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Lane. Lois told me you're a doctor. I'd like to be a veterinarian some day." Lois' dad hadn't said anything negative. Was that a good sign?
Sam found his voice and walked over to the child. "That sounds like a fine plan," he said as he knelt to look the boy in the eyes. "Maybe I can show you my lab sometime."
"Really?" A small spark of hopefulness twinkled in Robin's eyes. Maybe Lois' dad was okay about him after all.
"Sure. I'm always in need of an assistant."
"You want me to help you?"
"I'll even get you a pint-sized lab coat," Sam finished with a smile.
Robin smiled at the man before peering past him at Ellen. His smile faded as he turned dejectedly toward the stairs to the loft. He felt really bad that Lois' mom didn't like him. He was scared that her feelings would cause problems for him and Lois. And there was no way he wanted that to happen.
Sam waited until the boy had made it up the stairs before he stood to face his ex-wife. "Ellen, you should be ashamed of yourself," he told her softly.
Ellen had the good grace to look chastised.
"Mother, I want you to know that I really want you to accept Robin. It doesn't matter whether you believe that Clark knew nothing about him or not as long Clark, Robin, and I know the truth. And the truth is that we knew absolutely nothing about Robin until two days ago. But we know now. Robin is Clark's son and will be mine when we're married. He's precious and adorable and we love him very much already. I'd be thrilled if you came to at least tolerate him. Although I have to tell you right now that I will not allow you to hurt his feelings again like you've done tonight." Lois finished her statement and marched up to the loft.
Just then the front door came open and Clark stepped in. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the others in the room. "Ah, hi," he managed weakly.
"Hi, son," Sam said as he extended his hand in greeting.
"Sam. Good to see you again."
"It's good to see you. I can tell you've been taking care of my daughter." Sam beamed at the younger man as he shoved his hands in his front pockets.
"Absolutely, Sam." Clark smiled right back at the other man before his eyes finally fell on Ellen. By the expression on her face, she wasn't happy at all. "Ellen, you're looking well." He stepped around Sam, but stopped short of greeting his future mother-in-law.
"I was very well until a few minutes ago." She grabbed Clark's arm to guide him to the far side of the room so they could talk quietly. She knew she'd made a huge mistake earlier and didn't want to cause further harm, but felt her opinion had to be stressed. "How the hell could you not know you were someone's father?" she whispered fiercely.
Clark sighed, trying desperately to control his anger. "Robin's mother never told me."
"And you didn't feel it necessary to take precautions?"
Leave it to Ellen, Clark thought. Only she'd come back around to that. "I don't mean to be insensitive, but that's my business, Ellen."
"Your future with my daughter is my business. And you bringing a child into your marriage affects my daughter."
"I know she's your daughter, but she's also her own woman. She and I have talked this through and together we'll take care of our son. I'm sorry if that causes you distress, but I can't change the fact that he's here." Clark turned away from Ellen, realizing for the first time that Lois and Robin were not in the room. "Where are Robin and Lois?" he asked his parents.
"Ellen let her mouth overload her..."
"And you have the gall to say something to me about my swearing," Ellen interrupted Sam.
Clark shot her an angry glare before looking to his parents for answers.
"Robin wasn't feeling very good so he went up to his room. Lois decided to join him," Martha explained.
Clark knew immediately what that meant. He faced Ellen again. "I've never said much about your treatment of Lois, although I haven't liked much of it. Since the first day I met you, you've been insensitive to her feelings. She's your daughter, Ellen, and she deserves your consideration. Robin is my son, but he will also be Lois' son. While I can't make you like him, I can tell you that Lois loves him. That alone should be enough for you. And as long as you have a relationship with Lois, as her future husband, I will insist that you keep in mind she's an adult and doesn't need your permission to live her life. However, because you *are* her mother and she loves you, she would like to have your support... even if you don't like all the choices she's made. I will also insist that her son be shown just as much consideration." He looked over at Sam. "Excuse me. I think I may be needed upstairs."
Everyone watched until Clark had disappeared into the loft before Martha spoke up. "Ellen, would you and Sam come out onto the balcony for a few moments? Jonathan and I would like to speak with you both."
Ellen stood motionlessly for a moment before she headed in the direction of the balcony. Sam sighed heavily and followed her out. Jonathan closed the door when he and Martha had stepped outside to join the other couple. He knew his wife was going to try to become the peacemaker and in this instance, he totally agreed with her.
****
Lois was sitting on the edge of Robin's bed, rubbing his back when Clark came in. She looked up with a sad expression on her face and shrugged. Robin hadn't said a word to her since she'd come up.
"Hey, kiddo," Clark said softly as he sat down at the head of the bed. "What's wrong?"
Robin remained silent for a long moment before he rolled over and sat up next to Clark. "I'm sorry, Lois," he said sadly.
"Why, sweetie?"
"Because your mom doesn't like me." His sad eyes peered up at her.
"Robin, my mom not liking you is not your fault. You're a great little person and if she can't see that, it's her loss." Lois reached out to smooth her hand over his cheek.
"I just... I don't..." He stopped and dropped his head.
"What?" Lois coaxed. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that if your mom doesn't like me, it'll cause problems and you won't like me anymore." He was too hurt to lift his head, so he kept staring down at the covers.
Lois gently shifted him into her lap and lifted his chin so she could see his eyes. "I want you to listen to me. Really hear me. Nothing, *nothing* could make me not like you. Mother doesn't have to like you; Martha or Jonathan, Perry, Jimmy, or even your dad can dislike you." Robin's brows rose to his hair. "But I promise you that I will always like you."
Robin could only look at her, trying to determine if she was telling him the truth. Her eyes held the soft light his mom's had when she looked at him. Did that mean Lois already loved him like he loved her? He decided that she was definitely telling him the truth and pushed his arms around her neck. "And I'll always like you."
Clark smiled as he watched the woman he loved embrace his son. This might not have been the scenario he'd envisioned for his life, but he didn't think it could get much better.
"Are you sure it doesn't bother you about your mom?" Robin asked when he pulled back to look at Lois.
"Of course it bothers me. I don't understand why anybody wouldn't like you!" Lois smiled at him brightly.
Robin giggled and wrinkled his nose at her. She really was the best.
His smile soon faded when he heard Ellen speak.
"I, ah, I don't mean to interrupt..." She trailed off, searching the room for the courage to do what she came to do. "Clark," she finally decided to start with him. "I have to thank you. What you said downstairs made me realize that I've acted horribly. Lois, I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. And a conversation with a couple of very proud grandparents got me thinking I might miss out on a lot of fun if I don't get with the game." She moved forward and extended her hand to Robin. "Hi. I'm Ellen and I'm going to be your grandmother."
Robin slowly got to his feet before reaching out to take Ellen's hand. "I'm sorry if you were upset about me, but I promise I'm a good boy."
Ellen smiled as her other hand came up to hold Robin's. "Martha was right. You're adorable." She offered the small boy a smile and received one in return. "Now, I have a huge favor to ask you."
Robin's eyes lit up. "I love doing favors!"
"Good. I want you to come down and have dinner with me."
"I can do that!" Robin told her with enthusiasm. It sure was good that she'd changed her mind about him. She might not like him like Lois did, but to have her like him at all was great!
"Then let's go!" Ellen shifted, but held the smaller hand in hers as they proceeded down the stairs.
It was a long moment before Clark and Lois looked at one another. "Can you believe that?" Lois asked him in bewilderment.
"No," he said immediately.
She slowly smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "Come on. Let's go eat."
It was easy to tell that she was excited by her mother's actions. Lois would be the last one to ever admit it, but her mother's opinion *did* matter to her. Clark hoped this would be the beginning of a much better relationship between mother and daughter. He chuckled and followed her down the stairs. Dinner wouldn't be ruined after all.
