Lois is now seeing Clark in his natural habitat - a place where he is helping others. Good training for the Superman-to-be. I think it would be interesting to see how this Superman will differ from the canon Superman - I don't know if your fic will go that far, but it's an interesting speculation.
This Clark has had many more trials and tribulations than canon Clark and yet he seems to be making a life for himself, beating the odds. And he has gotten to know the poor and helpless throughout the city. Very different from canon Clark who grew up in (relative) luxury with two parents on the Kansas farm. But maybe not so different after all - I'm sure the Kents insisted that canon Clark do charity work, yes?
