The Youngest ReporterThe elevator dinged, and Clark stepped into the busy newsroom, his baby son squirming excitedly in his arms. Lois looked up from her desk at that moment, her face lighting up when she saw the two of them. she stood and met them at the bottom of the ramp. "Hey, you two! What brings you here?" She took the little tyke from Clark's arms, prompting some happy burbling.
Clark grinned. "Somebody just really wanted to see Mommy."
Lois's eyes widened. "Did he say so?!"
Her husband shook his head. "Not yet." He smiled again. "Probably very soon, though."
"What's very soon?" Jimmy came up from behind them, holding some photos for the next edition.
"Jon learning to talk." Lois beamed at her son, one hand coming up to tickle his chubby little belly.
Just then, Clark got a faraway look in his eyes. "Ah, Lois?" he whispered.
Lois nodded. "Go," she whispered back.
Jimmy didn't even notice as Clark dashed into the stairwell. "Well, isn't that something!" He wiggled a finger under Jon's chin. "Can you say Uncle Jimmy?"
"Guh!" said Jon.
Jimmy grinned. "Ji-mee!"
"Bee!" Jon let out a squeal and wriggled in Lois's arms.
Perry emerged from his office. "Now, what's all the commotion, here?"
A news flash came on the television just then, showing Superman at a derailed train. Jon squirmed and reached towards the screen, his little hands grabbing. "Da da!"
Lois stilled. Jimmy stared at Jon, wide-eyed, and parts of the newsroom had gone ominously quiet. Lois chuckled and tried to turn him away from the television. "Ah, no, Sweetie, that's not Dada, that's--"
"DA DA!" Jon screamed loud enough to be heard down in the presses. He wriggled and reached again for the television, which Perry was now standing in front of.
"Lois, Darlin', what did I tell you about working so much?"
Lois blinked. "What?"
Her boss casually turned off the television. "You shouldn't be here so much that your kid thinks I'm Dada!"
A chuckle ran through the newsroom as Perry approached them. He picked up Jon and tossed him lightly in the air, making him laugh. "If anything, Son, it's Grampaw." He smiled at Lois. "Now, how about we take this little hound-dog into my office, and I show him the difference between 'Dada' and 'Grampaw' by stuffing him full of sugar?"
Lois followed him into the office, stunned, with Jimmy close behind. Once the door was closed behind them, Perry made good on his promise by giving Jon one of the chocolates he now kept in a dish on his desk. He then turned to Lois and Jimmy, looking up at them very seriously. "A couple of things I hope we all remember about the Planet," he announced. "One is that we do not hang someone's laundry out for all to see unless it's for the public good. And two: we don't consider babies to be reliable sources for our stories." He handed Jon back to Lois and shot Jimmy a hard look.
Jimmy held up his hands. "Hey, Lois and Clark are my friends!" He turned to Lois. "Your laundry is safe with me. Uh, I mean your secret is safe with me."
Lois sighed with relief while Jon continued to smear his face with chocolate, some of it finding his mouth. "Thank you, both of you."
There was a knock at the office door, and Perry beckoned for Clark to enter.
Clark adjusted his glasses. "Sorry, I had just realized I forgot to pick up the dry-cleaning."
"Dada!" Jon squealed and reached for his father.
"Hey!" Clark took Jon from Lois's arms, his eyes wide with wonder. He turned to Lois. "Did you hear that?"
Lois nodded. "Yes, I did. In fact, we all did." She reached into Clark's pocket, took out his handkerchief, and began an effort to clean their son's face. "It turns out that Jon has a bright future as a reporter."
"Oh?" Clark titled his head.
"Yes." Lois added a little more spit to the handkerchief and scrubbed at the stubborn chocolate. "While you were on TV, helping out at that train accident, Jon tried to get his first front-page scoop."
Clark stilled. He looked at Perry. He looked at Jimmy. Both men were grinning at him. He looked at Jon.
"Dada," Jon repeated.
Perry chuckled. "Now, much as I love this little guy, we might need to limit his visits to the newsroom--at least until he learns how to keep his sources confidential."
Clark blushed. "Yes, Chief."
Perry and Jimmy escorted the two-and-a-half of them to the elevator. "Now, Lois, I mean it: it's high time you took some time off. Go ahead and email me the rest of that article, and I'll have Eduardo take care of your other assignments for the next couple of weeks."
Lois sighed. "Yes, Perry."
The elevator dinged, and Lois and Clark stepped through the open doors. Clark shifted Jon in his arms and put a free one around his wife. "Well, since you're being forced to spend two weeks relaxing in my company, is there anything you can think of that you might like to do?" He trailed a finger down her arm.
Lois grinned impishly at him. "How about laundry?"
The End
~~~ \S/ ~~~
Fictathon Prompts:Want:- Another character finding out about Clark’s secret identity in an unusual or hilarious way.
- Married L&C being cute together.
- Lois & Clark have a child or pregnant
Don’t want: - Wacky comic book style villains
- major darkness or angst
- AU/ALT world
TOCComments (FDK)Fictathon Master List
