The first thing Irene did when she arrived at the Daily planet was make multiple calls to S.T.A.R. Labs. She had attempted to contact Dr. Silas Stone directly but he seemed to be making a point in not answering her calls. That meant that she would just have to go around this the hard way.

With a sight Irene put her phone down on the desk and looked up to find an anxious Cat Grant looking at her with unceratingly. Irene had felt Cat occasionally glance her way since the beginning of the day, but had chosen to ignore how odd she was acting.

"What is it Cat?" Irene questioned not willing to wait any longer for whatever it was that Cat wanted to ask her. And truthfully Irene was uncomfortable with the idea of a Cat Grant who seemed hesitant and unsure of herself.

Cat Grant always took command of any situation. She wasn't someone who was hesitant to ask for what she wanted.

"Can I ask you for a really big favor?" She replied slowly almost like if she said it slowly it would make it easier for her to say. Irene couldn't possibly think of

"Sure."

"Well this afternoon I'm meeting with my ex and my lawyer about custody over Adam."

"Wait? Custody over Adam?" Irene began to question nothing about what Cat was saying made any sense. Especially when she was talking like Irene already knew the situation she was in. But suddenly the memory of Cat pleading to her to take care of Adam the day of the Battle of Metropolis came back. Then everything just seemed to click into place, yet she still wanted to hear Cat say it."Who's Adam?"

"Hold your questions and just let me finish." Cat said nervously as she took a deep breath. Irene couldn't help but worry, it almost felt like Cat was preparing to tell her that she only had a couple of days to live. "Adam is my son."

Irene wasn't sure if she felt shock or relief at the news. Cat had made it seem like it was hiding a terrible secret, but Irene just couldn't wrap her mind around the news. Cat had hidden it so well, having a secret like that in a building of reporters was almost impossible. "You have a son?"

"I didn't want anyone to know, only Perry does but only because he has to. I had Adam before I started working at the Planet."

"Why lie?" Irene questioned not understanding why Cat felt like she had to keep her son a secret. Though that explained why she was late every morning and tended to leave before everyone else.

"You're the only woman of color working as a reporter here. I'm sure you understand." Cat replied, lowering her voice. There was a tone in her voice that suggested that she was frustrated and upset. "People look at single mothers differently. I didn't want to get less work because of it. I don't want to keep my son a secret but I really wasn't given much of a choice."

Irene nodded because in many ways she did understand. She was a Latina woman working in a mostly male dominated field. Until she had been promoted as Senior reporter she was the lowest paid reporter on the floor. She had to work three times as hard as everyone else in the building because of her background.

"So what's the favor?"

"I need someone to babysit Adam while I meet with his father and my lawyer. Kara, the girl who usually babysits him, just moved to National City for college. I haven't been able to find anyone to replace her."

"I'm taking care of Mia today. Do you think you could drop Adam off at my brother's house?" Irene questioned sure that her brother would have no problem with Cat bringing her son for her to babysit too.

Cat's face immediately seemed to brighten at her words. "Yes. It will only be for a couple of hours. And don't worry Adam is a good kid."

There was some part of Irene that felt guilty for not getting to know Cat after they had been working together for years. Their desk's faced each other yet, never before had Irene cared enough to realize that Car Grant was much more than the woman that she led others to believe.

"I don't know how I feel about a boy being around Mia. Especially one her age." Angel commented after a couple of moments of silence. Irene knew he wasn't entirely on board, but he also wouldn't object. He knew that there was a good reason for Irene to bring a strange boy into his house, and it wasn't like she would have her eye on them at all times.

"Cut the jealous dad act." Irene replied not willing to put up with how ridiculous her brother was being. Maybe she was irritated because it reminded her of when she was a teenager and he would scare off all the boys that she liked. "I feel for Mia whenever she wants to bring her first boyfriend home."

Angel sent her a glare clearly not okay with his daughter ever dating. Considering that he was already reluctant about the boy band posters and the crush that Mia had on Superman, there was no way he would ever be okay with his only daughter dating. Irene could only imagine that being a single father only intensified that overprotectiveness that he had over Mia. Though Irene was truthfully okay as being seen as the cool aunt.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Irene began to worry about her brother's attitude. The last thing that she wanted was for Angel to be rude. "Angel that should be Cat."

"I got it."Angel muttered as he shrugged on his jacket ready to go himself. Taking his books on the way as he opened the door.

"So you're the famous Angel?" Irene heard Cat say as a greeting, which didn't surprise Irene. Though surprisingly her voice was void of any flirty undertones that she usually used whenever she spoke to men. Something that Irene began to realize was all an act. She had known Cat for years but she had only just realized that she really didn't know Cat at all.

"Famous huh?" Her brother replied as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

Cat smiled at Irene as she approached the door standing behind her brother. "I mean Irene only talks wonders about you."

"Everything you've heard is probably greatly exaggerated." Angel replied with surprising uncertainty, he almost seemed nervous.

"Mom." A young boy whispered as he carried his backpack in his arms and looked between Angel and Irene with uncertainty.

"Well this is Adam. Adam, this is my friend Irene and her brother Angel." Cat introduced as the boy awkwardly waved in response, Irene offered Adam a welcoming smile to ease his nerves. The boy looked remarkably like Cat and as she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder it was obvious that he was the world to her. "Thank you for letting him stay here."

"It's really no problem. I'm sure Mia is going to be glad to have someone her age to keep her company." Angel replied with a smile as she crossed his arms over his chest before casually leaning against the doorframe.

Irene looked at her brother in shock at his sudden change of attitude towards having Adam around Mia. Though clearly he also wasn't immune to Cat Grant's natural charms, he seemed completely in awe of her. His little pose against the doorframe meant to impress her.

Although she was tempted to laugh and tease her brother Irene knew that would only be cruel. Instead she bit her lip in an attempt to hide the amusement that she felt. "You already gave me the list of all his allergies. And Angel and I already cooked the kids dinner, so I hope you're hungry Adam."

The boy nodded as he took a step closer to his mother. He was clearly shy and reserved. The opposite of everything Mia was and there was no knowing how the boy would react to her big personality. Mia could very well scare the boy.

"Honestly Irene you're a lifesaver. I shouldn't be more than two hours."

Irene shook her head knowing that it was only a small favor. "Don't worry about it. Really."

"You be good." Cat told Adam pointedly as she gave him a light push towards the door. The boy reluctantly stepped forward into the house, a look on his face that screamed that he would rather the ground open up and swallow him whole. "Thank you two again."

"I'm actually headed out too." Angel said quickly as he practically stumbled after Cat out the door, before offering Irene a quick glance. "Make sure Mia behaves."

With a sigh of disbelief Irene closed the door, turning her attention to the small boy standing in the living room. "Come on Adam, let me introduce you to Mia."

Just as Irene had expected Mia had found it impossible to keep her mouth shut, asking Adam a variety of questions that he surprisingly answered. Even as the two ate their dinner they seemed to quickly become friends as they later started playing games in Mia's room. Considering that Mia was incredibly spoiled they had too many games to keep them occupied.

A light knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts, as she suddenly remembered that Clark was supposed to come by to attempt to cover more ground on the story. She still hadn't been able to contact Silas Stone, so it seemed that she would have to meet him personally tomorrow morning. Something that wasn't going to be easy, but she refused to accept no as an answer.

Opening the door Irene suppressed a smile at the sight of Clark Kent standing on the porch.

"Sorry about the trouble. I got stuck babysitting tonight." Irene said as she moved aside to let Clark in. They hadn't really spoken since last night, it seemed that that more complicated that Irene's feelings became. The more difficult it became to talk to Clark.

Clark shook his head as he stepped inside, taking in his surroundings for a moment before turning to face Irene. "I'm the one that should be sorry. I'm late."

"I'm sure you have a perfectly good excuse." She replied knowing that he was probably coming from saving someone's life. Although Irene knew that Clark wasn't bothered spending all his time helping others, she didn't know how he handled the pressure of living a double life.

"Tia Irene! Adam fell asleep!" Mia called out as she stepped out into the living room. The girl came to a sudden stop as she realized that her aunt wasn't the only person in the room.

Stepping away from Clark, Irene turned her attention to Mia who seemed frozen in place and unable to take her eyes off of Clark. Mia was in complete shock as she finally met Irene's eyes with uncertainty that was unusual for her. "Mia, this is Clark. Clark meet Mia"

"He's very handsome." Mia commented blushing instantly as she realized she had spoken the words out loud. In an instant Mia turned around and ran back into her room. And although Mia was currently shocked into silence she was sure that Irene wouldn't hear the end of Mia's thoughts on Clark tomorrow.

"Well, that was Mia." Irene said as she shook her head in disbelief, Mia really wasn't one to be shy. Since she first started to talk there was really no one who could get Mia to stop, she was a naturally outgoing child and seeing her flustered was something that Irene couldn't help but find amusing.

Clark smiled as he turned to Irene. "She has your eyes."

He was right. Mia did have Irene's eyes in the same way that she had her mother's. Growing up Irene had been jealous of Angel's more honey colored eyes but grown to appreciate her brown eyes.

"Sorry I just need to wash some dishes before we can get to work." Irene said quickly as she headed into the kitchen feeling a little self-conscious about Clark seeing so much about her private life outside of work. "Feel free to make yourself at home."

"I'll help."

"No. You don't have to." Irene replied quickly as Clark followed into the kitchen, an action that caused her to panic. The thought of him doing any housework was horrifying. "Really Clark sit down. I won't be long."

Clark didn't reply but made a point in picking up a towel waiting for her to begin. With a sigh Irene began washing the dishes, both of them working in a comfortable silence. A silence she almost preferred considering that talking had never really been easy between them.

"So is Superman going to make an appearance tomorrow?" Irene questioned after a moment, her mind beginning to wander off into work related subjects. Tomorrow was what the governor had declared as Superman Day, a day to celebrate what Superman had done for the city.

"I haven't given it much thought." He admitted, though the thoughtfulness in his voice suggested that it was actually something that had been on his mind for a while. "Will you be going?"

"Well, Perry assigned the event to me so I kind of have to be there." Irene replied dismissively. Perry still seemed determined to stick her name to any Superman related story, though now she was beginning to suspect that he was continuing to keep her name in the public eye to increase her chances at the Pulitzer. "Anyways Mia is kind of a Superman fan. She's kind of hoping that she'll catch a glimpse of the Man of Steel."

"Well, if Mia wants Superman to be there then it seems that I really don't have a choice."

Smiling, Irene handed Clark the last plate, turning her full attention to him. They hadn't spoken about the day. No citizen of Metropolis could easily discuss that day, everyone lost something the day of Zod's attack. What Clark had to do to ensure that Zod wouldn't hurt anyone else was something that clearly still haunted him. "I know you feel like you don't deserve it. But you didn't just save this city. You also saved the world. People don't know how to thank you, and this is their way of doing it."

Clark remained silent for a moment unsure of what to say. Again they seemed to slip into that place of uncertainty that they couldn't escape from. "Can I be honest with you?"

"About what?"

"About what I feel about you." He clarified, and she was at a complete loss of words. Afraid of saying the wrong thing and making herself look like a fool. Afraid to maybe hope, only to be disappointed that she had let her imagination run too far. Clark seemed to take her silence as her allowing him to continue. "About what I have felt about you for a very long time now. Though I always seem to be at a loss of words whenever I try to tell you."

Irene's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. She was sure that it was a reaction that Clark was very aware of. "Tell me what Clark?"

"Like I said I always seem to lose the words." He replied, but Irene found that she didn't need him to say anything. She wasn't sure when they had closed the distance between them, but they were now inches away from each other. Clark was about to continue before something else stole his focus causing his gaze to wander towards the door. "Something always seems to interrupt us."

Sure enough a moment later the sound of rattling keys was heard before the door slowly opened. Irene and Clark both unconsciously stepped away from each other as a familiar face stepped inside the small home.

"You're home early." Irene noted as her brother walked into the room. It was surprising to see him now considering that he should be in his second class of the night. "Don't tell me you played hooky?"

"Wasn't in the mood for economics tonight."

"Right." Irene replied with a raised eyebrow as she slowly realized what all of this was about. Angel really couldn't be more obvious about his intentions, especially with the way that he had been looking at Cat earlier.

Angel entirely ignored her as his attention focused on Clark who was standing behind her. "Who's this?"

Irene had almost forgotten that Clark was in the room, but seeing as Angel currently seemed to be sizing Clark up she suddenly felt like a teenager again. "Angel this is Clark. I told you he was coming over, remember?"

Angel continued looking at Clark for a moment before extending his hand for him to shake. Clark didn't seem to notice the slightly hostile tone in Angel's voice as she smiled and shook his hand. "Firm hand shake Clark."

"Nice to meet you." Clark replied as the doorbell rang which seemed to snap Angel out of his current protective older brother act. Irene would have let out a sigh of relief if Clark wasn't standing so close. The last thing she needed was for her brother to embarrass her in any way, luckily Angel's focus had completely shifted.

"I'll get it." Angel offered immediately as he headed towards the door, but Irene rushed forward ahead of him. They both reached the door at the same time and struggled for a moment to be the one to open the door, but with an elbow to the stomach Angel let go of the door knob.

"Hey." Irene greeted with a smile as she opened the door wider to let Cat inside. "Adam is asleep in Mia's room. He's really a great kid."

Cat seemed relieved to hear Irene's words, but from the relaxed set on her shoulders it was easy to assume that the meeting with her lawyer went well. Cat's eyes wandered off to Clark who was like a shadow behind Irene, a small smile touched the other reporter's lips as she raised a suggestive eyebrow at Irene. "Of course he's a great kid. He's my kid. Everything I do is great."

Oddly enough Irene felt a sense of relief to see Cat act like her normal overly confident self. Tha meant that she was okay, and not worried about losing her son.

"Here I'll help you with him." Angel offered as he led Cat into Mia's bedroom.

"Thank you again." Cat said again as she stepped outside, once again looking between Irene and Clark. "See you two tomorrow."

"Have a goodnight Cat." Clark replied as he and Irene watched silently as Angel carried the boy into the backseat of Cat's car.

Unable to move away from the doorway Irene watched as Angel started up a conversation with Cat. Her brother looked like a shy teenager attempting to approach the popular girl at school. Though in all reality were that in high school that would be exactly what they would have been. Cat had the natural ability to be the light in any room.

"What are they talking about?" Irene asked Clark, truly curious about what her brother was saying to make Cat laugh the way she was, Angel wasn't very funny. Although she wanted to respect her brother's privacy she was also extremely curious.

"He just asked Cat for her phone number."

Irene's mouth opened in shock. She had always encouraged Angel to begin dating again, she was very aware that it was something that he needed. But she would have never imagined that he would be interested in Cat. Or that Cat would be interested in Angel. "How the hell did this happen?"

"Fate. It has a way of bringing people together." Clark replied with a smile before he suddenly became tense. Irene recognized the look as soon as worry settled over his features. Someone needed Superman.

"Go." Irene urged knowing that it would be selfish of her to keep him here. With a small smile Clark was off, disappearing into the night sky and leaving Irene looking up almost expecting his immediate return.

"Where's Clark?" Angel questioned immediately, it seemed that now that Cat was out of sight he had the clarity to remember that Clark had been here moments before. Irene hadn't even noticed when her brother had approached her, but now that he was here all she wanted to do was question him about Cat.

"Family emergency." Irene dismissed knowing that Angel wouldn't push any further. It felt weird lying to him when there tended to be o secrets between the two siblings. But although Clark's secret wasn't an easy one to keep, it wasn't her secret to tell.

"Clark's a good looking guy. Seems nice." Angel commented as he looked at his younger sister pointedly. Irene knew the look and rolled her eyes not wanting to talk about the subject. She was well aware that Angel was worried about her lack of love life, worried that she spent too much of her life focused on work.

He wanted Irene to find somebody in the same way that she wanted him to. Irene never thought that person would be Cat Grant, but Angel hadn't even considered dating since Mia entered his life. Whether Cat was going to be the person for her brother Irene wasn't sure, she was just glad that Angel was even considering getting out there after all these years.

"He is. Cat's pretty great too. She's really pretty don't you think?" Irene replied knowing that shifting the focus on him would be the only way to get him to stop questioning her about Clark. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her very complicated situation with Clark Kent to her older brother.

And clearly Angel really didn't want to talk about Cat. Leaving the two siblings deep in thought thinking about people who seemed little too good to be real.

A/N: It was time for my girl Cat to get some love. I really have loved this character in the comics because I always thought that she was a really complex character, that was unfortunately reduced to a sex object. Like the woman has a young son! There's so much to explore there. And I did promise that Angel would find some love and who better than Miss Cat Grant?