Epilogue: Reunited "Lois," came the quiet, croaky voice from the bed.
"Yes father?" she replied eagerly, happy that he'd woken. She sat by his bedside constantly, waiting for him to wake, ready to provide help. Seeing him struggle to sit up in his bed brought her a dual-edged sword of emotions. She rushed to help him glad that he was alive and recovering, yet the pain in her heart at his sufferings was so sharp. He'd been awake for a few hours the day before, but not spoken much. Water had been the only thing past his lips.
"Thank you," he whispered once he was propped up. Lois passed him a glass of water. He held it with trembling hands and brought it to his mouth. Lois reached out and helped him to steady the glass. After sipping gently he rested his head back and closed his eyes. "I remember something," he spoke. His voice was now without the dry crack after his drink of water. "I heard you coming, Lois. I heard you all calling for me, but I couldn't answer. I wanted to shout out."
"Oh, father," Lois choked out. She swallowed the sob which threatened to follow and brought a smile to her face instead. He said nothing else and she suspected he'd fallen back to sleep until he coughed a little. She helped him to take another sip of water and this time he didn't close his eyes. He kept them fixed on hers.
"I heard something else."
"What?" she asked. His gaze, steady and unwavering, suddenly worried her. A rapid increase in her heart rate sent a rush of blood to her cheeks. She felt the heat radiating from them in a blush. ‘Did he hear my pleading? Please no, he didn't!’
"Lois, did you mean it? Would you truly go to court for me?" Her heart sank. Waves of crushing disappointment overwhelmed her. ‘Clark!’ she screamed out in her head. ‘Clark, I have to say goodbye. How can I say goodbye to you?’ She closed her eyes to hide her distress from her father then she answered.
"Yes." She nodded and sighed. "I promised that I would go to court if you would wake up. And I meant it." She opened her eyes to see tears rolling down the face of her stern, emotionless father. She wrinkled her brow and sat forwards on her chair. "Father, what's wrong?"
"Oh Lois. You were right. Court is not the place for you. I was sending you because I had received word of a kidnapping plot. I feared for your life. But it turned out that
I was the target for kidnapping." His eyes sparkled with joy. "Please don't go, Lois. I would miss you so much."
"Daddy?" Her mouth dropped open in shock. "I … daddy, I don't want to go. I won't go. I'll stay and look after you. You know that."
"Yes," he nodded. "Although I think the life of nursemaid is also completely unsuitable for my adventurous daughter." She laughed and dropped her face in embarrassment. "But I would like you to find a husband all the same. I miss your mother so dearly, but the time I had with her … I would not trade it for anything. I want you to know that same joy and love, that same companionship. I want you to find someone that you can share everything of yourself with."
Lois parted her lips to reply and then all words skittered away from her. This man was not her father. This Commodore Samuel Lane was a very different man to the one who'd threatened to send her away. But as she pondered over his words she realised that this was the veneer of military stoicism stripped away revealing the true Sam Lane. She felt a tear drop from her cheek and onto her hand.
"Daddy," she began tentatively. "I
have found someone." She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the oncoming interrogation. ‘Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to test how much this kidnapping has truly changed him,’ she thought.
"You have," he perked up and sat forwards in anticipation.
"Yes. He was on board The Kandor. I met him while trying to find you." Lois had related her story, although briefly, when he first woke yesterday.
"A pirate?" Sam's mouth dropped open. "You mean to say that you are considering a pirate to be a suitable husband!" His voice rose. In his weakened state it could almost be considered a shout. His violent opposition to this idea was quite evident.
Lois forged on with her confessions and her plan. "Yes, he was a pirate. But … he doesn't wish to be. He is a good man." She injected all the integrity she could into her voice. In fact, she had not actually lied.
"Truly?" Sam frowned and rested back to his pillow. "And you are sure? You believe his story?"
"I do. You know what I have been through, father, to find you. Trust me. And I would not be prone to romantic notions of adventure."
"Hmmm," he sighed. "I will have to think on this. He obviously cannot continue to be a pirate if you are to …" He stared at Lois, trying to evaluate her story. "Perhaps you need to tell me more about him. What is his character like? What does he feel for you?"
"Father. I want your blessing on this, but I am old enough to look after myself and I shall marry him, with or without your permission." Lois held her breath. Here was the moment of truth. How much would her father trust her? Would 'Commodore Lane' return or would she keep her 'daddy'?
"Well, in that case …" he paused and his face softened. "I would still like to know him." He smiled and his eyes began to sparkle again.
"All right daddy." She let out the breath she was holding and rested back in her chair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark knocked on the door to the Commodore's office. It had been five days since their return from Isla de Muerta: three since the Commodore first woke fully. He'd received a summons to attend the mansion and had dressed in his naval uniform immediately. Walking up from his parents store he had tried to calm his beating heart. Of course the Commodore would want to discuss his report on the assignment, but would he also wish to discuss his daughter?
‘Lois!’ The thought that he may have an opportunity to see her while here at the mansion quickened his heart once more.
"Come in," came the shout of a gruff voice through the door. Clark turned the handle and pushed open the wooden door. It had been over five months since he was last here. "Ah, Lieutenant Commander Kent."
"Sir," he replied and strode forwards then stood at attention.
"I have read the report you submitted, Clark. I must admit that I was quite impressed that the pirate ship you managed to infiltrate was The Kandor. And to become First Mate. It seems my faith in you was well placed. It just seems that circumstances beyond your control lead to a very different ending to this mission than I foresaw. But all in all, I think that ending far surpassed what we could have expected: capturing The Kandor, retaking Port Krypton … and discovering the old Governor."
"Yes, sir." Clark nodded and agreed.
"I think we can drop the sir. I understand you are on leave."
Clark relaxed and let his mouth smile. "I am. My parents are spoiling me now that I am home." The Commodore smiled back.
"Good, that's good. I think you deserve a rest. And a reward. I was thinking of speaking to the Governor about some compensation … reward … for your dedicated service."
"Begging your pardon, Commodore." Clark coughed and looked away. "But there is only one reward I would ask." He turned back and then straightened his spine and focussed on a spot somewhere over the top of the Commodore's head. "Sir, I would ask for your daughter's hand in marriage." Clark's heart stopped beating as he waited for the older man to speak. The silence in the air almost became too much for him to bear.
"Well …" Clark glanced down from his stiff stance to see an unexpected look on the face of his superior officer. He would almost describe it as a smirk, but it looked more like he was trying to hide something. "I see. Um. Clark I think I must tell you that Lois has expressed her desire to marry a pirate that she met while searching for me. She seems most determined."
Clark's heart skipped a beat. "Then …" he began but was interrupted.
"I would be most honoured to have you as a son-in-law Clark, but it seems you may be too late. If you wish to ask her, then you have my blessing." His lips twitched, almost into a smile. "But do not hold out too much hope."
Clark's face split with a wide grin. "Thank you. Thank you for your blessing sir. And … I think I may surprise you."
"Well then. I expect you'll be wanting to look for her. She mentioned having a walk out in the gardens." This time the Commodore really did smile.
Clark bowed then turned and left the office.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He was directed through the house and exited out onto a spacious patio. Steps immediately ahead led him down into perfectly managed gardens. As he descended he saw her at the far end just about to enter a patch of wild flowers and bushes. Her feet just touched the gravel of the path leaving behind the short clipped grass when he called out to her.
"Lois."
She stopped and turned swiftly. Her face lit up in surprise and joy. As he strode across the lawn she grabbed hold of the skirt part of her dress and hitched it up a little then set off at a run. Clark could no longer keep the smile from his face. He had to hold himself back from also running towards her, but he was on an important, serious mission now, and he also had a strange feeling of being watched, so he restrained himself.
Lois slowed her stride for the final steps and came to a stop just in front of him. She grinned. "Clark, you're here."
"Yes," his smile disappeared only for the time it took to speak the word. "Your father wanted to discuss my report."
"Oh," she whispered. Her eyes shone and Clark started to drown in them. His breathing quickened and he felt himself drifting towards her.
‘No, not yet,’ he scolded himself. He had to blink a few times to escape the spell of her gaze. She was irresistible to him, especially so after four days apart. "Lois," he began to speak and she lifted a hand wanting to reach out. He knew that if they touched he would be lost. He couldn't afford that just yet. There was something he needed to do first, so he stepped back: away from her reach. Her face dropped in confusion. "Lois," he repeated "We have experienced so much together in these last two months. When you came on board The Kandor you puzzled me like nothing else ever has, and when you were revealed as a woman you tempted me like no other woman ever has. And to fall in love with you was so easy. But I fought it so hard, because my whole life was a deception at that point. I saw … hoped … that you were feeling the same way, but knew that it wasn't the real 'me' that you knew. But, in the end, I needed you too badly. When we were marooned and you got to know the truth; that was the best moment of our relationship so far." Clark paused in his story and smiled. "Our time on the island … I miss it, Lois." He gulped, attempting to get his emotions under control. "When I saw that ship on the horizon I … I seriously considered just turning away." He blinked at the moisture building in his eyes. "I didn't want to return to civilisation, where you could possibly be taken away from me. For just a moment I was the most selfish man on earth."
"Oh Clark," Lois sighed and stepped forwards, reaching out once more. Clark stepped back again.
"I … I missed you these last few days. There has been a hole in my heart, in my life. I knew it would be like that, which is why I wanted to stay on the island. Lois, I can't live without you." He stopped, took a deep breath and then fell to his knees. "Will you marry me?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Standing at the window overlooking the gardens Commodore Samuel Lane was not at all surprised to see his best officer down on his knees. He'd moved to the window the moment he'd sent Clark on his way, hoping to glimpse what he suspected may happen. Trusting in his daughter when she told him of the man she'd found, a pirate, had been the latest in a long line of good decisions, all involving the man currently proposing. When Clark had asked for Lois' hand he'd immediately known that standing before him was the pirate of his daughter's heart. It had been difficult to keep the laughter from bubbling out. As a father there was no man on earth good enough for his daughter, and the thought of a pirate as son-in-law was most distressing. But, if he'd been forced to choose, the one man that would have had Sam's unwavering respect and approval would be Clark Kent.
As he watched, Clark looked upwards from his bended position. Lois looked down. Sam was too far away to see any expressions, but when Lois nodded vigorously and Clark stood to embrace her, he knew his suspicious were fully confirmed.
The long, tight embrace eventually came to an end and Sam saw them pull apart. Clark kept his hands at Lois' waist and then he dipped his head. When their lips met Sam turned away, smiling.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Clark's lips on hers made Lois feel as if she were flying. Eyes closed, heart racing, she put all her passion into returning his kiss. She felt Clark's hand drift up her back then pull her in tighter. The closeness of their bodies delighted her. She brought her hands up to his face and deepened their kiss further. Her lips parted and his tongue dived in to taste more of her. She let her body melt into his arms. When they eventually parted she rested her forehead against his, continuing to cup his face in her hands.
"I think I'm going to like being married to Clark Kent," she breathed out. Clark smiled and rubbed his hands up her arms and shoulders. "But I think I'm going to miss Kal a little," she teased.
"Oh!" he raised his eyebrows and separated their faces. His hands travelled over her shoulders to her back again and tugged her closer. "Well, I think he's still around somewhere," he growled.
"Really?" she squeaked out in anticipation.
"Yes. I'm pretty sure there's still a little bit of roguish pirate left in me."
"Good," replied Lois, then pulled him back down to her lips once more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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