Extra long FINAL part. So savor it.
Book Three: Hidden Joys, will be up in a few weeks!
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to drop a line and speculate on the next book!
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Chloe arrived shortly after General Lane left, having stayed behind at Watchtower to meet Oliver. She found Lois on the stairs, trying to calm Joel.
“He can’t be hungry, cause I’ve just fed him,” Lois said, looking tired and distraught. “I need to tend to Clark—“ she stopped midsentence, unable to finish.
“How bad is he, Lois?” Chloe said, coming to sit by her cousin. Clark was just a wall away, and though he seemed asleep, Lois didn’t want to voice her worst fears.
She simply shook her head, tears in her eyes. “I just need to help him.”
Chloe reached for Joel. “Here, let’s see if I can help out. Go on. Take care of Clark. If I need you, I’ll call you.”
Lois gave her cousin a half hug as she handed over her son. “Thanks, cuz. I think maybe he just senses all the—everything, you know?” she said with a wave of her hand, encompassing everything from his kidnapping to Clark laying prostrate on the sofa in the other room.
Chloe nodded, and started heading up the stairs. “Don’t worry, Lois. Just go take care of our hero in there,” she said, nodding in the direction of the living room.
Lois forced a smile, and then turned, gathering the rest of her supplies before heading in the other room to take care of her fiancé. Seeing Clark lying there sent a lump of sadness to her throat. She took a steadying breath, knowing that breaking down in tears wasn’t what Clark needed right now.
Lois’ father had lain out some towels on the sofa and helped Lois to situate Clark a bit more comfortably before he left. He’d promised to check on them in the morning, and told Lois that first thing, he’d be in touch with Martha about how to stop the VRA and bring Wilson to justice.
The farmhouse was quiet now, save for Clark’s labored breathing. Once Lois had her supplies laid out, she began tentatively washing him down, at first tending to the wounds on his back. Once the blood was cleaned up, it didn’t look too terribly bad. But Clark flinched every time she touched his back, as she carefully put healing ointment on it. Lois hoped that tomorrow morning the sun would do more to restore him, but she wasn’t about to wait until sunrise to help him. Besides, he had never been exposed this long to Kryptonite before. Who knew if his powers would return right away or not? Or...even at all?
She pushed that dark thought away as she continued to wash his arms and legs and face. He really needed a shower, but until he could move under his own power, a rag and some soapy water was the best she could do.
She carefully wiped around his face, at least the part she could get to, as he slept on his stomach. She felt his forehead, which still seemed warmer than normal. Still, Lois dipped a clean rag into a bow full of ice water, hoping to cool him down. She laid the cooler rag on his forehead, and continued to wipe down his body as he slept.
As her ministrations chased his muscles, down his legs, up his arms, she observed his body in a way she never had before, almost clinically. He was so strong, with raw power in his taught muscles that he held in check every day. The horrible injustice of what Wilson had done to him broke her heart, and Lois had to keep swiping at her eyes as tears blurred her vision. She was glad Clark was asleep now. She wanted to be strong for him, and she didn’t want him to see her tears, lest he think she was pitying him.
Lois periodically took the bowl into the kitchen to rinse out and get fresh water. Around two in the morning, she put on a pot of coffee, determined to make it through the night, staying by Clark’s side. She padded around the kitchen, knowing that Chloe was asleep by now, and she didn’t want to wake Joel. With a bowl of fresh water in one hand, and a coffee cup in the other, Lois headed back into the living room to continue her vigil.
She sat the fresh water on the side table and sipped her coffee. Clark was mostly clean now, and she mainly wanted to use this new bowl of water to keep him cool. She stared at the welts on his back, and she once more felt sickened by the wrong that Wilson had done to him. Tears clouded her vision, partly too, because she was so tired.
Now and then Clark would murmur her name in his sleep. She’d reach for his hand and squeeze it, saying, “I’m here.” She knew he was dreaming, but she hoped that he realized on some level that she was with him – and that he was safe.
That was the kicker, really. Clark did everything he could on a daily basis to make sure that Lois—and often the world-- was safe, and for him to be so weak, so vulnerable – it made her hate Wilson all the more.
Clark became even more restless as the minutes ticked by. She checked the cloth she had laid on his forehead and it felt warm. Lois set it in the ice bowl and laid her own hand on his forehead. Clark was burning up! Lois hurried into the kitchen to get him a glass of water. She realized he was probably also dehydrated, and kicked herself for not realizing that sooner.
Lois carried a large glass of water over to him. “Clark. Clark? Can you hear me?” she said gently, touching his arm. “Wake up. You need to drink something.”
“Uhm…” Clark mumbled, and she wasn’t sure if he heard her.
“Please, Clark. Wake up,” she said a bit more urgently, though softly. She tugged on his arm, hoping to rouse him awake.
“Wha…?” he said sleepily, his eyes slowly opening.
“You need to drink some water, Clark,” Lois whispered, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.
Clark sat up a little, and Lois helped him drink the glass of water.
“Lois…” he breathed out, sinking into the sofa once more.
Lois took the cloth from the ice water bowl once more and wiped his face. “Clark? Can you hear me?”
He had seemed to fall back asleep, though Lois worried about how to handle his fever. Should she give him a Tylenol? Would it even affect him? Would it hurt if she gave him one anyway?
These were questions she thought Martha could answer, but glancing at the clock, Lois wasn’t sure if calling her at three AM was the thing to do – well, four AM since Martha was in Washington. Still… Lois knew Martha would forgive her, especially if it meant Clark’s life.
That thought spurred Lois into action. She reached for her cellphone and dialed Martha. After half a dozen rings, Martha’s sleepy voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. K,” Lois said in a relieved voice.
“Lois? What’s happened?” Martha answered suddenly sounding more awake.
Lois took a moment to respond, as she fought past the lump in her throat, speaking to Clark’s mom. “We got him back,” Lois eventually rejoined, as tears started to flow freely down her cheeks. “My dad helped.”
“General Lane? Really? How is Clark then? I’m guessing not all that well if you’re calling me so...late.”
“I’m sorry about the late call, Mrs. K. It’s just that—um, Clark. What they d—did to him…” Lois stammered, the emotions of the night getting to her. She felt so much relief at being able to speak to Martha about it, though at the same time, she didn’t want to upset her. “I don’t know how long he was exposed to the Kryptonite, but it’s never been this bad before. And now… he’s feverish, and I’m not sure what to do. I mean, can he take Tylenol? Will it hurt him?”
“Oh, Lois, sweetie… I wish I could be there. Um, I’ve never had to give him any medicine before. But I think it should be all right… How bad is he?”
Lois couldn’t sugarcoat it. Martha had to know how horribly Wilson had treated her son. “They beat him, Mrs. K. And they kept him exposed to that meteor rock for who knows how long… I’ve never seen him this bad… But I have to go. I’ll try the Tylenol and keep giving him liquids. I think he lost a lot of fluids…“
“Call me whenever you want, Lois. It doesn’t matter what time. I want to know how Clark’s doing… and you. Be sure you get some rest yourself tonight.”
“I can’t. He needs me right now, and I need him to get better. I’ll be all right. Chloe will probably come in the morning to help with Joel. Take care.”
Lois hung up the phone, and started on her new mission – to find Clark some Tylenol. She could hear him making uncomfortable noises in the living room, making her search more urgently.
When she found a bottle, she grabbed another glass of water and headed back into the living room.
“Clark? Here, take this,” she coaxed, helping him sit up enough to take the pills and drink.
He flopped back down onto the sofa with a thud, coughing once more. He seemed to have broken out in a sweat, which Lois took as a good sign. Though she noticed his sweat was tinged with green. Was his body purging the Kryptonite?
She hoped so. Lois took the rag once more and wiped Clark down, calming him in the process. “You’re going to be fine, Smallville. You hear me? See? Your body is already getting rid of the toxins. That’s a good sign, right?”
Lois found comfort in talking to him, and it seemed to help Clark get back to sleep as well. As his coughing fit subsided, she searched for topics to talk about, rambling on as much to keep herself awake as to comfort Clark.
“Joel is fine… Dad tucked him in before he left… You know my dad organized the mission to rescue you? He’s going to do his best to see the VRA gets shut down – and Wilson along with it. I can’t wait to write the article when that happens…” That thought brought up memories of her and Clark working together, and Lois felt another lump rise in her throat.
“It’s been hell without you here, Smallville. I mean, I pretty much knew where you were… and AC figured out where they had taken you. I guess I knew all along that it was just a matter of time before we got you out of there… It’s just… it was six days of pure hell, knowing you were suffering. Cause you’ve always seemed invulnerable to me… even before I knew your secret.” Her head tilted thoughtfully, as this last thought was a surprise to her. “I never really realized it before… but it’s true. I always knew you were the one to rely on when things got rough. And I do rely on you, Clark. Perhaps more than I should…”
Lois continued to gently rub the cloth along Clark’s arms and legs, hoping to cool him from the fever. Then she squeezed water out of another cloth and gently dabbed at his back. “This is the worst of all, you know? Seeing you so…hurt. When I know how strong you are. It was so terribly wrong of Slade to do this to you, Clark.” She wiped fresh tears from her cheeks. “I just hope we weren’t too late… Cause I need you, Smallville. And so does our son. But, powers or no powers… just know that I love you.”
Lois sat with Clark a long while, holding his hand and talking to him. After about another hour, exhausted, she got up to get fresh water to cool Clark down again. As she entered the kitchen, a light outside in the driveway caught her eye. At first, she feared that Slade, or someone working for him, had discovered Clark was missing and had come after him. She pulled back the curtain on the door, and then shook her head in disbelief, relieved at what she saw instead.
Her father’s truck was still there. He was keeping watch, even though she had told him it was all right to go home. Lois didn’t know what her father would do if Slade actually appeared there with a contingent of minions to steal Clark away again, but she was touched by the gesture…
She knew he wouldn’t want her to worry – she had enough to worry about, taking care of Clark. And she was sure he’d leave in the morning, before anyone woke up to see he had stayed. But before she turned back to her own vigil at Clark’s side, she couldn’t help but whisper, “Thanks, Daddy.”
~L&C~
It hurt to open his eyes…
Clark felt cold, and experimentally tried to move. He knew he wasn’t in that cell anymore; he had vague memories of escaping with Oliver—but where had they taken him?
Clark tried to roll over, but his back was still raw from Slade’s abuse. He felt weak and heavy, his limbs like lead weights as he tried to shift around to see where he was. When he couldn’t flip over on his back, he shifted so he was leaning on his other side.
Home. He had made it home…
The living room was rather dark, though Clark could see a beam of light through the curtains. He wished he could will himself to get up and sit in its nourishing rays, but he could barely move, he was so weak.
As his eyes flittered around the room, adjusting to the dark, he saw Lois, curled up on the chair to the right of the sofa, above his head. She was fast asleep, a rag in her hand, and a coffee stain on her t-shirt. He thought she had never looked more beautiful – he knew she had taken care of him, probably through most of the night.
He realized he had thought he was dreaming, that Lois was tending his wounds and holding his hand in his dreams. But she had really been there, taking care of him. His heart swelled with love for her, and relief that his friends had managed to get him out and bring him home, to her.
Clark didn’t want to wake her, knowing she needed to sleep. He suddenly heard his son’s cry. Clark tried to shift to a sitting position, but immediately felt dizzy. He plopped back down on the sofa, and softly whispered Lois’ name.
“Hmmm,” she murmured, shifting her position on the chair.
“Lois… Joel’s awake.”
“Huh?” she said, her eyes finally opening. Then when she saw Clark’s dear face staring back at her, she leaped from her chair to reach for him. “Clark! You’re awake! How do you feel?”
He groaned as he moved to sit up a bit. “I can barely move. I think this must be what the flu feels like. If I try to get up, I feel dizzy.”
“You need to drink some water. I’ll go get you a nice cold glass, okay?” She started towards the kitchen. “Joel’s awake… but I think I hear Chloe. She’ll take care of him.”
Clark sighed as he settled into the sofa again. He lifted his hand, experimentally squeezing his fist, shocked at how weak he felt.
Lois came back in the living room a minute later and helped him drink some water. “It’s a sunny day,” she whispered. “How about we try a little sun therapy?”
Clark nodded. Lois got up and opened a curtain and turned around Jonathan Kent’s favorite old chair to face the window. Lois grabbed an empty bowl from the night before, and set it down on the coffee table between where Clark was and his destination. “Just in case,” she said wryly, knowing he was feeling nauseous.
She came back over to him and helped him sit up. Clark slung his arm around her shoulder, and she carefully wrapped her arm around his back, trying to avoid his injuries. She swung her other arm around his torso, unable to resist giving him a hug. “Let’s get you well, Smallville,” she said in a small voice, and he thought he could hear the threat of tears.
He leaned his head against hers for a moment, releasing a sigh. “I’m just glad to be home. With you.”
“Well, you can lean on me for strength,” she said with a smile, quoting him… that time seemed so long ago now, and even though they had had their own secrets and worries, they had both had their health.
Clark hugged her to him, kissing her hair. “You are my strength, Lois,” he said earnestly. “You and Joel… only thoughts of you got me through that ordeal.”
“Oh, Clark… I felt so guilty, leaving you there with that madman,” Lois admitted.
“You had to, Lois. For Joel. You did the right thing,” Clark glanced over his shoulder. “But he’s starting to cry up a storm. Are you sure Chloe’s awake?”
“I thought I heard her. But he sounds hungry. I’d better go upstairs. I’ll be back in a minute,” Lois said, gently untangling herself from Clark’s arms. “Stay put,” she admonished, before dashing up the stairs.
Clark smirked at her admonishment, but the truth was, he hated feeling this helpless. He judged the distance between the sofa and the chair… it wasn’t that far. And he hadn’t felt as dizzy when Lois had helped him sit up just now.
Clark sat up again, feeling a little better than when he had first woken up, but still a bit dizzy. Ah, but that sun was calling out to him. There was plenty of furniture to hold onto on the way.
Having made his mind up, Clark stood, leaning over the sofa to grip the edge. His legs felt wobbly, weakened from the Kryptonite. Clark made one step away from the sofa, letting go, and he felt himself start to topple. He reached for the coffee table, but it was too low, and he crashed down onto the floor, certain he wouldn’t be able to stand up again under his own power.
“Clark? Are you all right?” he heard Lois ask him a few minutes later. “Just a second, I’ll help you.” He saw her set Joel in his playpen in the corner and then she was by his side again. “Why didn’t you wait till I came back?”
Clark shrugged. “Stupid pride, I guess?”
She gave him a wry smile, then helped shift him so she could get him to his feet again. He wrapped his arm over her shoulders and she had her arm around his waist, below the worst of his sores. They were in a crouched position and then Lois said. “OK, on three we’ll stand up. One, two—“
They managed it, though Lois stumbled under Clark’s weight a bit. “OK, now baby steps.”
They inched themselves along until, at last, they were by the chair. Clark grabbed onto the back of the chair and then slowly made his way to sit in it. As he settled under the rays of the sun, he let out a luxurious sigh. “I don’t know if it’s working yet, but I do feel better.”
Lois patted his shoulder and then turned towards Joel to feed him.
~L&C~
After about twenty minutes in the sun, Clark grew frustrated. He was used to being immediately healed by the yellow sun’s rays, yet he wasn’t recovering—at least not in the same way. He felt more normal, and thought he could probably walk on his own, but he didn’t feel that bit of extra that made him—him. How much damage had that long exposure to Kryptonite done?
Lois came over with Joel, content after his breakfast. “How are you feeling?”
“Better but not – great.”
“Give it time… you wanna see your son?” she asked, passing a freshly diapered Joel onto his lap.
“Yes, please,” answered Clark with a smile. “Hey, buddy… Wow, I know it’s only been about a week since I saw him, but he’s getting bigger…And is everything okay, do you think? Did he have any exposure to meteor rock in there?”
“Actually—the blue meteor rock. He somehow got a hold of my bracelet before they took him. Clark, it saved him. They couldn’t trace anything—special about him at all. It rendered him human.”
Clark sighed and kissed his son’s head. “Thank goodness for small mercies.”
“But let him sit in the sun with you for a bit… It might do you both some good,” Lois said with a wink.
~L&C~
“I’d like to speak to Senator Kent, please.” Sam Lane was on his cellphone, on the way back from the Kent farm. Bart had given him the photos of the facility last night, and Sam couldn’t believe what he had seen. Cages set up for animals – although they were intended for humans.
“This is Senator Kent,” Martha said formally, coming on the line.
“Mrs. Kent, this is Sam Lane. I just wanted you to know that your son is safe and home.”
“I know. Lois called me at four this morning. Thank you so much, for whatever you did to help him.”
“I just did what was right, Martha. But there’s something else I need your help with.”
“Sure. What can I do?”
“I need to make a formal plea to vote down the VRA. And I need you to help me court-martial General Slade Wilson for torture.”
~L&C~
Pain burned through him like an unrelenting fire. Green poison suffused the light around him, and in the shadows, General Wilson stood, mocking him.
Clark glanced up through the bars, refusing to answer the sadistic man’s questions. As pain seared him, a bright light flashed before him, showing him the strange mark once more on Slade’s forehead.
A mark of deception, of darkness… taunting him that the evil was still out there.
Clark awoke with a gasp, his body drenched in a cold sweat, something he had rarely experienced.
“Clark?” came Lois’ sleepy voice beside him.
As Clark realized he was home and no longer in that torturous cell, he sighed heavily. Lois sat up in bed, rolling over to face him. “Are you all right?”
Clark flopped onto his stomach, disturbed by his dream, which was closer to a memory. He closed his eyes, but all he could see was that symbol on Slade’s skull.
“Clark? Talk to me… what did you dream?” Lois asked gently, reaching for his hand.
He shifted onto his side to face her. “I saw something… on Slade, like a mark of evil. I—I don’t know if I can fight it.”
“Slade will get what he deserves for what he did to you, Clark. My father will see to that,” she said reassuringly. “You heard him this afternoon. His testimony in Congress will assure that Wilson will be court-martialed in short order.”
Clark sighed, admiring his beautiful fiancée in the moonlight, her brown tresses pulled back in a braid that draped over her shoulder. He longed to make love to her, to drive out the fears that consumed him… He had stayed in the sun all day, and although he felt much better, none of his powers had returned. And he worried how he would face this darkness that had infected Slade if his powers never came back…
“I just don’t know if it will be enough, Lois. There’s something out there, something dark and evil that I am not sure how to fight… or if I can fight.” Lois settled into the bed, and Clark pulled her into his chest, spooning her. “I just don’t know what to do if my powers don’t return,” he said softly, voicing his worst fear.
“But they will,” she reassured him. “You’ve already healed remarkably in just a day.”
“It’s not enough…the welts are still on my back… and as much as a burden my powers have been to me, they are a part of me. I feel—less whole without them,” he whispered sadly, his breath tickling her hair.
She turned in his arms, laying her palm gently against his face. “Clark, you are more than your powers… I don’t know how to make you see that.” She kissed him gently. “And they will come back—“
“What if they—“
She interrupted him with another kiss. “They will.”
~L&C~
Clark was moody the next morning. There was a rainstorm outside, blocking the sun. He sighed as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Lois was upstairs, getting Joel ready for the day.
Clark felt like hiding, unable to face the weakness in himself. He knew he needed to be patient, as he had definitely recovered a bit yesterday, sitting in the sun all afternoon. But not having his powers made him feel anxious. It’s not like he’d never lost them before, but he had always recovered them fairly quickly. He could sense that this wasn’t going to be as fast a recovery, and that bothered him more than he was comfortable.
He glanced at the Daily Planet newspaper he had picked up from the front porch. He missed working at the paper. Lois had suggested this morning that getting back to work would help him take his mind off things, but he thought it would do just the opposite. He’d see all those stories about people needing help, and he’d only feel useless that he couldn’t do anything to save them. Already there had been some speculating in other media over where the Blur had been these last two weeks… Clark could barely face the question of what would happen if the Blur never returned.
And with the darkness out there, he needed his powers more than ever to fight it…
~L&C~
Lois was worried about Clark. He was moody and pensive, and she knew it was because of his slow recovery. She glanced outside as she changed Joel’s diaper, seeing how hard it was pouring down rain. It didn’t look like it would let up any time soon, either.
She sighed as she turned to her son. “What are we gonna do to let Daddy know everything is going to be all right, huh?”
Lois glanced at her engagement ring, feeling farther than ever from that happy moment when Clark had proposed.
“Part of believing that we are meant to be together, no matter what pushes us forward -- or holds us back -- is acknowledging that bond, that love between us. Lois, this ring isn't an obligation, but a promise. It represents us, that we belong to each other -- in the past, present -- and future.”“We do belong together, Smallville,” she whispered. “I’ll find a way to help you through this.”
Lois found herself staring out at the clouds, the storm a metaphor for the trauma they had all gone through these last few weeks. A tear slipped down her cheek, wishing they could reclaim the happiness, the joy they’d felt at the prospect of getting married.
She realized she was getting lost in her thoughts, and shook her head, turning back to her son. She let out a surprised gasp, as little Joel was floating above the changing table! Lois had thought she’d seen him do that once before, but she had almost forgotten about it in the madness since the wedding.
Lois didn’t reach for him at first, fascinated by just watching him. She felt the urge to call for Clark to come upstairs and see this, but tampered it down, fearing it might upset him more than comfort him. Flying was the one power that Clark hadn’t mastered, and to see his son do it while he was still without his powers – Lois feared it would devastate him.
She eventually reached out for her son, who smiled up at her and made happy baby noises. “You’re just so proud of yourself, aren’t you, little one?” she laughed. “As much as I know Daddy would be proud of you too, do you think you can keep this under wraps for a bit… at least until he gets his powers back?”
~L&C~
Chloe burst into the kitchen, drenched from the downpour outside, but a huge grin on her face.
“Clark! Where’s Lois? You all have got to see what’s happening!” she said excitedly, making a beeline for the TV, heedless of the water she was dripping on the carpet.
Lois popped around the corner a moment later, with Joel in her arms. “What’s going on?”
“This!” Chloe said, pointing to the TV. “Clark, can you turn it up?”
“General Slade Wilson has been court-martialed today on accounts of torture in Afghanistan and more recently, through his involvement with the VRA. General Sam Lane gave testimony…
“I had heard rumors about General Wilson’s practices in Afghanistan, but it wasn’t until I had photographic evidence of how he wants to treat the vigilantes that I’ve decided to withdraw my support for the VRA and have formally filed charges against General Slade Wilson for torture, violation of the Geneva Conventions, as well as violation of honorable protocols for armed servicemen.”
Lois, Clark, and Chloe huddled around the television, watching as the cameras panned to General Wilson in handcuffs. Lois laid a hand on Clark’s shoulder. “See? Justice is served today, Clark. Just like my dad promised.”
Clark nodded, though he seemed unconvinced. “This is all well and good, Lois, but the fact remains that evil is still out there…”
Chloe turned to Clark. “Wait, so I wasn’t high that night I heard that weird—whatever?” she asked with a flick of her fingers.
“No, you were right, Chloe. While I was being tortured by Slade, I saw this omega symbol on his forehead, like the mark of—“
“—the Beast, in Revelations,” Chloe finished for him slowly and Clark nodded in answer.
“We’ve got to tell the Team about this, so they understand the larger war we’re fighting,” said Lois. “Slade Wilson may be taken care of, but who knows how many are out there.”
Clark sighed. “Yes, we need to tell them… but first, I need to get my powers back.” Clark turned away from the girls, his gaze once more drawn to the storm outside.
Chloe turned to Lois. “But he is getting better, isn’t he?”
Lois shrugged, unconsciously seeking out the engagement ring on her finger, as she settled Joel on her hip. “Physically, I guess so. But he’s worried about his powers. I’m afraid he’s getting lost, stressing about it. And I need him—we all do, but I—I miss him.”
Chloe gave her cousin a sympathetic glance. “He’ll be okay, Lois. He just needs some time.”
Lois turned to the TV, as an announcer spoke, the image frozen on General Wilson. “Time may be in short supply.”
“And how’s Joel?”
Lois glanced at Clark, whose back was still turned to them, and she pulled her cousin closer to her. “I caught him floating, Chloe.”
“What? Really? Have you told Clark?” Chloe asked excitedly. “That’s amazing!” Then seeing Lois’ worried expression, Chloe’s excitement dimmed. “What is it?”
“As relieved and excited that Joel will apparently have Clark’s powers—“ Lois sighed. “I can’t tell him. Not now, not when he’s like this, and worried about his own powers.”
Chloe picked up the giraffe that slipped out of Joel’s grasp. “Lois, he might figure it out anyways… I mean, if he sees Joel doing something--- he’ll know.”
“Yeah, I know… but, I don’t want to tell him yet. He needs to get his powers back first.”
Chloe threw up her hands in surrender. “Fine. I’m not about to get in the middle of you two. Just… don’t keep it from him too long. He’ll be proud of Joel, no matter what he’s going through personally.”
“I suppose so.”
~L&C~
Later that afternoon, while Clark was putting Joel down for a nap, Lois stepped out onto the porch. A light rain was falling, and the distant roll of thunder made the atmosphere feel alive with energy.
Lois sat on the porch swing and closed her eyes, listening to the soothing sound of rain pounding on the roof above her.
It had been an emotional day. The news coverage of General Slade Wilson’s court-martial had satisfied Lois’ sense of justice, and she wrote up a preliminary article that she would turn in tomorrow, after she had an ‘interview’ with her father that evening on the phone for some quotes. But Clark was moody and restless, wanting to do something about this darkness he kept alluding to. Lois understood Clark’s desire to save the world, but she knew he needed healing in himself first – both physically and emotionally.
She knew he loved her, but she didn’t think they could move on just yet.
Lois had to find a way to reach him – whether or not Clark got his powers back.
Clark suddenly popped his head around the front door, a smile on his face – the first she’d seen since the wedding.
“Hey,” he said softly, coming to sit next to her on the porch swing.
“Hey yourself,” she said playfully, nudging him.
“I was upstairs with Chloe, changing Joel when—“ he grinned, ear to ear, and it was like the sun had broken through the clouds.
Lois held her breath, both in awe of how much she loved him, and anticipating what he may have seen.
“When…?” she prodded.
Clark sighed. “I don’t know when or even if I’ll get my powers back… but Joel… Lois, he can float,” he said, wonder tinging his words. “I may have learned as a teenager how to shoot fire from my eyes, use my freeze breath and micro-vision—“
“Micro-vision?” Lois questioned with a laugh.
Clark shrugged sheepishly. “Hey, it’s my power. I can call it what I want… anyway, I could do all those things….”
Lois noted his use of the past tense, but reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, urging him to continue.
“But my son, less than a year old, mind you,” he said proudly. “Will be able to fly. Maybe even before he’s out of diapers!”
“Okay, let’s not go all alpha-dad, here…” Lois laughed. Then she turned pensive, worrying about what she had said to Chloe earlier. “But, you really think it’s a good thing, don’t you?”
Clark pulled her in closer to his embrace, the rain falling in a soft mist across the farm. “Lois, it means my heritage—though I’m not sure I like that word—but the part of who I am that makes me the Blur, will live on. Even if I never get my powers back, I know that I can explain things to my son that my parents couldn’t. And that, is exciting and special to me.”
Lois sighed, snuggling in close to his chest. “I saw him do it too. But I was worried about telling you. I’m sorry, Clark.”
He kissed her forehead, pulling her closer into his embrace. “I know you were trying to protect me. It’s okay, Lois.”
“Just seeing you, when Dad brought you home… I just want you to be okay. Even if you don’t get your powers back, I just need Smallville back,” she said, sitting up to lay a hand gently on his chest.
She noticed, too late, that it was her hand with her engagement ring that was splayed possessively on his chest. They had avoided talking about the wedding since Joel’s kidnapping, and now that Clark was so unsure about himself, Lois worried about what else he might be unsure about.
Her eyes met his, and she almost pulled her hand away, but his settled over hers. “Lois, I haven’t forgotten,” he said tenderly. “We will get married… in fact, I dream of it all the time.”
“You do?” relief clear in her voice.
“Lois, don’t you know what you mean to me?” he asked incredulously. “If I didn’t have you, I don’t know how I would have made it out of that cell… I just—need time. To either get my powers back, or—to deal with my new reality.”
“Smallville,” she said sweetly, her eyes meeting his. “I’ll be there for you every step of the way. No matter what. That promise,” she glanced at her ring, “was made when I put this on.”
“Lois—“ he began, but instead pulled her into his embrace, kissing her sweet lips as the rain stopped, and the clouds parted, the sun spilling out across the fields in a golden yellow.
End of Book Two
