Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Ides of Metropolis - Matchmaker Style 1/12

A/N: I finished the adaptation of this episode some months ago. My readers know that I have been taking the liberty of ‘filling in the blanks’ of the episodes. This episode jumped in and started with the judge giving the sentence which left a big blank to fill. After I wrote the first couple of chapters I looked at the calendar and saw that if I delayed the post for a couple of weeks it would fall in the week appropriate to the season. That caused me to write two NextGen holiday pieces, Halloween in Metropolis – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume1 CD and Thanksgiving in Smallville – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1 CE. With that in mind – here is my Christmas present to my readers.

When Virginia proposed the challenge of taking a first season story and having it result in Lois and Clark being married I took up the challenge and "The Green, Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker Style" was the result.

That was all well and good, but then I started thinking - What about future episodes? How would the fact that they are now married affect the dynamic? For instance, how would "Pheromone My Lovely" be changed by the marriage? How would it affect "Honeymoon in Metropolis" and "All Shook Up", "Witness" and "Illusions of Grandeur"?

In the previous stories, you've seen my take on the answer. So, now, to answer the question - ‘What if Lois and Clark were already married when The Ides of Metropolis happened?' I offer the following.

The Ides of Metropolis - Matchmaker Style


Rated PG-13

Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.

In this, the sequel to Illusions of Grandeur - Matchmaker Style. Lois and Clark have been back from the assignment in Smallville for a few weeks. The events of PML were delightful; however, Lois really has no recollection of what happened. Clark finally had a chance to give Lois a real honeymoon. Then her life had been threatened because she had witnessed a murder. Next they investigated the kidnappings of the children of wealthy families. Now they are dealing with a murder and a threat to the internet.

Lois and Clark now have returned to Clark's ‘old' apartment.

In this particular story a lot of the dialogue is taken from the script text. I wish to express my thanks to my Beta readers Artemis and Ray Reynolds for their invaluable help. This was a VERY rough draft when it first landed in their hands.


* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)


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Chapter 1
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225
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A couple of days after Lois and Clark finished the investigation into the kidnapped children (See Illusions of Grandeur - Matchmaker Style) the following headline was printed.

"Body Found In Burnt Out Utility Closet
By: Eduardo Fraise
A body, burnt beyond recognition was found in the utility closet of the HarriTech building this morning. Paint thinner and other flammable liquids are believed to have been ignited by some used rags that spontaneously combusted. The body has as yet not been identified. Story continued A-4"

The next day the following appeared:

"Burned Body Identified
By: Eduardo Fraise
The burned body recovered from the utility closet at HarriTech has been positively identified as that of Henry Harrison, founder, president and CEO of HarriTech. Lena Harrison, the wife of Henry Harrison had reported her husband missing and when asked by police she identified the remains as those of her husband. Detective Sgt. Betty Reed, the detective assigned to the case, gave the following statement, "We have been looking into the events surrounding the disappearance of Henry Harrison and there is cause to believe that there was foul play involved. We have a person of interest and will be bringing him in for questioning. I intend to solve this case and if it turns out to be a homicide, I will see to it that the perp pays the price." Story continued A-3"

”Arrest Made
By: Eduardo Fraise
Eugene Laderman, the person of interest in the Harrison homicide has been arrested and bound over for trial. It has been proven that Harrison died from two gunshot wounds to the body. The police believe that the fire was started in order to cover up the crime. The DA felt that there was enough compelling evidence to bypass the Grand Jury process and go directly for an indictment. Story continued A-2"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The trial of Eugene Laderman for the murder of Henry Harrison had caught Lois's attention and she had asked Perry if she could cover it. He had agreed, even though it wasn't an investigation, it was getting toward the end of the year and it seemed like the criminal elements were taking a holiday break. Clark was going to be doing follow-ups on the kidnappings so Perry thought it would make a good change of pace for her.

Lois's interest had been sparked by the fact that Eugene had been one of Jimmy Olsen's computer programming instructors and Jimmy had been very dubious about the charges. Her sympathies were with Jimmy and if there was any way to help, she would.

When she arrived at the courthouse the opening day of the trial she had been among the first to arrive so she had a choice seat near the front. When he bailiff brought Eugene in she gave him a close examination. Eugene was a lanky middle aged man, maybe early middle age, with thinning hair and a prominent Adam's apple. He struck Lois as quiet and unassuming, a lot like Clark's Clark persona. He actually struck her as kinda geeky, which was to be expected based on his vocation.

The trial started off with a bang. The DA promised to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Eugene was guilty while in his opening statement, the defense argued that all of the ‘evidence' that the state had was circumstantial.

When the trial was recessed for the day, Lois found out where Eugene was being held prior to transport back to his cell. She managed, since the guard hadn't been given orders to the contrary, to convince the guard to allow her a few minutes to interview Eugene, one-on-one. During that interview, Lois became convinced of Eugene's sincerity and his innocence.

Pictures of the dead man, a burned corpse, were presented and purported to be the remains of Henry Harrison which had been found in a burnt out utility room at the HarriTech facility. His wife, Lena, had testified that she had identified the corpse.

As the trial progressed, Lois had seen numerous holes in the evidence presented by the state. For one thing, other than Lena's identification there had been no comparison of fingerprints of the victim to Henry Harrison. The forensics people said the corpse was too burned to get reliable prints so they hadn't even tried. Lois was surprised that no dental records were compared or that if they had been, it was not presented. It seemed to her that as soon as Lena identified the corpse they said, ‘That's good enough for us.' and let the investigation drop at that point.

As a prosecution witness, Lena also testified that she had overheard Eugene threaten Henry, but that she had never seen Eugene being violent at any time and didn't believe that he could be. She had made this statement under cross-examination and the prosecution had objected since the answer was subjective. The judge had upheld the objection.

There had been the usual round of witnesses from the police and the forensics people. Toward the end, the DA finally introduced into evidence a confession, signed by the defendant.

At that point it seemed like it was all over but the shouting, but since it was nearing Christmas, the judge held the trial in postponement until after the holidays.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lois lay in bed and she could feel her husband spooned against her back. She had just awakened and when she did, feeling his presence, she had awakened with a smile on her lips, pleased that he hadn’t been called away from her on a Superman rescue. Without stirring, she started thinking.

Time seemed to be just flying by and it didn't need the assistance of Mr. Herbert George Wells in order to do so.

Ever since the incidents in Smallville involving Green Kryptonite, Trask and their marriage, the weeks and months had just whizzed past. Of course they had had a lot of things to keep them busy. First there had been the pheromone incident; Lois still wished she could remember all that she and Clark had done on the island. Then they had tried to take a weekend honeymoon at the Lexor only to have an investigation dropped into their laps. Then there had been ‘Nightfall' and Clark's loss of his memory. Actually, thinking back on how she had restored Clark's memory brought a smile to her lips. No sooner was that wrapped up than she had been contacted by Dr. Vincent Winninger about an interview. That should have been fairly straightforward, how was she to know that she would witness his murder. No sooner were Barbara Trevino and Sebastian Finn caught than they started investigating a string of abductions. The children of wealthy families were being kidnapped and held for ransom. That had all been done to finance an attempt to brainwash the world's population through the use of subliminal messages beamed into their home on the TV by a very bitter woman that thought of herself as the greatest magician in the world.

She stirred slightly and felt her husband's arm tighten around her in reflex. Reaching down she touched his hand as she had done almost daily since they had gotten married and he received her message. His hand slowly, tantalizingly and tenderly moved up and cupped her breast in a possessive, but loving gesture. She sighed in contentment. She just loved waking up this way and he knew it. A few seconds later she felt kisses being placed on the back of her neck and a thrill travel up her spine in response.

She whispered, "Good morning, husband."

She heard a replying whisper, "Good morning, my love, my life, my wife."

She could feel dampness at the corner of her eye as she heard this and the sentiment it expressed and replied, "Yes, my husband, and my life."

Interrupting this tender moment was a knock on the door and Martha Kent's voice asking, "Are the two of you going to sleep all day? Come on, it's Christmas day. We want to open the presents and breakfast is waiting."

Lois could feel Clark smile as he replied, "Aw, Mom. Just five more minutes, okay?"

Lois giggled thinking, <That must have been his usual answer when he was growing up.>

There was a laugh from the other side of the door and Martha replied, "Come on, Clark. You don't want to be late for school, do you? If you don't get a move on, you'll miss the bus."

Laughing at this byplay, Lois spoke up, "We'll be right there, Martha." She was glad that her mother-in-law had such a great sense of humor. Smiling she stood, slid her feet into slippers and put on her robe as he did the same.

It had been nice and cozy and warm under the covers with Clark, but now that she was standing in the room she felt a distinct chill in the air. She looked at the window and saw frost crystals all over the pane. Moving over to the window she rubbed a circle and looked out. She saw a white blanket covering the ground and snowflakes continuing to fall. She squeaked in delight and said, "Clark! It's a white Christmas!"

He asked, "Really? Let me see." He moved over and wrapped his arms around her from behind and looked over her shoulder. After looking out for a few seconds, he said, "Sure enough, it is a white Christmas, all right." He kissed the top of her head before he loosened his arms around her waist.

She spun in his arms and gave him a kiss on the lips. Joy in her voice, she said, "This is our first Christmas together." Her voice turned introspective as she continued, "Christmas has never been a happy time for me, that is, until now. Daddy was never around and Mom … when she was around she was usually incapacitated. The other times she was in rehab so it was usually just me and Lucy. This week, here with your folks, putting up the tree, wrapping the presents, it's like no Christmas I have ever experienced. For a change it's a happy time. Being a part of this family … I just don't know what to say. It feels like I've been wandering around in a desert, homeless, all of my life, but now, with you, I'm home." She brightened up again, "Now I can wear the sweater that your mom knitted for me!" She moved to the dresser, pulled out the garment and held it up for inspection. It was a white knit sweater and on the front was embroidered a Christmas tree complete with ornaments. She threw it on the bed, stripped off her robe and nightie, and grabbed a bra and panties.

Before she put them on she looked at herself in the mirror, placing her hands on her flat tummy with a look of disappointment. Turning to Clark she asked, "Are you as disappointed as I am that all that activity didn't result in a baby?"

Clark wrapped her in his arms and said, "It'll happen, sooner or later. We know it will. We just have to be patient."

"I wish Herb had told us when."

With a laugh he replied, "You know what he says, ‘Too much information, too soon is not good.' He wouldn't have told us if we had begged him." Noticing that she was starting to shiver he said, "I think you need to get some clothes on. You're getting cold."

With a sly smile she looked at him and said, "You could take care of that with a little heat vision."

"Tell you what …" He turned away and used his heat vision to warm the clothes she had laid out. "There, now you can get dressed."

Lois picked up her bra and felt its warmth and smiling, quickly donned the garment, luxuriating briefly in the warmth, then her panties followed by a pair of jeans and finally a tank top and the sweater. Rather than sneakers, she kept her fluffy slippers on her feet to keep them warm.

"Mom's gonna love seeing you wear that."

"It's hard to believe. I never thought I'd wear something like this, but I'm not doing it just to please your mom. I would never have felt like wearing something like this before now, but here, with you and your … our family, it just seems right."

While she had been dressing, Clark had grabbed a pair of jeans and an old red and blue check flannel shirt and dressed. They both finished at the same time and after quickly running her brush through her hair, hand-in-hand they moved downstairs for breakfast.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After breakfast they moved into the living room for the gift exchange. Clark used a blast of his heat vision to set the logs stacked in the fireplace ablaze.

The tree was in the corner, not too close to the fire and was so tall that the star on top almost brushed the ceiling. Lois looked at that star and thought back to how it got there. Clark had held her and floated them up so that she could place it on the top bough. The thought brought a smile to her lips. She had been told that in the past, at least since he had been able to control his floating that had been Clark's special chore. That he had shared it with Lois had made it very special to her.

Jonathan sat in his favorite easy chair while Martha, Lois and Clark all sat on the sofa with Lois in the middle.

With some help from Clark, Lois had gotten a gift for Martha, a ticket to an art exhibit in Wichita with a ticket for Jonathan so that he could accompany her. For Jonathan she had purchased a lined flannel shirt for those cold winter days on the farm.

Martha had knit matching sweaters for Lois and Clark from the finest merino wool.

Jonathan gave Lois a gag gift. When she opened it she found a box filled with electronics with an on/off switch, a knob and an earphone plug. While she held it, she gave Jonathan a quizzical look.

He chuckled and nodding his head in Clark’s direction said, "I figured that you needed some help to keep up with that husband of yours. He has telescopic vision, you have binoculars. He has super hearing, now you have a sound amplifier. Just plug in earphones and turn it on. You'll hear almost as well as him." He pointed out an attachment that looked like a little horn, "Clip this on and it is directional."

Lois quirked an eyebrow in Clark's direction. Clark started to laugh, but Lois wasn't laughing and had a thoughtful look as she picked up her bag and immediately put the device inside.

From Clark, Lois received a box set of two complete seasons of "The Ivory Tower" complete with outtakes and bloopers.

When Lois gave Clark his present it was an envelope. Inside the envelope was a pair of tickets to the upcoming playoff game between the Metropolis Metros and the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers. Lois said, "The second ticket is for Jimmy."

Clark noticed that Lois was a bit downcast and he pulled her into a hug and asked, "What's the matter, honey? Why so sad?"

"I had wanted to give you a different present."

"These are terrific. What could have been better?"

"I wanted to be giving you some baby booties, but that didn't work out."

Clark pulled her in closer and gave her a kiss, "That would have been nice, but not necessary. I know how much you are looking forward to our baby. I'm looking forward to him just as much, but we know he'll be here sooner or later. Let's just enjoy each other until he arrives and not stress over it. He'll get here when he's supposed to."

"You're right, I know," she pointed at her forehead, "up here, but," she pointed at her heart, "down here … I miss him."

Martha tried to be of some small comfort, "Lois, honey, just keep on the way you are going, and it'll happen. Sooner or later, it'll happen. You already know that it will. You just need to be patient."

There was a note of frustration in her voice as Lois replied, "Oh, Martha, I've never been a very patient person. This is the first time I can remember when I didn't snoop and find my presents early and open them because I just couldn't wait for Christmas."

Martha smiled and said, "There, you see. You are already starting to develop patience."

Lois smiled; it was still a sad smile just the same, and said, "I guess you're right. And I guess I did have a little patience when Clark lost his memory back during the nightfall adventure. Actually, I have Henderson to thank for that. He challenged me, indirectly, but he challenged me and I met the challenge. My own way."

Martha laughed and said, "Well, we can't complain about the results. Your ‘therapy' sure restored his Clark memory. It's a shame that his Superman memory wasn't restored at the same time, but you brought that back when no one else could have. It was your telling him of all the times he had rescued you that restored those memories." Martha reached out, took both of Lois's hands in hers, looked Lois square in the eyes and turned serious as she continued, "You know … the world is singing Superman's praises for saving everyone from that asteroid, but if it hadn't been for you, his wife, there wouldn't have been a Superman to save everyone. Superman is a hero, but you, my very, very dear daughter-in-law are every bit as much a hero, although an un-sung hero, as the man in the blue suit. Maybe, sometime in the distant future, everybody will know, but for right now, only the four of us know that you saved the man that saved the world. Not just once, but twice, from Trask and the Kryptonite and by restoring his memory. We'd all be very much dead if it hadn't been for you. He couldn't be who he is without you in his life. We are very happy to have you as a member of this family. The love that the two of you share … it is beyond obvious. And we love you too. You're the daughter we always wanted. The perfect wife for our son."

By the time Martha finished speaking … the sincerity with which the words were spoken … tears were flowing down Lois's cheeks. Lois threw her arms around Martha in a fierce hug which Martha returned and joined in the water works.

Jonathan and Clark looked on and both had smiles on their faces. They both loved both of the women of the family.

Jonathan was actually surprised at how quickly Lois had wormed her way into his affections. He did love this girl like a daughter, the daughter they'd never had, just as much as he loved his son. Martha was right, she was the perfect wife for his son.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After a Christmas dinner of turkey with stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce vegetables and, of course, pumpkin pie a la mode, they Kent family sat around the table and discussed the future. Lois and Clark had the week off and were planning to spend at least some time on the island, but Martha insisted that they return for New Years. "Smallville is going to put on a fireworks display down at the lake. Everybody will be there. Clark, it'll be a chance for you to catch up with Pete Ross, Lana, Rachel and Billy Eck. I know you haven't seen any of them for a while."

With a sly grin, Lois said, "Yeah, we could catch up with Rachel."

Clark knew that she was teasing him and he played along, "Maybe we could invite Rachel over and we could play Spin-the-Bottle."

Lois gulped, then had a thought, "Only if you invite this Pete and Billy. I'd like those odds better."

"To make it even we'd have to invite Lana as well."

Martha interrupted, "You do know that Rachel has started dating, Billy Eck, don't you?"

Clark looked sheepish and said, "No, I didn't."

"And that Lana is dating Pete?"

Lois chortled, "No, we didn't. Well, I guess that lets out Spin-the-Bottle as a party game. Besides, I don't want Clark kissing any other women. It would spoil them for their future husbands."

Clark added, "When you get right down to it, I'm kinda territorial when it comes to my wife's kisses as well."

Lois moved over, sat in his lap and proceeded to seal the bargain with one of those kisses.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Later because a farmer's day starts with the sunrise, no matter what the weather, Jonathan and Martha had headed off to bed leaving Lois and Clark alone. He had promised Lois that her present would get a workout in the morning.

Clark had removed a cushion from the sofa, placing it on the floor near the fire. Lois grabbed the blanket that was draped across the back of the sofa and moved over to sit on the cushion while Clark turned off the room lights. Clark joined Lois on the cushion and wrapped her up in his arms and the blanket. She snuggled back into his embrace and released a contented sigh.

As the fire flickered on the hearth and the lights twinkled on the tree Lois said, "The perfect end to the perfect Christmas day, the bestest, most perfect Christmas day ever." Craning around she gave him a kiss. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Oh, just for being you and for making me a part of this family. I never knew that being in a family would be this nice. I feel utterly content."

"I'm glad you are. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Your mom says that I am the perfect wife for you. I hope she's right."

"She is very seldom wrong. I think you should have seen that by now. You are the perfect, the only woman that could ever be my wife. You have accepted me and what I can do right from the beginning; almost from the time I fell in love with you, which was the moment that I saw you. Since we've been married, we've been through so much. I don't know if any other woman could have handled it all."

Lois quipped, "All in a day's work, a day in the life of the wife of a true superhero that is." She turned serious as she continued, "Our love sustains me. It keeps me focused. It is the anchor that keeps me from drifting. It’s the cornerstone upon which we will build our own family one day."

"Yes, our love will see us through. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that whatever it is, we will face it together."

The silence that followed was not strained, but companionable as they simply cuddled and watched the flickering flames and the twinkling lights.

TBC

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