Description: Lois has been waiting since she was nineteen to meet a certain, super-special someone. Sequel to
Vision of Destiny and part 2 in the Destiny series.
TOCThe very observent of you may have noticed the chapter total increase!
It won't be increasing again though.
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From Chapter 6"We'd better go," she spoke, stiffly, and closed the refrigerator, placed the cup back down, and headed for the door. "It's not fair," she grumbled. She suddenly turned to him, stopping in the doorway.
"What's not fair?"
"That you can eat like an eight-year-old but look like Mr. Hardbody."
He looked a little nervous - as if she would ask him how that was possible. "I guess I'm just blessed with a fast metabolism."
"And then some … " she murmured, setting off, and the door closed behind them.
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Chapter 7Lois sat back in her chair and watched as Mrs. Platt ushered her daughter away. A sharp pain pierced her chest. Family. Children. Mother. Wife. All those words were, and had been, a dual edged sword for seven years. She missed them all, she longed for them, she wrapped herself in the joy that her memories brought her.
This woman in front of her felt exactly the same. She could see it in her eyes. She saw it in the photographs on Samuel Platt's desk. And now the woman also felt the two edged burn. Loving your family, but not being with them. Feeling like a whole chunk of your heart was missing.
She glanced over at Clark and fought against the wistful longing that threatened to overwhelm her.
"I uh, I haven't told her yet. You see, everything we worked for was for Amy. The space lab Prometheus was the only hope... and now…"
"Mrs. Platt, you and your husband obviously love Amy very much. Why … why was he living in that place? Why was he alone, unprotected? Why did you leave him?" Lois had to know.
"No. We never left him. He made us leave," Mrs. Platt explained. "He left us … moved away - somewhere out of the way, unexpected. He was sure that they were gonna come after him. He was afraid that Amy and I would get hurt, so … he sent us away."
"Do you have any idea who might have -" Lois began to ask, but was cut off.
"All I know is that Samuel knew that Prometheus was being sabotaged and that knowledge got him killed." Mrs. Platt paused before continuing quietly. "Please. Help me," she pleaded. "Don't let his daughter grow up believing her father committed suicide."
"We'll try. We promise," Clark reassured her.
"Thank you." Mrs. Platt held out her hand and Lois took it. They shook gently and then Mrs. Platt returned to the elevator where her daughter was waiting.
"Clark, how are we going to prove that Platt didn't kill himself?" she sighed. She could imagine the other woman's pain, and the burden of getting justice for her and the girl were currently weighing heavily on Lois' shoulder.
She felt Clark's hands on her shoulders and he gently turned her around to face him. Looking up into his face she saw a determination in his gaze that immediately reminded her of Superman. "I don't know how, I just know that we will, Lois. We will. Possibly it will even be the report that Star Labs is currently looking over." He smiled at her, trying to convey hope.
She nodded and attempted a small smile herself. "Yeah." She nodded again, more emphatically. "Yeah. Jimmy should be back soon with their results. And they'll show that Platt was right. Won't they?" She said, with more confidence than she actually felt.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lois watched as Jimmy exited the conference room. She turned to Clark, beaming. "He was right! Platt was right!"
"Now we can write the story…" His face was alight with joy. She'd never seen him look more handsome.
"And, if we can convince people there was sabotage and who was behind it…"
"We can stop them." He held his arms open and Lois automatically fell into them. It felt so right. It was where she felt safest … in Clark's embrace. But then she reminded herself that she was reading him wrong. He'd only gestured … widely - yes, but to emphasise his words. That's all.
She pulled away and schooled her face to look impassive.
"Why don't we have dinner?"
"Dinner?" she whispered, suddenly breathless. Her heart had started racing. Clark was asking her on a date. Really. She'd managed to avoid this, when she'd recognised it coming at EPRAD. And she managed to avoid a kiss from him … but the thing was … she didn't want to avoid it. It was so hard. OL would not want Clark yet. Not after only two days of acquaintance.
"We should celebrate," he continued, taking her lack of an answer as confusion.
"I'm sorry." She stared at him, heart breaking. "I … I can't, I have plans tonight." He stared back and she had to wrench her gaze away and distance herself. Exiting the conference room she headed in the direction of the elevator.
"Luthor?" she heard just behind her.
"Yeah."
"Already? You only just met him." His disbelieving tone upset her. Didn't he know that she was the best reporter alive? It only took one conversation and she had hooked Lex Luthor. How come it was taking so long to hook Clark Kent.
"Well, coming from you that's really …"
He arched his eyebrow in question. "Coming from me …"
She turned. "Cat." She folded her arms and stared at him. "How many seconds did it take there. You arranged a date with her at … twenty seconds, was it?"
"This isn't about me and Cat …" Her stare turned into a glare and she gritted her teeth, seething with jealousy. "There isn't a 'me and Cat', Lois. You know that." His tone was suddenly quiet and pleading.
"Really," she scoffed. "She's all over you. Have you seen it?"
He looked down to his feet and shuffled a little. "Lois, you have to know that I'm not interested in her. She … I …" He took a step forward. "I'm not encouraging her interest at all."
"Hmm, well, she is a man eater … and you'd do well to stay away from her. Just warning you." Lois held up her hand and pointed at his chest, nodding.
She turned and set off for the elevator once more. "Plus, this … with Luthor … isn't a date. It's business."
"Really?" He sounded disbelieving, possibly even jealous. "Tell me something ... how far are you willing to go to get this interview?"
"What?" she shouted and stopped. Turning she glared at him, breathing heavily. "How dare you … after everything-" Lois widened her eyes and turned away. She'd been about to say 'everything we've been through'. But they hadn't … been through things together, so how was he to know her? How was he to know that she had very high standards when it came to intimacy, when it came to men? A couple, over the years, had come close. Her heart had fluttered - a little - for Claude, but he'd still been a poor substitute for the man she was really waiting for. Her crush had flickered and died pretty quickly, actually.
In fact … there'd never been anyone. She wouldn't … couldn't … consider being intimate with anyone but Clark. Not since these memories.
Her worry and embarrassment, over nearly blurting out something that would have seemed very odd to Clark, suddenly changed. Anger grew in its place. The fact that he could suggest she would do such a thing, just to get an interview, a story, an article…
She stalked away, making it to the steps up to the elevator.
"I'm sorry," came a soft voice over her shoulder, just as his hand touched her arm.
"Why..." she stopped her climb, but didn't turn. "Why would you even say such a thing?"
"I'm sorry. I guess I was just disappointed when you couldn't have dinner with me."
"What makes you think I would have said yes, even if I hadn't been interviewing Lex Luthor?" She turned and challenged him, her hair flicking around her shoulders.
"I … I don't know." He backed away, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I…"
"Stop. Stop saying you're sorry. You always do that. Not all the world's problems are your fault, Clark."
He frowned and his disappointed look turned wary. "What?"
"Never mind," Lois rushed out and then turned away again, quickly. She'd avoided one faux pas, just to stick her foot in another instead. What was Clark going to think? She wasn't supposed know that he felt this way about the world … that he constantly apologised for things. She stepped into the elevator and begged the universe to close the door behind her immediately, before he could follow … before he could say anything. With her eyes closed she had no idea whether it had worked but a slight movement of air, and a quiet 'shhh' noise told her it had. She opened her eyes and turned around to look at the door.
Her breathing slowed in relief. She could imagine Clark, standing on the other side of the closed doors, looking particularly confused. Hopefully he'd have got past that by tomorrow morning. And she could also prove to Clark that her interview with Lex Luthor was pure business by bringing in the article she would spend the evening writing - once she returned home from the interview.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lois turned at her doorway, intending to say something about rescheduling the interview - as he'd somehow managed to lead the conversation in his own direction - but the intense look on his face gave her pause. Her heart began to race and he leaned forward. She gulped, frozen in his stare.
When his lips touched hers she had to resist the desire to gag. It would not do to offend this man. Even discounting the uneasy feeling she got whenever around him, he was still a rich and powerful individual.
And she still wanted an interview with him.
He stepped back and smiled at her, then turned and walked away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then turned and wrenched open her apartment door. Stepping through she slammed the door shut behind her. Striding over to her table she threw down her keys, purse and coat.
"Well." Lucy's voice was hopeful.
"Oh I blew it, I didn't get the interview!" She was so mad with herself. She knew, even before the evening started, that Lex Luthor was not after a business interview. Rather, he was after female companionship. Still, she'd been convinced she could work around that.
"No, did he ask you out again." Lucy was always encouraging her to find a man.
"Oh I don't know." Hopefully he had … and she'd be ready for how good he was at dominating the conversation. "I guess so."
"You guess so? I hope you said yes. Lex Luthor is the most eligible bachelor … Mr. Right could be right out there." Lucy gestured towards the window … possibly indicating the billionaire who'd just dropped her off.
She stepped up to the window and grasped the curtain. A movement outside caused her to catch her breath. "Oh come back to earth Lucy, this is reality we're talking about." She attempted to sound cynical, but knew there was a smile on her face. Mr. Right was most certainly 'right out there'.
Lois continued to stand at the window, hoping for another glimpse of Clark. Glancing down to street level she noticed Lex Luthor just reaching his limo. He turned to look back up at her apartment. His smile, when he saw her watching, sent a shiver down her spine. She didn't like him.
Looking away she raised her gaze to the stars, pushing the curtain a little further out of her way. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting her heart drift upwards. It was almost as if she could join him in the sky … if she just believed hard enough.
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