The next few weeks passed by in a blur. Clark went about his daily life on autopilot, moving from place to place and writing his column almost without thinking. After a brief visit to his parents where he’d tersely informed them of Lois’ upcoming nuptials, he hadn’t allowed himself to speak of her. That part of his life was past, gone forever.
But that didn’t stop him thinking about her.
The nights were the worst. He’d toss and turn, trying to sleep and failing, torturing himself with memories and fantasies until he’d drive himself to put on the Suit and go looking for someone to help. Anything to take his mind off Lois Lane.
Two months passed, and the New Year found Clark deep in the highlands of Costa Rica. He’d spent Christmas in Smallville with his parents, deliberately avoiding any mention of Lois or Metropolis- something that he knew had both annoyed and worried his mother. He’d tried his best to appear happy so as not to spoil his parents’ Christmas, but the only real glimmer of happiness had come in the form of a letter from the paper that published his articles down in Florida. The Daily Planet had picked up his column.
Now, after a quick trip Stateside, he stood in his hotel room with the Sunday edition of the Planet in his hand. It was the first one to carry his column, and the thought that an article of his was once again sharing space with one of Lois’- even if she didn’t know it- brought an increasingly rare smile to his face.
***
Lois took a sip of her coffee and turned the page of the Sunday lifestyle supplement with disinterest. It was her day off, and there was no pressing need for her to be in the newsroom- hence the leisurely perusal of the Sunday edition of the Planet. She’d come in anyway, using a story as an excuse to avoid Dan and his constant pressure to set a date for the wedding.
Turning another page, she forced herself to read at least the first few lines of the travel section. It was an article on Nicaragua this week, she noted- a place that wouldn’t have been her first choice for a vacation. The first paragraph, however, was enough to make her sit bolt upright and put her coffee mug down. Laying the paper flat on her desk, she read the column through and then read it again. The by-line said Jerome King, but there was no denying it. The phrasing, the choice of words, the ability to draw the reader in, the way the writer painted a vivid picture in a relatively short piece…
It was Clark’s work.
She’d know it anywhere. After all, she’d written with him and edited his copy and had him edit her copy for two years before he’d disappeared. This column wasn’t the hard-hitting investigative reporting that was her forte, but it had Clark’s undeniable talent for human interest stories written all over it.
Lois got to her feet, taking the paper with her, and strode into Perry’s office, slamming the door shut behind her.
“The new travel columnist. Who is he?”
“Good morning to you too, Lois.”
“Morning, Chief. The travel columnist?”
“I don’t actually know. It came from the Chicago Tribune. One of the suits upstairs saw his column, liked it, and insisted we pick it up.
Why?”
“Because it’s Clark.” She leaned over the desk and dropped her copy of the Planet in front of Perry, opened and folded to the column that had caught her eye. He picked it up.
“Are you sure? Says here it was written by a Jerome King.”
“Perry, he was my partner for two years. Of course, I’m sure. That column was written by Clark Kent, I’d bet my Kerths on it.” She dropped into the chair in front of the desk.
Perry studied the article in question. “It sure sounds like Kent. What about the by-line?”
“Jerome is Clark’s middle name. And King was the surname he used when we were undercover at the Metro Club. Is there any way we can confirm it?”
“I can put in a call to Tyner at the Trib, but uh, Lois, what are you going to do? You know, if it is Clark?”
“I’m going to find him and get him to come back to Metropolis.”
Perry nodded. “Why?”
“Perry! Don’t you want him back?”
“Look, Lois, I know you miss Clark. We all do. But uh, did you ever think that maybe he’s better off wherever he is now?”
“Perry…”
“Look, darlin’, I try not to interfere in the personal lives of my reporters. But I told you once that that boy would walk on water for you or die tryin’, and I stand by that. Now, uh, when you and Clark started dating, and then Dan came on the scene, I was worried. And then, well, when Clark took off in the middle of the night like that, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. I figured that you’d told him you’d chosen Dan.”
Lois stared at the editor, unable to speak, to correct his false assumption. To tell him that she’d gone to tell Clark that she’d broken things off with Dan, that she wanted to be with him, Clark- and found his apartment vacant.
“The thing is, uh, I know how Clark felt about you. Boy fell for you like a poleaxed steer the day you two met. You getting engaged to Luthor didn’t change that, and I’d bet my Elvis collection that you getting engaged to Dan won’t have changed it either.” He fixed her with a steely glare. “So if you only want him back in Metropolis because you miss your friend, then leave him where he is.”
Lois stood and nodded tightly at the chief, managing to escape his office and get to the relative privacy of her desk before the threatening tears started to fall. Had Clark loved her? Granted, she knew he’d had feelings for her, but love? Surely it had been too early in their budding relationship for that? But Perry had said that Clark had fallen for her the day they met. The idea sent a thrill through her and she smiled through the tears. If it was true…
If it was true, she’d done a lot of damage to Clark Kent.
Her smile faded. Perry was right, he was better off wherever he was now. He was better off without her.
The thought made her heart ache.
But why had Clark been so sure that she’d choose Dan? When he’d left, she’d taken it as a sure sign that he’d changed his mind about wanting a romantic relationship with her, but if Perry was right- if Clark loved her- it put a whole different spin on things. Packing up his entire apartment like that wasn’t the work of a few minutes; it had to have taken hours at least. Superman must have told Clark about their conversation after Superman’s court case, but why had Clark assumed that her rejection of Superman meant she wanted to be with Dan? Things hadn’t been going all that well between them, but had it really gotten that bad?
The only way she’d get answers was by talking to Clark- and that wasn’t going to happen.
