When Churches Come Crashing Down (WCCCD)
Folc4evneraday
Rated: PG-13
Part 1
Notes: This story probably won't make any sense unless you've read
Winner Takes All This one has a lot of WHAM as well. Just a warning.
Anyone interested in the trailer can view it
here.
***
Lois stared sadly at the empty space next to her. It had been eight weeks. Eight weeks since the attack on the Planet. Eight weeks since she had lost Jordan. She still refused to accept the fact that her child was gone. Her hand instinctively reached out to touch her abdomen; where she had last felt him growing inside her. Nothing.
The scar left from the incision was all that was left. She squinted back her tears as she gingerly touched the skin beneath her fingertips. How could life be so cruel? The Planet was supposed to be opening up its doors next week. There had been a time when she’d been happy with just her work. That had changed. Clark had changed her. Jordan had changed her. From the moment she’d first heard his heartbeat; felt him move inside her; she’d wanted to be his mother. True, she had been terrified at the prospect, but she trusted Clark. Together they had accomplished so much.
Together? She scoffed bitterly. Nothing had been the same for quite some time. The doctor had assured her that it would be okay for them to make love after six weeks, but it still hadn’t happened. Cry for help after cry for help seemed to be getting in the way; along with his constant pulling back from her. She knew he was hurting, but he still refused to discuss Jordan. He wouldn’t even say his name. It hurt. She could put up with other people tiptoeing around her, but not Clark. They had always been very open with one another; until Jordan. Everything had changed.
***
Another Superman hate group. They seemed to be growing rapidly ever since Luthor’s death. They blamed him for Luthor’s death and kept bringing up the activities of his clone. Many believed the clone never existed. It amazed him to find so many people that were so easily swayed. He tried not to let the hateful words get to him, but it was hard.
After everything he’d been through with Lois….and Jordan. Everything was harder than it had been before. Holding Lois…. It hurt. The incision where the doctors had cut their son out of her…
He shook his head in disgust. ‘Don’t go there.’ He told himself. Everything that had come so naturally at one time was now so hard. Making love to Lois; holding her… tore him to the core now. It took everything he had not to break down every time he saw her. He had boxed up all of Jordan’s things and put them away the week after Mr. Stern had bought the Planet. He’d caught Lois in there so many times; just staring at the bassinet. Staring at what could have been. She still insisted they investigate what had happened to their son. Maybe one day they would, but right now it was too painful.
***
“There’s going to be a new face on Intergang.” Bill Church Jr. instructed his lackeys. “You all are used to the way things were done when my father was in charge; that’s too bad. We are redefining the way Metropolis and the world see Intergang. If you don’t like it; you know where the door is. Any questions?”
No one moved.
“Let’s get to work.” Bill Church Jr. smiled, puffing at his cigar.
***
He couldn’t go home. Everything reminded him of Jordan and he just couldn’t deal with that right now. He’d never felt so alone. Just being in the same room as Lois was hard. The only thing that seemed to help was staying busy.
A call for help caught his attention. He soared down towards Southside where the old Metro Club was. He looked down and sighed. It was just some teenagers goofing off. He landed in the back alley behind the Metro Club and changed into a T-shirt and jeans as he headed into “Bibbo’s Pub”. He needed to clear his mind and stay nearby if Superman was needed.
“Long time no see,” Bibbo said as he took a seat at the bar.
“Yeah,” he sighed.
“What can I get ya?” Bibbo asked, motioning to the beers behind the bar.
“Beer.”
“You got it,” Bibbo said, handing him a cold beer from the cooler. “I heard the Planet’s fixing to open back up. You must be excited.”
“Yeah,” Clark nodded. It would be good to have something to distract him from his own guilt and memories of what could have been. He took a sip of the beer and turned toward the band on stage, looking for something to focus on other than the memories that filled his mind. How he had let a man die. How he hadn’t been able to do anything to save his son.
Oh, dear mother, I love you
I'm sorry, I wasn't good enough
Dear father, forgive me
'Cause in your eyes, I just never added up
In my heart, I know I failed you, but you left me here alone
If I could hold back the rain, would you numb the pain?
'Cause I remember everything.
If I could help you forget, would you take my regrets?
'Cause I remember everything.
<<“I…I can’t…” >>
<<”I’m so sorry. We did everything we could, Mr. Kent…”>>Oh, dear brother, just don't hate me
For never standing by you or being by your side
Dear sister, please don't blame me
I only did what I thought was truly right
It's a long and lonely road, when you know you walk alone
If I could hold back the rain, would you numb the pain?
'Cause I remember everything.
If I could help you forget, would you take my regrets?
'Cause I remember everything.
<<“No no no no no….Jordan…My baby….Where’s my baby? Clark, where’s our baby?”>>
<<“He was cremated yesterday afternoon.”>>I feel like running away
I'm still so far from home
You say that I'll never change
But what the fuck do you know?
I'll burn it all to the ground before I let you in
Please forgive me, I can't forgive you now.
I remember everything.
If I could hold back the rain, would you numb the pain?
'Cause I remember everything.
If I could help you forget, would you take my regrets?
'Cause I remember everything.
<<“Jordan Lane Kent.” Lois mused. “Got a nice ring to it.”
“Jordan it is then.” Clark agreed.>>It all went by so fast
I still can't change the past
I always will remember everything
If we could start again,
Would that have changed the end?
We remember everything, everything.
***
Three Months Later…
Jimmy bounded down the steps, into the newly redesigned newsroom of the Daily Planet. A lot had changed since Luthor’s downfall a few months ago. Lucy had buried herself in her work; so he didn’t see her much anymore. Ever since her failed marriage attempt with Lex she’d been very stand-offish. Even Lois had had a hard time talking to her.
The Skins had finally been brought to trial for the fires they’d set in the Southside of Metropolis. Lucy had been working tirelessly with Mayson on bringing them to justice; especially after the attack on her Uncle Mike. Ever since his pheromone-induced declaration of love his and Lucy’s relationship had been rocky.
“Morning, CK!” Jimmy said cheerfully when he saw his friend at his desk. Clark seemed to come and go more so than he had in the past. Jimmy was still trying to learn the ins and outs of being a reporter. The responsibility of chasing down sources and leads was unfamiliar to him. Clark would usually give Lois a signal with his hand; she would nod then he would be gone.
The inferno that had engulfed the both of them at the beginning of their relationship seemed to be long gone ever since they’d lost Jordan. He would sometimes catch Lois gazing at the sonogram print she had hidden in her desk. She didn’t know he knew and he thought it best not to enlighten her. He tried his best to avoid any conversation regarding children or the events that had taken place so many months ago.
“Morning, Jimmy,” Clark replied in a monotone voice, looking through the files on his desk. Jimmy glanced at Lois’ desk and noticed she wasn’t in yet.
“You’re in early.”
“Yeah, I’m trying to get a feel for all this Superman Hate propaganda that’s been spreading…” Clark explained. “It doesn’t make any sense.” He raked a hand through his hair.
Jimmy nodded, “Superman’s done a lot of good for Metropolis. I was worried there for a while when he disappeared.”
“Yeah.” Clark nodded.
“So, where’s Lois?” Jimmy asked casually.
Clark’s body language seemed to stiffen at the mention of his wife’s name. “She, uh, she’ll be in later...” Clark said a little too quickly. The truth was he had been out on patrol since 3am and had yet to go home.
“Ah.” Jimmy nodded, not quite believing him. “Well, I gotta run these prints down to copy,” Jimmy said gesturing to the folder in his hands.
“Yeah.” Clark nodded, not really paying him any attention.
“Right. I’ll see you, CK.” Jimmy moved on his way.
***
Lois walked down the halls of Metropolis General Hospital, pacing nervously in front of the head of the Maternity Ward’s Office. She had been over and over this in her mind repeatedly. Her plea to watch the security tapes and discover what had happened the fateful day she and Clark had been brought into the ER; the fateful day her son had been taken from her.
She heard the quiet sobs and what sounded like singing coming from one of the rooms. The door was cracked. She looked in and saw a young woman holding the tiny hand of a baby that couldn’t be bigger than a cantaloupe. The baby had wires and cords hooked up to it. She could feel the tears overtaking her.
Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
She turned away, listening quietly to the soft lullaby the young mother was singing to her baby. Cruel. Life was so cruel. She empathized with the woman. She knew how she felt…but she was never able to confirm her son’s death. She was never able to wrap her head around why they had cremated him when both parents were unconscious…when…
Who have died to live, it's unfair
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
They claimed Jordan had been stillborn. No matter how she looked at it; she couldn’t accept that. She had felt Jordan move inside her that morning. That morning they had announced his name to their friends and colleagues, making the wonderful news of Jordan’s upcoming arrival more real.
<<“A boy?” Lois asked in a light whisper. Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. She looked down at her goo-covered abdomen and smiled.
“I love you so much, sweetheart,” Clark whispered in her ear. She turned to face him, capturing his mouth with a passionate kiss.>>This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
<<She leaned down to pick up the small pillow that lay in the bassinet. “Yours? This was your bassinet?” She asked in awe. The pillow was engraved with the monogram ‘CK.’ “It’s so perfect…”
“Hey, don’t cry…” He pulled her into his arms.
“I can’t help it. It’s just so beautiful. The baby will love it.”>>
<<“Jordan Lane Kent.” Lois mused. “Got a nice ring to it.”
“Jordan it is then.” Clark agreed.>>Why was life so cruel?
If hope if born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
“Mrs. Kent?” A large woman in her mid-fifties opened the door to the office.
Lois stopped in mid-pace. “Yes?”
“I’m Bertha Richards, head of the Maternity Ward. The receptionist said you needed to speak with me?”
Lois took a shuddered breath before she spoke. This was the moment of truth. The moment she needed to tell this woman her suspicions. It didn’t matter who thought she was crazy. She knew in her heart that something horrible had happened and it had nothing to do with her child being stillborn. She knew she was right; even if Clark didn’t believe her.
“I need to talk to you.” She said shakily.
***
Lucy Lane stared blankly at the jury box as she awaited the jury’s return to the courtroom. They had deliberated for eight hours. Eight long hours she’d waited patiently for the verdict to come back. This was her first case. She’d argued alongside Mayson; going toe to toe with Sheldon Bender, one of Metropolis’ most acclaimed defense attorneys. She’d more than gotten her feet wet on this case.
This case had been good for her. After Lex’s suicide and her failed wedding, she’d needed the distraction. Work had been the automatic solution for her. She had poured her blood and sweat into this case; determined to make the criminals that had attacked her uncle and so many other innocents in the Southside pay for what they’d done.
“All rise!” The bailiff announced. Judge Stevens as he stepped onto the bench. “For the honorable Judge Robert Stevens!”
Judge Stevens nodded at the courtroom then took his seat. Lucy watched in anticipation as she saw the door leading to the Jury deliberation room open. The moment of truth was finally upon them. She would find out if the months of hard work had paid off.
***
Clark looked up when he heard his wife’s heartbeat enter the room. She held an armful of file folders and walked determined towards the conference room. He glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven. Lois never came in this late.
Concerned, he got up from his desk and followed her into the Conference room. He opened the door and closed it behind him. “Hi, you’re in late.”
“I had an errand to run.” She said briskly. Her tone was sharp and curt.
He winced. Her tone cut him to the core. Everything had changed in the past few months. They seemed to be drifting further and further apart. It had been five months since Jordan’s death; five months since their lives had been shattered in one horrific second.
“What do you have there?” He asked, pointing to the files in front of her.
“If you’re so curious why don’t you just scan them; like you always do?” Lois asked. She was mad. Great.
“Lois…” Clark took a seat next to her. “That’s not fair.”
“Right.” Lois turned to face him. He was a bit surprised to see tears in her eyes. “Fair? What is that? I don’t think it’s fair that I’m the only one…”
His head fell when he realized where she was headed with this. “Lois, please…”
“What?” Lois snapped angrily at him. “Please what? Continue to play pretend? I’m sorry, but I can’t just as easily brush off what happened. I know I’m right. Something horrible happened in that hospital, but Jordan did not…”
“Stop it, Lois! Just stop it! I am not going to keep having this argument with you….God, why do you insist on doing this to yourself?”
“Because you don’t care enough to help me!” She cried.
Clark’s face darkened at her accusation. “You think I don’t care?” He hissed. “You have no idea…”
“You’re right. I have no idea, Clark; because you won’t talk to me.”
“How am I supposed to talk to you when all you want to discuss is these insane notions that Jordan was kidnapped?” He snapped back. “Lois, you have got to let this go.”
Lois stared darkly back at him, shaking her head in disgust. “How can you give up so easily on him?”
“Give up? Do you think this is easy for me? For the past five months, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what I could have done differently to have protected you and Jordan…”
“Clark…”
“No, let me finish. For once, just hear me out.” He snapped irritated. “You act like you’re the only one that’s lost something. We both lost something ….someONE…that day, but this…” He gestured to the pile of files on the table in front of her, “isn’t going to bring him back. Nothing you or I do is going to bring him back. You have to let this go.” He felt the heat from the tears in the corner of his eyes burn as he pleaded with her. She was quiet for a moment then she turned back to the file in front of her.
“I spoke with the woman in charge of the Maternity Ward at the hospital today.” She said quietly.
Clark shook his head in disgust. “Did you hear a word I just said?”
Lois shook her head adamantly. “They LIED!!” She grabbed a tape from her purse and slammed it against his chest.
He took the tape from her, uncertain what she was talking about. She paced around the room angrily. “For five months I have been trying to figure out what happened.” She shook her head in disgust. “Do you know how hard it was for me to go to that hospital…alone? Because you wouldn’t go with me? I had to watch the footage of the doctors performing the cesarean on me….alone. Just like I’ve had to do everything else …alone.” Clark just stared blankly back at her, uncertain what to say. “Our son was not stillborn.” She hissed vehemently. “Now I have the proof. So now are you going to quit walking on eggshells around me and help me figure out what happened to our son?”
“You don’t know what happened after the caesarean,” Clark argued. “He could have died afterward.”
“He cried!” Lois turned to face him. “He cried.” She said more softly. Clark looked back and forth between his grief-stricken wife and the tape cassette that sat in his hand. Could Lois be right? Could their son possibly be out there somewhere? If so who would kidnap their son from them? What could they possibly have to gain from doing so?
***
“Such a good baby…” The young mother crooned as she fed the five-month-old baby in her arms.
She watched with a tender smile as she rocked her baby; holding him securely against her chest. She had always dreamed of being a mother. Sure there had been complications, but she had risen above them. Her son was the key to everything. She had the baby she’d always wanted.
***
Mike Rogers impatiently tapped his fingers against his desk. It had been a stressful year. What with having his most celebrated reporter thrown in jail for murder; having the Daily Planet’s competition rise to the point of possibly put them out of business and to make matters worse his S.T.A.R. reporter kept calling out with strange excuses. He shook his head in disgust. “I should have been a fireman.” He muttered.
***
“How does it feel to have won your first case?” Mayson asked, pouring a glass of wine and handing it to Lucy.
“Good.” Lucy nodded. “It feels incredible; liberating.”
“Well, after the crazy few months you’ve had…” Mayson cleared her throat, noticing the expression that had fallen over Lucy’s face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”
“It’s okay.” Lucy nodded. “I’m fine.” She smiled weakly at Mayson.
A knock on the office door brought her attention towards a familiar face. “Hey, Lucy, I wanted to see if you’d be up to a night on the town?” Jimmy asked shyly. “I know you won your first case and….” Jimmy looked down shyly. “I wanted to take you out to celebrate.” He held up his notebook, “And maybe get a few quotes for the Planet,”
Lucy looked at Mayson who shrugged. It appeared she was free. “Sure. Why not?”
“Great.” Jimmy smiled happily.
***
“This is insane,” Clark muttered.
“It’s no crazier than anything else that’s been going on.” Lois snapped back angrily. “Why? Why is it so hard for you to believe that just …just maybe I might be right about this?”
Clark stared at her a moment then left; heading straight for the stairwell on the other side of the newsroom. Lois shook her head in disgust. “Great.” She rolled her eyes then turned back to the screenshots in front of her.
It hurt. She tried not to let it get to her, but sometimes the pain was just unbearable. Who she and Clark had been five months ago and who they were now was a difference of night and day. Clark was more closed off with her and refused to let her in. They had been avoiding one another for months now because every conversation came back to the same thing: Jordan. He didn’t believe her. That hurt more than anything.
He seemed to be using Superman to avoid talking to her. The last time they had even attempted to make love was almost two months ago. Things would be fine one minute then the next he’d pull away from her. It hurt. She’d never felt so undesirable. Jordan weighed heavily on both of their minds whether they discussed him or not.
Clark believed the story the doctors had told them.
He believed their son was dead.
She couldn’t.
***
TBC...
