When Churches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday
Part 28
***
All he could do was stare blankly at the walls around him. He had done the right thing. Inside these walls he was safe; his family was safe. Nigel had made it very clear what would happen if he slipped and told someone who he’d been working for and what they’d been working on. His family would suffer.
He hadn’t been there for his family. He’d left his wife and daughters to follow his dream. His wife had become an alcoholic, raising their two daughters alone. He would stop by occasionally, but his focus had never been on his family. It had always been on his work. He dreamed of becoming a respected scientist of his field, but so far he had not been successful. Once his research in cloning studies was known he would finally have the respect he wanted, but at what cost?
***
“You all right?” Clark asked as they reentered the townhome Lois just gave an inaudible nod and took a seat on the couch. They’d just toured the daycare center. Jordan seemed to like the teachers well enough, but Lois had been quiet and subdued, “So, it looks like Jordan liked the school. The teachers seem nice enough,”
“Yeah,” Lois nodded, brushing back a strand of hair behind her ear.
He glanced down at his sleeping son, resting securely in his arms and smiled. It had been a stressful afternoon and its stresses had definitely taken its toll on Jordan. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet and he’d already passed out. “I hope he’s not out for the night,”
“Maybe it’ll be good for him. It’s been a hard day for him.” She said softly, “For all of us,”
“I know,” Clark said taking a seat next to her. “That wasn’t an easy decision for you to make.”
“Why would he purposefully break his bond agreement like that? Did he want to go back to jail?” Lois asked softly, resting her head against his shoulder. His arm instinctively wrapped around her.
“I don’t know,” He whispered. “I can’t make any sense out of any of this.” Jordan lifted his head up in his sleep, moving his head from one side to the other before allowing his little body to fall back against his shoulder again.
Lois smiled up at him, reaching for Jordan, “I think it’s time for someone to go to bed,” She gave him a peck, “I’ll be right back,”
He nodded, watching as Lois carried Jordan upstairs. He headed toward the kitchen and began preparing dinner at super speed to take his mind off the day’s events. Lois was right. It had been a hard day for all of them. Jordan had had to watch his grandfather be taken away in handcuffs. Lois had had to call the police on her own father. It still bothered him; the way Sam had just shown up on their doorstep adamant about seeing Jordan. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be around any children until the trial was over. Why would he purposefully do something that would land him back in jail?
***
“You don’t have to do that,” Lucy said, taking the bouquet of roses from Dan.
“I don’t have to, but I want to.” Dan smiled at her. “Yellow roses are supposed to be for friendship, red for passion and white for purity.”
“I notice you have one of each; so how am I supposed to tell what your intentions are with the bouquet?” Lucy asked.
“You don’t,” Dan smiled back at her, “That’s what makes things interesting.”
“I really don’t know about this,” Lucy said softly, “I mean, I don’t understand why you would even want to date me. I’m pregnant with another man’s child and…” She stopped when he placed his index finger against her lips.
“None of that matters. Let’s just go out and have a good time and not worry about the reasons you think we shouldn’t,”
Her face softened as she looked up at him, “All right,”
***
“You can’t fire me, Amanda,” Bender snapped back at her vehemently.
“I didn’t kill that woman. How many times do I have to say it for you to get it? Obviously, you think I’m guilty. I refuse to be represented by someone that doesn’t believe me,” She snapped back.
“Fine!” Bender snapped, grabbing his briefcase and heading to the exit, “I hope you make friends in here; because you won’t be seeing the outside for a very long time!”
“Okay, buh-bye now!” She snapped back as the door slammed shut. She angrily punched the table in front of her. She hated that man. From the time he’d been assigned to her case, she’d felt like he was sabotaging her. She knew she’d been wrong. The counseling she’d been forced into had made her see that, but she wasn’t a murderer and she refused to take the fall for something she didn’t do.
There had to be at least one person that could see that. She glanced up at the night sky through the small window in the corner of the room. The clouds were darkening, showing the signs of rain. A storm was brewing.
***
“Help!” Mayson cried as she fought against her restraints. What had that meant?
<<‘You don’t remember me…’>>
Who was she supposed to remember? Why had he trapped her in this eerie cage?
***
The rain drummed against the window panes, creating a soft rhythm across the homes of Metropolis. Superman had already patrolled the city, assuring himself that his beloved home would be safe for the night. His attention was needed elsewhere. The storm may have broken in the skies but it was just beginning to brew elsewhere.
***
“You live here now?” Detective Wolf asked, walking by Inspector Henderson’s office.
Henderson stared at the photos on the wall in front of him. Dr. Benzen’s photo was on the right. Dr. Kelly’s photo was on the left. “I’m trying to figure out the connection, but for the life of me I can’t.”
“Well, there you go,” Wolf patted him on the shoulder, “Maybe there isn’t one.”
“You don’t find it odd that two famous doctors got murdered less than six months apart from one another?” Henderson asked. “There’s something here,”
“Why don’t you try putting this energy you got trying to figure out how Dr. A is connected to Dr. B and use it in connecting the dots with Mayson Drake’s disappearance?” Wolf asked. “Try and get some sleep; will ya?”
***
“I cannot believe you have a pair of headphones on my stomach,” Lois shook her head as she watched her husband continue to talk to their child.
“It’s music. It’s supposed to help stimulate the mind.” He shrugged.
“Somehow I don’t think Garth Brooks is what they were talking about,” Lois said, shaking her head.
“Hey, that is classic music,” He then whispered down to her stomach, “She just doesn’t like Garth Brooks,”
“You are so weird,” She rolled her eyes as she pulled the headphones off her stomach, “Enough for the night. I’m sure he or she will get plenty of music to listen to over the next few months.”
Clark grinned and began to sing the lyrics teasing her, “I'm shameless, oh honey I don't have a prayer. Every time I see you standin' there. I go down upon my knees. And I'm changin' swore I'd never compromise Oh but you convinced me otherwise I'll do anything you please.”
Lois laughed, lightly smacking him. “Don’t quit your day job,”
“Oh, really?” he laughed, wrapping his arms around her as he tried to tickle her.
“Clark!” she laughed, twisting out of his grasp, “You are going to pay for that…”
He grinned, floating a few inches out of her grasp, “Am I?”
“That is so not fair,” Lois muttered, throwing a pillow at him as he floated out of her reach once more.
Clark floated back down to her a few inches above the bed “Since when does Lois Lane play fair?” he teased, wrapping his arms around her, resting his hands on her abdomen. She smacked him lightly on the chest. He laughed, leaning his chin on her left shoulder blade as he whispered, “A few more weeks and we’ll find out for sure … girl or boy,”
She smiled up at him with a forced smile, “I know,”
He saw the hesitation on her face and readjusted himself to tighten his embrace with her, cupping her left cheek as he looked at her, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, really,” She stammered, “It’s just…”
“What?” Clark asked concerned. She was stammering, unable to get her thoughts out properly; which was uncharacteristic for Lois.
“Last time we found out what Jordan was… “ She shook her head, “I don’t know. I guess I’m a bit apprehensive after everything.”
“We don’t have to find out if you don’t want to. I can wait.” He offered.
“No, I want to know. I can’t stand surprises. You know that.” He smiled broadly at her comment. That was the understatement of the year. She hated being surprised about anything. “I just have to force myself to adjust. Nothing about this pregnancy has been the same as Jordan’s. I just have to remind myself of that.”
“I know; there are still a whole lot of unknowns. How long a normal pregnancy is for us?”
“Jordan came out all right,” Lois pointed out.
“I know,” He nodded, “He’s strong; just like his mom,”
She smiled broadly up at him. “Not so bad yourself,” She leaned up to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. He moaned in pleasure as she pulled him on top of her. His hand cupped her face, tracing the outline of her jaw.
Her hands raked through his hair, fingering his silky hair as they began the exploration of one another. He never got tired of kissing Lois. The feeling of her skin against his was pure bliss.
He moaned into her mouth as she lightly tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth. The tip of her tongue dipped inside his mouth, inviting him for further exploration.
“Clark…” She moaned against him.
No matter what they were going through they always seemed to find solace in one another. They’d lost that for a while; choosing to tear one another apart rather than work together. That mistake would never be made again. His life; his very existence depended on this beautiful spitfire of a woman that made him weak in the knees every day. He’d fallen head over heels at first glance and had to fight for the love they shared now; the family they had. The passion between them slowly began to build into a raging inferno as she tightened her arms around him. The echoes of their lovemaking ran through her mind as Clark instinctively wrapped his arms securely around her as they rolled over on their sides.
His heart was hammering against his chest as he slowly calmed his body down. He could hear her heart pounding as well and couldn’t help but smile. “I love you so much,”
She smiled up at him broadly, “I love you too…Oh!” She glanced down at her abdomen.
“What?” He placed a protective hand over her abdomen.
“I don’t know. It felt strange. Not a kick, but…”
“Hiccups?” Clark guessed.
“Yeah,” She smiled up at him. They laid together in silence, holding one another, neither wanting to break the moment. It was the first sign of movement from their unborn child thus far. Kicking and hiccups galore would be soon to follow, but this was the first sign.
“You all right?” Clark asked in concern when a faraway expression crossed over her face, “I think my father’s hiding something,” Lois said abruptly, turning to look at him.
“I know,” He sighed, “I just wish we knew what he was hiding and why he’s so scared.”
***
“What happened?” Wolf asked, stepping through the remains of the jail cell wall.
“Superman happened,” The investigating officer said, pointing to the surveillance footage. “He just broke Dr. Lane out of here like we were the ones in the wrong. I don’t know where that guy gets off….”
“Are you sure it was him?” Wolf asked.
“Yep,” the officer nodded, “Red, blue and yellow. Big ‘S’ on the chest. I thought he was supposed to be one of the good guys. I guess not,”
TBC...
