Ghost From the Past
Folc4evernaday
Part 22
***
“Mr. President?” Jillian Rose, the Secretary to the President, called out as she entered the Oval office.
“Right here,” He said in a muffled grunt as he read through the latest bill that had come across his desk.
“Mr. President, I have had quite a few calls this afternoon about your giving Lex Luthor the Presidential Medal of Honor…”
“Yes, I’m sure everyone’s thrilled,” He grunted.
“Not really, sir…”
“No?” He put the packet he was reading through down and turned to look at her, “Well, Jillian what seems to be the problem?”
“The problem sir is…” She was interrupted by the doors to the Oval Office swinging open and the Press Secretary, Shepherd Wilson entered the room with two secret service officers behind him.
“Mr. President, I mean this in the nicest way possible but what on God’s green Earth do you think you’re doing?”
President Thompson waved for the secret service officers to leave and turned his attention back to Shepherd, “Nice to see you too, Shepherd, don’t hold back…By all means…” He gestured for him to continue.
Shepherd seemed to sense his tone and dialed back, “Mr. President you cannot give Lex Luthor the Presidential Medal of Honor,”
“And why not?” Thompson asked, “As far as I know I’m still the president…”
“Yes, but…”
“And as the President, it is up to me to decide who I can give the Presidential Medal of Honor to,” Thompson added.
“You won’t be for long if any of what I’m hearing is true!” Shepherd argued angrily.
“Oh? What are you hearing?” Thompson asked.
“He’s dirty. He’s a criminal. There are accusations of him using his position to force deals and force the hand of the press to portray him in a ‘just so’ way. I don’t think you should do it, Mr. President.”
“I agree,” Jillian added. “I’ve had calls from several of your campaign donors that are threatening to withdraw their support in the upcoming election if you don’t separate yourself from Mr. Luthor,”
“Campaign donors?” Thompson scoffed, “That’s what this is about, right?”
“Even the impression of corruption can kill a campaign. You of all people should know that ” Shepherd added.
“Corruption? Now, I’m corrupt?” Thompson sneered.
“Not you, Mr. Luthor,” Jillian corrected.
“Shepherd, however much coffee you are putting away throughout the day I want you to reduce it to half.” Thompson gave him an irritated look.
“I don’t drink coffee,” Shepherd argued.
“Well maybe you should start drinking some Decaf,” Thompson muttered as he pulled out the golden nameplate that sat on his desk and handed it to, “Shepherd what does this say?”
“President George Thompson Commander – in – Chief, ” He read.
“Really?” He took the nameplate back, “So, it doesn’t say puppet…or push-over?”
“Mr. President…” Shepherd argued again but was cut off.
“I am President of the United States, Commander-in-Chief. I am not going to just bow down because a few donors got their tail feathers in a knot over an award that I can give to whoever the bloody hell I want. How do you think it’s going to look for me to take back an award after it’s already been announced?”
“I…”
“I’ll tell you what it’s going to do. It’ll draw more conspiracy theories and impressions of impropriety and the poll numbers will drop even more.” Thompson finished his rant then turned back to the bill he’d been reading when Jillian had interrupted earlier, “Jillian do me a favor?”
“Yes, Mr. President?”
“Anyone else calls about Mr. Luthor tell them to take it up with the Constitution and forward the calls to Shepherd here.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” She nodded.
“And one other thing?”
“Yes?” They both asked in unison.
“The next time Shepherd decides to barge into the Oval office without being announced have the secret service officers beat him with a baseball bat,”
“Yes Mr. President,” Jillian said with a smirk.
***
“This is insane,” Clark said as he closed the door behind them. Lois ignored him, making her way toward the expansive solid oak desk in the middle of the room.
“There’s gotta be something here…” She sifted through the papers then turned to him, “Use your vision gizmo and see if you can find anything about Luthor Space Station we can use.”
“Vision gizmo?” He looked at her perplexed.
She raised an eyebrow at him and added, “Okay, how about buzz buzz?”
He laughed, “Or you could just call it what it is. X-ray vision,” He lowered his glasses to scan the desk and frowned.
“What is it?” She asked, noticing the change in his facial expression.
“He’s got a false bottom to his desk, but it’s covered in lead.” He explained.
“So?” She asked.
“So, I can’t see through lead,” He explained.
“Oh,” She murmured softly, “I didn’t know that. Anything interesting in the drawers you could see?”
“Lots of weapons and some plans from Honeybraun Industries,” He shrugged, “I’ll have to do some research to find out what they were.”
“Okay, you keep looking. I’ve got to run to the little reporter’s room,” She explained, placing a hand on her abdomen.
He nodded, watching her leave the study they were in, leaving the door cracked as she left. Hopefully, Clark would be able to find something that could help them soon. Something about this whole Space Station venture of Lex’s seemed off. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.
***
Clark watched Lois leave then turned back to the study they were in. Luthor definitely had a need to collect the rare and valuable. The paintings and antiques in the room had to be worth millions. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Deciding he’d intruded enough, he turned to leave and found himself face to face with a menacing Lex Luthor and a sword at his throat. He looked down to study the sword and met Lex Luthor's tempered gaze with a daring one of his own. “Macedonian?”
Lex Luthor pulled the sword back and smiled, “It belonged to Alexander the Great. A brilliant tactician. Alexander's strategy was simple: always control the high ground. It was the sword that
he...”
<<“Don’t you think it’s odd that LexCorp seems to come up in almost ALL of our research in corruption?”>>“Defeated Darius the Third and was proclaimed King of Asia.” Clark finished for him, recalling the story himself as he took the sword from the shocked Lex Luthor, examining the blade as he handed it back to him.
<<“There’s no way to stop the test tomorrow…Lex Luthor made sure of that when he designed it.”>>Lex eyed him with intrigue. “You impress me, Mr. Kent. I'm not easily impressed.”
“Over a hundred rooms in this place and it takes forever to find a bathroom,” Lois said from behind them, “Sorry that took so long,”
Clark watched Lex paste on a smile before he turned to Lois with his usual debonair air, “Lois, good to see you again. I was just catching up with Mr. Kent on his ….well traveled it seems ….background. I was a bit surprised to find him here…in my study,”
<<“Coates Orphanage Charity Ball being hosted by Mr. Lex Luthor himself…even promised to make an appearance...Maybe one of you can land that elusive personal interview with him.”>>“He was waiting on me. I was just trying to find a bathroom in this place,” She replied sweetly, hooking her arm in Clark’s as she tried to make a move toward the exit.
<<“Why don’t we make it dinner…but just you,”
“Mind if I cut in?”
“Not at all,” Lois said smiling at Clark.
“I don’t like that guy,”
“I think I might have just grabbed the biggest interview of the decade!”>>He saw a flicker of anxiety cross over Luthor’s face but just as quick as it appeared it disappeared as Luthor masked his facial expression with a pasted on smile. “Have you seen the view?” He opened the balcony doors and allowed the couple to step out and absorb the view of the Metropolis skyline as the sun set, “Tallest building in Metropolis. I must confess I enjoy the fact that everyone has to look up in order to see me.”
<<“This is a huge opportunity! Lex Luthor’s First Personal Interview by Lane and Kent….”
“Except he doesn’t want ME interviewing him he wants just YOU, Lois Lane….I don’t know….Something about the guy is just…off…”
“How about this? I go to the interview, and if ANYTHING is out of the ordinary I leave…deal? It’s a really big opportunity….”
“If he even sneezes wrong you leave,”>>Clark exchanged a look with Lois but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. She was thinking the same thing. Lex then ushered them out of the study, “Let's get back to the party. I'm sure you two are just dying to know about my plans for Space Station Luthor.”
<<“I think you learned a lot more about me than I learned about you.”
“I think we’ve both only scratched the surface,”
“Not exactly the point of an interview,”
“Well, I’m a firm believer that the chase makes everything more worthwhile.">>Clark nodded, motioning for Lois to go first as he held the door for her. She exited, and he saw a scowl cross Lex’s face once more.
<< “How’d the interview go?”
“He spent the whole time trying to evade my questions while trying to hit on me. Needless to say, there won’t be a follow-up,”
“I’m sorry, Lois, I know you wanted that exclusive,”
“It is what it is, but there was something very odd about him. Every time I asked him about his parents or the first company he took over his eyes did a little dance. Almost like there was something more going on. May be worth looking into,”
“Definitely,”>>Memories of the conversations they’d had with Lex Luthor years ago came flooding back, and he couldn’t help but wonder ‘what if,’ Here they were years later and Lex Luthor was still playing the same games he’d been playing before. He often wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t made that trip out to Smallville. Would Trask have still come after his parents? Would he of been able to keep them safe if he hadn’t been exposed to that meteorite? Would he and Lois have been able to find anything on Lex Luthor? Would Jamie still be alive?
‘Don’t go there,’ he reminded himself.
They made their way back to the ballroom and noticed a crowd had begun to form around a table in the middle of the room with a sign that read, ‘Space Station Luthor’ on the front of it. Lois sighed her contempt for any plans Lex had. He wondered if something more had happened in the past few years to warrant her obvious contempt and disdain for the man. He didn’t trust him either, but there was an obvious sense of …something he couldn’t put his finger on with Lois when it came to discussions about Lex Luthor. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was all about.
“Honored guests. We're here tonight for a good cause. Thanks to your generosity, Coates Orphanage will be able to take in more than 3,000 children as well as expanding itself into a group home for troubled teens. LexCorp has been a proud supporter of the Coates Orphanage for years now. As you know, I have dedicated my life to improving the quality of the lives of the citizens of Metropolis. Tonight, I’d like to go further.” The table illuminated in blue and 3-D model of Space Station Luthor appeared before their eyes. There was a lot of gasps with ‘Ooohs,’ and ‘Ahs,’ in the crowd.
Clark glanced at the model suspiciously, and Luthor continued, “ It is my understanding that due, in part, to the terrible tragedy that befell the Messenger earlier today with the deaths of Captain Jack Ladderman and his crew, the Congress of Nations intends to cancel Space Station Prometheus.”
“What is he talking about?” Lois breathed in a tone so low no one but him could hear her.
“I don’t know,” He whispered, watching as Luthor continued.
“ I cannot stand by and allow that to happen to the citizens of this planet. Profit aside, potential benefits that a zero-gravity laboratory could bring -- most importantly, pharmaceuticals that could end crippling diseases here on Earth -- must not be lost. I had been toying with a Space Station of my own for quite some time.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Lois muttered.
“…and was hopeful in joining Prometheus in space.” Lex continued.
Perry whispered in their ear from behind, “Meet me at the Planet when this is over,”
Clark looked back in surprise. The stern look of concern on Perry White’s face told him all he needed to know. He didn’t trust him either.
“I believe we can be ready for launch by Prometheus’ target date. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... Space Station Luthor. An engineering marvel. Signpost to a new age of exploration and scientific advancement. A gift to the future of mankind.” A scattered applause filled the room.
Lois breathed a long breath, “Let’s get out of here,”
***
“The world mourns the loss of Commander Laderman and the transport vehicle Messenger, which exploded in its test launch this afternoon.” Carmen Alvarado’s voice filled the newsroom and Lois, Clark, and Perry stared numbly at the screen.
“I want to know everything you’ve found out about the sabotage,” Perry said gruffly. The emotion on his face said everything he wasn’t able to say at the moment.
“Dr. Platt said there were cooling devices placed in the messenger’s launching mechanism to cool the ion particles.” Lois began cautiously.
“The cooling of the ion particles is what caused them to fuse and trigger the explosion,” Clark explained. “Dr. Platt claims he submitted a report to Dr. Baines.”
“And she denies having received said report,” Lois added, her disapproving tone.
“I take it we don’t believe her?” Perry asked.
“No,” Clark shook his head. “She was lying through her teeth during the interview.”
“Speaking of which,” Lois pointed to the screen that showed Dr. Baines on the screen.
“There are no clues as to the cause of this disaster, and, so far, no link to the previous setbacks EPRAD has encountered during the past year.”
The screen then faded out, and Carmen Alvardo’s face appeared on the screen, “Suddenly in doubt, however, is the fate of Space Station Prometheus. The United Nations will call a special meeting to debate whether or not to continue the internationally financed floating space laboratory. And what about the future of the colonists who have sacrificed everything in order to make this voyage? For LNN news, this is Carmen Alvarado.”
“I may be reaching here, but my reporter’s instinct says it’s no coincidence that Lex Luthor has thrown billions of dollars into a space station at the same time that there are accusations about sabotage on Prometheus.” Perry drawled.
“He killed them,” Lois breathed shakily. “Murdered them and…” Images of Commander Jack Ladderman and his crew flooded the screen, and Lois grimaced when she saw him holding a young baby in his arms. The proud father’s smile tore at her insides. She let out a shaky breath, “I think I’m gonna be sick…” She made a dash for the ladies room, barely making it in time. The images from earlier flooded her mind.
He’d murdered innocent people.
<<” Profit aside, potential benefits that a zero-gravity laboratory could bring -- most importantly, pharmaceuticals that could end crippling diseases here on Earth -- must not be lost.”>>Because of Lex Luthor’s greed Jack Ladderman and his crew would not be able to make it home for dinner tonight. Their families would forever mourn the loss of their loved ones for what? Profit?
It made her skin crawl to think someone could deliberately sabotage something that meant so much to the world. Another wave of nausea washed over her, and she emptied her stomach once more. The image of Ladderman with his family flooded her mind, and she began to cry, fighting the urge to empty her stomach once more. She heard a knock at the bathroom door and tried to regain control of her emotions. What was wrong with her? Why was she falling apart like this?
***
Perry watched Lois dart towards the bathroom in concern, “She all right?”
“She just needs a minute, Chief,” Clark explained, “Between the fumes from the explosion making her sick earlier and finding out what happened to Prometheus this afternoon..” He motioned to the monitors that still were showing footage of the explosion. “It’s just a lot.”
“Hmmm,” Perry grunted, turning back to the screen, “I guess it’s hard to see stuff like this after everything she’s been through,”
“Yeah,” Clark nodded, unable to find the words to articulate what he was feeling at the moment. “I’ll be back,” He said heading toward the restroom to check on Lois.
When he got to the restroom door, he knocked lightly, “Lois?” He could hear her crying through the door, and he knocked again, “Lois?”
The door jerked open, and she stepped out into the hallway. Her makeup was smeared from where she’d been crying. “Are you all right?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
She shook her head, “I’ll be fine,” She leaned against him, burying her face in his chest as she let out a shallow breath, “Let’s get out of here,” He nodded his agreement, and they gathered their things heading for the elevator.
***
Jimmy looked around the empty apartment with Lucy, “Where do you think they disappeared to?”
“Who knows?” Lucy rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the couch with Jimmy, “Knowing Lois it’s probably some BIG investigation.” She nudged Jimmy’s arm, “Well, you survived your first big wig event at the Planet. Doesn’t look like you’re any worse for the wear,”
“Nah, it was fun. A little odd at some points in the evening,” Jimmy frowned as he spoke then gave Lucy a broad smile, “but fun.”
“That Lex guy is kinda weird, right?” Lucy crinkled her nose at him.
Jimmy nodded, “Yeah, did Lois ever tell you why she hates him so much? I mean, granted he’s a slimeball, but there seems to be something else going on there.”
Lucy shrugged, “I’m not sure. When Clark disappeared and….especially after what happened to Jamie she just kinda closed herself off from everything and everyone. I think it was her way of coping with everything.”
“That’s sad. It’s no way to live,” Jimmy murmured.
“No it’s not,” Lucy said, “but she’s slowly coming out of her shell again. The real Lois Lane is starting to shine through little by little.”
“The real Lois Lane?” Jimmy asked, “Who have I been working with for the past six months?”
“Well, you’ve been working with Mad Dog Lane for the last six months.” Lucy corrected, “Mr. White’s been working with Mad Dog Lane for the last five years so consider yourself lucky,”
“Mad Dog Lane?” Jimmy echoed in disbelief.
“Don’t ever tell her I called her that. I will deny it and…” Lucy wagged her finger in his face.
Jimmy leaned in to kiss her, “Your secret’s safe with me.”
***
Lois shivered slightly as the cool air hit her face. She glanced around at the stars surrounding her as Clark dressed in his ‘Superman’ disguise held her close, wrapping his cape around her. “It’s beautiful up here,”
“Peaceful,” He smiled back at her.
“Can anyone see us?” She asked apprehensively, looking down at the clouds beneath them.
He shook his head, “No, we’re high enough that no one can see,” She visibly relaxed and he cupped her cheek as she offered him a watery smile.
“I thought you didn’t want to do this anymore because it was too…risky.” Lois murmured.
He smiled, “Taking my fiancée for a flight to clear her head is different from showing up in red, yellow and blue to rescues where the paparazzi can come out at any moment or government agents…”
She linked her arms around his neck, “That was a long time ago…and Trask is gone.”
He rested his head against hers, “His ideas aren’t,” He noticed her pained expression and softened, “I’m sorry.” She shivered slightly against him, “You cold?”
“A little,” She admitted shyly.
“Here,” He wrapped his arms more securely around her, “Let’s head back,”
***
They landed in an alley outside his apartment, and he had quickly changed back into his suit as they exited the alley and headed toward his apartment. After climbing the steps to his apartment building and unlocking the door, he opened it and motioned for her to come in.
She looked around the apartment, taking in the familiar surroundings. This was the first time she’d been inside his apartment since his return. “You okay?” He asked cautiously as she looked around.
She wrapped her arms around herself and gave him a weak smile, “This place just brings back a lot of memories.”
“I put all of Jamie’s stuff in storage for now,” He reassured her as he caught her gaze toward the closet where he’d found some of Jamie’s old outfits. “I wasn’t ….It was just hard having everything here like that.”
She nodded, “I understand,” He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind.
“Do you?” He whispered in her ear, “I’m so afraid of doing the wrong thing. I just…”
She turned in his arms, reaching up to trace his jawline with her fingertips, “Its okay. I get it. I had to put a lot of his stuff in storage for a long time. Seeing it everyday…Lucy forced my hand a bit. She hired movers and rented the storage locker for me, so I didn’t have to deal with it.”
“That was nice of her,” He remarked.
“I didn’t think so at the time,” She shuddered, recalling some of the names she’d shouted at her sister at the moment. “She was doing what she thought was best at the time but I just couldn’t see it back then.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that alone,” He began cautiously before giving her a half-smile, “I know I know. No more apologizing.”
She chuckled, leaning against him, “I wasn’t alone. Your parents were there. My parents were there in their own way. Lucy and Perry ….Even Cat, helped out where she could,”
His eyebrows rose, “Cat?”
“She is surprisingly really good with babies. Jamie used to like playing with her earrings. She’d take the hooks off and dangle them on his mobile.” Her voice started becoming strained, and he whispered a kiss against her forehead, feeling her relax against him as she drew quiet.
“How about some coffee?” He suggested.
“Sure,” She nodded, dabbing at the corners of her eyes as he headed for the kitchen to brew some coffee for them. After measuring out the coffee and turning the coffee machine on. He pulled out two coffee mugs and began spooning sugar into each cup, recalling how Lois only took half a tablespoon of sugar in her coffee. He glanced toward the living room and spotted Lois staring toward the bedroom window in a daze. He sighed, leaving the coffee to finish brewing as he went to check on her.
“You okay?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.
She leaned back against him, turning her head to look at him, “It’s just strange being here after so long,” She whispered hoarsely.
“Do you want to go back to your apartment?” He asked in concern.
“No,” She shook her head. “I wanted to give Lucy and Jimmy some privacy,”
He nodded, holding her close as she leaned back against him in silence. He wanted nothing more than to take away every burden she was carrying but he knew he couldn’t. The pain she felt was something they both needed to work through. If he’d learned anything over the last month, it was to learn to understand there were somethings that would always be out of his control.
An idea came to him, and he pulled away, turning to his bookshelf of many CD albums, looking for the right one. “What are you doing?” She asked curiously.
Without a word he put the CD in his stereo then grabbed the remote, returning to her side as he hit play on the stereo, returning the remote to his pocket as the soft chords began to fill the room. “You said I owed you a few dances.” He explained, taking her in his arms as the chords to the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You,” filled the air.
My love must be a kind of blind love
I can't see anyone but you
Are the stars out tonight
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I only have eyes for you dear“After the last few years, I figure I owed you more than a few…” Clark explained.
She smiled, linking her arms around his neck as they began to sway to the music, “More than a few, huh? Careful, I might take you up on that.”
His hands slid down the smoothness of her back, feeling where the sheer fabric of her dress came to the middle of her back. “Count on it,” He smiled back at her, tightening his arms around her waist as he slowly floated them a few inches above the floor. She gasped in surprise. “Since we’re alone I figured I could show you real dancing,”
She looked down at the floor in surprise then back at him, “This is so weird but….kinda cool at the same time,” Her grip on him tightened.
“I’ve got you,” He reassured her as her arms slipped down the front of his chest.
The moon may be high
But I can't see a thing in the sky
I only have eyes for you“Does it feel weird?” She asked, glancing down at the floor below them, “Floating like this?”
“Not really,” He said, looking around, “Sometimes I don’t even have to concentrate. I just do it subconsciously. I sometimes have to focus on not floating,” She nodded, resting her head against his chest as they swayed to the music together.
I don't know if we're in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue
You are here
And so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for youAs the song ended and he floated them back down to the floor, she lifted her head to look up at him, “Thank you,”
“For what?” He asked.
“Giving me a distraction.”
“Anytime,” He smiled back at her. “So, you want to tell me what’s been bothering you all day?” He asked cautiously.
She gave him a weak smile, “Sorry, I guess I kind of overreacted earlier,”
“Just a little bit,” He teased softly.
“I guess I’m not handling everything as well as I should.” She admitted sheepishly.
“Me neither,” He sighed, lowering his gaze. “There’s no manual to tell you how to deal with all this,” He laced his fingers through hers, looking at her cautiously.
“Oh, yes there is. It's with the other useless books that try to tell you how you’re supposed to feel or act.” She let out a long breath, “I’m sorry I’m just not good at this.”
“It didn’t use to be this hard,” He sighed, “It was never this hard before.”
“A lot has changed,” Lois reasoned.
“I know,” He sighed, “Five years. I have to keep reminding myself…tonight it was like almost nothing had changed, except it had.”
“He killed them, didn’t he?” She whispered hoarsely.
“I think so,” He grimaced, cupping her cheek.
“Six families destroyed for what?” She shook her head in disgust.
“I know I keep going over it in my head. I wish we could have done something…”
“Like what?” Lois asked bitterly, “There was no warning. We couldn’t have done anything. Even if we could have, I don’t know that we would have. You’ve made it clear you don’t want to use your gifts,”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” He argued.
“Then why don’t you?” She accused.
“It’s not that easy,” He argued.
“Then explain it to me. I just…I don’t understand how you can just stop doing something you’ve been doing your whole life; especially after we found a way for you to do it without exposing yourself to … I mean, you have all these abilities, and you’re hiding them away.”
“I’m not hiding. I just…I can’t take that risk. I can’t put you or my parents in danger like that again.”
“So what are you going to do if you’re in a situation where you have to use one of your gifts to escape a bad guy or stop something bad from happening?” Lois asked, placing a hand on his chest, “Look at what happened today…and don’t try to tell me that won’t happen. There’s a lot of not so nice people out there intent on hurting innocent people.”
“I know,” He sighed, “I want to help but…”
“But what?” Lois asked, “I’m not saying to shoulder the whole world’s problems just use your gifts where you can…to help.”
“And what happens when someone starts trying to dig into who I am and tries to come after you or my parents?” He shook his head, “You know it’ll happen.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure they never associate you with….You,” She traced an imaginary outline of the ‘S’ shield on his chest as she spoke, “You look a lot different without your glasses. No one has connected your return to ‘Superman’ yet. It could work…if you want it to.”
“If anything ever happened to you I would never forgive myself,” He murmured softly.
She gave him a half-smile, “I don’t know if you noticed, but I got pretty good at getting out of my own jams over the last couple of years.” He lowered his head as she continued, “But I’m sure having you help look after me could only make me safer." She leaned up to kiss him.
“All these questions from the media for the past month… I don’t know if I’m ready to deal with all that on top of everything else.” Clark explained softly.
“So maybe we control the narrative a bit?” Lois suggested. “Give Perry and the world the answers they want but not giving them anything that could connect you with …you,” She smiled up at him shyly.
“We can do that?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” She shrugged. “We can try.”
He bit the inside of his lower lip, contemplating what she was saying for a moment, “What am I supposed to do? Just show up at a rescue and smile for the camera? I really don’t want to…”
“No, just help where you can,” She said. “Trask is gone along with those men that were working with him. Your dad’s been working with Mr. Irig to get that meteorite destroyed…” He shuddered slightly, and she rested her head on his chest as she continued, “Don’t you think actually being able to use your gifts without exposing yourself would help? You used to help all the time. Don’t let them win.”
“I won’t,” He promised, “and I’m not,” He leaned in to capture her lips with his own, sealing his promise with a kiss. “I love you,”
“I love you too,” She murmured, “And I hope you mean that because I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of letting a dead man and his crackpot conspiracy theories dictate my life. I want my life back. I want our life back.” She pleaded with him.
“I want that too,” He said quietly. “More than anything.” The timer beeped on the coffee machine, and he gazed toward the kitchen, “I guess I better get that,”
She nodded, smoothing the imaginary wrinkles on his shirt as she said, “I guess you should.”
She still hadn’t released him from her grasp. He caught her gaze, tilting her head to him as he leaned in to capture her mouth with his own.
***
“Three points!” Lucy cheered as she tossed the popcorn bag into the trash can from across the room. Jimmy laughed, watching as she jumped up and down to cheer herself on a job well done. “I can’t believe in less than a month I’ll finally be done with this stupid degree…”
“Hey that stupid degree got you that stupid job,” Jimmy corrected.
She rolled her eyes, “I think Lois having connections in the police department helped with that as well.”
Jimmy nodded, “You and Lois seem close,”
“We are,” She said, “After graduation, I moved out because I couldn’t stand being stuck in the middle with our parents' constant bickering. Lois just took it all in stride. I helped out when I could, but she never asked or expected anything. She just wanted me to finish school and do what I had to do to get where I wanted in my career.”
“Then you took off a year to help her when Jamie was born,” Jimmy nodded, recalling the story she’d told him.
“She would have done the same for me,” Lucy murmured softly. “I think Jamie saved her from herself that year. With that story on those gunrunners coming across her desk and losing Clark…if she hadn’t been pregnant she would have been the one lost in the Congo instead of Claude.”
“I heard about that,” Jimmy began, “They never found him?”
Lucy shrugged, “Presumed dead I think, but it’s scary to think that could have been my sister…”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Life is filled with choices. You make the wrong one and…POOF, it’s over.” Jimmy intertwined his hand with hers, “For what it’s worth I think Lois is very lucky to have a sister like you.”
“I just wish I could do more for her. I mean, I know things are better now, but when she came back from Smallville she seemed so ….” Lucy fumbled for the right word, “…broken. I hadn’t seen her like that in years. Slowly she appears to be coming out of her shell, and I’ll see glimmers of who my sister was years ago. I know it's selfish. I know it's unrealistic. I know in my head she can never be the same person she was back then, but I still miss that Lois. I miss my sister.”
“I think that’s just a normal reaction to horrible circumstances,” Jimmy began slowly, taken aback by the emotion behind Lucy’s words as the corners of her eyes began to glisten. He put an arm around her, “Hey, come here,” She leaned against him and began to cry.
***
Lois stared up at the ceiling in a daze, feeling her mind slowly come back into focus as she laid against Clark’s chest. One month. Well, almost. It had been almost five and a half weeks since he’d returned. Five and a half weeks since they’d last made love. She glanced over at Clark who had a sloppy grin on his face as he stared at the ceiling as well. She couldn’t help but smile at him. She’d missed this. Being close with him like this.
For the last few weeks, she’d been struggling with not knowing how to act or react. After she’d told him about Jamie, he’d pulled away. Then after the incident with his nightmares in Smallville he’d gone weeks without speaking to her. She wasn’t sure if it was fear, guilt, or anger that had kept him away, but it had hurt. She’d done her best not to dwell on it, but it kept showing up in different ways. Short temper here. Emotional outbursts there. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear she was…
‘Oh, no,’ Panic washed over her face as she mentally began checking the date. She couldn’t be. Not after…
‘Oh, God,’“Lois?” He moved to cup her cheek, looking at her in concern.
She forgot. How could she forget? She couldn’t possibly be… Oh, but she could. It only takes one time. Now, after tonight if she wasn’t already she could be. Two times without thinking. Why hadn’t she made that appointment? Lucy had reminded her, and she’d forgotten.
‘Don’t panic.’ She told herself.
‘It’s not the end of the world. A little unexpected but not the end of the world.’It had been five years, but she definitely remembered the symptoms.
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Sensitivity to smell
- Nausea
At the last item on her mental checklist, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Before she could open her mouth to warn him, he seemed to sense what was going on as she clamped her hand over her mouth and darted for the bathroom.
***
Clark stared up at the ceiling in a daze, feeling everything slowly come back into focus as he held Lois against his chest. One month. Well, almost. It had been five and a half weeks since he’d last held her like this. Five and a half weeks since they’d last made love. Five and a half weeks since he’d discovered Jamie’s existence and everything he knew or thought he knew had changed. He didn’t want to think about that. Tonight was about getting back what they’d lost. Trask had taken so much from him. He didn’t want to dwell on everything he’d lost but rather what he’d gained.
After what had happened in Smallville he’d pulled away, afraid to hurt her again. It had taken intensive therapy and a good mental swift kick in the behind to get him to start talking to Lois again. He had been so afraid of hurting her he hadn’t realized what he was doing was having the same effect. He caught her gaze as she glanced over at him, smiling back. He’d missed this.
How had they gone so long without each other?
He felt Lois stiffen in his arms and he looked at her in concern, cupping her cheek in concern, “Lois?”
Her heart rate had picked up and was hammering in her chest. He watched as panic crossed over her face. He wasn’t sure what had brought on this sudden sense of hysteria that was causing her heart to beat itself so rapidly in her chest. He was about to ask her when he saw a familiar pale expression come over her face. She was sick. Quickly he moved out of the way as she clamped a hand over her mouth and raced for the bathroom. He followed a few footsteps behind her, stopping to grab a warm washcloth.
He grimaced when he heard the all too familiar sounds of her emptying her stomach in the bathroom as he approached. Finally, the heaving seemed to stop, and he knelt down next to her placing the washcloth on the back of her neck. “You should probably get yourself to the doctor,” He began. “Three times in one day. You can’t blame that on the fumes.”
“I know,” She cried, leaning back against him for support. Her body shuddered against him, and he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.
“First thing in the morning you need to call,” He continued, “You should probably go ahead and call Perry tell him you won’t be in because…”
She cut him off, “I’m not contagious,”
Sensing where she was going with this, he cut her off and began to argue, “Lois, the story will still be there after you’ve recovered. You’re in no condition to…”
“Not unless they’re waiting nine months to do the launch,” She said shakily.
“What?” He looked at her confused.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think I might be…”
The pieces seemed to click together in his head, and he finished her thought for her as she burst into tears, “Pregnant,”
***
TBC...
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