Chapter Sixteen
Lara and Lucy called each other a few times over the next few weeks to finalize plans for the visit. Lara made reservations for Thanksgiving Day at a nearby hotel for her family. When Lucy confirmed that Lois would attend Lara was very pleased.
Early Thanksgiving Day Lara and Clark flew the luggage to the hotel and checked in then they returned for Martha and Jonathan.
Clark picked up Martha and Jonathan wrapped his arm around Lara and squeezed her shoulder.
“Ready?” Jonathan said.
“Yep, let’s go!”
Lara and Clark flew at a leisurely pace and pointed out various places of interest as they flew. Lara gestured to the park she’d landed in before and headed down quickly with Clark right behind, then they spun out of their suits and into their regular clothes. Clark wore a navy sport coat with black slacks, a light blue shirt, and a painted tie Martha had made. Lara wore a cobalt blue scuba crepe sheath dress with black slingback heels that she’d picked up at Nordstrom’s, especially for the occasion. Lara led the way with the rest of the family following behind then she rang the bell and waited patiently for the door to open.
**********
When the doorbell rang Lucy Lane-Whyte opened the door wide. “Lara! Clark! It’s so good to see you all, please come in!”
When the Kent’s were inside Lucy closed the door and ushered them into the living room.
“Everyone, this is my husband, Ben, and our boys, Joel and Eric.” Lucy turned to her family. “And this is my niece Lara, her father Clark and his parents, Jonathan and Martha.”
Everyone said hello with hugs and handshakes. Lara looked at her aunt once they were ensconced in the living room.
“Is Lois here?”
“Not yet but she should be here any minute.” Just then the doorbell rang. “That’ll be her!” Lucy rushed to the door and ushered her sister into her home.
Lucy pulled Lois into a fierce hug. “Lois! I’m so glad you’re here!”
“It’s good to see you too, Luce, is everybody here?” Lois glanced into the room.
“Yes, come on, let me introduce you!” When Lucy and Lois entered the room, the men stood to welcome her.
“Lois, you know most everyone but this is Jonathan and Martha, Lara’s grandparents.”
“Thanks, but I met Martha and Jonathan years ago when Clark and I were on assignment in Smallville.” Lois gave Jonathan and Martha a quick hug and kissed Martha on the cheek as well. Lois saw Lara behind her father. She looked nervous so Lois walked confidently over and she leaned in to kissed Clark on the cheek.
“It’s good to see you, Clark,” Lois said sincerely.
“You too, Lois. You look just as beautiful as ever,” Clark said.
Lois saw that Lara still looked nervous so, with a quick grasp of Clark’s hand, she stepped past him and opened her arms to her daughter.
Lois’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “It’s good to see you, Lara.”
Lara looked at Lois for a moment before she stepped into her arms and hugged her warmly.
“It’s good to see you too, Lois,” Lara said, her voice shook with emotion. The two women hugged for perhaps a moment too long but no one begrudged them the extra time. Lara stepped out of Lois’s embrace and looked awkwardly at the floor. Lois sensed the tension in the room and turned to greet her nephews and brother-in-law.
“Now that everyone’s here, I need to check on dinner,” Lucy said to no one in particular.
“Can I help, Aunt Lucy?” Lara asked.
“Yes, do you need any help?” Martha also stood up in preparation.
“No! You’re our guests, you don’t need to help,” Lucy replied.
“Many hands make light work,” Martha said. “Come on Lara.”
Lara started to join her grandmother but stopped.
“Lois? Would you like to join us? I’m sure the men can find something on TV to keep them busy.”
“Um, I don’t know…” Lois said hesitantly.
“Come on Lois, if nothing else it’ll give us time to catch up,” Lucy said, imploring her sister with her eyes.
Lois followed them into the kitchen with a resigned expression on her face. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
When the four women were firmly ensconced in the kitchen Lucy, Lara and Martha began to bustle around the large open kitchen checking on the turkey and various other dishes while Lois hung back, seated at the island, and looked uncomfortable.
“Lois, would you like to help me with the dressing?” Lara offered.
Lois looked unsure of what to do. “No, not really. If you don’t want everyone to get sick, I’d better stay well away from food preparation.”
“You don’t cook?” Martha said as she peeled the potatoes.
Lois chuckled wryly. “There are four things I know how to cook and only one doesn’t involve chocolate.”
Lucy put a positive spin on Lois’s statement. “Well then, you can help with the desert!”
Everyone laughed then and they all settled to the tasks at hand.
Lara watched Lois as they worked. She saw the woman who she’d built up into an uncaring, unfeeling, cold woman working hand in hand with everyone just like a regular person. Lois smiled and joked. She shared her anecdotes of Thanksgivings past, and was generally ‘one of the girls.’ The longer they worked together the more relaxed Lara became. While she had forgiven Lois in her mind the reality of the situation was much different. Now she saw Lois as a person, not a monster, a person with faults and foibles like everyone else, and she felt sure she’d made the right decision.
When everything was prepared as much as could be, they all walked back to the living room where the men were watching the Dallas Cowboys play the Miami Dolphins. Lucy and Martha joined their husbands but Lois caught Lara’s arm.
“Walk with me, please?” Lois implored.
“Sure,” Lara said nervously.
“We’re going to take a little walk, see you all later,” Lois said to no one in particular. Lois saw Clark smile in response and nodded his head in approval. Lois headed for the front door with Lara by her side. Since it was a beautiful day in San Diego neither needed a jacket. When they got to the sidewalk, they turned south, walking aimlessly. The two women walked along in silence until Lois spoke.
**********
“I’m so sorry, Lara—”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Lara interrupted.
“No, there is. I owe you that much at least,” Lois said sincerely. “I owe you the reasons why I wasn’t there for you.” Lois looked into Lara’s eyes to convey her need to unburden herself.
Lara nodded. “There’s a park just down the street, why don’t we go there and sit down?”
Lois and Lara walked to the little park to a bench in the sun and sat down.
“Dad told me what happened and, while I didn’t understand when I was a child, I think I do now,” Lara looked Lois in the eye steadily.
Lois replied with surprise. “Clark told you… everything?”
“Well, not the gory details. But the circumstances of my conception and the decisions each of you made afterward, yes, he told me,” Lara replied honestly. “I was really surprised that my calm, steady dad had behaved so uncharacteristically.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t exactly innocent then either,” Lois chuckled nervously. “We were both coming off an adrenalin rush and the need to prove that we were safe and alive overwhelmed us. Of course, we immediately knew what we’d done was wrong and, embarrassed, we resolved never to speak of it again. When I found out I was pregnant I was going to… well you know, without telling Superman. I was too young to be a mother. I was in the process of saving my job and I had to prove that I hadn’t lost my edge—”
“About that, you were to married Lex Luthor?” Lara interrupted, shock and disbelief evident in her expression.
“Not my finest moment,” Lois said, embarrassed. “But to be fair he had most of Metropolis fooled. But not your father.” Lois hung her head, regret almost radiated from her.
“Clark tried to tell me Lex was bad news and much, much more but I refused to believe him. I thought he was jealous, which he was. He told me so himself, but still I should have believed him or at least given him the benefit of the doubt, but I didn’t. I couldn’t believe that I had misjudged Lex that badly so when the police showed up at the ceremony and Lex jumped off the building rather than go to jail, I knew Clark was right.
“Clark was very supportive after that. He did his best to be the friend I needed. When Mr. Stern bought the Planet and was getting the staff together, I assumed that Clark and I would go back to our old partnership. It was something I looked forward to. And then Mr. Stern told me he wasn’t sure he wanted me back!”
“That had to hurt.” Lara reached out to grasp Lois’s hand.
“It did, but it angered me too. I rashly told him if I hadn’t proved that I was the best in six months I’d quit.”
“Dad told me about that. He said you were very single-minded after that.”
“I was more than that, I was like a woman possessed. I took every dangerous story I could get. I didn’t eat, didn’t sleep. I lost so much weight my clothes hung off me but I didn’t care. Perry and Clark tried to get me to slow down but I bit their heads off every time so after a while, they gave up. Then came the fateful meeting with a source where I was thrown off the second-highest building in the city…”
Lara squeezed Lois’s hand in support. “That had to be so scary.”
“It was. I’d been tossed off buildings before but it never gets any easier,” Lois said with a self-deprecating chuckle. Lara’s eyes opened wide with disbelief but she stayed silent.
“Anyway, I was screaming at the top of my lungs but I was gagged and the ground was getting closer and closer. I’d resigned myself to the fact that this time Superman wasn’t going to get there in time. Just as I’d closed my eyes and reconciled myself to becoming street pizza, Superman’s arms wrapped around me and we were soaring into the sky.” Lois took a deep breath to calm herself before she could continue.
“The rest you know, but what you don’t know is how mad I was at Superman and Clark. For over a year they were two men, one who I thought I loved and one who was my best friend, or so I thought. When I found out that Superman and Clark were the same man, I saw red. I don’t know if Clark told you but I had trust issues back then. The situation with Lex didn’t help either. I lost all faith in him when Superman told me he was Clark and wanted to marry me!”
“He told me some but, please, continue. I want to hear your side,” Lara replied.
“Before I do that, I want you to know some background. I was surprised when Lex asked me to marry him. I told him I needed some time to think about it. We’d been dating casually, I thought, so I was flattered that the third richest man in the world, a multibillionaire, wanted to marry me but I wasn’t sure. I knew I had feelings for Superman and I knew I had to find out if there was any way that there could be something between us. The Daily Planet had been destroyed soon after Lex proposed and I was working for LNN and I wanted Clark to be my partner there. I gave him a tour and we went out for lunch. After lunch we went to the park and that’s when Clark told me he loved me. I did have feelings for Clark. He was my best friend and I loved him, like a brother.”
“That had to hurt,” Lara said.
“I know now it was a lie. I loved Clark more than that but I wouldn’t admit it to myself. I told him I didn’t feel that way about him and he looked devastated. I didn’t help things when I asked him to send Superman to me.” Lois paused a moment. There was no reason to disillusion Lara regarding Superman’s comment that night. “Superman told me that we couldn’t be together and I accepted Lex’s proposal.
“Over the next few weeks our friendship deteriorated such that at Perry’s retirement party we had a big fight. But when the big day came it was Clark I was thinking about. As I walked down the aisle my thoughts were not on the man waiting for me, nor on the Archbishop waiting to marry us. All I could think about was the good times Clark and I had and how much I would miss them. When it came time to say ‘I do’ I couldn’t do it. Just then Inspector Henderson, Perry, Jack, and a squad of police officers entered and told Lex he was under arrest. Lex took off and Perry bundled me outside.
“Once I was on the sidewalk I looked around for Clark and he came over to me and held me in his arms. I heard the crowd gasp and I looked up to see what everyone was pointing at. The building was so tall that I couldn’t see much but soon I could see a figure falling. Clark wrapped me in his arms so I couldn’t see Lex’s body smash into the sidewalk.”
Lara’s hand shook as she made to reach out to Lois. “That had to be horrible!”
“It was but I didn’t know at the time that things were about to get much, much worse. Clark took me to my apartment and put me to bed. The next morning we were awakened by someone banging on my door. Two detectives and a uniformed officer wanted to ask me some questions but I was in no shape to answer. Clark convinced them that I’d meet with them later that day. Before they left, they showed me a copy of my bank statement that showed Lex had deposited $250 million dollars in my account!
“I hadn’t given him permission to do that and I certainly never gave him my account number so the… scumbag had deposited his dirty money to make me look like an accomplice! Once Clark calmed me down, he told me that, no matter what, I had to tell the truth, no matter how bad it looked. When I met with the detectives, they grilled me fiercely for over six hours. There was a lot of screaming on both sides, but my story never wavered and, finally, they let me go.
“When we got back my ‘colleagues’ were camped out in front of my building so we went up the back, but I knew, even then, that I couldn’t avoid them forever. When I got a request to meet with the FBI, I thought I was really in for it, but it turned out to be a formality. I think they’d heard from the MPD about my story so they were basically ticking off the box called ‘talk to the widow.’ It was after that when I decided to give a press conference to explain my side. I made my statement, answered some questions and, at the end, my reputation was shot. For the longest time people were divided into two camps, those that thought I was lying and those that thought I was an idiot who didn’t deserve the accolades I’d gotten over the years.”
“Dad never said anything about this. Please, go on.”
“That was when Mr. Stern, the owner of the Daily Planet, told me he didn’t want me back because he doubted my reporter’s instincts! I was livid and I told him that if he’d give me a six-month contract, I’d prove myself or I’d quit.”
“Dad told me about that. I can’t imagine how difficult that was for you.”
“It was. I’d always given 110 percent to my job and now I was being told that wasn’t enough.” Lois paused, taking a deep breath to gather herself. “You told me you knew the circumstances of your conception so I’m going to skip over that and go right to the night I told Superman that I was pregnant. When he arrived, I planned to tell him I was going to terminate the pregnancy then tell him to leave. As soon as I told him he… changed. It was as if I’d given him the best news in the world.”
“You did. Dad never thought he could have children. Grandma and I talked a lot about that once I was old enough to understand.”
“That’s when he told me I couldn’t kill his child and I lost it. I told him in no uncertain terms to leave but he didn’t take the hint. I think he was hoping his invulnerability would protect him,” Lois chuckled.
“When he asked me to marry him, I laughed and told him Superman couldn’t get married. That's when he spun into Clark and he said that we could get married. I think if I’d had heat vision, he’d have been a pile of ash on my floor. How could he do this to me! He, as Superman, knew Lex was evil but he never said a word to me. He allowed me to accept Lex’s proposal rather than reveal his precious secret! I let him know that I blamed him for everything that had happened to me. The hours spent trying to convince skeptical detectives that I knew nothing of Lex’s crooked dealings, the destruction of my reputation, all of it was his fault. If he’d just told me Lex was evil, I’d have believed Superman even without evidence. Maybe I was being hypocritical, after all Clark had been saying the same thing for weeks but he never had any evidence and I put his warnings down to jealousy.
“Clark admitted that he was jealous but he was still right though I wouldn’t believe him. Now it was very clear that Clark valued his secret more than he valued me and that hurt, a lot. Years later I figured that Clark must have had it drilled into him never to tell anyone, especially a reporter, about his abilities and that explained why he never told me.
“That’s right.” Lara said, warming to the task. “Grandpa told him over and over if anyone found out what he could do they’d lock him in a laboratory and dissect him like a frog! I was mad at Grandpa for a long time when I found that out. Can you imagine what that did to him, psychologically, as a teen when his powers were first developing?”
“I can’t imagine. Given that knowledge it’s amazing Clark even created Superman!” Lois said with wonder.
“Dad always felt the need to help. Even with Grandpa’s warnings he did help people in secret. I’m proud of him for that.”
“You have every right to be,” said Lois, her sincerity evident. “Anyway, back to my story. When Clark begged me not to abort, I saw his sincerity. He also said that this baby would be his only chance to have a child but I didn’t believe that for one minute. I knew that a handsome man like Clark would have women falling all over him. I remember that sheriff, Rachael, was very interested in him. He’d also mentioned an old girlfriend, Lana, so I was sure he would find a nice woman and settle down.”
“Rachael Harris and Lana Lang both got married about a year before I was born so they weren’t available. I don’t know if there were any others, Dad never talked about anyone and neither did my grandparents.”
“I didn’t know that but what I did know was that Clark was sincere about wanting the baby. When he begged me to keep the baby, I knew I had to make a hard decision. I felt sorry for Clark but did I want to carry a baby to term? I went back and forth for a week before I came to a decision. I would carry the baby for Clark.”
Lara’s tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. “I’m glad you did.”
Lois nearly broke down then, tears shone in her eyes as well. After a couple of deep breaths and swallowing noisily, Lois calmed herself so she could continue.
“Me too. You must believe me. I never regretted giving birth, I was mad at him, not the child I carried. It was everything that came afterward that scared the heck out of me. I knew Clark would be a wonderful father but I also knew he’d try to get me to marry him and raise our child together. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t trust him then so I gave him a condition. He accepted without even asking what the condition was. When I told him he had to leave Metropolis forever he never flinched, though working at the Daily Planet was his dream job. He wanted you more than anything in the world and, though I was very angry with him, I admired him for his devotion.”
Lara smiled tremulously. “That’s my dad, he’s devoted himself to me. He gave me the best male role-model a girl could want.”
“Clark’s a good man. Once he was gone, I went back to being the top reporter for the Planet and I tried to forget, but I couldn’t. Perry would look at Clark’s empty desk and sigh. Jimmy Olsen was very subdued for a long time. He and Clark were very close, like brothers almost. Jimmy looked up to Clark and missed him terribly. Of course, all this sentiment made me angry. Clark made his decision and everyone needed to accept it and move on.
“The more time passed things finally got back to normal. They even hired someone for the City Desk, but I could tell Perry was still in contact with Clark. I’d see him thumbing through photos which he would hide when I’d go into his office. I could guess who the pictures were of but Perry never said anything though the look on his face told me how he felt.
“Perry’s reaction made me angry. It convinced me that I’d made the right decision and, as the years passed, every time your birthday came around, I convinced myself that I’d done the best thing for you. I was convinced I’d be a horrible mother. My mother was a failure, and I was sure that example would taint me too. I comforted myself with the thought that Martha, Jonathan, Clark, and hopefully, a new woman in his life were the best people in the world to bring up my child and I was thoroughly convinced of that until the day you walked into my office.”
“Dad tried to talk me out of that, you know, but I was too much of a hothead. I needed you to know how angry I was. How I hadn’t needed you, and how much you’d missed because you were so selfish,” Lara said, sadly as she thought back to that day.
“If you don’t mind, how did you find out? Clark didn’t tell you, did he?”
“No. He didn’t. He’d promised you never to tell and he didn’t. I was very angry with him over that but I realized Dad would never break a promise. After I graduated from college Dad told me that I could become a superhero if I wanted. I’d wanted to work with him from the time I was nine and he told me he was Superman. Grandma made my costume and I went to the cellar to practice my spin change. While I was down there, I heard this strange humming. I dug around until I found this old trunk. It had a bunch of scrapbooks but at the very bottom was a small wooden box with a glassy ball in it. It was this ball that was making the noise.”
“Superman’s globe…” Lois said, remembering.
“Yes, when I picked it up it began to glow. It floated out of my hand and a hologram appeared of a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair.”
“It wasn’t a man? I thought it was Superman’s father he saw?” Lois asked, confused.
“I didn’t know that at the time. The woman told me her name was Lara and she was my grandmother.”
Lois, shocked, asked, “How is that possible?”
“Grandmother Lara told me that the globe read my DNA and determined that I was a female so she called me granddaughter. She said her specialty was biology and that, due to humans and Kryptonians being so alike physically, she was 80% sure that humans and Kryptonians could procreate. She said that she was pleased to have been proven correct and that I would be the bridge between Krypton and Earth and that the people of Krypton would live on through me and my children.” Sadness welled up within her each time she thought of the sacrifice Jor-El and Lara had made.
“I wish I could see that,” Lois said.
“Maybe someday, I’ll have to ask dad, it’s his globe,” Lara said. She would not commit to anything without permission.
“Of course,” Lois replied. “Thank you for sharing that with me, I appreciate it.”
“After the globe went dark, I dug through the trunk. I found Dad’s scrapbooks. I was surprised because I never knew he’d worked for the Daily Planet. To me, he’d always worked at the Post, so it was a shock when I saw articles with his byline. I was more shocked when I saw the shared byline Lane and Kent. Digging through more stuff I found a picture of him holding a trophy—”
“His Kerth Award.”
“Yes, but it was the woman with him that confused me. At first, I thought it was me in the picture. I knew that was impossible so I looked closer. It didn’t take an investigative reporter to figure out that woman was Lois Lane. I confronted him when he got home from work and he finally broke down and confirmed everything. I was so angry with him, and you, I could hardly think straight. The next morning I flew to Metropolis and confronted you. I regret that now. I realize that the situation was a lot more complicated than I’d thought but all the anger I’d carried since I was a child boiled over and I acted badly.”
“We both have regrets but I hope we can get past them and we can be friends.” Lois looked at Lara hopefully.
“Me too, I would like it if we could become friends. Would you like my home number and address?” Lara asked.
“I’d love it!” Lois said. “And I’ll give you mine.”
Lois and Lara stood up and walked slowly back to Lucy’s house.
When Lois and Lara entered the living room Clark said, “Hey there you two are, you’ve been gone a while.”
“Yes, we had a lovely talk, and Lara and I came to an understanding,” Lois said with a smile.
“I’m glad,” Clark said. He gestured for Lara to join him on the couch. Lara sat beside him and took his hand. “I’m proud of you, Pumpkin.” Lara’s eyes misted over and she smiled tremulously.
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Continued in Chapter Seventeen
