~~~Part 34~~~
Pete was freezing. Why was it so cold? Had he left a window open? He ought to check, but he really didn't feel like getting up. He cracked one eye open a sliver and aimed it in the direction of the window.
There was no window. He opened both eyes just to be sure. Yup. No window.
The sight of the hospital room brought it all flooding back, especially the reminder that he'd been shot in the stomach. And the thigh. He grimaced. Had they even given him painkillers? It sure as hell didn't feel like it.
Call button for the nurse. He needed to find it. He groped around carefully without any luck. Dang it. He turned his head to the side to look for the button, and then he saw her. Slumped down in the chair next to his bed, snoring softly. He had to bite back a laugh.
"Hellooo, nurse!"
Elle startled awake, opening her eyes and looking around frantically before she seemed to remember where she was.
He laughed at her panicked expression and subsequent glare... and just as quickly realized his mistake. Pain knifed through his stomach, and he grimaced. "Okay... that was *almost* worth your reaction." He wheezed.
"Serves you right." Her tone was cutting, but she couldn't hide the concern in her eyes. Though it looked as if she was trying like heck to do just that.
"Where's the call button? Do you see it?" Wincing was quickly becoming a bad habit. Oh, this brought back some great memories. He had told himself he wouldn't get shot again. Kevlar would have been a good idea. Why hadn't he worn that?
He heard a muted beep and glanced back at Elle. She was settling back in the chair and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Nurse should be on the way now."
"Thank you."
She didn't seem bent on saying much else. It was too brazen a move to tease the wounded, perhaps? Just as well. He had a headache, anyway - a great bonus in addition to the burning throb in his abdomen and the stabbing pain in his thigh.
Though... a quiet Elle wasn't a good sign. And, come to think, things were hurting a bit worse now that she was awake and staring at him. The Look of Death didn't really work, did it? He just needed more painkillers. That was it.
Dead silence and burning pain made an awful cocktail. The wait for the nurse seemed interminable, but it finally ended. She shot some kind of fluid into his IV, and the pain ebbed away.
Elle stayed, though. Still staring even as the nurse bustled back out of the room.
"Say something."
She glared more.
"Please?"
"Begging doesn't suit you, Dan."
"I'm not beggi-" He stopped himself short. Dan?
Oh boy.
"You're not even Italian, are you?"
It was definitely getting hotter in here. She couldn't be *that* mad, could she? It wasn't like he'd lied to her. He'd just been undercover. That was different.
"Third generation Italian-American."
She huffed and looked away.
"I can still make you spaghetti, if that's what you're worried about."
"Hah!" The glare was back.
Had he really been amused by her temper just days ago? He only felt edgy now - far from entertained, but maybe that was just the painkillers. She did still look cute with her brow creased and her cheeks all flushed with anger. He grinned. That would piss her off.
"You're adorable when you're mad, you know that?" He waggled his eyebrows for good measure.
"In. Your. Dreams. *Dan*."
He almost cringed at the name, but it was different somehow when she said it. "Just as well, anyway, since you're still hung up on Joe."
"Hung up on Joe? What the hell are you talking about?"
She was *really* in denial, wasn't she? "Joe... the guy that... well, you know..."
"Joe?" She let out a burst of laughter. "You mean my *brother* Joe? You can't be serious."
Oh. He swallowed roughly. Well, that was a... relief. Mostly. As soon as he took his foot out of his mouth, it would be.
"No, I'm not serious," he challenged, matching her voice in volume. "I investigate for a living. Things like this don't slip by my attention." He huffed a little and would have crossed his arms if it wouldn't have killed him to do so.
Her eyes rolled, and it seemed she was trying to fight a smile. "You are so full of it."
***
He knew, even before he opened his eyes, that Lois was there, lying next to him. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. So... perfect.
It wasn't a dream anymore. It was reality. And oh, so much better. Everything wasn't magically fixed; he knew that. He still had a long road ahead of him, but it wasn't so daunting anymore, not with Lois by his side.
He relaxed his hearing to tune into the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. Had it really been just a week ago that he'd been certain he would never hear the sound of it thrumming in his ears?
Nothing had gone according to plan, and he liked it better that way. He liked that he was different from his counterpart. There was more than one way to be Clark Kent and Lois Lane together. He'd been looking for it to be written in the stars, spelled out in black and white for him, but life wasn't perfect; it shouldn't have been a surprise that love hadn't been either. He felt the warmth surge in his heart again. Yeah, this was better than perfect.
Her heartbeat quickened. She was waking up.
He reached a hand to her face and traced his finger gently down her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, and his heart jumped a little when she smiled at him. She ducked her head slightly, her cheeks flushing as she looked up at him through her lashes.
His breath caught for a moment. "Hey," he murmured.
"Hey." Her smile grew bigger, and he was sure her eyes had sparkled, too.
He felt her legs brush against his as she stretched underneath the covers. His voice remained soft. "This is better than I ever dreamed it'd be, you know."
"What is?"
"This. Me, you, and..." He felt his cheeks get warm, and he reached to run his fingers over her bare shoulder. "Us."
Her eyes were definitely sparkling now, and he reveled in the feeling of her heart racing in time with his.
"I never really believed that I'd be happy, that I even deserved to be happy." He swallowed roughly. "You make it so much easier to believe."
She didn't say a word, but she reached up and her lips met his with a passion he could feel deep in his soul as it collided with hers. They weren't alone anymore.
It was an eternity before he was able to pull away. He rested his forehead against hers, breathless for a moment. "So... where do we go from here?"
She brought a hand up to cup his cheek, her thumb running over his skin. "To the kitchen so you can make me a late dinner." He could almost feel her grin against his lips.
He let out an airy chuckle. "Anything you want." He grinned back, but then sobered again. "Really, though, what happens now?"
She stroked his cheek again. "Whatever we want, Clark. Whatever we want."
The warmth and tingling in his chest hadn't left. He closed his eyes and kissed her lips. "God, I love you."
"I love you, too." She kissed him back, and he could feel the lightness and giddiness in her heart. Or maybe it was in his.
He moved to get up, taking her hand in his. "C'mon, I wanna show you something."
She tugged him back. "I was serious about dinner, you know."
He laughed heartily. "All right. Dinner first."
TBC...Sunday sound all right? 
