It's been a happy/bittersweet day for me. Two friends having babies this week [hi Nancy!] - one happy and excited, one happy and heartbroken but knowing she was doing the right thing by putting the baby up for adoption. Nancy/Anonpip is almost certain a mom by now [based on the times she was thinking yesterday] and I'm so happy/excited for her [and it's why I'm posting Boy in Black for her at the moment]. My other friend... I was in tears while reading her blog. DH and I did come up with a little something that we can do to maybe make things a little better - not much but something. She's far away so I can't make her dinner like I did for other friends this week, but I can order a mean pizza. I hope it helps. My heart has been heavy for her all day today.
And so - I haven't done much writing today but I did DL/watch a number of interviews/promos from when the series was on [including the infamous ET one
- thanks Jenn!
] and am sure I'll be out of my funk by tomorrow or even later tonight. That said, I am far enough ahead into next week and um, do *not* have an idea where it's going because that would be plotting ahead and I'm not doing that
.
Anyway, without further ado, here's more Backwards.
Last timeHe carried her through the door.
"That's awfully forward of you, Mr. Lane," she said with a smirk.
"Excuse me?"
She hopped down onto one foot as he stopped near the bed. "Around here, us small town folks wait till after the wedding to carry the girl over the threshold."
"Well, you're not going to get me into bed."
"I never planned on it." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Thanks, Mr. Lane."
"I thought I told you to call me Clark," he said with a grin.
*~*7*~*That grin should be illegal – and probably was near freeways and airports. It could easily light up all of Smallville.
"Sorry. Clark. Thank you," she told him scooting back a bit further on the bed.
"You're welcome. Sleep well." He turned towards the door, stopping as he reached the hallway. "Um, my dad's going to be here tomorrow. Can he have a room here?"
Lois nodded. "Yeah. We've got room till Friday. Then we're booked up for the Corn Festival, but he could always bunk with you for the weekend if you're here that long. Your reservations are for a week so..."
Clark snorted.
"What?"
"Dad doesn't *bunk*. When we camped out in Gramps' backyard, me and Gramps would sleep either outside or in the sleeping bags in the tent. Dad had this little cot thing he brought with him. When we went with my Scout Troup, he roughed it on a foam thing so he wouldn't embarrass me but..."
Lois shrugged. "Well, he can have your room and you can have my tent. How's that?"
Clark crossed his arms in front of him and leaned against the door jamb, that grin firmly in place. "You take the tent; I'll take your room."
Lois raised a brow at him. "I've got a busted ankle and you'd make me sleep in a tent in the yard?"
He shrugged. "I'm the guest..." His grin took on a slightly wicked gleam. "You could always bunk with me."
"So I am getting you into bed?" she asked, her own arms crossed in front of her.
He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "This is where the shotgun wedding comes in, isn't it? Farmer Jon catches city slicker in bed with his daughter. Shotgun weddingness ensues?"
"Oh, no." She used her best country girl drawl. "This here's *Lowell* County. You sleep in a bed with a girl, even if it's for no reason but sleepin', and you're already married. No shotguns needed."
He laughed. "Good to know." He winked at her. "I'll keep that in mind."
He turned towards the other room.
"Clark?"
He stopped and turned back towards her. "What?"
"Did you find out anything that you didn't tell us already? About the Irigs? Where Josh's parents are?"
He shook his head. "No, but I'll be out looking again in the morning. I'll let you know if I do find anything."
She wiped a tear that had streaked down her cheek, but it was followed by many others. A second later, Clark was next to her, his arms around her as the tears flowed.
"He's one of my best friends," she told him when the torrent subsided. "I've known his family my whole life. His mom makes the best caramel apples every year for Halloween and the Corn Festival – and those are the only times we ever got them."
"I'll figure it out," he said quietly, rubbing one hand up and down her arm.
"Let me help you. Please. I know you think I'm some small town hick editor but I know this area, the area around the Irigs' like the back of my hand. I know the land, the people and I know how to investigate even if I don't get to do much around here."
She could feel him hesitate before nodding. "Okay. We'll check it out in the morning."
Lois relaxed against him. "Thank you."
She closed her eyes and felt the tension draining away for the first time in hours.
Before she knew it she was asleep.
Lois woke to a shifting pillow.
She groaned rolling over and pulling the blanket over her head.
It hurt.
Everything hurt.
"So does this mean we're married?" came an answering groan from the other side of the bed.
What?
Who?
"Clark?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"What happened?" She surreptitiously checked and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she was fully clothed.
"You were crying and..." He paused. "I don't remember anything after that."
"You *are* going to let me help you today," she insisted.
"I'm not sure I remember agreeing to that." She could hear the underlying amusement in his voice.
She rolled over so she could glare at him, but was stopped when the scrape on her back tore a cry from her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, a hint of fear tingeing his voice this time as she rolled again, her back arching away from the bed and the pain.
"My back." The lingering painful tingle brought tears to her eyes as she curled away from him.
"Let me look."
"I scraped it pretty bad yesterday."
She could feel his hand at her waist, warm against her skin as he pushed her shirt up so he could look at her back. She'd taken her bra off before Rachel had patched it up.
"It looks like it hurts," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"It does," she whispered back as his finger trailed along the outside of the bandage.
She could tell he was moving closer to her.
Chills went up and down her back for an entirely different reason when he brushed a feather light kiss at the top of the long bandaged area and then another over an unbandaged cut.
Then another.
And another.
"Are you kissing it all better?" she asked, her voice husky.
"I wish I could." She could feel his breath against her skin.
She twisted her head slightly to look at him, meeting his chocolate eyes with her own. "Thank you for trying," she whispered.
She wasn't entirely certain who moved first, but the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers.
Tentatively at first then more boldly as he shifted closer to her, his arm snaking around her stomach to hold her to him.
She reached up to grasp the back of his head, her fingers tangling in his thick hair as she deepened the kiss further.
Until they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Clark moved away from her and she felt bereft as his lips left hers.
She could hear his ragged breathing as he shifted away and sat up.
"Um, your back *looks* fine," he said, a bit more loudly than necessary, she was sure. "Some of the scrapes could probably use more antiseptic but..." He pulled her shirt down over her back
A cover.
Right.
In case it was... Farmer Jon coming up the stairs.
"Mr. Lane?"
Lois closed her eyes and groaned quietly. Worse.
It was her mom.
She would definitely know something was up.
Clark moved off the bed. "Yes, Mrs. Kent?"
"There's someone named Jimmy on the phone for you. I transferred it to the room you were in last night."
She heard him thank her mom and leave the room, shutting the door to his room behind him.
She felt the other side of the bed depress.
"Care to tell me what's going on?" her mom asked quietly.
"He heard me scream a bit when I rolled onto my back and came to check the scrapes for me."
"Lois." There was no condemnation in the voice, but Lois knew her mom knew more than she was letting on.
She sighed. "We both fell asleep in here. That's it." Or mostly it. All her mom needed to know.
"Is he a good kisser?" Martha whispered conspiratorially.
"Mo-om!" Lois said, indignant as she tried to sit up, glaring at her mom as she did.
"Is he?" her mom asked with a smirk.
Lois sighed. "Yes. And that's all it was. A kiss. That's it."
"You're both adults," the elder Kent said with a shrug.
"Regardless, it was just a kiss." Lois winced as she stood up. "He did say that his dad's going to be here later and will want a room. He also said he'll let me help him look for the Irigs and see if we can figure out what's going on."
"See? You should have kissed him sooner."
"He said that last night and well before I kissed him," Lois pointed out. "Or he kissed me. Or something."
Martha laughed. "Oh, honey, I'm just giving you a hard time. I'm sure between the two of you, you'll figure this out in no time."
"I hope so, Mom," Lois sighed. "I hope so."
*****
TBC
