My day is going to be more insane than I thought. In the next 2:15 I have to:
Get the brisket in the crock pot, get 4 kids ready, get me ready/showered [while hoping 4 kids don't destroy the...], clean house, make 'goodie' bags for the movies incl. pop popcorn etc, try not to go insane
.
And of course, DH isn't home... This is actually a good thing as he had a meeting go VERY well yesterday and he/partners had to get together to get stuff ready for next week's contract signing etc. but still.
Should be a fun day though - Monsters v. Aliens at 1210 with Grandma/friends. Those friends coming over and hanging out [and their 8yo destroying my clean house and encouraging my kids to do the same...], eating said brisket
, playing outside in much nicer weather than last week, and doing a few little fireworks.
Without further ado... here's the next part...
Last time*In the absence of the House of Ra, you have my blessing.*
She heard the voice in her head. It was the voice of Jor-El, she was certain. She gasped and looked at Clark wide-eyed.
"What?" he asked.
"Did you not hear that?"
He shook his head. "What was it?"
"Your father," she told him and then hesitated. What did it mean that she had heard it and Clark didn’t?
"What did he say?"
Her brow furrowed. Sure it was his father and his ship and his globe, but she somehow felt the message was for her alone. "Something about a house and blessing," she finally said.
The words were imprinted on her mind, for eternity, she was sure, but for reasons that weren't clear, she didn't repeat them verbatim.
For some reason, she couldn't.
*~*21*~*Clark could feel that she was holding back, but he wasn't sure what or why.
And then she yawned.
He sighed, wanting nothing more than to stare at his ship for a while longer but realized that he, too, was exhausted.
Together they tugged the tarps back over the ship and closed the secret compartment. Lois turned out the kerosene lamp after they opened the large outer door. He still wasn't entirely certain where he was sleeping. Somehow he didn't think Lois was actually planning on bunking with him – though he didn't think he'd turn the offer down if she made it.
What did it mean that his father had said something to her? Something that he hadn't been privy to?
He puzzled over that until they reached the door to her room. She took a couple steps beyond it.
"Good night." She smiled slightly and turned to walk away.
"Where are you sleeping?"
"Don't worry about me. You get my room."
"You're not sleeping in a tent are you?"
She laughed lightly. "No."
He reached out, brushing her hair back with his fingers. "Come find me if you need someone to keep the bad dreams away," he whispered. He leaned in, his lips brushing lightly against hers.
He had intended for that to be it, but he was drawn back to her. He found himself wrapping his arms around her as her hands rested near his shoulders, throwing herself into the kiss with wild abandon, just as he was.
It was long moments before they pulled back.
They were both breathing heavily as she moved out of his embrace. "Good night, Clark," she said softly, turning before he could say anything else.
"Good night," he whispered to her retreating back. "Sweet dreams."
With a sigh, he went into her room and sat heavily on her bed. It was a bit surreal, sitting in her room. The investigative reporter in him wanted to look around and find out more about her. The friend in him, the part that thought he wanted to be more than a friend, thought it probably wasn't the best way to earn her trust.
If the situation was reversed, would she look through his things?
Somehow, he had no doubt she would, but he was okay with that. She already knew his deepest, darkest secret.
He sighed and changed into a pair of sleep shorts and slid under the covers on her bed. He could smell a bit of papaya – probably from her shampoo – on the pillow.
He sighed one more time and willed himself to sleep.
He awoke when the sunlight streamed in the window.
He felt slightly bereft when he realized she hadn't come in sometime during the night. He hoped that meant that she hadn't had any bad dreams, but he suspected she wouldn't have come anyway. The night before had been one thing – chalked up to the emotions and forced closeness, forced intimacy, of the day.
He went quickly through his morning routine – omitting the shower for the moment – before heading out to the kitchen. Once there, he discovered his parents and three other couples at the big table in the dining room. He also noted there were only eight seats. He said hello and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek.
Martha brought another plate of biscuits in and set it on the table. "Clark, do you mind to eat with Lois in the kitchen?"
"Not at all, *Mom*," Clark's eyes twinkled at her, though he did get odd glances from his parents. He headed into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of bacon off plate on the table before heading to get a glass for some milk. "How'd you sleep?" he asked Lois quietly as she sat there, poking at her scrambled eggs.
She shrugged. "Fine." She refused to look at him until he tipped her face up.
"You look like hell."
She glared. "Thanks, Lane. Just what every girl wants to hear first thing in the morning. And for the record, you don't exactly look like Superman yourself." She turned back to her plate.
"That's good, I think." He dished up some food onto his plate and sat across from her. "So what's on the agenda for today?"
"Whatever we want. Games and other booths are open this morning. Barbecue from the different competitors for lunch. Other stuff this afternoon. About four, they'll have a big ceremony that announces all the winners from all the different contests. Everyone will either go home or to someone's house or something to change clothes. Dinner from the barbecue places or Maisie's starts at five-thirty. The dance is from six to ten. All the booths will get shut down and cleaned up sometime after eight."
"So busy day?"
"If you want it to be. You don't have to go at all."
"Perry's got me writing it up for next weekend's travel section."
Lois raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously? Smallville in the travel section?"
"I guess."
They finished their breakfast in near silence. Clark helped Lois clean up all of the breakfast dishes – including those from the other guests – even though Martha protested that he didn't need to.
Fifteen minutes after the other guests left, he was climbing into his convertible and looking for Lois. He spotted her getting into her truck and jogged over before she could leave. "Want to ride with me again today?" he asked, leaning in her open window.
She shook her head. "I'm not sure if I'm going to need to come home early to unlock the house. Mom may leave it unlocked since all of the guests except your family have been coming here for several years. I won't know for a while and I may need to run back for other reasons so I better just take my own car."
He thought about asking if he could ride with her but decided that she apparently needed some space. He backed off and watched her drive away before getting into his car and following.
He stopped at the local grocery store and picked up a copy of the Daily Planet. He gave a satisfied smile as he read through the story he and Lois had written. The two of them complimented each other nicely, though she hadn’t been happy when he'd tried to edit her copy.
"'And, in the end,'" he read aloud, "'Jason Trask's obsession caused him to search for a mystical rock he alone imbued with destructive powers, and to entangle two reporters and a small town family in his web while trying to get to the target of his fixation, Superman. He came to see this strange visitor from another planet where he was not, and to see enemies where there were none. It was an obsession that for Jason Trask would prove fatal.'"
That had been all Lois. She had an ability to skate the fine line between telling the truth and protecting his secret. He tossed the paper onto the front seat and headed towards the Festival.
*****
TBC
