A Little Too Far TOC Where we left off in Part 1...Lois pulled his face to hers and rested her head against his. “Oh, Clark. What am I going to do with you?”
“Personally, I’d prefer some conjugal visits, but if you want to wait until you’ve served your time…” He swallowed. “I understand. Just remember, we both know you’re not getting time off for good behavior.”
“I can be good,” she tried to debate him. But they both knew the truth. Mad Dog Lane would do whatever it took to survive her time in prison and that would have nothing to do with being good.
Part 2B – The Real EndingClark ran his hand over Lois’s new cropped style again. “What happened to your hair?”
She sighed. “Lice outbreak.”
He gulped. Glancing at the door, Clark wished, hoped that Jimmy would run in and with a laugh, tell them it was all a joke. That he wasn’t really dead. That Lois hadn’t killed him. That it had all been part of the show. That he had landed on one of those air mattresses that stuntmen use or that he had been grabbed out of the air by another New Kryptonian – a blonde woman in her own version of the Super suit. Or that Perry would drag Jimmy in by his ear, his head bandaged. Confess that Jimmy had gotten amnesia and had been lost on the streets of Metropolis, which was why he hadn’t come forward sooner.
This wasn’t a joke. Clark had visited his grave. Seen his body inside the casket. Jimmy was actually dead. This was their life now. For better or worse. He tilted his head and moved his lips towards hers.
“No, Clark,” she whispered with a slight sniffle.
“No?” That one word winded him.
“I can’t.”
“I love you, Lois.” He kissed her cheek.
“And I love you, Clark, but I promised myself the next time you kissed me, I’d never let you go.” Her eyes closed with pain. “So unless you plan on breaking me out of here…” Her voice held a note of hope that he hated to dash.
Clark sighed. “I’m sorry, Honey. Superman only breaks the innocent out of jail and…” Oh, why had he phrased it like that?
“And I’m guilty,” she groaned. “That’s okay. I deserve this. It’s a better fate than Jimmy got.”
He agreed with her, but refused to say so out loud.
There was a knock on the door. “Two minutes,” called the guard.
“No,” exclaimed Lois softly against his chest. “Don’t go.”
“I can’t stay, Lois. This is a women’s prison,” he replied, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind,” she whispered.
“Don’t tell me you’re willing to share,” he said with one of his charming smiles so she knew he was jesting.
Lois pressed her lips together and raised a brow. “You keep saying things like that and I may have to put you out of your misery.”
His face brightened. “Conjugal visits?” he asked optimistically.
She laughed with a shake of her head. “Yes, Clark, that’s exactly what I meant.” He wasn’t sure if she was being serious or sarcastic.
Clark rested his head against hers once more. “Let me have a kiss to replay in my head until I can see you again.” He didn’t want to leave her either. He had just gotten back to her.
Lois kissed his cheek. “Tell you what, Smallville, I’ll let you have a kiss on our wedding day.”
Whenever that might be. Clark smiled weakly. “Deal.”
“See you Sunday?” she asked, stepping away.
“Unless I can find a way to see…” He coughed. “… visit you sooner.”
A natural smile came to her face as she caught his slip. “If you think Big Blue can spy on a women’s prison without consequences, you’re deluding yourself.”
Clark blushed and glanced away. He hadn’t planned on letting her know that Superman would be keeping an eye on her. He couldn’t protect her here like he could in the outside world. She was on her own.
Lois bit her bottom lip and glanced over at the closed door, knowing like he did they were going to take her away at any moment. “Tell you what…” She took another step back. “I’ll let you have a peek for free.”
Clark’s eyes widened as what she was telling him sunk in. He gulped. “I would rather wait for our honeymoon,” he confessed, wishing he had the guts to admit he had snuck a peek once before by accident. “But I’ll take that kiss now.”
She wet her lips, walking back to him, pressing her chest to his. “You sure?”
He nodded.
“OK. Close your eyes,” she whispered into his ear. He did as he was bid.
Instead of the kiss, he felt her take his glasses. He opened his eyes with a cautious glance at the door. “Lois!” he hissed.
“
Look at me!” she demanded.
Clark hadn’t meant to. He really hadn’t, but suddenly she was standing before him – twirling his glasses in her fingers – in the buff. He shivered. “Lois, please,” he begged, holding out his hand as he felt a flush crawl up his face. He really wanted that kiss now.
“You can’t stop thinking about it, can you?” naked Lois asked as she slowly walked towards him.
“Lo-is.” His voice cracked.
She handed him his glasses.
Clark had barely gotten them back on when the door opened and the guard entered.
“Just something to think about, Clark, until we meet again.” She smiled sweetly at him, squeezing his fingers with one last goodbye.
The door shut and Clark realized that Lois had distracted him from her leaving. She had taken control of the situation and made him forget, if even for a moment, that they were standing in a prison and that they wouldn’t be together – free – for a long time to come.
Clark didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to take Lois away from the guard and fly her away from the prison, away from Metropolis, away from New Troy, away from the USA even. He still loved her, but he knew he couldn’t break her out of prison. Lois had pled guilty of killing Jimmy, even if it had been an accident. He felt quite strongly that no jury would have convicted her of the murder. She would have pay for her crime until he could change the conviction.
With one last sigh, Clark left the room.
He hated what Jimmy had done to Lois, to both of them. But this wasn’t the solution he would have chosen for the young man. His heart ached. He had lost his two best friends that night. Jail would change Lois. He didn’t know how and when, but it would. He thought of her new buzz cut and realized it already had.
For the first time in his life, Clark wished H. G. Wells would arrive to put their lives right and stop this heinous act from happening. But he also knew he couldn’t rely on miracles.
Clark knew he would continue to fight on her behalf, even if Lois considered herself guilty of the crime. He would try to get her sentence lowered and try to get her into a minimum security prison. Anything to make Lois’s life for the next years more comfortable. He also knew changing a conviction, especially one where someone confessed to the crime and pled guilty, was close to impossible. It would be a long, hard battle.
He would try to get Perry to allow Lois to still work with him on stories. And even if their editor flat out refused, Clark would still consult with his partner. He needed to give her something to wrap her mind around and keep her busy, keep her Lois.
He was buzzed through a series of locked gates before he arrived back to the visitor’s window. He collected his personal items and signed out of the visitor’s log.
Clark would find a way to honor Jimmy’s memory as he mourned the loss of his friend. Working at the Daily Planet with both Lois and Jimmy missing would be more difficult and heart wrenching on a daily basis. He wondered how Perry was surviving the loss of his substitute son and adoptive daughter in one foul swoop. The four of them had fought many battles together.
With a sigh, Clark stepped outside and took another look back at the tall, imposing walls behind him. He had been fighting walls to get to Lois since they first met. Her walls of insecurity. His walls of privacy. Walls of duty and of space. And now these concrete walls.
A light drizzle of rain cried tears down his glasses. Even the sunlight was failing him when he needed it most. He walked back to Metropolis, unable to find the joy to fly.
*** The End *** Grim Reality Ending - Epilogue Comments - Part 2B If you need a little Happily Ever After, please click here:
Part 2A Gratitude: This story is in response to Tank’s “Scare Tactics” Halloween challenge in which Jimmy put Lois on a TV Show and tried to scare her. I would like to thank Darth Michael for inspiring me with his idea of scaring Lois by telling her she was pregnant. I would also like to thank Iolanthe for her Beta corrections and advice.
Disclaimer: Inspired by the characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and portrayed on the
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman television series, developed by Deborah Joy LeVine. Many thanks to the writers on the show, especially Bryce Zabel from whom I quote directly. This story is entirely my own (with a little inspiration from Darth Michael and Tank).
