Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Clark TOC can be found
HereWhere we left off in Part 95 …Lois’s voice had grown softer, when she replied, “I wasn’t thinking about anyone other than Clark last night. When Perry told me that someone had tried to kill him, everything and everyone else fell to the side. I had tunnel vision. I had to get to Clark, and nobody was going to stop me.” She scoffed. “I even forgot about the asteroid or to ask Clark about contacting Superman. Not that it would have made any difference. I just had to see him.”
Clark dropped the pillows from his face.
Forgot to ask him… Had they spoken?
“Hold on there, Lois. Did you actually
visit Clark while he was in the hospital?” Cat asked. “He didn’t say anything about that.”
“Well, he wouldn’t,” Lois whispered with almost a shy giggle.
Clark’s eyes opened wider and he scooted closer to the wall that separated them.
“He was asleep,” she finished. “When I climbed in his window.”
No, he thought, he hadn’t been. He remembered distinctly seeing her come through his window… in what he thought was his dreams. Maybe his Meena fantasy had been more than a fantasy. If sex with Lois felt like that, when he had been half-asleep and without his super senses, what would it feel like with them? He decided not to let his mind wander in that direction and tried to remember what it felt like to be half-frozen in Hob’s Bay.
“That’s too bad. I hear that those hospital gowns don’t leave much to the imagination,” Cat said.
Clark sank down low into his covers again. He didn’t want to hear Cat talking about him like that. He didn’t want Cat’s thoughts to go in the direction of what that hospital gown didn’t cover.
“Not much,” Lois admitted.
Huh? How does Lois know that? He pushed all thoughts of sleep aside. Was she going to tell Cat what had happened between them at the hospital? Cat?
“So, do you have any ideas on how to get Clark to recover his memories? We’ve got to contact Superman before tomorrow night,” Lois went on, changing the subject.
Clark could just hit his head against the wall in frustration that they didn’t follow a topic to completion. Couldn’t Lois just brag, just a little bit, about how great he was, so he would know if he had dreamed about her hands pushing his hospital gown up his chest and her bare legs running down his legs as she lay down on top of him, or if it had actually happened? She was welcome to change the topic after saying what had happened either ‘yea’ or ‘nay’.
“We could hit his head with a baseball bat,” Cat suggested.
Very funny.“I don’t think that would do his head any good,” Lois replied.
It wouldn’t do the bat any favors either.
Cat chuckled, and Clark wondered if she was thinking the same thing. The women were quiet for a minute, and Clark’s eyes began to droop into sleep.
Part 96“What?” Lois asked unexpectedly.
What? What? Had Clark dozed off and missed something?
Cat was still chuckling, or maybe she was again. Had he fallen asleep? “
Or… I could just get up and leave, and return in the morning.”
He wondered how that would help his memories. Had they changed topics? He yawned and turned back over, trying to get comfortable again. Yes, leave. Perhaps then, they would finally stop interrupting his sleep with their chatter about him and putting ideas into his head. On the other hand, their talking drowned out the other noises of the city that seemed to rush in when they were quiet. Maybe they should keep talking, only not about him.
“Cat!” Lois scolded, and then her voice did a hundred and eighty degree turn. “That’s a terrific idea! Go on home. Shoo!” She laughed.
Why was Lois laughing? Was it because she knew Cat was joking? Was Cat joking? Conversely, Lois could be nervous.
“I don’t think it’ll help Clark get back his memories though,” Lois went on.
Clark’s eyes flashed open. What
had she said? What were they talking about?
What were they talking about? Cat leaving so Lois and he could be… He swallowed. Why would Lois have nerves about being intimate with him? No, he couldn’t picture that. Yes, they must be joking.
“It’s worth a shot,” Cat said. “If nothing else, it’s a great cure for stress.”
What was a great cure for stress? Were they talking about what he thought they were talking about? Cat and Lois? Oh, my! Half of him wished he could block out their conversation and the other half of him wished they would speak louder and more explicitly.
“Between the asteroid, Superman taking a vacation, and Clark… I doubt even that would cure my stress at the moment,” Lois said, and he heard her take a sip of her drink. Was there anything these super ears wouldn’t pick up?
“Who cares about your stress levels? You eat stress for breakfast. I’m talking about Clark’s stress. If he were able to relax for a little while… of course, we’re talking about you…”
“I’m not going to talk to you about this,” Lois said. “And I can guarantee you that I am more than capable of making Clark happy.”
Guarantee?“Well, he
is a man,” Cat agreed.
What was that supposed to mean? That he was easy to please? Well, okay, she might be right about that. Just being in Lois’s presence made Clark feel better. If he added in her holding his hand, touching his face or chest, kissing him… he was never going to sleep with these thoughts of Lois in his head.
“I’m just saying that there are degrees of happiness,” Cat said. “Maybe
you should leave, and
I should test that theory.”
“Clark doesn’t want you. It really gets your goat that even without his memories, he still wants me,” Lois said.
“I can be very persuasive,” Cat replied.
“He would
never forgive you,” Lois said. “And
I won’t let you get the chance to abuse poor defenseless Clark.”
Defenseless?“Me?
Me? Who wants to crawl into bed and go on the ride of her life with an amnesiac here?” Cat retorted.
Oh, gosh! They were talking about sex. Please, let him not be dreaming.
“It’s not like that!” Lois snapped.
Why not? He would be okay if Lois wanted to make love to him.
“Isn’t that really why you’re here? You don’t really care about Superman or saving Earth from the giant asteroid,” Cat accused. “You just want Clark to comfort and hold you. You don’t even care that he doesn’t remember
why he wants to hold you. You’re sick!”
“That’s not true! You don’t know anything about me, Cat. You don’t know how I feel about Superman, or his disappearance, or anything,” Lois said, her voice harsh and rough with held back emotions. “He’s my friend too. Losing them both at once…” She didn’t finish.
Clark pressed his eyes together. He should really tell Lois the truth. Not that she would necessarily believe him now, being that his powers were all over the place, but he could put on the Suit again and try.
“Yeah, who would you comfort? If Clark was here, and Superman was lying asleep in your bed at your apartment, and neither of them had any memories of who they were, who would you choose?” Cat asked.
Of all the unfair questions, that one topped the cake. How could Cat expect Lois to choose one part of him over the other?
Lois didn’t answer right away. “Superman and I are just friends. That’s the way he wanted it to be. I would respect his decision.”
Oh, no! What had he done? How was Clark ever going to be able to tell Lois that he was Superman, if Superman didn’t want a relationship with her? Would she think that Clark couldn’t have relationship with her either? What had he been thinking? Evidently, Lois had feelings for his Superman side, too. What had Cat told him that he used to whine about?
‘
It’s always Superman this, or Superman that. Why can’t she see me?’
“I’ve come to realize, though, that it’s Clark, who I need. He’s there for me in ways Superman never is, never could be. When he disappeared, I had been so worried. I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t concentrate; I couldn’t eat, or sleep. It’s as if I don’t know how to function without him. Clark is my life,” she whispered.
“Then what’s with all the cloak and dagger stuff? Why haven’t you guys said anything to anyone?” Cat asked. “Trust me, everyone already knows.”
“What?” Lois gasped. She sounded horrified. “What do they know?”
“Bada bing, bada bang.”
What does that mean?“Oh, God, really?” Lois obviously knew what this phrase meant. “It’s not true.”
“No?” Cat didn’t believe Lois.
“Well…”
Well, what?The phone rang. Clark yelped, not realizing how hard he had been concentrating on their conversation, or how softly they must have been talking.
“So, you see, that won’t work,” Lois said, picking up the phone.
What won’t work?“Hello?”
“Lois! Thank goodness, I’ve found you. I was calling CK to see if he had heard from you,” Jimmy said on the other end of the telephone.
“What’s up?” Lois asked.
“So, it turns out that the Superman Suit I found at CK’s has been out in space,” Jimmy said.
“Whoa, there, Jimmy, back up a minute. You found a
what, where?” Lois growled.
Ooops.“Uh… Didn’t CK tell you? While I was there earlier, a plastic bag fell out of CK’s wardrobe, containing one of Superman’s Suits.”
“No. He failed to mention that,” Lois said tersely.
So much for the possibility of a romantic night with Lois Lane.“I took it to S.T.A.R. Labs to have it tested, and it’s definitely been to space, and recently too, because they also found trace amounts of nickel dust and iron particles from what they believe is the Nightfall asteroid,” Jimmy said. “I’ve got their report here at the office. The Chief is even letting me type it up.” He cleared his throat. “On the same typewriter three generations of editors typed up their first stories, including the Chief himself.”
“So, Superman made it back?” Lois said, cutting to the point.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Okay. Where is he? And why does Clark have his Suit? What is he wearing if Clark has his Suit?” Lois shot off the questions, leaving Jimmy with no time to spitball theories.
“Um… I guess he changed into another Suit, and gave CK this one, because… um… because… geez, I don’t know, Lois. Maybe CK does his laundry or something?” Jimmy suggested.
“Clark doesn’t do Superman’s laundry,” Lois said sourly.
Cat burst into a fit of laughter.
Technically, I do, Clark responded inside his mind. He decided it was time to stop feigning sleep and get up. Plainly, he wasn’t going to get any sleep with Cat and Lois here. He walked out into the living room.
“Clark? What are you doing out of bed?” Lois snapped.
“Uh… okay, sounds like you’ve got…” Jimmy cleared his throat. “— your hands full… er… I mean, you’re busy there. Anyway, the Chief wanted me to let you know. I’m going to return to writing this story. Uh… Bye!” He hung up.
Lois slammed the receiver down. “
You found a Superman Suit while Jimmy was here and you
failed to see how that might be something I might be interested in?” she roared, turning on Cat.
“Me? I didn’t know anything about it. When I arrived, Jimmy was leaving. He didn’t tell me,” Cat defended herself.
“I’m sorry, Lois. You’re right. I should have told you about that, but between talking to my... folks, Cat stopping by, and then you… it kind of slipped my mind,” Clark said sheepishly. He felt bad about that too. “I honestly didn’t think it was important.”
Lois walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck in a quiet embrace. It was tender for about three seconds before she slapped the back of his head. “Snap out of it!”
Okay, enough was enough. Clark stepped back. “You should go into the office and help Jimmy investigate this new lead, Lois. This is more important than babysitting me,” he said.
“Yes, you should,” Cat said, jumping to her feet. “It’s too important a story.”
“No! Absolutely not. Clark, get dressed. If I’m going, you’re coming with me. I’m not leaving you alone with her,” Lois said, crossing her arms.
Clark held up his hands. “You won’t be, because you’ll be taking Cat along with you.”
“
What?” the women gasped in horrified unison.
“I’m going back to sleep. The best way I can be of assistance is to get a good night’s sleep and try to heal myself that way,” he explained. “Right now, I’m holding you both back from writing the story of the year.”
“But it’s not safe…” Lois stammered.
“It’s not the story of the year,” Cat grumbled.
“I’ll be perfectly fine. I’ll turn the ringer off on my phone, and I promise I won’t answer the door until after sunrise tomorrow, and not without verifying who’s on the other side,” he said, picking up Lois’s coat and holding it out for her.
“But, Clark…” Cat said, her eyes pleading for him to allow her to stay.
“No! Lois needs to work on this story. We need to reassure the general public that Superman made it back alive,” he said. “And she won’t do that if you’re here. Therefore, you both need to go. I’ll be fine. You know I will be. I’ll catch up with you two tomorrow.” After Lois had her coat on, he picked up Cat’s and held it up for her.
“You are one stubborn fool,” Cat groused. “You know we need to keep working on triggering your memories.”
“I know I can’t sleep with either or both of you here. I appreciate both of your concern and your assistance, but now I need to work on this on my own,” he reassured her, picking up Lois’s briefcase and handing it to her. “I swear I don’t know how my stress levels aren’t through the roof with you two bickering all the time.”
Cat glanced pointedly at Lois, who appeared to be suppressing a grin with an expression of innocence. “‘It’s not true.’ Yeah, right,” Cat murmured under her breath.
Clark kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Cat,” he said, then turning to Lois and taking her hands in his. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be sleeping, I promise.”
She nodded, but he could see the conflict in her eyes. She wanted to be here for him, but she also knew Superman’s uniform was a big lead.
He cupped her jaw in the palm of his hand and softly kissed her lips. “I really do think my being out of your hair,” he said, running his fingers through her hair and tucking it behind her ear. “— will be the best thing for you, right now. All this sitting around, waiting, is driving you insane. You need to be actively doing… well, whatever it is that you... er... we do.”
Lois stared at him with a peculiar, slightly baffled, expression on her face. “Superman?” she murmured, and then shook her head.
“If he happens to stop by, I’ll send him your way,” he said, doubting that would happen. He would need sudden, unexpected burst of miracles for that to happen.
Lois pressed a hunger-filled kiss to his lips. As she pulled back, she stared deep into his eyes as if searching for something. Whatever it was, she didn’t find it. She followed Cat to the door. Lois glanced back at Clark, staring at him again. “Call me at the Planet, if you need me.”
He smiled weakly. “I always need you, Lois.”
She shrugged. “I know. Just do it, okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed.
“No, why doesn’t he call me instead?” Cat countered. “You’ll be busy hunting down this story.”
“Are you implying that Clark is less important to me than some story? Even a big one like this?” Lois returned, heading out the door.
“Good night, ladies,” Clark said, shutting the door and locking the deadbolt. He exhaled. He would
have to be Superman to survive dealing with those two on a constant basis. He returned to his bed and leapt in. He pulled his pillow to his chest and pretended it was Lois, and found himself easily drifting into sleep.
***
“Well, bye, Lois,” Cat said, heading down the block.
“Where do you think you’re going? The Daily Planet is this direction,” Lois said.
“I’m not going to the Daily Planet. I’m going home,” Cat returned.
“Yeah, right you are. Fine, if you’re going home, I’ll ride in the cab until you get there,” Lois insisted, following her.
“Don’t you have a story to investigate?” Cat asked.
“I know you. You’re waiting until I’m out of eyesight, and then you’re going to return to Clark’s apartment,” Lois informed her. “Not on my watch.”
“You heard Clark, he’s not answering his door until dawn,” Cat said, with a flick of her hand towards his apartment.
“
And?”
Cat had the audacity to appear annoyed, so clearly Lois had guessed her motivations correctly. Cat stared at Lois tersely for a moment, before finally seeing that Lois wouldn’t let her win. “Oh, fine!” she grumbled, and came with Lois albeit reluctantly. “You and I are more alike than I thought.”
“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” Lois snapped.
“Once we get our teeth or claws, as the case may be, into something, we don’t want to let it go,” Cat replied.
Lois had to admit, Cat had a point. Far be it for Lois to agree aloud though.
They walked along in silence for about half a block before Cat asked, “What did Luthor want?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Off the record,
especially from Clark, Lex has an underground bunker, and he invited me to be his ‘companion’,” she said with a shiver of disgust.
“With all the underground cold war bunkers in this city, I’d be surprised if he was the only billionaire preparing for the end of the world in that way. Still, what an honor,” Cat said, and Lois could hear the sarcasm roll off her tongue.
“I thought you liked Lex,” Lois said.
“I could say the same about you.”
“I’ve dated my share of weirdoes in my life, but Lex …” Lois voice petered out, as she realized that she didn’t want to finish that sentence. Cat was a gossip columnist after all.
“You’re still dating him?” Cat said with more than a little surprise. “What about Clark?”
“
No, I’m certainly
not dating Lex. Ugh. After tonight…” Lois said, and shook her head, knowing she shouldn’t be revealing any of her investigation to anyone. That was how stories were stolen.
“What happened?” Cat asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lois said. She wasn’t going to bare her thoughts and secrets to Cat of all people. “What
does matter is that Clark get his memories back, and we find Superman, not necessarily in that order.”
They reached the corner. Despite being late into the night, traffic still passed at a fairly quick pace. That was one of the things Lois loved about the city, the speed at which it moved. Gazing at the cars, she noticed very few of them were actually Metro cabs, and the few that were there were stuffed full of people. Had the cabbies abandoned their posts in fear of Nightfall? It was always possible.
“Where are all the taxis?” Cat asked.
“If you were a Metro cabbie, would you want to spend your last night before Nightfall struck ferrying around people? I wouldn’t,” Lois replied, giving Cat a nudge. “Come on, let’s walk.”
“Walk?” Cat said with disgust. “How about I return to Clark’s for the night?”
What was it with Cat? Was she afraid that the world would end, and there would be one man left in Metropolis with whom she hadn’t done it? “Nope. Come on. You’re a fitness nut. You can do it,” Lois coaxed, nudging her harder in the direction of the Daily Planet.
With great reluctance, Cat started moving.
“How far away is your apartment?” Lois asked.
“Too far,” Cat groaned. “The Daily Planet it is then.”
Cat had better be careful in that girl next-door outfit, or Jimmy was liable to get an even bigger crush on her. It was too bad the long distance relationship hadn’t worked out between him and Lucy. Of course, it had been weird enough for Lois when Lucy had dated Jimbo last summer. Due to overloaded circuits, she still hadn’t been able to contact her sister. She would try again once they arrived at the Planet.
“Lex really asked
you to be his ‘companion’?” Cat asked. Apparently, the question was rhetorical, though, because she went on, “There’s no accounting for tastes.”
“Thanks,” Lois said snidely.
“Do you think you’re the only woman he asked?” Cat said.
Lois’s jaw dropped. “That’s sick!”
Cat looked at her as if Lois were naïve.
Lex had put video cameras in Lois’s apartment and watched her and
her sister for months. He had put a hit on Clark, because her partner stood between him and what he wanted:
her. He was sick.
“Let’s just say, he made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t runner-up on his list,” Lois returned. She would never look at her own apartment again in the same manner. Maybe Clark would let her move in with him or, better yet, they could get an entirely new place just for them.
Cat studied her for a minute. “You aren’t like the other women Lex dates.”
“I’m not dating him,” Lois corrected. “Remember Clark?”
Other women?Lex was twisted. He very well could have done this to other women. He could have invited a whole stable of brood mares down to his bunker for his new tomorrow. Who knew? It might explain why he let her go so easily. Lois would make sure he would pay.
“Oh, I’m not knocking your decision in the least, I mean if you’re the type who prefers brawn to bucks… I mean, in the new world order, that’s certainly the way to go.”
“Brawn? Clark?” Lois gave Cat her best skeptical expression.
Cat returned her best ‘you’re kidding me, right?’ look.
“Can you imagine it though? Locked up underground for three years?” Lois shivered, pulling her coat tighter around her despite the chill coming from within. “What if the generator gets knocked out by the impact? What if debris ends up blocking the elevator, and you can’t get out? Had he even built in an emergency stairwell? Would it flood if a tidal wave washed out Metropolis? It would almost be like volunteering to be buried alive. No, thanks. I’d rather take my chances above ground.”
“Where is it?” Cat whispered, because they passed some other people.
“Nope. I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone. I probably shouldn’t have told you that much,” Lois replied. “Anyway, this is all a moot point. Superman
will save us. That’s what he does.”
“I hope so,” Cat murmured, her voice wavered ever so slightly with fear. “I wish you would trust me to be alone with Clark.”
“Not happening,” Lois said, crossing her arms. “And stop whining.”
“We’re
just friends.”
“You admitted your willingness to try
anything to have him regain his memories,” Lois reminded her.
“I was joking!” Cat insisted.
“No, you weren’t, and we both know it. If you saw an opening to seduce Clark and have him fall for it, you’d take it,” Lois said, with a glare. “You’re a scorpion. It’s your nature.”
“Well, if that isn’t the Mad Dog calling me a…”
A fire engine blared past, its lights and siren at full decibel, blotting out Cat’s words. Not that Lois needed to hear her to know what she was saying. As soon as the fire engine was far enough away for Lois to hear again, she realized that Cat was laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Lois snapped, marching on.
“Us.”
“We’re not funny!” Lois roared, making Cat laugh harder.
“Here we are fighting like a Cat and a Mad Dog. Lois, even without his memories, Clark
only wants you, and the fact of the matter is, I don’t want him,” Cat said, and then exhaled. “I’m in love with another guy, some nerd with the most amazing hands, who isn’t available.”
“I’ve heard rebound sex is nice,” Lois said dryly.
“I tried. I’m just not interested in sex with
anyone else. What used to be fun, feels cheap and meaningless,” Cat said. “Which is kind of ironic, because sex with Phil started out as cheap and meaningless, until I realized it was something more.” She sighed. “Clark is my one true friend, and the truth is I have nowhere else to go. My parents are on a cruise in the Mediterranean. My brother Matt took his wife Cheryl with him to a conference in San Diego. Nate and Mary are about to be parents themselves. They don’t want me to intrude. Peter… well, Peter…” She shook her head.
“He’s the one who hit on me at the party, isn’t he?” Lois asked. “The cute one?”
Cat nodded. “He called me yesterday… earlier today… long enough to tell me that Nightfall was the best sex drug he had experienced. Women are throwing themselves at him, literally, and
begging him to keep them company.”
Lois was thankful that the dark of night covered her flush. She had practically done the same thing to Clark. She had gone over to his place to spend the night, wrapped up in his arms. If Cat hadn’t been there… “We should let Clark sleep,” she said. “Maybe a good night’s rest is all he needs to get those synapses firing again.”
Clark deserved better than to have his own girlfriend use his body because she was scared to be alone. She knew the real Clark deep inside of him loved her, but it wasn’t fair to amnesiac Clark… although, he didn’t seem to mind, and real Clark had a fear of sex, which
this amnesiac Clark didn’t seem to have, so…
“He’s all I have, too,” Lois went on, when Cat didn’t say anything. “My sister’s in L.A. My dad is still trying to get his life together since the whole cyborg boxer scandal. Who knows where he is? I’m sure my mom is detoxing,
again, or drinking,
again.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Cat said.
“Me, too,” Lois replied, turning the corner and catching sight of the familiar globe. She could feel her heart race with anticipation. “Thank goodness for the Daily Planet.”
“Yes!” Cat laughed. “There’s always another story.”
“That there is,” Lois said. “Perry wouldn’t ever have it any other way.”
***
Lois spent the night trying not to push Jimmy off Perry’s old typewriter to type up
his story, one-thousand times faster. Perry had asked her to help the kid and, after reading his first draft, she could see why. He wasn’t grammatically wrong like Wally, but punch-wise, style-wise, it would be better if Jimmy stuck to photography for the time being. After Jimmy had sent their co-written draft to Perry, Lois went to work contacting all her sources again. She knew none of them had seen Superman, or she would have heard about it sooner, but she still felt bad for only calling the hospitals once regarding Clark. She wasn’t going to make that same mistake with Superman.
She was no closer to finding Superman than she was when she and Cat had arrived at the Planet the night before. She glanced back at the conference room and wondered if Cat was still sleeping.
“Lois,” Perry said, leaning on the wall of her cubical. “I want to thank you for sharing that by-line with Jimmy. He’s a good kid.”
“Well, he deserves a lot of credit,” Lois admitted. She hated that Jimmy had left Clark alone, or worse, had left him alone with Cat, but Jimmy had been right about the importance of the Suit he had found. For Clark’s safety, they had left out the specific location where Jimmy had discovered the Suit from the article. They had mentioned that it had been retrieved from an apartment of a known friend of Superman’s who hadn’t been home at the time of the mission. “As long as I know that Superman made it back to Earth, I still have hope, so does everybody.”
“You don’t have to be here now,” Perry said, giving her a meaningful glance. “You know that, don’t you?”
Lois pretended she didn’t know at what he was hinting. “Oh, Perry, I’m a reporter. That’s what I do. If this is the last great story to cover, of the last edition of the Daily Planet, then that’s what it is. Where else would I go?” she said, her voice growing softer. She knew where she wanted to go: to Clark. Apparently, Perry knew this, too. Thankfully, he didn’t state so verbally.
“Well, what about your family?” he asked.
“We managed to get everyone together on an open phone line,” Lois said. “Mom and Dad even acted like they cared about each other.” It had been good to hear from Lucy, though. Lois only wished it had been a private line, so she could have told her sister about Clark. She didn’t want to give her mother anything new to nag her about. And her father? Well, he never forgave Clark for allowing Lex to shoot her. He had specifically mentioned it, in that manner, when she had talked to him after Christmas. “You?”
“Alice was over visiting the boys when this happened. She can’t get a flight back from Des Moines,” Perry said.
Lois could tell he was torn up about it. Being in Iowa, in the middle of the farm belt, would be a safer place to ride out the impact, but Lois could tell he wished he could be with his family. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. She knows how I feel about her.
That’s the important thing,” Perry replied.
These words made her naturally think of her partner, and she wondered if that was her boss’s intention. She glanced back at the conference room. “Is Clark still at home?”
“I guess. You know, maybe he’s the lucky one in all of this. If he can’t remember how it was, how is he going to miss it?” Perry said. What was he trying to say? That in the end, did Clark’s past really matter? He was right. It didn’t.
Lois stood up. “You know, I think I’m going to...” She coughed. “— um… see how he is,” she said. They had a night to remember to make up for, literally.
Perry nodded, tears in his eyes.
“I’ll see you, Perry,” she said, giving him a hug. She hated to think this, but if anything were to happen to her grumpy ol’ editor, she’d miss him more than her own parents. She could see in his eyes that he felt similarly about her. They were family; even if they were related, not by blood, but by newsprint. She felt the need to reassure him that she wouldn’t leave him alone at the end. “I’ll be back, before…”
He nodded and pressed a weak smile to his lips. She could tell he was grateful for that little gesture.
Lois picked up her coat and glanced at her watch. She’d have just enough time to walk to Clark’s apartment. There was no point at either trying to drive her Jeep or find a cab in the madhouse which were the streets of Metropolis at the moment. She and Clark could make love, once, possibly twice, and if she was lucky thrice. Then they could get dressed, and Lois would bring him back to the Planet for impact. Maybe they would have time to grab a bite to eat. Of course, that would mean that ‘thrice’ would be off the table, so maybe not. She had tried to call him, but even local lines were overloaded this morning.
She passed by the conference room on the way to the stairwell and saw that Cat was no longer there. Her brow furrowed. Where…? When…?
Her eyes narrowed. If she found Cat at Clark’s…
Lois stomped to the stairwell and ran down the stairs.
***End of Part 96*** Part 97 TIMELINE:
• Wednesday, 2/23 - Lois spent at the Lexor and had her late night call with Clark (Part 81)
• Thursday, 2/24 - Nightfall Eclipse - Clark visits Smallville with the letters
• Friday, 2/25 - Mission to space - Clark's abduction (that evening)
• Saturday, 2/26 - Clark MIA, found in Bay. Meena visits Chuck at hospital that night
• Sunday, 2/27 - Lois takes Clark to DP (A.M.) and visits Lex's bunker (P.M.)
• Monday, 2/28 - Impact Day (current day and time as of the end of this part)
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