Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Wrong Clark (108/???)

Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Clark TOC can be found Here

The last time we saw Clark in Part 107 ... this happened...

Lois thought back on that kiss with Clark on Trask’s plane, and how she had tried to pretend she was actually making out with Superman. Ironic, wasn’t it?

Okay, she had to admit that theory Superman had about them kissing was fractionally true. While it was physically possible to stop kissing him, it was torturous and difficult to stay away. She recalled that dream which had plagued her sleep the night before. In it, first Superman had floated them among the trees as he had made love to her. Then Clark hadn’t stopped her from seducing him the infamous Night of Passionate Pasta. Instead, he had… Lois closed her eyes and smiled as she remembered the feeling of Clark’s lips on her bare skin as he had pushed away her blouse. Sadly, her alarm had gone off just after Clark had locked the Metro Club’s supply closet door and hiked up her dress, condoms be damned. She couldn’t remember having so many erotic dreams before she started kissing Clark on a regular basis.

Lois heard Clark clear his throat and she glanced over her shoulder at him. He looked the same as before, but he appeared a bit more uncomfortable. Could Superman read minds? Oh, goodness! She hoped not. An evil grin spread over her lips. Actually, maybe she did.

Clark glanced up and caught her grinning at him. He flushed. Could he read her thoughts? He jumped to his feet and as quickly as possible, without running, left the room.

Hmmmm. Did he leave because of an emergency, or because he could sense she had been thinking about making love to him? How had he described their lovemaking at the hospital? Hot passionate sex. He definitely wanted her, and he was a man who loved the chase.

A sense of empowerment washed over Lois. Superman was invulnerable to everything, but Kryptonite… and her. Oh, he was so going to regret the decision to keep his secret from her.

Then Lois went to the coffee bar to call Jimbo... but more on that later... First, let's catch up with Clark...

Part 108

Once Superman was floating in space on the far side of the Earth from the sun, he was finally able to release his breath and relax. He balled his hands into fists and screamed. Good thing only he could hear him voice his frustration.

Forget about Kryptonite, Lois would certainly be the death of him. After arriving into the office, the first expression she gave him was a glare so cold he could have used it later on to reduce his ardor, which reflected the ardor he had physically sensed in her. Her heart rate quickening, the ever-so-slight guttural moan, the way her thighs brushed against one another, the licking of her lips, and then when she turned to face him, the rosy color to her cheeks, and the dilation of her eyes.

Out of nowhere, Lois had done a one hundred eighty degree turn and was so fired up, it was as if his desire for her smacked him with a right hook, the right hook of a cyborg, that was. He needed to go somewhere colder than the Arctic and opted for outer space in the shadow of the Earth. He needed to be back in the office in a few minutes for the morning meeting, and wanted to have all his wits about him when he faced Perry.

It was quiet and still as he hovered in the below frigid nothingness, and it made Clark miss Lois’s warmth all the more.

He really needed to have more control over himself where she was concerned.

He wondered if Lois had seen Superman floating outside of Luthor’s penthouse the previous evening during their dinner, and that was why she had been so upset when she had arrived at work. Had she realized that only Clark could have, would have, told Superman about it and, therefore, blamed Clark for butting in on her meeting with Luthor? Thankfully, the dinner was just that, dinner with the rehashing of what was going on in the Laderman trial and some rather boring mention of Luthor’s day. Other than a kiss to her cheek when she arrived and one more when she left, Luthor was a perfect gentleman…Well, for a lying, thieving, psychopathic, criminal murderer, that was.

Lois had told Clark that she loved him.

Lois had said that their break-up was just a ruse and that as soon as they figured out and caught the man or people responsible for the hit on Clark, they would be out as a proper couple.

Lois asked him to trust her.

Lois said that dinner with Luthor meant nothing, and that he was only a source.

Now, Clark was beginning to wonder if her accepting dinner with Luthor was a test of that trust.

Clark pinched his lips together.

He had failed it miserably.

Clark knew he couldn’t help it. He had lost out on love with the Lois from that other dimension, because she already had a Clark who adored her. He had lost the Lois from his home dimension even before they met, just as he had lost the opportunity of living a full life with his folks. He would do anything not to lose this Lois… only he knew that someday he would have to face the truth. They could never be a proper couple. They could never be together, not as a man and wife should, without killing her. Therefore, he would have to allow her to go find another man who could give her the life she deserved.

He had no idea how he was ever going to manage to let her go, though. He would have to trust her with his secret and let her know the truth. She deserved that much. Then she would understand why they couldn’t be together as a proper couple. He would promise to be there whenever and wherever she needed him, and try not to let her see how much of a torture it would be to see her with another man, loving another man, having his children, growing old…

Clark grabbed his head and screamed again, so loudly he saw the dust on the moon rise up in answer to his call.

No. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t remain just her friend or her partner. He couldn’t stay and watch Lois with another man. He didn’t have the strength. Just the thought of Lois with someone else chilled him to the core, causing him to feel the bitter coldness of space. He needed to talk to someone who could give him wise counsel on what to do. He decided that the first chance he got, he would go and speak to Padre Carlos again, but for now, he had a morning meeting to attend.

Clark turned for Earth at top speed, only slowing when he arrived over Metropolis. He spun back into his business suit, jogged down the stairs to the newsroom, and entered the conference room just after Perry. Lois wasn’t there. He glanced around for her, but she was nowhere in the office.

Perry clapped his hands together. “Okay, let’s get started.” He glanced around. “Judas Priest! Where’s Lane?” The Chief directed this question to Clark.

Clark shrugged, but before he could speak, Jimmy did.

“I saw her leave, Chief. She told Joe that she had to meet a source,” Jimmy said, sliding into the chair next to Clark.

Clark exhaled in relief, before his brow furrowed. A source? On what story? The Laderman jury was deliberating. What else was she working on? He shook his head. They all juggled many stories at one time, otherwise there would be no way to fill the pages of the paper, and Clark knew he was being paranoid.

“Any more word on that missing doctor, Kent?” Perry asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” Clark informed him with a glance towards Cat for confirmation.

She nodded.

“Nobody has seen or heard from her since Impact Day,” Clark continued. Dr. Brenda Muldoon had disappeared off the face of the Earth, and Clark didn’t like that at all.

“I’ve called everyone in her address book, and she told nobody of her plans for when Nightfall Minor struck,” Cat added.

The sound of soft sobbing made Clark turn towards the newsroom. Lois? He thought at first, and then knew immediately that wasn’t. “Excuse me,” he said to Perry with a nod towards the newsroom.

The Chief waved him away.

There was a well-dressed woman with red hair tied back in a knot, wearing a tan camelhair coat, a pink cashmere turtleneck sweater with pearls, and an Hermes scarf, sitting in his chair and looking as if someone had taken away her world. For a moment, Clark thought she might be the missing Dr. Muldoon but, after another glance, realized that she had the more rounded figure of a mother and not the trim figure in the photo Mrs. Dawson had shown them.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Clark Kent?” she asked, turning to face him.

“Yes.”

The woman stood up and held out her hand. “My name is Rose Collins. I need you to write a story.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, knowing from her demeanor and tone, as well as her tear-stained cheeks that something certainly was.

“My son Nicky... There’s been a terrible mistake,” Mrs. Collins told him.

“What kind of mistake?” Clark asked, offering her his chair again and sitting down on the corner of his desk to listen.

“You’ve been writing about the child kidnappings, haven’t you?” she asked.

“Yes, with my partner Lois Lane, but she’s out of the office at the moment,” he replied. “Has your son been kidnapped, Mrs. Collins?”

Mrs. Collins bobbed her head in a ‘yes’ but was unable to go on.

“Well, shouldn’t you be talking to the police?” Clark insisted, wishing he could be more surprised at these people’s strict adherence to the rules set forth to them by the kidnapper.

When Lana had been abducted back in October 1996, before Clark had gone to that other dimension to help that Lois and Clark out with their John Doe / Tempus problem, he too had been tempted to do everything that the kidnappers requested. He hadn’t wanted her hurt because of any action on his part, but that hadn’t stopped Lana from blaming him, both for her kidnapping and for getting debris on her when he broke through the roof to rescue her. Her kidnappers had left a fingerprint on the ransom note, which led him to the writer of the note, whom he then tailed. He heard the man make a phone call to the man watching Lana and, using a technique similar to the one he then used in the other dimension while dealing with John Doe, Clark followed the cell phone signal to the abandoned warehouse where they were holding Lana.

Lana had ended up suing him and the Superman Foundation for a boatload of money, stating that if he hadn’t come out as Superman, her life would never have been in danger. They had settled out of court.

The tears were running down Mrs. Collins’s cheeks again. “I’m not supposed to tell them or Nicky will be… will be…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Clark murmured, grabbing some tissues from the box on his desk and handing them to her. “I understand.”

She dabbed her eyes and nose, and took some calming breaths.

“How can I help you?” Clark asked once she was under control again.

“I work for Mr. and Mrs. Mark Moskal,” Mrs. Collins said.

“Mark Moskal, the developer?” Clark guessed, and she nodded.

He had seen Mark Moskal’s name mentioned a few times in the Planet since he had arrived in this Metropolis. Back in his old dimension, Mark Moskal built half of the buildings in the city. He was a mixture of old money with new money, and if Lex Luthor was even wealthier than the Moskals, he was very rich indeed. Moskal and his wife Mary Frances apparently had snubbed Lana at some charity function she had gone to, and Clark had to hear a tirade about the Moskals for a week afterwards as she tried to convince him to write some scathing article about them. He had great sympathy for them built in, especially since he later discovered that it wasn’t the Moskals at all who had snubbed Lana but a different couple altogether.

“I take care of the house. Nicky and I live on the estate. He and their son Chris are both eight and they always play together and…” Mrs. Collins voice broke, unable to go on.

“And the kidnapper took the wrong kid,” Clark finished her sentence. His heart constricted in pain for her.

Mrs. Collins looked up at him with wide eyes before shaking her head. “No. He took both boys,” she said, and then swallowed down some tears. “The note asks for five million dollars by tomorrow night… but… but… something’s wrong. Look.” She opened her purse and pulled out the note. It was a patchwork made from cut pieces from the newspaper. By the look of several of the letters, Clark knew the kidnappers didn’t read the Metropolis Star, but the Daily Planet.

The note read: I have your son. If you want to see him alive, bring five million dollars to Hob’s River Carnival at midnight tomorrow. Come alone. No authorities or the boy will be killed.

Clark knew immediately to what Mrs. Collins was referring. The note only referred to one boy.

“They weren’t supposed to take Nicky. The Moskals are on route from their safari, but how can I ask them… all that money… How can I ask them to give it twice? And if they don’t…” She gulped. “Will the kidnappers only give Chris back? What will they then do with Nicky?” She didn’t bother to raise the tissue to her face as the tears had already soaked it.

“You really should speak to the police about this,” Clark insisted.

“I can’t. I promised Mr. and Mrs. Moskal I wouldn’t call them. I can’t risk Chris or Nicky. Could you write something? Tell the kidnappers that they made a mistake, and to let Nicky go. Please, help me,” Mrs. Collins said. “Save my son.”

***

Lois snapped shut her compact and slipped it back into her briefcase as a hideous part of her past reared its ugly head. She decided to ignore her and hope that she was just a figment of her caffeine-deprived imagination.

“Lois! How nice to see you,” Linda sashayed up to her, holding her cup of black coffee. Linda had always drunk her coffee black, no sugar, no milk, just like Clark. Lois wondered if it had put hairs on her chest. She hoped so.

“Linda, what are you doing here?” Lois griped, not able to hold in her bitterness.

“I work here,” Linda replied, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Really?” Lois retorted not able to hold back her glee at Linda handing her such a gift. “I would think this establishment would have more sense than to hire a thief with no morals.”

“At the Metropolis Star, Einstein,” Linda corrected, but her fake smile had slipped. “What’s it been? Six years since graduation? Unfortunately, you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Oh. Do you deliver papers now too?” Lois quipped, taking her barb as a compliment and stepping forward as the line moved.

“I’m their new investigative reporter,” Linda corrected, standing taller with pride.

“You?” Lois laughed. “An investigator? Give me a break, Linda. You and I both know you don’t have the brains to shake your butt on a table, let alone put together a news story on your own. Who did you have to sleep with to get that job?”

Linda bristled. “I’ll have you know…”

Lois raised her hand to stop her. “Frankly, Linda, I don’t care… about you, your career, or your newspaper. The Metropolis Star uses big type and little words and, apparently, sells its reporters to get stories.” She took another step forward. “Clearly, they’re on the way up.” Her words dripped with sarcasm.

“We’re outselling you, aren’t we?” Linda said, and coolly took another sip of her coffee.

Lois’s eyes narrowed, but she still smiled, knowing that she hadn’t needed to brag about where she worked. “Have you been following my career at the Daily Planet? How sweet.”

“I understand you know Superman,” Linda said, cutting to the chase. “How about an introduction?”

“He won’t sleep with you. He has ethics,” Lois responded. “And good taste.”

“I don’t need him to sleep with me, Lois,” Linda said, implying that Lois did. “I just need him to talk to me.”

“Oh, has he been ignoring you?” Lois said with an exaggerated sad pout. “He has been a little busy lately, you know, saving the planet.”

“Did you mean Earth or the Daily Planet?” Linda fired back. “Because nothing can save your favorite dinosaur, Lois. I hear they’re about to start a hiring freeze, and that’s always the first sign of the end. You’ll have a hard time finding work after they fall, especially since your own partner Clark Kent scooped you with his latest Superman exclusive.”

“Clark didn’t scoop me,” Lois said, a tad defensively. “The Daily Planet is a team. We all work together to put out the finest paper in Metropolis.” Okay, that was slightly stepping over the line of truth, but Clark hadn’t scooped her. She had given him the story and he had added her name to the byline. Okay, it was as “with special contributions by…” byline, but still. Anyway, he was Superman; technically, it wasn’t a scoop to interview oneself, no matter how one spun it.

“You mean the ‘finest’ fish wrap in town? Maybe I should just ask Clark for some professional courtesy, since you have none,” Linda chortled, and walked towards the exit. “See you in our help wanted section, Lois.”

Lois took a step forward in line. Her hand automatically reached into the side pocket of her briefcase and pulled out a rubber band. With a quick snap of Lois’s fingers, the band hit Linda in the back of the head, causing her to spill a mouthful of coffee down the front of her and stain her blouse.

Linda’s hand went to the back of her head to pull the rubber band out of her hair. She then whipped around to glower at Lois. “That was mature,” she grumbled, before stomping out.

Lois merely shrugged and took another step forward in line. Perhaps Linda was right, but it sure felt good.

She glanced down at her watch. This line was taking forever. She was going to be late for the morning meeting. Perry wasn’t going to be happy, but it wasn’t as if she had anything new to report about the Laderman trial, except that the jury was still deliberating.

Until Lois found out what Jimbo had discovered on the disk, she wanted to wait to decide what to do about the EPRAD Nightfall data scandal. She didn’t want to do anything to tarnish Superman’s reputation, even if what Lex and her vision had implied were accurate. True, Superman had received bad information, and that wasn’t his fault, but she knew the news business well enough to know that if he managed to get out of this without a little mud on his cape, it would be a miracle. Since he exploded Nightfall Major, which was harmless to Earth, causing Nightfall Minor, which wasn’t, it could easily be more than a residual splatter of mud.

Taking another step forward in line, Lois pulled out her beeper to check if Joe had paged her about the Laderman jury. No such luck.

A team of masked gunmen stormed into the coffee bar. “Hands up!”

Well, at least she had a headline for the afternoon edition, if she got out of there in time to write it up.

***

Clark walked towards the elevator with Mrs. Collins, a little surprised that Lois still hadn’t returned for the morning meeting. He had offered to accompany Mrs. Collins back to the Moskal estate to see if he could discern how the boys had disappeared. Mrs. Collins had said that the last time she had seen them, they were pretending to be Superman on the great lawn after breakfast. They were both on spring break and wanted to enjoy the warm day. Not five minutes later, she called to them because Chris’s parents had telephoned from Africa. They were nowhere to be found.

“Clark!” Joe yelled from the information desk. “Lois just called. She wants you to meet her at the Barista Bar, two blocks from here. She says it’s urgent.”

“Excuse me,” Clark said to Mrs. Collins. “My partner.” He walked down to Joe’s desk and held out his hand for the phone.

“She hung up. She said she couldn’t wait,” Joe said, handing the message to Clark.

Clark pinched his lips together, wondering what Lois could consider so urgent. “Did she say what she wanted?” he asked.

Joe shook his head. “Sorry.”

Clark glanced up at Mrs. Collins waiting by the elevators. Her missing son took precedence. “Thanks, Joe,” he said, walking back up the steps and knowing if it were really urgent she would have called for Superman.

As the elevator dinged, Jimmy ran across the newsroom. “Chief!” he yelled as Perry walked out of the conference room at the end of the meeting. “A call just went over the police scanner. A crowded coffee shop two blocks from here was just robbed by three masked gunmen.”

Clark turned to Joe, holding open the doors. “When did Lois call?”

“Ten minutes ago, while you were talking to the lady,” Joe replied.

Was that while the robbery was in progress? “Is everyone okay?” Clark called to Jimmy.

“There weren’t any calls for ambulances, if that’s what you mean,” Jimmy said, grabbing his camera bag off his desk. “I’m coming too.”

Clark looked at Mrs. Collins, torn. Lois needed him, but so did Mrs. Collins and Jimmy was coming. “Would you mind if we made a detour? It seems my partner might have just been held up, and I’d really like her input.”

Mrs. Collins set her hand on his arm. “Of course.”

It took them what felt like fifteen minutes to take the elevator down to the lobby, and then walk the two blocks to the Barista Bar. As Superman, he could have made it there in less than five seconds. However, Lois hadn’t called for Superman she had called Clark. He could see the police out in force, holding back the gawkers, and his heart began to race. Should he have darted off on Mrs. Collins and Jimmy?

Mrs. Collins volunteered to stand back outside the lines of crowds and wait. “You better see if your partner is okay,” she said, gripping the front of her camelhair coat tightly together, despite it actually being a warm day for early spring.

Clark could tell the crowds and crime scene tape made Mrs. Collins anxious and probably made her think of what the future might bring for her son and his best friend. “I’m sorry,” he apologized to Mrs. Collins, and he truly was, but Lois was his life. He pushed his way through the crowd to the policemen. “Clark Kent, Daily Planet,” he said to one of the officers as Jimmy circled around looking for a good shot of the coffee bar. “Were there any injuries?”

“Nah. That’s just in case,” the officer said with a nod to an ambulance, which had just pulled up to the curb.

Standing beside him, a blonde woman with shoulder length hair spoke into her phone, “No sign of Superman. It must not have been big enough for him.” She stopped to listen for a moment. “No, don’t put that in the article. That was a personal observation.” She rolled her eyes and shut the phone.

Clark gave her a glance to memorize her face as so not to give whomever she was any extra comments while he was in the Suit.

There was a commotion inside the café, and with a glance, he saw that Lois was trying to push her way out the door but was being held back by detectives inside. “But my partner is outside. I need to talk to him!” Lois pleaded before finally giving up on the oral route and just storming out past him.

“Miss! Miss! We need your statement,” the detective hollered at her.

Lois flipped her hand up at him. “I’ll give you my statement,” she grumbled, stomping up to Clark. Before she started in on her usual berating, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him closer to the building and away from others. “Where have you been? I called a half hour ago,” she hissed.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he replied.

“I need you to file the story. I saw a Metropolis Star shark circling and she’ll scoop us if she hasn’t already. I tried to phone in the story, but the robbers smashed my phone and…” She lifted up her wrist. “Stole my watch. They only wanted jewelry, not cash, so I still have my purse, but now I’ll have to get a new…” Her eyes widened. “— watch.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, and so what, if you’ve been scooped? Not only do you have a first person account of what happened, you’ll also get the next one,” he said, smiling gently as he reassured her. “Better to lose a scoop and your stuff than your life.” He wanted to say or do something more personal, but this was neither the time nor the place.

“Watch! Oh, God, Clark, the watch!” Lois said, grabbing his arms with both hands to give him a violent shake.

“Calm down, Lois. We’ll get you another one,” Clark said. Leaning forward to give her a hug, he whispered, “There’s been another wealthy child kidnapping, only this time a mistake’s been made. I’m heading over to the estate to see what I can find out.” He knew better than to speak louder with the Metropolis Star vultures circling. He didn’t want to get scooped on the Moskal and Collins kidnappings, or have the Met Star's coverage ruin Rose Collins's chances of getting her son and Chris Moskal back safely.

“Go! Work on that. I still have to give my statement to Detective Ditworth here, so I’ll be a while. After I told him I’m press, he put me last on the interview list, because he said I ‘have nowhere important to go’,” she grumbled in her usual surly manner when she didn’t get her way or someone dared to insult the fourth estate. “Anyway, the Laderman jury could come back at any time. I should stick close to home. You can bring me up to speed this afternoon.”

Clark nodded with understanding. “Jimmy’s here, taking photos. You could give your story to him to pass to copy,” he suggested.

“Rita’s here too. Apparently, Pete in sports, along with Wally and Ralph, sent her on a coffee run. Low gal on the totem pole. I’ve been there,” she said with total lack of wistful tone. “Jimmy’s here?” She seemed inordinately pleased. “Yes, Jimmy! Perfect. I need to speak to him.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Lois,” Clark repeated, not quite sure that she was, especially with this strange manic behavior she was displaying. “Are you sure you don’t need me?”

She grinned and nudged him over the police tape. “Always. Now, get out of here. I can handle this.” She must have seen their co-worker, because she turned at that moment, yelling, “Jimmy!”

Clark shook his head as he passed back through the crowd, his spirits rising. Lois needed him, even when she didn’t need him. How could he not love her?

He felt a hand on his arm.

“Excuse me. Are you Clark Kent?” said the blonde reporter who insulted Superman earlier, holding out her hand. “Linda King, Metropolis Star.”

Ah, so this was the shark Lois had referred to. Clark shook her hand, more out of politeness than want. “Nice to meet you.”

“Lois and I are old friends. Perhaps she’s mentioned me?” she said with a gloating smile.

“No, I’m sorry,” he said, having difficulty believing Lois could be friends with anyone who worked at the Metropolis Star. Lois was too fiercely loyal to the Daily Planet. She loved that newspaper as much, if not more, than she did him.

“Lois and I’ve been out of touch since we were together at Met U,” Linda said, brushing off the slight. “So, you and Lois are partners. I can’t see her sharing her byline with anyone.”

“She must’ve changed since you’ve known her,” he replied, knowing she had. Lois had changed since he had first met her.

Linda glanced over her shoulder where Lois was arguing with Detective Ditworth again. “Uh-huh.”

“Excuse me, but I’ve have to go,” Clark said, catching Rose Collins’s eye.

“Did Lois order her own partner to file the story on her behalf?” Linda said with a sad shake of her head. “I caught your recent ‘Superman Saves Earth’ story. You’re a good writer. You really deserve more than to be treated as her messenger boy.”

“Thank you,” he said, moving back through the crowd. There was more he could say to defend Lois, but Mrs. Collins was waiting for him. Anyway, his and Lois’s faux break-up necessitated that he didn’t needed to defend his partner’s honor to everyone who besmirched it, no matter how much he wanted to. “See you around, Ms. King.”

“Feel free to call me ‘Linda’,” she called with a wave, and then added under her breath, “You can call me anytime.”

Some friend.

***

Finally, the police detectives released Lois from questioning, not as if she could add much to what the other twenty-four people in the coffee bar had said. She was thankful to see Jimmy waiting for her outside.

“Why did you want me to wait?” Jimmy asked, falling into step beside her.

“I have a lunch meeting and was hoping you’d be able to take my story back to copy for me,” Lois explained, handing him a notebook.

“Why didn’t you just send it along with Rita, the new gofer, when she left half-hour ago?” he asked.

“I’m hoping if you slide it onto the Chief’s desk with one of your photos, we’ll have a better shot at making front page than if we submitted them separately,” Lois said softly, despite not seeing anyone resembling a tail. Before launching into her next set of questions, she wanted to make quite sure that nobody could overhear them. “It might soften the blow for him finding out I was standing in line at the coffee bar, when I should’ve been at his meeting.”

Jimmy laughed as if seeing her anew. “Lois, there’s a person just like the rest of us under that tough shell after all.”

“Thanks,” she said wryly, but accompanied it with a smile. She didn’t appreciate Jimmy’s compliment, but she might need another friend in her corner besides Cat Grant. “Well, it looks like I’ll need to put out an APB for that watch Lex Luthor gave me at Christmas. Do you remember the one?”

“What watch? Lex Luthor gave you a watch?” he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter,” Lois murmured, lying through her teeth. Guess she wouldn’t be able to have Jimmy confirm her theory that the crystals had actually glowed in the dark.

She felt like kicking herself. Of course, Jimmy didn’t know about the watch. Lex had slipped it into her briefcase without her knowledge after she had returned it to him. She had then found it Christmas morning, after accidentally leaving her briefcase in the office overnight when she ran out to look for the Super Santa from her daydream, so she never actually showed it to anyone.

“What’s wrong with your old watch?” Jimmy asked.

Lois held up her bare wrist, even though the theft of her favorite watch had nothing to do with why she wanted to find the Christmas gift from Lex.

“Oh. Took your watch, did they?” he went on sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

“And smashed my mobile phone,” she grumbled, before she returned her voice to low. “I had a nightmare about that watch that Lex gave me. The crystals seemed to glow in almost a demonic fashion.” She shivered, suddenly cold even with the warmth of the spring day.

“Why did you think I’d seen it?” Jimmy asked.

“He gave it to me at the Luthor House for Homeless Children while we were there Christmas Eve,” Lois said, instinctually glancing down at her now-bare wrist.

She hated the lack of control she always felt in not being able to know the time. Her mother was well known for being late, if she showed up at all. Ellen Lane would arrive hours after she was supposed to pick Lucy or Lois up from school, a debate, tennis practice, or even from the mall. Lois remembered closing down a mall once with Julie, not by choice but because her mother never showed to drive them home. Julie eventually called her mom to pick her up, but it was well past eleven at night before Ellen remembered to get Lois.

“I saw him give something to you before he tried to kiss you under the mistletoe,” Jimmy admitted. “I didn’t really see it. I do remember him backing you into that dark corner, and I decided I should keep an eye on you, just in case...”

“Just in case, what, exactly? I suddenly burst into a bad case of ‘damsel in distress’?” she scoffed.

Jimmy looked her in the eye. “Hey, friends look out for each other, Lois. If someone like old Mrs. Whats-her-face the House’s director had pulled me under the mistletoe, I’d hope you would’ve made sure I didn’t need rescuing too,” he said.

“Mrs. Cox?” Lois hazarded a guess, knowing he had meant the other woman, who had looked like a schoolmarm from a horror flick.

“Yeah, whoever,” Jimmy replied, clearly not recalling the runway styling of Mrs. Cox.

Lois smiled at catching Jimmy in her in-joke, and then glanced at her bare wrist again, having once more forgotten the loss of her watch. “Argh! Jimmy, what time is it?”

He looked at his watch. “Eleven forty-five.”

“Crap!” It was later than she expected. Stepping to the curb, she waved at a passing cab. “Thanks. I really appreciate your help,” she said to Jimmy before jumping in the cab. She shut the door and told the driver, “The Courthouse, and don’t take Mertz Avenue or Edge Boulevard, because I’m already running late.”

***End of Part 108***

Part 109

So, we have the Laderman trial, the kidnapped kids, and Linda King all swirled up into one tasty cone for Lois and Clark. Comments . Please let me know if you're getting