Great story, ML! So much fun. As for that alternative ending... can't we send Jimmy and Wells Interruptus to their own private island where they can keep interrupting each other? I'm sure Lois is willing to pay to have them shipped off somewhere, at least for the two weeks of her and Clark's honeymoon!

Oh, but your story wasn't all about laughs, though. This was exquisitely beautiful:

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She was slightly surprised when he lay next to her, facing her, instead of pulling her into his arms. She turned onto her side, still seeing the demons that were haunting him. Leaning forward, she kissed him as his hands slipped beneath the large sweatshirt she was wearing, as if he was drawing heat from her body. She was surprised when his hands actually seemed cold. She hesitated a moment before suddenly sitting up, removing the sweatshirt and pulling him into her arms, cradling him against her breast.
She heard him give a shuttering groan as he pulled her closer.

There was nothing, or almost nothing, sexual about the experience. Even though there was practically no clothing between them, even though she could feel his hot breath against her skin, and even though it was probably the most intimate moment of her life to date - more intimate, in fact, than those few occasions where she had crossed the intimacy threshold with a man - it was not sexual. It was so much deeper than that. It was... She hesitated slightly as she tried to find the right word. 'Spiritual' was the word she finally decided on.
Not in the traditional sense, perhaps. Not in a way that a minister might describe it given that they were practically naked in bed while still unwed, but... It was spiritual, nonetheless. In fact, it was probably the most spiritual experience she'd ever had.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she ran her hands soothingly over his back as she held him against her. She was relieved when his muscles begin to relax and his breathing became more regular, deeper. Still, she didn't sleep. As she lay there, holding the love of her life in her arms, it suddenly hit her what she'd taken on by loving Clark.
He was the man holding up the Golden Gate Bridge.

And now... she was the woman holding up the man holding up the Golden Gate Bridge.
Beautiful. Wonderful.

Ann