Thank you all for such kind words! And thank you also for understanding about my having to slow down my posting schedule. As despite my best efforts, I ended up doing more reading than writing this weekend, this will be doubly helpful.
Sara - Yes, Chad is blending into Smallville well. I hated the scene with them all going to dinner as Lois was bound to feel left out, but I needed to get this across. Thus far, at least, Chad has yet to have his dreams of small town life dashed.
Ann - The Chad and Lois fight was another tidbit that was at least semi-autobiographical. My husband definitely thought of our place in NY as ours and his in CA as his when we lived apart. I don't think he had the same feeling as Chad of wanting to feel like we had a place together so much that we had lived in NY together before he left, but I never lived in CA. Still, it was something that always vaguely annoyed me and while he did make efforts to make sure I had a place for things when I visited, I still often felt like I didn't really belong. I spent a summer living in his place in CA and even though I spent all day in his apartment while he was at work, I still never felt at home there and was always conscious of the fact that this was where he lived, but not me.
Oh, and the "I don't know why I bother visiting!" line was a common one during the many fights we'd have when we'd see each other. I imagine Lois and Chad have less of those, only as they see each other more often. Clark takes Lois out to Chad almost every weekend. We often went a few months without seeing each other which made it very easy to fall into "living alone" sort of patterns.
I also thought it was important that Martha still takes care of Rachel. It's sort of important in my mind that Martha doesn't prefer Lois or something like that. Given the way I picture Rachel, I can't imagine Martha not liking her and she's so maternal, I also can't imagine her not caring about Rachel anymore just because she is not with Clark.
On the other hand, I also need Martha to be there for Lois and Chad. I think Lois needs the type of comfort Martha can provide right now.
Patrick - I do think that some couples can make a relationship work long distance and that's not out of the realm of possibility for Chad and Lois. However, I also don't know that because of this Chad needs to be awful for them to break up (not that I'm saying they will be, of course). I'm not sure all couples could make that work.
Plus, using Clark for recent visits is okay short term, but can they really ask him to do that if they decide to live apart permanently?
I really have no intention of Chad turning out to be a scumbag. Of course, that could mean that I have no intention of them splitting up, too.
I just wouldn't suggest you wait for us to find out some deep, dark secret Chad has hidden from Lois. Nor would I expect to see Lois accidentally find him in someone else's embrace or something.
That Ramen noodle trick seems like a useful thing to know when trying to save money in college.
grinch - You're right. While I was only on Lois' side of that argument and so I do tend to "feel" it more, I can also logically see Chad's point. I think I see this as being part of your next point - Lois missing Chad more than the other way around.
While I think Chad misses Lois terribly and we just don't see it as we're in Lois' head, I do also think Lois misses Chad more than the other way around. This is based on my personal experience. During the first few years of our marriage my husband was in grad school and went away occasionally. Not often, but he did some field work, went to conferences, etc. I always felt like I missed him more when he went away than he did me. He came home with all this stuff to tell me about what he did, and I felt I had just kept living the same life as before, so what was there to say?
Then after we lived apart for awhile, we've settled into the life we have now where I have a job that requires a fair amount of travel and my husband travels only rarely. And surprise, surprise, the first time I went on a business trip when I went to call him at night, I realized I didn't miss him with the same intensity as I was used to when we were apart. I still missed him without question, but it didn't feel the same. And then we talked and it turned out he sounded like he missed me in a way he never had before.
My theory is this (and I should say, I've never discussed this with anyone but my husband, so maybe it wouldn't be this way for other couples) - Lois and Chad have a life in Metropolis. Chad leaves and Lois makes only minor adjustments as why would she do more than that? Still, this means there are "holes" in her life where Chad would normally be and she's constantly noticing his absence.
Chad, on the other hand, moves to Smallville, a place where he's never had a life with Lois and even though she visits often, it's still essentially his world and she just fits in around it when she's there. So, he doesn't have constant reminders of her absence in the same way.
For me, coming home at night when my husband is gone, I'm hit with how quiet the house is, with how sad it is to have to eat dinner alone. When I travel, I never think the hotel room is too quiet. I spend more time in hotel rooms alone than with him - quiet is just what hotel rooms are. And eating alone is just an aspect of business travel. So, I'm not hit over the head with being alone most of the time when I travel and so I miss him less intently - which I don't see as being the same as missing him less. I still much prefer it to be together than apart. I just don't find the being apart quite as painful when I do the leaving.
No comment on how this will end. I'm still struggling with that myself...
Michael - Interesting that their friends seem too close. I can see that, sort of. I'm a big believer in the fact that your spouse should be your best friend, but I can see Lois and Clark's relationship making that difficult for Lois when Chad is far away. And while we don't see it, perhaps he's making a friendship like that as well (with Rachel?). But I also see Clark as being quite disciplined and not wanting to infringe on their relationship, so I think while he wants to be there for Lois, he will try his best to not come between her and Chad.
