Part 15
An hour later, Clark was standing and waiting by the front door to Lois’ apartment. He had knocked on the door, but when Lois didn’t answer, he assumed that she had not yet returned home, so he opted to wait for her.
Waiting was not his forte, in fact, he paced for some minutes, all the while rubbing his hands together, shifting from one leg to the other and constantly moving his glasses up his nose. I really need to get these glasses adjusted, he was thinking, but anyone who was to actually look at him could see the absolute nervousness that emanated the handsome man.
After about ten minutes of waiting, Lois came down the hall, the angels following her and he smiled nervously and waited for her to reach him.
“Lois…” he stammered. “…Please, there’s so much I want to tell you…”
“…Let’s talk inside,” she responded rationally. “We don’t want to disturb the neighbors with all these theatrics.”
Clark agreed and the four of them went into Lois’ cozy apartment. Once inside, she closed the door and waited for her guests to sit down on the sofa. Clark looked at Andrew. “I owe you an apology,” he said softly as he extended his hand to the angel.
Andrew accepted it and smiled. “It’s OK, Clark, I can understand why you reacted to me as you did.”
“I’ve never met anyone else who has to deal with things like secret identities,” he said. “How do you do it?”
“We’re different then you, Clark,” Monica said softly. “We are angels, we cannot get into relationships with people as you can. Your task of keeping this secret is not an easy one, and although we figured it out, we had the advantage of not being directly involved in either of your lives or the lives of the people of Metropolis. We also have a rather good source of information.”
“So God did tell you?” Lois asked, her face losing all color.
“In a way, God affirmed our suspicions, which is something that most people don’t listen for,” Andrew said softly and looked at Monica and waited for her to continue her explanation.
The pretty angel nodded and looked at Lois. “It’s a lot easier for us, as outsiders, to try and figure out Clark’s identity simply because we’re not emotionally invested in this as you and others may be. Lois, you didn’t figure out who Superman was for a long time because you’re emotionally involved with both him and Clark and it would have been too difficult to try and resolve all of this. Most of Metropolis has pretty much accepted that Superman is a part of their lives, whether directly or indirectly, so they won’t concern themselves with who Superman is when he’s not being Superman. I hope this makes sense to you,” she said smiling and once Lois nodded, she diverted her attention and was now looking at Clark. “The part of this that affects you is your emotional ties to this city and the level of caring you have for the people here. You cared enough for them to take on the burden of using your gifts to help them.”
“I often wished that I could be like everyone else,” Clark said, but this time instead of Monica speaking, Andrew did.
“You are unique as you are, Clark, and that uniqueness makes you special in Lois’ eyes, but it also makes you special in the eyes of your Creator,” the Angel of Death smiled gently. “I can only be grateful that I didn’t have to take you Home tonight. Yet, what I noticed was the deep love you hold for one another, but since the day we met, I wondered when you would find the courage to tell the other how you felt. Many people wait until the moment I come, to open their hearts and speak of the feelings they carry for another. This is what happened with both of you. You held off on telling each other the most profound feelings you carried until the moment of truth,” Andrew paused for a moment before continuing to speak. “I am really glad that everything turned out as it did, that you both were able to get those feelings out, but the reason that things didn’t turn out differently was because you both have a friend who went the extra mile to help you.”
“A friend?” Clark looked at Andrew. “I don’t understand.”
Lois looked at him. “Clark, when the police raided the rave earlier tonight, one of the officers told me that they had been given a tip by Jimmy.”
Monica nodded. “Yes, Jimmy did a lot of extra research on the rave location and the words in the code and this enabled him to get help to you both before something tragic could happen to you.”
Andrew looked at the two of them. “We know that you have a complicated relationship, but what God brings together cannot be torn apart, not by Tempus, or Lex Luthor or anything external. All the love and caring that you hold for another has been approved on the highest level that exists. Love is more powerful than any force outside of yourselves, and you will find struggles and heartaches in your love for another, but you both know that no relationship is ever going to be one hundred percent easy.”
Clark nodded. “He’s right, look at Perry and Alice.”
Lois smiled as she looked at the angels. “All this time I thought Clark had lied to me.”
“He withheld a truth from you was all, Lois,” Monica said smiling and looked at Andrew. “I guess it’s time for us to go.”
“Wait before you go, there’s some business we need to discuss, Monica,” Lois said. “It’s about the by-line.”
“Put yourself first, Lois, and I’ll see a copy of the paper in the morning,” Monica said smiling. Within seconds the two angels were gone.
Lois looked at Clark. “Their exits are more dramatic than yours.”
“I can’t appear and disappear at will,” Clark chuckled and looked at her. “I guess I was a coward, huh?”
“No, I was just a grouch, but they made a lot of sense,” Lois said. “Do you think we’ll ever see them again?”
“I don’t know, but they did come at the right moment,” he said.
She wrapped her arms around him and began to nibble on his neck. “And they exited at just the right moment too,” she purred.
Clark swept her up in his arms and held tightly. “You can say that again,” he buried his face in her mass of dark brown hair. “I don’t think I could have gone to heaven tonight, Lois, heaven is right here in your arms.”
*****
The following morning Lois and Clark showed up bright and early for work. Perry was waiting for them when they came in, his face filled with pride as he saw his top reporters coming out of the elevator together. “You kids did good work,” he smiled proudly.
“No, it was Lois and Monica’s work this time,” Clark said smiling. “I think Lois could work with anyone.”
“No, I couldn’t,” Lois shot back playfully as she looked at her partner. “It’s you and me, baby, forever and ever, a-men.”
Clark chuckled as he glanced over at Jimmy’s desk and could see that the young man was stirring a cup of coffee. “I think we should go and tell him what we found out last night,” he said as Perry went back into his office and closed the door behind him.
Lois nodded. “Yeah, no kidding, he really does look like he could use a friend and in the worst way.”
The two reporters went over to the young photographer’s desk. “Hey Jimmy,” Clark spoke up and the younger man looked up.
“Hey, C.K.,” he said smiling weakly.
“Did you know that they are hailing you as a hero down at Metropolis PD?” Lois asked, her brown eyes intent.
“Me? What did I do?” Jimmy asked.
“Well, you saved Superman’s life,” Clark said.
“I saved Superman’s life?” Jimmy looked at them as though their ship had just landed.
“We’re serious, Jimmy, your investigative skills may have wrecked a scoop for Monica and me, but you saved lives last night,” Lois said and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Mine included.”
“I saved your life?” Jimmy said, his voice cracking somewhat.
“Yes, and about twenty kids, Superman…shall I try to comprise a list? I can call the hospitals and ask, but it would take me all morning and I have a story to write,” Lois said and paused for a moment and glanced over in Clark’s direction. “I mean, of course, we have a story to write.”
“You mean you’re partners again?” Jimmy asked.
Clark nodded. “Monica and Andrew left last night, and I don’t think Perry would have it any other way.”
Jimmy’s face fell. “Monica and Andrew are gone?”
“I’m afraid so,” Lois said softly. “But they have a message for you and they asked us to deliver it to you.”
Clark grabbed two chairs and they sat down. “The truth is, Andrew and Monica are angels and they came here to help all of us.”
Jimmy smiled. “Yeah, right…”
“You don’t believe us? Well, use those investigative skills, did you notice that Andrew’s last name was Halo, and Monica’s is Wings?” Lois asked as she held up a copy of the morning edition of the Daily Planet and showed it to him. “Now, I ask you, is that just coincidence?”
Jimmy looked at them not knowing what to say, instead, he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “If they are angels, then I thank God that they showed up when they did.”
“Why’s that?” Clark asked.
“I thought I had lost my best friend,” Jimmy whispered more to himself than to either of them.
Clark rested his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. You would have, he thought sadly, just not in the way you initially thought. He glanced over at Lois and watched as she nodded, she knew exactly what was going through his mind, but without another word, she reached for his hand and squeezed it.
“You’re still going to miss them though, aren’t you?” Lois asked.
“Well, yeah, but all things aside, I don’t believe they are angels,” Jimmy said winking at them. I know they are, he added silently to himself as Lois and Clark got to their feet and went over to their desks.
Once they were gone, Jimmy reached inside his desk and pulled out a small notebook. There, stuck between the pages, a soft white feather was placed. He patted the object affectionately, but after a few moments had passed, he looked towards the window at that moment and watched as dove flew away from the building and disappeared in the distance.
Ende
