This is just a short little part-let until I figure out what to say next. I would like to know which one of you FoLCs fed my Muse the chocolate.
Anywho, I really really *really* need your input in order to figure out where to go from here. I have a lot of ideas, but it's like trying to lead a band of hippopotami through the Gobi Desert with a compass made of salami.
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Part 14a: She looked so forlorn there, floating about half an inch above his couch. She still had yet to look him in the eyes.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Clark asked.
"Some tomato juice would be nice, if you have it." Lois mumbled.
"Let me check."
She wasn't looking his way---in fact, she seemed to find his floor very interesting---so he made a *very* quick trip to the store and emerged from his kitchen only seconds later, a glass of tomato juice in his hand. He gave Lois the glass and she took it without a word, sniveling as she sipped it. Tears were starting to slide down her cheeks now, and Clark's heart nearly broke as he watched her.
"I guess there's no point in denying it. Whether he told you or not, you know now, and that's that."
"Lois..."
She exploded. "I thought the worst that could happen was that he would walk away! Or fly away, whatever. Just once, why can't he be like any other guy? He told me he loves me, Clark! He wants to help with the baby. I think he wants to get married or something! What should I do? I don't even love him!"
"Lois---wait, what?"
"I'm turning into Claude!" she wailed.
Clark sat down beside her and put an arm around her. "Lois, stop that. You're not turning into Claude; you could *never* turn into that---that snake. What are you talking about?"
"I wanted to have a baby," Lois choked, "and he was kind enough to help me out, but then---he just---he wasn't supposed to fall in love with me!" She sobbed. "I know I always used to say I was in love with him, but I'm not anymore. I don't---I just can't---" she broke down and started crying. "I'm despicable!"
"Lois, Lois, it's okay." Clark wrapped his arms around her. "Look, you're pregnant, and your hormones are out of control. I understand that; Superman understands that. You're not despicable, you're just---"
"No." Lois cut him off. "You don't understand. This---this has nothing to do with hormones. I realized I wasn't in love with him as soon as this happened." She gestured to her ever-so-slightly bulging stomach, concealed by the loose shirt she wore.
Clark looked at her, one eyebrow raised, trying to understand.
She gulped. "Clark---that night, while we were---when he was---when it happened, I was thinking of someone else."
At that point, the world stopped turning. It ground to a screeching halt, and the sky shattered. Clark wanted to throw up. He stared at Lois in disbelief, wanting but sadly unable to doubt his own ears. He had lost her. The woman of his dreams, and he had lost her. She didn't want Clark. She didn't want Superman. His last thread of hope was gone; she would never be his. All that time spent being jealous of his own alter-ego had been in vain.
"Who were you thinking about?" He didn't know why he'd asked the question. Morbid curiosity, masochism perhaps. Maybe he was holding out hope that it wouldn't be who he knew it was...
"You."
Clark's eyebrows raced to the top of his head. Him? "ME?"
"Yes, you. I know I promised myself I wasn't going to make the mistake of getting involved with a coworker again, but I just can't keep this locked up anymore. I love you, Clark. Of course, you probably think I'm a disgusting person now; here I am pregnant with another man's baby, and confessing my love to you. I'll understand if you never again want to have anything to do with me. Coming here was probably a mistake. I should go..."
She started to rise to her feet---a task made slightly more literal by her current situation. Clark stopped her.
"Lois, wait. You don't have to go. Please, stay! This whole mess is my fault."
She looked at him inquisitively.
"Lois, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I realize I probably should have told you this a long time ago, but---" He sighed and raked a hand through his hair.
Lois continued to stare in confusion.
"Maybe I should just show you." Clark rose to his feet and stood in front of her. He removed his glasses and laid them on the coffee table. Then, he began to spin. When he finally stopped, he stood before her in full Superman regalia. As he watched, Lois' confused stare gradually turned into one of shock and realization.
The last thing he saw was Lois' fist.
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