A Future for Us
Pt. 13
“Okay, Deborah, he’s in there.” Fred said, pulling to a stop at the curb. “Let’s go get him.”
They dashed into the building and found the list of residents in the lobby. “L. Lane 501” Deborah said, heading to the elevator.
“Okay, we get inside, you take pictures and I’ll ask questions? You all set?” he looked over at her with her small digital camera. “you’d better hide that camera, Superman’s got x-ray vision.”
“Then where am I supposed to hide it, under my blouse?”
“He’s Superman, he wouldn’t X-ray your clothes.”
“In your dreams, Fred!”
“Put it in your purse.”
“Then how am I supposed to take any photos?”
She shoved the camera into her purse at least until they got in the door, she figured.
“So Clark, do you want a cup of coffee?” Lois asked him, heading to the kitchen sink.
“Sure.” He was pretty confused about how Lois was right now. It was probably best to humor her and not jump to any conclusions about what she knew and what she didn’t know. Did she remember their engagement? Did she remember he was Superman? How far had she blanked out? Did she still think she was going to respond to Luther’s proposal. He shuddered. Thank heavens Luther was behind bars awaiting trial with no chance of parole.
A knock sounded at the door. “Can you get that Clark?”
He pulled down his glasses and looked through the door to see two people he didn’t recognize. Lois wasn’t expecting anyone. She usually wouldn’t even be here at this time of day.
He pushed his glasses back up his nose and opened the door.
“Hello?”
“Uh, yes, is Lois Lane in?”
“Lois, someone’s at the door to see you.” He stood aside so she could stand beside him to greet her guests.
“Yes?”
“Ms. Lane,” Fred began as they both stepped into the room. He pulled out a card and handed it to her. “Who are you really engaged to, Lex Luther, Superman or Clark Kent?”
The digital camera didn’t need a flash as it clicked away taking photos of Lois’ expression with Clark close in the doorway beside her.
“What? Who are you!” she demanded, looking at the card he’d handed to her. It only had his name on it. “Dan Willoby, I don’t know what you think you’re doing in my apartment, but you can get out right now! And take her with you!”
“Where’s Superman?” Fred asked, looking around the apartment, quickly dashing into the bedroom and glancing in the bathroom.
Clark stepped forward and caught Fred with an arm gingerly placed around his shoulders. “I think that’s just enough Mr. Willoby. I don’t recall Ms. Lane asking you into her apartment.”
He gently corralled both of the unwanted visitors and pushed them through the doorway.
“Why would Superman be here?” Lois asked before she closed the door.
“Well, You’ve been wearing his engagement ring.” He looked down at the ring on her finger. “Not that one, the last one you were wearing, unless it was Luther’s. Do you want to fill us in on just who you are engaged to, or are you stringing them all along.”
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you’re certainly not going to get what you’re looking for from me!”
She slammed the door shut as Clark moved out of the way.
“What the hell was that all about?” Lois turned to Clark as the door rattled behind her.
Clark raised his eyebrows. “How about that cup of coffee?” he knew he’d never change the subject now, but he didn’t really know what he was going to tell her. He moved over to the counter and proceeded to pour two cups just the way they each liked them.
“Shall we sit down?” Clark asked.
“Clark? What’s going on here?”
“Lois, I'm not sure what’s happened today, but you collapsed at work. I think you had to deal with more than you’ve had to deal with in a long time, if ever. Don’t worry, you’re not dangling above the jaws of death. I think your mind has shut down and you’ve forgotten a lot. What’s today’s date, for instance?”
“What are you saying, Clark, that I'm crazy? That I can’t handle my life?”
Clark smiled, “I'm so glad you’re feeling better, Lois. I was so worried about you today. You were just staring and you just seemed like you were in a coma. I got you home and put you to bed and then you woke up. It sure looks like you’ve forgotten a lot that’s gone on in the last few months.
Lois sank down to the other end of the table and pulled her mug closer. He was obviously wrong. Wasn’t he?
“So do you want to fill me in on what I’ve forgotten?” She hated this. How unfair to have everyone else know something you don’t remember.
“No.” he gazed deeply into her eyes. “The only thing you’ve forgotten that is important is that I love you with all my heart.”
She returned his gaze. Boy were those ever puppy dog eyes. Omigosh, He’s in love with me! What if I dump him? “And, do I love you?”
He grinned that million dollar smile she’d grown to love. “With all your heart.” He responded, totally clueless if she’d hate him for being truthful with her.
She looked down at the ring on her finger. “And whose ring is this?”
“Yours!” he smiled again.
For the first time since she’d woken up, or maybe for the first time since last night when they’d kissed at the door, he saw her smile. A wave of relief washed over him. She was waiting for the rest of the answer but he didn’t feel like talking anymore. He sipped his coffee, those puppy dog eyes watching her.
“And who gave it to me?”
“Do you think I'm just going to tell you everything? What if you get mad and blow me away? Some things are better remembered than heard about!” he teased her.
“Clark, tell me!”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll trade information.”
“But I don’t have any information. You have it all. What do you want from me?”
“Not much.”
She wadded up a napkin from the holder in the center of the table and threw it at him. “Oooh, you’re impossible, Clark Kent.”
“I know something you don’t know!” Clark began in a singsong voice to tease her some more, but the phone interrupted him.
They both made a mad dash for it together, no superpowers. “Hello?”
“Lois, Honey, how are you?”
“Martha? I'm fine.”
“Are you feeling better?”
Lois wrinkled up her forehead and shot a glare at Clark. “Yes, much better, but I can’t remember what happened. What did Clark tell you about me?”
Clark reached for the phone pleadingly as she slapped his hand away, “Well, he said you sort of stopped responding and looked like you were in shock. Anyway, he brought you home to recover. I'm so glad you’re better. Clark was so worried. You should have heard him on the phone. He wanted to know if he should take you to the hospital. He was so scared something really bad had happened to you.”
“Oh.” She was unable to comprehend the situation. “He’s right here. Would you like to talk to him?”
“Oh yes, Dear, thank you.” Lois handed Clark the phone, hoping that she’d get a bit more information by listening to him talk to his mother. But no such luck just the plain old stuff, ‘No, she woke up and seems fine except she lost some of her memory. We’re having coffee. No I sent in our stories so we don’t have to go in tonight.” He glanced at Lois who was hanging on his every word. “Not yet. I was going to, but now I'm not sure if she remembers, you know.”
Lois pursed her lips. What could be worse than having people talk about you like you weren’t there? And what was he going to do if she had remembered? Were they in the middle of a big story? What in the blazes could have made her forget three months of her life. Well, if Clark wouldn’t answer, she’d find out for herself.
She grabbed her purse and her coat and headed out the door only to find it was hot outside. She went to the newspaper rack outside of her building and dropped some change in for a paper. Today’s Daily Planet in hand, she was about to turn and walk back inside but the rag beside it caught her eye. Superman always caught her eye. She dropped in some more money and took a copy of the National Inquisitor and another of the Metropolis Star. Both were rags and certainly not worth her hard earned loose change. Nevertheless, she’d find out what was going on in the world that she hadn’t wanted to cope with. That is if it’s something to do with headline news.
She shoved the papers under her arm and pulled the front door of the building open. “Why hello, Ms. Lane,” that nosy man said as he caught up beside her as she hurried away into the elevator, but not before he had squeezed into the elevator with her.
“What do you want now?” she demanded, somewhat curious about what was going on. How could she get him to tell her what was up, why she was being interviewed by such a sleaze bag without giving him anymore fodder for his slanted article he was bound to be writing.
“I just want to know whose ring you’re wearing, Ms. Lane.”
“Good grief, that does seem to be the question of the day. Frankly Mister, I don’t…” she caught herself and rushed out past him as the doors opened on her floor. He was close behind, his hand on her doorknob before she could touch it.
“Get out of my way!” she demanded as Clark opened the door for her, conveniently standing in Fred’s way.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Clark said, closing the door in his face as Lois slipped inside.
Clark listened but he didn’t hear footsteps, only breathing. He quickly opened the door and a startled nosy reporter fell into the room before Clark picked him up and walked him less than politely to the elevator.
“Get out of here before I call the police!” Clark said as the elevator door opened.
Fred got back into the car. “Something fishy’s going on in there, Deborah. Superman’s in there, that’s what our monitor says, but we get this Clark Kent protecting Lois Lane.
“So maybe Clark Kent’s Superman?”
Fred’s eyes went up and he grinned. “Bingo. We’ve got a story to write.” He opened his laptop and started typing furiously, chuckling and humming as he typed.
“Thanks, Clark.” Lois dropped back into the chair in front of her cup of cool coffee and dropped her bundle of papers on the table in front of her, the Daily Planet falling on the top.
“What have you got there, Lois?” he said, wondering how smart it was for her to be finding out what was in today’s paper again.
He snatched the Inquisitor out of the pile while she watched with a raised eyebrow. “Just what are you doing Clark Kent? Do you think you can stop me from reading the news? What are you going to do, go outside and remove all the papers in the city? Delete the news websites from the internet? Remove my telephone?”
He rolled his eyes, “No Lois, I'm just trying to keep you fine. Whatever happened to you today was pretty terrible and I don’t want it happening again.”
“Okay Clark,” she said, putting on her most reasonable tone of voice to hide her impatience with him. “You don’t want me to read that paper. So what’s in that paper that you don’t want me to know about? It’s about Superman isn’t it? I already saw his photo on the front cover.”
“Lo-is. Could you just trust me here for just a few minutes? You’ve blocked something out of your memory. I could take you to the hospital and maybe they could help you remember, but I don't think it's a good idea.”
“Why Clark? Why would I ‘let’ you take me to a hospital? I'm not sick. I feel fine. I am just a bit rusty about what’s going on out there in the big bad world. And if I did let you take me to a hospital, why would you think it’s not a good idea.”
“Because you know some things that can’t get out, that’s why. If someone does hypnosis on you, you’ll be telling things that…” he sighed. “Lois, why do you always have to be so difficult?”
Lois was grinning. “Oh, I know something? You sound like some sort of villain that I could identify in a lineup.”
“Lois, you knowing is fine. It’s the rest of the world that can’t find out.”
Her interest was piqued. What game was he playing with her?
“Is this a mind game, Clark?”
“No, Lois. It’s not a game. That’s why I didn’t take you to the hospital earlier.”
“So are you going to tell me what I know that I’ve forgotten?”
Clark dropped his gaze to his cup of coffee. “Lois, it took a lot of time to get up the nerve and the timing to be able to tell you. We’ve just lost all that preparation ftime for this knowledge. If I tell you now, it would be the same as if I’d told you back then when you’d told me Lex had proposed to you. That was a long time ago, Lois. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. Don't worry, that’s not Luther's ring.”
Clark didn’t sound so good anymore. “Clark? Are you okay?” What were these tender feelings she had for Clark now? Why couldn’t she remember?”
He shrugged, remembering all the pain he’d been through before she’d gotten to know him as Kal.
“Clark, what happened today?”
His head came up to look into her eyes and he sighed. “What do I tell you Lois? Do I tell you everything and hope you don’t fall into a coma this time? Do I pick out the things that are pretty harmless and tell you them? What if I choose the wrong things? You don’t think like I do, Lois.”
She mulled things over in her head. “Just tell me what you think I can handle,” she said, not recognizing that as the voice of Lois Lane’s typical reasoning. Clark’s worry was beginning to scare her. She didn’t want whatever had just happened to come back, but she didn’t want to be in the dark. “I don’t remember anything, so I somehow don’t think I'm going to be as affected by this stuff as I was when I was in the middle of it. I feel more like I'm the audience watching the actors on stage. For some reason I'm feeling closer to you than I remember.
At that he smiled again. “Well, that’s something positive! We’ve been through a lot in the last while. Lois, I'm hungry. Neither of us have eaten since breakfast, let’s go get something to eat.”
“You mean take-out?”
“No, I mean a date, Lois.”
She giggled and looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Just give me a few minutes to change!” she said over her shoulder as she ran into the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind herself.
Clark moved over to the uncomfortable bench she called a couch and picked up the remote. The stations were having a heyday with the lusty women Superman had saved earlier in the day. He pursed his lips in disgust and changed the channel. It was no better on any of the other stations.
He didn’t want to find out what disasters he should drop everything and go tend to, so he turned to a soccer game. The game was interrupted by a breaking news story. Before they had time to tell what it was, the TV was off. Clark picked up a rubber band from the coffee table and turned to see his coffee mug on the table.
“Off the light and into the cup,” he said idly as he aimed and fired. He had to go over to retrieve it from within the moist cup. He blew it dry and took aim again. “Off the doorknob, off the light and in the cup.” The rubberband obediently followed orders.
“Off the TV, off the ceiling, off the wall and into the cup.” This was definitely the most relaxing game he played. It was even better than trying to blow wadded up paper into the garbage.
Lois emerged just in time to receive the slap of the elastic as it took off from the TV to head to the ceiling. “Oww!” she put her hand to her head.
“Oh,” Clark jumped up. “I'm sorry Lois, I didn’t hear you come out.”
She looked at him with her usual puzzled expression. Clark was over there, but the rubber band had been heading toward him. How could this be his fault? She shook her head as he touched her head where the flying orb had struck her.
He felt her soft hair under his hand and bent down to kiss her gently on the lips. She was a little surprised, but let her arms slide up around his shoulders nonetheless as she returned his kiss.
“You look stunning, Lois.” He held an elbow out towards her. “Shall we go?”
“Just a minute,” she said, gathering her small clutch from the closet and putting her wallet, lipstick and brush into it.
Clark sensed something outside and lowered his glasses to x-ray through the walls. Several cars were parked alongside the road below. He recognized Willouby and his photographer. A laptop was open and the screen showed a map, he found as he zoomed in on it. He could see a small yellow dot. That was where Lois’ apartment was. He looked around the apartment carefully looking for bugs. It was clean.
“Excuse me just a moment, please, Lois.” He said, nodding toward the bathroom. Once inside, he took off his clothing one piece at a time and shook it, x-raying for any bugging device. It wasn’t until he’d gotten down to his skisuit that the tiny metal disk fell out from under his belt. Dressing again in full speed, he took the disk over to the window and tossed it down the road a few miles. Then he zoomed in on the map in the car and watched the yellow dot racing down the road. Soon Willoughby started up his car and followed the dot.
He pursed his lips and shoved his hands into his pockets before heading back over to where Lois was no waiting for him. He saw her dazzling smile and felt honored to be able to take her out to dinner. Extending an elbow towards her he said, “Shall we?”
pt. 14
He would have liked to tell her about what Willoughby was up to, but she didn’t remember he was her beloved Kal anymore. Or did she? He’d have to see what happened when she saw him. But he wasn’t in any mood for rescuing people tonight. He thought momentarily about why not. Because whatever had happened to Lois was more important to him than whatever was out there.
Even people dying? Lois wasn’t going to die. How many people had he let die already tonight? He slammed the guilt ridden part of his brain closed. He wasn’t going there. Not tonight.
He was glad as he stood in front of Lois’ building that they weren’t being followed or gauked at anymore. Lois pulled her keys from her purse and handed them to Clark.
“If I'm as messed up as you think I am, you’d better drive,” she said, squeezing his hand. She hadn’t noticed that he had taken her hand when they’d stood in the elevator and was still holding it. She looked down at it, feeling very content. By rights she should have been screaming to know what he wasn’t telling her, but she just felt content and pretty docile at the moment. Maybe the angry part of her brain ‘had’ shut down. She pushed the thought aside and looked up at Clark’s profile. He was so handsome. Her stomach did a few butterfly turns. He glanced at her and smiled, squeezing his hand again.
She stopped walking and turned toward him, looking up into his loving eyes, “Kiss me Clark.” She murmered, tilting her head up toward his. His arms went around her shoulders and he leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers, tentatively at first, then with more pressure. She responded as her body tingled at his touch. It was a long kiss. Clark’s pent up worry, his fear for her mental state, his anguish over the implications of the bug he’d found, his steeled refusal to answer calls all melted as they stood on the sidewalk, entwined in a most wonderful moment.
Lois’ unexplained deep love for Clark surprised her as they held onto this moment of tenderness. She felt so much for him. He was hers. She was his. It would always be that way. She remembered the ring on her finger. It was obviously from him.
It was hard for both of them to allow the kiss to end. Clark snuggled his face into her hair, breathing in her light perfume. She snuggled her face into his chest, feeling completely accepted, completely safe and loved beyond her wildest dreams. Their eyes met. Each of them radiated contentment, neither of them wanting to break this moment.
“I love you, Clark. Thank you for wanting to protect me. Thank you for everything.” She reached up and touched his face where a tear threatened to leave his glistening eyes. His words caught in his throat as he tried to respond, but then only nodded and hugged her tightly to himself.
“I love you, too, Lois. I always have. I always will. Thank you for loving me.” he said huskily as his voice returned. He wanted to scoop her up and fly far away, away from all that was going on around them, away from whatever was too much for her to deal with.
“Have we set a date yet?” Lois asked after a long moment.
He pulled back and looked deep into her brown eyes. They shone with happiness. He was sure his face reflected it. “Not yet. We only got engaged last night.”
“Let’s not wait, Clark.”
He felt the same way and squeezed her. “Okay.”
“Let’s have a small wedding. Did you have a church in Smallville?”
Clark nodded, his words stuck in his throat again. All he’d ever wanted was being offered to him right now. They were drifting up off the sidewalk. She smiled as she felt her toes bend downward. They were kissing again.
A flash of light registered on Clark’s closed eyes. How far off the ground were they? Was that a camera? What had it caught? He opened his eyes and saw the ground several feet below. He saw the camera. Instantly they were high above Metropolis. Lois watched with interest and amusement as a red beam shot down to where they had been.
Clark was careful not to miss as Deborah aimed her camera upward towards them. He sighed with satisfaction as a wisp of smoke rose from it.
“I know all about this, too, do I?” Lois giggled as she held onto her boyfriend.
“Um hum.” He mumbled. “You know everything about me there is to know. We had a really great time, Lois.”
“I can imagine. So how did you tell me that you were Superman?”
“I got careless, I guess. You were engaged to me as Superman. Kal. We were having dinner at my place and you finally realized who I was.”
She nodded and reached up to kiss him again. Damn the torpedoes below.
He sighed. “Oh Lois, we’ve got so much trouble now.”
“How so?”
He nodded to the earth far below. “I'm going to need that brain of yours to help get me out of this. They’ve been tracking me. Us. Oh Lois it’s such a mess.” He sighed deeply.
“They’ve been taking photos of me all day. First I go rescue this woman jumping off a building. I thought she was falling. She planted a bug on me and those idiots followed me to your apartment. That’s what that Willoughby was after. He thought he’d found Superman at your apartment.”
“Well he did,” she said, playing with the buttons on his shirt and peeking through at the suit. She smiled. “You know, I'm not sure exactly what I’ve forgotten, but I finally understand that phrase, ‘Ignorance is Bliss’. Clark, can we go get married now? I mean, you could fly us to Las Vegas or somewhere.”
He smiled and cupped her face with one hand. “Are you sure, Lois? What about our parents? What about your mental state? I can’t just zip you off and marry you when you don’t have all your memory. What if it comes back and you regret it all?”
She sighed, knowing too well herself of how she might react if she wasn’t really planning to do this with her life. “But Clark, you said yourself that we’re engaged! We didn’t talk about a date at all?”
He shook his head. “No date. But Lois, you’re the type…you wouldn’t want to do anything until you’d thought about it for a long time.”
“But you just showed me that you and Superman are the same person and I didn’t get mad.”
“My point exactly. Lois, let’s wait.”
She was playing with his tie, “But I don’t want to wait, Claarrrk!”
If they hadn’t been up in the clouds, he would have pulled her hands down from him and moved a foot away or so. Times like this called for a little physical distance. But they weren’t on the ground and her hands didn’t seem to want to stop toying with his tie. She pulled it and brought his head down to kiss her again.
“Lois, you’re making this really hard for me.” She looked at him with pleading eyes. He sighed again. “Lois, stop this, we can’t.” Then remembering why they were even outside, “We’re going to dinner. I know just the place.”
Before she could object, they were zipping through the white clouds, then high above them. He headed over the polar ice cap and then down to Europe. They landed in an alley in Amsterdam. “There’s a little café right around the corner, here.”
“Mr. Kent, a table for two on the canal?”
“Yes. Thank you.” He nodded to them and backed away before turning around and leading them out onto a deck overlooking the still water of a canal. It was a wide canal. The water wasn’t as clear as it had been in some of the places Lois remembered Kal taking her. A few boats drifted lazily in the water. Music and laughter came from one of the boats. Lights dangled above the deck, swinging in the warm breezy night air.
“What time is it here?” Lois leaned across the small table and whispered to him.
He looked down at his watch. "Two am. This is an all-night cafe." His eyes twinkled at her as she looked at the menu. "You really like this one," he pointed at a dinner they'd had here once before when he had brought her as Kal.
Her eyebrows went up, "I do?" He nodded. It was written in Dutch so she didn't even attempt to pronounce it.
The waiter came and brought them cool drinks and took their orders. "I didn't know you spoke Dutch." Lois said, reaching across to squeeze the hand he'd laid on the table.
“I'm full of surprises, you know, Lois.” He teased her. As the waiter retreated into the restaurant, he glanced over at the boat where the music was coming from.
“I can only imagine!”
“Yes. Well, now Lois, I think we’d better talk about something. Just being here is kind of risky. Everything is risky now.” She didn’t understand. He turned his hand over to hold hers. He sighed. “As much as I’d just like to sit here and soak up your adoration, you’ve got to help me.” he paused as she squeezed his hand. “They’re on to me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. But yesterday all sorts of things happened. It’s a long story really.”
“Just start at the beginning.”
He sighed again, fiddling with her fingers until he felt the ring he’d put on her hand last night. “Was that last night? Oh Lois, we had so much fun. You found out I was Kal, Superman, so I ‘arranged’ for us to have a little threesome visit.”
She had that puzzled look he was getting very familiar with. “Superman and I both sat in the living room with you and you asked us all the questions you had. You were engaged to Superman…” to her questioning response he added, “When you were thinking of marrying Lex, I proposed to you as Superman. You accepted and the rest is history. Anyway, we were both telling you why you should marry us, arguing about why we were each a better catch than the other. I was moving so fast back and forth, changing clothes to suit the parts. I think it really went off well! It was so much fun.”
“I can imagine!” Lois smiled at Clark’s candid attitude. He’d really changed. He didn’t seem like he had before. They’d always been close, but not close-close. The secret had put up quite a wall between them she realized.
