Disguise Failed pt. 7
Lois had become rather dependent on Clark being beside her day and night. He’d brought in his computer and would spend most of the day working on articles and research, contacting Jimmy for information whenever he needed it.
Clark was always ready to lift her for the nurses to change her sheets, make sure she got medication when or to get ice cream or chocolate bars for her to supplement the hospital food. He’d bring her Chinese food from her favorite restaurant in Beijing. She’d never been there but he’d promised to take her when she was better.
After the initial few days in the hospital when she was under so much medication and barely knew what was happening around her, she realized that Clark was always there for her. His concern was unlike any she’d ever received in her whole life. Her parents had never doted over her like he was doing. No boyfriend or even her sister or girlfriends had ever paid her so much attention.
At first, it had surprised her that the Hack from the sticks who she had treated with such disdain could possibly be sitting beside her holding her hand. She’d told him not to fall for her, but obviously he hadn’t heeded her warning. She didn’t feel like sending him away though. It was really nice to have him there. It was quite comforting. So many times, she’d stretch or reach and the muscles in her side would do whatever they did to cause he to gasp in pain. He’d always use his heat vision or his cooling breath to do whatever it took to make the pain go away. He could massage her, seeing the tight muscles clearly. There was something about his touch that always calmed her. Not only because he was so handsome and she was obviously becoming more and more attracted to him, but just the loving way he touched her made her feel like she was a valuable person.
She’d lie in her bed and watch his face as he worked and talk to him about the investigations he was working on. He had to leave from time to time for interviews with sources, but he tried to do as much of that over the phone as he could. It was amazing that he’d do that so he could stay with her. She had assumed he just wanted to be there and hadn’t questioned it.
Lois didn’t realize just how much she had come to rely on him being there, until a volcano erupted in Asia. As the hours wore on and turned to days, she found her life in the hospital lonely, boring and difficult. The nurses were never as good at getting her to the washroom as Clark had been. He had arranged for her television to be connected. She had requested her laptop and spent a considerable amount of her waking hours watching LNN and reading the wire service notices on the internet website.
The use of her left hand on the keyboard was limited because of the full arm cast, but she was determined to do something useful. Perry had given in and let her do background research for investigations he wanted her to look into later, when she was back on her feet. It was a good choice; she could sink her teeth into a lot of this stuff without ever having to budge from her bed. She liked talking things over with Clark.
As much as he worried about her while he was away, Clark said goodbye when he heard about the volcano on LNN and shot to the scene. It wasn’t hard to find it. The smoke from the burning trees on the sides of the mountain filled the sky and drifted far with the wind. Molten orange lava shot high in to the air. Droplets going in all directions reminded him of Metropolis’ July 4th fireworks. The heat from the volcano met him with the wind.
He paused in midair and surveyed the situation. Shanties covered the hillside. Most of them were already in flames, partially buried by the lava flow. A village at the base of the hillside was just beyond the front edge of the burning black and orange river. People were fleeing ahead of it. He wished he could just swoop in and gather the whole group and move them to safety. He looked around. A large, hand hewn canoe-like vessel was anchored out to sea. He shot down, lifted it up and flew to the running people. Carefully, coming along behind them, he gently scooped the people at the back into the vessel, then flew them away from danger and let them climb out. They were yelling their thank you’s to him as he flew back and repeated the exercise. This time the back of the crowd stopped and clambered in, so he was able to carry several times as many people at once.
The mountain was being covered on all sides. It appeared that the top of the mountain had blown off with the explosion, so he had to relocate masses of people. He’d been able to cut a trench and a dyke in the mountainside to redirect the lava flow out into the ocean.
When he finally returned to his apartment to shower and put his suit in the laundry, he realized how long he’d been gone, three days. The light on his answering machine was flashing.
His mother’s voice filled the room as he headed toward the shower. “Hi Clark. We haven’t heard from you for a long time and wondered how you’re doing. That was a great job you did in Asia. You looked tired. Give us a call when you get back.”
He relaxed in the shower, letting the water wash the disturbing memories away. Not everyone could be saved, as usual. He’d found people trapped in the lava flow. Some had climbed trees which had burst into flames. The extent of the tragedy in human suffering was horrible.
He hadn’t been to visit his parents in a long time. He missed talking to them. Perhaps he’d be able to take Lois there soon.
“Hi Mom. I need to get back to the hospital to Lois, so I can’t talk long. Thanks for the call…”
“Oh Honey, we saw you. It must have been so terrible what you had to deal with.” His mother was so supportive.
“Son, that was pretty good thinking you did on the spot. Using that boat and redirecting the lava flow. Tunneling into the base of the mountain to let the lava go straight into the sea was ingenious! We’re so proud of you!”
“Thanks Mom and Dad.”
“Now, how’s Lois doing?” His mom was always asking about this new girl he worked with. “Are you still staying with her at the hospital?”
They chatted for awhile before Clark thought he’d better get back to the hospital. “Look, Mom and Dad, I’d better get back, I’ve been gone for quite awhile.”
“To work you mean?”
“Uh, no, I’ve been staying at the hospital with Lois. She still needs a lot of help. It just makes it easier if I’m there for her.”
“I see.” He could almost hear his mother’s smile. “You’ll bring her out soon so we can meet her won’t you?”
“Yes, Mom. She knows…about me. I told you that didn’t I?”
“Yes you did. Well, let us know when you can get away. The door’s always open!”
“I know Mom. Thanks. Bye, Dad.”
“Bye, Clark. You take care of Lois.” Clark could hear him grinning, too. Parents could be so predictable at times!
He pushed the hospital room door open after a slight knock on it. Lois’ face lit up when she saw him arrive. He hadn’t realized how much she liked him being there. He’d not thought much about whether she’d wanted him there, he just knew that he had to stay with her as much as he could. Her attitude towards him had certainly changed. She no longer treated him as a good story she couldn’t have, nor as a junior reporter hardly worth her attention.
“Clark! I’m so glad you’re back. I watched…” she lowered her voice as he arrived at her bedside. “You know.” He nodded. “How was it? You were gone a long time!”
“I know. I’m sorry…”
“No, don’t be sorry. It was important. You were amazing!” She raised her arms toward him when he got near. He bent down to hug her. Surprisingly, she didn’t let go right away. When she finally did, she was looking around for a tissue for the moisture in her eyes. He found them quickly and put them within reach for her. “It wasn’t the same here while you were gone. I’ve missed you…and being outside,” she added, just to make sure she didn’t look too dependent on him.
Clark would carry her outside and sit with her on his lap in the sunshine from time to time. She preferred it to being pushed around in the wheelchair. It was hard for her to do herself, if not impossible, what with one arm and one leg in a cast and three broken ribs. Clark carried her in such a way that she never felt any pain.
Today, they sat overlooking the reflecting pond near the late flowering perennials. Some yellow leaves floated down to the grass. Clark held Lois on his lap while they talked quietly.
Lois changed the topic. “I’m getting sick of being here. I wish I could just get out of here for an hour, see something different for a change.”
“You mean being with me isn’t enough?” He teased.
She smiled, careful not to chuckle. “It’s nice being with you. I’m glad you’re back and you still come here all the time. I thought you’d probably stop when I started to improve a bit.”
He shrugged, unsure just what to say, feeling pretty sure that she still didn’t want the Farmboy to fall for her. “Would you like to go flying with Superman?”
She caught the twinkle in his eyes and smiled in response. “That would be fabulous! Do you think you can find him?”
“I think I know where he is. But I’ll have to put you down.” He looked around. “I’m not sure there’s anywhere to put you where you would be comfortable.”
Lois glanced around and finally spotted a bench with a back. “You could put me over there! I’ll be fine.”
Clark smiled. “I shouldn’t take more than a minute or so.” He rubbed his cheek against her hair as he lifted her, standing up. He walked over to the bench, made sure she was comfortable on it, then glanced around.
”I’ll just go over there…” he pointed to the corner of the building. Then looking at her carefully added, “You’ll be okay won’t you? You’re not going to tip over or anything?”
“No, Clark! Now go change!” It was nice to see a smile on her face. He’d not seen her look happy for some time. He smiled at her, reached up to the knot in his tie and sauntered to the side of the building where he disappeared from sight. In a moment Superman landed in front of Lois with a familiar ‘whoosh’.
He grinned at her smile. “Would you like to go flying with me Lois?”
She caught her breath at the sight of his biceps, Clark’s biceps. They were certainly well hidden beneath the suit jackets or loose fitting shirts he wore most of the time! She looked at his face and wondered just how she’d ever guessed that this tall confident superhero was the same person as her partner at the paper. His mannerisms were significantly different than Clark’s. Perhaps on that first day he hadn’t been as confident at being Superman as he was now. She’d never have guessed that this man was the same one if she didn’t know already.
He carefully slipped one arm beneath her knees and another behind her back, lifting her carefully as he always did so as not to cause her any pain. He was watching the broken ribs beneath her skin as he lifted her, just to be certain that nothing moved. They were beginning to mend. He’d been keeping an eye on all of her broken bones, noting the new growth surrounding each break
They were soon high above Metropolis. “Oh, Clark, this is so nice!” Lois couldn’t hold onto Clark with one arm as she would have in pre accident days. Any movements like that would have strained her ribs. She leaned against Clark’s chest, taking in the feel of the wind in her hair, the warmth of Clark’s body against hers, his strong but gentle arms holding her close to himself. His breath was warm on the top of her head.
The colors of the sky were so vivid up here. The sky was so blue, in so many hues. Each cloud had so many different shades and textures. She wanted to snuggle into a soft cloud, away from all the pain that had become her constant companion now.
They were flying westward; into what would be their sunset much later in the day. The clouds began to obscure the sun. “Going up.” Clark interrupted her thoughts and observations as they plunged into the thick damp fog of a cloud. Coming out on top of it was similar to being born, or so she thought as their heads poked out slowly, the rest of their bodies emerging eventually as they flew westward through the cloud cover.
“I want to lie down on a cloud. Is that possible?”
Clark nodded and put his lips near her ear. “But not until you’re all better. I don’t want to take any chances with you up here. I didn’t bring my magic carpet along this time.”
He winked when their eyes met briefly.
“Couldn’t I lie on your cape?”
“Nope.”
“Claaark! It would hold me up wouldn’t it?”
“Only if I were lying beneath it, or carrying you in it. No Lois. Now stop asking. I’m not doing anything with you up here. We’re flying into the sunset. Just pay attention and enjoy the view.”
His seriousness mixed with his teasing tone of voice always made her smile and try to protest against him. But this time she really didn’t feel well enough to argue with him. It wasn’t like her to give in easily, but her body really had taken quite a beating. She only wanted to lie down to be more comfortable. Inadvertently, she let a pain-filled moan slip. He x-rayed her to see if he was holding her improperly. When he realized there was some inflammation developing around the ribs. He turned to take them back to the hospital.
“Hey, this isn’t the way to the sunset.”
“The sun has already set for you, my dear.”
She sighed carefully and tried to forget about their direction and just enjoy the view from up here. Clark soon dropped through the clouds. The trees of Metropolis’ many parks were coming into view. The sun was still high in the sky overhead, unlike further to the west.
“Thanks for bringing me up here, Clark. I’m sorry to be so difficult. I really appreciate all you’ve been doing for me. You’re so nice to bring me up here. It’s really been good for me to remember what the city looks like.”
“Hey, it’s okay. You sound like you’ve been in the hospital for months.”
“It seems like it. I’ve been so dopey, I feel like I’m in a fantasy world in the hospital. I’m not used to staying in one place for any length of time. You, of all people, must be able to relate to that.”
Clark watched her face as she talked. Superman duties called him away so often that he hadn’t really had to be inside for too long at one stretch. As much as he enjoyed being available to help Lois, he did miss other things. He hadn’t been out to Smallville for what seemed like weeks. He’d only taken time to call his parents once since the accident. He missed being around them. They were so accepting of him, so supportive and so nice to be around.
Being with Lois was wonderful. They didn’t know each other that well, though she had grown to accept him. Their relationship was changing from co-workers to close friends more and more as the days went on. Lois had become dependent on his being there. Clark knew that she’d fight against all help as soon as she had the slightest bit of control back in her life. But for now with the bones beginning to knit slightly, it certainly felt great to be needed by the woman he had fallen for.
