LAST TIME...
Ian instinctively grabbed the handbag that was laying nearby. He took out a cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.
“Yes. My name is Ian Johnson. I’m calling from the G train, just past the Hyde Street stop. I just got on this train and there was a man trying to rape a woman. The man got away but the woman’s still on here unconscious... Her name? I don’t know,” Ian continued to search her bag, finally withdrawing her press pass. “Hold on, I found some I.D. Her name is Lois Lane. She works over at the Daily Planet.”
* * * * * NOW, READ ON...
Two days later, Lois finally opened her eyes. She was vaguely aware that she was now lying in a hospital bed. The first face she saw was Perry White’s.
“Lois, darlin’,” he said softly.
“I... what...?” she stammered, trying to get her bearings. Her head was pounding and the room was still spinning. An overwhelming urge came over her. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”
Perry was quick to offer her a pink plastic basin that was nearby for just that purpose. He pressed the call button, alerting the nurses’ station that Lois was conscious.
Lois retched, feeling like she had the hangover of the century. Recovering, she lay back against the pillows.
Her eyes met Perry’s. He could read the fear in her face. “I’m... I’m sick, aren’t I?”
“No, no, honey. No.” He patted her hand with a fatherly sort of affection. Before Perry could explain, a nurse entered the room.
“Miss Lane,” she said warmly. The nurse turned to Perry and gave him a nod.
Perry gave Lois’ hand a final squeeze. “I’ll be right in the visitor’s lounge out there, darlin’.”
“Thanks, Perry,” Lois whispered. She turned her attention to the nurse, squinting to bring the woman’s face into focus. She felt the gentle pressure of the nurse’s fingers on her wrist, taking her pulse.
“I’m Julie, I’ll be your nurse this afternoon,” she said, then recorded Lois’ pulse on her clipboard.
“Please, Julie...” Lois started, “what’s going on with me?” Her brow was furrowed with a mixture of worry and confusion.
“Miss Lane--” Julie’s pleasant expression turned serious. “Can you tell me the last thing you remember?”
Lois racked her brain. “I... I was riding on the subway. It was the middle of the night. I just wanted to go home. Then--it’s like I closed my eyes there, and opened them up here. I can’t explain it.”
Julie gently lifted the short sleeve of Lois’ hospital gown to reveal a small, reddish welt on her upper arm. “Do you remember how you got this?”
“Oh, God, what *is* that?” she stammered, wishing she could remember.
“It’s an injection site, Miss Lane,” the nurse explained. “Someone on the subway train used a syringe to inject you with a liquid form of gamma hydroxybutyrate--GHB. Do you know what that is?”
“GHB, sure. The date-rape drug?”
Julie nodded.
As clouded as Lois’ mind still was, she was starting to realize the implications of what Julie had said. “You don’t mean--”
“Miss Lane, someone sexually assaulted you while you were unconscious.”
“No,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Lois suddenly looked a little green.
Julie was just in time with the pink plastic basin. She poured Lois a glass of ice water, offering it to her when she’d recovered from her latest bout of nausea.
“Here,” Julie offered. Lois drank gratefully. “Vomiting is a side-effect of a GHB overdose,” she explained. “Can you tell me how you’re feeling, besides the nausea?”
“I feel like I was hit by a truck,” Lois stated grimly. She was in disbelief over what the nurse had said. ‘How could something like this have happened without my knowing it?’ Lois wondered. Maybe being unconscious was a better alternative to being awake and knowing... She shuddered.
Pushing the thought out of her mind, she tried to focus on the nurse’s question. “My body aches all over. And the room is still spinning--I feel like I have a royal hangover. Everything’s out of focus.”
“That should pass soon,” Julie said gently. “As soon as you’re up to it, we have plenty of counselors on hand to talk to you about this. Right now, we want you to focus on feeling better.”
Lois took a deep breath. “I need to know. To what extent was I--”
“Miss Lane, I don’t have all the details. This was very nearly a rape situation, but luckily somebody came to your aid before the criminal could go any further.”
“Superman?”
“No, from what I understand, your rescuer was a homeless man.”
Julie could see the initial surprise on Lois’ face.
Lois was quick to change the subject. “How long have I been asleep?” she questioned.
“Almost two days.” The nurse studied her patient, watching her brown eyes brim over with tears.
“Two days ago,” Lois repeated softly. “My God, I can’t even remember!” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Who knows about all of this?”
“Your mother was here with you all day yesterday. Your friend Perry took her place this afternoon so she could bring you some of your belongings,” Julie said, offering Lois some tissues.
“What about Clark?” Lois had a sudden urge to see him, yet at the same time she didn’t want him to see her like this. Had he heard what happened? Where was he, anyway?
“Oh, Clark. He was the first person we called when you came in,” Julie explained, looking down at Lois’ medical records on her clipboard. “You have him listed as your emergency contact person. We dialed his extension at the Daily Planet, only to find that he was home in Smallville for Thanksgiving.”
*Thanksgiving.* Right. She almost forgot about that. Lois wasn’t feeling particularly thankful for *anything* right about now.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Julie asked.
“No, no. He’s my partner. My best friend,” Lois muttered. She realized now how much she needed his unconditional support. Clark always found a way to make her feel better, but this time she wasn’t quite so sure.
“The best thing for you to do now is to get some rest. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Please tell Perry he can come back in here. Thanks,” she said.
The nurse turned and left the room. Alone finally with her thoughts, Lois tried to let the news seep in. She had been drugged. Worse than that, she’d nearly been violated. Helpless to defend herself. Humiliated, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to imagine what had happened.
There was a quiet hesitant knock on the door. “Lois, honey?” The voice was Perry’s.
“Come in,” Lois sighed.
“She told you?” Perry questioned. Lois nodded. She was suddenly engulfed in a firm bear hug. “Honey, you’re going to be all right. I promise.”
‘I’m not so sure,’ Lois thought. She pulled back from Perry. “Can you please call Clark on his cell phone?”
“You sure, darlin’?”
Lois nodded. She rotated the yellow plastic hospital bracelet on her wrist. ‘LANE, LOIS’ it proclaimed in typewriter ink. “Please call Clark. I need him.” Saying these words, she even surprised herself.
* * * * *
Clark Kent was helping his mother wash the dishes when his cell phone started to ring. He grasped a dish towel to dry his hands quickly. The family was stuffed with the Thanksgiving leftovers they’d enjoyed for lunch, and they were currently laughing and cleaning up together, preparing for a Gin Rummy tournament.
Fumbling, Clark found the cell phone at the bottom of his briefcase. This was the first time it rang the whole week. He wondered hopefully if it was Lois, chasing a lead on the story they’d be working on together. Or maybe she just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving. It had been five days since he last saw Lois, and he was already missing the sound of her voice.
“Hello?”
“Clark, I’m glad I caught you.” The voice was Perry White’s.
“What’s up, Chief?”
“Listen, I know you’re not due to come back to Metropolis until Tuesday,” he started awkwardly. “I just thought you might want to come back sooner--”
“Why, Perry? What’s going on?” Super hearing or not, Clark could hear the strain in Perry’s voice.
The Chief heaved a sigh. “Are you sitting down?”
Clark sank down into his parents’ sofa. “Perry. Tell me.”
“It’s Lois. She was assaulted on the subway Thursday morning--”
“*What?* Is she okay?!” Clark was on his feet again. Every muscle in his body was tense, and his blood ran cold.
“Clark, she’s not injured. She was drugged. When she was unconscious, he...” Perry couldn’t bring himself to say it right out. He swallowed. “He tried to take advantage of her. He didn’t, but he came awfully close.”
“No, Perry. Not Lois--!” Clark stammered, his heart hammering in his chest.
“Clark, she just woke up. She’s asking for you.”
Clark’s heart ached. “I’m going to catch the next plane, Perry. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“You’re a good friend to her, Clark. Maybe I’ll see you tonight. Metropolis General Hospital, room 415,” Perry added. “Goodbye.”
Clark hung up the phone and sank back into the sofa. He didn’t realize it, but his parents were standing nearby, having heard the panic in their son’s voice. They were quick to sit beside him.
“I should have been there,” Clark whispered. When his eyes met his mother’s, she could see tears welling up. “I could have prevented this.” Clark wept.
Martha took her son in her arms while Jonathan put an arm around his shoulders. The family unit stayed that way for a long time, hugging tightly, tearfully.
Jonathan was the first to speak. “Is Lois... going to be okay?”
“Define ‘okay,’” Clark snapped. He immediately regretted using such a hateful tone with his father. Taking a deep breath calmed him a little. “What I mean is, Perry didn’t give too many details, but Lois was drugged. I--I just know if I had been there--”
“Clark, this is not your fault,” Martha whispered.
“I could have stopped it. I could have--Mom, she was almost *raped.*” He blurted it out finally. Hatefully.
“Clark, honey, you can’t be everywhere at once,” Martha offered.
“But Mom, you know how I feel about Lois--I can’t believe I let her--”
“Clark, son, you didn’t *let* her anything. This is not your fault. Superman or not,” Jonathan stated firmly. “You cannot blame yourself for this.”
“What do I do now?”
“Be a friend. Be there for her,” Martha said gently, rubbing her son’s back.
Clark nodded. Part of him was warmed by Perry’s words: ‘She just woke up; she’s asking for you.’ Another part wanted to scream. How could someone have hurt Lois in this way? And how come he couldn’t do anything about it? The guilt was consuming him, making him want to run away. But he couldn’t... not when she needed him.
Clark waited two hours before flying off to Metropolis because he wanted Perry to think he’d traveled by airplane. It was the hardest two hours of his life. He was restlessly pacing around the house. He wasn’t sure what to say to Lois when he saw her. ‘Get well?’ ‘Feel better?’ These sentiments seemed insignificant compared to the ordeal Lois had faced. The thought of someone abusing her in that way while she was asleep made Clark feel ill.
He tried to distract himself. He turned on the television and was greeted by newscasts announcing another woman had been found on the subway. She had been raped and left on the platform. Clark turned the TV off, unable to listen to it anymore. His friend--the woman he had feelings for--and now another woman had been victimized.
‘Some Superman *I* am,’ Clark thought, deeply disappointed with himself.
He found a better distraction--packing and repacking his suitcase numbly. Martha prepared some Thanksgiving leftovers for Clark to take home, knowing that cooking would not be on the top of his priority list. The two long hours finally elapsed. He kissed his parents goodbye, thanking them for a wonderful Thanksgiving. “I’m sorry--I wish I could have stayed longer, but--”
“Don’t be sorry, Clark,” Martha said understandingly. She watched as her son disappeared into the dark sky.
* * * * *
Ellen Lane relieved Perry of his vigil at Lois’ side. She carried a duffel bag full of more things than Lois could possibly need for her hospital stay. She set the duffel down in the corner of the room and gently took the black-and-white teddy bear she’d found on Lois’ bed and tucked it beside her daughter.
She hovered over her sleeping child, barely able to contain the tears that had been almost constant since she’d heard the news. Gently, she placed a kiss on Lois’ forehead. She’d missed the brief frame of time during which Lois was awake and alert. Now, she was told, Lois had fallen into a much-needed sleep. Sleep meant recovery, but that didn’t stop Ellen from wanting desperately to talk to her daughter.
It was a long fifteen minutes later when Lois finally stirred and her eyes flashed open.
“Mother?”
“Lois. Oh, honey.” Ellen enveloped her daughter in her arms. Both women were weeping.
“Where’s Lucy?” Lois questioned, between tears.
“Her stupid cell phone isn’t working in the mountains,” Ellen grumbled. “She’s having Thanksgiving with that Alec guy. I’ve been trying to get her all day. She has no idea--”
“What did they tell you... about what happened?” Lois interrupted.
She felt her mother’s muscles tense up. The very thought of the crime that had put Lois in the hospital made her shudder.
“Please, Mother. They’re being so vague. I have to know.”
“You really can’t remember any of it, can you?”
Lois shook her head.
“Well, they’re trying to piece all of the events together. It seems a man injected you with that GHB, an overdose. Because it went directly to your bloodstream, it took effect right away. Well, then this homeless man--Ian, I think his name was--walks into the train, and interrupts what would have definitely been rape. You are very lucky Ian came when he did. The overdose could have killed you, Lois. And to think--a few minutes more, and--”
“How close was he? To going... all the way?”
“Lois, sweetheart, don’t think about that. You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.”
Bitter tears coursed down Lois’ cheeks. “Tell me. Please.”
Ellen’s heart ached. “I don’t know the details, I suppose only that Ian guy knows.”
“Did he take off my clothes?”
“Honey, please, I can’t understand why you want to know this. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that you can’t remember--”
“Mother.” Lois’ eyes were pleading, searching for any recognizable clue in her mother’s face.
It hurt Ellen to tell Lois the truth. She rested a gentle hand on her daughter’s shoulder and took a deep breath. “When you got to the hospital you had most of your clothes on, sweetheart. But on the subway, he had taken down your stockings and your underwear and lifted your skirt--”
Lois squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to stop the flow of her tears.
“Lois, I’m sorry, honey, I shouldn’t have--”
“No,” Lois whispered. “Knowing is better than not knowing anything.”
* * * * *
A few minutes later, Lois realized her head was becoming clearer than it had been the past few times she’d awakened. Panic set in. “Mother--I have to take a shower. I’m... I feel dirty.”
“Lois, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Are you still feeling dizzy?”
“No. I’ve got to. I swear I can feel that guy’s hands all over me. It’s disgusting.” Lois shuddered.
Ellen understood. “All right, sweetheart.” She helped her daughter stand up, and made sure she was steady on her feet. “Leave the door unlocked. I’ll be right out here if you need anything.”
Once in the privacy of the bathroom, Lois looked at herself in the mirror for the first time since the attack. She was surprised at her reflection. She looked pale and tired, as though sleeping through two whole days was nothing at all. Her usually perfect hair was now messy with sleep. She turned the shower on, letting the hot water fill the room with steam. Hesitantly, she removed her hospital gown, and let it fall to the floor. Shakily she looked at herself in the mirror.
For the first time in her life, she did not feel comfortable with her body. Initially, there was nothing different about the way she looked. Upon closer inspection, she could detect faint bruises on her body. She ran nervous fingertips over her skin, taking inventory on the sore spots where her attacker had hit her. Or had he prodded? Or pushed, or kneaded? These were just a few of the many unknowns she would have to deal with.
She stepped into the steamy tub and let the hot water course over her. She stood motionless, breathing in the hot steam. The water was nearly hot enough to scald a person, but Lois imagined it killing off any residue of her attack. It felt wonderful! She unwrapped a bar of soap and worked it into a lather between her palms. Obsessively, she scrubbed every inch of her body until she was satisfied that she was thoroughly clean.
When she stepped out of the tub, her skin was rosy and glowing. She felt refreshed, and donned a soft cotton pair of pajamas her mother had brought to her. When she emerged from the bathroom, Ellen caught a glimpse of the first faint smile Lois had made since she’d awakened.
Determined to keep Lois’ spirits up, her mother turned to some happier topics of discussion. “These sure are nice flowers,” she said, indicating a vase and two baskets that covered the table in Lois’ room. “The rose showed up while you were in the shower.”
“Who is it from?” Lois questioned. She had received one basket from the Daily Planet staff, and a smaller one from just Perry. Now, a narrow vase holding a single red rose added to her collection.
Ellen took the card from the arrangement. “It says, ‘I just heard what happened. I’m afraid this flower will make it to you before I do. I’m flying in tonight--I will see you soon. Clark.’ Clark? Your partner?”
“Clark, yes.” She said his name like it was sacred. “He’s... coming tonight?”
“It looks that way from his note.”
“He didn’t have to do that. I probably ruined his Thanksgiving.”
“Lois, don’t be ridiculous. He’s obviously coming because he wants to. Because he cares about you,” Ellen reasoned.
“That’s Clark for you. He’s so... nice,” Lois said it as if it were a bad thing.
“Nice? What’s so bad about that?”
“Well, I guess the problem is that I don’t deserve it. I’ve given him *such* a hard time, and here I am in trouble, and look.” Lois indicated the flower and the card.
“Don’t underestimate yourself, Lois. You’ve shown me already how important Clark is to you. I think you two are better friends than you think. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that you were *more than just* friends.” Ellen smirked.
Lois blushed and changed the subject. “Mother, you look awfully tired. Have you slept since...?”
Ellen yawned as if on cue. “Not really, honey. I just didn’t feel comfortable leaving you here all alone.”
“You should go home and get some rest tonight. I’m awake now, and I feel bad I’ve kept you up all this time. Besides, I won’t be alone when Clark gets here.”
Ellen nodded. “I guess you’re right. I’ll stay with you until he shows up.”
* * * * *
