from part 28...
"This evening has all been too much," she whispered wearily. "That guy in the garage...the hospital..."
Her voice broke, and instantly Clark knew her tears from before were not simply about the pain medication. Wordlessly, his tightened his arms around her protectively. "I understand," he murmured gently.
And in that moment, Lois realized he did. Knowing she didn't have to explain her tender emotions, she stayed in the comforting circle of Clark's arms for a long time. Finally, sleep came, and with it, a welcomed reprieve from the haunting memories.
~*~*~*~*~
PART 29
~*~*~*~*~
Clark stirred early the next morning, the first rays of the morning sun outside Lois's bedroom window rousing him from his sleep. He rolled onto his side and studied Lois's sleeping form as she lay facing him. His heart filling with tenderness, he lifted a hand to brush back the dark hair shielding her face from him. Her eyes were closed and her breathing even as he looked at her for a long time, taking in every perfect feature, his love for her nearly bursting through his chest.
With a sigh, he realized he'd better get up. It was three hours later in Metropolis, and he needed to let Perry know he wouldn't be in today. But he didn't dare do that from Lois's phone. In this day of technology, it was too easy for somebody to find out he was calling from home--or even from the eastern United States.
Deciding to take a quick trip home and call from there, he left Lois a note on her end table explaining where he went in case she woke up while he was gone. Then he donned the famous Suit and slipped silently through the sliding glass door onto the patio.
In only a few minutes he was back, a bag clutched in his hands. Knowing Lois, she didn't have much in the way of food in her kitchen, and he wanted to make sure she would get all the nourishment she need for at least that day. He went into her room to check on her, relieved to see she was still fast asleep.
Smiling tenderly at her sleeping form, he tiptoed back into the kitchen and unloaded the contents from the bag into her cupboards and fridge. Whole grain cereal. Herbal tea. A loaf of bread. Eggs and some fresh fruit and vegetables. Even her favorite yogurt.
When he was done, he rummaged through the cupboards and found her tea kettle. It was still early, but he wanted to have some herbal tea ready and waiting for her when she woke up. Adding the hot water to the kettle and bringing it to a boil, he found himself cringing inwardly when the pot started to whistle. He quickly tried to silence it, but not soon enough. His hearing picked up the sounds of motion in the bedroom.
Moving the kettle from the burner, he went down the hall and peeked in through Lois's partially closed bedroom door. She was trying to sit up, easing her upper body slowly up off the mattress. He hurried in.
"Wait, Lois, let me help you," he interrupted as he moved to her side.
She smiled up at him gratefully as he propped a couple of pillows behind her back. He felt his heart grow lighter as he noticed the color had returned to her cheeks and her strength seemed to be returning.
"Thanks, Clark," she said as she settled back against the pillows.
Clark drew her blanket up over her lap and then sat down beside her. "You look like you're feeling better this morning."
"I think I am." She nodded her head in agreement. "My head still feels a little fuzzy, and the throbbing is starting to come back, but neither are as bad as they were last night."
He reached out to squeeze her thigh, flashing her a broad, relieved smile. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Are you hungry? How about some toast and herbal tea. My mom always made me her special tea whenever I was sick as a boy. I didn't get sick very often, and never for long, but it always made me feel better."
Lois smiled. "I'd love some. And maybe just some plain toast? I'm not sure my stomach is up to that much yet."
"You got it." Clark rose from the bed and started to turn. He caught sight of the note he'd left her earlier on her nightstand and picked it up since he didn't need it anymore.
"What is that?" Lois asked, nodding at the paper.
Clark grinned. "You never miss a thing, do you? I left you this note earlier in case you woke up while I was gone. I hurried back to Metropolis to call in sick so nobody would wonder why I was calling from San Francisco. Not that I'm sure anybody would have noticed, but I didn't want to take any chances."
"Makes sense." She nodded. Then she held out her hand, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Can I see it?"
Clark looked at her strangely. "Why? I'm back."
"Because it's the first note you've ever left me, and I'd kind of like to see it," she admitted with a sheepish smile.
Clark laughed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, no. Lois Lane is sentimental. Alert the presses."
"Don't you dare." She laughed along with him as she snatched the paper from his hand. "I'd lose the nickname my colleagues gave me."
Clark's eyes lit with interest. "Your colleagues gave you a nickname? What is it?"
She shook her head and grinned. "Uh-uh. Not a chance. You'd have to torture me before I would tell you. You'd just hold it over me and tease me every chance you got."
"No, I wouldn't. I promise."
"Hah! I know you too well, Clark Kent. Forget it. Wild horses couldn't drag it from me."
Clark feigned a frown as he stood back up. "One of these days I'll find out what it is. I promise you that."
"Well, we'll see," she teased, skimming the words of the note in her hand. Then she looked back up at him, concern in her eyes. "Perry wasn't angry about you taking one of your days off, was he?"
"No, everything's fine. I just told him I had somewhat of an emergency come up and that I wouldn't be in that day. He understood. The stories he assigned me are finished anyway. The stuff I'm working on now isn't too pressing."
She was visibly relieved when he finished. "I'm glad. I guess I need to call my boss, too. It's still pretty early, but I bet he's already there." She turned slightly toward the nightstand, but realized the phone was still a ways out of reach.
Clark picked up on her reluctance to move around too much and he quickly retrieved the cordless phone for her. "You make your call, but stay in bed. I want to get some herbal tea and toast in you before you get up and about. I'll be right back." He gave her shoulder a loving squeeze, then turned toward the door.
"Thanks, Clark," she called to his retreating form.
He smiled at her over his shoulder. "Don't mention it."
When he reached the kitchen, he finished fixing the tea, then slipped two slices of bread in the toaster. He could hear her on the phone talking to her boss, and he did his best not to eavesdrop. Finally her breakfast was ready, and he set the cup of tea and her plain toast on a breakfast tray he found in one of the lower cabinets. He carried the tray in to her and was rewarded with a grateful smile.
He settled the tray onto her lap, then went around to his side of the bed and climbed back under the covers next to her.
"I feel bad about making you go to so much trouble," she admitted as she picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on the corner.
He rolled his eyes at that. "Oh brother, Lois. It's no trouble. I stayed so I could take care of you. I love doing that."
She gave him a shy sideways glance and mumbled through her mouthful of toast, "You do?"
"Of course I do." He scooted a little closer to her, being careful not to upset her tea. Then he leaned over to kiss her lightly. "Lately it's what I live for. Well...not just taking care of you," he quickly amended. "But being with you."
She lifted a hand to his cheek and touched his skin lightly. "I love being with you too." Then she grimaced. "I just wish this time it had been under better circumstances."
He frowned. "Me too. But you're feeling better? Do you need some more pain medication?"
"I'd like that, but maybe I'll finish my toast first so I don't have to take it on an empty stomach."
As she took a sip of her tea, Clark got comfortable on the bed, propping himself up on his elbow so he could watch her eat. "So, what did your boss say when you called?"
Lois swallowed her tea carefully, the hot liquid feeling good on her throat. "When I explained what happened, he was mortified. He rambled on apologizing profusely, blaming incompetent security guards, and assuring me the Chronicle would pay for all my medical expenses. I can tell he felt bad, but I kept telling him it wasn't his fault. In some respects, he thinks a lot like you." She made a face at him.
Clark gave her a sheepish look, but Lois hurried on. "Anyway, he was feeling guilty enough about the incident that he told me to take a week off. He didn't even let me argue with him."
"Good for him," Clark said with a chuckle. "I'm glad he insisted. You could use the time to recover."
"It will be nice," Lois agreed. "Before I hung up, he reminded me about the upcoming annual gala the Chronicle hosts every year. There's always a bunch of media moguls and big wigs there, including the senator and a lot of our other government officials. But my boss needs to send in his request for employee tickets today and wanted to know if he should set aside some tickets for me."
She looked apprehensive as she continued. "Would you, umm...would you like to go? With me? I mean, I don't even know if you like that scene, rubbing elbows with the big wigs and dancing and stuff, but he said he'd put me down for two tickets just in case. If you don't want to go, though, and I don't use the tickets, that's fine, but I just thought--"
Clark's smile brought her babbling to a halt. "Lois, I'd love to go with you. When is it?"
She told him the date, and he nodded eagerly. "I can't think of anything I have going on then. We can just tell everybody I flew in to attend with you, and I'll take a couple days off to make it look like I'm flying out here. By plane, I mean." He grinned. "I'm assuming this is a black tie event?"
She nodded. "Is that okay? I mean, if you don't have a tux, you could rent one, and..."
"Lois, it's fine. I would love to go. And we've never been anywhere fancy before. I think it would be fun."
Lois slumped back against her pillow in relief. "Oh, I'm so glad. I wondered if you'd be frustrated with me that I'd commit to tickets without asking you first. I mean, I didn't know what Superman had planned, or if you had something more important to do..."
Clark smiled softly and lifted a hand to brush a stray lock of hair off her forehead. "Nothing's more important to me than you," he told her huskily. "Whatever makes you happy makes me happy. Besides, I can't wait to see you all dressed up. I just know you'd look amazing."
Blushing at his comment, Lois turned back to her breakfast and took another bite of her toast.
As she ate, Clark looked around her room. He'd been in there several times now, and even stayed the night twice. But he'd never really taken everything in. It was no fuss, no frills, just as he'd expected it to be. Everything was in its place, and the furniture had clean, classic lines. It wasn't until he spotted the chest of drawers in the corner next to her night stand that he found himself smiling.
Lois followed his gaze to her dresser, then looked back at him, puzzled. "What are you smiling at?"
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he pointed to the stuffed elephant propped up there. It was about the size of a basketball, had full, rather droopy ears that made it look well loved, was dressed in train conductor overalls, and had bright blue plastic eyes and dingy, graying white fur. It sat with its feet pointing forward, sticking out of the legs of the overalls, and its arms dangled down at its sides.
"It's not exactly what I expected to see in a hard-nosed reporter's room."
Lois looked at the elephant, with its floppy ears and short white tusks, and smiled. "My sister and I won it at a carnival the summer before she...." Her voice broke off, and she cleared her throat in an effort to regain control of her emotions. Finally she continued. "My sister had been flirting with this cute guy running a carnival game--you know that one where you throw those stupid little ping pong balls into the fish bowls?"
Clark smiled and nodded. "I loved that game when I was growing up."
"I stunk at it, but I liked it, too," Lois admitted, her childhood memory bringing a light to her eyes. "Anyway, we stuck around that booth for hours as my sister flirted with the guy until we finally won Tusky." She nodded at the stuffed elephant.
"I thought you usually won the fish whose bowl you tossed the ball into doing that game," Clark wondered aloud.
"You do, but if you win enough, they let you upgrade your prize to one of the stuffed animals hanging above. It took us two hours and almost fifty dollars, but we won him."
"Fifty dollars?" Clark asked incredulously. "That was kind of a lot for a small stuffed elephant, wasn't it?"
"Not when it meant my sister finally got up the nerve to ask him out. They went on a bunch of rides once his shift was over, and she had such a great time. She told me later that he kissed her. It was her first real kiss." She smiled at the memory. Then her face looked sad as the memories of a childhood and a sister so harshly ripped away from her settled in.
His heart going out to her, he reached over and clasped her hand gently. She pulled her eyes away from the elephant and then turned back to him, managing to rally her emotions.
"Anyway," she told him with a tremulous smile, a touch of nostalgia still lingering in her gaze, "Tusky has always brought back good memories, and I like to think of him as lucky."
In relative silence, Lois finished her toast and tea, and Clark took her tray back to the kitchen. When he returned, he saw that Lois was getting slowly to her feet, looking a little unstable.
"Lois, what are you doing?" He rushed over to her side. "You shouldn't be up."
"Clark, I'm not made of glass," she argued, but the uncertainty in her voice diminished the weight of her statement. "I was just thinking that maybe a hot shower would be nice, but I'm feeling a little stiffer than I thought."
"And a little unsteady, from the looks of it," Clark pointed out as he held onto her arm. "How's your head?"
She smiled. "It's still there. That's a good thing, right?"
He shook his head and frowned at her attempt at levity. "Lois, I'm serious. You have a concussion. It's bound to throw things off for a bit."
"Clark, I'm fine," she said on a frustrated sigh. "I just need to stand here for a minute so I can get my bearings. When I do, can you help me to the bathroom?"
"Lois, I'm not sure that's such a good idea--"
She glared at him, the fiery determination in her eyes silencing his argument. Finally he acquiesced. "Fine, but take a quick shower so you can get right back in bed, okay? You need your rest."
She agreed, and Clark left her at the bathroom door, making her promise she'd call him if she started feeling shaky or if she needed help. Then he lurked outside the door for the entire ten minutes he heard the shower run, anxiously waiting and listening for any signs she needed him. But he soon heard the water turn off, and heard her slipping into the sweatpants and T-shirt he had left on the counter for her. The blow drier reassured him she was doing okay on her own, and finally she emerged from the bathroom, looking tired, but no worse for the wear.
He helped her back into bed, and she sank gratefully back onto the pillows. "Thanks," she murmured as he drew the blanket up over her lap. "The shower felt good, but now I feel positively worn out."
Clark leaned down to kiss her forehead, then straightened. "Why don't I get out of here and let you get some rest, then. You can holler if you need anything, okay?"
"Wait, Clark, don't go," she said as he started to leave the room. "There's a TV in my armoire." She pointed to the large, sturdy piece of furniture against the wall a few feet from the end of her bed. "You can stay in here with me and watch some TV while I doze. I would actually rest better with you here."
He looked at her skeptically. "I don't know, Lois. How could you sleep with the TV on?"
"I do it all the time," she admitted with a smile. "Sometimes the apartment's too quiet at night and I leave the TV on for company." She shrugged, then looked up at him with pleading brown eyes. "Please?"
Right then he knew he was doomed. And not just over this issue, but over any issue that might ever come up between them. With those brown eyes so filled with sincerity and pleading, he knew he'd never be able to deny her anything. Ever.
A resigned smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Okay, Lois. But if I start to bother you, just kick me out."
She flashed him a smile, knowing she'd won. "You got it."
He climbed into bed beside her and accepted the remote she slipped out of her nightstand drawer. As he turned the TV on, she snuggled up in the crook of his arm, and he carefully rested his cheek on the top of her head. She sighed contentedly, and it was all he could do to keep himself from doing the same.
Lois was almost asleep a short time later when a knock sounded on her apartment door. She lifted her head from his shoulder sleepily. "Who could that be?" she wondered aloud, sitting up slightly.
But Clark quickly put a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from getting up. "I'll go see," he reassured her, patting her leg gently as he got up and went to answer the door.
He went down the hall and started to cross the living room. Feeling a little apprehensive about an unexpected visitor during the time when Lois was normally at work, he lowered his glasses and took a quick look out into the hall. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Agnes. But then he paused. Was it a problem for Agnes to know that he was there? He shook his head. No, there was nothing suspicious to be gleaned from his presence. He didn't think it would appear too unusual that an out-of-town boyfriend would fly in to visit his girlfriend. Surely that's all it would seem to Agnes.
Deciding it was okay to answer the door, he swung it open and flashed his grin at Agnes. He noticed for the first time that her little dog was surprisingly absent from her arms.
"Hi, Agnes. I see you don't have that brute of a dog with you this morning." His eyes were teasing as he opened the door further and motioned her in.
Agnes chuckled. "Yes, well, my 'brute,' as you call her, has been a little squirrelly since the false alarm with that building fire and the intruder the other night. Can't say that I blame her." She glanced around the apartment, a look of concern in her eyes. "Is Lois around? I noticed she didn't leave to go to work this morning and I wanted to make sure she was okay."
Clark's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How did you know she didn't go to work?"
She waved off his question with a quick motion of her hand. "Oh, I know everything that goes on around here. But it's not like Lois to miss work. Is she okay?"
Before Clark could consider Agnes's answer, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and spotted Lois ambling into the living room the same time Agnes did.
"Hi, Agnes," Lois said with a tired smile. "I heard voices out here and came to investigate."
The elderly woman beside him let out a gasp and hurried over to Lois, surprising them both with her nimbleness. She took Lois by the arm and guided her to a couch.
"Lois, sit down," she mothered. "It doesn't look like you should be up and about. What happened?"
"Lois, you should be sleeping," Clark reprimanded before she could answer the question.
"I'm okay, Clark. I can take a nap in a few minutes." She patted Agnes's hand reassuringly and explained what had happened in the parking garage at the Chronicle, but Clark noticed she left out most of the scary details. He could tell she didn't want to upset her neighbor who she clearly thought of as a surrogate mother.
"Anyway, the guy hit me with the butt of his gun and then ran off," Lois finished. "I got some stitches and a concussion, but I'm doing okay."
Agnes made a tsk-tsk sound with her tongue. "Lois, you really need to be more careful. This city is not safe for a woman at night. No big city is." She turned to Clark. "Can't you talk her into getting a cushy desk job somewhere? Heaven knows I've tried and am not getting anywhere."
Clark grinned. "Somehow I doubt it."
"Yeah, me too." Agnes shook her head, a slightly defeated look in her eyes. She leaned over to clasp Lois's arm. "Just take things easy the next day, would you? I'm sure you'll be fine with your young man here to look after you," she paused to wink at Lois, "but let me know if you need anything, you hear?"
"I will, Agnes. And thanks," Lois answered, getting up to follow her neighbor to the door.
But Agnes quickly put a hand up to stop her forward progression. With a firm tone and a stern look, she gestured to the hall leading to the bedroom. "Don't you dare walk me to the door, young lady. You need your rest, and I'm not moving from this spot until you get back to bed. Understand?"
Lois grinned and looked appropriately submissive. "Yes, ma'am. I'll talk to you soon."
Agnes was true to her word and didn't move until Lois disappeared down the hall. When her charge had gone, Agnes turned to Clark with a twinkle in her eye. "That girl needs to be handled with a firm hand."
Clark laughed. "Don't I know it." He followed Agnes to the door and opened it for her.
"Thanks, dear," she told him appreciatively.
But before she could step out into the hall, she paused in the doorway and looked up at him. He was surprised to see a sheen of tears in her eyes. "And thank you for taking such good care of that young lady in there," she said. "She's pretty special to me, and I don't think I have to tell you what a rough time she's had. But I can tell by that glow about her you've been making her happy. She deserves a nice young man like you after all this time."
Clark blushed at the compliment, feeling incredibly touched at Agnes's acceptance of him in Lois's life. "Thanks, Agnes. And I promise I'll always do my best to make Lois happy."
Agnes smiled tearfully and reached out to pat his arm. "I know you will, dear." She glanced once more at the living room behind him, then back up at him. "You make sure she calls if she needs anything."
"I will."
When she was gone and Clark had shut the door behind her, he found a smile spreading involuntarily across his face. He knew some time ago he'd never have to face the challenge of meeting Lois's parents' approval, but earning Agnes's approval meant just as much. And now he had it.
Still smiling, Clark headed back into the bedroom to where Lois was waiting.
~*~*~*~*~
Lois improved quickly that day, and by that evening, Clark felt confident that she would make a quick and full recovery. Other than being tired and achy and a little foggy-minded, her spirits were restoring quickly. They talked about it and decided if she still felt well the next morning, he would leave early enough to make it back to Metropolis and get to work.
And that's just what happened. Lois spent a restful night, and Clark didn't even bother waking her up before he left. He scrawled her a note telling her he loved her and would call her at lunch to check on her, and again that evening. He also left strict instructions to call him--or Agnes, if she couldn't get hold of him--if she needed anything at all. Then, smiling, he left the note on her night stand as he had the morning before, imagining the sentimental smile it would likely bring to her face.
When he checked on her at lunch, she was feeling much better and starting to get restless. She told him that Agnes had been over to check on her already, and when she'd reported that Clark had had to take the red-eye flight back to Metropolis, Agnes had insisted she spend the afternoon with her playing cards and watching old movies on TV. Not so she could keep an eye on the younger woman, but "to keep an old lady company," Lois had laughingly quoted.
Clark was relieved when he'd hung up, knowing that Lois was recovering and in good hands. He was able to focus on his work for the rest of the day without worrying about her, and Perry had been happy with the mood piece he'd finished on the razing of an old theater on 42nd Street, claiming it would be a perfect tribute for that evening's city section.
As he walked home that evening, Clark found himself thinking about the meteorite reports that he hadn't yet had a chance to show to Lois. So much had happened in the last few days that he hadn't given the ominous findings much thought. But now that things were settling back to normal, he hoped by going over them with Lois, they could draw some conclusions of their own.
When he got home, he put his work on the table, changed into the Suit, and headed for Smallville. With any luck, his mom was just finishing supper.
~*~*~*~*~
Clark had been right about supper. She was just setting the roast and vegetables on the table when he walked into the house.
"It's so good to have you here, son," Jonathan said as Clark joined them at the dinner table. "How have you been? How's Lois?"
"Yes, how is Lois doing?" Martha chimed in, handing Clark a plate and some silverware.
Clark flinched. He'd forgotten he hadn't told his parents about their trip to the emergency room. "Actually, she's doing better now, but things were a little scary a couple of days ago," he admitted.
Jonathan looked up from spooning some potatoes onto his plate. "What happened?"
Explaining about her attack, Clark filled them in on her injuries and how she was now recovering nicely. Martha frowned and shook her head as he finished.
"That's just awful. Poor Lois."
"I know. But to honest, I wasn't all that surprised." Clark's jaw tightened as he thought of the way she lived her life so daringly. "She seems to put herself right in the middle of these situations. I know this attack wasn't her fault, but she's always breaking and entering or snatching some little piece of evidence from whatever crime scene she's working. She never thinks twice about jumping into the pool without checking the water level first. As much as I try to convince her, she never seems to realize the danger she puts herself in. I'm scared to death she's going to get herself killed one of these days."
"She does seem to be headstrong and fearless, that girl," Martha said with an affectionate smile.
Clark nodded. "She is, but that just makes me worry about her all the more. That guy in her apartment the other night during that false fire alarm, for instance. I worried that maybe this guy was threatening her life and she just blew it off, saying it was all part of the job. She never seems to take the threats against her life seriously. Sometimes she is just so...frustrating!"
He looked down at the fork in his hand and saw that it was starting to bend. He released it sheepishly and shook his head. "I just wish I could be there to stop her from doing anything dangerous or impulsive, but I'm so far away. It makes things really hard."
Jonathan reached over to put a comforting hand on his son's arm. "I understand it's a tough situation, you two living so far apart. And I know you're worried about her. But you can't run her life and tell her what to do and what not to do. She has to make her own choices."
"Even if those choices involve breaking and entering, and getting beaten up by thugs in a parking garage?"
Jonathan frowned. "I see your point."
"Clark, maybe the solution isn't to tell her how to do her job," his mom said, "but to help her see that she needs to be more careful in how she does it."
"That's exactly what I've been telling her, but of course, she doesn't listen to me."
Martha laughed. "I'm not surprised. She's got a mind of her own, that's for sure. It kind of reminds me of someone else I know." She smiled meaningfully at Clark, and he rolled his eyes. Then she continued. "Truthfully, I love that about Lois."
The worry lines around Clark's eyes softened. "Yeah, so do I. She's so full of passion and life. I love that she's impulsive and spontaneous. But I don't like seeing her hurt. I couldn't handle it if anything happened to her."
"We know, son." Jonathan clapped him on the back, then turned back to his meal. "We love her, too."
"And the next time you see her, pass along our love, would you?" Martha said. "When do you see her next, by the way?"
Clark finished chewing the roast in his mouth. "Since I just left there this morning, I'm not sure. But I'm planning to call her tonight. I had some information I wanted to discuss with her."
"Something for a story you're working on?"
Clark hesitated. He hadn't told his parents yet about the reports on the meteorites, and he didn't want to worry them needlessly. But he didn't want to lie to his parents, either. Finally he shrugged. "It's sort of related to a story investigation, yes. It's kind of complicated."
His parents didn't press, and Clark breathed a sigh of relief when the subject changed to other things. Soon they were finished with dinner, and Clark stood to help clean up. With a little super speed it didn't take long, and his mom was smiling at him when he finished blurring about the room, leaving it spotless.
"Thanks, dear. I need to have you here more often."
He laughed. "It was the least I could do after dropping in on you unexpectedly. I guess I should go, though. Thanks for the dinner, mom. It was great."
She smiled as she cradled his face in her hands and brought his face down so she could kiss his cheek. "You're welcome. You drop in anytime you feel like it, you hear? We love seeing you. Send Lois our love."
"I will. I'm going to get something from the barn and then I'm heading out. Bye, Dad!" he called into the living room where his dad had settled into his favorite recliner to read the newspaper.
"Bye, son," came the response from the living room. "You take care."
With one last smile at his mom, he hurried out through the kitchen door and crossed the yard to the barn. Once inside he breathed in deeply. The smell of hay and warm animals always triggered memories of his childhood. Giving a couple of the horses a pat as he walked past, he moved the bales of hay covering the cellar entrance and headed down into the darkness.
He had no trouble seeing and made his way over to the covered ship. He pulled back the tarp and briefly ran his fingers along the symbols etched into the craft. He smiled. He still didn't know what words the symbols formed, but they held more meaning to him now that he'd watched the globe's message. If nothing else, it was a connection to his parents and the love they'd had for him.
Letting the tarp fall back over the ship, he located the manila folder he'd abandoned on a shelf near the globe and tucked the papers under his arm for the flight home.
It only took a few minutes to get to his apartment, and made a beeline for the phone as soon as he came in through the loft window. More than anything, he wanted to get her thoughts on the reports. Just the fact that somebody thought the meteorites could be linked to his home planet, and that they might have an effect of some kind on him was enough to tighten his stomach into knots.
He dialed her number and then waited. A moment later she picked up, and he felt an unwarranted sense of relief. Her cheery 'hello' let him know just how much better she was feeling.
The corners of Clark's mouth curled into a smile. "Hey, Lois, it's me. It sounds like you're feeling better."
"Clark! Hi," she answered a little breathlessly. "Now I'm glad I ran for the phone. I was out in the hall talking to Agnes when I heard the phone. I was hoping it would be you."
"Should you be running for the phone like that?" he asked, his smile fading a bit. "You're not overexerting yourself, are you?"
"One of these days you're going to have to quit worrying about me, you know," she scolded lightly. "Really, I'm fine. I had a long nap this afternoon and I feel so much better tonight. My head's still a little sore, but nothing like yesterday."
Clark let himself relax. "I'm glad to hear it." He was about to say more, but a series of clicks came across the line. "It sounds like your other line is ringing," he told her. "Go ahead and answer it. I can wait."
There was a brief pause. "I don't have call waiting. I thought that was your phone."
Frowning, he shook his head. "I don't have call waiting either. It must be a problem with the connection."
Just then another short series of clicks sounded, and Clark froze. That wasn't static. And if neither of them had call waiting....
Clark felt his blood run cold.
The phone line. Could that have been what Lois's apartment intruder had been messing with? It sounded suspiciously like the line had been tapped.
If that's what the man had done, Clark knew he needed to get rid of the tap. Now. Before any could be said that comprised his duel identity or their relationship.
Managing to keep his tone calm and collected, he began to hedge. "Hey, Lois, I just remembered something I promised to do for somebody. Can I call you back in a few minutes?"
She sounded a little puzzled at his eagerness to get off the line, but she nodded. "Sure, Clark. No problem. I'll talk to you in a bit."
Barely remembering to say 'goodbye,' he clicked off the phone quickly and shot out of his apartment, speeding toward the west coast. When he landed on Lois's balcony, he tried to stay in the shadows as he floated toward her sliding glass door. If there was a tap on her line, how could he be certain other devices hadn't been planted throughout her apartment, like cameras or miscellaneous listening devices?
He peeked in through the glass and saw Lois walking past from the living room into the kitchen. Trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, he lifted a hand and tapped on the glass. He saw Lois pause and look around the room, puzzled. She turned and started back toward the front door.
He tapped again, this time slightly louder. She stopped and turned back. Her eyes squinted into the darkness outside the sliding glass door, then he saw her shoulders relax and a slow smile touched her lips. Only one person knocked on her sliding glass door.
When she reached for the handle and slid the door open, she peered out onto the terrace. "Clark?" she whispered. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," he stage-whispered back. "I'm over here."
She turned and spotted him in the corner next to a planted palm. A big smile breaking out across her face, but she looked puzzled as she took a step toward him. "What are you do--"
Clark put a finger to his lips and waved her over. She frowned as she approached him.
"What's going on?"
"I'll tell you in a minute," he reassured her in a whisper. "Stay right here out of sight of your sliding door while I go check something. Don't move until I say so."
Her puzzled expression became a concerned frown. "Why? What's wrong?"
He held up a finger, belaying his explanation, then supersped into her apartment. She heard a series of whooshes, but a minute later, Clark's voice was calling the all clear.
Her brow furrowed in confusion, she stepped out of the shadows and walked in through the door. She spotted Clark standing over by the phone in her living room, a look of worry and concern etched into his face.
"So, what was that all about?" she asked as she approached him tentatively.
"This." He held out something in his hand and she stepped closer to take a look.
He held some crumbled plastic and a couple tiny wires in his hand. She looked up at him in confusion. "What is it?"
A frown darkened his features. "A phone tap."
She let out a little gasp. "My line was tapped?"
He nodded solemnly. "I suspected when we were talking on the phone and heard the clicks. I wanted to get you out on the patio, though, so I could sweep your apartment to make sure there weren't any cameras or other listening devices. There weren't any when I checked after your building's false fire alarm the other night, and I didn't find anything now. It's just the tapped phone line."
He shook his head and tightened his hand angrily around the crushed plastic he still held. "This must have been what that guy was doing in your apartment that night. He was tapping your phone line. I didn't even think to check for phone taps when I did my initial sweep." He swore quietly and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Lois. I should have checked--"
"Clark, this isn't your fault." She stepped forward and touched his clenched hand. "Besides, if that guy planted the device just a couple of days ago, I don't think we have anything to worry about. We've hardly talked on the phone since then because you've been here. Whoever was listening in on my phone conversations wouldn't have heard anything compromising. I'm sure your secret's still safe."
Clark let out a growl of aggravation. "Lois, I don't care about that! I care about *you*!" His eyes flashed angrily as he stalked over to the kitchen garbage and threw the crumbled plastic into it furiously. Then he stalked back. "Don't you realize what this means? Somebody is worried enough about you--we--are doing to stalk you, attack you in the garage, and sneak into your apartment to tap your phone. Who knows what else these guys are planning? If Lex is really behind all this, he's a man of exceptional power and resources. It's obvious he'll stop at nothing to get to you. I'm not leaving you here."
His last words hovered in the air, weighing down heavily upon Lois. She crossed her arms and stared at him, her defiant eyes meeting his stubborn ones. "And what exactly do you plan to do, Clark? Whisk me off to some secluded island where nobody can find me? Leave me there until you can track down the bad guys and lock them all away?"
She shook her head and forced herself to take a deep breath. Letting her hands fall back to her sides, her tone softened. "There's always going to be a bad guy out there, Clark. You can't protect me from everybody. Our job is dangerous, but we make a difference. That's what I like about what I do. I can't live my life worrying about what's behind every corner. I won't."
Clark sighed, but his expression remained firm. "I'm not telling you to. And I know I can't protect you from every bad guy out there. But I can protect you from this one." He paused, then closed the distance between them and put his hands on her shoulders. "Please, Lois, let me take you to Metropolis for a few days where I know I can keep you safe. Jim gave you the rest of the week off. Come with me. You'd be bored stiff inside of two days around here anyway."
When she didn't say anything right away, Clark tried again. "Please, Lois?"
Finally, she sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. But just so you know, I'm not going because you're telling me I should." She shook her finger at him. "I'm only going because I know you're right about me being bored around here if I stick around."
Clark quickly wiped away the smile that threatened to break loose and formed his lips in a neutral straight line. "Of course, of course," he said, nodding. "I know that."
She stared at him for a moment, as if waiting for some show smugness. When his expression remained neutral, she lifted her chin defiantly at him as she walked past. "It's not."
"I know." He nodded again quickly, watching her pass.
"Let me just go pack a few things and we can go."
When she disappeared into her bedroom, he shook his head and chuckled. Stubborn. That was the only word for her.
Stubborn or not, though, he knew he'd won the argument. And just knowing that she'd be in Metropolis for the next few days where he could better keep an eye on her made him feel better.
He sat down on the couch to wait, not wanting to provoke her wrath by being underfoot as she packed. She appeared ten minutes later carrying a large carry-on type bag. He was on his feet and at her side a moment later, taking the bag and shouldering it himself.
"That was fast," he commented, noticing she'd changed into jeans and a loose and comfortable-looking blue sweatshirt. It brought out the color in her cheeks and complimented her complexion perfectly. He still couldn't get over how beautiful she was, even in baggy casual wear.
Her bag relinquished, she walked back into the kitchen and opened the drawers nearest the phone. She drew out a pad of paper and a pen and started to write something.
Curious, he walked into the kitchen and stopped beside her. "What are you writing?"
"A note for Agnes," she answered without lifting her eyes for her scribblings. "I'm telling her that I'm going to spend the rest of my week off with you in Metropolis so she doesn't worry about where I went." She finished what she was writing, then glanced up at Clark. "Is it okay if I leave her your number in case of emergency?"
Clark nodded. "Of course. No problem."
She turned her attention back to her note, her pen moving across the paper for another minute. Then she set the pen down and rummaged through the drawer once again. She pulled out an envelope, folded the note, then slipped it inside. When she was finished scrawling Agnes's name across the front of the envelope, she put the supplies back in the drawer.
"Let me go slip this under Agnes's door and then we can go."
Clark's brow furrowed. "You already know she's not home?"
"Yeah, this is the night she plays poker with some of the older ladies in the building."
"Poker?" Clark's eyebrows flew up his forehead.
Lois laughed. "Does that surprise you?"
"I guess I just didn't think--"
"That an elderly woman would play a hard game of cards?" Lois finished for him, her eyes twinkling. "She does, and she's good at it. Better than me. And before you ask, yes, I even join them sometimes."
Grinning at his look of surprise, she opened the front door and stepped out in the hall. She returned a few moments later and gave Clark's arm a playful slap as she walked past him toward the terrace.
"Come on," she urged without looking back over her shoulder to see if he was following, "before I change my mind and refuse to leave with you just to spite you."
~*~*~*~*~
to be continued...
