Lois held her breath, watching her father.
His eyes narrowed, and he grunted softly, low in his throat. Sam Lane’s brow tensed, and Lois waited… hoping that his face would soften. That he’d see Clark’s hand in hers, and the preciousness that was Joel and he’d melt. Just like she had, like they all had.
She felt Clark move ever slightly, and she squeezed his hand, indicating to him to wait. It was like a fragile bubble had filled the room, and Lois wasn’t sure what would happen when it popped.
Lois saw her father frown at the baby across the room. Then, his gazed turned on her, clearly angry. She felt crushed, like she couldn’t bring air into her lungs, as she waited for the weight of her father’s fury to come down on her.
“Lois, outside. Now,” he ground out in a low voice.
Clark once again squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to go, Lois,” he said to her softly.
But she let go of his hand, and gave him a weak smile. “It’s okay, Smallville.”
Sam Lane stepped outside and began pacing the porch. Lois glanced at Martha and Joel and she tried to brave a smile, but she felt fear well up inside her. She took a steadying breath, and walked outside to meet what awaited her.
“Daddy, please listen—“ she started softly, hoping to keep him calm and rational.
“I don’t even know where to begin, young lady,” Sam said sternly, his hands crossed behind his back as he paced. “You have really disappointed me. I knew this Clark Kent wasn’t good for you, but how could you be so irresponsible as to—“
“We’re getting married,” she blurted, trying to stem the tide of parental disapproval and knowing she was going to fail miserably. Her cheeks flushed, hearing how it must sound to her father’s ears.
“I will not have you married to a man who doesn’t even own his own house!”
“But I love him. Please, give Clark a chance. He’s a good man—“
Sam pointed accusingly towards the door where Clark presumably was still standing behind. “A good man does not get a young lady pregnant and then ask her to marry him. Can he even support you? I raised you better than this, Lois.”
“Daddy, you don’t understand. It’s not like that,” she pleaded.
“Then tell me how it is, Lo’.”
“It—just happened,” she breathed out, knowing she couldn’t explain to him how she wanted to. No matter what she said, she’d look irresponsible and foolish.
Sam looked down at his daughter, thinking a moment. Then he nodded, as if deciding something. “We’ll put the baby up for adoption. You can live with me on base until---“
“No! Daddy, listen to me. Listen to
yourself!” she said, moving to stand practically just under his nose. “That child is my whole world, and he’s your flesh and blood! I would never give him up! Do you hear me? Never!”
“Then we’ll take the boy and get you off this farm, and away from that Clark Kent,” he answered decisively.
Lois shook her head, unbelieving what she was hearing. “You’re not listening to me. Look, I appreciate that you like straight talk, so I will give it to you in one razor sharp line,” she said, feeling tears well up. “I'm staying with Clark, and if you love me...you will respect that.”
“Lois, I cannot watch you throw your life away. As long as you are with that obvious vigilante sympathizer, who can’t even support himself, let alone a family!—don’t ask for any help from me.”
Clark stepped outside at that, having heard enough from the sidelines. “Sir, you don’t understand. I love your daughter.”
“Then you stay the hell away from her!”
Clark moved closer to Lois, settling his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere, sir.”
“Daddy, please try to understand,” Lois pleaded.
Sam Lane grunted, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Lois. I can’t do this,” he said, heading to his truck.
“General Lane—“ Clark called out, but Lois shook her head.
“Let him go, Clark. It’s over,” Lois said, sounding defeated. She sunk onto the steps as grief washed over her, and she watched her father drive away.
Quietly, Clark sat down next to her, taking her in his arms.
“I’m so sorry, Lois,” he said, rubbing her back.
“It’s not your fault, Smallville. The General sees things in black and white. I’ve lost him forever, Clark,” she cried, her voice breaking. “All I ever wanted was for my father to be proud of me. I wanted to live up to who my mother was, at least in his eyes… and I’ve failed, every time.”
“He’ll come around, Lois. I’m sure he will. It was just – a shock, I bet. It will be okay, I promise,” Clark said soothingly.
“I wish I could believe you Clark,” she whispered through her tears.
~L&C~
Sam knew Lois wasn’t thinking rationally. But he didn’t trust Clark Kent. He pulled out his cell phone, and called a contact he had at Fort Abrams.
“Get me a work up on Clark Kent. Kilo, Echo, November, Tango. He's hiding something.”
Lois might think she was in love with Clark, but Sam Lane needed to prove to her that she was wrong, and that hitching herself to him would be a big mistake. Even with a child.
Something wasn’t right about Kent. And Sam was determined to find out what that something was.
~L&C~
Lois moped around the farmhouse the rest of the weekend, not sure how she would reconcile with the General. She knew if he gave Clark a chance, that he’d come to appreciate him. But Lois also knew that the more time General Lane spent with Clark, the more likely it was that he might discover his secret. And if Joel showed any indications of having Clark’s powers-- perhaps it was just as well that things ended up as they had.
Still, it did nothing to ease the tightness in her chest when she thought about the look of disdainful disapproval her father had given her Friday night.
Thank goodness for the Kents. And Chloe.
She might not have the General in her corner, but she knew who her true family was.
~L&C~
Lois told Chloe what happened with the General when she dropped Joel off at Watchtower on Monday morning.
“Oh, Lois… I’m so sorry,” Chloe said, full of sympathy as she pulled her cousin into her arms for a hug. “Maybe he’ll come around. You just need to give it some time.”
Lois shook her head. “I don’t think so, Chloe. The General is very cut and dry when it comes to these things.”
“Even if it means ostracizing his own grandson?” Chloe asked doubtfully. “I don’t know, Lois. Once he realizes what he’s lost in all this, I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“Maybe,” Lois answered, but she didn’t look convinced. “Um, but there was something else I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”
“Oh?” Chloe asked, intrigued by the change of subject.
Lois suddenly grinned at her cousin. “Will you be my Maid of Honor?”
“Oh, Lois! Of course!” Chloe cried, once more hugging Lois. “So I guess that means you and Clark have set a date?”
“Yeah, in two weeks.”
“Two weeks? That doesn’t give us much time.”
Lois nodded. “I know. But it will be a small wedding. I mean, since the General won’t be there—I just want you and Ollie, and Mrs. K, of course. And if Dad won’t come, Lucy won’t either – not that she’d want to,” Lois thought aloud, sounding resigned to what seemed like permanent rifts in her family fabric. “Anyway, we thought we’d have an outdoor wedding, right on the farm.”
“I’m sure it will be beautiful, Lois.” Chloe closed the window she had been working on, and opened a Word document on Watchtower’s main computer. “You just tell me what colors you want, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Way ahead of you,” Lois smiled, handing Chloe a small notebook full of colorful tabs. “Even though it’s taken Clark and I a while to get it organized, I’ve been thinking about it for months. Now, blue tabs are my top choices, and the yellow ones are secondary…”
~L&C~
General Lane was called into Lieutenant General Slade Wilson’s office early Monday morning.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” asked Sam, standing at attention.
“At ease, General,” Slade said, opening a folder. “My men looked into Clark Kent. Couldn’t find so much as a parking ticket.”
“Indeed?”
Slade nodded. “However, he appears to sympathize with the vigilantes, as you had suspected. And there may be some evidence that points to him being one himself.”
Sam Lane frowned at that. “I knew I was right about him. He doesn’t know what a real hero is.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him. I’ll let you know if we find anything else.”
“Thank you, sir.”
~L&C~
Clark held Joel, waiting for Lois to get off work and meet him at Watchtower. They were getting married in two days, and their friends wanted to give them a nice send off.
Clark approached Oliver, who was busy getting himself a beer.
“I can’t believe how easily you settled into this Dad thing, Clark. Gotta say, I’m quite impressed with how you’ve handled it all.”
“Thanks, Oliver. I appreciate that. I’m sure you’ll make a great father one day, too,” Clark said, trying to return the compliment.
Oliver shrugged, self-deprecatingly. “Not so sure. Chloe barely allows me to use the term ‘girlfriend.’ I have a feeling it will take her a lot longer to come around to the idea of more than that.”
“She does care about you, Oliver. Surely you know that.”
Oliver took a drink of his beer. “I do. But, uh, hey –tonight’s about you and Lois, right? Where is she?”
“She texted that she’s on her way over.” Clark shifted Joel into his other arm, and seamlessly picked up Joel’s giraffe he had dropped on the table. “But there was something I wanted to ask you about first. I know I have horrible timing, and I should have asked you weeks ago… Will you stand up with me at the wedding? You’re there for me on the worst days of my life. I’d like you to be there on the best.”
Oliver appeared speechless a moment and then emphatically nodded. “Are you kidding me? Of course, Clark. It’d be an honor.”
“What’s all this?” said Lois, stepping into Watchtower and taking in the party atmosphere.
Chloe greeted Lois with a glass of champagne. “Just want to give you and Clark a little party before the big day.”
Jon Jones, Bart, and even AC were there. They all raised a glass together. “To Lois and Clark. The two best friends anyone could have. May they always be there for each other, and may their marriage be filled with joy,” Chloe toasted.
“To Lois and Clark!” echoed around the room.
Lois took a sip and then stepped over to her groom-to-be. “Hey there. How are my two favorite boys doing?”
Clark passed Joel to Lois. “He’s washed and fed. Just waiting for you… and so am I,” Clark said the last huskily, leaning to give Lois a kiss.
“Are you ready to do this as much as I am?” she whispered.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Clark answered with a sultry smile. “Come on. Let’s go enjoy the party.”
~L&C~
A few days later, Lois stood in front of a mirror, wearing Mrs. Kent’s old wedding dress. She’d had it altered a bit, but the full ballerina skirt suited her. Lois was waiting for Chloe to come back upstairs to help her finish her hair and makeup.
But instead, Martha Kent came in the room.
“Oh, Lois! You look beautiful!” she said, taking her into her arms.
“Thanks, Mrs. K. This dress really is perfect.”
“I’m honored that you wanted to wear it,” Martha said, sitting down next to Lois.
“What is it?” Lois asked, as Martha seemed to be searching for words.
Martha pulled out an envelope. “While Chloe was organizing things, we came across a box of your old stuff. I found this envelope in it,” she said, passing it to Lois. “It’s from your mother. To be read on your wedding day.”
Lois caressed the letters on the envelope, realizing how seldom she allowed herself to think about her mother.
“I wasn’t sure if I should give it to you. I’ll take it away and never mention it again. It’s just – as a mother, I know I’d want my daughter to read something I wrote, if it were me. I’m sorry if I—“
Lois lifted her hand, “It’s okay, Mrs. K. Thank you.”
“Do you want me to leave?” Martha asked, uncertain.
Lois shook her head, reaching for Martha’s hand to sit beside her. “No, stay. I may need a shoulder to cry on in a second.”
Martha gave Lois a sympathetic smile. “Honestly, Chloe and I debated for several days whether we should tell you—“
“It’s fine…”
Lois took out the letter, unfolding the sheet on her lap, and began to read aloud:
“Dear Lois, On this day, more than any other, I wish I could be there for you. I know you will look beautiful, and I know you might be a bit nervous. But I also know that you would only marry a man who you love with your whole heart. So be confident in that. But a marriage is made of compromises—or, as I call them, co-promises. That means that at each crossroad, each decision you make together, you each make a promise. You promise to love each other, to hear the other one out, to let the other one win sometimes. A marriage takes work, but I know you. You are industrious and love with all of who you are. And this is what should guide you today: knowledge that you are loved and that you and your husband will make co-promises each and every day… Oh, Lois. How I wish I could be there for you today. All I can hope for is that you will be surrounded with those who care about you, and that they will tell you that you look beautiful, and that you are a special person. Because you are. And I’m sure that your husband is special as well. Love him well, my dear. Because that is all that we have when it is all said and done… love and the memory of love. Create those memories, every day. Because you don’t know how many you will have. And make this day, the memory of promises. Promises of love and hope and joy. All my love—Mom.”When Lois glanced up, her own watery eyes met those of Martha’s. “Your mother was full of such wisdom.”
“Yeah, I know,” Lois said, reaching for a tissue. “But I’m lucky… because I have been given two mothers. Mrs. K, I wouldn’t be where I am today if you and Mr. Kent hadn’t taken me under your wing. You’ve treated me like a daughter for years… and today, I’ll finally become one.”
“Oh, Lois, come here!” Martha said, reaching to take Lois in her arms. “You are such a sweet person. I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become, and I know your mother would be too.”
“Thanks,” Lois said simply, just as Chloe came into the room.
“The tears will have to wait until after pictures! Now, we have a wedding to get ready for!”
~L&C~
Joel had been napping all morning, and everyone had decided it was best to wait shortly before the wedding would start to wake him and get him ready.
While Chloe helped Lois finish getting ready, Martha headed down the hallway to where Joel slept.
She smiled to herself, glad that she had given Lois her mom’s letter. It seemed to be the words Lois needed to hear.
Martha entered the baby’s room, but Joel wasn’t there. She felt herself panic a moment, but headed downstairs to see if Clark had woken him up.
Casually, Martha approached the small group gathered in the living room, as they all prepared to head outside for the ceremony. “Has anyone seen Joel?”
Clark wasn’t among them, but he was heading down the stairs just as Martha had asked everyone else. “Clark, where is Joel?”
“I thought he was napping,” Clark said.
“He’s not in his room,” Martha confirmed.
Clark gave her a nod, and then turned back up the stairs with Martha following. “Maybe Chloe got him?” Martha suggested, seeing her son’s shoulders begin to tense up with worry.
Joel was able to crawl, and while he hadn’t ever managed to escape his crib, there was always an off chance he might. They called for him, and when there was no answer, Clark honed in on his super hearing to see if he could hear his son anywhere.
“Anything?” Martha asked, recognizing what Clark was doing.
He shook his head, his brow beginning to crease with worry. “I’ll do a quick check around,” Clark said, before blurring off to check the farm and the premises.
Martha headed back down the stairs, stopping to glance at the shut door where Lois was getting ready. She hoped they’d find Joel. This wasn’t exactly how one wanted their wedding day to go.
Martha looked about at the room of mostly Clark’s friends, most of whom where super heroes of one stripe of another. Surely Joel wouldn’t get far if everyone helped in the search. “Everyone! Attention, please! Has anyone seen the baby?”
All around, people shook their head in the negative. AC and Victor came up to Martha, to see if they could help.
“Just have a look around. He can crawl, so he may just be lost somewhere,” she said with a weak smile, starting to get a sinking feeling in her gut.
Joel simply couldn’t have gotten too far on his own. That only left one terrifying possibility, and she couldn’t let herself think the worst. Not yet.
A few moments later, Clark stood in the doorway, a tiny stuffed giraffe in his hand and a bereft look on his face.
Martha immediately approached him, that sinking feeling growing worse by the second.
Clark glanced at the expectant faces all around him, struggling to tell them what he discovered. “He—he’s gone. Someone took him,” he said,
holding up the tiny toy as evidence. He scanned the room, trying to make himself do something, anything.
After a second, Oliver stepped forward. “Did you see anything else?” he asked, nodding to AC and Victor to go check out outside, in case Clark missed something.
Clark nodded, seeming to focus again, “Tire tracks. Behind the house. And footprints. I think they used a ladder.”
Clark sank into a nearby chair, holding the little giraffe in his hands, still wet from where Joel had been gumming it mere moments ago.
Oliver clapped a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. “We’ll find him, Clark. Don’t worry. I’ll use whatever resources I’ve got to get him back.”
~L&C~
“Lois, you look beautiful,” Chloe said sincerely.
“You pulled it off. I could never get my hair to do this on my own,” Lois said, angling herself in the mirror to get a better look at Chloe’s up-do.
A soft knock was heard at the door. “Lois?”
“Clark! What do you want? You’re supposed to be outside already,” Chloe chided through the door.
“Clark? What is it?” Lois asked, hearing the note of concern in Clark’s voice that Chloe seemed to have missed.
The doorknob turned and Clark peeked in.
“Hey, what are you doing? You’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding,” Chloe rebuked playfully, moving to push the door closed.
But Clark wouldn’t budge, and when Chloe saw the look of utter fear and despair on his face, she backed away.
“Clark, what happened?” Chloe asked.
“I’m afraid there won’t be a wedding here today,” Clark said slowly, his eyes meeting Lois’ in her mirror.
She turned around to face him, fear slaking through her. “What’s going on, Clark?” she asked.
Clark lifted the little giraffe, staring at a moment before he spoke. “It’s Joel—Lois, he’s gone.”
To be continued...Sequel TOC :
Hidden Threats
