~~~Part 16~~~
Lois watched Clark's fingers fly over the keyboard in mild fascination, but she was too frustrated to marvel again at his speed. He'd only been at it for a few minutes, but the waiting wasn't her only source of aggravation. And it wasn't the investigation either.
That niggling feeling she'd had about Clark not having told her everything... It hadn't gone away. She knew now it was about the other Lois. It had to be.
He'd said the other Lois had told him about Lex... He said she'd only spent a few days here...
That sort of subject didn't really come up in just a few days time. Not when they'd been busy creating a superhero and catching that bad guy. What was his name again? Tempus, or something weird like that?
Something wasn't adding up here, and she hated the idea that she couldn't fully trust him yet because of it.
"It's no good, Lois. I must have tried a thousand combinations already," Clark grumbled, interrupting her thoughts.
Lois let out an irritated sigh. She'd been so hopeful, too.
"Here," she said, indicating he should get up. "Let me try."
He stared at her for a second, raising an eyebrow. "But..."
"Just get up, Clark," she insisted impatiently.
He threw up his hands in defeat and let her have the chair.
She sat down and stared at the screen. She hadn't meant to be so rude, but she was tired and annoyed. Here she was with the source of more than three years of torment at her fingertips, ready to be exposed, and she couldn't get at it. And on top of that was the assault of endless theories about who Clark was, what he was feeling, and what it all had to do with her.
Lois shook herself mentally and looked at the screen again. The cursor asking for the password blinked dumbly back at her. She could hear Clark's even breathing close behind her. Think, Lois.
She never remembered *her* password, how was she supposed to even guess at a stranger's? She had to keep hers on a sticky note on the underside of her keyboard.
Wait a minute...
It couldn't be that easy.
But she had to check...
Lois lifted up the keyboard and craned her neck to look for anything resembling hope in the shape of a small, yellow piece of paper.
No luck.
She put the keyboard back down and grumbled.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for the password," she replied tersely as she started rifling through the thin middle drawer.
"Lois, I really don't think tha -"
"Clark, don't you have your password written down somewhere near your computer?" She didn't even turn to look at him, still intent on the contents of the drawer.
"Uh... no. I have a photographic memory..."
"Good for you. But the rest of us aren't as lucky."
On a whim she ran her hands along the underside of the desk. There! A small piece of paper that came unstuck as she brushed her hand across it. She held her breath, looking down to watch it flutter to the floor.
She bent over to pick it up, almost afraid to touch it for fear it might not really be there.
But it was. And it had writing on it. An alpha-numeric code.
Lois held it up and threw a smirk back in Clark's direction before she turned to the keyboard to type it in, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
She heard a faint, awed whisper behind her. "Brilliant."
She couldn't help but smile.
***
Lex was brooding in the middle of the night when the phone rang. The line he'd specially secured for any and all news regarding Lois Lane. He picked it up without greeting the caller. His patience was wearing thin.
"Sir? We have a problem. A big one."
He closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. He definitely didn't have the patience for this. "What is it, Johnson? Don't tell me you haven't found her. Need I remind you of the terms of your contract?"
Lex smiled smugly at the audible gulp on the other end of the line.
"No, sir. And, yes, I lost her... But it wasn't my fault. I managed to catch up with Ms. Lane in an alleyway not far from the St. John offices, but..."
"But what? I don't have time for your incompetence."
"Superman showed up and flew off with her. I have no idea where they went."
"What?!" he raged, slamming his fist down on the desk.
"She... Superman... I..."
"Get back to your post immediately!"
Lex hung up in a fury, only to pick up the phone and dial it again.
He wasn't sure how Lane keeping company with the tights-wearing do-gooder had escaped Johnson's notice, but it wouldn't happen again.
The competent and alert response he was greeted with after only one ring calmed him greatly. "Nigel, elimination. Post two."
"Yes, sir. Anything else?"
"Yes, I'll need you to secure something from the evidence room at precinct fourteen."
Lex smiled at the grin he could almost hear in the Englishman's response. "Of course, sir."
***
Clark watched the woman in front of him in awe as she negotiated her way through a maze of files and data. The look of pure determination on her face was fascinatingly... sexy. And he tried like hell not to let his mind wander back to what'd happened hours earlier, but failed.
He was confused about his actions. Why had he suddenly been overcome with such a powerful need for her? It'd been raw, elemental. But where had it come from? He'd never been so... impulsive. Almost as if he hadn't been in control of his own actions. And Lois being so responsive, not to mention having initiated things, had only spurred him on.
He was grudgingly grateful for the insistent voice in the back of his mind that had stopped him. The time, the situation... it hadn't been right. Too soon. If he wasn't confident enough to rescue someone as Superman, how could he expect to be a competent lover *or* boyfriend? He didn't have any business leading her to believe he could give something more than he was able to.
Yes, it had been the best choice for them to stop, but he couldn't help but worry that Lois was more upset than she was letting on. Or maybe it wasn't actually bothering her. Or worse... maybe she'd only been so responsive because she needed physical contact, reassurance that she was alive. And what if she'd said she loved him too, only to spare his feelings? Or because she was alone in the world. In need of protection. An anchor. Who better for that than a supposed superhero?
No.
He wouldn't believe that was true. She'd asked him to hold her after their emotional conversation. And no one had forced her to hold his hand earlier. Besides, there was just too much they shared for this not to be right somehow. Maybe they were meant to be after all.
He only wished he knew for sure that she wouldn't break his heart.
He'd give anything to be able to read her emotions better, especially now. Something was wrong. Something more than her fear and frustration in their investigation. The connection he'd been so relieved to feel wasn't working. Or not working properly, anyway. Static? Was she mad at him for some reason? Shutting him out? Did it even work that way?
"Clark."
He blinked.
"Clark, pay attention," Lois snapped. Then, less angrily, she told him, "Look at this."
She was grinning like a cat that'd gotten the canary as she pointed to the document open on the computer screen.
He gathered himself and brought his attention to the spread sheet in front of them.
"Pages and pages. Distribution and production records. We've got them!"
A huge smile stretched across his face. "You're incredible, you know that, Lois?"
She grinned and blushed, ducking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear. "No, just determined."
"And what's not incredible about that?" he asked softly, still in awe of her.
She looked up at him, seemingly startled, and he'd have sworn her breath caught. How could she not know how brilliant and beautiful she was? Had they really taken that much from her?
Clark cupped her cheek and looked deep into her eyes, trying to convey his sincerity. "You are an amazing woman, and don't ever let anyone else make you think differently."
He watched her avert her eyes and bite at her bottom lip. He was worried for a second until her hand came up to cover his, and she looked back up at him through her dark lashes.
"Thank you, Clark."
The hint of a smile touched her lips, but the overwhelming feeling of love he could sense told him all he needed to know.
He stood there for a long set of moments, entranced by the emotion and lost in her eyes.
Then Clark cleared his throat, suddenly self-conscious. He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb before dropping his head and his gaze.
"So... um..." he started lamely. "I guess we should print this or save it or something and get the heck out of here."
She smiled and cleared her throat as well. "Yeah, and then we have to figure out what to do next. For the investigation, I mean."
"Right, partner." Clark couldn't stop himself from grinning like an idiot, especially when Lois's face broke into a grin just as big.
TBC... Sorry this part is so short! 
I... well, depending on how much I get written in the next few days, I'll *consider* posting an extra part on Thursday to make up for it. 
