A/N: The version of Ellen Lane that appears in this story is the character portrayed by Beverly Garland, the Ellen Lane we know from later seasons!
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When Perry dropped her off at her apartment, after her interview at the precinct, he’d insisted on walking her up, carrying the bag that held her wedding dress, while she carried the other one she’d taken to her wedding that morning. In it, a few items of clothing, makeup, and a few extra toiletries. Her other bags, full of clothes to last her a few days, until she could officially move out of her apartment, had been taken to Lex’s penthouse the day before, and to her best knowledge, were still there. She shuddered as she remembered what was in it: the lingerie for her honeymoon night, a few outfits fit for a beach vacation, several dresses that Lex had purchased for her over the months, items of clothing suited to his fine tastes in restaurants, and private jets. Nothing she’d wear to work, or out with friends. Right now, she never wanted to see the bags, or their contents, again.
She’d been surprised to see her mother waiting for her in her apartment, grateful that she appeared to be sober. A ruined wedding could have been enough to send her mother hunting for a familiar comfort. Pleasantries between Ellen and Perry were exchanged, Perry set the wedding dress down on the table, and he informed Lois of his temporary new number, should she need to get hold of him for anything. The moment Perry closed the door behind him, her mother began to fuss.
“Where have you been?” Ellen Lane demanded.
“Mother, not now,” snapped Lois, noticing her mother starting unpack the wedding dress.
“After you disappeared, I started trying to find out what had happened, where you and Lex had gone, but no one would tell me anything! Then that boss of yours returned, asking for your bag, and would divulge nothing, other than you were being taken to the police station!”
“Mother…”
“Then I had to give my statement, and answer questions, in that room, with everyone else. Did I know my future son-in-law was a criminal? Would my daughter have played a role in his criminal activities? Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?”
“Mother,” Lois shouted. “Don’t. Not now.”
“Well? Did you?”
Lois turned to her mother, and coldly responded. “No. I had no idea until I found out during my wedding. Do I have any idea how humiliated you feel? How about how I feel? Why are you here? Just to tell me how awful you feel? Will you please leave that dress in its bag!”
Ellen had unzipped the bag, and was beginning to gently remove the dress. “Lois, the dress will get wrinkled in the bag…”
Lois exploded. “Does it matter? What, do you think I’m going to wear it again? That dress is going in the garbage. A few more wrinkles won’t hurt it.”
Lois stomped to her bedroom and closed the door firmly, not wanting to deal with her mother, and desperately wanting to shower, get the hairspray out of her hair, and the makeup off her face. Once under the hot water of the shower, washing the day away, she tried to calm down, forget how frustrating her mother could be at times – most of the time.
Her mother had been delighted at the prospect of a wealthy, well connected, famous, son-in-law. The few times Lex and her mother had met, Lex had been charming. Her mother had fallen for it, just as she had, she reminded herself bitterly. Her mother, her infuriating mother, who was now likely trying to salvage the wedding dress, had been there for the wedding, the only member of her family. Even her friends hadn’t come, though she now knew they’d been busy.
It was startling to think her mother had saved her from what would have been the worst mistake of her life. Lois sighed at the memory, as she finished dawdling in the shower. She was grateful her mother had spoken, told her to do what her heart told her to do, as she may have chalked the tears and fears up to pre wedding jitters otherwise.
Leaving the bathroom, calmer and dressed comfortably, she prepared to face her mother.
Thankfully, the dress was back in the bag, sitting on the floor by the front door.
“I’ll take that when I leave,” her mother announced, pointing at the bag, and pouring a cup of fresh coffee for Lois, who heaved a sigh of relief.
“Thanks.”
****
The sun was setting as she began the drive back to her apartment after giving her mother a ride home. The conversation over coffee had been short lived, a few idle questions, and one surprising offer of a place to stay, from her mother, as her mother assumed she would have no home to live in shortly. Lois had thanked her, hoping she could renew the lease instead and stay where she was. When the silence became uncomfortable, Ellen had asked for a ride home, and Lois, grateful that the Jeep had been left in its parking space that morning, obliged. Finally alone, she allowed her mind to ask the questions she hadn’t wanted to earlier.
In all the commotion that had happened, there was one face she hadn’t seen, the one person she desperately wanted to see, the one man she had been thinking of while she walked down the aisle, to marry another man.
Clark.
He’d warned her, and she’d blithely ignored him, attributing his attitude to jealousy, and after his declaration in the park, she thought she’d been right.
“Oh, Clark,” she moaned aloud. Where had he been? Had he been found? She needed to see him, make sure he was ok. Instead of taking the turn towards her home, she kept driving, heading to Clark’s. Easily finding a parking space, she entered the building, taking the stairs up to his floor. At his door, she stalled. Someone was home, the lights were on. She knocked quietly on the door, listening as footsteps approached. When Perry opened the door, she became angry. He had refused to answer her questions earlier, what was he hiding?
“Where is he?” She demanded, as she pushed past Perry, heading down the few steps into Clark’s living room.
“Ssssh.” Perry whispered. “Keep your voice down. He’s been sleeping all afternoon.”
“Why? What happened? There’s something you aren’t telling me?” She lowered her volume, and beneath the anger, she could feel fear.
“Look, Lois, we don’t know the full story yet. He’s been asleep the whole time I’ve been here. Why don’t you head home, and I’ll call you the minute he wakes?”
Lois hesitated for a moment before darting past him, swiftly walking to the bedroom, hoping to get there before Perry stopped her. As she slipped around the corner, she saw him, and gasped. Clark was asleep, lying on his back, the sheets halfway covering his chest. His arms, his shoulders, were marked with injuries that looked like burn marks, and one long one running from his neck to below the sheet. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she felt Perry gently guide her back into the living room.
“What happened to him?” She sobbed.
Before Perry could answer, there was a knock at the door. “Stay here,” Perry ordered, and she stood numbly where he left her, barely aware that a conversation was happening mere feet away from her.
“Let me check.” She heard Perry say, as he headed into Clark’s bedroom again.
“Lois? Are you ok?” Henderson asked softly.
“I just wanted to see Clark,” she sobbed, not wondering why Henderson was in Clark’s apartment. “What happened to him?” Had everyone let Clark down? She had, Superman had, and Perry had. How had he received those injuries? What had been done to him that necessitated the need to sleep a day away? She already guessed Lex had something to do with it, but how, and what?
“I think it’s best if we get you home, Lois,” Henderson suggested as he turned to the officer with him. “Can you call for someone to escort Ms. Lane home?”
Lois, still in shock from seeing Clark’s injuries, followed the officer out of the apartment. Once down on the main floor, she waited with Officer Kostiuk while he talked to her, calming her down. It wasn’t long before Perry arrived, and informed the officer he would make sure she got home ok. Once the officer headed back inside the building, Lois, no longer crying, assured Perry she could drive herself home. She promised to call as soon as she walked in the door, and Perry bid her a good night.
She arrived home to her empty apartment, and after leaving a message for Perry on his answer machine, she curled up on the couch and turned the television on. Right now, she needed her head to stop spinning from everything that had happened today.
****
The sound of gunshots from the black and white movie playing on the television, woke her with a start. She had been having a nightmare, and now she was awake, the nightmare didn’t make sense. It was a jumble of moments and memories, some of which she had no idea where they came from. It culminated in Lex shooting Clark, probably a response to her hearing the gun shots on the movie. She turned the television off, stretched out her neck, stiff from the awkward sleeping position, and wandered into the kitchen.
The cupboards were almost bare. They usually didn’t hold much anyways given her abhorrence to cooking, but there was usually a tin of soup, or a frozen dinner somewhere. Since her acceptance of Lex’s proposal, and the demise of the Daily Planet, she hadn’t spent much time eating at home. Instead her evenings had been spent at the penthouse, or various formal gatherings and charity events, with the occasional flight to somewhere for a quiet meal.
She opened the cupboard containing the coffee, and gladly grabbed the tin of grounds, spotting the box of tea behind it. Putting the tin of coffee down, she gently took out the box of herbal tea that Clark had insisted she try one night. She sat down on the floor and cradled the box, wondering if he was ok, and what had happened to him.
She remembered their last bitter conversation before the wedding. It had been their first conversation in weeks, and he had been angry with her. Initially she had thought he was angry about her turning him down, but now she realized it was something deeper, not jealousy. He’d hated Lex, and Clark wouldn’t hate someone without a reason. He’d told her then about the extra insurance on the Planet, told her to investigate, but there had been more Clark had discovered, she realized.
Jimmy had let it slip that Clark had not shown up at his apartment last night, and she knew he had mysteriously returned home, injured and exhausted, during the day. Given he had been investigating Lex, and Lex’s criminal tendencies, it would be logical that Lex had discovered what Clark was doing, and done something to him.
She needed to see him. She needed to tell him he had been right all along, and she was sorry she hadn’t believed him. She had to tell him that she’d stopped the wedding, because of him, even though she didn’t fully understand how she felt towards him.
She put the box of tea on the counter, grabbed her keys, and left.
****
There was a light on in Clark’s apartment, she guessed the living room light, as it wasn’t very bright, but she couldn’t hear sounds of him moving around, or the sound of the television. Not knowing if he would bother answering the door, she checked under the mat for the spare key he always left there. Finding it, she gently opened the door, and peeked inside, trying to see if he was awake.
“Clark,” she whispered as she tiptoed down the stairs. The living room light was on, but he wasn’t sleeping on the couch. There were pillows and blankets stacked neatly, she assumed from Perry, Jimmy and Jack staying there the night before. She cautiously walked towards the opening to his bedroom, and listened. His breathing was not the peaceful rhythmic breathing of a person in deep sleep, instead heavier and erratic, as though he was having a bad dream. Unwilling to wake him, she quietly went back into the living room, and sat on the couch.
“Stupid,” she chastised herself. Just because he’d left a light on didn’t mean he would be awake. Now what should she do? The easiest thing would be to leave, but she was worried about him. If whatever had happened to him to cause his injuries was now giving him nightmares, she wanted to be there for him, just like he’d been there for her so many times. Filled with indecision, she started as she heard him cry out. Should she go to him? She stood as she heard the bed sheets rustling, intending on going to wake him up, when she heard him get out of bed. She quickly sat back down, unsure what to do, or how he would react.
She watched as he walked into the kitchen, and poured himself a glass of water, trying not to stare at his naked torso, as he was only wearing a pair of sleep shorts. He poured himself a second glass, and turned to face her, visibly jumping in shock when he saw her.
“Lois?”
“Clark?” She instantly noticed the burns, worse than what she had seen initially, as she stood and approached him. “What happened to you?” She stopped a few feet feet from him and reached a hand out towards his chest.
She jumped as his hand snapped up and grasped her wrist, stopping her from touching him.
“Lois,” he growled. “You shouldn’t be here.” He dropped her wrist quickly, and walked into his room, returning wearing a t shirt and glasses. She’d been so focused on his injuries she hadn’t noticed his lack of eyewear.
“What did Lex do to you?” She whispered, not approaching him this time, watching as he closed his eyes briefly, and took a few deep breaths.
“Lois, you can’t be here, not now. Go home,” he said, curtly.
She felt her heart plummet as his tone was deadly calm, no warmth of friendship emanating through, even in his eyes. She was taken aback, and stepped away from him, removing the key from her pants pocket and placing it on the coffee table.
“You shouldn’t leave a spare key in such an obvious place. You never know who can let themselves in,” she remarked, coldly, trying not to burst into tears.
“I won’t,” he retorted as she closed the door closed firmly behind her. She stepped into the shadows as she heard the door lock behind her, and quickly retreated back to the Jeep, the tears once again falling.
****
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