Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Going Home

I love this chapter! What a gamut of emotions it packs.

Just when I thought the angst of the Rachel-Clark interaction would be overwhelming, you gave us this line...


All I could think of was a book I'd read years ago. It's a memoir of a Vermont Country Doctor's experiences.



The title comes from his comment about some of his patients who would only see him if they developed something that neither could fix.

I also especially loved the references to Star Wars and The Muppets.

The description of Lois' hair in a previous chapter is yours to use in this story or a future one, should your muses not be offended. After all, your writing inspired the image.

And I love the non-hanging-over-the-jaws-of-death cliffhanger!

I suppose like houses, location is everything. Location, Location, Location.
I'm still squinting though. Lois better not whizz away this likely second chance.
You weren't joking when you said there would be emotional torture.

Cuidadora, thank you for your kind words. I like to toss in appropriate cultural references occasionally to link my intended emotional impact to a commonly known event, whether factual or fictional. And thank you for the release to use Lois' hair description. My three muses slapped each other and demanded to know why the others didn't think it first. It was not unlike an episode of The Three Stooges.

Cliffhangers - I like to call them "reader incentives" - don't have to involve mortal danger. This time it's just emotional danger.

Blueowl, I thought the park would be an appropriate venue for a try at reconciliation. And yes, I fully and deliberately intended to create emotional torture, both for my characters and for my readers. Bwa-ha-ha.

Chapter 23 will be up in moments!

You know, I'm sorta beginning to think/wonder if it would be healthier and better for both of them to only become/remain good friends and nothing more.
*shrug* Would be an interesting path and allow for an opening of a sequel where they move on with their romantic lives with different people while maintaining a good friendship.

I had a whole pile of chapters to catch up on! How wonderful.

Rachel is a an incredible woman. I found myself thinking if I was in her shoes, there's no way I'd let Clark go back to Metropolis, let alone encourage it! However, it would doom the relationship, I'm sure, though that would be one of those hindsight things.

I love the idea of the 'do-over.' How many times in life would we do things differently with several months perspective to look back on? I appreciate how Lois still got angry, still had unresolved frustrations, yet voiced them without overreacting.

I guess I forgot to leave some feedback. I loved Chapter 22. It was good to see Lois and Clark talk to each other. I also liked that Clark decided to confront Lois on her feelings toward him. Great that he's giving Lois a second chance.

Chapter 23 was great. We finally got to see a much more composed Lois. She really should have reacted that way.

I'm eagerly waiting for the last two chapters

Terry,
I have read every word of this riveting story. I kinda agree with Blueowl. Leave it with rebuilding the friendship. SEQUEL!!!

Wow. I actually want him to go back to Rachel. Lois threatening him was abusive to me... it's hard to get past that. But lovely story and obviously any ending you write will be lovely

Another excellent chapter. I'm enjoying Snarky Lois. I don't have an opinion just now about how I want this to end. Looking forward to seeing how they solve their trust issues (if they do), whether their hearts can heal, and where you take this next.

Time to respond to the sagacious feedback y'all have dropped!

Blueowl, you want them to stay as just friends? Interesting. I agree that a lot of turbulent water has passed under a couple of bridges, but this is, after all a "Lois AND Clark" board. We'll see how the relationship develops from here on in. I promise that they won't jump into the bed at the Luxor any time soon. But your suggestion is one a bold and daring author might undertake. Hmm...

Thank you, Toomi8. I seem to have succeeded in portraying Rachel as a heroine. And she's braver than I would have been had I ever found myself in a similar situation. Many are the times I've wished for a do-over in my own life. I think both of them handled it pretty well.

Bakasi, you don't owe me any feedback. But I always enjoy reading your comments because they're always intelligent and thoughtful. They both needed to talk, and even more important, they both needed to listen.

Supesfan, you cast your vote for Clachel (Clark/Rachel) too, eh? I've learned that a man and woman don't really love one another as they should unless they're already friends. I'd hate to be married to a woman I didn't want to be around. (I think my wife feels the same about me.) At this point, I'm not planning a sequel, but the best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft aglay (or "oft go astray" as the common translation phrases it). We'll see what the muses give me, assuming they give me anything.

And L, you agree with the friendship path. You're right that Lois was abusive to Clark, but she's turned 180 degrees around on her attitude and asked him to forgive her. Now it's Clark's job to either do so or hold a grudge, and we all know that can lead to shotguns pointed at sheriffs.

Cuidadora, I'm glad you like Snarky Lois. I hope Inner Rachel also pleases you. I have a hard time doing introspection, so using an imaginary or inner antagonist helps to get the conflict described to the reader without taking up too much space or time. And I'm glad you're along for the ride. I hope you find "the rest of the story" at least as interesting as it has been so far.

I will reveal now that there is an epilogue for this epic. Two, actually, and I haven't quite decide which path to choose. Who knows? I might post both and let the readers decide which one to keep.

If it weren't a bad pun, I 'd suggest that doing the above would be a novel idea.

Chapter 24 up in moments!

The scene underneath the mistletoe was an interesting read. I don't think that either of them was ready yet for that kiss. A 'poke the bear with a stick-kiss? How do you come up with these expressions, Terry? Really, although I have to admit that my vocabulary still is a far cry from rivaling the aptitude of a native speaker, I think that I've got a decent knowledge of ideoms. But somehow, with you, I always end up having to resort to the dictionary.

Okay, I do get what you mean this time, and actually that was supposed to be a compliment, if you didn't get that.
I love your humor showing in so many scenes. And I can't wait to read those final chapters.

Glad to see that Lois really is learning from her mistakes, and I enjoyed seeing Friskin's point of view. I'm still of the belief that Lois and Clark becoming good friends again would be impressive in itself and doesn't require romance to follow. *shrug* Granted, that may be due to my own life experiences.
Curious to see how you end this.

Terry, I enjoyed Inner Rachel. Actually, I've enjoyed all the introspections you've shared with us. Glad to see a more mature Lois who is approaching her feelings and problems instead of burying them by focusing on her work. Dr. Friskin was a lovely addition to this chapter. I can see how her success with Lois made her day, if not her decade. Glad she did, too. Looking forward to more.

Bakasi, I'm glad you liked the mistletoe scene. And thank you for the compliment. Colloquial expressions like "poke-the-bear" aren't uncommon in flyover country (the middle states in the US), so I like to drop them in occasionally just to see if anyone is paying attention. You obviously were. And I'm glad you liked the understated humor. I didn't want their relationship to rebuild on anger and sharp exchanges, so the hesitant and tentative moves on both their parts seemed appropriate.

Blueowl, I'm glad you liked seeing Dana Friskin. The show never, to my knowledge, gave her a first name, so I landed on Dana a few stories ago and I really think it fits her. As far as Lois and Clark becoming friends and stopping there - well, this is a Lois AND Clark board, after all. The few stories of mine where they have not ended up together have created lots of heated feedback, so we'll have to see what happens in the next chapter and the epilogue.

Cuidadora, thanks for the thumbs-up for Inner Rachel. I worked really hard on those introspection scenes, and they felt best to me when the inner character "spoke" to the outer one. Internal dialogues are hard, y'all. I'm very glad they came across as I intended.

Final chapter coming up! And, of course, an epilogue follows.

Yay, they're dating again. I understand why Clark is not sure about his feelings toward both his women. Somehow this reminds me of the chocolate and Rocky road icecream analogy. It was rocky road, wasn't it? In the Herman version Scardino is walnut ice cream, but that's beside the point. Rachel is stable and trustworthy, but might be a bit boring. But she's loving him unconditionally. I.still feel incredibly sorry for her.

I guess we will be seeing her again in the epilogue when he tells her that he's loving Lois. Poor girl.

Bakasi, you're right that Clark's life with Lois would be a "rocky road" and not plain chocolate like life with Rachel would be, but sometimes that's the choice we each must make, even on less important matters. I'm glad Rachel came across to you as well as she did.

You might recall that I mentioned earlier that I'd written two epilogues. This is the original version, and I felt that the story should end on this note instead of heading in the direction the second version went. Who knows? I might include the second version on the archive as an alternate ending.

Epilogue up in moments!

Somehow, I'd expected a bit more interaction between Lois and Clark. But I liked your epilogue and the final talk between Clark and Rachel. They were a nice couple and I really hope that she will find someone who really loves her.

Thank you for sharing this story, Terry. It sure was an emotional roller coaster ride. One I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way.

I really hope Rachel finds someone awesome. I really like her and hope to see her more in other fics. She's such an under used character. I'm also glad Clark didn't leave her hanging and officially ended things so hopefully she can move on with her life instead of holding onto a false hope.
Anyway, thanks for writing and sharing.

I just wanted to reiterate that I warned you.


I hope everyone is as happy as I am that Clark and Lois are together at the end. That doesn't always happen in the stories my muses sneak into my inbox.

I'm going to post the other version of the epilogue and label it as a "cutting-room floor" scene. Let me know if you like that one better.

I read the second version of your epilogue. I was suprised, because somehow I thought Rachel and Clark would end up together in that version. Might have misunderstood. Anyway, I must admit I liked the second version a bit better, because I felt that it showed more clearly how much Lois had learned from that episode. I don't know if I'm making myself clear or not. The only thing that I found a bit odd is that Lois is wearing exactly the same attire as Clark. Somehow, they never struck me as this type of a couple where the guy gets a tie matching her Burberry scarf and such. Ugh!