When Lois arrived back at her apartment, she took her coat off, made herself some tea and dialed the Kent's farm house.
Her heart hammered as it rang, and eventually Martha Kent's warm voice answered. Her nerves only increased as she realized she hadn't planned out what she intended to say at all.
What if they thought she wasn't good enough? Or that she was only after him for his powers? She hadn't even thought of those things when she'd come up with THE PLAN, but now it was all she could think of.
She must have paused a bit too long because Martha spoke again, this time sounding slightly confused.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Martha, hi! It's Lois...Lois Lane?" Did she sound too excited? Too nervous? Too loud?
"Lois!" Martha said, sounding simultaneously genuinely happy to hear from her, and slightly concerned. After all, she'd never called them before. Oh how she suddenly wished she'd actually thought this part through. "Is uh…everything okay?"
"Who is it, Martha?"
Lois could hear Jonathan's voice in the background and Martha responded by telling him. A second later she heard the other extension pick up and Jonathan Kent said hello.
The nervous feeling she'd started out with was now verging on full out panic.
"Everything is fine, no need to worry," she said, answering Martha's original question. Of course any time someone said 'no need to worry' in the tone of voice she'd just used it generally meant the opposite. "I wanted to talk to you both, about Clark. I need to tell you something...well two things and then I need to ask for a favour."
"Well what do you need to tell us?" Martha asked and Lois had the impression the older woman was humouring her at the moment.
Okay, she thought, here it goes. Best to ease into it.
"I know Clark is Superman!" She blurted.
Smooth, Lane, real smooth. She thought to herself. Way to ease into it.
"What makes you think something like that?" Jonathan asked, his tone changing from jovial and welcoming to guarded in a split second.
It suddenly occurred to her that convincing them she didn't just love him for his powers was the least of her worries. She never considered that they would deny it. But then again, they didn't know her that well and she was a reporter. They were right to be wary.
"I figured it out after he was shot." She still had trouble keeping the tremor out of her voice when she talked about it. "I know your instinct is to deny it, but I promise you that I won't say a word to anyone. And I have no intention of printing what I know."
"Assuming that you are right about this," Martha said, her tone also cautious, "why call us? Why not talk to Clark?"
"I want to," she told them. "I'm going to. But it's complicated. And it has to do with the second thing I called to tell you, which is… I'm in love with him. And I think he might love me too and I wondered if you'd both be willing to help me tell him how I feel...and also that I know he's Superman."
"Oh honey," Martha said and she could hear the relief in her voice. It radiated over the phone. "Of course, we'll help you. And of course he loves you. He's been in love with you since the day he met you."
"Oh," Lois said, feeling suddenly like the wind had been knocked out of her. She had suspected he had feelings for her -- had hoped for it. But hearing his mother confirm those suspicions was both thrilling and exhilarating. Clark Kent had told his parents he loved her.
She was speechless for a moment until she heard Martha's voice again asking if she was still there.
"I'm here," she said, her voice still a little shaky. "Ummm, I'm right about the other thing too, aren't I?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then eventually Martha spoke.
“Jonathan, do you mind letting me talk to Lois alone? I think this calls for some girl talk.”
“Sure thing,” Jonathan said and Lois got the feeling that some sort of unspoken agreement had passed between them. She heard a click on the other end and took a deep breath.
“Martha, I need you to know that I would never ever do anything to hurt Clark,” Lois insisted. “I know you’re worried, and you have every right to worry and you have no reason to trust me with such a huge secret and I…”
“Lois,” Martha said softly in a tone that immediately seemed to calm her. “I’m not afraid you’ll hurt Clark. If I’m completely honest, part of me was hoping he would tell you his secret when he told me you saw him shot in front of you. I thought ‘finally, he’s going to tell her the truth’.”
“You mean that he’s Superman,” Lois filled in and suddenly the enormity of that secret felt overwhelming. She could almost hear Martha nodding on the other end of the phone.
“He’s been so lonely,” Martha confessed sadly. “All I wanted was for my boy to find someone to…to love. And then he met you and I knew even before I met you that you were special. And then you came to visit for that story and I saw the way you looked at him and I knew…”
“Wait…you knew back then?” Lois asked, feeling a bit stunned. “But I had only just met Clark. I barely wanted him as a friend, much less….”
“Oh I know that’s what you thought,” Martha laughed, “but I could see something completely different in your eyes. You both just needed time to find it.”
“I want you to know,” Lois said, feeling that she still needed to prove herself to Martha somehow, “that I realised my feelings for Clark before I knew he was Superman. I know he probably didn’t tell me himself because of the way I used to fawn over Superman and ignore him. That’s why I want to be the one to tell him. I need him to know.”
“Lois, you don’t have to explain yourself to…”
“I want to,” Lois insisted. “Ever since Lex’s death I felt like something was different between Clark and I. I was seeing him differently. I don’t know how to explain it, but…”
She bit her lip in silent frustration. Why did this feel like she was auditioning to be Martha Kent’s daughter-in-law? She and Clark had yet to even go on a date and yet somehow having Martha’s blessing seemed crucial, not just to THE PLAN but to any relationship she ever hoped to have with Clark.
“I was starting to understand that my feelings for him were more than just those of a friend. I even considered telling him, but the time never seemed to be right and then I saw him shot and…”
She closed her eyes as the image of him falling limply to the ground flashed through her mind once more. It didn’t seem to matter how many times she reminded herself that he was okay – that he was invulnerable. Something about that night seemed to hold her in its grip even now.
“Lois, sweetheart, it’s alright,” Martha was saying gently. “He’s fine.”
“I know,” Lois said, trying to banish the tremble from her voice. “But seeing him fall…thinking he was dead…I never knew I could feel that way. It was the worst moment in my life. It felt like someone had turned off the sun. That’s when I knew that I loved him. And also when I thought I would never have the chance to tell him. And then suddenly I did. He was okay and when I drove him home to his apartment I was determined not to let him leave my car without letting him know.”
“He fell asleep, didn’t he?” Martha guessed. Lois was starting to wonder if Martha Kent was actually psychic.
“How…how did you know?”
Martha laughed. “He has a habit of falling asleep in the car at night. He’s done it since he was a baby.”
Lois felt the tension dissipate. It felt good to hear Martha laugh. Almost like she was accepting Lois’ feelings for her son.
“His glasses fell off his face,” Lois confessed, “and when I went to put them back on…”
“You must have been so surprised,” Martha empathised.
“Stunned,” Lois agreed with a laugh. “And too shocked to say anything, even after he woke up and got out of the car. I’ve been trying to find a way to tell him ever since that night.”
“Well you have my full support,” Martha assured her, “but how can we possibly help?”
Lois took a deep breath. Her entire plan hinged on Martha and Jonathan’s willingness to play along.
“Christmas is coming up,” Lois said, her voice hesitant and unsure. “And I know he always goes to Smallville for Christmas dinner, but I thought it might be the perfect time to tell him – almost as a Christmas gift. My family has this two bedroom cabin at a ski lodge every winter that they never use. My mother got it in the divorce, but she couldn’t bear to go up there without my father, so sometimes I go up on my own when I want to spend some time away during the holidays. I thought I could get Clark to come with me on Christmas Eve day. We could ski and have dinner and I could tell him then. He could fly to Smallville the next day for dinner.”
“Well that all sounds perfectly logical,” Martha said and Lois could hear the excitement in the older woman’s voice. It thrilled her to know she was rooting for her. “But I don’t see how you need me for that.”
“Well that’s the thing,” Lois replied as she twirled the phone chord nervously. “I want to make sure he says yes to this without giving anything away. I figure if I ask him to spend Christmas with me at my family’s ski lodge he will suspect something. So I want you to uninvite him to Christmas dinner.”
“You want me to what?” Martha sounded surprised now.
“Call him and tell him…I dunno, that you and Jonathan want a romantic Christmas alone, that you’re going on vacation, that you’re joining a cult that doesn’t celebrate Christmas…anything. I need him to see my offer as a last minute attempt to spare him a Christmas by himself. You don’t actually have to cancel your dinner. After all, once I tell him I know the truth he can just fly to Smallville for your dinner on Christmas day. Will you help me?”
There was a stretch of silence on the other end and for a moment Lois thought Martha was going to say no. After all, she was asking his mother to lie to her son and make him think they had other plans on Christmas day. She’d be well within her rights to refuse.
“I’ll help you,” Martha agreed, “on one condition. I want both you and Clark here on Christmas day for dinner.”
“Oh, Martha, are you sure?” Lois asked. “Christmas is supposed to be a day for family and I don’t want to intrude.”
“Lois, you’re in love with my boy,” Martha replied softly. “If that’s not family, I don’t know what is. Now will I see you both for dinner?”
Lois laughed and tried to ignore the tears that suddenly threatened.
“It’s a deal.”
“Good,” Martha said firmly. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”
