Clark landed hard and fast just a few feet from the backdoor of his parents’ farmhouse, the sonic boom echoing in his ears. He stepped forward immediately, swinging open the door and stepping into the kitchen.
“Mom? Dad?”
Martha appeared in the doorway from the living room. “Clark!” she said, obviously startled to find him there. “We weren’t expecting you for a few hours.” She darted a glance out the living room window to the gravel driveway where his truck was noticeably absent.
“I came straight from Metropolis,” he said, his voice clipped and hurried. “I can’t stay for dinner, but we need to talk. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s upstairs,” Martha said, worry creeping across her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I… We need to talk. I just-” He stopped abruptly and strode past her into the living room. “Dad!”
Jonathan hurried to the top of the stairs, his shirt untucked and hair ruffled. Clark knew he should feel bad for waking him from a nap, but he didn’t have the time or energy to consider it. “Clark? What’s wrong?” Jonathan asked, his concern evident on his face.
Clark ran his hand through his hair, no clue how to have the conversation with them that they needed to have.
“We need to talk. I need to talk to both of you. Can you-”
Jonathan was on his way down the steps before Clark could finish the request.
“What is it?” Martha asked, wrapping her sweater around her as if it could offer her protection from the words he was about to utter. “Did something happen?”
“Lois is in danger,” he said. “Someone shot at her. Luthor. Or someone working for him.”
Martha gasped. “Is she okay?”
“She’s…fine,” he said. “She wasn’t injured. She didn’t realize she was in danger.”
Jonathan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “She didn’t realize she was in danger? She didn’t hear the gunshots? How did you know she was in danger and she didn’t? Are you sure-”
“I caught the bullets.”
The silence was deafening. It stretched out between them, a growing chasm of shock and horror.
“It was…instinct,” he said. “I heard the click of the safety. And then the firing of the gun. I pushed her out of the way and caught the bullets. Four of them.”
“You caught bullets?” his mother whispered. He worried for a minute she would faint.
“Where were you when this happened?” his father asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
There was a long pause, and he knew they knew. Not the exact location, but that this was not something he had done in private.
“On the front steps of her apartment,” he said finally. “We had gone for a run in the park. They were waiting for us – for her – to get home.”
“You stood on a busy street in Metropolis and used your powers?” Jonathan asked, incredulous. “What were you thinking?!”
“What was I supposed to do?” he exploded. “Let her die? I love her!”
“Clark!” his mother gasped, taken aback by his tone or his declaration. Possibly both.
“Did anyone see you? Did she see you?” Jonathan asked.
Clark shook his head tersely. “No one seemed to notice. She thought it was a car backfiring. Everyone else must have too, because no one screamed or panicked. I looked for the shooter, but by the time I recovered from the shock, he was gone. And I was focused on making sure Lois was okay and trying to answer her questions about why I’d just shoved her to the ground without warning.”
“Did you tell her?”
“I told her someone shot at her,” he said. “But she didn’t believe me. I crushed the bullets, so I couldn’t prove it to her even if I…. I tried to convince her she was in danger. We wound up fighting. It was–” He felt himself spiraling and took a few deep breaths to try to calm down. “Eventually she called the police and they agreed to do extra patrols outside her house and put an officer inside her office building. I left her at work a little while ago and waited there until I saw the police officer arrive. Then I came straight here.”
He had gone out to catch his alleged cab and instead, he’d rocketed home at top speed, staying just long enough to drop off his bags and change into an all black outfit – a button down shirt and dress pants that looked professional and nondescript – before speeding back to Metropolis, where he’d hung around in the shadows, trying to blend in with the crowds as he walked the streets and alleys around the Daily Planet building, keeping an eye on things with his x-ray vision. In between sweeps of the lobby and stairwell, he saw her chatting at her desk with Cat and then talking to Perry in his office. He felt bad spying on her and was careful not to listen in on her conversations. But he had to know that she was safe. He had to know that there wasn’t someone lurking in the building just waiting for their opportunity to finish what they’d started.
“Okay,” Martha said, her voice unnaturally calm. “It’s okay. No one saw. You got lucky. You couldn’t have predicted something like that would happen. I’m sure it was just instinct. It’s fine. You can just-”
“I have to tell her,” he said. “I have to tell her everything.”
Martha stopped talking abruptly. His father’s mouth hung open, his face horrified.
“I have to tell her,” he repeated. “She needs to know she’s in danger. She needs to let me protect her.”
“You said yourself, she called the police, and they’re giving her protection,” Jonathan said.
“Why do you need to tell her right now? What possible good could come from that?”
“I can protect her better than they can!” he insisted, and his voice sounded loud and strained even to his own ears. “She needs me! I was going to tell her anyway. I was going to tell her at Thanksgiving. I wanted… I need to tell her. I love her. She loves me. She needs to know who I am. She deserves to know. If she really wants a life with me, she has a right to know.”
He could see a series of emotions flicker across his mother’s face. Shock. Wonder. Hope. Concern.
“I was going to tell her anyway,” he said again, more calmly this time. “But now I don’t have time to wait. I’m going to go back next weekend to tell her. But if anything happens before then – if I think she’s in danger – I’m going to tell her immediately. Hopefully the police presence will scare Luthor off. But if it doesn’t…. I have to tell her right away.”
“Clark….” Martha started quietly, obviously unsure what to say next.
“You can’t make this kind of decision on impulse,” Jonathan interjected firmly. “You need to–”
“I didn’t come here for your permission!” Clark roared.
His parents looked stunned. He couldn’t think of another time in his life when he had raised his voice to them like this.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry I shouted. But I just came to warn you. I thought you should know first.”
“Have you thought about what this means?” Jonathan asked quietly. “Have you thought about what could happen? She’s a reporter for god’s sake.”
“She’s not going to write about me! I’m telling you that I trust her. Why don’t you trust her?” Clark said, his volume rising with each word.
“We barely know her!” Jonathan thundered, as bewildered as he was angry.
“I know her!” Clark shot back. “I know we’re in love!”
Martha held up a hand to stop him, and Clark quieted abruptly, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.
“Everyone, calm down,” his mother said. “Why don’t we have some tea and talk this through? Clark, you can’t go to her like this and tell her something this important. You’re going to scare her. Is this really how you want to have this conversation with her? Let’s…talk about this.”
“I can’t stay,” he said quietly. “She needs me. I need to get back.”
Martha nodded again. “I know. But you’ve only been gone a few minutes. You said there was a police officer with her. You can stay for a little while and have a cup of tea.”
His stomach rebelled at the idea, but he knew she was right. He nodded and took a shaky breath.
“Why don’t you sit down and try to relax a tiny bit?” she said, guiding him to the couch. “Your father can help me with the tea.”
He sat automatically, part of him glad to have his mother there to tell him what to do. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. He had to get a hold of himself. Leaving her had been torture. He had been relatively calm when he was outside her building keeping watch. But now that she was out of his sight…. He reached out with his hearing, knowing it was futile, but desperate to hear her voice, her heartbeat.
Instead, he heard snatches of the whispered conversations between his parents as they waited for the tea kettle to whistle. “We need to be supportive.” and “We don’t know anything about her!” and “I’m not surprised he wants to tell her, but not like this.” and “He sounds unhinged. He’s going to scare her.” and “We can’t let him do something he’ll regret….”
He tried to tune them out and focus on calming his breath and his heartbeat. He knew he was frightening his parents, that he seemed out of control, but all he could think about was keeping Lois safe.
They returned a couple minutes later, and he accepted the mug his mother held out to him automatically. He sat it on the coffee table in front of him and took a steadying breath.
“I can’t just leave her to fend for herself,” he said quietly. “I have to protect her. I have to tell her.”
“Clark, I believe that you love her,” Martha said gently. “And she’s a lovely girl. Your father and I both really enjoyed meeting her. And I understand why you think you need to tell her about yourself…eventually. You know how much I want you to have a family of your own someday. And when you find the woman–”
“I’ve already found her,” he interrupted. “There isn’t going to be anyone else. I know now. Lois is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Jonathan opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Martha held up her hand in his direction.
“I know, honey,” she said to Clark. “I hear you. I do. And that’s wonderful. I want that for you so much. But there’s no need to rush into telling her. You said you were thinking about telling her at Thanksgiving. Let’s…talk about that. You’ve only been dating a short time. You don’t have to make a decision today.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice agonized. His mind flashed with memories of Saturday afternoon. The sound of the safety. The stunned look on Lois’ face when she looked up at him from where she caught herself on the steps. The feel of the bullets in his hands. “He tried to kill her. If I hadn’t been standing there…. If I hadn’t been fast enough…. I can’t… I can’t….”
“That must have been so scary,” his mother said gently.
“I love her,” he said again, softly this time.
His mother nodded encouragingly. “When you think you might lose someone you love, it’s terrifying,” she said. “So we’re going to have some tea and talk it through. Let’s see what we can do to keep her safe and keep you safe.”
Clark ran his hand through his hair again, then stood and started pacing. “I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I can’t. Not right now. I have to go. We can talk later. I just need to see her and make sure she’s okay.”
“Honey, don’t you think-”
But it was too late. He was gone.
*****
When Clark returned to Metropolis, Lois was still at her desk working, and the police officer assigned to protect her was prowling the lobby with occasional forays to the newsroom and parking deck. Clark could find no fault with the man’s protection. He was clearly alert, cautious, and conscientious.
After another hour, Lois began to pack up her things. He watched as she walked to Perry’s office and spoke to him briefly. Then she walked back to her desk and made a call. He was tempted to listen in, but forced himself not to. He felt bad enough already about spying on her.
She hung up and walked to the elevator. When the doors opened, the police officer was waiting inside. He held the door for her, and she entered, chatting with him amiably, and he realized that call must have been down to the lobby to ask for an escort to her car.
Sure enough, they rode down to the lower level parking deck together, and he watched, pleased, as the officer exited the elevator car first and did a quick sweep of the area before motioning for Lois to exit. He walked her all the way to her Jeep, and checked the outside and inside of the vehicle, including underneath the carriage, before handing her back her keys and nodding goodbye. He saw her thank him, and then pull out carefully from her parking spot and make her way to the exit. The officer watched until her tail lights disappeared around the corner, and then spoke briefly into his radio and walked back to the elevator.
Clark offered up a silent thank you to the officer, and to Lois, who was clearly taking her promise to be careful seriously.
He watched her Jeep leave the parking deck, then stepped into the alley and glanced around quickly before rocketing into the sky. From above, he watched her Jeep wind through the quiet city streets. She parked a block from her house, and he frowned as he watched her walk toward her apartment building. He knew she had no choice but to park where she could find a spot, but every nerve cell in his body was on high alert as he watched her make her way up the block.
She seemed to be on high alert too, watching her surroundings carefully as she walked quickly along the city sidewalk. When she turned to climb the stairs, his heart was in his throat, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to descend beside her and wrap his arms around her. Instead, he focused on scanning the block for anything out of place, listening carefully for any tell-tale snicks.
Something caught her attention, and she turned. He tensed, ready to be at her side in a moment. But it was just a uniformed police officer emerging from the shadows to walk past her front steps. He called out a greeting, and she smiled and waved, and he realized it must be an officer she recognized.
When she disappeared through the heavy outer door, he breathed a sigh of relief. He scanned all the common areas of the building as well as her apartment, reassuring himself that no one was lurking about, waiting for her. He watched as she entered her apartment and locked all the locks. Then he looked away, trying to balance his desperate need to keep her safe with his desire to respect her privacy.
He reached out with his hearing instead, listening to the soft shuffling sounds of her hanging up her bag and putting away her keys, then walking to the kitchen. Finally he honed in on her heartbeat, and he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as his own heartbeat slowed and settled for the first time since he left her side.
He heard her dial the phone, and then recognized the sound of his own answering machine. He smiled as he heard her wait for the beep and then leave him a message. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m home. I just wanted you to know I got home safely. Henderson came through. There was an officer at the office all evening, and he walked me out to my car. And when I got home, there was another officer patrolling in front of my building. So no worrying. I’m in good hands. And I’m being careful, I promise. I hope you had a good flight, and you’re having a nice dinner with your parents. I’m going to go to bed early tonight, so don’t worry about calling me back when you get home. Call me in the morning before work if you can, though. I had a little breakthrough tonight, and I want to tell you about it. You won’t believe how it happened. Okay, that’s all, except… I love you. I miss you already. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”
His heart clenched with joy. He loved her so much. He still could not believe that he was this lucky. That she loved him.
He scanned the area quickly and descended into the shadows beside her building, then crossed the street and settled himself on the bench located there. He listened to her as she walked around her apartment, heated something in her microwave, and turned on the news. As he listened, he scanned the street, watching and waiting.
He stayed there all evening, checking in on her occasionally, careful not to invade her privacy any more than necessary. He tried to keep his scans mainly to the common areas of her building and the public street around her, but he peeked in a couple of times just to assure himself that she was safe and calm.
When he heard her pull back the blankets and get into bed, he lost the willpower not to watch her, and had peeked at her just briefly, wishing he could be next to her, sleeping with her in his arms again. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that looked vaguely familiar, and his heart had leapt when he realized it was the shirt he had been wearing the previous night before he stripped it off and tossed it unceremoniously to the floor. He had forgotten about it completely and had failed to pack it during his half-hearted packing attempt earlier. She must have found it on the floor by her bed and decided to wear it to feel closer to him. His heart swelled with love for her.
He forced himself to look away, but he listened to her heartbeat for the next hour as she fell asleep, assuring himself that tomorrow would be just like today – that Luthor had seen the increased protection around her and would not risk losing his freedom to attack her again.
When the first rays of sunshine began to turn the inky blackness of the sky to gray, Clark looked at his watch and realized he needed to go home soon to get ready for work. He scanned her building again, finding nothing out of the ordinary, and stood and stretched. He heard her alarm go off, and smiled as it stopped abruptly, cut off by a well-aimed smack. He smiled as he listened to her grumble as she got out of bed and padded to the bathroom.
He paced for a while, studiously avoiding looking or listening in her apartment while she got showered and dressed. Eventually, he reached out again and heard the familiar tapping of her high heels, and he knew she was dressed and ready for work.
Across the street, just down the block from Lois’ apartment building, a small line was forming at the kiosk where Lois often bought coffee and pastries on the way to work when she walked, and he smiled, a plan forming in his mind. He strolled down the street and ordered a coffee and danish, fixing the coffee just the way she liked.
He carried it up the steps of her building, scanning the common areas quickly to make sure he wouldn’t be seen, and then zipped up the stairs to her front door, leaving the offering outside her door. He hesitated for just a second, aching to knock and hold her in his arms. And then he disappeared back down the hallway and stairs the way he came. Outside, he ducked into the alley and shot straight up toward the sky, not slowing until he was above the cloud cover. Then he raced home, landing quietly in his dark backyard.
Clark sped through a shower and spun into a set of clean work clothes, dialing her number before he even tied his tie. He held the receiver to his ear with his shoulder as he tied the knot, the ball of nerves in his stomach dissipating the second he heard her eager voice.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey,” he said, tightening the knot and sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Hi! How was your flight? How were your parents?”
He cringed, not wanting to answer either of those questions. “Fine,” he said finally. “I have a surprise for you. Go open your front door.”
“What?” she said, off balance.
“Go open your door,” he insisted.
“Is this going to be a habit? Should I invest in a cordless phone?” she teased.
“Just go,” he said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.
She disappeared for a second, and then was back. “Clark! How did you-”
“Magic,” he teased. One last bit of magic, he told himself. Soon she would know exactly how he was able to do it. He tried not to think about that, tried just to enjoy her delight.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I don’t know how you do it, but…. You’re so sweet. Thank you.”
“How’d you sleep?” he asked.
“Good. Fine.” She hesitated. “Not as well as I slept with you in my bed.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “God, Lois. I miss you so much. So much.”
“I know,” she said. “Me too.”
“I was thinking,” he said. “I could get a red-eye Friday. After the game. I could come for the weekend. It wouldn’t be long, but….”
She paused, and he felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach, wondering if he was pushing too hard.
“I feel guilty saying yes to that,” she whispered. “It feels like too much. It feels like I’m asking too much. You were just here. It’ll be such a quick turn around….”
“You aren’t asking,” he said. “I’m offering. I miss you already, honey. I can’t wait until Thanksgiving. And I hope Luthor has already been caught by this weekend. But if he hasn’t…. I’ll feel so much better being with you.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “Yes. Please. Oh, Clark. Thank you.”
He exhaled loudly, relieved that she appreciated his offer. That she wanted him there as much as he wanted to be there. “What did you want to tell me about your investigation?” he asked. “You said there was a breakthrough.”
“Oh! I found the last Intergang connection! Remember how the seventh company had no tie to CostMart? And it was driving me crazy?”
“Yes,” he said immediately. “You linked the CEO to Luthor. But you couldn’t find any record of them paying money to CostMart.”
“I thought maybe they were paying via a shell company or in cash,” she said. “But get this – the CEO is married to a member of the CostMart board of directors!”
“What?” he said, shocked. “How did you figure that out?”
“Cat!” she said immediately. “She was in the newsroom last night writing up an article, and she saw the picture of the CEO on my desk with all my research. She started gossiping about his marriage to his wife, and then mentioned casually that she used to work for one of Luthor’s companies, but now she’s on the board at CostMart. I about had a heart attack.”
“Wow,” he said. “So now what?”
“Now I work on proving the CostMart-Intergang connection. I’m going to lean on this CEO, and Perry’s going to reach out to Bill Church, who’s the founder of CostMart and a long-time friend of his. We’re going to see what we can find out today.”
His stomach roiled.
“Clark?” she said after a pause.
“That’s…great, honey,” he said, his voice strained.
“I’ll be careful,” she said softly.
“I know,” he said. “I know you will. I just…. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to…. I’m not trying to be controlling. I’m just….”
“Scared?” she said gently. “Because you love me?”
“Yes,” he said, his confirmation bursting out of him. “I love you so much. I can’t bear to think about something happening to you. I know this is your job. I’m not trying to stop you. I just want you to be safe.”
“I know,” she said. “Try not to worry. I’m being extra careful. Henderson’s guys did a great job last night. And I’ll be extra careful today too, I promise. I have a meeting with Perry and Henderson at noon to go over what I’ve found. But I’m going to work from home this morning to vary my schedule. I’ll stay late too, and have dinner at work. I’ll call you as soon as I get home. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Okay,” he said, but it was a lie. He was already worried. She was safe right now, on the phone with him, inside her apartment. But they were going to hang up, and he was going to go to work, and she was going to venture out unprotected by his presence.
“You should go,” she said. “You’re going to be late for work.”
“Okay,” he said again. “I love you, sweetheart. Have a good day. I’ll call you after practice.”
“Okay,” she said, and he could hear the flirty smile in her voice. “You have a good day too. I love you.”
They said goodbye, and he hung up the receiver, severing their connection, and the pain was nearly physical. He could do this, he told himself. He could go to work, and focus on teaching and coaching. He could go straight from work to Metropolis and watch as the officer escorted her safely home. Then he could come home and talk to her on the phone until bedtime. And then he would zip back to Metropolis and patrol again. Even if he didn’t stay all night, he could stay until she was asleep. He could watch her building to make sure she was safe. Between phone calls and patrols, he could spend all his free time keeping her safe. He just had to get through the day. He could do that.
