Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Federal Disaster (2-4/37)

Notes: I decided to post two chapters a day instead of one, so in order to get back to even numbers, I am posting chapters 2, 3, and 4 here and on the Nfic side.


banner by CarrieRene

Chapter 2

Lois was nervous when she saw Clark the following morning at the Planet. She wasn’t used to being nervous around him and she wasn’t sure she liked the feeling. She’d been nervous when he’d first asked her out on a date, but that had been a different kind of nervous. The kind where you’re scared, but also excited...there was a delicious sort of anticipation that accompanied the fear, making it worth it.

This was different. She felt unsure of herself — as if the world had tilted slightly on its axis and she was struggling to balance.

He was waiting for her at her desk with a single red rose. He’d been doing things like this lately — flowers, chocolates, little notes in her bag or pockets telling her he loved her or he couldn’t wait to see her. It normally made her beyond happy to know that he cared for her so deeply.

Today, it made her stomach churn with uncertainty.

“Good morning,” he said with a gentle kiss on her cheek. She smiled half-heartedly and took the offered rose. “I enjoyed last night.”

“Me too,” she said, surprised at the slight tremor in her voice. Where did that come from? She looked down at the rose she still held and placed it on her desk. She almost wished he wasn’t so thoughtful. It only made her worry more.

Sure, he was eager to show his love via small gifts and notes now, but what about once they were married? Would he be as devoted once he’d gotten the one thing their relationship currently lacked? Was the anticipation of what was to come the inspiration for all the displays of affection?

“Good,” he said and the relief in his voice was palpable. “I thought...well I was a bit worried especially since you ran off when my mom called. I didn’t want you to think that I was pushing for...well, I know we agreed to wait.”

“It’s fine,” she said, waving it away as if to banish the anxiety swirling around in her head. “I just...it was a good time for me to go before…”

“Before things got out of hand?” he said, and the low suggestive tone of his voice sent shivers through her entire body. Suddenly, she felt as if she were unable to breathe. The way he was looking at her felt almost indecent.

“Yes…” was all she could manage to get out. Oh God, he was really looking forward to this. His first time. With her.

What if she didn’t live up to the hype? After all, when you built something up in your head, more often than not you came up disappointed. What if that happened with Clark?

She looked back at him, feeling almost panicked. He clearly noticed because he took both of her hands and covered them with his large ones. She felt instantly grounded and protected.

“I will be honest with you...part of me wanted things to get out of hand," he said in a quiet voice. She swallowed heavily. "I want you. Sometimes so much I can’t think straight. I look at you and it’s all I can think about. You are all I can think about. But I know it’s important to you to wait. And I understand. It will make things far more special to make love to you as husband and wife.”

He kissed her softly, lovingly and stood back, his dark eyes searching hers for understanding.

Her emotions swirled around. She was terrified. His first time. Their first time. A first like that should be incredible — life altering. At least that’s what music and movies told you. But it wasn’t always so.

She thought back to her own first time in high school.

She’d been a senior and had been dating a boy named Jason Mackenzie. He’d taken her to her prom and she had decided she was ready. She had convinced herself she loved him, and because of it, she had built it up in her head to be the most powerful and magical experience of her life.

Instead, Jason had lasted all of five minutes and fallen asleep, leaving her frustrated and hugely disappointed. He’d then broken up with her a week later claiming that going to different universities would make it too difficult to maintain a long distance relationship. She’d been crushed at the time but she had also learned an important lesson — you shouldn’t get your hopes up.

She didn’t want to get Clark’s hopes up. Not when he was being so attentive as it was.

“Lois?”

She still hadn’t responded. She shook herself out of her anxious thoughts. She must be panicking...finding faults where there were none. She loved Clark and he loved her. She would not talk herself out of this. She wanted it too much.

“I understand that feeling,” she admitted to him, flushing slightly with embarrassment. Despite how comfortable she was with him in every other circumstance, talking to him about sex made her feel like a teenager all over again.

“What feeling?” he asked her, running his thumb gently over her knuckles and causing her to shiver. Maybe she had nothing to worry about. After all, if his thumb could cause her to feel this way with just a touch...well, they did have amazing chemistry together so far.

“Wanting it to get out of hand,” she breathed. “Last night, I wanted…”

“Lane! Kent!” The familiar bark of Perry White, Editor In Chief of the Daily Planet startled both of them out of the intimate moment they had somehow managed to create for themselves. Lois even saw Clark visibly jump a little bit, which caused her to giggle slightly. He looked like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Perry made his way over to the two of them with long purposeful strides. Lois could tell by the look in his eyes that something was up — something that required the specific talents of Lane and Kent.

“What’s up, Chief?” Lois asked as she surreptitiously extricated her hands from Clark’s. Perry had recently split with his wife, Alice, and she knew it had been hard on him, despite his claims that he was okay. It caused her to be more conscious of public displays of affection around him — even small ones.

“You remember that trade agreement our government was working on with the French government? Well, the President of France has sent a delegation to Metropolis which includes their prime minister. Our president is expected to meet with them at the Lexor hotel over the course of the next two weeks to hammer out the details. There will be a small amount of press allowed daily for updates on their progress. I want you two on this.”

“Why here?” Clark wondered, “why not Washington?”

“The French president requested it. Seems his prime minister took quite a shine to this city a few years back when they visited.”

“I remember that,” Lois said, softly. That had been before Clark had come to the Planet. When she’d worked with…

“Oh, that’s right!” Perry said, his face lighting up. “Well, I am glad you remember that, Lois because that’s when we had that young man from France working here for a few months on exchange...Claude Dupont. You remember him?”

Lois felt her heart lurch in her chest and the colour drain from her face. With trembling hands, she found her office chair and sank down into it. Perry didn’t seem to notice her reaction, but Clark certainly did. She could feel the concern in his eyes burning into her as she spoke.

“I remember.”

Perry continued speaking, oblivious to both their reactions.

“That’s good, because his paper is sending him down here as well to cover the talks. They’ve already asked that he work with the Planet on this one as a show of unity. And you two got along so well the last time, well...it was a no brainer. You okay with that?”

No. No, she was not okay. She was the furthest from okay that she could get. Okay was in Alaska. But what on Earth could she possibly say to Perry? She’d been new to the paper when she’d fallen for Claude. She hadn’t told anybody about their relationship and neither had he. He’d told her he wanted to keep it a secret — to keep things professional at work. Lois had been so desperate to prove herself to Perry that she hadn’t wanted to do anything that would hurt her chances of rising up the ranks. It wasn’t until far later with the hindsight of experience that she’d realised his true motivation had been to take what he wanted physically and emotionally while helping himself to her work as well.

“Sounds good, Perry,” Clark replied, leaping to her rescue for the millionth time. He must have noticed her distress because he reached over and squeezed her hand. She gave him a grateful smile. She’d told him about Claude when he’d joined the Planet in a rare moment of vulnerability when she thought they were about to die, and while she hadn’t mentioned him since, Clark knew that her past relationships were part of the reason it had taken her so long to trust him. He must know the impact this was having on her.

“Excellent,” Perry replied, pleased with the arrangements. “His flight is due to arrive in Metropolis at two. He should be here by three, which should give you just enough time to have a little tete-a-tete. Clark, you’re going to like this man. He was a good writer when he was here with us. I think he won an award for his piece on corruption in the police department. You remember that?”

“I remember,” Lois said tightly. It should have been her first Kerth.

“Right,” Perry said, finally sensing some tension. “Well, I’ll let you two uh...get some brainstorming done. I have to find Jimmy. That fool kid is trying to set me up again and I...well, I’ll see you later.”

Lois let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding as Perry made his way towards his office. Clark sat down on the corner of her desk and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She noticed that his jaw line was firm. He didn’t like this either, but was trying to control his reaction for her sake.

“You okay?”

She wished everyone would stop asking that question.

“I’m fine,” she lied, looking anywhere but the face of her partner. A lead ball had formed in the pit of her stomach and she felt slightly nauseous. She wasn’t supposed to see him again. It was the only positive thing about getting her heart broken and her story stolen. He was supposed to have gone off to France never to be seen again.

And now he was coming back. Just when she felt like the pieces of her life were falling into place. She looked back up to see that Clark was looking at her — searching her expression for reassurance. But it was reassurance she couldn’t give.

“Are you sure? I bet I can get Perry to assign us to something else…”

“No,” she said sharply — too sharply. His concerned frown deepened and she had to look away again.

“Lois, you told me what happened with him,” he said and for some reason the gentleness in his tone bothered her. She wasn’t some fragile thing that could fall apart so easily. She was Lois Lane.

“It was a long time ago,” she replied, softening her tone ever so slightly in the hopes that he would believe her. She let some of the tension drain from her shoulders as she tried to convince herself it would be okay. She wasn’t that same scared novice reporter she’d been all those years ago. Things were different now. She had her reputation, her awards...and she had Clark. “I was a very different person. Whatever happened back then...it’s in the past. I promise.”

“Okay,” he said and she knew that he would drop it for her sake.

“Thank you,” she said, reaching up and touching his cheek gently with her finger. “For being so understanding. Promise me you won’t say anything about...that you’ll be polite. For my sake?”

“I promise,” he replied, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be the picture of professional courtesy. However, I reserve the right to daydream about punching him in the face. Deal?”

She laughed her first real laugh of the morning.

“Deal.”


Chapter 3

Lois went through the rest of the morning and afternoon on auto pilot. Desperate to avoid dealing with any of the complicated feelings that inevitably accompanied thoughts about Claude or what had happened with him, she forced herself to think about the upcoming trade talks and bounced ideas off of Clark on what kind of angle they might take and how they should cover it as a team. He didn’t say anything further to her about Claude, but she was extremely aware of the way he watched her — cautiously but without pity. She was grateful. The last thing she wanted was to be pitied by the man she admired most.

By the time two thirty rolled around, they had brainstormed all they could. Lois found herself pushing her chair away from her computer, blinking and standing up to stretch. Clark did the same, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a short but very satisfying rub. She let out a soft groan of appreciation.

“You are so good at that. Where did you learn it?” she asked. “No, wait...don’t tell me...a buddhist monk in Tibet taught you.”

Clark laughed.

“No monks,” he said quietly. “Maybe I just know how to touch you.” Lois allowed his voice to wash over her and gave into the host of fantasies that suddenly flashed through her mind. Was he right? Was it really that simple? God, she hoped so.

She checked her watch and frowned.

“He should be here soon.” She said heavily. Clark nodded and took a deep breath.

“We can still ask Perry to re-assign us,” he offered, though she could tell from his tone of voice that he knew the effort was futile. “If not for you, for me. I mean, working with the guy who...did that to you isn’t exactly top of my career highlights list.”

“That’s nice, Clark, but I think I need to face this,” she replied and something inside her knew that much at least was true. “Besides, I don’t want Perry asking too many questions. He doesn’t know what happened.”

“Maybe he should,” Clark said. The hard edge his voice had taken on told Lois he was trying to control the anger he was feeling. She understood. She’d been angry over having her work stolen, not to mention her heart broken for a long time. “The man took credit for your work — got an award for your work. Perry should know that. I mean why didn’t you tell him when it happened?”

“It’s complicated,” Lois replied, feeling slightly defensive now. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” he said, his voice softening slightly. He pulled her close and trailed a finger down the line of her jaw. She closed her eyes and savoured the feeling of it. “You’re right, I wasn’t there. But I want to understand. You’re Lois Lane. Why would you protect him then? Or now?”

“Because,” she said, feeling exasperation creeping into her voice once more. Sometimes his naivete was extremely charming and other times it was downright grating. “I wasn’t Lois Lane then!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? You went by a different name? Had a secret identity perhaps?”

He was lucky his tone was light — their normal, familiar banter.

“Ha-ha,” she retorted, slightly amused at his attempt to lighten her mood. But he still wasn't getting it. “I mean, I was a young female reporter who had yet to make a name for myself. He was seasoned — a pro. People knew him, they liked him! Perry liked him.”

She shook herself out of Clark’s embrace and paced back and forth a bit, keeping her eye on the elevator, lest it open and reveal the object of their conversation.

“I get that,” Clark said with a small smile. “I know what it’s like to be a hack from Nowheresville.”

“It’s different than that,” she said, feeling frustrated at having to explain what was painfully obvious to every professional career woman. “As a man you don’t have to automatically fight for basic respect. That’s a given. Perry respected you the moment you walked in the door, even if he didn’t think you were cut out for the Planet yet. You didn’t have to prove yourself like I did.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice genuinely contrite. “I guess I didn’t think of that.”

Lois sighed and shook her head, grateful at least that he wasn’t the type of guy to argue that casual sexism didn’t exist when it was pointed out to him.

“If something like that happened now, I would know what to do,” she admitted. “And Perry would have my back, no questions asked, but back then...it was different. And I don’t want Perry to know that I was manipulated like that. Don’t you understand? I may have three Kerths under my belt, but his approval still means the world to me.”

She spoke the last sentence with a tremor in her voice. She looked down at her shoes and tried to control the tears that suddenly threatened to fall. She hated going back to that time in her life. That time when she was so new and everything was so uncertain and she took people at their word rather than by their actions. She’d never quite forgiven that version of herself for being so willing to trust those who hadn’t proven themselves worthy of it. After all, if she’d been just a little more street-wise, maybe she wouldn’t have kept Clark at bay for so long.

She hadn’t realised his arms were around her until she was leaning her head against the solid comfort of his chest. She swallowed heavily and composed herself.

“People are probably staring,” she murmured into the fabric of his jacket.

He tipped her chin up to meet his loving gaze and brought her lips to his, whispering, “Then let’s give them something to stare at.”

When they parted, she touched the side of his face tenderly and marvelled at the depth of love she could see in his eyes.

“How did I get so lucky?” she asked. He chuckled.

“I ask myself the same question every day.” He stood back and picked up the notes they had written on the trade talks in preparation for Claude’s arrival. Lois watched him quietly, knowing he didn’t need a tenth of the time it was taking him to read those notes. When he looked up, he gave her a thin smile.

“I promised I wouldn’t say anything, and I promised I would behave,” he assured her. “And I will. But...for the record...you could never disappoint Perry. Or me. I hope you know that.”

“I do,” she said, trying to ignore the pit in her stomach that felt she wasn’t being truthful. She wanted to believe that there was nothing to worry about — but life had spent a long time teaching her otherwise. She couldn’t help but always feel as if the other shoe was about to drop.

And drop it did as the chime of the elevator caused both of their heads to turn and watch as Claude Dupont stepped into the newsroom. It didn’t take him long to spot Lois. A sideways glance at Clark, who stood as rigid as a statue, told her that he’d also figured out who he was. She took a deep breath. This could get interesting.

As he walked towards them, Lois took him in. He looked the same and yet somehow completely different. He was a tall, lean man with sharp cheekbones and an aristocratic nose. He had deep blue eyes and wore an impeccably tailored suit that made Clark’s look shabby by comparison. There were creases around his eyes that hadn’t been there before — he’d been older than her when she had known him almost ten years ago. He was still handsome. And Lois hated herself for noticing.

“Lois!” he exclaimed as he reached the two of them. “It’s been so long. You look...incredible. Absolutely incredible. Time has been very good to you.”

“And to you,” she replied coolly, not wanting to sound eager or rude.

“And you must be Mr. Kent,” he said, turning to Clark with a smile and offering his hand. “I saw the billboards as I came in. The hottest writing team in town. It is my absolute pleasure to meet you.”

“The….pleasure...is all mine,” Clark said. On the surface he sounded perfectly polite, but Lois knew the current of anger that simmered below the surface.

Claude looked back at Lois and she stood up a little straighter. She would not be intimidated. She was not a novice anymore; she was an equal.

“I can’t believe it’s been so long,” he said again with a shake of his head. “I’ve followed your career, you know.”

“You have?” Lois said, mildly surprised. She hadn’t followed his. “I...didn’t realise.”

“You’ve covered some great stories,” he continued. “Some of the best. I even saw that you’ve won three Kerths!”

“Four,” Lois couldn’t help but blurt. Claude had the good grace to look away, but said nothing. Clark broke the tension by clearing his throat. He spoke, a friendly mild mannered expression plastered across his normally expressive face .

“We should probably get to work.”

He handed Claude the notepad that they’d been using to brainstorm with and he busied himself for a moment reading them. Lois felt herself relax slightly. Despite the feelings cascading through her, she also couldn’t help but feel a sense of normalcy at the sight in front of her. She could recall numerous occasions where she’d made notes on something she thought could be a story only to run it by Claude first in the hopes that he would offer his approval or advice.

This time however, she didn’t feel the need for him to validate her work. She and Clark knew how good they were — the billboards proved it.

He turned back to them and handed her the notepad.

“This is good,” was all he said. “I like where you want to go with this. But there’s more that you should know about these talks. In fact...it’s the reason I asked to be assigned to work with you again.”

“What do you mean?” Lois asked, noticing that the mask Clark had plastered on his face was slowly being replaced by a curiosity that matched her own.

Claude hesitated, looking between her and Clark for a moment as if trying to decide something.

“I...would prefer to talk to you about it alone, Lois,” he said, and Lois was reminded of all the times that gentle French accent had completely blinded her, leading her to agree with whatever he asked. Not this time.

“Anything you have to say, you can say in front of Clark,” she replied firmly, not missing the small smile that flitted across his mouth. “He’s my fiance and my partner and I would trust him with my life.”

“What about the life of your president?” Claude asked, his voice suddenly deadly serious.

Chapter 4

Lois and Clark quickly ushered Claude into the conference room. She watched as Clark made a show of closing the blinds and checking the door to make sure it was locked, but knew that it was a cover for an even deeper surveillance — the kind that only Superman could provide. When he was satisfied that nobody was listening, he gave her a small nod and they both turned to face Claude.

“What do you know?” she asked him, cutting straight to the point. She saw him hesitate for a split second, then sit down at the table. He touched a hand to his temples and Lois noticed he was greying there now.

“I shouldn’t know any of this,” he said, his voice heavy.

“Any of what?” Clark asked, no longer masking the irritation in his voice. Lois touched his arm gently and felt him relax.

Claude sighed. “I haven’t had a career as successful as yours, Lois,” he said, and Lois felt a thrill of satisfaction go through her despite the seriousness of the situation. “I don’t cover big stories. Mostly, I just get the press junkets and...what do you call them…. ‘puff pieces’?”

He looked around, his eyes darting back and forth, and Lois noticed for the first time how genuinely distressed he was. She could tell by the look on her partner’s face, that he noticed it too. However complicated her feelings were for him, she knew she needed to put them aside and focus on the matter at hand.

“Go on,” she said softly, sitting down next to him and giving him what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

“I was asked to cover a school program that allows kids to take a tour through the Assemblee Nationale where our parliament meets. It was a simple story, and after I was finished making my notes, I went to find the men’s room. I don’t often get assigned to cover anything in the Palais Bourbon and I got lost in the corridors. I ended up in some kind of cabinet meeting room. I thought I had found the door back to the hallway, but it turned out to be a broom closet instead.”

He looked a little sheepish and Lois found herself fighting the impulse to roll her eyes.

“Then what?” Clark asked, and Lois could tell he still wasn’t convinced that Claude had seen or heard anything that might point to the President being in danger.

“The door accidentally shut behind me. I was about to open it when I heard voices enter the meeting room. They sounded familiar, so I listened in and I overheard them discussing a plot to assassinate the President of the United States during the trade talks. They have men...powerful men in your government who are also involved. They talked about having hired someone — a professional from your country who could make the shot from so far away even Superman couldn’t hear it.”

“Did they say why?” Lois asked, a feeling of ice cold fear overcoming her. This was big. And highly dangerous if what Claude was saying was true. “Or when? Did you get a look at them? Or contact the authorities, or…?”

“Lois,” Clark said softly, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Too fast. She was going too fast. She took a deep breath and let Claude speak.

“No,” Claude said, shaking his head quickly. “I didn’t hear why or when. And I couldn’t see them. I couldn’t risk opening the door and being caught. All I know is their voices sounded familiar, but given that I was in the Parliament buildings, they could be anyone in government. And no, I didn’t contact the authorities. I didn’t know who to trust or how high it went.”

She watched as he stood up and checked the blinds once more. She noticed his hands were shaking. It was obvious this was the first story he’d covered that involved any real danger. When he was satisfied once more that nobody could see him, he turned back to the two of them.

“When I heard my paper was sending someone to cover the talks, I had to beg, borrow and steal to get assigned to it. I had to see you, Lois. Had to warn you. I told you I’ve followed your career. I know that you know Superman. I thought maybe you could get a message to him...to warn him.”

“We will,” Clark said in that reassuring tone she’d heard him use so often in the past with sources who were stressed or scared.

“What about our government?” Lois wondered though the moment she spoke the fear in Claude’s eyes only grew. “Surely we should warn the President."

“No!” Claude exclaimed, then immediately looked scared by his own outburst. “We have no idea who we can trust. These weren’t maintenance workers I overheard. My own prime minister might have been in that room for all I know — or at least be in on it, not to mention you have no idea how high this goes on your end. We can’t trust anyone.”

Lois suddenly felt silly. He was right. Unless they could warn the President directly, using official channels might backfire.

“What about cancelling the trade talks?” Claude suggested, and it was Lois’ turn to shake her head.

“We do that, and whoever is behind this will simply find a different time or place — one we don’t already know about.”

“Superman might be able to get a message directly to the President,” Clark said, shooting Lois a meaningful look. “After all, wouldn’t it be a great idea to have Superman officially welcome the President and French Prime Minister to the trade talks?”

“That...that could work,” Claude said, sounding slightly surprised.

“Meanwhile, I think it’s up to us to figure out exactly who is behind this and why they want the President dead,” Lois said, feeling her old familiar rhythm take over. “After all, trade talks between the US and France aren’t exactly controversial. Who would go to these sorts of lengths to stop the deal from going through?”

“Maybe it’s not the deal itself that’s important,” Clark said, snapping his fingers excitedly. Yes, Lois thought to herself. This is what I know how to do. “Maybe the trade talks are just an excuse. Whoever wants the President dead could have an entirely different reason.”

“Then we need to find out what that reason is,” Lois nodded. “Maybe Bobby Bigmouth could help?”

“This might be above his pay grade,” Clark said with a frown. Claude watched their exchange, his head moving back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match.

“True,” she agreed. She looked at Claude again. “You said that they hired someone from the US to take the shot? Someone so good even Superman couldn’t hear it? Someone that good might have a military background. We should run a check on any known snipers both active and discharged. See who pops up.”

“Good idea,” Clark agreed.

“What should I do?” Claude asked, and Lois shot a look to Clark that seemed to say the same thing.

“You should go to your hotel and get some rest,” Lois said and she didn’t miss the look of relief that came over him. “We’ll let you know if we find anything.”

Claude nodded and stood up. He looked at Lois and gave her a smile that in a different life would have melted her completely. Now she felt nothing.

"I really did miss you, Lois," he said and he peeked through the blinds one more time before leaving the conference room.

Lois let out a deep breath and found herself being enveloped swiftly in Clark’s arms. He held her there for a while before either of them said anything.

When they parted, she allowed herself a long, lingering look at the face of the man she was going to soon marry. A face that promised unconditional love and support. It was times like this when she looked into his face that she could genuinely believe that everything would be all right.

It was only when she was alone and at the mercy of her own insecurities that she began to doubt herself.

And now this threat. It sent chills up her spine. A threat against the president was bad enough as it was, but she couldn't help but shake the nagging feeling that it went deeper than they thought. After all, trade talks between the two countries were hardly controversial.

"What's going on in that brilliant brain of yours?" Clark spoke softly and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Just worried about this threat, I guess," she told him.

"You think he's telling the truth?" Clark asked with a furrowed brow. "I mean you haven't seen the man in almost ten years and he just walks in and says there is a threat, but what if there isn't?"

"I don't think he'd have any reason to lie," Lois reasoned. "Where would it get him?"

"I don't know," Clark admitted. "But you trust him?"

Lois hesitated. Trust was a loaded word for her, after all. And Claude had broken her trust pretty spectacularly when he'd slept with her under false pretenses and stolen her story.

"I trust that he's scared," she said finally. "Whether there's any credibility to his fear is what we have to figure out. I can't allow how I feel about him to potentially endanger the President. For now, I think we have to take him at his word."

"I do too," Clark said heavily. She knew he didn't like it either. "There's not much we can do today. Why don't we head back to my place? I can make us dinner and we can cuddle on the couch...maybe do some more of this…"

He leaned forward to kiss her neck causing her whole body to react to his touch. She let out a soft moan and felt her body press tightly to his. It would be so very easy to just give in to him — after all, she trusted him. He was the one person in her crazy world that made sense to her.

He took her lack of verbal response as further encouragement and cupped her face in his hands pulling her close for a long, deep, sensuous kiss that left her breathless.

"Come home with me, Lois?" he asked, his voice husky and eyes dark.

And she wanted to. Lord knows she wanted to, but something nagged at her — crawled into the back of her mind and refused to leave.

Come home with me, he said. They hadn't yet talked about where they would live when they were married. There was still so much they didn't know about each other — about what it means to live with someone and share your life with them. What if he hated the way she chewed? Or he left his dirty capes all over the floor?

Nobody got married expecting the marriage to fail. Her parents certainly hadn't and look what happened to them.

"Lois?" He sounded worried now and she hated herself for being the cause of it.

"I think I had better go home alone tonight," she said reluctantly.

"Oh." She could see the hurt in his eyes even though he tried to hide it.

"It's just...this has been a crazy day and I have a lot to process," she explained, feeling like she was only putting her foot further and further into her mouth with each word she spoke. He looked down, then back at her again. The love she always saw there hadn't wavered.

"Lois, if I made you uncomfortable in any way…" he trailed off nervously, the feeling of the kisses they had shared a moment ago still very much present in both their minds. "I said I will wait if that's what you want. I promise to control myself."

"I know," she said, caressing his face gently. "But I can't promise the same. You kiss me like that, Clark and all I want is to get lost in it...lost in you."

"Is that such a bad thing?" he asked softly. She shook her head.

"No, it's wonderful," she assured him. "But...when it happens, I want it to be because we both need it to for the right reasons. And right now…I'm not myself."

Please understand, her mind begged. He nodded and placed a featherlight kiss on her cheek and her whole world shifted back into place. They were okay. Was this what it was like to have total honesty and trust? She could get used to this.

"I love you," he told her. "I'm only a phone call away if you need me."