Hi Barbara!
Blueowl asked for a prequel
Yay BlueOwl!
They serve the best moussaka you’ve ever had. Plus, the restaurant is close to a little bay facing west. The sundowns are spectacular.”
Nice private bay. Hard to get to. No one else there. Warm weather.
Lois raised her brows. “It’ll also be the first mousse – what was it again? – I’ll ever have. It doesn’t by any chance involve chocolate, does it?”
trailing his thumb gently over her lips as if there already were some remnants of the promised chocolate dessert left on her lips.
She sure does have a one track mind!
LOIS: Didn’t you read? Cho-co-late.
“You don’t have to take me to fancy places,” she hedged anyway.
Not every re-proposal has to be at a fancy place.
His warm gaze promised he wouldn’t pressure her into anything she didn’t want.
Except a break-up?
. “You told me that you didn’t want me to impress you, and I swear I’m not trying to. There’s just so much I never had the chance to share with anyone. And now that you know…”
Awww, he just wants to have fun!
“Thank you for understanding. I just want us to do something normal first, like watching a movie together and maybe sharing a pizza?”
Getting kidnapped on a remote island. Or a place that looks like Disney Land’s Jungle Cruise.
I need to go. By the sound of it this may take a while.”
He could bring barbecue instead of pizza?
“See you there,” he whispered.
Oh, that’s cute!
As long as the fire was burning, none of them would be willing to talk to her and only a heartless monster would attempt an interview.
“Leo Nunk, National Whisper. What for you say about allegations that the fire was started by a tenant attempting to boil water?”
Her heart skipped a beat as she stared into the barrel of a shotgun, barely more than ten yards from her, and firmly trained on her chest.
Eeeep?
His blue blur slammed into her just as the gun flashed green.
Eeep? Huh. Eeeeeeep!
She bit her tongue, remembering too late that she couldn’t call him that. But it was Clark who lay unmoving above her… Her throat tightened. She couldn’t lose him, not now. She’d barely just found him; they’d barely made up.
Oh, wouldn’t that be an evil bunny? Lois exposing Clark by accident.
Then, suddenly, his body gave way, rolling off her. Greedily, she sucked in air, feeling dizzy for a moment.
Oh boy, can you imagine Clark’s guilt trip when Lois ends up hospitalized due to suffocation.
“They’re taking good care of him.” The firefighter reassured her.
Possibly packing him up to ship to the new CostMedico facilities over on 27th (a CostMart subsidiary).
Lois fought off his hand, but stilled as she felt the sticky mess in her face.
“It’s just a gash,” the man said softly. “You’re safe now, Miss. Everything’s going to be all right.”
/inserts image of either Tyrion Lannister or Cirilla of Cintra (see: The Witcher)/
“Is he breathing?” Her heart thundered in her ears.
EMT: Yes. We can see his lungs move.
(I know, if you can see his lungs, there’s nothing to move them.)
“Any idea what this green beam was?” the firefighter asked.
Oh, good. I thought they had buckshot kryptonite.
“The paramedics are taking good care of him,” he repeated.
LOIS:
:winging:
Her head was pouding in tune with her racing heart. She looked toward the clock on the wall behind S.T.A.R. Labs’ reception.
Someone’s been thinking!
. The inspector had asked for every little detail she remembered.
Which would be “kryptonite” and “Superman”.
Lois Lane, from the Daily Planet?” the man asked.
“Yeah, but-”
“I’m sorry, Miss,” he said in a no-nonsense voice that told Lois this wasn’t his first rodeo. “I’m not allowed to comment on anything concerning Superman.
Which is why she should have replied in a serious voice (and without any obvious sarcasm) “No, Lois Lane, Superman’s girlfriend”.
As far as I know, there will be a press release later. Would you please leave this facility now?”
And that’s how Frank the afternoon clerk perished.
He wore baggy pants and a shirt. He rested for a moment, with his back against the wall, seeming relieved to call it a day. The poor guy was probably working well beyond retirement age. Her heart went out to him. Part of her brain filed the image away as something to further investigate, once this was over.
Turns out, he’s a Knobel Price winner.
An annoying journalist of many, condemned to wait for the press release
Not sure if we ever had a married Lois getting sidelined. I think it was always resolved via Doc Klein.
But the man behind her wasn’t a guard. He was wearing a cap, horn-rimmed glasses, and baggy pants – the old man she’d seen outside. But he wasn’t old.
She stifled a gasp.
It was Clark.
Now *that’s* how you get the inside scoop.
“He tried to hook me up on sunlamps, but other than giving me the first sunburn of my life, they didn’t do much.
You have to apply the uv-light internally! /hands Clark a supersitory/
Besides, you don’t look too good, either.”
Lois got a concussion. In the movies they always say to keep patient awake and under observation. Lois could stay at Clark’s place. They could rest in his bed for a while. Talk about stuff. Cuddle. Keep their clothes on until Lois is feeling better. And since Clark’s got a temperature, he could rest without a shirt. This would allow Lois to care more for him (sic). And keep her interested in staying in bed.
She wanted to tell him that there was a huge difference between having a mild concussion and almost being killed.
And she has the experience to back it up!
Couldn’t he see that he had trouble even staying on his feet? Was this some guy thing, his pride getting in the way of sensible behavior?
It’s why I suggested they rest in his bed. He’d have incentive!
Or was he – and her throat constricted at the thought – was he angry with her because saving her had almost cost his life this time?
Yes, that’s almost why he breaks up with her.
“We both probably need some rest,” Lois amended. “Let’s get you home.”
To his big bed.
“You first.” His warm brown eyes drifted over her features, so full of love and concern.“Your place is closer.”
And then it’s Nightfall amnesia all over again. No, thank you.
“I don’t want to sleep alone tonight,” Lois whispered hoarsely.
I was just being funny!
She could practically see the wheels in his mind turn, an inner struggle as he fought his own demons. But then something shifted. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and nodded.
“Your place or mine?” he asked roughly.
Looks like the little
won.
It almost irked her that he didn’t at least sneak a peek. After all, he’d asked to marry her.
Once more she felt his gaze on her, coming to rest above her brow. Then he averted his eyes, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants and shuffling his feet.
She really should have offered something more interesting to look at than her head dressing. Then again, he might only stare above her brow if she had done that.
There had to be some way to distract him from his completely illogical sense of guilt.
“Are you coming to bed now?” she asked.
His eyes widened, but he didn’t reply. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Lois winced as she realized the invitation sounded less than innocent.
And here I thought that was intended to disrupt his thoughts.
Feeling flustered by her own boldness, she added. “You look exhausted.”
She’s adorable!
A nagging voice in the back of her mind wondered if he wasn’t angry with her rather than ridden by guilt.
Poor dear!
As she heard the door behind him, she couldn’t take it any longer and followed Clark. Lois pressed her ear to the door, a lump building in her throat as she listened to his grunts. A sudden, dull thud made her flinch.
She really should have offered a gentle sponging while he’s standing under the shower.
LOIS: My clothes would get all wet if I did that!
“Snap out of it, Clark. It’s just a scratch.”
She looked in every last corner, at odd places, so desperate to find him that logic took a backseat to her manner of searching.
To be fair be fair, it’s possible he’d been shrunk.
Superman can no longer keep you safe, but perhaps I can.
I need to try.
Love you.
Clark
What was Henderson doing here at this ungodly hour?
/digs up felony laws on unwed co-habitation of men and women/ Henderson is probably there to arrest her for her indecent behavior.
“Clark is not here, Bill.”
“I know.” Henderson pursed his lips.
He stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his coat and for a terrible moment, Lois feared he had bad news.
Eeep!
He sent me here to pick you up. Asked me to have your apartment searched since there was an attack on your life, yesterday. Promised me a flaming article in the Planet about the incompetence of Metropolis’ finest. Seems like he learned a thing or two from you.” A wry smile played around his lips.
Superman’s gone cuckoo!
but she also didn’t want Henderson to snoop through her apartment all on his own.
Worried he’d find her Superman novel?
“It reads like whoever attacked Superman wrote it.”
HENDERSON: How do you figure?
COP: It says “Superman bye bye. You next!”
“When you make enemies, you really go the whole nine yards.”
Lois always tries to excel at what she does.
<You will suffer, Lane. I’ll take everything you love from you. Killing Superman is just the first step.>
That’s not very specific. Could be anyone of her more prominent enemies.
Her breath caught as it dawned on her that Clark might be next on that list.
That’s very fortuitous timing!
“You need to put a stop to this,” he whispered. “Whatever he’s doing, C.K. must have been here all night.
She told him he has to figure this out before they can get married. He’s now busy.
But she’d never expected to see him work until he succumbed to exhaustion. He’d always helped her find a balance when she’d been too deeply involved in a story.
Now it’s catching up with him that he’s not used to work de-powered. He doesn’t know how to moderate.
“I told Henderson to keep an eye on you, I-”
Brave. Foolish perhaps, but very brave.
Her best chance to help him was to be by his side and find out who was responsible for the attack.
Poor Perry, now he got two of those.
He’d invested his whole fortune into a small enterprise that had developed weapons for the special demands of criminal organizations, terrorist groups and all other sorts of scum.
Lucrative business, if he survives it.
Floyd Huffman had lost both his fortune
That’s what Cayman accounts are for!
until he practically dropped unconscious.
Nice how you switched this from “dropped dead” considering the circumstances!
Lois’ attempts to get him into bed had failed more or less
She and Cat could form a support group
(I know, it wasn’t meant that way.)
But why did he have to be so stubborn?
It’s the mutton in his DNA.
wasn’t like Clark didn’t acknowledge her at all. Whenever their eyes met, he still smiled at her, though it often crumbled when his gaze flitted to her forehead. The small moments of magic between them had turned into rare gifts. In the space of a few days, he’d changed a lot.
For the most part, he was preoccupied and moody.
FoLC said it before, this version has so much more depth than Contact.
. “You almost got killed saving me, you lost your powers and even after days you’re still recovering.”
She could break up with him for his own good!
LOIS: Seriously? How stupid do you think I am? Clark? Clark, say something!
This was another gripping entry in this saga!
Michael
. It helped fill in some of the gaps that lead up to Don't Let Me See You Hurt. 
It's details like this that really lend his behavior credibility!