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Part 4/?
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The next morning dawns bright and clear. The air is already heavy with humidity as we all head towards the dig site. It’s going to be a scorcher of a day. Marty waves to us as we come out of the trees. Emily and Doc head into the tent when we reach the cabin. Josh gestures for Lois and I to join him at the shallow end of the trench.
“Let me just run over some protocol with you before we work your fingers to the bone,” Josh says. “Always enter the trench from this end. Unless you’re actually working, try not to touch the walls of the trench. The trench is sectioned. Everything taken out of it is labeled with the coordinates of where it was removed. All finds need to be documented with a picture in-situ before they’re removed from the ground. We remove the soil in here a layer at a time and all of the dirt goes into one of these buckets.” Josh points at a stack of empty five-gallon buckets. “We’ll start you out with sifting. You can take out earthworms and obvious tree roots but everything else is considered a field specimen and needs to be placed in a box and labeled with the bucket’s coordinates.”
“Got it,” Lois says impatiently. Josh looks a little pained and indicates that we should follow him into the tent. There’s another long folding table inside. Josh shows us how to sift a spadeful of dirt at a time through the screen. He instructs us never to throw out any dirt until it’s been okayed by either himself or Doc. Then he claps me on the shoulder. “Clark, we’re going to shore up the house today since we have you here.”
It takes until lunchtime to assemble a makeshift scaffolding along the north wall of the cabin. When we finish it doesn’t seem much more stable to me, but Doc and Josh seem satisfied. Marty shakes his head and throws me a look that tells me he’s not holding out much hope for the structure either. Emily and Josh head up to the house together to bring back lunch.
I stand near the edge of the deep end of the trench and watch Lois listlessly scraping dirt into a bucket. She’s in a tank top and jeans with her hair pulled back in a ponytail threaded through the back of a baseball cap. Her arms and shoulders are smudged with dirt. I watch as she swipes at her face, leaving a small trail across her cheek. A trickle of sweat streaks across her clavicle and head straight down into her cleavage. I should look away, but I don’t since she takes the front of her shirt and pulls it back and forth to fan herself.
“You look hot, Lois,” I tell her. I grin at the double meaning. She really does look sexy, though I doubt she’d believe me.
“I am hot, Clark,” she grumbles and pulls the brim of her hat lower. “I’m miserably hot, thanks for noticing.”
I glance over at Marty and Doc, they’re still assessing the scaffolding. Lois hasn’t looked up from her trowling. I take a small breath and blow cool air over her in the trench.
“Ohh, finally, a breeze,” she murmurs and tilts her head down to let it blow across the back of her neck. It would almost be worth getting caught to have her see where her ‘breeze’ was coming from. But she doesn’t look up and Doc calls for me to rejoin them. I send one last breeze at her in the trench before heading back over to the cabin.
It’s wrong, isn’t it, that I find the relieved sigh she makes such a turn on?
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It’s nearing five o’clock when Josh asks Lois and I to take the remaining unprocessed buckets from today back up to the house. There are four buckets and we each grab two. Lois takes a step and sets one of them down. “Too heavy,” she says. “I’ll come back for it.”
I pick up her bucket, carrying two in my right hand and one with my left. “Show off,” Lois murmurs as she follows me up the trail.
“Hey Clark,” Emily calls out from the porch as I get close to the stairs. “I have to run into town. Since you’re cooking tonight, do you want to ride along to the store?”
I glance back. Lois is still struggling up the path, lugging her pail along with jerky steps. The glare she gives me is proof enough that she heard Emily’s question. I climb the stairs and set the buckets down. “Just a second,” I tell Emily before I hurry over to help Lois.
When I reach to take the bucket from her she swings it away. “I’ve got it, Clark,” she grits out.
“I’m going into town with Emily,” I tell her. “Do you want to ride along?” I don’t want to leave her here alone when we still don’t know who left the picture on the back of her door.
Lois has reached the porch and she rests the bucket on each step as she climbs the stairs. I’m about to repeat the question when she reaches the last step. She drops the bucket with a heavy thunk and wipes her hands on the back of her jeans. “Sure,” she says sweetly. “Why not?”
Her words are at total odds with her body language. I look over at Emily and she’s smiling at Lois. “We can wait while you get cleaned up,” Emily says.
Lois looks down at herself, her expression unconcerned. “Nope, I'm all right. If you’re going dressed like that, I should be fine.”
Wow. Emily doesn’t even blink. She simply says, “Okay. Let’s go.”
The drive into town is just as frightening as the drive from the airport. Emily speeds down the hill from the house and takes the corner before the bridge on two wheels. This time Lois doesn’t pretend to enjoy the ride; she just glares at the windshield the entire time.
The town of Valentia is tiny, even by Smallville standards. We drive over a two-lane bridge and past a small park. A gas station, a bar, and a little grocery store are lined up next to each other. Emily parks the truck on the opposite side of the street in front of an ancient-looking movie theater. No films are advertised and it looks like it’s been years since anything was shown there.
The heat is oppressive, even to me. The inside of the grocery store isn’t much better. I’m wandering down the aisle in search of a bottle of wine when I hear a metallic screech followed by screams. I lower my glasses to look outside. A bus with ‘Lucas Lake YMCA Camp’ emblazoned across its side is hanging off the bridge over the river.
I’m looking around for a likely excuse when the front door of the store opens and a distressed woman yells, “Chester! Call for help! A bus has gone off the bridge!”
Lois and Emily both rush to follow the woman back outside. Chester pulls a phone out from under the counter and starts dialing. I slip into the storage room and then out the back door, changing as go. I fly swiftly to the bridge and lift the front end of the bus, moving it back onto firm ground. I’m just coming around the side of the bus when Lois calls out, “Superman!”
I turn in time to see her running her hand self-consciously through her hair. Emily is standing next to her, gaping openly at me. Lois looks as flustered as I feel. “What are you doing here?” Lois asks.
“Just passing through. Excuse me.” I fly off quickly, mentally kicking myself for showing up. Most of the kids were already out of the bus and nobody was in immediate danger. I may have just blown it. I hurry through the alley and into the storeroom, changing back into my clothes. I jog through the store, bumping into Lois as I open the front door.
“Where were you?” she asks.
“In the bathroom. Why?”
She lets out a disgusted sigh. “That figures. You just barely missed seeing Superman.”
“Superman? Here?”
“I know! It’s weird, huh?”
“Why is it weird?” I look past her and see Emily standing outside, still looking up at the sky in the direction I flew away.
Lois narrows her eyes at me. For a heart-stopping moment I’m certain that she’s figured it out. “He didn’t even talk to me,” she mutters.
“Obviously he was on his way to some other emergency,” I improvise.
Lois shrugs. Emily comes back inside. “I’ve never seen Superman in real life before,” she says with a touch of wonder. “He’s taller than I thought he’d be.”
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Lois excuses herself to go upstairs as soon as we got back to the house. I’m absolutely certain she’s up there writing. Emily follows me into the kitchen and perches herself on the counter to watch me cook.
“Why archaeology?” I ask her. “What made this your life’s ambition?”
“Wow – I’m not sure this is really my life’s ambition. I just love the sensation of holding something and knowing I’m the first person in centuries to touch it. I like to think about who had it last, what it meant to them. It’s… kinda dumb, huh? Living in the past like that?”
“No, not at all. I think I can understand the impulse.”
She smiles at me and sneaks a carrot from the pile that I’ve peeled.
“So what about your family?” she asks around the crunch of the carrot. “How many siblings?”
“Only child,” I answer.
“Lucky you,” she sighs. “I have an older brother. He’s… a typical older brother, I guess.”
“What does he do?”
“He's in the military but I guess it’s something he can’t really talk about much.” She rolls her eyes. “I bet he’s really a paper pusher and he just says that to make it sound more interesting. He admired the hell out of our uncle who actually was some kind of covert big shot.”
“He was? Did he retire?”
“Killed in the line of duty,” Emily says quietly. “But, because of his job, that’s all they would tell us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” Emily shakes her head. “Talk about a buzz kill. Let’s change the subject. Superman seemed to recognize Lois today. Do you guys know him?"
"Yeah, he's, uh, helped us on some stories."
"Cool! You're a writer? Like for a magazine?"
"Yeah, like for a magazine." It's easier to go along with her than to correct her.
"So are you guys friends or something?"
“Me and Superman?” I clarify. I’m pretty sure she’s not referring to Lois.
Emily nods.
"We're friends," I allow. "I guess I know him as well as anyone."
"What's he like?"
"He's… nice," I say lamely.
"Nice!" she snorts. “He’s nice to look at, anyway.”
“I…” I don’t know what to say to that.
Emily laughs. “I guess you probably don’t spend much time looking at him like that.”
“No,” I shake my head and laugh with her. “Not at all.”
“He must be nice,” she says dreamily. “I mean, he has all those powers and yet he only uses them to help people. Why is that?”
"Because he can help. He can make a difference."
Emily laughs. "Is he really that naive?"
"Superman is not naive!" Lois exclaims from behind us. Emily and I both jump in surprise.
Emily slides off the counter as she says, "Whatever. Don't have a freakin' cow, I just think it’s a little naive not to have some ulterior motive." She takes another carrot and leaves the kitchen.
Lois glares at me. “Getting a little friendly with the enemy, aren’t we, Clark?”
“The enemy?”
“Yeah, for all you know she’s our stalker.”
I laugh. “Is that all that’s bothering you? Or are you still upset because Superman didn’t talk to you today?”
“I just wanted to tell him about Lucas Peregrine! That’s all.”
“Sure.” I know she absolutely hates it when I agree with her like this.
Lois crosses her arms over her chest and leans back against the counter as she sulks. The back door bangs shut and Marty comes into the kitchen. Lois ignores him in favor of harassing me. “Why do you assume that I can’t mention Superman without some ulterior motive?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just two years of experience?”
“He’s never been that abrupt before. I’m telling you, Clark, it was weird. The whole thing was weird.”
It’s the last thing I want to talk about. Marty looks curious. “You saw Superman acting weird? Where?”
“Here!” Lois turns to him, happy for an audience. “I saw him in town today.”
“Superman was in Valentia today? That is weird.” Marty looks thoughtful.
“I don’t know why it’s so weird that he’d be here. He helps out all over the world. He may have just been flying over on his way to somewhere else.” I definitely shouldn't have brought the suit with me. How long until everyone just lets it drop?
Lois and Marty both look unconvinced. “I think he’s just a weird guy, period,” says Marty. “Emily thinks I’m a freak? He’s the real freak.”
Lois looks to be as taken aback by his sudden vehemence as I am, but Marty is just warming up to his subject.
“He’s an alien, you know? He’s not even from here. Some people say he’s just the advance guard for an entire invasion. This whole thing with Lucas is scary. What if Lucas was the advance guard and Superman is the next wave?”
“You don’t really think that, do you?” I ask cautiously.
“No,” Marty shakes his head. “But I know some people who do. Some of the re-enactors I hang out with are huge conspiracy theorists and they have a lot of interesting ideas about Superman.”
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After dinner Josh invites us to go into town with him, Marty and Emily. Two or three nights of the week they hang out at the bar there. I’m in no mood to go back to Valentia and I turn him down politely. Lois also declines and she sits down next to me on the top step of the front porch as they drive away.
“Why didn’t you go along?” I ask.
“Josh is okay, but neither Emily nor Marty are my idea of good company,” she answers.
“True.”
“Besides,” she leans just a little towards me. “I was hoping we’d go swimming again.”
“Are you skinny-dipping this time?”
“Not even if you paid me,” she grins. Then she stands up, holding her hand out to me. I take it and let her help pull me to a standing position. She doesn’t let go of my hand, in fact, she clasps it with both her hands. “Ask me the other reason why I’m glad I came along on this story,” she says softly.
“Why are you glad you came?”
“Because this is the first time since we started dating that you haven’t run off just when things are getting interesting.”
“And are things getting interesting right now?”
She lets go of my hand and blushes. “Maybe. C’mon, Clark, take me swimming.”
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This time Lois beats me at getting undressed and into the water. She dives in and swims a short distance before turning over to float on her back. I swim out to join her.
“It’s like floating in the stars, you know?” she says dreamily.
“Almost,” I tell her. Truthfully, this is actually better than floating in the sky. The sky is so empty and vast whereas the lake feels like being embraced in something tangible. Then again, it might just be her company that makes me feel so grounded.
I stare up at the sky and wonder if Lucas ever floated in the lake like this. Could he pick out Krypton's sun among all the stars? Was he stranded here or did he come here deliberately? The only things I learned about him today were that he ate a lot of chicken and could have picked a sturdier wood to build his house. I can’t decide if it’s my imagination or if it's intuition that tells me there is something waiting for me in that cabin. Every time I went near the northeast corner my skin seemed to almost hum. Then again, Lois was down in the trench only a few feet away and she often has the same effect on me.
There’s a soft splash and I realize that Lois is swimming back towards the shore.
“Ha!” I call out to her. “You’re one the doing the leaving now.”
The splashing stops. “I’m not leaving you; I was just going back to shore.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.”
We’re wading through the shallow water when she stumbles and falls sideways against me. I grab her, putting my arm around her waist for support. In the moonlight I can see the way her wet bra clings to her. Oh god, this might be a bad idea. I try to pull away, letting go of her waist but she grabs my arm to steady herself.
She places her other hand on my chest. Can she feel how fast my heart is beating at her touch? I swallow, feeling trapped by both lust and the realization that she’s looking directly at me. I’m not wearing glasses, surely she can’t miss the resemblance?
“Clark?” she whispers. Her hands don’t move from my arm and chest. Our eyes meet and her mouth parts slightly. I wait for it, the exclamation, the accusation, maybe even a good hearty slap. Nothing. Maybe she really doesn’t see it.
Or maybe, it dawns on me, she’s waiting for you to kiss her. Maybe she’s actually not even thinking about Superman right now. I bend a little closer and her eyes close. I was reading that right – she wants me to kiss her!
She leans closer; close enough that her breasts skim my chest as my lips brush lightly across her. She exhales and then her hands move to the back of my neck, pulling my mouth down firmly to hers. Her lips part, her tongue tastes my upper lip quickly before disappearing back into her mouth. I follow it with my own, feeling bolder as her lips part to give me access.
The kiss becomes more urgent and deep. I wrap my arms around her, thrilling to the feel of her skin against mine. Lois smoothes her hands over my shoulders and down my chest, she’s never touched me like this before and I can feel my self-control slipping. I want to touch her back, be as bold in caressing her as she is in exploring me, but I don’t dare. I break the kiss first, telling her in a ragged whisper that we ought to go back to the house now.
She sighs and then agrees with me. Was that hesitation? Did she want more? Have I called a stop to this too soon?
It doesn’t matter. The moment is gone. Lois wades out of the lake and starts to get dressed. I take a couple of deep breaths to steady myself and then join her.
I put my glasses on first, just in case.
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