This part will be a bit longer, than the other three. Thank you for staying with me. I need to thank mariadferdez as well, because she reminded me, that I forgot a small part. It's in the story now.
I hope you like the last bit.
This is dedicated to Susanna, who really deserves this. ( Tausend dank!!!!!! *knuddel*)
From Part 3:
He considered a moment to head for Smallville, but somehow his parents didn’t seem to be the right solution to his problems this time.
There was more than Lois that promised to keep him from sleeping. He had no chance to even think about a place to stay, when someone needed his help.
Part 4:
The city seemed to drown in a flood of crimes. The first rescue Superman had flown to in Metropolis, had only been the beginning of a whole series. Bankrobberies, attempted murder, hostage - taking...It didn’t seem to end.
Luther felt a kind of release. He had started the flood, which had been a loss of temper at first. To his own surprise it had become sheer amusement.
Who could have guessed, that the guy in spandex would be back in that very moment? For once it didn’t matter, that Superman prevented most of the crimes. No, it was an amazing event.Superman flew as fast as he could and everytime he thought he was done with it, another crime occured.
Luther had always liked the punishment Sysiphos had received. Now he felt like those Greek gods, because he was the one, who had punished Superman.
Luther wasn’t going to win this game, but he loved to watch Superman play it. It was not really what he had intended for Superman. He wanted him to die with the knowledge that he, Lex Luther, had Lois.
Superman had to suffer and although it was not the step he had had in mind, this made him suffer.
Lex Luther was not completely happy, though. That would have to wait until the death of the so-called hero. But he was as content as the situiation allowed him to be.
He knew that the guy in spandex would be crushed about everyone he couldn’t save. And there were too much to save, Luther had taken care of that. All he needed to complete his plans was a "yes" from Lois Lane. And he would get it, as sure as he was Lex Luther.
Maybe Superman liked another day of rescues, or even two? Luther was generous, he should get them.
* * *
Clark had never been so tired in his whole life. He hadn’t slept for seven days and knew that he would fall from the skies sooner or later, if he didn’t rest.
But the city wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t trust his powers any more. His heat vision needed eyes that were able to focus, but his weren’t. Each time he flew, he had to be really careful, that he didn’t fall asleep.He lost altitude from time to time, because he couldn’t concentrate.
A bankrobbery was his next destination. It was evening and already getting dark. He landed in front of the bank and a single officer stood there.
“Superman”, he said, “I’m sorry, nothing has happend here. We are searching for the mistake.”
“No robbery?”Superman asked almost surprised.
“Nope. But thank you so much for caring. We really need to check up this alarm!” the officer replied. “Are you okay, Superman?” he asked, as he saw Supermans pale face.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Clark mumbled and flew up and away.
He didn’t make it very far. His powers were seriously deminished and he decided to land on the top of a skyscraper.
He couldn’t fly home, he knew it. The last eight days had taken their toll. The sun wouldn’t help him for at least ten hours. He was grounded.
So Superman watched his surroundings and as he saw, that no one could take a look at him, he changed into Clark. It was the first time after nearly eight days.
With a sigh he stepped to the edge of the building and looked down. He heard no sirens, no screams, nothing. It wasn’t his lack of powers, the city was indeed silent.
What a week! It was also the first time he really could mourn the hundreds of people, who died in India and in Metropolis. He hadn’t been able to save everyone and that was always hard for him.
Clark turned around to find a stairway down from the roof. All he wanted was sleeping, but not here. He deserved a bed, his bed to be precise.
Clark stumbled tiredly across the roof and found the door that led to the staircase. He entered the building and descended the stairs. As soon as he had reached the floor, he searched for an elevator. About ten minutes later he was on streetlevel. He called a cab and told the driver the direction.
* * *
Lois was desperate. Another four days had passed and Clark hadn’t returned. She feared the worst and hoped for the best at the same time.
She had begged Jimmy and Perry for help, but both of them had to deal with their own problems and neither of them had an idea, where to find Clark. She must have phoned the hospitals and the police stations hundreds of times. At least it felt so.
Where was her best friend? Martha and Jonathan wouldn’t or couldn’t tell her. She believed it was the latter, because both were honest, she knew that.
So the nagging thought, that something terrible had happened to Clark, refused to leave her mind. Especially since Jimmy had told her that Clark didn’t care about Jack anymore. He had promised to help him.
Clark didn’t trust Luther and his lawyer. He believed in Jacks innocence. But Clark hadn’t returned Jimmy’s calls. He hadn’t visited Jack either, who definitely was in big trouble.
The mere thought, that Clark might lie somewhere in pain, that she might never see him again, left her unable to breath.
He was so kind, generous, funny and patient. His smile was so warm, his voice so comforting. She missed him more, than she had ever imagined.
When her father had left the family it had been easier to bear. She couldn’t even think of a life without Clark anymore. Everytime she woke up in the morning she ran into his bedroom, only to see if he had come back. When she found it empty, she started to cry.
What had she done to him? He had been there for her, whenever she needed him. He hadn’t taken advantage of her, when she had been affected by the pheromones. It must have been tempting.
“Oh, Clark, please, come back!” she whispered and felt again tears running down her cheeks.
*Admit it, Lois, you love him. You told him you didn’t, but that’s just not true. But now it’s too late.* a small voice in her head whispered.
She had turned on the tv in Clark’s apartment hours ago, but did neither watch nor listen. She had hoped that they had news about Superman or Clark.
At the same time there was nothing she feared more. No news about Clark suggested that he wasn’t found dead or seriously injured. It was irrational, and somewhere in her mind Lois knew that. But she didn’t care anymore.
“This is LNN news and my name is Sharon Lee,” the television interrupted her thoughts. “The series of crimes in Metropolis seems to have died down. Superman had been busy for days to prevent robberies, murder and all other kinds of crime. His last rescue for today was to safe a young man, who intended to commit suicide earlier this evening.”
The cameras showed Superman landing on a skyscraper. The screen went black for less than a second and then a man stood on the edge of the building, looking down.
The scenery was filmed from the ground. At first the person was very small, but than the camera zoomed in. The expression on the man’s face was so defeated, desperate and lonely!
Lois gasped, as she recognized Clark. She could have sworn that there were tears in his eyes, though the camera was not close enough to tell.
“The young man disappeared after Superman had convinced him to go back downstairs.”
Lois didn't hear the rest of the news.
It was the first time after eight days that she got news from Clark. But what kind of news?
He had been willing to commit suicide, and just because of her! How could she find him in this big city? Had Superman taken Clark with him? He knew now, that his friend was in danger! What if he had left Clark alone? What if Clark tried again? And what if he succeeded?
Lois felt that she was panicking. She needed to find Superman, to be sure, that Clark was alright. But maybe Superman brought him back anyway.
Lois found it unbelievable that Clark was someone, who would throw his life away so easily. He always seemed to look on the bright side of things. He must have been really desperate. And it was all her fault.
It was just in this moment, that Clark grabbed his key and opened the door to his apartment. Whether Lois was there or not, he would go to his bed. And take a shower first, of course.
He could barely keep his eyes open. Semiconcious he stumbled into his apartment, nearly falling down the stairs.
Lois turned around, as she heard the noise.
“Clark!”, she cried.
He stopped and looked at her, but didn’t say anything, only slightly aware of her presence.
“Oh, Clark, you’re back.”Lois whispered. “I’m so sorry, so terribly sorry, Clark!”
“Need a shower”, he mumbled and brushed Lois forehead with his lips.
Then he continued his path into the bathroom. He could hardly think. His hands were unbuttoning his shirt practically on their own. He removed his tie and threw it onto the floor. Then he was in the bathroom and took the rest of his clothes of. He spun out of the suit and put it in the laundy basket.
The water was a release to his sore body. He had never imagined that he could tire himself out like this. But till then, he had never been awake for eight days and working so hard.
His body sticked with sweat and mud. But the water removed it all. It felt so good! All he needed anymore was to get hours of sleep.
He stepped out of the shower, finally clean after eight days. Then he habitually took his deodorant out of the little cupboard behind his bathroom mirror.
A small box with sleeping pills fell out by accident. His mother had forgotten them the last time, she had been here. She had promised to buy them for an old lady back in Smallville.
Clark muttered a curse, when the lid opened and pills rolled onto the floor. He grabbed as much of them as he could and flushed them down the toilet.
Then he left the bathroom. A towel was wrapped more or less secure around his hips. Lois still waited for him.
“Clark, please talk to me!” she begged. “I need to apologize. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have asked you to call Superman. And I should have known then, that I love you!”
“What?” he had heard only half of it. “Lois, I’m not in the mood for arguing with you.” He said slowly, having problems to pronounce the words.
“Clark! Are you drunk?” Lois asked with astonishment.
“Drunk?” Clark mumbled. His mind didn’t understand, what she meant.
“Why am I asking? You’re wasted. Clark, this is important! I’ve just confessed my love to you, and all you say is ‘what?’ and that you don’t want to argue? Where have you been? You were vanished for eight days.”
Clark didn’t reply anything and stumbled to his bed, falling onto it with a sigh. Lois didn’t dare to ask him about the skyscraper. She didn’t know how he would react to her question. What if he ran off again?
“Lois, I’m tired to death. I really can’t do anything else but sleep!”
“Clark, what has happened in the last days?” Lois insisted.
He said nothing in return because he had already drifted away. This was not what Lois had in mind. She wanted to fix things between them and she wanted to do it now. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him slightly. Clark groaned.
“Lemme sleep” Clark begged, his eyes still closed.
Lois nodded with disappointment and went away from him. She passed the bathroom as she turned to the kitchen. A brown box caught her eye.
*Pills?* she realized with confusion and approached the bathroom. She picked up the box and read the inscription – sleeping pills. Very strong ones, and the box was nearly empty.
*Oh my god, he tries it again!*
Lois couldn’t run fast enough into Clarks bedroom.
He was sound asleep what worried her even more. He had drunk a lot and taken the pills. That wasn’t a good combination. She shook him hard, but he didn’t seem to react.
“Clark, wake up!” Lois screamed hysterically.
She grabbed his shoulder, slapped his cheeks and shook him again.
“Clark! Clark!” she repeated.
A soft murmur escaped his throat.
“Yeah, that’s good”, Lois said pleased by the sight of a waking Clark.
She continued the rough treatment. Slowly Clark woke up, opened his eyes and got aware of his surrounding.
“Dammit, Lois.”, he yelled.
She froze. She had never heard him use those words.
“I wanna sleep!”
“You can’t sleep now, I want you to stay awake. Come on, Clark, you don’t wanna die.”
“Die? Not goin’ to die”, he mumbled.
“How many of those pills did you take, Clark? Hey, stay with me!” she shouted, when he closed his eyes again. “How much did you drink?”
“Nothin’. Please, Lois”, he winced.
“Clark, you don’t wanna kill yourself. Please tell me the truth! I can help you”, Lois insisted.
“Kill myself?” he was confused.”Why should I kill myself? I did’t take anything.”
“I’m going to call an ambulance!” Lois stated and headed for the telephone.
The words sank slowly into Clarks mind until he realized what they meant.He turned around and grabbed her hand as she lifted up the receiver.
“No ambulance, Lois. I didn’t drink and those damned pills fell on the bathroom floor. I’m not going to die on you. At least not, if you let me sleep now.” He said almost harshly.
Then he sank back down on his pillows with a sigh.
“But Clark...” Lois said helplessly.
“We discuss this tomorrow, when I’m capable of it!” he said firmly and drifted away again. He could almost ignore, what she said next.
“Clark, I don’t want anything between us for another minute. I’ve waited eight days to speak with you. Your sleep can wait a minute. I know that you’re mad at me. I need to apologize. I love you, Clark. I don’t want to wait with this!”
“Love me?” he mumbled, as if he had difficulties to get the sense of her words.
Suddenly she was kissing him with passion. He felt the warmth of her body against his own.
“Yes, Clark, I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it earlier. So where have you been all this time?”
She wondered why she didn’t sense the alcohol. But he had said, that he hadn’t drunk.
“India and Metro.” he replied, not realizing, what he was telling her.
“India? You mean Indiana?” Lois asked confused.
“No,” he groaned again. “Oh, Lois, I haven’t slept for days, even I need rest.”
A moment later he was fast asleep and this time he didn’t wake up after she touched his shoulder. Lois believed him, that he hadn’t taken the pills. So she left him alone, though she was eager to talk to him.
* * *
He wasn’t going to wake up. Lois glanced time and time again at her watch. Twelve hours had passed and Clark had barely moved. If he hadn’t breathed she had feared, he was dead.
She still hadn’t really talked to him. But now she understood that he must have been exhausted. She paced through his apartment and waited. Her patience was taxed.
Again she wondered, what might have happened to him. Or had he lied to her about the pills? But he was still breathing.
Half an hour later she heard noise from his bedroom and walked in. Clark laid on his back and was awake. He glanced at her and then at himself. The sight of him beeing naked, only slightly covered by his blankets caused him to blush.
“Lois!”, he said and pulled the blankets a bit higher. “So you’re still here.”
“Of course, Clark. It’s good, that you’re finally awake again.”
“How long did I sleep?”
“Almost thirteen hours.” she replied.
“Thirteen? So I *really* was tired.”
“Tired?” Lois laughed. “You were wasted, if you ask me.”
“Wasted?” Clark asked confused. “I didn’t drink a single glass.”
“So what was wrong with you instead? I confessed my love, but you didn’t say anything. Oh, Clark, I’m so sorry.”
“Confessed your love? To whom?”
“To you, who else? You don’t even remember? And you tell me that you were’t wasted?”
“To me?”
“Yes, Clark. You were vanished for eight days. I was frightened to death. It wasn’t until then that I realized my feelings for you. I’m still so sorry for what I did to you in that park. Will you forgive me?” Lois pleaded.
“Lois, I....”Clark began.
“Of course I know, it’s hard for you. I was very mean. I promise, I won’t hurt you anymore.” she started sobbing.
"Shh, Lois, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I was just so disappointed and angry at myself. I couldn’t deal with it then, so I ran off in the park. I didn’t intend to stay away for so long, but I couldn’t help it."
“Oh, Clark, where have you been, all the time? Superman said that he wouldn’t be able to find you. I was scared to death when you tried to commit suicide. And all that just because of me.”
“Suicide? No, Lois. You hurt me and I was desperate, but I wouldn’t commit suicide.”
“But the skyscraper. Clark, I saw you there, on television.” Lois replied.
“Television? Oh my god, I should be more careful. No Lois, believe me, I didn’t try to kill myself.”
“So why was Superman there? Why else, if he didn’t save you?”
Clark didn’t answer her question.
“I didn’t know what to do!” Tears were streaming down her face.
He held her tightly and tried to soothe her.
*Lois deserves to know*, Clark told himself.
He couldn’t justify it anymore to keep certain facts for himself.
“Lois, I’m sorry for this. Superman was on that scyscraper, because he was too tired to fly.” He swallowed and then continued. “Lois, I was too tired to fly, yesterday.”
“You?” she gasped. “So you didn’t mean Indiana, it really was India?”
He nodded and bit his lip.
“Lois, that’s the reason, why I took your asking for Superman so bad. It wasn’t jealousy. Well, some kind of it was, I guess. Look at me”, he whispered.
There weren’t even the glasses to cover his face. He hadn’t even thought about them earlier.
“Look at me, and don’t make a second confession of love, before you really mean it”, he added with a sigh. So this was fear.
“You’re really him...”Lois stammered.
“Well, yes. I couldn’t return because of the eartquake and the series of crimes. I need to apologize for my behaviour, when I met you here. I was already tired, then. Tired and devastated. All those dying people. And I was still so unhappy about the things you said to me. I’m sorry Lois, I should have been more polite.”
“I can’t believe it, you’re Superman!” Lois gasped.
“I am Clark, Lois. Superman is just a disguise”, he said sharply.
“Clark! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? This whole mess hadn’t happened if you only had said a word.”, she shot back with a slight hint of anger in her voice.
“You’re mad at me. I understand that. But Lois, think about it. You were ignoring me. I wanted you to love me for who I am. I wanted you to love me as Clark. Remember, what you said in the park. That you would love Superman, the normal guy. That was just not true, then. I was there, right in front of you and you rejected me. That hurt more, than I can say. What would have happened if I told you the truth right there?” Clark replied softly.
“So that’s why you ran away so quickly. It must have been so hard for you. I see that now.”
She kissed him again, intense and breath taking.
“It killed me, when I thought, that you tried to commit suicide. You were suffering because of me. I was so anxious, that I would never ever see you again. I can’t live without you. I learnt that lesson during those horrible eight days. I can’t even bear the mere thought. I love you, Clark Kent.”
“I love you too, Lois. So much. Since the first day, I saw you”, Clark replied and kissed her passionately.
THE END
