Hi! It's not exactly Saturday anymore, but I said that I will be busy. This part is mostly touchy-feely stuff and there is only little about Luthor. Gee, Ann, this is really for you! 
Note: Dreams (yes, there will be dreams!!!)are indicated with italics. I just thought, that I should mention that again. And please remember: They are *dreams*, as opposed to *reality*. ( no not that bad, but if you take one of them for real you might want to 
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And thanks again to Nancy, who beta-read this part faster than I could work through it.
Yet another note: I know it's a bit too late, but in case you are reading this as well: Happy Birthday, Susanna!!!!! From Part 7: Why was he like this? She had always considered him to be her best friend, but during those last couple of days he had been so mean. She felt tears streaming down her cheeks. What was there about Clark Kent that had made her cry for the second time this day when she hadn’t cried for years. Lois couldn’t believe it, he made her behave so strange that she didn’t recognize herself. She had lost him for sure now. They were not able to talk to each other without arguing. Lois felt so empty. She relied on him, and she needed Clark to talk to. It didn’t matter how unkind he had been; because she still needed him. Why was she already missing him so much? Had she again managed to fall for the wrong guy?
Part 8: Lex had made a big mistake by underestimating Clark Kent. He had thought that he would be easy to fight, but it was more difficult than he had ever imagined. Who could have guessed that Clark Kent would be so challenging? And moreover he didn’t even have the powers of Superman. Lex felt more and more amazed that he needed to be resourceful to beat that man. Of course it wasn’t easy either to hunt down Superman, but he had already set that trap. It was interesting that he didn’t care so much about the Man of Steel at the moment. Superman had dominated his every thought in the last couple of weeks. He had planned his death with more accuracy than he had ever needed to kill another adversary.
But right now, there seemed to be another force in town to be reckoned with - someone he had never considered a threat but more an inconvenience. It didn’t happen very often that Lex Luthor’s targets changed their own classification, but Mr. Kent had managed to redefine his status. Lex was able to admit an error, and he would correct it. Once he had only been the partner of Ms. Lane, but he had quickly gained a name. Mr. Kent was no longer an inconvenience but a threat. Lex didn’t believe that he would climb the next step and change from a threat to a real enemy. Lex Luthor would read Clark Kent’s obituary in one of the local newspapers before he had the chance to become an enemy.
* * *
It was already dark when Clark returned to his apartment. He had been called to several emergencies all over the city, and that had pretty much kept him from thinking about what had happened. This was about the first time that he felt kind of grateful for disasters. It caused a wave of guilt to wash over him because the welcomed distraction was so awful for the people suffering from it. But he couldn’t help his feelings. The new argument with Lois had left him stunned at first. He hadn’t been able to move, let alone run after her. He had heard her sobbing after she had run from him. He never missed the faintest sound she made when she was anywhere near him. The sound had mixed with her heart beat making it a very heart-wrenching experience. It had left him unable to move.
He hadn’t actually understood what she had meant with the comment about a wife. It confused him because he had assumed that she knew about his being Superman. Had he misunderstood? But then exactly what secret had she found out? The only other secret that he could think of was that he was still a virgin at his twenty-seven years. But since sex had never been of any relevance between them, that couldn’t really be of interest to her. And it certainly wasn’t anything she might have found out by searching his desk. In fact she wasn’t likely to have found the truth about Superman in his desk either.
For the moment he had, unbelievable as it was, more important things to do than think about Lois. Clark noticed that Perry was in his apartment. He needed to find a very good apology for his editor-in-chief. And if he didn’t manage to find one, he would have to tell Perry the truth. Perry was too good a friend to be treated so mean. Clark owed him a lot, and he thought of the man as an uncle.
Clark entered his apartment through the front door. “Perry?” He asked into the silence.
“I’m already packing, Clark,” his chief replied from the living room.
“That’s not necessary. I’m sorry for being so rude this morning. It won’t happen again,” Clark said as he approached Perry. He felt really crushed about this. Perry was not involved in any way in this whole mess.
“She has hurt you a lot, hasn’t she, son?” Perry asked sympathetically. He stopped packing.
Clark nodded. “That was still no good reason to attack you as well, but I had the feeling that I was going to lash out. I didn’t want to put anyone in danger.”
That was as close to the truth as Clark could possibly get without telling Perry that he was Superman. He hadn’t actually felt like he was going to deliberately hurt anyone. He wasn’t actually the aggressive type. And when he really felt anger, it was more aimed at himself then at others. But he wasn’t always able to control the superhuman part of him. It scared him that Lois was able to push him beyond the edge of control, especially since she was the person that he would never want to hurt.
“Women do strange things to us, son. Alice can drive me rather crazy sometimes, but I love her. And you love Lois.”
“With all my heart,” Clark admitted.
“That’s the reason why she affects you so much. She brings out the best and the worst in you,” Perry said softly.
“But I don’t want to be the worst version of myself, Perry. That’s way too scary,” Clark muttered and sank down on his sofa, covering his face with his hands.
He felt so weak right now. The last argument with Lois had drained him emotionally. He could still see better than anyone else on the planet. He could still hear the faintest sound. He could still lift a rocket into orbit. At the same time he had never felt so limp. He had lost every hope of getting her back, of being able to give her the freedom she deserved. In his mind he already saw Lois enslaved by Luthor. Clark was literally able to fly, but Lois was the person with the wings. She shouldn’t be caged like that. She needed to be able to spread her wings and fly wherever the winds carried her.
Perry sat down next to Clark and patted his shoulder consolingly.
“Sunshine follows rain, you know that son. As dark and hopeless as things might be now, they can only get better,” he said calmly. “All you need is a little bit of patience. Lois will realize that Lex Luthor is not the nice guy he pretends to be. She just cannot admit that she has made a mistake. But I’m sure she will, before it is too late.”
“I really hope so, chief. It makes me sad that we’re not able to speak to each other anymore. We always argued, especially when we became partners. But it never was that bad. I love her so much, but I can't help but be angry with her sometimes.” Clark sighed and looked at Perry.
“You really think that love is an ever-happy kind of thing? This is about feelings, Clark. You can’t have true feelings for a person and never get angry with him or her. What she does bothers you because she can touch your soul. It would be a sad sign if she wasn’t able to annoy you.”
Clark slowly nodded as Perry’s words sank in. Maybe he didn’t have to feel guilty because Lois had turned him into an emotional wreck over the last couple of days. Maybe he really felt that way because Lois mattered to him so much. But he was too tired to think about these things. He muttered an apology as he got up from the sofa and went to bed.
He usually enjoyed eating so much, but this was the second day that he hadn't eaten supper. He just didn't feel like eating right now. In fact he hadn’t eaten all day, but there was no way for Perry to know that. Since Clark didn’t need to eat, it didn’t really matter if he actually did. He had already made his evening patrol by then and saw no point in flying around a second time. He didn’t really feel up to doing anything but sleep. His dreams were the last place where everything was just the way it should be.
Someone was knocking at his door, and Clark got up from the sofa. He checked quickly to see who his visitor was and grinned with satisfaction when he saw Lois standing there. She wore a coat but seemed to shiver despite that. He started toward the door but then quickly stopped to check on his outfit. When he saw the washed-out jeans and the casual shirt, he made a short detour into his bedroom and changed into a black jeans and a black shirt. Then he hurriedly went to the door.
She greeted him with a smile, and he invited her in. He noticed that her eyes were wandering over his body. She took off the coat as she went down the stairs. Lois wore a sweet little nothing that didn’t leave much to imagination. Her dress was black and short, silky and flowing. It emphasized her curves in exactly the right manner. Only Lois could manage to look so decent in such a state of undress. Her skin was flawless. “Red like blood, white like snow and black like ebony,” the phrase of the fairy tale resounded in his mind. Never had anything described her in a better way. Like Snow White she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Clark felt his knees grow weak.
She turned to him as he descended the stairs, came closer and laid her arms on his shoulders. “I love you so much, Clark,” she said. Those were the words he had longed to hear so desperately. She leaned forward to kiss him.
Her warm lips touched his, and her breath caressed his face sending shivers through his body. Her tongue slipped through his lips that parted of their own will. While she was kissing him passionately, her fingers played with his hair, wandered down his neck and trailed over his chest. He felt her every movement, and time seemed to stand still, stopped by some generous power that granted him his deepest desire to never let this moment pass. They shouldn’t have to part ever again. Clark needed to know that Lois wasn’t going to marry Luthor, and in this very moment he was sure of this. Nothing was going to ever separate them again. Lois was his present and his future.
She ended the kiss and rested her head against his shoulder, allowing him to drink in the sweet but spicy scent of her hair, a mixture of roses and something he wasn’t able to define. Clark was aware of her with every one of his senses. He heard her steady but increasing heart beat and smelled the unique scent of her. Her body felt warm in his arms. He could still taste her kiss on his lips; it was like dark chocolate. It was a bittersweet moment, and it fulfilled his desires but also made him ache for more. Even though his eyes were closed, he could still see her beauty And he didn't just see her face; he saw her soul.Clark woke up to strange noises in his apartment. He was wide awake immediately and left his bed silently. A quick glance with his x-ray vision showed him that a second pair of invaders had come into his apartment. This was getting really annoying. He had been having such a lovely dream, and they had interrupted his sleep. He sneaked off to his living room as the two men were coming in from his balcony. They didn’t hear him, and they didn’t see him. He moved so quickly that he was just a blur. Faster than a speeding bullet he took their weapons away and lifted the two men a few inches above the ground.
“Who sent you?” Clark grumbled.
“Don’t…don’t know what you’re talking about,” one of them said as he tried to lie. Clark shook him lightly.
“I hate it when someone thinks that I’m a fool. So who gave you the assignment to break in?”
“All we know is that he’s called the boss,” the other criminal said.
Clark nodded grimly. “That much I assumed. Tell me something new, guys. Who is the boss?”
“I…I don’t know,” one of them stammered. But Clark could hear their increasing heart rate, and he could smell the sweat.
“You know more than you are admitting,” he stated simply. “Who contacted you?”
“Okay, there was this guy that sounded rather British. He promised us money if we kill you.”
“Would you recognize his voice?” Clark asked.
“What will we get?” The criminal wanted to know.
“My personal guarantee that Superman won't fly loops during your flight to the police,” Clark replied. He shot a quick glance at Perry who had woken up as well and was watching the scene. “Would you mind watching the two of them while I contact Superman?” He asked the older man.
Perry nodded and grabbed one of the guns that were still lying on the floor. He pointed it at the two invaders, looking rather threatening.
“Don’t try anything funny, guys, I know how to handle this baby,” he said menacingly. He grinned at Clark, who set the two back on the floor and hurried away. He ran out of his apartment, changed into Superman and returned via his balcony.
“Thanks, Mr. White. I’ll take care of these two. You can go back to bed. I don’t think that anyone will try this again soon,” Superman said in his firmest voice. He lifted the two villains up to the skies and disappeared into the night, heading for the police station.
* * *
Lois was sitting on her sofa when suddenly Clark materialized in the living room.
“I’m sorry, Lois. I’m so very sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too, Clark. I never wanted us to argue. You know, Clark, I love you,” she said as she got up and approached him. He welcomed her with an embrace.
“I love you, Lois. More than anything in the world; more than words can ever say.” His embrace was so comforting, so sensual. “I only wish that we could be together. This is so frustrating, Lois, honey. I loved Sarah so much; I still love her, but she has changed into a person I don’t know anymore.”
“I have met her, Clark. I felt that she was not the same person you had fallen in love with. She couldn’t be,” Lois said softly, stroking his back and holding him tightly.
“I should have told you about her, and I wanted to, for a long time now. I really needed someone to talk to. I was so alone. Sarah ripped my heart out and left nothing but grief, ache and emptiness. You were the only person able to fill that hole with affection and life. I thought that I’d died the day Sarah was convicted. You saved my life,” he whispered into her hair.
“But you believe in your vows, don’t you, Clark?” She felt sad, so unbelievably sad.
“I don’t feel like I could really leave her, Lois. When I admitted my feelings for you in that park, I really hoped that you would say that you love me, too. I hoped that with you I would find the strength and courage to leave her. I thought that you and I would be strong enough to do that together. His voice was trembling from the effort of holding back tears. She could see them glistening in his eyes. “Lois, please don’t marry Luthor. He’s evil. He doesn’t love you the way I do.” Clark kissed her, and she could almost taste his despair and felt him begging her to let go of Luthor and help him cut his ties with Sarah.
“It wasn’t his fault, Clark. Sarah didn't tell him that she was married to you when she seduced him. Lex didn’t betray you. He never meant to hurt you and is so awfully sorry, Lois said softly, trying to give him support and comfort. It also was an attempt to free him from Sarah. Maybe if he only knew that she had been cheating on him, he would be able to leave her.
Clark stared at her with the most painful expression she had ever seen. He furrowed his brow and his eyes grew wide. He was no longer able to restrain the tears, and they rolled down his cheeks. She saw him wince and heard a deep growl of pain that emerged from his throat. “No,” he whispered. “No. It was Luthor’s fault, not Sarah’s.”
But his attempt to fool himself was weak.Lois woke up, still lying on the sofa where she had drifted to sleep. The lights were still on. She had again had a dream about Clark. Why was she dreaming about him? She could still feel his pain as if it had been real, as if it was hers. Why did he affect her so much? She could no longer run away from the realization that there was more to Clark than she was willing to admit. She had again made the same mistake, the mistake she had desperately tried to avoid since her disastrous affair with Claude. She had tried hard not be so stupid again. Ever since she had met Clark, she had tried hard to push him away, but she had failed.
And now she had made this terrible mistake again: She had fallen in love with the wrong guy: Clark Kent. Not that Clark was bad in any way. He was just perfect except that she couldn’t have him. Lois should have known that. She just wasn’t meant to be happy.
*Never get involved in your stories, never let anyone else get there first, and never sleep with anyone you work with.* Had she really claimed to be that hard hearted? Maybe she just wished to be that way because reality was so hurtful. Lois was a fugitive, always running away from the people who could harm her emotionally. During her constant flight she ran into the arms of those who intended to hurt her physically. But Lois wasn’t afraid of them. She knew how to deal with injuries that could be seen. It was the invisible ones that she couldn't cope with. Those were the ones that refused to heal.
Lois looked at the marriage certificate in her hands. Why had she taken it with her? It only proved her betrayal. Maybe the reason she took it was because she wanted to punish herself for the terrible thing she had done. Why hadn’t she stopped herself before things had gotten out of hand? They had been so close to reconciliation, but she had blown it completely. Lois left the sofa and buried the certificate in her own desk. She didn’t want to see it again anytime soon.
She had assumed Clark to be the safe harbor she had finally found. But she had understood too late that this man wasn’t only a friend to her, but also the man she loved. And worst of all was that Clark was bound to this terrible woman. His declaration of love had been a cry for help, but she had rejected him. Even if she had felt this love before, he still might not have been able to flee his own prison. Now that she knew about his marriage, she didn’t have the heart to save him. She couldn’t easily destroy a marriage since she had suffered from the divorce of her parents so much. She couldn’t be the reason for something that had once made her mother start to drink. She would never want to be the cause of such misery. She only wished that she and Clark hadn’t parted the way they had. Why had they drifted apart?
She heard a soft tapping at her window and looked over to it. Superman’s concerned eyes watched her and pleaded silently for entrance. She was surprised to see him, but she stood up and opened the window for him. He wasn’t the man she longed to see. If only it had been Clark telling her that everything was all right, and that he was free from Sarah.
“Hello, Superman,” she greeted the Man of Steel. “I didn’t expect you to come to my apartment again.”
“Hello, Lois. I was around and saw the light in your apartment. I wanted to talk to you,” he said. He had spoken much more gently than the last time he had been here. “You seem to be upset. What’s the matter?”
“I had a bad argument with Clark. I’m so sorry for that.”
“He is sorry, as well, Lois.”
“He has told you?” she asked, even more surprised. Clark and Superman were obviously really close friends. He didn’t answer her question. “Has he sent you?”
“No, he didn’t. He is still working up all his courage to apologize to you, but he would never ask me to do it for him.” Superman said. “Lois, I…”
Lois sank back on her couch and buried her face in her hands. A sob escaped her and she interrupted Superman. “I love him. I told him that I didn’t, but I love him so much.”
“He loves you, too.” She heard Superman swallow. His voice was husky for some reason. He didn’t sound much like himself.
“It’s impossible, though.” Lois sobbed again and then started to cry her heart out. ”I can never have him.”
Superman sat down next to her and put his arms around her. She leaned into his embrace and sobbed against his firm chest. Her tears fell on his suit and got it wet, but Superman didn’t seem to care.
“Oh, Lois, stop crying, sweetheart.” He tried to soothe her.
“I rejected him, and now I’ve lost him forever.”
“You haven’t lost him, Lois. He will come to apologize, I’m sure. Tell him that you love him.”
“I can’t,” she mumbled. “He hasn’t told you about it, has he?”
“Told me what?” Superman asked.
“I better not say. It was bad enough that I betrayed him by rummaging through his things. I won’t do that again by telling you his secrets,” she said firmly.
“Lois, what secret are you talking about?” Superman inquired.
“I can’t. Please leave me alone, Superman.” Lois cried. “Go!” She screamed the last word, sounding as helpless as Clark had sounded when she had seen him in his apartment.
“I know Clark quite well; I don’t think there is anything he has hidden from me. Tell me what is bothering you. I might be able to help.”
“I said go!” Lois screamed. Superman shot her an irritated glance and got up from the sofa.
When he had indeed left, she sank onto the couch and tears streamed down her face as she silently wept.
tbc....
