It's over!!! It's finally----*ahem*. This is the last chapter of FTLOM. This part, IIRC, contains the last of what I did with Julie, as well as a shoddy tacked-on ending that I did myself. I have definitely noticed that working with another person on a fic, in any capacity, is fun, and definitely enhances the quality. It may be time for me to stop keeping my projects top-secret....
....
Nah. Anywho, here it is: The last round of FtLoM.
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As they knelt on the floor of the lab, locked in their passionate embrace, time seemed to stand still for them.
Neither of them heard the door open.
*****
Klein walked back into the lab. "Well, that was a close one! For a moment, I thought Stuart would never leave. You see, he is very fond of one of the rats we've been using in this experiment---a rare specimen, indigenous to Scotland--- but I managed to persuade----him---to----" Klein stopped just inside the door and stared at the couple embracing on the lab floor. He began to feel very uncomfortable. "AHEM!"
Lois and Superman snapped their heads up to look at him. They both scrambled to their feet.
"Dr. Klein! We---um, didn't---uh, hear you come in." Superman stammered.
Lois flushed. "We were just---um---you see..."
"Never mind," Klein grinned. "I could 'see' perfectly."
The two cast nervous glances at each other and at him.
Klein shook his head and walked over to Mike. The monitors showed that he was at least stable enough to be moved. Good! He went and got a few sheets out of the small closet in his office, then started disconnecting the monitors. "There's a room we can use just down the hall and around the corner from here. We'll have to cover him up to hide him from the security cameras. And I suggest we move fast---I want to hook him back up to the monitors as soon as possible in case something changes. Miss Lane, you may want to get that lab coat off the back of that chair; it wouldn't do for them to see a civilian here at this hour!"
"What about me?" Superman asked.
Klein thought for a moment. A lab coat wouldn't be enough to hide Superman's costume; the cape and boots would stick out. On the other hand...
"Just stay as you are; if anyone asks, we'll say that we're doing a top-secret Kryptonite experiment or something. Meanwhile, just throw a couple of these sheets over the monitors and follow us."
Lois shrugged the jacket on, then she and Klein draped one of the sheets over Mike and wheeled him out the door. Klein led them to the room he had found after getting rid of Stuart. Superman followed behind with the monitors.
Once inside the room, he and Lois removed the sheet and lifted Mike off the examining table onto the small bed. Klein reconnected the monitors as hastily as he could, and breathed a sigh of relief when the lines showed there had been no change.
"So far, so good," the doctor announced. "He seems to be pretty stable. Tomorrow we can run some blood tests to get a better idea of how he responded to the treatment, and whether it will be effective enough to pull him out of this. Right now though, I think we all need to get some sleep." As if to emphasize his point, Klein let out a huge yawn. "Do you need a place to stay, miss Lane?"
"She can stay with me," Superman volunteered.
A knowing smile escaped Klein as he recalled the scene he had intruded upon in the laboratory just moments ago. Superman apparently caught this smile, because his cheeks turned a little red.
"Actually," miss Lane piped up, "I want to stay here, if that's all right."
"Here? Miss Lane, I don't know if you can---"
"Please." There was a weariness in her face that had to do with more than just the late hour. Something in her tone, though, told the good doctor that he and Superman would not be able to extract her from the room if they tried.
"I guess I could go find a cot or something...while I'm out, I might as well see about hooking up an alarm system to the monitors in case I'm out and there's a drop..."
*****
Klein's babble faded into the distance as he exited the room and made his way down the hall.
Clark turned to Lois, who had sunk into a small chair next to the bed, and squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay," he said.
Lois gave a weak smile, even as her eyes misted over. "I hope so."
"It will, Lois." It has to, he thought.
For a while she said nothing, just staring at the limp form lying on the bed, fighting for his life. When she finally spoke, her voice was almost uncharacteristically soft. "Clark?"
"Yes, Lois?"
"Could you get something for me?"
"Anything, Lois." And he meant it. If she asked for the moon, he would fly into space and use his vast strength to push it toward Metropolis, regardless of the effect it would have on the world's ocean currents.
"There's something I want from our apartment back at New Guernsey..."
"What?"
"Mike's stuffed Snoopy."
After getting her address, Clark flew to retrieve the item. Within five minutes he returned and handed her the stuffed toy beagle.
Lois didn't even look up at him as she took it. She wrapped her arms around it and buried her face in its head, her tears wetting the polyester fur. "Thank you."
Clark stood beside her and put his arm around her. "Any time, Lois."
*****
Lois woke up at the sound of a soft knocking on the door. It took her a while to realize that she was not at her apartment, and then the memories of yesterday came back in a rush. She sat up in the cot Dr. Klein had given her last night, glanced around, and smiled when she saw a familiar red-and-blue figure asleep in the chair by Mike's bed.
Superman.
Clark.
He was starting to stir. Lois pushed her blanket aside and walked over to him, impulsively giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning."
He looked up at her in surprise, then smiled. "Good morning."
The knock became more persistent, cutting short any pleasantries. Lois tugged at the blouse and skirt she had slept in the night before and opened the door.
Dr. Klein was on the other side, clipboard in hand. "Time to check on our little patient," he announced. He entered the room and began checking the various wires and moniters connected to Mike.
Lois turned to Clark. "Were you here all night?"
He nodded. "I left for two hours, because of a train-wreck, but...yeah." He stood up and stretched, letting his cape fall behind him. Lois felt touched.
Dr Klein scribbled something down on his clipboard and then addressed them. "Good news! The transfusion seems to be taking effect. Mike is completely stabilized."
Lois thought she might cry from sheer relief.
"That's great!" Clark exclaimed.
"Thank you," she managed to whisper. "Thank you, Dr. Klein, and thank you Cl---Superman."
Clark pulled her into a hug, and brought his lips close to her ear. "Lois, I think maybe we should tell him."
"We'll talk about it, later," Lois whispered back. Then she pulled back, looked into his eyes, and kissed him.
After a few seconds, Dr. Klein cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Clark reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, then glanced up at the clock on the wall. It took Lois a minute to understand the expression on his face.
"Maybe you should tell Perry that I'm back in town," she said aloud, smiling at him.
Clark looked back at her and grinned. "I'll do that." With that, he said goodbye to her and Dr. Klein, and then left.
Lois watched him go, feeling immensely wonderful. Mike was going to live. He was going to be okay. Even more, it looked like the three of them were going to share a beautiful life together.
**********
Clark flew back home to change before leaving for work. The surrealistic feeling that he'd been floating in for the past several hours was finally starting to lift, gradually, as he went through the motions of his daily routine.
He glanced up at the editor's office, knowing that he should pass along Lois' message before things got too hectic. Just as he was standing up, the phone rang. Clark answered it. "Hello?"
"Clark!" his mother called out cheerfully. "I'm not interrupting something important am I?"
Clark smiled. "Hi, Mom. No, you're not interrupting anything. The day hasn't really taken off, yet."
"I just got the oddest feeling," his mother explained, "and you haven't really been in touch, lately. Tell me, has anything interesting happened?"
Clark opened his mouth, and suddenly, the events of last night and this morning sank into his consciousness like an anchor. The dream-like feeling evaporated all at once, leaving him with one life-changing reality. "Oh my God," he uttered as the realization dawned.
"Clark?" Martha's voice became worried. "What is it?"
"I'M A FATHER!" Clark shouted, attracting stares from all over the newsroom. Even Perry's office door swung open at the sudden, loud exclaimation. Martha's questioning voice could be heard from the reciever, but there was no reply from the reporter who had passed out cold.
The End...
For Now.
