Groan! I'll proclaim you the Queen of Cliffhangers if you continue like that. I'm still hanging there, my feet dangling in thin air, so come back soon! (Right now would be perfect.)
Anyway, I'll see what I can do about earning it...So here you are with part 9. I don't really know what you consider a cliffhanger, but maybe this one does it for you? Huh? 
So please enjoy, FoLC's and Happy New Year to all of you!
Thanks to LaraMoon for beta-reading. From Part 8: Clark stumbled inside and closed the door behind him. He clutched at the handrail as he stepped down the stairs and unsteadily took the last couple of steps over to the sofa, before he sank down with a groan. Becca followed him and kneeled down beside him.
“Daddy!” she whimpered.
“I’m okay, honey!” he managed to say.
Part 9: He wasn’t okay, but Becca needed comfort. It was doubtful that she would buy his assertion. Clark still ached all over; he didn’t really know if he could soothe his little girl when he felt so awful. But she was more important than his discomfort. He reached out for her hand. Clark knew he couldn’t lift her, not tonight. That scared him to death. Never had he felt so weak. He was desperate and wished for someone to say that everything would be all right; that the soreness would disappear and that his powers would return. He had lost them and he didn’t even know how. No one came to comfort him, Clark stayed alone with his fear.
Becca laid her hand in his and followed as he dragged her closer to him. She carefully climbed onto the sofa as he guided her and lay down next to him. Clark wrapped his arms around her. He felt her trembling body under his light grip. She rested her head on his shoulder and a flow of warm, wet tears dampened his coat. Clark heard her sobs and each of them was testament to the fear she had felt. He muttered soothing words, knowing that it wasn’t enough. Becca hated when her left her alone and her imagination came up with the most frightening threats. She had told him about the shadows. She wasn’t afraid of them anymore, but other fantasies had taken their place. Clark could only guess what she had imagined while she was alone.
Clark wanted to drift off to sleep. He was far too exhausted to think of much more than his bed. His sudden weakness in the dark alley was still a mystery to him and it worried him beyond belief. It was the first time that he got any impression of how it felt to be sick. His face was bathed in sweat and Becca wasn’t the only one who shivered. Clark still felt cold, though his walk to the apartment should have warmed him up. Maybe he was running a fever? Becca showed similar symptoms when she had caught a cold.
He couldn’t just close his eyes and forget about the rest of the world. Becca needed to calm down, but honestly, how could he achieve that when he was frightened like a deer in the headlights? Though he felt his daughter’s even breath against his neck, Clark felt lonely. Nothing had prepared him for this to happen. He had never been sick; there had never been a day when he hadn’t been able to there for his little girl. Clark needed help, but he wasn’t used to be the one at the receiving end.
He couldn’t admit his helplessness. Not really. He couldn’t send Becca to bed right now, without her usual bedtime story and without him following her upstairs. Not in her current state of distress. She was as lonely as he was and that connected them somehow. The burden of adulthood weighed heavily on his shoulders. There was no one he could pass the responsibility on to. Clark promised himself just a few minutes of rest, before he would get up to do what needed to be done. He closed his eyes, though only briefly.
Someone knocked at the door, hard and demanding. Clark glanced over to the clock, irritated. It was a quarter to eleven. Who wanted to see him in the middle of the night? Becca looked up as well. Her face was white, apart from her red eyes. There was another knock, it sounded even more urgent. Clark silently told her to get off of him. Becca obeyed and flinched at the soft moans that he let out as she climbed across his body. He could see the worry in her face.
“It’s all right, honey,” he whispered.
He slowly got up again and groaned as his sore muscles protested against the effort. His legs threatened to give way under him. He concentrated on every step he took. Had he ever imagined that walking could be so exhausting?
“Go upstairs, Becca.”
Clark stepped closer to the door, dragging himself up the few stairs. Why had these stairs needed to be there right now? Clark cursed, silently. He stopped in front of the door, panting.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Lois. Please open up, Clark,” a female voice answered.
He should have known! Who else could be visiting him in the middle of the night and at the worst possible time? He opened the door.
“Lois, it’s late,” he complained.
“You look awful,” she stated.
“Thanks,” Clark replied wryly.
The world spun around him, he struggled to remain upright. He was so weak, so sore. He couldn’t deal with this woman right now.
“Lois, I’ve got a terrible cold. Please, I need to go to bed.”
“Clark, I really need to talk to you,” she replied.
“Can’t you wait until tomorrow?” he asked.
“No, Clark, this is very important to me. I don’t want to postpone this conversation,” she disagreed.
“Really, Lois,” he moaned, but futilely.
She walked past him and he couldn’t do anything but close the door behind her. He had to lean on the handrail again in order to be able to follow her. His legs were shaking as he stepped down the last stair. She had started speaking, but Clark had missed almost all of it. His mind was too busy keeping him from stumbling.
* * *
Lois was confused by Clark’s behavior. He was deadly pale and she couldn’t help but think that he wasn’t listening. Under normal circumstances she would have been very annoyed, but seeing Clark in his current state didn’t allow any anger to well up in her. He hadn’t bothered to get his coat off, though he was at home. That was the first thing Lois usually did when she got home, unless she was carrying a lot of stuff. Clark still wore his shoes and had spots of dirt all over him. Suddenly, he stumbled and fell to the floor.
“Clark!” Lois gasped in shock as she rushed over to him.
She could hear him groan and someone else squealed. It was Rebecca. Shouldn’t she be in bed already? The little girl rushed to her father’s side and cried out his name frantically. She seemed scared to death. Lois couldn’t deny that she was scared as well. Clark had told her that he didn’t feel like talking to her. She had seen his pale face. He moaned again, struggling to get to his feet. He wasn’t unconscious. Lois breathed a sigh of relief and helped him to turn around. Clark coughed heavily.
“Shh, Becky…honey,” he whispered, calmly and comfortingly. “I’m all right.”
Lois didn’t believe her ears. There he was, lying on the floor, and had just barely turned around enough to look in his daughter’s face. He was still ghostly pale and yet he was telling her that he was okay! Who was supposed to believe him? She shook her head. The little girl obviously wasn’t buying his assertions, either. She still sobbed heart wrenchingly.
“You’re not all right, Clark,” Lois stated grimly. “You have to see a doctor. I’ll call an ambulance.”
“No, Lois, don’t!” he replied and held her wrist. “All I need is some sleep.”
Becca looked up, her face swollen from crying. Her glance wandered from Lois to Clark and back again. Her lips were trembling as she awaited the adults’ decision. Lois pressed her hand on Clark’s wet forehead.
“You’re running a fever, Clark,” she stated as if this was substantiating her earlier advice.
“It’s just the flu, Lois,” Clark answered firmly as he sat up.
He trembled. Lois realized that there was no way of convincing him to go to a doctor. She helped him up and steadied him. Together they walked over to Clark’s bedroom.
“Get out of those clothes, Clark,” Lois said.
Clark didn’t undress; he just stared at her, intensely.
“Come on, Clark,” she repeated, impatiently.
She hadn’t intended to become his nurse, but obviously he needed just that. She would have to ask Rebecca where she could find towels to prepare cold compresses. Clark still had not removed his coat. Instead, he reached out for Lois’ arm.
“Lois,” he whispered as he drew her closer towards him.
She didn’t know what to expect now. Was he already caught in feverish dreams? His grip was considerably stronger than it had been before. Maybe that was a good sign? She didn’t know but Lois felt slightly afraid. She hadn’t been prepared for this and she didn’t really know how to react.
“Whatever happens, don’t send Becky away from me. She wouldn’t understand and she’s already frightened.” His voice was low, barely audible.
Lois assumed that he didn’t want Rebecca to eavesdrop. His tone was urgent and uncommonly bidding.
“What do you mean, Clark?” Lois asked, slightly confused.
“Don’t send her to bed, don’t tell her that she can’t come to see me,” Clark replied.
Lois was about to disagree, to tell him that he needed rest. But she noticed the firm expression on his face, telling Lois that he wasn’t going to give in on that topic. So Lois gave him an affirmative nod.
He started taking off his coat and, since he looked more stable, Lois left him his privacy. She went back into the living room. Rebecca was sitting on the sofa and wrapped in a blanket. The little girl looked rather pale, worried and frightened. Lois wondered what had happened before she had arrived at Clark’s place. Why on earth was Clark in such a condition and why was Becca still awake? As soon as Becca saw Lois, her brows furrowed and she looked at her censoriously. Lois went over to Becca and sat down next to her.
“Rebecca, can you please help me?” Lois forced herself to ask softly. She wasn’t good with children.
The girl’s glance had not turned a bit friendlier. Lois was determined not to be intimidated by a seven-year-old girl.
“I need a few towels and a bowl. Do you know where they are?”
The girl nodded, but didn’t move. She stared over to Clark’s bedroom, frozen into place. Lois laid her hand on Becca’s back and stroked it softly. She really hoped it was the right thing to do. Clark had told her that Rebecca was already scared. How should she deal with a frightened child? Lois felt helpless. But she understood now that it would be a mistake to send Becca upstairs.
“It’s going to be all right, Rebecca.” Lois tried to sound confident, which she wasn’t.
She took the girl’s hand in hers and made her stand up from the couch. Becca followed; she wasn’t protesting.
“Can you show me where the towels are, Becca?” Lois asked. She remembered that Clark didn’t use her full name when talking to her.
Somehow the spell on her seemed to lessen and she came to life.
Becca showed Lois to the kitchen and opened the right cupboards or pointed to them because she was too small. Within a few minutes, Lois had what she needed. She gave Becca a soft push towards Clark’s bedroom and followed her. Becca gave her unsure glances.
* * *
Becca was frightened. She had heard the adults. Her daddy was ill. He never got ill. What he was telling this Lois-woman wasn’t true. She didn’t know about him; Becca would know if he had told her his secret. She remembered his moans as she had touched him. She didn’t want to hurt her daddy. Becca had been careful, but he had moaned nonetheless. He had even collapsed on the floor. He had told her, then, that he was all right. But how could he be okay when he couldn’t manage to stand on his feet? She hadn’t dared go to him.
Becca was afraid that the Lois-woman would send her away. Had Becca not been so caught up in her worries, she would have heard Clark calling for her. But she hadn’t. When the Lois-woman had sat down beside her, Becca had expected her to say that she should go to bed. Becca had been sure that this woman wouldn’t understand that sleeping was completely out of question right now. Lois had surprised Becca.
The soft push towards her daddy’s bedroom was almost enough to change Becca’s opinion of Lois. Becca decided to give her a second chance. Maybe she was just having an awful lot of bad days. Becca approached the bedroom self-consciously. Her eyelids were growing heavy. Becca didn’t want to be tired, but she was. And she was glad that she wasn’t alone with her Dad. She had been shocked at the sight of his pale face and she wouldn’t have known what to do. Lois was a grown-up. She knew how to handle things.
Clark was sitting on the edge of the bed. He wore long pants, as he usually did in winter. His chest was bare. He wasn’t that pale anymore, but his skin was still damp with sweat. Becca rushed towards him; she couldn’t hold back any longer. When he heard her approach, he looked up at her. A smile appeared on his face and he held out his arms to embrace her.
“And I thought you’d rather leave me alone, pumpkin,” he said. His voice was hoarse, and Becca heard a soft groan as he lifted her up on his lap. It sounded as if she was too heavy for him, which was odd, since he was the strongest man in the world. “Sorry, honey. I didn’t want to scare you,” he whispered in her ear.
“Can I sleep in your bed?” she asked, shyly.
Becca looked from Clark to Lois, expecting one of them to send her away. Lois opened her mouth to say something, but Clark was quicker.
“Of, course, honey,” he replied gently and placed a kiss on her cheek.
He lifted up the covers and Becca slid under them, cuddling with the pillows. She inhaled the comforting scent of her dad that was all around her. Whatever had made her afraid had slowly faded and left her calmer. Clark lay down next to her and sighed with relief. Becca watched Lois sit down next to Clark. She bathed the towels in a bowl of water and laid them on his forehead and arms. Clark squealed as the cold cloth made contact to his hot skin.
“Pull yourself together!” Lois muttered. “This will help to get your temperature down.”
Clark’s teeth were chattering with cold.
“Ohhh, some hero you are!” Lois shook her head and grinned.
It was right in that moment that the sandman finally caught up with Becca and practically before she even had closed her eyes, she was fast asleep.
* * *
“Thanks, Lois,” Clark said softly. He was starting to feel better. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. So what did you want to talk to me about ?”
“Nothing, really. You’re welcome, Clark. Get some sleep, now,” she replied.
“Lois, I know you. You didn’t come here without a reason. You told me this was so important that you didn’t even want to give me a rest. So tell me,” he repeated, softly.
She had gotten up from the bed again, but he pulled at her hand gently and made her sit down next to him.
“I owe it to you to listen now.”
“It’s not that important, Clark,” Lois watched him with a worried expression.
It was the first time that Clark realized that she cared for him.
“It is,” he insisted, in a very low voice in order not to wake Becca.
“I wanted to apologize, Clark,” Lois gave in.
That took Clark by surprise. Lois turned away, her face slightly flushed.
“I kept lashing out at you for no reason. And I never made it up to Becca. I was behaving so badly on that Sunday and I didn’t even tell her that I was sorry.”
“You made it up to her tonight, Lois. Didn’t you see the smile on her face?” Clark whispered, glancing over to the little girl next to him. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. “You calmed her when I wasn’t able to. I guess you got a second chance to become her friend.”
“Do I also get a second chance to be your friend, Clark?” Lois asked, self-consciously.
“No, Lois,” Clark replied.
The hopefulness on Lois face turned into disappointment in a split second.
“You never needed a second chance with me,” he hurried to add. “Friends?” he asked.
“Friends!” Lois confirmed softly. “Get some sleep, now, Clark. You look tired.”
“It’s late Lois. Maybe you want to sleep on the sofa instead of going home?” he offered. “There are some blankets in that box over there.” Clark didn’t even hear her reply. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Lois watched him, fascinated. She saw his chest raising and falling - his bare chest. She couldn’t help but admire the firm pectorals under the smooth skin. Never had she imagined that he hid such a perfect body under his dark gray suits. His complexion had returned to that olive tone. He wasn’t so pale anymore. Clark really looked better and Lois was glad that she hadn’t dragged him to hospital. Lois assumed that the sterile atmosphere wouldn’t have done him any good. She turned off the light and suddenly remembered that he was still wearing his glasses. In the darkness she tiptoed over to Clark. She took them off and placed them on the nightstand next to his bed. He didn’t even stir.
“Goodnight, Clark,” she whispered into the dark room and turned around to leave.
Back in the living room, Lois grabbed the coat that she had lost somewhere in the process of nursing Clark. She wanted to go back to the hotel, but when she passed his sofa, she looked at it, longingly. Even though the hotel bed would be much more comfortable, the sofa seemed inexplicably inviting. Lois sighed. She was just as tired as Clark and Becca had been. She didn’t really want to return to a lonely hotel room. Lois remembered Clark’s kind offer to stay. Somehow it seemed natural to accept it. Lois glanced at her coat and made her decision. She placed it on a chair and went to fetch the blankets Clark had spoken of. Just a few minutes later she was lying on his sofa. It was even more comfortable than it looked like. It didn’t take her long to be sound asleep as well.
to be continued 
