Here you go! This is for Ann and all the others who miss Lois when she is not around.
Thanks to LaraMoon for beta-reading!
From Part 5:
“It’s not something you can see, Becky, honey. And you can come to me, if you’ve got trouble sleeping. There’s nothing bad about that.”
He pulled her in an embrace and held her tightly for a while. She leaned against him and sighed with relief. They sat silently on the sofa and Clark wondered how he was going to change the topic now. He had told her what she needed to know, but as long as Becca was just a child, he’d definitely feel uncomfortable answering more questions. Clark watched Becca’s expression trying to find out if there was anything else she wanted to know.
Serendipitous Infinity
by bakasi
Part 6
There was a knock at his door. Clark released Becca and got up to open the door, hoping that he wouldn’t find Mrs. Edwards on the other side of it. He decided to find out the quick way and used his x-ray vision. Clark breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed that his visitor wasn’t Mrs. Edwards, but Lois. She knocked again, impatiently. The expression on her face had told Clark that she wasn’t really in a good mood. He didn’t know what she was up to, but he knew that he would have to be careful around her.
“Hi, Lois,” Clark said as he looked at her face.
“Hi, Clark, can I come in?” Lois asked in a tense voice and went past him. She still looked angry and paced quickly into his living room. Clark closed the door behind her and followed her slowly. She turned around to face him, her expression angry and scary, actually. Clark mused that Lois was in Mad Dog Lane mode again. Obviously Becca’s spell hadn’t lasted for very long.
“What were you *thinking* Clark? Why on Earth did you promise Perry that interview? He’s gonna kill us if we don’t bring it! I’ve spent the *entire* day trying to get just a little piece of information as to where Superman is. Apart from one rescue, he wasn’t been seen *anywhere* today.” Lois pointed a finger at him, furiously.
Clark remembered his quick flight to save a few people that had been involved in a car accident. Two of them had been seriously hurt and the ambulances hadn’t been able to make their way through the traffic and the pile of cars. He had completely forgotten about that interview, assuming that he had ever really noticed making the promise. Clark winced. Superman was very reluctant to give interviews. Getting him in his apartment wouldn’t be a problem. A completely different problem would be explaining to Lois why the hero appeared just because Clark wanted him to. And he couldn’t send Lois back to her hotel, telling her that he would go looking for the hero. This meant leaving Becca alone and that was just impossible. Lois had to have noticed his discomfort.
“I already guessed that you were just showing off, but I really thought you were different, Clark!” she growled angrily. Lois put her hands on her hips to emphasize her annoyance and studied Clark’s face thoroughly.
“Lois, I’m sorry,” he muttered defensively. He knew that disagreeing with Lois wouldn’t be the best response right now. “But I’m sure we will get this interview,” he confirmed lamely. What was he saying? He could hardly confess that Clark was the one who decided if Superman gave interviews or not. Maybe he could write his own interview and submit it to Perry. Clark dismissed the thought. If Lois saw that he had gotten the interview instead of her, she would kill him, regardless of his invulnerability.
“So, I’m gonna tell Anna that she can’t come this weekend?” Becca asked suddenly.
“So, what are we going to do now, Clark, huh?” Lois said at the same time.
Clark looked at both of them and sighed heavily. He didn’t know, he just didn’t know. He had no idea how to answer these questions. He couldn’t tell Lois that her appointment with Superman wouldn’t be until tomorrow. And he couldn’t predict when the Child Service’s lady would show up on his doorstep.
“You’d better tell her that she’ll need to come another weekend, honey,” Clark replied and sat down beside Becca. “I think she’ll understand. Don’t you?”
“I told her that her coming wouldn’t be a problem,” Becca said miserably.
* * *
Lois couldn’t help but notice that Clark was too distracted to deal with her. He had his own problems to care about and obviously Superman wasn’t one of them. He had promised her to get an interview with the hero, but Lois didn’t believe that he would really be successful. It frustrated her beyond belief, because she longed for a conversation with the big guy. She had already had two and Lois had really hoped that he would come to her again. But so far, he hadn’t.
She was being irrational, anyway. What did she expect? She had seen him only two days ago, so why was she complaining? If anyone was to blame for the lack of interviews with Superman, it was her, not Clark. He hadn’t met Superman twice and had let him fly away without getting an interview. Lois had had her chances, but had failed. Clark really did have problems, judging from the things he had told her today. Obviously, he had told Becca about Child Services as well. The girl looked pretty unhappy, which wasn’t typical for her, actually. Lois decided to swallow her anger for once. She didn’t know why she would do it for Clark - of all people - but she could and she felt better not lashing out at him right now.
“I guess we can discuss this later, Clark,” she said and turned around to leave his place. It was kind of silly, because she really hadn’t come all this way just to leave again. But she had to do it anyway. For the sake of their friendship, she wouldn’t put her foot in her mouth this time.
“Don’t go, Lois.” Clark held her back. “I’m… there is just too much to deal with these days. I know that you’ve got problems too. I tend to forget that and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have promised Perry that interview. I was hardly listening to what he said.”
Lois looked at him, trying to decide what the better option was. She didn’t really want to go and after he had trusted her with his secrets today, she rather wanted to talk to him. She had never had a real friend. With a sigh, she went over to his sofa and set down next to Clark and Becca.
“So, what do we do now, Clark?” she asked again, softly this time, making sure that every hint of anger had vanished.
“Make a list of problems and get rid of them one by one…,” Clark suggested with a wry smile.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Lois replied with laughter. “So what comes first? The Child Service’s lady?”
“Nahh.” Clark shook his head. “Go for the tiny problems first so that we don’t get discouraged before we even begin.”
“Great, Clark. Only, we don’t have any tiny problems!” Lois commented.
“I’m not so sure, Lois. Your apartment or rather the absence of one could be a minor problem…,” he said carefully. “I know we haven’t known each other for a long time yet, but there is a spare room in my apartment that we don’t have any use for. You… you could stay here. Until you find something else, I mean.” He watched her, obviously feeling insecure.
Lois was ready to dismiss the idea, but then she thought about her current lack of money. Who knew how long landlords would keep turning her away? And Clark’s offer was kind. They were supposed to be friends and she supposed that it was okay to spend a few days with a friend. Clark seemed to be a gentleman; he was raising a girl who wasn’t even his own daughter. He certainly was one of the last knights in shining armor. But she couldn’t agree! What would Becca think? The girl wouldn’t like the idea, Lois was sure of this. But then, Becca was sitting right next to her and she hadn’t protested yet.
“That’s very kind of you, Clark.” Lois replied, still not sure whether to agree or to tell him that she wasn’t going to live there with them.
What was she thinking anyway? She couldn’t live with a man, she was an independent woman. And honestly, why would she need a man to rely on? They had proven to be unreliable more than once. She and Clark had just become friends. That sort of relationship might be okay for her, but when it came to anything that went beyond friendship, Lois always ended up in a federal disaster. What if Clark wanted more? Could a man share his apartment with a woman in a strictly platonic way? She didn’t want to risk their newfound friendship. She didn’t know Clark well enough. In fact, she had no clue as to his love life. Until Clark had told her that Becca wasn’t his daughter, she had at least had an idea what his past had been like. There had to have been Becca’s mother and maybe a few other girlfriends. But that wasn’t true anymore. Somehow she didn’t like the thought of Clark being with other women; kissing another woman just like he had kissed her.
And now that darned kiss had popped into her head again. She had tried to forget about it, to pretend it had never happened. She had made a weak attempt at convincing herself that she had kissed Superman instead. At least she had desperately wanted to kiss him the last time she had seen him. His lips had looked so tempting; the solid muscles underneath his suit had been so appealing. And suddenly the image of other muscles appeared, muscles that had not been hidden by spandex. She remembered Clark’s bare chest and felt that she was blushing. Lois blinked, trying to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts.
“Come on, Lois. I promise I won’t try anything funny,” Clark said, obviously aware of her inner conflict. Fortunately, he wasn’t aware of the fact that Lois had just been enjoying the thought of the funny things he might try.
“What funny things could you try, Daddy?” Becca asked, innocently.
Lois could almost see herself blush. Couldn’t he be more careful with what he said? She looked at him, curious as to how he would react to the question. Obviously, he had been taken by surprise as well. His face looked just a little flushed. Lois smiled inwardly, grateful that Becca wasn’t her child. And honestly, she was also glad that Becca had caused a bit of delay. Maybe she would find the answer in the meantime.
“I could try to get her to marry, me, Becky,” Clark stated, sounding serious, but Lois could see the tiny twitch in his smile that appeared when he was teasing. She liked his smiles. They could light up the whole room in an instant.
“No!” Becca stated, shocked. The twitch increased. “You’re making fun of me!” she complained, sounding as if she desperately hoped it was just a jest.
“Of course, pumpkin. But I hope you won’t let poor Lois sleep on the streets, just because the two of you had had a few difficulties.” Clark tousled his daughter’s hair, which was an adorably comforting gesture. Lois couldn’t really remember her own dad doing that, neither with her nor with her sister. “So, would you consider staying here, Lois?” Clark interrupted her thoughts.
to be continued...
