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From Part 9:
“I don’t think there is more that I can tell you,” Superman said, this time unable to prevent his voice from getting husky. “Goodnight, Lois.” He gave her a brief smile, before he lifted off into the sky. He could feel her glance on him, admiring and yearning. Superman had been crazy to get this close to Lois. When she saw the same foolish lovingly expression on both Superman’s and Clark’s face, wouldn’t she just know the truth? Nobody could be so stupid!
Serendipitous Infinity
Part 10:
It wasn’t much later that Clark returned home. Lois was waiting for him in the living room. He didn’t really know what to expect now. Maybe she would be angry with him for leaving her alone. She would be right; he really should have warned her that it would take some time. And he should have thought of a better excuse than just telling her that he had an appointment. That would cause trouble sooner rather than later. Clark closed the door behind him and stepped down the stairs.
“Thank you for staying, Lois. I hope Becca didn’t cause you any trouble,” he said guiltily.
“We managed just fine. Superman has been here, Clark. I have the interview,” Lois replied, calmly.
Clark watched her carefully. Wasn’t she supposed to be mad? As Superman he had had the impression that Clark would have a hard time as soon as he returned. She would be right to be angry; he had lied to her. But Lois just looked at him, her expression curious. Did she expect him to ask her questions about the hero, now? That would be kind of silly. If anyone knew the answers, it was him.
“Oh, good,” Clark commented. “Lois, I’m sorry for being so late. I… I heard that a train derailed and decided to cover that story. I should have phoned you.”
“That would have been better. I was worried, Clark. But thanks for remembering to ask Superman for the interview. I didn’t think that we would get it so quickly.” Her eyes were gleaming with joy. Her encounter with Superman had obviously had similar effects on both of them. The memories of the brief kiss on his cheek made his un-kissed lips tickling with desire. He dismissed the thought. What was left of Clark, the gentleman should call a cab now and keep his hands and lips to himself.
“I’m sorry, Lois.” He repeated. “Shall I call you a taxi, or would you like to spend the night here?” Clark, the gentleman, obviously didn’t have much say in this apartment.
“You’ll have to tell me Mother Holle if you want me to baby-sit again.” Lois smiled.
“Oh my, I didn’t expect that she would want to hear that one again. I thought it wouldn’t be due until tomorrow, I told her yesterday evening.” Clark chuckled. “I hope it wasn’t too bad. Becca is addicted to that story. I tried withdrawal treatment; that was the hardest week in my life!” He gave Lois a boyish grin, silently wishing that it would elicit the same wonderful smile she had given Superman not so long ago. To his own surprise it almost worked. Her smile lacked the worshipping quality, but that wasn’t important to Clark.
“I found a substitute,” Lois replied.
“Really? You’ve gotta tell me. I’m afraid that I will get tired of that story some day soon.” Clark was excited. He had a good idea what Lois had done to bring Becca to bed, but he wanted her to tell him. He could still hear her voice in the back of his mind; comforting and adorable.
“I sang a song,” Lois mumbled, a little bit flushed and slightly embarrassed. Maybe this was something she had never considered doing one day. Lois was a tough career woman, or at least she liked to see herself that way. Clark had also seen her softer spots. Though she certainly hadn’t wanted to, she had allowed him to catch a few glimpses of what lay behind the wall she had build up around her feelings.
Her confession gave Clark’s vivid imagination the final push; made him see her with his daughter, singing that amazing song. He imagined her bending down to Becca, blowing a soft kiss on her forehead. Lily had done that years ago, but Clark’s mind put Lois in her place. Lily was forever connected to the sweet little baby and the toddler Becca had been. But Lois could very well adopt the role of a mother in Becca’s childhood. Clark blinked. Someone had to slap his face, hard. What was he thinking? He couldn’t easily make Lois Becca’s mother, not even in his daydreams. There were at least two other people involved in making his dream come true. The fact that he wasn’t able to think of Lois without thinking of them having a possible future together didn’t mean that she was the mother Becca would need sooner or later. He had to give up on Lois if that was necessary for Becca’s well being. He hoped that this never would have to happen, but if this was his fate then so be it.
He didn’t say anything more. He couldn’t. His mouth was too dry and his voice would have been too hoarse. There was something about Lois Lane that was able to make him lose his mind; that was awakening something in him he thought didn’t exist. Years ago, he had believed himself in love with Lana Lang. It hadn’t been real; a passing fancy at best. As soon as Lana had noticed that he wasn’t the best guy to hang around with, that he was considered a nerd, she had found other guys to go out with. He had been depressed, granted, but not overly so. Lily had been able to cheer him up pretty easily. Clark knew that if he ever got rejected by Lois, no one would be able to ease his pain in just an instant. It would take him long to heal - if he ever managed, that was. And that was before he had even tried to get close to her. He wasn’t sure whether that would be a wise thing to do. Could he risk ending up with a broken heart? He couldn’t be the dad he was supposed to be if he was dying from a broken heart. It was too much a risk to take and he was approaching the edge quicker than was reasonable.
Clark swallowed, trying to regain his composure. He wanted to see Lois for who she was: his friend and partner. Everything that went beyond that, like the smell of her hair and her soft lips, was out of question. He was so out of his mind, how was this supposed to go on? Clark blinked again, forcing his concentration back on a light conversation with Lois.
“Tell me about Lily,” Lois asked suddenly.
“Lily?” Clark replied, startled. Where had that sudden change of topic come from? “Why are you interested in her?”
“I was just wondering what kind of woman she was,” Lois explained.
“She was beautiful and funny. Lily was like a sister to me. She never failed to cheer me up. She spent quite some time on our farm because her relationship with her parents wasn’t too good.” Clark said.
“Sounds familiar,” Lois stated wryly. “What was the problem?”
“Oh, her mother - my aunt - wasn’t a happy woman. She had married someone she wasn’t really in love with. While he was about the richest man around Smallville, he really wasn’t the nicest. My mom said that her sister was completely different when she was younger. And when she got married, she was proud of the good catch she had made. She was only slightly envious of my parents who were happy together. Their only problem was that they couldn’t have a child. My aunt became pregnant pretty quickly, but she gave birth to a girl and my uncle wasn’t happy about that. My aunt became bitter and sometimes gave Lily a hard time, just because she wasn’t a boy. When my parents adopted me, my mother and my grew even further apart.”
“Poor girl. I can imagine why she spent time with you.” Lois said softly. She fell silent, watching Clark intensely. He could once more feel that tension between them, wondering if Lois felt the same. “She must have been glad that she had someone like you. I don’t think that many guys would have taken over responsibility for another man’s child.”
“It was the natural thing to do, Lois. When Lily appeared on my doorstep I couldn’t possibly sent her away, no one would have done that,” Clark replied.
Lois shook her head, her expression clearly indicating that she didn’t believe this. She laid her hand on his arm, getting even closer to Clark. His mind began to swim as he was able to inhale the sweet scent of her shampoo.
“I’m glad you were here today, Lois,” he managed to say. “You helped me more than words can ever say. And I think Becca likes you.”
“I’m glad that we became friends, Clark.” Lois answered. Did her voice sound husky, or was he imagining things? Maybe this was a new step in wishful thinking. “Perhaps I should go now, Clark.” Her words sounded a bit lame, as if she wasn’t convinced that she really meant them.
“Thanks for being here, Lois,” he whispered. His voice was unmistakably husky. His body was betraying his thoughts.
“Good night, Clark,” Lois said and all of the sudden kissed him on his cheek.
The last coherent thought Clark might have had right then was forgotten. What had started as a brief, dry kiss on the cheek turned into something far more intimate. Her lips trailed from the corner of his mouth to his lips. Or was it his head that moved just enough to make her touch his lips? Clark wasn’t able to tell; maybe it had been a bit of both. No matter, because he was in heaven. He had been at least partially right: Lois had felt the tension as well. She was far more responsive to his kiss as she had been under the mistletoe. It wasn’t his lips that had opened first. Instead, he was feeling the soft caressing brush of her silky tongue on his lower lip. She played with it, seemingly pleading for entrance. He happily obliged and his lips parted. Her tongue met his, sending a jolt of electricity through him at the contact. He felt Lois shiver in his arms as well. When had he embraced her? Clark was unable to tell, but suddenly he was aware of her arms around his neck, felt the small of her back in his hands. She was so small, so fragile. She was sweet; better than chocolate. Her mouth was hot, tender and exciting. He could feel the tickle of her breath against his cheek. She was addictive and Clark didn’t know what would happen if she withdrew. But she did, she had to. Humans couldn’t hold their breath as long as he could. It left him longing for more. He wouldn’t get it though. Not tonight, maybe not ever. Lois shot him an embarrassed glance. She mumbled a quick goodbye and was gone before Clark was able to move.
* * *
Lois woke up to the annoying sound of her alarm clock. She opened her eyes, wearily. She blinked, slowly getting aware of the fact that she was in her hotel room. Why was that? Hadn’t she been in Clark’s apartment, hadn’t they spent a passionate night together? She groaned and switched off the alarm. No, she had just kissed him; the rest had only been a dream. A nice dream, she thought wistfully. It had taken her hours to finally drift off to sleep. She had tried to sort her feelings, in a futile attempt to understand what was going on. Kissing Superman’s cheek had been wonderful, though one-sided. She hadn’t given him the chance to respond, scared as she was of being rejected. Touching his soft skin had churned up long hidden sentiments. She felt love and compassion for this strong man who was yet so alone that he obviously didn’t really know where he had come from.
And then, there had been Clark. She had only wanted to give him a brief kiss to say goodnight. It shouldn’t have meant anything more than that. But suddenly, it had been more. Much more. With Clark, she had fulfilled the longing Superman had awoken. But Clark wasn’t just the second prize; a replacement for the man she really longed for. When she had kissed Clark, she had really kissed *him*, not a fantasy but a real, amazing man. Lois had been confused yesterday night and she still was. She couldn’t tell which of the two men she preferred.
The access to Clark was easier and she knew more about him than about Superman. On the other hand, Superman didn’t have any family. There wouldn’t be all those problems that Clark’s life held. Becca would never accept her; she would see her as a threat to their happy family. And Lois understood that, because if another woman had invaded her torn family, she would have regarded her just the same.
Lois was fully awake now, her mind racing back to the ideas that had established themselves in her mind while she had been trying to sleep. She wanted to help Clark; she needed to help him. He was offering her a place to stay, which was about the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her. And she knew how she could help him. Months ago, she had written a story about orphans. She had made friends with a woman from Child Services. Angela could help her. She wouldn’t ask stupid questions and she might find out something that would help Clark. Lois had a look at her clock, figuring that it was late enough to call Angela. She would be awake; the woman was a morning person, unlike Lois.
Lois still knew the number; they had even met outside work, just for fun. It didn’t take Angela long to get to the phone and she was pleased to hear from Lois, even this early in the morning.
“Hi, Lois! I have been meaning to call you for weeks now, how about an evening at the movies?” Angela asked, excitedly.
“Angela, that’s a good idea. Unfortunately I’m busy these days but we will do that, I promise. Can I ask you a favor?” Lois replied.
“Sure, what is it?”
“This has to stay a secret, okay?” Lois pleaded. Angela gave her an affirmative sound and Lois continued. “My partner, Clark Kent, has a daughter. It’s strange, Angela, somehow I’ve got the feeling that he’s pursued by your agency.”
“Pursued? That’s ridiculous, Lois,” she stated and paused. “Wait… did you say Clark Kent?”
“Yes, you know about his case?” Lois was paying full attention now.
“Yeah, kind of. He must be legendary. I received some calls about him in the last couple of weeks and I remember some of my co-workers saying something similar,” Angela said thoughtfully.
“Someone’s asking questions? Who?” Lois wanted to know.
“Oh, yeah. She’s a legend herself, at least in our business. Margaret Donovan worked for Child Services somewhere in the middle of nowhere. And then one day she met the love of her life.” Angela made a pause as if to think of what else she knew about Mrs. Donovan.
“She married a Texan billionaire,” Lois continued. “I remember reading about that in some paper a few years ago. They called her the Silver Cinderella because she was already close to 50 when she married for the first time.”
“So you know her. She’s done a lot for Child Services. The Donovans donate a lot of money for various foundations to help Children,” Angela said.
“And she called you?” Lois asked incredulously. “Why?”
“Actually, she called several times, insisting that we visit him and check on his daughter. I didn’t see a reason for doing this, but I bet she has found someone else. People like her can be quite convincing. She knows people who know people, you see?”
“I see. But have you any idea why she is so keen on the agency visiting my partner?” Lois inquired.
“No, but I can try to find out if you like,” Angela offered.
“That would be great, thanks. You still have my phone number at the office?” Lois replied.
“Yes, I do. Goodbye for now, Lois. I’m in a bit of a rush, actually. I’m already a bit late for office.”
They said goodbye to each other and Angela hung up. Lois stared at the receiver in her hand. If Lois wasn’t mistaken, it seemed as though Clark had pissed someone off. And he had definitely chosen the wrong person as an enemy. Lois wondered what he might have done wrong to incur the Donovans wrath. She had deduced that much from her talk with Angela and maybe she would know more by this evening.
Hard as she might try, Lois couldn’t think of anything that was a convincing reason for Child Services to check on Clark so frequently. On the other hand, would he really tell her if he was actually guilty in some way? Lois dismissed the thought. Whatever Clark might have done, it was most definitely strange that such a famous woman as Margaret Donovan called the Metropolis Child Services to start a frantic chase after him.
Lois placed the receiver back in the cradle and got up to get ready for the Daily Planet; ready to face Clark Kent. *Oh, God.* Lois groaned as she remembered the kiss. Weary as she had been this morning, she had only seen its pleasantries. Now she realized that this could be the overture to a catastrophe. She had kissed him and he had responded, but what did that mean? Was he going to be mad because she had kissed him without his permission? What would she have said if he had been the one who just bent down to capture her lips in such a kiss? She wouldn’t have complained, Lois thought dreamily. Absolutely not!
to be continued...
