Hello everyone. Sorry <ducks head> I know I said I'd have this out by Wednesday. I've been so busy this week that I lost track of time.
But here it is! The final waff before a little angst... but don't worry, there's more waff to come. <g>
Thanks again everyone for your wonderful comments and to my two betas - Lara and Sue - what would I do without you?
Table of Contents From Part 12:
“Clark, I...” The rest of her words were lost as his lips captured hers. Clark couldn’t resist her any longer and didn’t want to. He had hardly slept last night thinking about and reliving their kiss from the kitchen – wanting nothing more than to experience it again. The way her body yielded and responded to his. The soft suppleness of her lips and sweet flavor of her. It had been like the first taste of a drug and it had addicted him instantly. He needed more.
Lois lost herself to his touch. Her world had narrowed to this man, this moment. His kisses were soft and sure at first, his lips merely touching and caressing hers. But with each silky conquest, his attentions became more urgent. She ran her fingers up his neck and tangled them into his wet curls as she took his bottom lip into her mouth. His fingers played up and down her back as his mouth made its own explorations, his tongue gently slipping inside her mouth to lightly tease hers.
“Lois... god...” He broke from the kiss, panting slightly. “You don’t know how many nights...” Another kiss. “...I’ve dreamed of this.” He slid one hand from behind her back and up to cup her face, drawing her in for an even deeper exploration. The feeling was sensory overload combined with the exhilaration of the cold water and Lois started to shiver.
She didn’t want the moment to end, but she didn’t want them to die from catching pneumonia either. “What...” she managed between his attentions on her. “Slow death... by hypothermia?”
Clark pulled back from her lips and looked questioningly at her. It was only then that he felt her trembling in his arms and realized how cold the water felt. Their swim and subsequent horseplay had warmed them but now the cold was beginning to take hold again.
Lois kissed him again, a brief but delicious touch to his lips. “Clark, this is wonderful, really. But could we maybe do this somewhere slightly less wet and a little more warm?” She smiled alluringly.
He nodded, releasing her back into the water. “Let me go grab the boat and get it secured and then we can head back to the house... and get you warmed up.”
**********
PART THIRTEEN
**********
“You know, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Lois said, clutching a mug of hot chocolate close to her face and watching the flames from the fireplace dance in her vision. “But it’s absolutely wonderful.”
They had walked through the front door laughing over the fact that this was the second time in twenty-four hours that they had come back to the house, soaking wet.
The hot shower Lois had taken had warmed her a little, but she had still been cold. When she had gotten out of the shower and come downstairs, she had been surprised to find Clark building a fire.
“Yeah, it’s nice, isn’t it?” Clark slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a soft squeeze. “Are you getting warmer?”
“Much. I just wish I had grabbed my pillow to sit on.” Lois shifted uncomfortably on the hardwood floor. Clark was sitting beside her and they were resting against the pent up footstool of his dad’s recliner.
Clark smiled and, feeling reckless, said, “Well, we could always sit in the chair together - you on my lap.”
Lois looked over at him, her eyes widening a little. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Then I might never get you up again, and we have a date, remember?”
“Ah, yes, our date. But this could be more fun,” he teased.
“Huh-uh. No way. Besides, we might get caught. Who knows when your parents might come walking in. I don’t want to get caught sitting on your lap engaging in...” she broke off and blushed. “It’s not like you’d be able to hear them coming.” Lois instantly regretted what she had said when she felt Clark’s arm tense around her shoulders. She bit her lip, wondering what to say. “Clark, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant we’d be so...”
“It’s okay, Lois,” he said softly.
Lois leaned forward and turned her body to face him. “You know I don’t care, right? I don’t care if you have your powers or not?” She frowned. “Wait, that didn’t come out the way I meant. I mean, of course I’m concerned that your powers haven’t come back yet and I want you to be well, but...”
Clark cut her off by leaning forward to press his lips against hers in a soft kiss. He pulled away and noticed that her eyelids had slipped shut. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and her eyes fluttered open.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
He flashed her a smile. “I think I’ve finally found a way to respond to your babbling. It seems to work pretty well.”
“Very well,” she agreed, smiling back, then her face turned serious again. “But you do know that, right? That your powers don’t matter to me?”
In spite of everything, Clark had a few residual doubts and still felt a little of the pain from her rejection of him as ‘Clark’, but he was also aware of the truth in her words. Everything they had been through since the day of her near wedding had proven it to him. “Yeah, I know.”
She let out a soft sigh and leaned back, relaxing against his arm again. “So where are you taking me tonight?”
“You said you wanted pizza, right?” She nodded and he continued, “Well we have a little joint called ‘The Pie Pan.’ They have the best pizza pies around here. It might even rival some of the pizzerias in Metropolis.”
Her stomach threatened to grumble. “I got kind of hungry after our swim. Think we could go a little early?” she asked, her mouth salivating at the thought of some homemade pizza.
Clark looked up at the clock on the mantel. “They aren’t open for another hour and a half. They’re only open for dinner because during the day they make dessert pies. Their apple pie is second only to my mom’s, and even then it’s a close second.” He grinned widely. “But don’t ever tell her I said that.”
“Ahhh, blackmail material,” she said, smiling playfully.
“Don’t even think about it or I might decide to tickle you again.” He made as if to do just that and Lois jerked away from his questing hand.
“Ack! Okay, you win!” she said, laughing. “I think I’d better get up while the gettin's good. I need to get ready for our date, anyway.”
“I think you already look beautiful.”
Lois felt heat flash through her cheeks. “Thanks, but I brought a little something special with me.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh really... what?” he asked, a million possibilities flashing through his mind. Not all of them plausible.
“You’ll see.” She got up and went upstairs, smiling at his protests of being kept in the dark.
**********
Clark was sitting restlessly on the couch, picking tiny specks of almost imagined lint from his pants while he waited for Lois to come down. He had been ready for almost twenty minutes and he had gotten started after her. He didn’t have anyone to keep him company because his parents had run into town to pick up some things at the hardware store before it closed. So he was left alone to sit and patiently wait... Clark frowned - well wait, anyway.
He heard a noise at the top of the stairs and looked up. Lois came walking down and the sight of her took his breath. She had on the burgundy floral country dress that she had gotten at the corn festival the last time they had come to Smallville. Her hair had big, soft curls woven into it and her face was fairly glowing. She was stunning.
“You look... amazing,” he said softly.
“Thanks,” she replied with a shy smile.
He got up from the couch and started to walk towards her. “I don’t think I told you before how great you look in that dress. I could hardly keep my eyes off of you the last time.” He gave her an appreciative glance. “I didn’t realize you had kept it.”
“Of course I kept it. It was one of two souvenirs that I kept from my trip.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Two souvenirs?”
“Yes.” She nodded, her eyes sparkling. “This and the teddy bear that you won for me.”
Clark chuckled. “I remember. I was so surprised that you chose him over the Superman doll.”
“Me too, actually,” she agreed, smiling. “But it just felt right.” Her smile turned to a smirk. “I remember thinking that you’d be disappointed if I picked the Superman doll.” She regarded him appraisingly. He had on a pair of grey dress slacks and a black, collared shirt. “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” he said, glancing down at his ensemble. “I didn’t realize when I was packing that I would be going on a date.”
She reached out and straightened his collar, smoothing her hands down his shirt. “Well I think you’re appropriately dressed for pizza and beer.”
“As long as you’re satisfied,” he said playfully. He held out his elbow to her. “Shall we?”
**********
Lois took the last long, slow drink of her frosty beer and enjoyed the way it slid down her throat. She wasn’t a big beer drinker; if she was going to have alcohol, she preferred wine. But there was just something about pizza with beer. It was like the two belonged together.
Clark downed the rest of his second beer, enjoying the slight buzz he had gotten from it. They had finished their pizza and he had polished off his first beer quite a while ago. The evening had been perfect so far. They had talked and laughed and just enjoyed one another’s company in general. It was like old times - back before the almost wedding – only better. This time they knew how each other really felt.
Clark sipped at the last little bit of beer in his glass, savoring every last drop. Normally beer, or alcohol of any kind, didn’t affect him. But right now, while his powers were MIA, the drink seemed to have quite a kick.
“All right guys and gals,” a man on the small stage in the back corner of the restaurant said into the microphone, “it’s time to fire up the karaoke machine. Do we have any takers?”
“You should sing, Lois,” Clark suggested, gleefully. “You’ve got a better voice than any girl in this place,” he doted. His head seemed to be humming slightly and it made him feel a little giddy.
“What? No. No, Clark, I couldn’t,” she said, feeling suddenly bashful.
“Why?” he complained. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling shy. You sang beautifully at the Metro Club when we were investigating Toni Taylor.”
“That was different. We were on assignment,” she stammered. “It was part of my cover.”
“Come on,” he encouraged her. “Do it for me.” She had sung for Lex that night at the Metro Club and Clark couldn’t help wanting her to sing for him... to him.
Lois fidgeted as she thought about it. What would it hurt? She’d probably never see these people again and she did love to sing. And Clark was right; she was fairly certain that she did have a better voice than most of these hayseeds. She was almost sure of that. “Okay,” she said softly.
She got up and walked over to the stage. “I’ll give it a try,” she told the man who had made the announcement.
“All right, a brave volunteer. What’ll you sing?” the balding, middle-aged man asked with an eager, toothy smile.
“What do you have?”
He handed her the list of songs she could choose from. “Not much it appears,” she mumbled quietly.
“S’cuse me?” he asked, eyeing her indignantly.
“Nothing,” she assured him with a gracious smile. “I’ll sing ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline.”
“Always a crowd pleaser.” He raised the microphone to his mouth, almost burying it in his bushy mustache. “We have our first victim... I mean volunteer.” He chuckled loudly. “Little lady is gonna sing ‘Crazy’. Put ‘er on, Bob,” he instructed, pointing at a man over behind the bar.
“You got it, Jerry,” the bartender said, fiddling with something behind the bar. Then the music started up.
Lois took a nervous gulp of air as Jerry handed her the microphone and stepped down from the stage. Various cheers and accolades were being shouted from the audience. She looked out into the crowd and spotted Clark. He smiled reassuringly at her. Lois smiled back and then turned her attention to the lyrics monitor in front of her, just in time for her to begin singing.
“Crazy,” she lilted. “I’m crazy for feeling so lonely...” she held the note, getting a feel for her rhythm. She loved this song. She was pretty sure she could have sung it by heart, without any help from the prompter.
“I’m crazy,” she belted the next line. “Crazy for feeling so blue...”
A waitress came by Clark’s table. “Can I get you a refill on that beer, hon?” she asked sweetly.
“Um, yeah. I’ll take another one, make it a tall.” Clark was fairly certain he could handle at least one more, maybe two.
“Sure. I’ll be right back,” she promised.
Clark turned his attention back to Lois. She looked so innocent and sweet in her pretty country dress.
“I knew...” Lois closed her eyes to project feeling into the words, “you’d love me as long as you wanted...”
Her voice was captivating. It had the same effect on him that it’d had at the Metro Club – there was no one in the room but her. He could only see her and couldn’t hear anything other than her lilting voice.
She brought her free hand up, laying it across her heart. “And then someday... you’d leave me for somebody new...”
The crowd cheered for her and it bolstered her confidence. “Worry... why do I let myself worry...” She raised her hand into the air, closing it into a fist. “Wond’ring... what in the world did I do... ooooh, oooh, oooh...”
The waitress set a fresh draft beer in front of Clark and he began to down it while he watched Lois perform.
“Oh, crazy... for thinking that my love... could hold you...”
Several whistles came from the audience and made Lois smile. She opened her eyes and found Clark. He was watching her intently and she held a hand out, as if reaching for him, while she sang the hook.
“I’m crazy for trying... and crazy for crying... And I’m crazy for loving you...”
A few of the more inebriated patrons shouted out their praise of her singing, and Clark smiled to himself. They could drool all they wanted, Lois was in love with him. Both of him. Clark surprised himself when he let out a small burp. He glanced down at the nearly empty glass and then swallowed the last drink, finishing up his third beer before he realized he had even drunk it. It had just gone down so smooth and easy. He looked back up when the musical interlude finished and Lois began singing again.
“Crazy... Crazy for feeling so lonely...” she powered the vocal, “I’m crazy for trying... and crazy for crying... And I’m crazy... for loving...” she found Clark once again in the audience and pointed at him, “you...”
A few people began standing as they applauded and whistled, and that only encouraged more people to stand. Lois blushed attractively and made a small curtsy before stepping off stage and handing the microphone back to Jerry.
Clark dazedly watched her make her way back to their table and sit down. He grinned widely at her. “You were great!”
“Was I?” she asked nervously. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“I can,” he assured her. The beautiful smile she flashed him caused his head to swim. “That’s the confident Lois Lane I know... and love...”
Lois realized that Clark was slurring his words a little bit, and he couldn’t seem to wipe that dopey grin off his face. Was he drunk? “Clark, how many beers have you had?”
“Three...” He held up three fingers, wriggling them, and hesitated before continuing, “I think.”
Three. That shouldn’t normally intoxicate a man of Clark’s stature. But given the fact that alcohol normally didn’t affect him – he probably didn’t even absorb it – there was definitely a more than reasonable chance that he could get intoxicated with his powers on the fritz. And he must have downed that last one fairly fast too - he had only been on his second one when she had gone up to sing.
“Come on,” she said, standing up and taking his hand. “I think we’d better get you back home.”
“Wait!” he protested. “There’s sumthin I need to ask ya first.”
“You can ask me when we get home,” she insisted, hoping to avoid any embarrassment before she could get him out to the car.
No such luck.
Clark clumsily dropped down to one knee in front of her. What was he doing? Her eyes widened as a thought came to her. No... No he wouldn’t!
“Lois Lane, will you marry me?”
He would.
There was a chorus of oooohs and awwwws from the tables nearest them and Lois let out a heavy sigh. “Come on, Clark. I don’t think this is the best time to be asking this.”
“Why not? I’ve dreamed of asking you for a long time,” he drawled.
Lois tried to hide her embarrassment as she glanced at the people sitting nearest to them. But, she consoled herself, those people were probably half-drunk themselves too. “I tell you what,” she bargained, “You come out to the car with me, and I’ll give you an answer. Okay?”
“Kay,” he agreed easily.
She led him by the hand out to her rental car. She helped him inside the passenger’s seat and then crossed around the front of the car to get in behind the wheel. She had only had one beer and she had drank it slowly... with food. She should be fine – she felt fine.
Lois glanced over at Clark as she started the car. He had already passed out. She wasn’t sure how good he would feel come morning and she silently prayed that Martha and Jonathan would already be asleep by the time she got him home. What would they think of her for allowing their son to get drunk?
**********
Clark woke up to find himself lying in his bed. He started to sit up but then lay back down with a groan. His head was pounding. And his stomach didn’t feel too good, either. What had happened? He tried to concentrate, remember what had happened last night, but everything was so fuzzy. He remembered going to the restaurant and eating pizza, and he vaguely remembered Lois singing to him.
He sat up again, a little slower this time. There was a strange rush to his head and it made him feel nauseated. Was he getting sick again? He hoped not. That would ruin his time with Lois.
Lois.
Was she feeling bad too? Maybe the food had been bad? Clark stood up, adjusting his pajama pants which had gotten twisted in his sleep. He made his way over to the bedroom door and was almost there when the door opened a crack. Lois peeked her head inside.
“Oh, Clark, you’re awake,” she whispered.
“Unfortunately.” He grimaced. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a train,” he complained.
“Um, yeah, a hangover will do that to you,” she continued in a soft voice, trying to keep from adding to his misery.
“Hangover?” Clark’s eyebrows shot up. “You think I got drunk?”
To his reply, Lois bit her lip. “No, Clark. I *know* you got drunk.” She handed him a glass of a foul-looking concoction. “Here, drink this. I know it looks nasty and it probably won’t taste any better, but drink it anyway. Lucy always swore up and down that it helped with her hangovers.”
Clark was about to argue again that he wasn’t hungover, but he could tell by the look on Lois’s face that she was dead serious; and the more he thought about it, the more he realized she could very possibly be right. He took the glass and downed the foul brew as fast as he could.
He handed the glass back to her and noticed that she was looking everywhere but *at* him. Glancing down, he realized he only had on pajama pants. No shirt.
But what bothered him more is how he had gotten into his pajama pants.
“So what happened?” he asked warily.
“Um...” she faltered. “Not much. We ate pizza and drank some beer. You talked me into singing karaoke and I sang...”
“‘Crazy’,” he finished for her. “Yeah, I remember parts of that, it’s what came after that I’m hazy on.”
“Uhh, well, after I got done singing, I realized you were a little...”
“Drunk,” he supplied at her hesitation.
“Yeah, and so I took you home and uh... put you to bed,” she finished, her cheeks a little rosy.
“You dressed me?” He tugged on his pants experimentally and was relieved when he felt his boxers on underneath them.
“I helped. You passed out in the car. I got you to wake up enough to get you into the house, but your clothes... uh... needed to be changed. You got a little sick getting out of the car... and you weren’t really in any shape to dress yourself, so...”
“Do my parents know?” He could have died from embarrassment right then and there.
“Well, they didn’t. I made sure we were real quiet when we came in last night,” she gave him a pointed look, “which wasn’t easy, believe me.” She thought back to how ‘handsy’ Clark had been – not like himself at all. He had even suggested that *he* should help *her* get undressed. “But, unfortunately, I forgot that in a small town everyone knows everything about everybody. When your mom went into town to grocery shop this morning...”
“She’s already been to town?” he asked incredulously. “What time is it?”
“It’s a little after ten.”
“Ten o’clock in the morning?” he exclaimed.
“Yeah. I just let you sleep it off and told your parents that we had stayed out a little late last night and you had probably just over done it.” She folded her arms in front of her. “Now are you going to let me finish the story or not?”
He nodded, dumbstruck.
“Okay. So everything was fine until someone asked your mom at the grocery store... uhh... something, and they...” She was blushing again.
“What? What did they ask her?”
“Nothing.” She brushed away his inquiry. “It’s not important, but anyway they got to talking and...”
“No, Lois. What did they say?” he insisted, a little anxious about what her answer would be.
She fidgeted, wringing her hands. “They uh... asked if your mom was going to have a umm... new... daughter-in-law.”
Clark felt his mouth fall open. “What? Why would they ask that?”
Lois looked away, searching for something interesting on the wall to stare at - the floral curtains covering the window, an old picture hanging next to the dresser, the one corner of wallpaper that was trying to peel back from the wall - anything to avoid his gaze. “Because you proposed to me in the middle of the restaurant,” she answered quickly in a small voice.
“I what?” he exclaimed. “Oh my god.” He shook his head. “This is going to be all over town if it isn’t already.”
“It is,” she interjected.
“My poor parents!” He took Lois by the shoulders and gave her a quick hug. “Lois, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how embarrassed you must have been.”
“Well, it was a little more excitement for a first date than I had expected,” she said with a grin. “But don’t feel bad. You didn’t know alcohol would affect you like that.”
Clark looked chagrined. “I do now. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Lois raised an eyebrow mischievously. “What won’t? The getting drunk part or the proposal part?” she teased.
Rendering Clark speechless was something she always enjoyed. It gave her a sense of power, but especially now that she knew who she was teasing. She put her arms around his waist and gave him a little hug. “Don’t worry, Clark. I won’t hold you to it,” she kidded, squeezing him a little tighter.
“Ouch!” Clark hollered.
Lois jumped, startled by his outcry. She pulled away and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”
Clark shook his head. “Nothing. Just the same old complaint.” He rubbed his side where the bandage covered his stitches and winced a little.
“Here, let me take a look,” she said, reaching for the edge of the dressing.
“No, Lois, that’s okay, you don’t have to...”
Lois sucked in a sharp breath. “Clark!” The area around the stitches was red and looked infected.
Clark looked down and grimaced at them. He had known that they weren’t healing up like he thought they should, but he had assumed that was because he had gotten sick. They definitely hadn’t looked this bad yesterday.
“Have you been hiding this?” Lois asked pointedly.
“No... well, yes, but not *that*.” He gestured at the wound. “It was taking longer to heal than I thought it should have, but it hasn’t looked like that.”
Lois frowned. “The pond. If it wasn’t healing well and then you took that spill into that dirty pond water... I don’t even want to think about how much bacteria was in it.” Lois shook her head. “Oh, Clark, I’m sorry. I wasn’t even thinking...”
“Hey,” he said, putting his hands softly against her arms, “it’s not your fault. You didn’t throw me in the water, I just fell in.”
Lois bent over and took a closer look at the wound. “Clark it doesn’t look good. You need to see a doctor.”
He shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t risk them running some kind of test and realizing that my body chemistry is different... figuring out that I’m Superman. It’s a miracle that didn’t happen at the hospital. If the cut had been deeper and I had needed more than just stitching up...”
“Yes, but this probably won’t heal on its own,” she said, trying to get him to see reason. “It’s just going to keep getting worse. You don’t want to risk getting gangrene or something in it.”
Clark could literally almost see the wheels turning in her head. “So what would you suggest?” he asked cautiously.
Lois swallowed and took a breath and her words came out in a rush, “Go see Dr. Klein... as Superman. You can trust him, Clark; I know you can. Please? Do it for me. I’ll come with you and stay with you if that will make you feel any better. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything unorthodox.”
Clark sighed deeply and went back to his bed, sitting down heavily. “I won’t let him experiment on me, Lois.”
“Fine. That’s not what I’m asking, Clark.” She’d deal with that part later. “That infection could be serious. Dr. Klein had told me that Superman would need lots of sunlight to recuperate after a long exposure to Kryptonite.”
“What? When did he tell you that?” he asked, looking suddenly wary.
Lois felt the color draining from her face. “A few days ago.”
Clark frowned. “I thought I told you that I didn’t want Dr. Klein involved. That I didn’t want him experimenting on me.” The irritation in his voice was plain.
Lois had to think fast. Clark was sick. She had to convince him to see Dr. Klein and she couldn’t do that if he was upset. “You did. But I didn’t ask Dr. Klein about you. He called me to give me that bit of information.” That was true enough. Dr. Klein had called her that day and had asked her to come in and visit with him. She didn’t need to tell Clark about the hair – that had been a separate event and telling him about that right now would only spell trouble.
Clark wasn’t saying anything. He was still frowning and looked like he was lost in thought. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Was he upset that she hadn’t told him? She wanted to scream. He couldn’t be upset that she had talked to Klein and then also upset that she hadn’t told him what Klein had said. He couldn’t have it both ways.
But she couldn’t afford to get upset back at him - she had to walk a fine line. She had to get him to agree to come back to Metropolis. He *had* to go see Dr. Klein.
“I’m sorry,” she continued doggedly. “I tried to tell you on the phone but you wouldn’t talk to me. I should have told you when I got here, but you were so... And I...” She sighed and let her shoulders drop. “I didn’t want to fight with you again. So I decided to just make sure you were out in the sun.”
She reached out hesitantly and touched his face, hoping he wouldn’t pull away from her. “Clark, we were out in the sun a lot yesterday, but instead of getting better, you got worse. You need *somebody* to look at you,” she insisted. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll get the Kryptonite back from Dr. Klein while we’re there and do whatever you want me to do with it. Okay?” Lois held her breath. She’d let him believe that for now – hopefully later he would see things differently.
Clark sighed and hung his head. He knew that he had put her in a tough position with the way he had acted about Klein. And he knew she was right - he needed to see someone. It might as well be Klein. Clark wouldn’t trust some other doctor any more than he would trust Klein. And besides that, he trusted Lois. “Okay. I guess we’d better go tell my parents that we're heading back to Metropolis.”
***********
To Be Continued...
