A/N: First a big thanks to my commentators: Ann, Camy, Patrick, Lexy, PJ, Laura, and Mary. You all have a warm place in my heart.
And a big round of applause to my beta Olympe. Take a well deserved bow.
A big hug goes to Lexy, who has somehow talked herself into being my second beta. Must have something to do with the fact that she lives with me and can access my draft pages while I’m not even home.
Lois’s thoughts are italicised and enclosed by angle brackets (<>)
Asterisks enclose emphasis (**)
TOC Part ElevenIt was about half past five in the morning when Lois woke up. At first she was disorientated, her brown eyes flickering around the room as she tried to understand where she was. It was then that she felt someone holding her hand, and looking down, a gentle smile crept across her face.
He was here.
Whatever was going on, wherever she was, she would be safe because he was here.
Clark was sleeping the sleep of the emotionally and physically exhausted. He’d finally fallen asleep at around one that morning, shortly after Ellen had left with Carol. Sometime during the night, Deidre, Carol’s replacement, had come in and draped a blanket around Clark’s shoulders, placing a small pillow under his head. He hadn’t stirred at either touch, safe in the knowledge that Lois was now just asleep, despite the sedative they’d given her. She wasn’t so much unconscious anymore, just asleep. And in Clark’s tired mind, there was a difference -- one was involuntary, one through choice.
As Lois’s sleepy mind became a little more alert, she noticed something wrong. Clark was resting peacefully, but the chair was leaning precariously on just two legs. Seeing where this might go, Lois bit her lip to stop the giggle from escaping. Startling him awake would definitely send that chair crashing to the ground.
Lois’s smile started to falter as she looked round again, this time taking in what she was seeing. It was obviously a hospital room, and this was obviously a hospital bed she was in. And it all slowly started coming back to her.
Jimmy had been driving. It had been a good drive, apart from the comments about her relationship with Clark; a good drive until they’d stopped at that junction, and been rammed into the oncoming traffic. She could distinctly remember the squeal of the tyres as the car tried to stop, but the driver hadn’t been able to, and Lois would never forget that driver’s look of abject fear as the oncoming car smashed into them.
It had then gone into slow motion, as pain by pain, Lois’s body was crushed in the wreckage. Her arm, she remembered as she lifted it and, to her amazement, saw bandages but didn’t see a cast, her arm had been trapped between the door and the seat, and her whole body felt as if it had been trampled. The release of unconsciousness was almost a relief, she remembered, and the next thing that she faced was waking up in the hospital bed with Clark here beside her.
<Okay, I’m awake, and I’m whole, but what about...?>She must have moved, or made a sound, or something, because Clark made a surprised grunt, the chair slipped, and he landed noisily on the ground.
“Ouch! Pain, cramp...damn kryptonite! Ooh...ouch. Lois?” he wheezed on the floor before sitting up and looking around in confusion. “Lois!” He jumped to his feet, his brown eyes filled with panic for a second, before he realised she was staring right back at him, laughing and with tears running down her face. It was then that he smiled goofily. More than smiled, it was as if his soul relaxed. As if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and all was right with the world. He reached down, righted the chair again, and sat down.
“Lois,” he breathed softly, reaching up a slightly shaking hand to smooth away a strand of dark hair.
“C...” she croaked, and he stood, reaching over for the water.
“Just a sip, honey,” he told her. “You need to take it easy for a while.”
“Clark. The baby...” she whispered, her fingers tightening around his.
“She’s still there,” he told her, his brown eyes never leaving hers. Reaching down, he rested his hand against her stomach for a moment, before placing a gentle kiss on her brow. “I should get Deidre, your nurse.”
“Not yet,” she croaked, sipping at the glass of water he held up for her. “How...?”
Clark opened a draw in the night stand and took out a photo frame.
*The* photo frame, she realised as he held it up so she could see that their daughter was unchanged. No Back-To-The-Future-esk fading to be seen. Lois sighed with relief.
And the door creaked open, as Deidre did her early morning rounds, smiling delightedly at the sight she found before her.
“Hello there! How long have you been awake, Miss Lane?” she asked, moving over to the bed, checking Lois’s blood pressure and tweaking this and that as Clark surreptitiously slid the picture back into the drawer.
“Only a few minutes,” Lois croaked. “Got a bit of a headache, but I’m okay.”
“And how are you Mr. Kent?”
“I’m fine, but...”
“She’s fine sir. Everything’s looking good so far, and I’d say she’s going to be absolutely fine. You, however, look exhausted. Carol told me you hadn’t left her side since you got here. Listen, now you know she’s going to be fine, why don’t you...”
“I’m not going anywhere until I can take Lois home,” Clark told her, swaying on his feet as exhaustion once again took hold. Watching him, and seeing the untouched cot bed behind him, Lois smiled as she made her decision. Moving very slowly and carefully, she began to inch over to the far side of the bed.
“Clark,” she said, patting the covers with her good hand. “Come here.”
And so he did, just like a child, an adorable child, an
*incredibly* adorable child. It was a bit of a squeeze, but despite her initial objections, Deidre found a way to help. The guardrails of the bed now helped to stop them from falling out of the bed as they slept. Clark had wrapped himself around the woman he loved, holding her against his chest so that she swore she could hear his heartbeat. And Lois lay curled across his chest, her bandaged arm resting on top of the blanket, their legs intertwined in the spare blankets that Deidre had found for them.
And that was how Carol found them when she came on duty the next morning, checking first on her favourite patient -- after having to disentangle her from Clark’s grasp -- and the man who loved her so much.
***
Carol smiled at the sight before her, knowing that it was against the rules, but, to be quite honest, she didn’t care. Lois needed him, needed him to be there for her, and if that was how they chose to do it, then that was how it would be. Of course, should the delightful Doctor Roberts ever deign to make another appearance, she would be in there like a shot, heaving Clark off the bed and into a more ‘respectable’ position. It had taken a lot of smooth talking not to have Clark, Jimmy, Lucy and Cat banned from the hospital after their previous encounter, and Roberts had told Tim in no uncertain terms that Lois Lane and those dreadful little people were his responsibility and his alone. And hadn’t Tim done well, she beamed to herself. Under his care, Lois was now doing very well, as was the previously devastated Clark Kent.
Check-up completed, Carol stood for a while, a smile washing across her face. This was going to be a good ending. She could just feel it. Lois would be fine, as would Clark and they would make the perfect couple. She had no doubt in what she had told Ellen; Lois was as much in love with Clark as Clark was with her. She jumped slightly as Lois wriggled in her sleep, smiling as Clark instinctively tightened his arms around her as she settled again, gently kissing her even while asleep. It was possibly this gesture that finally woke Lois, whatever it was Carol found herself smiling into a pair of tired brown eyes.
“Hey,” Lois said quietly.
“Hello yourself,” Carol said equally quietly, unwilling to disturb Clark who still dozed. “How are you feeling? I’m Carol, by the way.”
“I’m okay. I feel like I’ve been run over by a very large steamroller, but I’ll be okay,” she said, her eyes flickering to the man who slept in the bed next to her.
“He’s been so worried about you. You’re a lucky lady to have someone who loves you that much,” Carol said, watching as Lois smiled softly.
“I know. And I love him, too.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear,” mumbled Clark having begun to wake up. He opened his eyes, and leaned down and rubbed noses with her giving her an Eskimo kiss.
She jumped slightly as the door opened and her face paled when she saw Ellen Lane standing there.
“Mother! What are you...” she stuttered, now fully awake and alert.
“Kent, I want to talk to my daughter.”
Clark gave Mrs. Lane a disgruntled look, and then laid his head back against the pillows; just like a grumpy child. He was comfortable there, and it was where he should be, but the sooner this was sorted out, the sooner he could reclaim his place without anyone interfering. With a sigh, he gently sat up, smiling down at Lois as she moved out of his way.
“I’ll be back in a little while, Lois. I promise,” he told her, getting out of the bed and shoving his feet into his shoes. Lois snuggled down into the blankets, feeling a little chilly now her human blanket had gone. Clark reached over and made sure she was covered, before leaning down next to her ear. “I love you. Whatever, wherever, I love you, Lois,” he told her with a grin, dropping a gentle kiss on her nose.
“I love you too, Clark,” she whispered back.
Carol held the door open for Clark and Ellen watched it shut, before turning to face Lois.
***
“So,” Ellen said, watching the door close after Clark.
“So,” Lois agreed, carefully moving into a more comfortable position, plumping the pillows behind her.
“You and Clark,” Ellen said, staring at the floor, coming to the realisation that she either accept them as a couple, or create one hell of a family rift.
“I love him, Mother.” Lois got right to the point, her manner clearly saying the case was closed.
Ellen sighed. “I just wanted the best for you, Lois, that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Ellen said, coming over to sit in the chair beside the bed. Lois found it almost fascinating that her mother could say something so nice, but at the same time her tone could be so frigid and aloft. Weird.
“And that’s Clark. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I love him. Mother, I don’t know what’s going to happen, I really have no idea what we’ll do, but I do know that I need him. I want to take that chance. I want to see what happens. I’m marrying Clark, Mother. I’m in love with him and I’m going to marry him.”
“Are you nuts? You can’t marry him, you just met!” Ellen exploded. “What makes you think he wants to marry you anyway?”
“Because he’s asked me,” Lois pouted as she self-consciously played with her engagement ring. Ellen looked like the wind had just been knocked out of her.
“W-well,” Ellen looked like she was searching desperately for a reason. “Even if you get married, what makes you think you’ll be happy? Look at your father and me, for God’s sake! I don’t want you to go through what I did. I’m just not sure how it’ll end up.”
“Neither are we, Ellen,” Clark said from the doorway.
“Mrs. Lane,” Ellen grounded through her teeth. He got away with it when she was too tired to care, but he was
*not* getting away with it any more!
“Uh, sorry Mrs. Lane,” Clark stammered, looking like he’d just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “But Lois is right. We’re taking this chance, and grabbing hold with both hands,” he told Ellen as he came in and sat on the edge of the bed, taking Lois’s hands in his and smiling at her before continuing.
Ellen stood back and leaned against the wall in the shadow of the door, watching Clark and Lois, really seeing them this time. Watching as Clark hugged Lois to him, kissing her forehead gently. It was true, she thought. They were in love, and there was nothing she could do, even if she wanted to, to fix things. She sighed in resignation; she didn’t know if she could ever fully accept her daughter’s choice. She did, however, know her daughter was stubborn, even more stubborn than herself -- probably. She would have to be happy that Lois was happy, she supposed.
“I’ll be fine, Lois. I just care about you...”
“And want the best for me,” Lois finished in a weary voice.
“And you have to admit I’m the best,” Clark grinned modestly.
“You don’t know that yet, Lois,” Cat said from the doorway. “Wait until you’ve sampled the goods.” Ellen stuck her head around the door at Cat’s words. “Oh, hello Mrs. Lane, you’re, uh, still here,” Cat stammered.
“Certainly am, young lady. Certainly am,” Ellen said, staring up at Cat, and giving her the distinct impression that she was only six inches tall. “And I was just wondering what you meant by that comment?”
“Uh, am I interrupting?” Tim asked, his mother smiling as she stood behind him -- and Cat’s face was a picture of relief at the interruption. “Lois, I’ve come to tell you that you can go home if you want. Your scans are all clear, and the results of your tests are fine. Mum -- ah, I mean, Sister Wilson can sort it all out for you, but you can go as soon as you’re ready -- and I take it from that smile that you’re ready to go!”
“No offence, Tim, but I can’t wait to get out of here. Shut up you,” she swatted Clark. “I know what I just said, but you know what I meant. Anyway, Clark, did you bring me some clothes? Can you drive me home? Cat, are you coming back with us? Clark...”
“Hey! Slow down, Lois!” grinned Carol. “There are one or two things that need sorting. First, will you have someone to stay with you at home in case you need help?” she asked, having already ticked off the question on her sheet.
“Lucy will be there, won’t she, Clark?” Lois asked, her brown eyes smiling up at him.
Clark stared right back at her.
***
At the Daily Planet, Lucy was commiserating with Jimmy while he told her about a woman named Mrs. Earl who kept calling with various excuses to get him to come over. He had no idea what she wanted. Lucy had called the hospital this morning, and had been told that Lois was awake and was going to be home soon, after a brief stop over to see Perry. She had taken the opportunity to go and see Jimmy while she was waiting for Lois to arrive. The elevator door pinged.
“Lois!” Lucy yelped, jumping up from Jimmy’s desk and moving to smother her in a hug, stopping as Clark moved slightly, moving to protect the woman he loved so much from Hurricane Lucy. “How are you?” she asked, hugging her gently, smiling at Clark over Lois’s shoulder as she saw him relax again.
“Good, good, still a bit tired and I’ve got an impressive collection of bruises, but I’m fine,” Lois said with a smile.
“So you’re home? They let you out? Okay, Jimmy, obviously they let her out,” she said, turning and sticking her tongue out at him. He shrugged his shoulders innocently as if to say ‘What?’
“And don’t give me that look, Jimmy; I know exactly what you were doing. I can see your reflection in Mr. White’s office window, you idiot,” she said, turning back to Lois. “What I meant was -- do you have to go back, or are you out for good?”
“I’m out for good, Lucy. I’ve got to take it easy for the rest of the week, and I need someone with me to keep an eye on me, but yes, I’m out, and I’m home,” Lois said.
“Well that all works out perfectly then, because I’ll be around to make sure you don’t fall off your perch, and when I’m working, you can -- well, I’m sure Clark here won’t mind staying with you when I’m not there,” Lucy said, sorting everyone out in her usual super efficient manner.
Clark glanced at Lois with a small smile. This was going to be interesting.
“Lois!” Perry White’s voice boomed across the office. “Lois, I’m sorry I didn’t come out sooner, I’ve had Mrs. Earl on the phone, wondering where that lovely young Olsen boy was. And then I come out here, and lo and behold, I find that lovely young Olsen boy is still here. She wants to see you Olsen, so get going!”
“What?” Jimmy groaned, before catching Perry’s eye. “Yes, Chief,” he sulked, grabbing his jacket and glaring at Lucy, who was pressing the elevator button for him with a flourish.
Perry gently hugged the woman he looked on as an almost daughter. “Welcome home, Lois. It’s good to see you in one piece,” he said softly.
***
“For goodness sake, put Lois down and go to work! You know how Mr. White got when you were late yesterday, and you don’t want to do anything to upset him, now do you?” Lucy asked, watching as Clark leant in for one last kiss (one of several ‘last kisses’ that had been going on for the last five minutes).
Clark sighed, resting his forehead against Lois’s, their arms entwined around each other. “You’ll...”
“Call you every ten minutes to update you, send you e-mail reports and fax you every other ten minutes,” Lucy deadpanned, grinning as she received a glare from the man in front of her -- a glare that broke after two seconds as Clark had the grace to own up.
“I guess I might be a bit over protective.”
“A bit?”
“Ok, a lot. I can’t help it though, I mean, I am entrusting the love of my life into the hands of Metropolis’s own...”
“Metropolis’s own what?” Lucy asked, arms folded across her chest and just about holding her grin at bay.
“Florence Nightingale, of course!” Clark saved, before grinning. “Okay, okay, I get the hint.”
“And do I get a say in this?” Lois asked, gazing up at him, still tightly wrapped in his arms. “Uh, hello? Anyone remember me? Lois?”
“Oh, I remember you, Lois,” Clark grinned, lowering his head for another kiss -- a kiss that was over far faster than he had wanted.
“Good,” Lois said firmly, pulling out of his arms, but staying close to him. “I’ll be fine. Perfectly fine. You heard Tim yesterday, and we’ve got the number of a whole batch full of doctors, and I’ve got the number of everyone at the Planet, mobile and home. And I’ve got Lucy here, so I will be fine. Repeat after me. I.”
“I,” Clark grinned, drawing her back into his arms.
“Will.”
“Will,” Clark murmured, placing a butterfly kiss on Lois’s nose, almost breaking her train of thought as he placed butterfly kisses all over her face.
“Lois!” Lucy yelled, bringing her back to the present.
Breaking apart from a delicious kiss, Lois forced herself to concentrate. “Ok, look, Clark. I’ll be fine. You know that, and I know that. Lucy and I will take it easy, catch up on everything, and we’ll be fine.”
“It’s the catching up I’m worried about,” Clark teased, glancing over at Lucy, before kissing Lois again. “But okay, I’ll go. Love you and see you later,” he said, grabbing his jacket and moving over to the front door, Lois and Lucy following behind. With a wicked grin, and a hand on the door handle, Clark turned and kissed Lois once more, a kiss that took her breath away, full of promise, passion, and pure unadulterated love.
***
“So, how is she?” Perry asked, having invited Clark into his office.
“She’s fine, Chief. She slept almost all of last night, and only took two painkillers at about eight this morning. Tim said that was fine, in fact it was better than he had expected, but you know Lois, she never likes to look weak in front of anyone, not even me. So, I called him, and he said it really was fine, that Lois was a sensible woman, and he’d talked to her before she left -- which I didn’t know about -- and he’d told her to do what her body told her. So, she promised me she was okay, and that everything was good, and that I should go to work. So here I am,” Clark finished up, aware that he was rambling slightly.
A knock at the door was a somewhat welcome interruption. A photo frame was enthusiastically waved, before Jimmy made a somewhat stumbling entrance, glaring over his shoulder.
“Okay, okay, Lucy, stop poking me in the ribs...”
“We’ve both seen this photo and we want you to
*explain* it to us. And we were wondering if you remember having this photo taken, Mr. White, because we don’t,” Lucy said, moving around Jimmy, and placing the frame on Perry’s desk. The look of bewilderment on Perry’s face was all Lucy needed to see.
“Lucy! You’re meant to be looking after Lois! Where is she? Is she okay?” Clark’s brown eyes flashed with worry.
“Oh ye of little faith,” came the voice he loved most in the world, as Lois stepped through the door having heard his last comment. Placing a quick kiss on his lips, she linked her hand in his as Cat’s red head also came into view. “I’m fine. We went to the hotel to get the scrapbook.”
“So two things. Where’s the photo? Because I want to see it. And where’s the groom-to-be? Because I need to hug him,” Cat said, moving over and wrapping Clark in a bear hug.
Lucy grinned as Clark looked slightly uncomfortable. “Might want to give him some oxygen there, Cat. As fun as it is watching him turn as blue as his shirt, Lois prefers him conscious.”
“Well, actually, she doesn’t really
*mind* him un...” Jimmy started to object -- it really was too good an opportunity -- but the curiously matching glares from Lois and Perry made him swallow his words for once.
“So,” Lucy said, being too preoccupied with the frame to pay attention, she had obviously missed something, but was not about to ask what, “Clark, are you going to explain this, or what?” and she thrust the frame under Clark’s nose.
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