Wedding Rearrangement: 10/10
by Nan Smith
Previously:
Superman!" she sputtered.
"In the flesh," he said. "Why don't you and your friend keep swimming for those buoys. I'd pick you up right away, but I think the police will want to speak with this fellow -- and I don't want him to dispose of any of the interesting things that he seems to have in his possession. There's a rescue raft on its way, just a little north of you. I'll let them know where you are on the way past. You can tell them that I said Clark is all right, too. He'll be along in twenty minutes or so."
He probably would, Lois thought as she turned back toward the buoys and Bethany Gordon, who was treading water a few feet away, her gaze fixed on the superhero as he vanished upward into the hazy night sky. It probably would take Superman about that long to help the firefighters get the blaze under control. And Lane and Kent would get the story of that as well as the one about Bethany and her return to her parents. The Metropolis Star could kiss goodbye to any pretense it had of taking the place of the Daily Planet in Metropolis.
Lane and Kent were coming back with *style*.
**********
And now, the last part:
"Clark!" Rachel Harris turned as Clark walked into the little aid center where Lois and Bethany were being treated for minor bumps, bruises and mild smoke inhalation. "Are you all right?
"Sure, I'm fine," Clark said. "How are Lois and Bethany?"
"We're all right," Lois said, answering his question. "We need to put in a call to Bethany's parents. There's no excuse for making them worry any longer than necessary."
"Come on over and let the paramedics have a look at you," Rachel urged.
Clark shook his head. "I feel *fine* Rach. No cough, no burns, no scratches -- nothing. The only treatment I need is a shower."
The paramedic laughed. "At least come over here and let me do a quick once over. You look the picture of health but your shirt sure could use a patch or two."
Reluctantly, Clark approached the man and exhibited his undamaged arm under the sleeve of the tattered shirt. "Some ashes blew onto me while we were in the river. I just ducked under the water fast. See?" He peeled up the shirt, exposing washboard abs. "Not even a scorch."
The sound of Lois's heartbeat speeded up and he saw that she was watching the tableau closely. Well, it wasn't bad that she liked to look at him shirtless, was it? He was sure that he would enjoy the reverse, once they were married.
"Let me listen to your lungs," the man said. "We've had several people with some smoke inhalation tonight."
Lois rolled her eyes at the man's persistence, but Clark obeyed. At last the paramedic put down the stethoscope. "Well, I don't know why, but you sound fine. If you develop any breathing difficulty in the next few days, see a doctor right away. All right?"
"All right," Clark said. He turned to Rachel. "Where did you put the guy that Superman brought in?"
"We've got him locked in the back of my car, until we get a transport here for him," Rachel said. "Why?"
"Well, Superman said that you told him that you thought whoever was after Lois might have killed a reporter and taken his place. I'd like to see if he's the same person that showed up at the farm. I'm the only one that saw him, so --"
"All right," Rachel said. She waited while one of the rangers handed Clark an intact shirt to replace the one he wore. "Come on out this way. He had a bunch of stuff in his pockets that could have been used to make some fire bombs, so he may be our arsonist. And," she added, "the boat was stolen so we can hold him on a charge of grand theft until we have a chance to investigate thoroughly." She paused for a second. "By the way -- do you by any chance recognize this?" She held up a cellular phone.
"That's Martha's phone!" Lois exclaimed. "So that's where it went!"
"I guess that explains why you didn't answer when Clark's parents tried to call you earlier," Rachel said. She pushed the door open. "This way."
"You think he started the fires to try to kill Lois?" Clark asked, following her obediently out the door.
"I think it's a good possibility. We're still looking for his car. It can't be too far away."
Clark could answer that. He'd flown over the entire area to look at the damage and had seen a rental car, similar to the one Ben Maher had driven to the Kent farm, parked under the trees by the river some distance from the fire. "I saw a rental car upriver a bit, while Superman was flying me around to look at the damage," he said. "It was parked two or three miles upstream. It could have been the one he was driving this morning."
"Nice observation," Rachel said. "We'll check it out. I guess sometimes you reporters are worth something after all."
"I hope so," Clark said. "And after I see this guy, maybe we could put in a call to the police in Bethany's hometown. Like Lois says, we need to tell her parents their little girl is safe. They must be going out of their minds."
"We will," Rachel said. "I think I'll turn custody of her over to you and Lois until we can arrange transportation for her home. She's had enough disruption for the last few days. Our paramedic says she's physically all right, except for -- well, what happened to her. I'm sure the family will want to take her to their own doctor. She's been hanging onto Miss Lane like a security blanket ever since we picked them up. Can't say I blame her."
"I hope your people are keeping an eye out for Waters," Clark said.
Rachel cocked her head. "My daddy would have said you shouldn't try to teach Grampaw how to chaw tobaccy, city boy," she drawled. "Everybody's looking for him. If he managed to make it out alive, that is. The place where Miss Lane last saw him pretty much burned to the ground. They're going to have to bring in some young trees and plant them in the burned areas so we can have our campgrounds back to normal in a few years."
"Yeah," Clark said. He promised himself that Superman would make some time to volunteer in that effort. And he could plant a few larger trees as well. He knew of some overgrown forests that were firetraps waiting to happen. A number of them were slated for thinning, and moving the same kind of trees from them to the local campground couldn't hurt, as long as they were healthy trees, and as long as the local governments didn't mind.
"Here he is," Rachel said, indicating her car. A man in the uniform of a Deputy stood beside the car. "Dan, this is Clark Kent. Clark, Dan Wilson."
"Hi," Clark said.
Dan nodded politely. "So you're the guy with the lucky rabbit's foot," he remarked. He looked at Rachel. "You were right. If I hadn't seen it, I never would have believed it."
Rachel grinned at Clark. "You've already got a reputation around here."
"What did I do?" Clark asked.
"Waded through fire, flood and famine -- well, maybe not the famine -- and got Miss Lane and Bethany out of trouble," Rachel said. "Without picking up a scratch or a scorch. Honestly, one of these days your luck's going to run out."
"You sound like my dad," Clark said. "Can you turn on the light in the car? I want to see this guy." Actually he had already identified him half an hour before. He leaned close to the window as Rachel opened the front door to turn on the dome light. "This is the guy that called himself Ben Maher -- the one that showed up at the farm this morning."
Rachel nodded. "I figured that. Maisie Allen found the real Ben Maher about nine o'clock this evening -- stabbed and lying behind her dumpster." She shut the car door. "He'd been dead for hours. It's lucky she always walks around the dumpster and picks up the pieces of trash on the ground or he might not have been found until the trash collectors showed up on Friday. By that time this guy would have been long gone."
"Then he's --"
"Your Inspector Henderson from Metropolis called earlier today," Rachel said. "He'd had a tip that there was an 'enforcer' coming out to Smallville to try to get your whereabouts from your parents. I think this may be him."
Clark nodded, gritting his teeth. The Mrs. was building up quite a record for such a short time in Luthor's position. But at least Superman was back now. He could take Lois somewhere for the remaining three weeks and leave no trail that anyone could follow. Maybe he could convince his mom and dad to go along -- or maybe he didn't need to. All that was really necessary was for the Mrs. to realize that no one but Superman knew where Lois was, and that he wasn't talking.
"Let's go back inside," he said. "I have a phone call to make."
**********
A short time later, two of Rachel's deputies showed up to escort their arsonist/enforcer back to the jail in Smallville, pending further transportation to more appropriate quarters, and Rachel offered Clark, Lois and Bethany a lift back with her in her squad car. The trip to Smallville was accomplished nearly in silence. Lois dozed with her head on Clark's shoulder in the rear seat and Bethany sat in the front beside Rachel, riding shotgun as Rachel phrased it. Bethany examined everything in the squad car with wide fascinated eyes. "This car is cool," she announced as they pulled out onto the road that led out of the camping area. "Do you get to drive it all the time?"
"Yes," Rachel said. "I'm the County Sheriff, so I get the best one."
"Cool," Bethany repeated. "I'm going to be a sheriff when I grow up. Then I can put people like David in jail."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Rachel said.
"Did you catch him yet?" Bethany asked.
"Not yet," Rachel said, "but we've got police and rangers and Superman looking for him. We'll find him if he's still alive."
"I hope he's not," Bethany said darkly. "I hope he burned up in the fire. He was a -- a --" She hesitated and then used a word that Clark's mother would have tanned his hide for if she'd heard it pass his lips.
Rachel didn't bat an eye. "Yeah, he was," she agreed. "But I'd call him a weasel if I were you. That isn't a very nice word. If I'd said that in front of my mother, she'd have washed my mouth out with soap."
"David used it," Bethany said.
"Yeah, well, I don't think he's a very good person to copy, do you?"
Bethany fell silent, obviously thinking it over. "I guess not," she said finally. "But he was a really nasty weasel!"
"That he was, sweetie," Rachel said.
Clark found himself smiling a little sleepily. It had been Superman's first day back on the job and he had to admit to a little fatigue. A good dose of sunlight tomorrow morning would fix that, though, he knew.
The ride to Smallville took nearly an hour and a half since Rachel obeyed the speed limit this time. Martha and Jonathan Kent and Greg Ross were still asleep when Lois, Clark and Bethany tiptoed softly into the farmhouse but moments after their arrival, Greg appeared at the head of the stairs. He was wearing pajamas and a bathrobe and in one hand he held his .38 Special.
"Who's there?"
"It's just us, Greg," Rachel called softly.
Greg stuffed the revolver into the roomy pocket of his robe. "Sheriff?" he asked, keeping his voice low. "What's happened?"
"Go ahead and get your clothes," Rachel told him. "I'll explain everything on the way to your place. We got the guy and he's locked up in the town jail for tonight."
"Great," Greg said. He glanced at Bethany but he didn't say anything. "Give me a minute to change and I'll be right down."
A short time later, Greg and Rachel said goodbye. Clark shook Greg’s hand and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for watching out for my folks,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Greg said. “They’re great people. Next time you’re in town, drop by and see us. We miss you. Mom and Dad read all your stuff in the Daily Planet.”
“They do?” Clark said,
“Sure they do. Local boy makes good, didn’t you know?”
“It hadn’t occurred to me,” Clark said. “Well, in that case, look at the front page in the morning. It’ll give you most of the details of what happened tonight. Rachel can fill in the rest.”
After they had gone, Clark hurried upstairs to make up the bed in his room for Bethany. Lois showed her the upstairs bedroom minutes later and then went quietly downstairs again to join Clark in the living room.
He had made up the couch for her and was ready for her objections when they came. "This is your house! You take the couch!"
"Sh!" he cautioned with a grin. "You'll wake up my parents. I don't need the bed. Watch!" With a little hop, he achieved a reclining position in the air, just level with her eyes. He stretched out as if he were lying on a bed and then turned on his side, one hand supporting his chin. He smiled innocently at her expression. "How's that?" he asked.
Lois stood staring at him for the better part of a minute and then slid into the bed he had made for her on the couch. "Your life is so strange," she said.
"And getting stranger by the minute," he agreed. "It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you, though. Does it?"
She shook her head, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. "No. Not really. I was dazzled by Superman because of all the incredible things he could do. I'm hardly likely to change my mind now just because I suddenly discovered that he’s my partner and he loves me."
"That's good." He drifted slowly toward her through the air. "I wouldn't want you to be afraid of what I can do."
"Superman and Clark in one jumbo package," Lois said. "I think I'm getting the best of both worlds." She patted the couch with one hand. "Can you come over and sit next to me for a minute?" she asked, a more serious note in her voice.
"Sure." He drifted over and settled gently down in the spot she had indicated. "Is anything wrong?"
Lois leaned against him, resting her head against his chest and he automatically put his arms around her. "What's the matter, honey?"
"I don't know. Nothing, really. It just been -- a crazy sort of day."
"I'll second that," he said.
"No -- it just sort of hit me how unpredictable life is," she amplified. "If things hadn't worked out just right -- if that guy the Mrs. sent to kill us had been just a little luckier -- one or both of us could have died."
"I know," he said.
"And we'd never have known what it was like to be married to each other," she said. "I would have missed being married to the man I never expected to meet. You know -- you came along and I almost threw you away! I was so busy trying to be careful, to be in control, trying to be sure that no man could ever take advantage of me or hurt me again that I nearly missed the best thing in my life. I'm so glad you never gave up, in spite of every obstacle I put in your way."
"So am I," Clark said, wondering where this was going.
"So," Lois said, "I came to some decisions while we were waiting for the raft to show up so we could be rescued. I don't want to wait."
"Huh?" Clark barely restrained himself from gaping at her. "Lois, we're in my mom and dad's living room and Bethany's sleeping upstairs!"
"I didn't mean *that*," she said, giving him a light jab in the ribs with an elbow. "What I meant was, I don't want to wait six months. How long does it take to get a marriage license in Kansas?"
"Oh," Clark said, a little disappointed and relieved at the same time. "It's three days from the day you apply. And for the record, I think waiting six months is definitely too long. We can go over to the Town Hall and fill out whatever forms we need to in the morning."
"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked, a little shyly. "You know what the tabloids will all say about you, you know."
"The same thing they're saying about you," Clark said. "So what? They'll have to eat their words when you donate it to the Superman Foundation anyway."
She nodded. "Do you think we could get Perry and Jimmy out here for it? And maybe ..." Her voice trailed off.
"Maybe who?"
"Well, my mother will have a cow, but I'd like her to know, at least. And my dad. And--" She hesitated.
"Yes," he urged.
"Well, Lucy wanted to come to my wedding and she couldn't -- which was just as well -- but I'd like her to be at the real one. And --"
"Who else?" Clark asked.
"Well, I know it's silly, and he'll probably say no, but -- Bill Henderson turned out to be a better friend than I'd ever imagined he could be. Do you think that maybe Superman could ask him?"
"No, but Clark Kent could," Clark said with a smile. "And Superman could fly everyone here and back home so they don't miss anything important." He pulled her tightly against his chest and kissed her soundly. "I like this idea. And if we fly off on our honeymoon after that, we could be gone for three weeks and no one would have any idea where we've gone because Superman doesn't leave a trail. By the time we get back, the time will be up and there won't be any advantage anyone could get by killing you. Besides, maybe Henderson and Perry and the others will have solved the case by then. And if they haven't, we can step in and give them a hand."
**********
Lois and Clark returned from Smallville's Town Hall at ten thirty the next morning, having picked up a copy of the Smallville Press on the way. The news of the fire and the rescue of Bethany Gordon was on the front page, with credit to the Daily Planet and to Lane and Kent, who had saved the day and nailed the story. Perry White had been ecstatic when Clark had phoned it in the night before from a gas station on the way back to Smallville. They had taken advantage of Clark’s super speed, and the Kent computer and fax machine, later that evening to send in a more complete report.
The story was all over the television this morning as well. They had, Lois observed happily, stirred up a hornet’s nest.
“That’s for sure,” Clark agreed. “I called Perry a little while ago while you were still talking to Mom. He really liked your part -- the way you tied the whole thing together. Bethany’s kidnapping and rescue, the set fires, the environmental disaster averted by the firefighting services and the last minute reappearance of Superman. It was great writing.” He put an arm around her shoulders. Another thing they had done this morning was tell Martha and Jonathan of their changed plans. Martha had promptly shooed them out of the kitchen and told them to go listen to the television because they were all over it. “If you’re getting married in three days you might as well relax until Bethany’s parents get here,” she’d said, “because you won’t be able to afterwards.”
“By the way,” Clark said, turning down the sound, “Perry passed some interesting news to me. Jimmy and Henderson really came through for us.”
"Oh?" Lois tried to straighten up but found herself held firmly in place by two immovable arms. After a moment she gave up the fight and snuggled back against his chest. Clark tucked her head under his chin and they watched the silent pictures on the screen. The scene was currently a view of the Domino Lake campgrounds as seen from a newscopter. Lois grimaced at the sight of the large burned areas. Still a great deal more of the area was untouched by the fire. It was a good thing Clark’s powers had come back when they did.
“Yeah,” Clark said. “Things have been happening in Metropolis while we’ve been vacationing out here in the peaceful Midwest.”
The irony wasn’t lost on Lois. "What happened?" she asked.
"You really want to know?"
She could hear the amusement in his voice. Clark was enjoying knowing something that she didn't. Well, super strength or not, he wasn’t going to get away with that. "Clark Kent, you tell me right now or you're going to sleep on the couch *after* we're married, too!"
"Okay," he conceded. "A couple of things have happened, actually. Somebody tried to steal Luthor’s body from the morgue --“
“Ugh! Who?”
“Luthor’s doctor. Henderson got a tip about it from somebody named Bobby, set a guard and caught the thieves red-handed.”
“That’s really weird,” Lois said. “What’s the other thing? You said there was more than one.”
Clark nodded. “You remember how Perry was complaining the other day about Mr. Stern saddling him with a staff psychiatrist?"
"Yeah. He said she's the one who writes that syndicated column that's in half the papers in the country. 'Psychiatry Self Taught' or something. I've never read it."
"Actually it's called 'Healing the Inner Self," Clark said. "Her name's Arianna Carlin. Anyway, Perry sent the new guy -- Ralph something -- to the reading of Luthor’s will. It turned out that a big chunk of Luthor's assets were to go to an ACL Corporation which was supposed to administer the annuity for Luthor's ex-wife, so you, Perry, Jimmy and Henderson were all on the right track. There was a former wife. With that as a clue, Jimmy did some digging through the public records and found out that -- through various trusts and dummy companies -- ACL Corporation now has actual control of the majority of Luthor's assets, minus what you inherit, of course, and the previous Mrs. Luthor is now the de-facto head of LexCorp, so she's definitely a front runner candidate for whoever it is that wants you dead."
"Why doesn't this surprise me," Lois said. "What else?"
"Well, once he knew that, he started looking in the fine print and discovered that ACL stood for Arianna Carlin Luthor. She's 'The Mrs.' -- or so Henderson thinks."
“A shrink?” Lois said, almost outraged. “He married a shrink before me?”
“Apparently so,” Clark said.
"So what are they doing about it? The former Mrs. Luthor working in our office can’t be good.”
"There was a plastic surgeon murdered a few days ago in Metropolis,” Clark said. “Perry says he'd recently been paid a very large sum of money by ACL Corporation. Henderson's investigating that angle. Anyway, Perry's keeping Arianna on the staff so he can watch her. Sooner or later, she'll slip."
"Yeah," Lois said wistfully. "I wish we could go back and start investigating it too."
"We can -- in another three weeks," Clark reassured her. "Once the thirty days is up. Remember, this is LexCorp. All its secrets aren't going to come out at once. Investigators are still going to be tracking down the answers to some of the questions for years to come."
"That's for sure," Lois said. "LexCorp has more arms than an octopus."
"Shh, listen." Clark turned up the volume on the television again. He must have picked up the sound with that incredible hearing of his, Lois thought.
"-- Discovered a body in the ashes of the fire," the announcer was saying. "The victim was burned beyond recognition, however, today the authorities have announced that, using dental records, the remains have been identified as belonging to David Ferdinand Waters, who was wanted in connection with the kidnapping of Bethany Ann Gordon."
Clark sighed. "I should have tried to stop him," he said.
"Waters?"
"Yeah. When I was trying to find you -- after the fire had started -- he ran past me. I knew the trail was blocked. He must have gotten turned around and been trapped."
Lois shook her head. "He made his bed. You can't do everything. You may be Superman, but you're still just a man. You already had your hands full. Besides, he was probably already dead by the time your powers came back."
He nodded reluctantly. “I know. Still, I wish I could have done something.”
She put her fingers across his lips. “It’s over,” she said. “No more what ifs. Remember, we’re getting married in three days.”
“How could I forget?” Clark said. “I’m counting the minutes.”
**********
In was just before noon when a squad car pulled up in front of the Kent farmhouse, accompanied by a swarm of civilian cars, no doubt carrying members of the media in full cry after the Bethany Gordon story. Lois and Clark were sitting in the farmhouse's kitchen, having coffee, while Bethany helped Martha Kent to prepare an apple pie. Jonathan Kent was leaning against the doorframe, also drinking coffee. Clark cocked his head at the sound of numerous automobile engines converging on them and then cutting off directly in front of the house. "It looks like Rachel's here with Bethany's parents. And most of the media in the country," he added, getting up to look out the window. "It's a good thing we phoned in the story to the Planet last night. We beat them all to the punch."
“Perry was pretty happy,” Lois said. “When I called him back a little while ago, he told me to tell you that we've both got bonuses coming when we get back to the Planet." She grinned happily at her partner. "That'll show those so-called journalists at the Star that they can't compete with us."
Clark met her grin with one of his own. It looked to him as if Lois had finally managed to put the Luthor fiasco behind her. Any so-called journalist who tried to push Mad Dog Lane around was in for a surprise.
Martha removed her apron and laid it over the back of a chair as the front door's knocker sounded. “Here we go. Everybody ready?”
There were nods all around. Lois stood up and took Bethany by the hand. “Let’s go see your mom and dad,” she said. “Just don’t worry about all the newspaper people. They’ll behave themselves or we’ll know the reason why.”
The knock sounded a second time as Martha reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open.
A man and a woman stood there, and directly behind them, Rachel Harris, Greg Ross and an unidentified man, whose bearing said “family lawyer”. Bethany let go of Lois’s hand and ran forward to throw herself into her mother’s arms.
The assembled press surged forward and flash bulbs went off. Rachel turned, frowning at the crowd. “I told you ahead of time to stay back,” she said. “Bethany has had a very difficult time. There’ll be opportunities for photos later. *If* Bethany’s lawyer okays it.”
“Come on inside,” Martha said in a low voice. She opened the door wider to let them in.
Somebody shouted, “Hey! Why are Lane and Kent in there?”
The door closed, cutting off the reply but Clark heard it and rigorously repressed the urge to laugh. “Because that’s his parents’ house, you idiot.”
“What are you grinning about?” Lois’s voice said softly in his ear.
“Tell you later,” Clark answered. He glanced over his glasses through the wood of the door, to see that several deputies had moved to prevent the press from crowding up onto the porch. One of them was firmly ordering an over-eager news hawk to remove his feet from Martha Kent’s flower bed.
Bethany Gordon’s father turned to him and extended a hand. “Mr. Kent? I want to thank you and Ms. Lane for rescuing my daughter. From what Sheriff Harris told us, she wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for you.”
Clark drew Lois forward. “Here’s the one you should thank, sir,” he said. “She was the one who took Bethany away from Waters. All I did was get us to the lake in one piece.”
Bethany broke in. “She hit David with a big club,” she said gravely. “She knocked him down and told me to get behind her.” The child’s eyes shone with admiration for her new idol. “When I grow up,” she said, “I’m going to be two things.”
“What are they, honey?” her mother asked. She was seated on the Kent sofa with Bethany in her lap and Clark could see that she was holding back tears.
“A sheriff *and* a reporter,” Bethany said firmly.
**********
Epilogue
The small church where Martha and Jonathan Kent attended services every Sunday held a group of persons all in their Sunday best that Thursday afternoon. Rachel Harris sighed resignedly as she and Greg Ross stepped through the doors and found a seat in the row directly behind the Kents. She should have known that Clark was completely head over heels in love with his partner the first time they had come to Smallville, months ago.
Several of Clark’s friends from school, both male and female, had come to attend the small wedding as had a number of older persons who had known him as a child growing up in Smallville. She spotted Wayne Irig, among the guests and Maisie Allen as well. It was amazing, Rachel thought, how Martha had managed to get this thing put together in three days. She had even enlisted the assistance of Superman, who was a friend of Clark and Lois in Metropolis, to bring in guests from several fairly distant places. The distinguished older man and woman in the seats across the aisle were Clark’s editor at the Daily Planet and his wife. The young, good-looking guy was some kind of general handyman for the newspaper and had apparently been appointed official photographer for this event. The young kid next to him had been introduced earlier to her as “Jack”. She hadn’t caught the last name, but she’d quickly checked her jewelry after they shook hands to be certain it was all still there. The tall, dark guy with the dark glasses was Inspector William Henderson from Metropolis, with whom she had spoken several days before, and the pretty, dark haired girl seated next to him was Lois Lane’s younger sister. Martha Kent had dithered a little -- something that surprised Rachel -- over the protocol for Lois Lane’s mother and father. Dr. and Mrs. Lane were apparently divorced, but she had decided finally that, since this was about their daughter’s wedding and not their personal differences, they would be seated in the front row in the place for the bride’s parents. Hopefully they would keep their disagreements for another place and time and not air them at the wedding. Dr. Lane, of course, wasn’t there at the moment since he was getting ready to escort his daughter down the aisle.
On the other hand, she knew exactly how they had kept this event from the knowledge of the media, as she had helped with the conspiracy. The whole thing had been planned in secret, and Superman had even flown the happy couple away from the Kent farmhouse the night before, and returned to ferry Clark’s parents away as well this morning, in such a way that the reporters parked at their front gate were unable to follow. They had changed clothing at Rachel’s home and driven over to the church in Greg’s old pickup truck. Reverend Sweet and his wife, who was the church organist, had been sworn to secrecy as well, and, since the reporters had no interest in a small town clergyman, they had driven quite openly to the church. By the time the press found out what had been pulled off under their noses, it would be too late.
Claudia Sweet entered quietly from a side door and took her seat at the organ. The influx of occasional latecomers into the church had finally ceased, she saw and now the music began. Up near the altar, she saw Clark enter, looking incredibly handsome in his black suit. Pete Ross had apparently been induced to take a day off from his duties at the state capitol, for that was unquestionably him, standing up there with Clark.
The music changed and Rachel glanced back to see her ten year old cousin advancing down the aisle. The doors opened again and Lois emerged in a simple, lace gown that Martha had whipped together in record time, accompanied by a tall, white-haired man who must be Dr. Sam Lane.
Seated in the place for the groom’s parents, Martha Kent surreptitiously lifted her handkerchief to her eyes. Rachel sighed again, a little wistfully. If she’d been a little more determined, that could be her walking down that aisle instead of Lois, but it had already been too late months ago when Lois Lane had first visited Smallville. She should have seen it at the time, she thought again. Oh well. Ifs were could-have-beens that weren’t important anymore. Besides, Clark was a reporter and she was a law enforcement officer. It probably would never have worked out. Clark would always be her friend, but Dan Wilson had asked her to be his date for the Smallville Rodeo, a few weeks ago, and she’d told him she’d let him know. Well, she would now. He was a nice guy, and he understood what her job entailed far better than Clark probably could, she thought. She and Dan would go and have a good time.
**********
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Lois Lane had heard those same words a little over a week ago in a completely different way. Then she had been marrying a man she didn’t love, for reasons that had nothing to do with love. She had heard them with a sense of loss, followed swiftly by panic and the knowledge that she had made the worst mistake of her life. How much difference that week had made.
Then she had dutifully let Lex kiss her and stumbled forward into a future that she dreaded, knowing that she had finally taken one step too far, had jumped into the shallow end of the pool head first and discovered halfway down that there was no water in it.
This time when her groom peeled back the modest lace veil loaned to her by Martha Kent she had no hesitation. As Clark leaned forward to kiss her, she flung her arms around him and kissed him back with all the love that had been growing in her heart for him since the day she had walked into Perry’s office and seen him interviewing for his job. She’d brushed him aside as unimportant, fixated completely on her potential story. But he had noticed her and from that day, she thought, her future had been determined. How she could have failed to realize that he was the man with whom she was meant to spend her life she couldn’t understand now.
Reverend Sweet was smiling benignly at them when they drew apart and gently turned them to face their families and friends.
“I present to you,” he said, “Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent.”
The End
