WARNING: This part does mention end-of-life issues (dont' worry, no one will die). Just want to give you the heads up if you have strong feelings about it.
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They thanked the doctor and he left the room. The waiting was so hard. Knowing that Lois was alive and not being able to be with her. Knowing that her body was back but her mind was still lost. Had irreparable brain damage occurred? Would the Lois they had known and loved ever return?
*****
One of the residents came into the room several hours later. Lucy had joined them now that her classes were over for the day. “Dr. Litton has run many of the tests he had talked to you about. He’d like to meet with you in his office and show you what he has found.”
With his superhuman senses, Clark could detect excitement in the young man’s demeanor. “Good news?” he asked hopefully.
“Dr. Litton will explain it to you,” the resident’s answer was non-committal.
So not good news. The four entered Dr. Litton’s office. The ladies sat in the chairs gathered around his desk and Sam and Clark stood behind them. Dr. Litton greeted them before turning around to switch the light on to the x-ray viewer behind his desk.
“Dr. Lane, you are probably familiar with what these look like normally. We first noticed the considerable brain swelling here,” he circled the area with a red pen, “here, and here. On this view, we are looking at “slices” of the brain. What we discovered was quite alarming. Ms. Lane-Kent has had some sort of implants placed in her brain at three specialized regions of the brain- the somatosensory cortex, the limbic system, frontal cortex.”
Sam let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a sob. His reaction scared Clark even though he was not quite sure what it meant. “For those of us not familiar with the brain, can you tell me what exactly those regions of the brain do?”
“ The somatosensory cortex is the physical sensation region of the brain. Similarly, the limbic system is the emotional feeling and the frontal cortex is the thinking region. While we can not be sure of the exact reason these implants were placed in her brain, I don’t believe that it was for any altruistic reason.”
“Physical sensation, emotional feeling. . . you’re saying these implants were used to make her feel. . . something?” questioned Lucy.
“Pain,” answered Sam. “Those are the brain’s pain receptors.”
Lucy gasped and Ellen, who had grasped far more of the doctor’s explanation than Clark, let loose the tears she had been holding back. Clark felt as if his heart was being torn into a million pieces.
“Why?” he choked out.
The doctor shook his head. “That is probably something we won’t ever know, at least, not unless she wakes up and can tell us.”
“Unless she wakes up!” Clark gasped out in disbelief. She had to wake up. Her unconscious state was temporary, right?
Dr. Litton looked at the group compassionately. “I’m not a neurologist, though I did consult with one concerning these pictures. I’d like to have Lois moved to his care. As an ER doctor, my job is to assess and stabilize the patient so that a specialist can do his job. From what I have observed, Ms. Lane-Kent is quite stable with no external injuries and no internal injuries except for her brain.
“We have continued to slowly re-hydrate her, which may do a lot to rouse her from her coma. Consciousness depends on the continual transmission of chemical messages from the brainstem and thalamus to the cerebrum. Any interruptions to these messages can put someone into an altered state of consciousness. I don’t know enough about the brain to know if these implants are blocking the neural pathways and causing the coma, or if the coma is caused by the dehydration, or even the swelling of the brain around the implants.
“I do know that Ms. Lane-Kent is fortunate to be alive and to have her friends and family here with her. With your permission, she will be moved to Neurology and the neurologist I consulted with will assess her and let you know what he finds. There may be some hard decisions for you to make in the next few days. If there is anything that I can do to help, please let me know. I was. . . am an admirer of Ms. Lane-Kent’s work and I hope to see her writing for the Daily Planet again soon.”
It was a nice thing for him to say, but in spite of his words, they were left with the feeling that Dr. Litton had no confidence that it would ever happen.
*****
They were allowed to spend a few minutes with Lois before she would be moved to neurology. Sam and Ellen went in first and with his super hearing Clark knew that they had both told her how much they loved her and encouraged her to get better. Clark and Lucy went in next. Clark stood back while Lucy kissed her sister and reminisced about a childhood memory of how Lois had cared for Lucy when she was sick with the flu. Finally Lucy wiped her eyes and stepped back. “Clark, I think I will just go and get something to drink.” She left the room leaving him alone with Lois for the first time since he had brought her to the hospital.
He knelt by the bed and grasped her hand, “Lois, please come back to me. There are so many things I need to tell you, that I should have told you. . . I need you, Lois. I’m not sure I can go on without you.” He rubbed her hand and talked to her about his parents and her friends at the Planet and how much they had all missed her. He was interrupted a few minutes later by the staff coming to transport Lois to Neurology.
*****
The neurologist introduced himself as Dr. Thurston and explained what tests he was going to run as he attempted to find the reason for Lois’ coma. “Based on the healing of the surgical scars and her hair re-growth, I believe that this procedure was performed about six months ago.”
“That was about the time Lois was taken, “ Clark offered.
“Because of that, I don’t think the bruising we see around the implants is from the surgical placement. The bruising could be caused by irritation, or by whatever purpose they were placed there to perform,” Dr. Thurston explained. “Unfortunately I am in the uncomfortable position of asking you a very hard question. Ms. Lane-Kent is stable, breathing on her own, which is very good. We have continued the fluids that Dr. Litton began and she has been rehydrated. However, trauma victims often develop an increased metabolic rate, which leads to an increase in the amount of heat the body produces. The body redirects into heat the energy needed to keep organ systems functioning, causing muscle wasting and the starvation of other tissues. Ms. Lane-Kent needs more nourishment than we can provide by IV. That means that we need to insert a feeding tube into her stomach and feed her that way. That procedure is considered an invasive measure to prolong life, just as a ventilator or shocking her heart would be. Since Ms. Lane-Kent is not able to make these decisions and did not have an advance directive it is up to you, Dr. and Mrs. Lane, to discuss the options and make decisions. Would you want all possible intervention to prolong life; full intervention but with early reassessment; interventions that may help, but are not too invasive; or only non-invasive comfort care? These are questions that you need to be thinking about. You do not need to make the decision right this second, but Ms. Lane-Kent has been undernourished for some time and, if that is the decision you make, we need to begin providing for her nutritional needs as soon as possible to avoid complications related to hypermetabolism and malnutrition.”
How could his heart hurt any more than it did already? How could this doctor sit there calmly discussing allowing Lois, feisty, independent, wonderful, beautiful Lois Lane-Kent to starve to death! Clark was certain that Lois would not want to be kept alive indefinitely through artificial means, but she was a fighter and she deserved a chance! But since he wasn’t “family” he wasn’t even allowed to give her that chance. He must have made some sound because Ellen turned to him. “Clark, we know that you care about Lois just as much as we do. While the final decision will have to be made by Sam and I, we certainly want to hear your opinions. We know that Lois is important to you and you to her. Did you ever discuss anything like this?”
Clark shook his head, “I guess we thought we were invincible, that we would live forever. We’re both still in our twenties. End of life issues weren’t something that we really thought about.”
“Do you have any initial thoughts?” Sam asked him.
“Lois is a fighter. I think. . . I think that if she could tell us, she would ask us to give her a chance.”
“We can’t let her go, Sam! We just got her back.” Ellen cried.
“But Lois wouldn’t want to be like. . . like she is now forever. That’s . . . that’s just not her.” Sam was breathing hard, trying to control his emotions.
“What about the other option Dr. Thurston mentioned? Full intervention now, but we re-evaluate frequently?” Clark asked.
Sam nodded, deep in thought.
There was nothing else he could do or say. At least they had asked him. And as much as he wanted to keep Lois alive, even if just through the sheer force of his will, he felt he had answered them honestly as to what he thought Lois would want. “I think I’ll just go sit with Lois,” he said and excused himself.
*****
He scooted a chair close to her bed, so he could hold her hand while she lay there. How he longed in the past few months just to be able to see her, touch her again. And here she was. But he had never imagined that she would be unable to respond, that he wouldn’t be able to look into her eyes and see his feelings reflected there. Where was she? Was she already. . . gone? Or was Lois trapped somewhere between sleep and wakefulness? He needed to do some research on this, find out more- he stopped himself. Would there be any reason to look into it, or would Lois’ parents choose to just let her go? He groaned and put his head in his hands. He’d thought the most awful thing would be to find her too late, but finding her and being unable to save her, to have to watch her die was just as bad.
*****
“Clark?”
A hand on his shoulder was shaking him awake. “Clark?”
“Mom?”
“We’re here son,” his father answered.
He came to full wakefulness realizing that he had fallen asleep with his head resting on Lois’ bed. He tuned into her heart beat. Still there, and now much stronger. He sat up and his mom gathered him in her arms. Jonathan came and put his arms around them both. How Clark wished he were a small child again when he had known that these two could fix any problem he encountered in his small world.
“How is she, Clark?” his father finally asked.
“She’s in a coma. It’s, it’s just horrible. She has implants in her brain. And the Lanes have to decide whether or not to . . . prolong her life.”
“But, Clark, she’s alive!” Martha protested.
Clark nodded, “And completely unable to make her own decisions. She needs food, Mom. Look at her. Who knows when she ate last, how long she has been like this.”
Sam and Ellen walked into Lois’ room. “Clark, we wanted you to know that we talked about what to do. We decided you were right. She would want to fight. So we are going to have the feeding tube put in as soon as possible.”
Clark almost collapsed in relief. He couldn’t imagine that Ellen would have stood by while her daughter died, but with Sam and Ellen’s experience in the medical field he was afraid that the bad they had seen might lead them to a different decision than the one he wished for.
*****
They all stood around in her room waiting for her to return from surgery. Although it wasn’t a complicated procedure, it did involve anesthesia, and they had no way of predicting how it would affect Lois’ injured brain.
They breathed a collective sigh of relief when she was rolled back into her room.
*****
Their days had fallen into a pattern. Ellen stayed with Lois from midnight until Clark came by about 6:00 to eat his breakfast with Lois. After they “fed” Lois her breakfast, Ellen would leave and Clark would eat while reading to Lois from the Daily Planet. He would fill her in on whatever small story Perry had him working on. Perry knew that Clark could not concentrate on any in depth investigations right now, but Clark was grateful to have something else to keep his mind busy after the months of spending all day and night searching for Lois. Soon after Clark left for work, rounds would begin and Lois’ morning would involve visits from Dr. Thurston and his students and then the physical therapists would come in and put her limbs through a range of motions. Clark would come back to eat his lunch with her and tell her all the goings on at the Planet. Sam greeted Clark on his way back to the Planet as Sam headed into spend a few hours with his daughter. Martha and Jonathan came over in the afternoon and stayed until Lucy arrived at 8:00. Clark usually ended up back at the hospital for dinner as well. The Kents headed back to Clark’s apartment and Lucy stayed with Lois until her mother arrived. They had decided to surround her with love believing that the power of that love would draw her back to them.
*****
The feeding tube made a huge difference. Lois’ color began to improve so that she looked a little less ethereal as she lay against the white sheets of the hospital bed. Dr. Thurston waited a few days before repeating the MRI and CT scan that he had performed upon Lois’ arrival a week ago. He hoped that by studying any changes he could determine the best course to follow. He happily reported back that the swelling around the implants was decreasing. Dr. Thurston was consulting with more specialists across the globe in an attempt to ascertain what the implants were intended to do and their affect on Lois’ brain. Dr. Thurston strongly believed that Lois’ coma was caused by the brain swelling not by the implants themselves. Which was great news, if it were fact, because that would mean that when the swelling went down, she would revive.
*****
Ten long days from when he had found Lois Clark received an excited phone call at work from Ellen. In an effort to earn his salary, he had been spending a few hours at the Planet although he was working on stories a junior reporter would have turned their nose up at. “Clark! Dr. Thurston called us to tell us that this morning during physical therapy Lois was responding to the exercises. They were obviously causing her some pain, which is sad, of course, but it is also great because that means that she is coming out of the coma.”
Clark’s heart soared with excitement. “Should I come over?”
“You’ll be here in an hour or so any way, Clark, and I’ll call if anything happens.”
Clark’s mind was definitely distracted from his work. Perry had to call him into his office for Clark to decipher a paragraph from the article that he had sent to Perry that made absolutely no sense. When Clark explained, Perry threw him out of his office and told him not to come back that day. If Lois was waking up, Clark should be at her side.
*****
Dr. Thurston was talking with Sam and Ellen when Clark arrived, so he slipped into the chair next to Lois’ bed, took her hand, and listened in on their conversation.
“This is definitely a good sign, but I want to make it blatantly clear to you that Lois is probably not just going to jump up and resume her life as it was before. Some patients come out comas without any mental or physical disability, but many require at least some type of therapy to regain mental and physical skills. Lois may need to relearn how to speak, walk, eat and even then she may never recover completely. I know that is not what you want to hear, but I want you to be prepared when Lois wakes up. We don’t know how long Lois has been in a coma or if her brain was deprived of oxygen at any point. I’m not trying to burst your bubble, I just want you to be informed.”
Clark tuned out at that point. He hadn’t ever though about Lois struggling to perform everyday tasks. Everyday in this hospital he saw young people struggling to overcome physical limitations and it had never occurred to him that that could be Lois. For a moment he panicked, wondering if they had done the right thing to bring Lois back to quality of life that could be far different than the one she had known. He instantly put down the thought. Lois would tackle any obstacles the way she always did. And they would overcome them together no matter what they were.
He had been unconsciously stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. She squeezed his hand as he continued to think about how they would conquer any problems that . . . wait a second! “Dr. Thurston! She squeezed my hand.”
Ellen was instantly beside the bed. “She did? Are you sure?” She grabbed Lois’ other hand. “Honey, Mommy’s here and so is Daddy and Clark. We’re here for you.” Lois head moved slightly on the pillow and she gave a small moan that sounded like it came from far away. She gave a deep sigh. They all waited with bated breath but she didn’t move.
Dr. Thurston finally approached the bed. “May I?” He picked up one of Lois’ arms and smiled when she slightly pulled away from him. “She’s asleep. You can stay here, but let her rest. She’ll wake up in her own time.”
*****
As his parents and Lucy arrived for their “shifts” they all stayed in the room. Lois’ movements were more frequent, but she still had not completely awakened. Clark ached to see her doe brown eyes looking back at him.
*****
Ellen and Clark were preparing to feed Lois her breakfast under the watchful eye of the nurse when Lois cried out, “No, p-p-p-lease!” and her head began to thrash back and forth on the pillow.
Clark was instantly there with a hand on her shoulder. “Shh, Lois, it’s okay now. You’re safe.”
Her brow unwrinkled and her tossing stopped. Clark waited in breathless anticipation as her eyelids began to flutter. She opened her eyes and a look of confusion crossed her face. “ ‘la-a-rk, M-m-om?”
Ellen grasped her hands, tears shining in her eyes. “Yes, honey, we’re here. And Daddy and Lucy. And the Kents.”
“I’m going to page Dr. Thurston,” the nurse said quickly leaving the room.
“Ma. . . ma. . .” Lois tried to talk. A look of panic crossed her face.
“It’s all right, Lois,” Sam encouraged her. “You’ve been asleep a long time.”
*****
A long time? Why had she been asleep a long time? Why were the words she wanted to say not spilling from her? Her mouth would just not form the words!
“Maybe some water-“ began Clark. Lois’ eyes flew to him.
Sam shook his head. “No, patients with brain trauma often have trouble swallowing. We don’t want to drown her.”
Brain trauma! Had she been in an accident?
What’s going on? She tried to ask. All that came out was “Wha’?”
Again Clark rushed to speak. “Lois, Superman found you and brought you back to Metropolis. That was about two weeks ago. You’re in Metropolis General Hospital and you’ve been asleep for at least the last two weeks.”
What was Clark talking about. Found her? Where had she been? The last thing she remembered was. . . was- “No,” she cried again. Lex. Nigel had killed Lex and he was turning to her with the control in his hand, his thumb poised to depress the button that would send the burning, blinding pain throughout her body. She had to get away. Why wasn’t she moving? She kept trying to tell her legs to run and nothing was happening! She began to whimper in fear.
“Lois, Lois, it’s okay,” Clark assured her again.
Her mom was squeezing her hands. Martha had moved to sit on the bed and was patting her leg. Daddy and Jonathan hung over the bed with worried looks on their faces.
They were here. They were really here. Her eyes swung around the room. This wasn’t where she had been . . . kept for the last. . . for a long time. Tears began to escape from here eyes. She was safe. Clark had come for her. She had known her would, but why had it taken so long? She began to sob in earnest and Ellen began to rub her face and murmur comfortingly, “Shh, shh.”
A tall man in a white coat entered the room. Had she seen him before? His voice sounded familiar. “Ms. Lane-Kent, I’m Dr. Thurston. I’m thrilled to see you awake.”
Lois scooted to a sitting position and held out her arm to shake his hand. . . or at least that’s what she told her body to do. But she was still lying flat on the bed. Why wasn’t she moving? What had Nigel and Mrs. Cox done to her? She had been just fine before Nigel had shot Lex. Had she been shot too? Paralyzed?
“Why?” was all she managed to choke out through lips that did not want to move.
“Ms.Lane-Kent, do you know who all these people are?”
She wanted to say, “Of course I do- now tell me what’s wrong with me!” but she settled for nodding.
“Good, good. I was hoping there wouldn’t be any memory loss. You’ve been in a coma for about two weeks. You have some brain injuries. I know you’re frightened that you can’t speak or move the way you want, but that is completely normal for someone who has had brain trauma. Please try not to worry. I have already had physical therapists working with you to help with movement and now that you’re awake, a speech therapist will work with you as well. I’m sure you have a lot more questions, but we will talk more later. Right now, just enjoy being with your family. They physical therapist will be by in a few hours.”
“O”, Lois responded nodding. Okay, such a short, easy word. Why couldn’t she form such a simple word?
*****
His emotions threatened to overwhelm him. She was back. Oh, maybe she couldn’t talk or move, but the woman who was Lois Lane-Kent looked back at him out of her brown eyes. He could read the frustration there. His heart clenched in memory of her fearful cries before she fully awoke. What had she been through? And his mind was flooded with so many questions. Was Lois’ condition permanent? What would be involved in restoring her to her former life? What if that wasn’t possible? Could Lois be happy if she wasn’t able to take up her job at the Daily Planet again? And if she couldn’t be a reporter, what else would she want to or be able to do? But as their parents spoke to her and expressed their joy in her return, her eyes swung repeatedly to him. He smiled and squeezed her hand. What mattered most was that she was here.
*****
The physical therapist came in and her family trickled out as Lois was put through a range of exercises. All the time that the therapist worked with her traitorous limbs tears escaped Lois’ eyes and down her cheeks. The therapist had asked if she was hurting Lois, but Lois shook her head. The exercises did hurt a little, but just to feel anything was something she welcomed. No, she cried for Lois Lane-Kent who had been trapped away for months from sunlight, family, love, whose limbs and speech now betrayed her. A reporter who could not ask questions was worthless. A reporter who could not compose a story was of no value to the Daily Planet. And Clark- Lois began to cry in earnest.
“I think that’s enough for today,” the therapist said kindly. “We’ll take this up again tomorrow.”
As the tears ran down her face, Lois tortured thoughts continued. How would Clark ever fall in love with her now? He wouldn’t want to be with someone who couldn’t talk to him, couldn’t go on romantic walks, who couldn’t even kiss him.
Clark came back into the room and when he saw her tears he did not even hesitate to slip next to her and put his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. She sobbed harder. She couldn’t even send him away, to let him know that it was okay for him to leave, that she understood. Maybe Lana would take him back. And they would have a beautiful wedding and live in a cute house with a white picket fence and have 2.5 children with Clark’s beautiful brown eyes and Lana’s blonde curls.
“Lois, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” He was crying too. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t realize she wasn’t you, didn’t start looking for you sooner. I didn’t know what to do. I looked and looked everywhere. I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t find you.”
“Ssshh,” she soothed as her own tears ebbed.
“I never told you. I wanted us to go slow. I was such a fool, trying to start at the beginning of a relationship without realizing that we were already in the middle of one. I was so sure I knew what was best for us. And then you were gone and I never told you. I was so scared, all the lies, so many years. Mom told me that you already knew. That you’d know all along that I was Superman. And you never let on to anyone, you just protected my secret. All my reasons for keeping us apart were stupid, because they weren’t even real. I’m so sorry Lois. I sorry I never told you I was Superman, and most of all I’m sorry I never told you that I love you. I love you so much!”
“N-n-not no-ow,” she burst out, her tears beginning again.
Clark sat up and looked at her, “Oh, Lois, yes, even now. I don’t care about anything except that you’re here. All this, “ he gestured around the room at the machines and her still limbs laying in the bed, “it doesn’t matter. I love you, Lois, and nothing, *nothing* is going to change that. Whatever happens to you, happens to me. We are in this together. I love you, Lois.”
“T-t-t-too,” she struggled to say. It was so wrong, so horrible that she couldn’t even tell him that she loved him too. But looking into his eyes she believed that he did love her, that he wanted to be with her, and they would fight this together. Now if that Dr. Thurston would just come back and tell her exactly that “this” was.
*****
Clark cuddled with Lois, so relieved to finally have his secret out, to have told her of his love for her. And she loved him too. He lay his cheek on the top of her head and listened to her heartbeat. It was sure and strong, the beat and rhythm that he had strained to hear for six long months. A smile flitted across his lips as he felt her relax against him in sleep. His own eyelids were heavy. He had spent all of last night here, waiting for her to awake, and the criminals of Metropolis had not let him sleep much the night before.
*****
The nurse shook Clark awake about 45 minutes later. “Mr. Kent, we need to feed her now. Are you going to stay?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. He slipped from the bed and laid Lois back against the pillow.
The commotion woke Lois. She opened her eyes when she felt the cool air against her stomach. The nurse had turned the cover down to her hips and pulled her gown up so that she could get to Lois’ feeding tube. Lois eyes opened wide and turned to Clark.
“Lois, since you were asleep you weren’t able to eat and you were very malnourished. Your parents gave permission and a tube was inserted into your stomach so that you could be fed. Now that you’re awake, I’m sure Dr. Thurston will see about taking it out, but for now, this is how you’re eating.”
Lois stared doubtfully at the syringe of brown goo the nurse held in her hand. The nurse connected it to the tube and slowly depressed the plunger. Lois looked down at her exposed torso. Her abdomen was sunken in and her hip bones stood out prominently. She looked like a starving prisoner of war! Lois looked back to Clark. “Yuck!”
Clark laughed, not understanding that her comment was directed towards herself. “I promise, I’ll bring you Chinese and Thai and any thing you want as soon as Dr. Thurston says it’s okay.”
The nurse finished feeding Lois and pulled her gown back underneath the covers, which Clark then helped her to bring back up to Lois shoulders. As the nurse left the room Clark tenderly tucked the blanket around her. Lois smiled her thanks at him
*****
The speech therapist Dr. Thornton had promised came not long after Lois’ “lunch”. Sam and Ellen had come back, but the Kents had gone back to their hotel to rest.
Lois felt instantly at home with Chris. Finally a medical professional that just laid it out for her to see. Worse than being unable to speak was not knowing why.
“Language and communication problems are common disabilities in TBI- that’s traumatic brain injury- patients. I think that what you are experiencing is called aphasia. Aphasia is just a fancy word that means trouble understanding and producing spoken and written language. Specifically, I think you have dysarthia, which happens when the part of your brain that controls speech muscles is damaged. You can think clearly, but are unable to easily speak the words because you can’t use the muscles needed to form the words and produce the sounds. Is that right, Lois?”
Lois nodded as vigorously as she was able, “Yes!”
Chris smiled. “You can obviously still communicate! With dysarthia your speech will often be slow, slurred, and garbled. I’m going to help you learn to talk again as well as find other ways to communicate while you’re learning. This,” Chris pulled a laminated sheet out of his bag, “is a word chart with lots of common words on it.” He pulled Lois table over her bed and set the chart on it. “Can you find the word brain?” Lois focused on the paper and then nodded. “Good.” He helped Lois move her arm to rest on the table. “Can you point to it?” Lois moved her arm, but her curled fingers refused to point. Chris saw the look of intense frustration that crossed her face. “Lois, that’s okay. Your physical therapy is going to help you be able to move your arms and fingers.”
Dr. Thurston entered the room, “So, I see you’ve met Chris. Chris is very good at what he does, Ms. Lane-Kent. He’ll be working with you throughout your recovery. And that’s what I’m here to talk to you about. I know you have lots of questions, and I’m going to try to do my best to guess what those might be and answer them.”
Chris collected his things and waved goodbye as Dr. Thurston’s student rolled a portable film viewer into the room. Dr. Thurston placed the images of Lois’ brain on the viewer.
“These are from when you first came in. You can see here where I have circled in red that there is considerable swelling in these three areas.” He removed the films and replaced them with a new set. “These are from about a week ago. The swelling has gone down, which is why you are now conscious. The bruising seems to be caused by some sort of . . . implants in your brain.” Dr. Thurston looked to Lois expecting to see the shocked look on her face that he had seen from everyone that had viewed the films. Lois nodded. “You knew about the implants?”
“N-n-n-i . . . gel.”
Dr. Thurston looked at her parents. “Clark speculated that either Lex Luthor, Nigel St. John, Mrs. Cox or a combination of any or all of them were involved in Lois’ abduction,” Ellen explained.
“Lex Luthor certainly had the technical and scientific resources to develop such devices. I just can’t believe that anyone would actually. . .” Dr. Thurston’s voice trailed off.
“Experiment with them on human subjects?” Clark finished with a bitter tone in his voice.
Dr. Thurston gave Lois a look of sympathy before returning to his explanation. “Your symptoms are all consistent with traumatic brain injury. You may experience a variety of symptoms- seizures, trouble with your vision, difficulty swallowing, headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, irritability, apathy, anxiety, and depression.”
Lois shoulders drooped.
“Please don’t be discouraged.” Yeah, well, that was easy for him to say! thought Lois.
“You may not experience these symptoms at all, or maybe only some of them. I’m just trying to inform you the best that I can. We can control many of these with medications *if* you do experience these symptoms.”
Lois nodded. “Eat?”
“We need to leave the tube in for now. TBI patients often have difficulty swallowing and we need to guard against pulmonary aspiration or aspiration pneumonia. Even once you begin eating, your food will have to be chopped up, and you may find that the effort of eating tires you, so we will still need to supplement through the tube. Most recovery will take place in the first six months. You will see a variety of caregivers in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiatry, psychology, psychiatry, and social work. Our plan at the moment is to have you moved to the Metropolis Neuroscience Center next week. They will coordinate your rehabilitation and help you relearn the skills to be independent again. Possibly some in-home care will be required when you are released, but that is something that we will have to wait and see about. You’re young and I expect that you will be able to return to much of your former life.”
“What about the implants?” asked Sam.
“For now, I believe that we leave them as they are, unless we find that they are causing Ms. Lane-Kent any problems.”
“No! O-o-ut!” Lois’ words were slurred, but Dr. Thurston couldn’t miss the feeling behind them.
“Ms. Lane-Kent, you’re alive and you have a long road of recovery ahead of you. I’m willing to revisit this issue at a later date, but, honestly, you need to do a lot healing before any legitimate surgeon would consider the lengthy surgery that removing the implants would require.”
Lois sighed deeply.
“Think of the story you can write about this, Lois!” Clark encouraged.
Lois looked down at her clawed hands. Would she improve enough to be able to write stories ever again?
*****
She couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital. Everyone was very nice, but she hated the sterility of it all. They physical therapy was really helping. Her fingers were relaxing which helping in her work with the speech therapist. She was able to point to the words on the chart, but her arms would quickly grow tired. She was able to sit, as long as someone helped her sit up. Perry and Jimmy had come to visit her and told her all about the latest at the Planet. “I’m glad you’re back, honey, and I’m glad you’re back for Clark’s sake. That boy’d walk on water for you. Not being able to find you was killing him. He tried to quit, you know, since he was spending 25 hours a day looking for you and couldn’t be counted on for articles, but I convinced Stern to hire him to find you. In his search for you, he made a lot of discoveries about Luthor’s activities which he reported on, so it worked out well for the Planet after all. Ah, Lois, ah, I don’t quite know how to tell you this, but the Planet terminated your employment a few weeks ago. You’d been missing for six months and that is the policy. But Cobra will cover your medical expenses. The second you’re able to come back to work, your job at the Daily Planet is waiting for you.”
“Tha. . .nk you.” She wished she could say more. But she was also suddenly awash with worry about expenses. She didn’t have a job, who was paying for her apartment, her monthly bills?
Clark strolled into the room with a copy of the Daily Planet under his arm. Clark came regularly throughout the day to be with her, stopping by on his way to work, rushing over on his lunch hour, and sitting next to her to watch the evening news. And when he left he never failed to tell her that he loved her and to drop a kiss on her head or cheek.
“Hey, guys! Guess this is where the newsroom emptied out to.”
“I was just telling Lois that her job is waiting for her the second she’s ready for it, “ Perry explained.
“I’m sure she’ll have quite a story to tell.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, Clark, I talked to the Board this morning and they want to give the reward for Lois’ return to Superman.”
“Perry, Superman can’t take money for the services he performs, “ Clark protested.
“Do you have another suggestion? People donated this money because they wanted to help; we can’t just return it to them.”
“Well, I’ll talk to Superman about it and see what he says. I’m sure he won’t accept it though.”
“Well then maybe he can tell us what else to do with it,” Perry suggested. “I think I better get back to the Planet. Good to see you, honey.”
“Yes,” Lois responded.
As Perry left the room, Clark took his place in the chair beside her bed, “Lois, what do you think? See, when you disappeared people began to ask what they could do to help so the Planet started a fund for a reward for information leading to your return. Perry’s right, the money can’t be returned.”
“S-s-s-weet,” Lois forced out with tears in her eyes.
“Franklin Stern gave you a lot of airtime, and, of course, the Daily Planet gave you lots of coverage as well. Other news agencies picked it up. You are really famous now, Lois.” Clark grinned at her. “Well, I’ll give it some thought and Superman will make some kind of press announcement.”
Lois pulled her word chart to her. Clark leaned over to follow her finger. “What. Happened. My. House,” he read slowly. He sat up. “Your dad paid out the rest of your lease, but we weren’t sure what to do then. Your parents decided to let your apartment go and so we moved all your things back to your mom’s house.”
“Oh.”
“Sorry. I know you loved your apartment.”
Tears pooled in Lois’ eyes. He understood in a way that her parents obviously didn’t. Her apartment had been a place of her own, a place that said that she had arrived, proof that she was worth something to the Planet. “L-l-love you.”
Clark understood the slurred words that might have left someone with less able hearing guessing. “Oh, Lois. I love you too, so much.” He leaned towards her and for the first time in seven months his lips touched hers in a lover’s kiss. Her tears spilled down her cheeks as his lips caressed hers. She returned the kiss as well as she was able. He started to pull away and she whimpered and put her arms around his neck. She touched her tongue to his lips and his own tongue emerged to duel with hers. But her arms grew heavy all too soon and when Clark moved back, she let him go. His gaze was tender as he looked at her. “I think I have some news you’ll really like. I talked to Dr. Thurston about your move and he agreed that you could be moved via Superman Express. . . without the express. I thought you might like that more than an ambulance ride.”
“Yes!” She would love to go flying again. And she really wanted to see Clark in the suit again! It would be the first time that she would see Clark as Superman since Clark found out that she knew his secret.
“I thought you might.”
*****
Clark continued to pour over in his mind what Superman should do about the reward money. Maybe a Superman Foundation or he could donate it to the Metropolis Police Force. . . He stopped at the post office and picked up his mail. He distractedly flipped through it, junk, junk, bill- wait, he didn’t have any bills due right now.
He opened the envelope and pulled out the invoice. It was a bill for medical services. But Lois had insurance! This amount was astronomical. Surely, it was just informing Lois what her insurance had paid out. He looked over it again. No, it clearly stated that this is what she owed after the claim had been turned into her insurance. This was ridiculous. Lois didn’t even have a job and probably would not be able to work for a while.
He made his way to Ellen Lane’s home and knocked on the door. After a moment, Ellen opened it. “Clark!”
“Ellen, I just got this in my post office box. It was addressed to me so I opened it. It is a bill for Lois’ medical costs. I guess my name must have been on a form or something.”
Ellen nodded. “Yes, the bills just started coming in this week.”
“Ellen, the cost after insurance was still. . . well, it’s ridiculous! How do they expect Lois to pay for this?”
“We’ll figure it out, Clark. Please don’t worry Lois with this. I can sell the house and Sam may have something tucked away. . .”
“What about her insurance?”
“Insurance will only pay so much. I talked to the company yesterday and found out that they will pay for Lois to be in the neuroscience center for only six weeks.”
“Look, Ellen, don’t worry about this. I think I know how to take care of it.”
*****
“Thank you all for coming today. The Board of the Daily Planet had graciously offered me the reward that was offered for Lois-Lane-Kent’s return. I appreciate the reward offered by Stern Publishing and the contributions of all of you who donated generously to help with the rescue of Ms. Lane-Kent. I will accept this gift on the behalf of Ms. Lane-Kent. Ms. Lane-Kent is currently in the hospital recovering from her captivity. I want to personally thank all the medical professionals who are working so hard to provide her with the best of care. But the level of care that Ms. Lane-Kent requires comes with a price. I’m sure that this gift will go a long way toward easing her mind and allowing her to concentrate on getting well.”
“Superman”, “Superman, what-“, “Superman, over here-“ the reporters in the crowd began to ask questions.
“One at a time please. Becky?” Becky Truesdale was one of the Star’s better reporters. She would ask legitimate questions.
“Superman, can you tell us what Ms. Lane-Kent’s condition is?”
“I’m afraid that I can’t. Due to confidentiality laws, I have no more access to the details of Ms. Lane-Kent’s medical status than any of you. I can tell you that Mr. Clark Kent has told me that she is making great strides in her recovery.”
“Do you know why she was taken?” came the next question.
“No. The motive behind the kidnapping has not yet been determined.”
“Who was the kidnapper?”
“I wish I could answer your questions, but I must respect Ms. Lane-Kent’s privacy. I’m sure that she is even now working on the story of her capture and it will soon be printed in the Daily Planet. Thank you for your time. Ms. Lane-Kent and her family appreciate your generosity as well as your thoughts and well wishes as she recovers.” Superman rose above the platform and then streaked across the Metropolis sky.
*****
Clark walked into Lois room, sandwich in hand to eat his lunch with her. The nurse was just pulling her gown down after feeding her. Clark quickly set his sandwich down and assisted in pulling her to a sitting position. The nurse thanked him and pulled Lois’ table and word chart back within Lois’ easy reach before exiting the room.
The TV was on so Clark asked, “Did you see the news conference?” as he seated himself next to her bed and took a bite of his sandwich.
Lois nodded.
“What did you think?”
Lois lifted her arm to the word chart and Clark leaned over to read. “Questions. No. Answers. Tell. You.” Her hand dropped, “not like this” she forced out.
Clark’s hand brushed her cheek, “Honey, I know you’ll tell me as soon as you can. I’m just sorry that all this happened to you. But look at the great improvements that you are making already!”
She pointed to the chart again. “Thank you. For. Money.”
“Please don’t thank me, Lois. The people who donated wanted to do something to help you, not me. This is the best way to accomplish that.”
“B-b-bills?” she asked.
“Lois, don’t worry about this, please. You concentrate on getting better and let those of us who love you take care of you for once.”
“L-lo-ove m-me?”
“You know I do.” He reached over and gave her a soft kiss. “Don’t you?”
Lois reached for her word chart again and Clark followed her finger. “Show me.”
The sandwich was instantly abandoned as Clark placed his arms around her and set his lips on hers. Their lips moved together in gentle exploration. But when Clark felt her tiring he pulled back.
“MMmmm.”
“What?”
“T-t-aste go-o-od.”
“Oh, I get it. You didn’t want to kiss me, you just wanted to taste my sandwich.”
Lois mouth curved into a smile at his teasing. “B-b-oth.”
*****
Lois watched Clark as he finished his sandwich. How she wished that she could speak and tell him the story. Clark was right, she was improving, but just not as quickly as she would like. And she was so weak. She wanted to stand, she wanted to walk. . . she wanted to kiss Clark until neither of them could breathe, not run out of energy after just a short time. Patience had never been part of her make up.
*****
He was so pleased with the improvement that he could see. Her eyes were bright; he could almost see her mind churning. And she teased him! He knew that the enforced silence was tearing her apart. She was a reporter. She must be dy-, uh, extremely anxious to tell her story.
*****
“Are you ready?” Superman asked her with a smile.
Held securely in his arms with her own arms clasped around his neck, Lois smiled back at him. “Ready.”
“Now, if you’re arms get tired, don’t worry. I’ve got a good grip on you. I won’t drop you.”
Dr. Thurston, the nurse, and her family huddled around the entrance of the Metropolis General Hospital to watch her exit.
“Clark’s already at the Metropolis Neuroscience Center, “ Ellen explained Clark’s absence. “He wanted to make sure that everything was ready for you. And we’ll meet you there in a little bit.”
Superman began to rise slowly into the air. Lois smiled and waved for a second as Superman began to move in the direction of her new residence. Her arm dropped tiredly around his neck again. He gave her a little squeeze. “Comfy?”
She nodded.
“It won’t take long, but you can lay your head on my shoulder if you get tired.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t tired. She was full of adrenaline. She was anxious to really get to work on returning to her former life. Or maybe an even better one. Her fingers began to fiddle with Clark’s hair. He looked over at her and smiled before turning his head back into the wind. Really, what was his rush?
*****
She felt wonderful in his arms. She had been so eager all morning to leave the hospital. She was going to be out like a light when she came off her adrenaline high. Her hands stilled in his hair and her head came down to lay on his shoulder. Ah, he’d known she would tire quickly. The arm stretched to reach around his neck slid down to his chest. He gave her another squeeze. Suddenly a chill ran all through him as Lois set her lips onto his neck and touched her tongue to him. “Lois!” he exclaimed slightly shocked. She raised her head and gave him her most innocent look. He gave her a warning glance and turned his mind back to the flight.
*****
She had to admire his concentration, but she really wanted to distract him at the moment. She wanted to know that she could. That he was still attracted to her. There were so many people hanging around in that hospital. And it wasn’t like she could just ask him. She laid her head back on his shoulder and felt his body relax against her. She smiled to herself. So he thought she was giving up, did he? Her hand that had lain so innocently began to trace the outline of his muscles underneath the blue spandex. Her mind went back to the night he had been stretched out asleep in front of her TV, the pectoral muscles, and the six pack that had been revealed to her gaze. Her hand wandered with her thoughts.
“Lois! If you don’t stop that, I’m going to have to kiss you. How will I explain Superman’s distraction causing him to collide with some Metropolis landmark, hmm?”
She laughed. What a headline that would make!
“You little minx,” his voice held gentle teasing.
*****
What was she up to? Obviously she was enjoying herself. To be honest, so was he, but the suit was not. . . suited for this kind of thing. For one thing, Superman could not be seen ravishing Lois Lane-Kent in mid-flight over the friendly skies of Metropolis. And another thing, well, the suit just wasn’t made for this kind of activity even though his body clamored for more. He did not want to show up at Metropolis Neuroscience Center with his body announcing to anyone he encountered exactly how he felt about the woman in his arms.
“High. . .er.”
“Huh?” He was distracted from his musings.
“Please,” she asked.
“Lois, I don’t-“
Her hands grabbed his cheeks and turned his head to look at her. “*P-p-please*,” she begged.
“What about your family and the staff waiting for us?”
She huffed, “D-d-don’t care.”
He laughed then. “I’m never going to win any of our arguments, am I?”
“Nope.”
“I’m sure this is not what Dr. Thurston meant when he said to take you straight to the Center.” But he was now gaining altitude. Up through the clouds they floated until they were completely surrounded by clouds.
*****
Suspended between heaven and earth with the man she loved. Despite all the trials yet to come, she suddenly felt like the luckiest woman in the world. Only she got to experience this out of everyone on earth. Keeping a strong arm around her, Clark let her slide down to “stand” on his boots. His eyes met hers. “Is this what you had in mind?”
“Alm-mo-ost.” She pushed against his boots to bring herself even closer to him and lifted her face to his.
He groaned and met her kiss hungrily. When her legs gave out, he just pulled her tighter to him.
He moaned and murmured against her lips between kisses, “Lois, we have to stop. I need to get you to the Center, and I’m not sure this altitude is good for your head.”
“Good!” she insisted.
He chuckled. She could feel the vibration against her breasts and she caught her breath. “Yes, it is,” he growled. “Now behave, so I can get you where you’re supposed to be.”
She sighed. “O-oka-ay.”
*****
Superman delivered Lois to the waiting staff and left as the nurse began to fuss over Lois’ flushed cheeks, which only became redder as the nurse talked. Superman flew away to be replaced by a Clark Kent fiddling with his tie and he entered the Center, “Lois, honey, sorry I’m late. I got distracted.” A teasing look passed between them.
“Lois, Dr. Thurston has been over your history with us and we’re going to all we can to help you live independently. You’ll have scheduled sessions with Chris, who you already know and with our physical therapists, as well as appointments with others on out staff. However, we want you to feel at home here, so you are free to roam about as you would like, interact with the other residents, or join in any of the activities. If there is anything that we can do to make you more comfortable, please let us know. Oh, and my name is Rama George. I’m in charge of resident’s scheduling. My office is just there,” she pointed to a door near the entrance, “ so if something’s not working for you, come see me.”
Lois nodded.
“Great. Then Joe here will take you to your room. I hope you’ll like it.”
Joe pushed her wheelchair into the elevator. Clark slipped in with them.
“Lois, you’re on the second floor. Once you’re more mobile you’ll probably get moved up to third or to another wing on second, but you’ll need more help at first so your room is near the nurses station.” Joe pushed her chair out of the elevator. “Second door down the hall here.” Clark hurried ahead and opened the door for them. The room looked more like a bed and breakfast than a hospital room.
“Wow,” Lois spoke for the first time since entering the center.
“Lois, this is really nice,” commented Clark.
The Victorian style wasn’t really Lois’ taste, but it fit with the rest of the building. Anyway, as long as the care was cutting edge, she didn’t care what her surroundings looked like.
“Alright, Lois, let’s get you into bed-“
“I’ll do it,” Clark cut Joe off, lifting Lois into his arms and carrying her to set her against the upright pillows.
“Uh, okay,” Joe spoke in obvious surprise as the swiftness of Clark’s actions. “Um, if you need anything, the page to the nurses station is on the bedside table, along with the TV remote. There’s a library downstairs if you want to watch a DVD or listen to any books on CD. Oh, and there’s regular books, newspapers, and magazines if you’d prefer those. I’ll just let you get settled in. Dinner’s at five. Even if you can’t eat, it is a good time to meet our other residents. I can come back up and bring you down or your, uh, friend here can bring you. I’ll just leave the wheelchair here.” Joe made a somewhat hasty exit from the room.
“Clark,” Lois admonished.
“What? If I’m here, I want to help take care of you.”
Lois smiled at him so he knew she was actually pleased with his possessiveness. He gave her a quick kiss. “Your parents are on their way up.”
*****
