Here is the finale of Zoe Meta. PLEASE let me know what you think and what modifications you would recommend before I submit this story to the archive.
Thanks again,
clrgard
ZOE META 5/5
previously…
Clark was shocked. “She just decided one day to throw her entire life away?”
“Without you, she didn’t want that life. Her work started to go downhill, she never got to see Jerome, and couldn’t take it. So, she changed her name and interviewed at the Tulsa World as a junior reporter.”
“Lois, a junior reporter?” Clark asked, incredulous.
Jonathan nodded. “That’s why she was at Webber’s Falls that day.”
The pair remained in silence for a few minutes.
“What did she change her name to?”
“Karli Kent.”
“Kent?” Clark questioned, obviously shocked.
“Yes, she wanted her and Jerome to have the same last name.”
“What about Karli?”
“You’d have to ask her. I think it was the girl name that she could think of that was closest to yours.” Jonathan answered.
“Why would she change her name though?”
“She wanted a new start, where she wouldn’t always be associated with you.”
“Oh,” Clark said, disheartened.
“She wasn’t trying to forget you, Clark, just the pain. She missed you so bad, it hurt. Every time she heard her name without yours, it hurt her. She couldn’t stand being without you. Then her work started to suffer, and she just could not take it. Like I said, she was running away.”
“I just can’t believe that Lois would run away from anything.”
“When it comes to you, Lois is completely different.” Jonathan explained. “She loves you so much that being away from you causes her pain.”
and now…
“Lois?” Clark called as he entered the house.
“Back here.”
“What are you doing?” Clark asked as he entered his room.
“Getting a pillow and blanket.” She answered, heading toward the door with her things.
“Why? Is your bed not made already?”
“All the beds are full, so I’m going to sleep on the sofa.”
“Why don’t you sleep in my old room?”
“Jerome claimed it. He likes sleeping in there because it was yours. Anything that deals with you, he claims.” Lois smiled. “And, apparently, little boys are not supposed to have to share a bed with their Mommy, so… that puts me without a bed.”
“My parents actually let you get away with sleeping on the couch. Guests were never allowed to sleep anywhere other than a bed. It was rude to make them do that.”
“I’m not a guest. I’m family.”
“I know, but still. They would have never let me take the bed and make an adult sleep on the couch.”
“I don’t usually.”
“What’s different this time?”
“The owner of the bed that I usually sleep in is here to use it.” She admitted.
“Oh.” Clark replied simply. “I get it.” He looked at her. “I would be more than willing to sleep on the couch if I could.”
Lois smiled. “I know. I don’t mind, really. If I had to choose between seeing you and getting to sleep in a bed instead of a couch, I think the choice would be obvious.”
“I just don’t like the thought of you having to sleep on that uncomfortable thing.” Clark looked at the bed. “Hey, wait a minute. This isn’t my bed.” He said accusingly.
“I know.” Lois said quietly. “We didn’t know how much room you would need or anything, so we got you a queen size bed and hoped it would work.”
Clark nodded. “More changes…” He mumbled. He looked at his bed again. “Well… you know, I don’t really need that much room and I won’t move around at all at night, so…” He said shyly.
“Mr. Kent, are you suggesting what I think you are?” Lois asked.
“Nothing like that…” He quickly corrected, his facing turning crimson. “Just… sharing… the bed. That way you wouldn’t have to sleep in the couch.”
Lois sat down on the side of the bed. “It’s fine with me. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“Lois, we’ve slept in the same bed before.” Clark pointed out.
“Yes, I know.” Lois quickly responded. “I believe I was there and I have proof of it.”
“Oh, yeah.” Clark answered, shyly.
“Yeah.” Lois answered softly. “Let me just go get my stuff.” She said moving toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”
“Alright.”
Lois took her time getting her things and securing the house. She stopped in and checked on her son, who was sleeping peacefully in Clark’s old bed room. She smiled to herself as she shut the door to his room. When she got back to the den, Clark had already gotten in bed. She turned the light off, and then climbed in beside him, slowly edging over to his side of the bed, giving him plenty of time to reject her actions. To her relief, he made no move to stop her. She finally stopped when her head was resting on his chest.
Clark silently wrapped his arm around her. He knew that it was a bad idea to get so close, but he had missed having Lois in his arms just as much as Lois had missed him and he was relishing every moment. It would make it that much harder in the end to leave, he knew, but he just could not pass up the opportunity to spend the night with Lois by his side.
“I’ve missed this.” Lois said, burrowing further into his chest.
Clark planted a kiss on her forehead. “Me, too. I’ve missed a lot of things.” He said softly.
“I know.” She answered quietly. “But, you don’t have to anymore.”
Clark took a deep breath. He wished Lois could understand where he was coming from. He squeezed her arm gently as she snuggled closer. Within minutes he heard Lois’ breathing slowly and he knew that she had fallen to sleep. He smiled and kissed her hair softly. Soon, he too, was sleeping peacefully.
Clark slowly awoke to Lois restlessly sleeping on her side of the bed. Turning on the light on his side of the bed, he could see that she was wildly fighting her covers.
“No.” She moaned. “No, Clark, don’t leave. Don’t leave me.” Clark reached over and carefully pulled her toward him. “Clark.” She continued. “Please, don’t… no, Clark, no.” He wrapped her up in his arms, holding her tightly to his body.
“I’m here, Lois. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He consoled her. “Shh, I’m here.” He softly stroked her hair. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. I’ll never leave you again. I promise.”
Lois slowly started to relax in Clark’s embrace. Within minutes, she was quietly sleeping again. Clark sighed heavily. What now? He squeezed Lois tightly as he looked at the ceiling for answers. Damn Kryptonians. Why did he ever go to that forsaken rock? He was sure that Lois had wondered the exact same thing a million times when he was gone. Why did he go? At the time, it seemed like the logical thing to do. His ‘people’ needed help and he could help them. At least he thought he could.
Once he arrived, he realized that it was going to be a much more difficult task than he had imagined. Nor and his men had already well-established their ground. The area they controlled gave Nor’s group a significant advantage tactically. Clark determined this quickly upon his arrival to New Krypton. Understanding that his experience in this type of situation was limited at best, he quickly solicited Ching’s assistance to create a battle plan to give his troops the upper hand. Slowly, his army began to reclaim crucial pieces of land. Each day, Clark’s people reduced the power Nor and his men held. Each day, Clark would hope that that day would be the day he and his people finally defeated Nor and he would be able to leave the Hell Hole he was in. Each day, he and his men would fall short and he vowed that Nor would be defeated tomorrow.
Clark remained on the front line day after day, month after month, year after year, while the Council of Elders chastised him for doing so. ‘Your place is in the palace’ they said, but Clark remained on the battlefield. ‘How can I order men to fight for a cause that I am not willing to risk my life for?’ He argued. Finally, after hours of debating, the Council acquiesced to Clark’s insistence on fighting with the army. Looking back, Clark realized that he should have listened to the Council’s advice. If he had, he would not be at this point. Then again, had he not been injured, he would probably still be on New Krypton, although the war would be over by now, he would still be there, light years away from his family, light years away from the woman he loved.
He loved her more than life itself, more than being Superman, and, he realized suddenly, more than the use of his legs. Lois meant more to him than anything [\b] in his life. He would rather spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair with Lois than living on New Krypton, where he could have any tangible possession, without her. It was worth it, he finally determined. It was worth everything he had been through in the past two years, just to be here holding her in his arms.
Given the same situation, he would do it all again in a heartbeat. The only thing he would change was his decision to leave in the first place. That was where he made his mistake. If he had not left, he would have been there when Lois was carrying his child, he could have witnessed the birth of his son, he could have watched Jerome grow. But, that was a decision that could never be taken back, he realized sadly. Now only one decision remained, have Lois in his life, if she would have him, or run away, make the transfer and disappear forever.
Did he really want to make Lois take care of him for the rest of his life? It was a heavy burden to make her bear. Could he do that to her? ‘No’ he concluded, but then a new thought entered his mind. Could he live without her? No. So where did that leave him? At the beginning. He remembered what his father had told him about Lois earlier that evening. ‘She loves you so much that being away from you causes her pain.’ he had said. Clark recognized that he felt the same way about her. The past six years had been hell for him. Longing for Lois every day had been pure torture. Why put himself through more pain? No, it had to stop here. He would ask Lois to take him back, if she would. Tomorrow, he would propose to her again, to give her an opportunity to back out, if she wanted. He just prayed she wouldn’t. With the decision made, Clark squeezed Lois tightly, moved her closer to him, and then drifted back to sleep.
Martha opened the door to Clark’s room early the next morning, looking for Lois. She smiled softly at the scene she found. Lois and Clark were sleeping soundly in each other’s arms, both with a small grin on their face. She quietly closed the door and let them sleep.
Jerome came barreling down the stairs just after 8 o’clock. He was about to go to the den to look for his mom when his grandma stopped him. “You’re mom’s still asleep.” She said softly.
“Is she okay?” He asked, worried. She never slept this late.
Martha nodded. “Yes, Honey, she’s just fine.”
“Where’s my dad?”
“He’s asleep, too.” Martha answered. “Will you do me a favor?” The little boy nodded. “Will you go get me some eggs from the chicken coup for breakfast? Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah.”
“Now remember what I told you about the chickens.” She called after him.
“I know.” He answered. “I’ll be careful.”
“Good boy.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lois was the first of the pair to wake up. She slowly untangled herself from Clark, trying not to wake him up as well. Having successfully done so, she quietly made her way to the door. She found Martha sitting at the kitchen table.
“You look like you slept well.” Martha observed as Lois got a cup of coffee.
Lois smiled as she sat down at the table. “I did.” She answered. “I think I had a nightmare early on, but then I just felt so calm afterward that I slept like a baby.”
“You looked very comfortable when I checked on you two earlier.”
Lois blushed. “Yeah, Clark didn’t like the idea of me sleeping on the couch, so he suggested we share the bed.”
Martha smiled. “I didn’t like the idea either, but I didn’t know how to take care of it.”
Lois smiled. “Well, Clark took care of it.”
“What did I take care of?” Clark asked as he came in, still in his boxers and a t-shirt.
“Clark Jerome Kent!” His mother said, shocked. “Where are your clothes?”
“I know. I’ll go get dressed in a second, but I needed a cup of coffee. Besides, I wanted to know what I took care of.”
“Me sleeping on the couch.” Lois explained.
“Oh, that.” Clark said, blushing.
“What is it with you two?” Martha asked laughing. “Why are you blushing at the idea of me knowing you slept in the same bed last night? For heaven’s sake, you have a son. Do you think I don’t know how that happened?”
Lois and Clark looked at each other. Lois shrugged helplessly while Clark just shook his head and moved to the coffee pot, got a cup and retreated back to his room. He reemerged a while later in a fresh t-shirt and athletic shorts.
“Better?” He asked as he reentered the kitchen.
“A little.” His mom answered, briefly taking her attention away from the eggs frying on the stove. “Those shorts aren’t much better than boxers in my opinion.”
“Where’s Lois?”
“Out on the porch watching Jerome play, I think.” His mother answered.
“Lois,” Clark called as he made his way onto the porch.
“Out here.” She answered.
“What are you doing?” He asked, moving beside her.
“Just thinking.” She answered softly.
“About?” He prodded.
“Us. What we’ve been through, what happens now.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, too.” He admitted.
“Have you found any answers?”
“Maybe.” Clark replied, removing his necklace. “At least I know what my next move is going to be.”
Lois sighed defeated. “You’re leaving, aren’t you? I thought you would. Don’t worry, I’ll agree to the transfer. The world needs a superhero…”
“Marry me.” Clark said, interrupting her.
“So, I’ll go ahead and do it because…” What Clark said finally registered. “What?” She asked.
“Marry me.” He said simply.
Lois’ eyes filled with tears. “Okay.” She answered, moving to sit in his lap. “You promise you won’t leave?”
“Never. Being away from you causes me pain.”
Lois smiled. “Me, too, Clark. Me, too.” She said, kissing him firmly on the lips.
[b]Epilogue:
Lois held up the latest edition of the Tulsa World. “UltraWoman Extinguishes AirGas Blaze” by Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Clark looked at the article admiringly. “Not a bad debut.”
Lois smiled. “I know. Nothing nearly as dramatic as saving a space shuttle, but I guess it will do.”
Clark laughed softly. “Well, you can’t have everything.” He answered.
“I know.” She said, kissing him softly.
She put the paper down on his desk, and then moved back to her cubicle. She looked toward the Editor’s office. He had been surprised to say the least when he found out that Karli Kent, a junior reporter, was in fact the great Lois Lane from one of the best newspapers printed. He quickly upgraded her status and her assignments began to be worthy of being on the front page. If that wasn’t enough to give him a mild heart attack, two days later Clark Kent came in to interview for a position at the paper. The editor didn’t waste any time in getting the former award-winning team back together. Soon, ‘Lane and Kent’ bylines were gracing the front page of the Tulsa World. They both missed the Planet, but agreed that they didn’t want Jerome to be raised in Metropolis.
Lois looked over to her husband and smiled, thankful he was there. The adjustment period had been rough, but they survived and were enjoying their life together. They had bought a house in Verdigris, a small suburb north of Tulsa. It had a small school that Jerome attended, but was close enough to Tulsa that the family could get the things they needed.
The power transfer worked and Lois was constantly busy acting as the world’s resident superhero. Perry and Jimmy stayed in close contact with the Kent’s and were the only people outside the family that knew the true identity of the new hero. Of course, Perry had been upset initially with their decision to not return to the Daily Planet, but understood their reasons.
Lois thought about her life now compared to what it was that horrible night so long ago. That night when she thought everything was over, that life would never be the same. But, in the end, life went on, and the life after was wonderful.
Fin
