My apologies both as this is a little short and it's been forever since I last posted. It all started with smoke coming out of my computer. I lived with it for awhile, but when it kept happening, I finally felt the need to relinquish my computer to the gods (although that's really giving the service center credit I'm not sure they deserve). Not having that spiffy a plan, they kept it hostage for about two weeks. And then things at work got crazy and just slowed down now. But I had written this just before I gave up the computer and while I had hoped to add more to it, since I'm about to go out of town for a week, I thought maybe it would be better to post this before I go.
Only it's fair to warn you that it will likely be at least two more weeks before the next chapter is up since I won't be able to do any writing while I'm away.
One other note, while the last several chapters have been from Lois' viewpoint, I decided to go with Clark for this one. It felt weird after so long of following Lois and I may go back to her for the next chapter, but I felt like it was time for us to hear Clark's voice again.
Happy holidays! I hope you all have wonderful holiday plans.
Given how long it's been, I thought a reminder of where we left off might be helpful:
Her cell phone rang before Clark could reply and glancing at it she saw it was John. “Can I take this?” she asked, and when the Kents nodded, she got up and walked to the kitchen to get some privacy.
“Hi,” she answered the phone.
“Hi,” John replied and Lois could hear the smile in his voice. “I got your message,” he said.
“How's your mom?”
“I think she's going to be okay. She passed out yesterday a couple of times and they weren't sure what was wrong with her. But they think now that she may simply have been dehydrated.”
“So, she's going to be fine?” Lois clarified.
“Almost definitely,” John said. “They are going to keep her in the hospital one more night, but it's mostly a precaution.”
“I'm glad,” Lois told him.
“Thank you for calling, Lois. It meant a lot to me that you did,” John said, his voice a bit rough.
Lois searched for something to say, but before she could, John began speaking. “Lois, when I get back… do you think… I mean, clearly say no if you don't want to, but maybe I could take you to dinner?”
Lois fought the urge to laugh. She had never taken John for being shy.
She said nothing for a moment, glancing into the living room to see the top of Clark's head. She smiled. Clark was Clark, but he was never going to be anything more than what he was right now. And John was great – he made her feel comfortable and smart. “I'd like that,” she finally replied.
She could hear the sigh John let out. “Great! So, I'll see you in the office in a couple of days?” he asked.
Lois said goodbye feeling good about her decision and smiling as she shut the phone and walked back into the living room.
Clark took in Lois gait as she entered the living room. He had tried not to eavesdrop on Lois' conversation, but his parents had insisted on being quiet so that who ever Lois was talking to would not have any reason to suspect she was in Kansas. That left the farmhouse quiet aside from Lois' voice. While he forced himself to block out the noise, he found he could do little more than block out the voice on the other end of the phone, the one that had sounded suspiciously like John, the person she was “not on a date with” the previous night.
As a result, he had definitely heard the tone to her voice as she ended the conversation with something that sounded like she had made plans. Of course, those plans did not need to be a date, but still…
“Dinner, Lois?” Clark asked, trying hard to keep his voice casual so Lois would not get suspicious.
Lois looked up, seeming surprised to see him. She had clearly been engrossed in the story she was writing. “Hmm?” she asked, and it was apparent her mind was still back in the story.
“I asked if you'd like to get dinner. I'll be finished up in about a half hour or so and it looked like you were putting the finishing touches on your piece. I thought maybe we could catch something to eat after this.” Clark explained.
Lois smiled, “Sure, Clark. I'll be finished soon, too.” With a shake of her head she went back to her work.
Clark finished his piece in about ten minutes and with a fast review, LAN'ed it to Perry. He then spent the next fifteen minutes staring at Lois. He loved to watch her work. So many aspects of her personality could be seen on her face as she reviewed her writing. Her brow furrowed as she found some awkward wording and the self-consciousness and fear that she was nothing but a hack came through as she tried several different combinations of words to get her desired effect across. Then she found the right combination and pride was clear on her face and the complete contradiction of her nerves, her self-confidence, shined through.
Lois turned to Clark and he quickly turned to his computer. “Clark?” Lois asked, not seeming to notice that Clark had been staring at her right up until she turned to him. Clark looked up at her, a question in his eyes, so Lois continued, “Can you read this over for me? It seems awkward in places.”
“I thought you hated it when I edit your copy,” Clark said teasingly.
Lois gave him a look as she said firmly, “Don't mess with me, Farmboy!”
Clark laughed as he got up to read her piece over her shoulder. He loved the place they had gotten to. It had taken a few months after her failed wedding to Luther to get to a place where they were comfortable with each other again, but they had done that. They were friends again, possibly even better than before. And Lois' competitiveness which had been on full force for awhile as she worked through her inability to see through Lex had all but disappeared. Now she leaned on Clark as a partner and he felt that she finally saw him as her equal.
It was great to be someplace where they could tease each other with mutual respect, as opposed to much of the teasing last year which often had an undercurrent of truth to it. And he loved the closeness it afforded him, the ability to place his hand on her shoulder while he reviewed her copy, the way this meant he could breathe in her shampoo, the way Lois would place her hand through his arm when they were walking together.
He finished reviewing the article and smiled at Lois. He had given her a few pointers as he had reviewed the piece, but overall it was a typical piece of Lane journalism. Meaning, basically, brilliant. He told her as much and treasured the broad smile she bestowed on him at the compliment.
“Where to, milady?” he teased as he helped her with her coat. Lois giggled and he placed an arm around her shoulder, filled with warm feelings and the feeling that he and Lois were on the road to something even bigger than the closeness they shared now.
Lois looked up at him, her expression suddenly serious. “Thank you, Clark. It's great to have the opportunity to go to dinner with someone without any expectations, any thoughts that this is in any way romantic.”
Well, maybe not.
That had been less than a week before the night at the club. How Lois went from feeling the need to remind him that they were just friends to deciding she was in love with him, Clark did not know. And while he thought his death had had a part in that, he could not help the tightening of his jaw as Lois entered the living room. She may say she and John were not dating, but that did not mean she was not interested in John. And while Clark knew it was selfish, it still hurt to think of her feeling that way about someone else when he could not stop the rush of emotions he felt whenever she entered a room.
Still, he forced a smile to his face as she entered, “Everything okay, Lois?” he asked.
He could see her eyes appraise him, likely seeing the hurt there, but then choose to ignore it. She smiled back, “Yup, everything's fine,” she said as she sat down with a little bounce.
As if to make it clear that she felt no need to discuss it further, she leaned over to pick up her piece of pie and put a bite into her mouth.
Jonathan gave a yawn and then apologized, “Sorry, but I think I should head in for the night. It's late for a farmer.”
Clark felt a rush of gratitude for his parents. Given it was later in Kansas than California, they had stayed up later than normal in order to wait for Lois' arrival.
Lois stood up and with arms outstretched, approached his dad. “Thanks for staying up for me, Jonathan. I really appreciate it. It was great to see you.”
Jonathan engulfed her in a bear hug. “It was completely worth it, Lois. You'll let Clark bring you back again soon, won't you?”
Lois smiled in response and soon found herself in Martha's warm embrace. “As always, it's wonderful to see you, Lois.”
Clark watched his parents retreat upstairs before clearing his throat nervously. “So, Lois, ready to head back to San Diego?” he asked, keeping his tone casual.
Lois picked up her plate of pie and began piling the other plates on top of it. “Sure, just let me clean up a bit first.” Clark helped her move the plates to the kitchen and then washed them using super speed.
Within a few moments they were on the porch of the farmhouse and Lois was back in his arms. He lifted off gently, but could not shake his nervousness. After a few moments of silence, Lois tucked her head into his chest so he could go faster.
Clark leaned his head down to breath in her hair and tried to stop the increased beat of his heart in response. He got to San Diego relatively quickly since Lois did not ask to pick her head up the entire flight, and floated in front of her exterior door while she opened it.
Still floating, he placed her gently on her feet in her living room. They stood in front of each other awkwardly and Clark tried to think of a reason, any reason, even just to stay a moment longer.
But just as Lois began to speak, he heard a scream from somewhere a few blocks away. He shook his head with regret.
“I have to go, someone's in trouble.”
Lois nodded in recognition and Clark took off for the source of the scream.
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Clark fell into bed, feeling bone-tired and weary. He was not sure if it was lingering effects from the kryptonite or the vestiges of his emotional turmoil, but he was finding it hard to feel really recovered from his super-activities.
This evening had even been relatively simple. The scream in San Diego had been a domestic dispute. Those were generally rather hard to deal with, but this one had gone well. The actions of her boyfriend led the young woman to decide she was through with this relationship. She had grabbed a few things and shoved them into a duffel bag while Clark had brought her boyfriend to the police. Then he had flown her to a local shelter where they were going to help her move on from this ordeal.
This process had taken about an hour and when he was finished, he decided to fly over Metropolis. Aside from a mugging, Metropolis was quiet, so he swung by New York. He stopped a car jacking, but other than that, New York, too, was quiet. He had done a fast flyby of Boston, finding little going on, and had then headed back to Smallville.
Really, the evening had been relatively short and there was no reason for him to be tired. Except that he had been somewhat distracted the entire time. He could not get his mind off of Lois. He felt trapped. When she had come back into the living room, she had seemed happy. For a moment, reflecting on the image in his memory of Lois' face, he felt his own break into a smile. But then he remembered that it was John that had put that smile on her face, and he felt his smile falter slightly.
He wanted her to be happy, he really did. And there was no way he would ever be able to do that. Even if somehow Lois and he managed to get close to the relationship that they had had before, and Clark was not at all sure how that could be possible, there was no Clark Kent anymore. Whatever his mother may have thought, he just was not sure what he could offer Lois as Superman. They could never have a real relationship. Even if she ever developed feelings for him again, Clark did not see how she would not be happier in the end with John.
He felt his spirits sink deeper. But then he recalled their talk from a few nights ago at her apartment. He was supposed to let Lois make her own decisions, even if he did not agree with them.
He brightened for a moment before giving a humorless chuckle. When had he gotten so delusional? He did not have the option of letting Lois “choose” him. She did not want him, regardless of her feelings for John.
Clark fell into a troubled sleep, filled with dreams of Lois walking away from him and into the arms of a man that looked like a younger version of Perry White.
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Awakening with start, Clark looked around his room carefully, trying to determine what had roused him. Looking around and listening, he saw nothing and did not hear anything that would normally cause him to awaken. As he lay back in his bed, though, he remembered snippets of the dream he had had. A memory of Lois placing a fleeting kiss across his lips as she turned to the young Perry. Clark smiled somewhat, realizing he had no idea what John looked like and so somehow his subconscious had decided Perry White fit the bill. Clark tried to recall if Lois had ever made a mention of John that would give an idea as to his hair color or height, but then realized that she had not. Lois gave little details about her life to Clark at all.
Filled with an irrational urge to see her, Clark got out of bed and spun into his Superman custom before taking to the skies. He arrived in San Diego moments later, and using his x-ray vision took a look at Sammy. She was sleeping peacefully in her crib, a broad smile on her face.
He moved slightly to the left to take in Lois form in the next apartment, also sleeping on her bed. She was spread out across the mattress, her left arm and leg hanging slightly over the edge. Clark hovered over her, watching her, and longed to be able to go inside and wrap his arms around her.
Lois turned over in her bed before settling down again with a little sigh.
It was then that Clark heard it. Upstairs from Lois, Mrs. Mettle was awake and watching the news. The tornado making its way towards Belize sounded pretty bad. With one last look at Lois, Clark made his way southeast.
