A faint buzzing sound woke Lois what seemed like moments later. She was disoriented for a moment before she realized she was lying awkwardly on the bed, curled up on the mattress, with Clark’s fingers moving slowly through her hair. She glanced up at him and was surprised to see that he appeared to be asleep. This was further confirmed when she slowly pulled away and Clark turned over to lie on his side.
Lois moved out to the living room to turn off the alarm on her laptop, stretching when the buzzing sound finally stopped. She decided to wake Henderson first and moved down the hall.
She did not mean to laugh out loud, but she could not help it. Bill Henderson was curled up like a child on the guest bed, the pillow pulled tightly to his chest. The image was sweet and so unlike Henderson that the laugh just bubbled out of her.
Henderson immediately sat up in bed, looking around before seeing Lois by the door. Deciding to ignore her outburst, he asked, “It’s 11:30?”
Lois nodded, sure if she tried to speak, she would laugh again. Then turning around, she went back to the master bedroom. She placed a hand on Clark’s arm and whispered his name. Clark’s eyes slowly opened and he looked up at her in question. “It’s time to get up. Henderson’s friend will be here in a half hour. How are you feeling?”
Clark did not say anything as he swung his legs out of bed, blinking a few times once his feet were on the ground. “I think I’m okay,” he said.
“Ready to be Superman?” Lois asked.
For a moment, Clark said nothing, then shaking his head dejectedly he said, “No, but I think I can act the part.”
“Good,” Lois smiled. “I’ll leave you to get changed then.”
Clark finally emerged from the bedroom ten minutes later looking grumpy.
“Everything okay, Kent?” Henderson asked.
“Clark?” Lois asked as well before Clark could answer.
“I’m fine,” Clark said, laughing mirthlessly. “It’s just that spandex is hard to put on without superpowers.”
Lois and Henderson laughed at the ridiculousness of this statement, but stopped abruptly at the look from Clark. Still looking a bit sulky, Clark moved over to the couch and nearly fell onto it.
“Is it really that different?” Lois asked, trying to be sympathetic.
Clark sighed, “I’m not even sure what I do when I normally change. I spin around and suddenly I’m wearing the suit. I mean, I pull it on, I know I do, since I practiced and practiced the move when I started, but it’s just over too quickly to think about. Not true today,” he finished.
Lois smiled, but was careful not to laugh out loud again. “Well, I hate to tell you,” she said, “but you’re going to have to cheer up. Agent Perreli will be here any minute and a petulant Superman might seem a bit strange to him.”
Clark grunted in reply, before leaning over to pour himself some soda. “Bill? Lois?” he asked, but both said no. The sugar seemed to do some good as Clark seemed a bit over his grumpiness by the time the doorbell rang.
Henderson rose to get it, greeting the man on the other side of the door with genuine warmth, Lois noted.
The two men came in immediately, Henderson introducing Lois and Superman to the agent. He was a little younger than Henderson, maybe a year or two older than Lois and Clark and tall and thin with brown hair and bright blue eyes. He had an easy smile that made Lois warm to him instantly.
“Lois Lane,” Agent Perreli said as he shook Lois’ hand. “I’ve read your work. You are a fantastic journalist.”
Lois smiled broadly. “Thank you,” she said.
The man now turned to Clark who had stood up. “It’s great to finally meet you in person,” Agent Perrelli said to Clark. Lois was impressed both that he did not fall all over himself hero-worshipping Superman and that he managed to sound just as impressed at meeting her as he did with meeting the superhero.
“Glad I can help,” Clark said, using his Superman voice now, surprising Lois who had not heard that voice since the day he had saved her and Sammy from the fire.
The four of them sat around the coffee table in the living room and within a few moments Lois, Clark, and Henderson had managed to catch Perreli up with all they knew.
“Will you be able to stop the bomb?” Perreli asked Clark.
Lois saw the momentary flicker of panic cross Clark’s face, but doubted anyone else had seen it. They had not discussed what to tell the FBI agent about kryptonite. Coming to a quick decision, Lois hoped Clark would not be too angry at her.
“Have you heard of kryptonite, Agent Perrelli?” she asked.
“Dan,” he corrected. “And yes. It’s thought to be a meteor from krypton that has the ability to hurt you,” he directed the statement at Clark.
“Yes,” Lois answered before Clark did, hoping he would play along until it was clear what she was trying to do. “No one knows if it works or not, but some of Henderson’s men have seen Weis with some. He’s sure to put it on the bomb, so if we can find a way to stop it without using Superman that would be better, of course. If Superman goes after it and kryptonite works as the theories say, he’d lose the ability to fly and die on his fall back to earth.”
“As a note, it would be best if we could find another reason to tell the rest of the Bureau about doing this without Superman,” Henderson said. “The fewer people who know about kryptonite the better, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely,” Dan replied. “And clearly we’ll find some other way to stop it. No one is interested in you putting your life in jeopardy,” he said to Clark.
Clark reached out his hand, placing it on top of Lois’. Squeezing her hand in a silent thank you, he smiled at Dan, “I appreciate that, Agent Perrelli. And of course, I’ll help in any way you need.”
Dan glanced at Clark’s hand on Lois’ quizzically. Seeing this, Clark moved his hand away quickly, a slight flush coming to his cheeks.
“Any idea where the bomb will be launched from?” Dan asked Clark.
“No, I’m sorry,” Clark said, “but Weis didn’t say.”
“But we know he has a way to create and detonate a nuclear bomb,” Lois said. “Don’t those leave some evidence you could trace?” she asked.
Dan nodded, “Sometimes you’ll find highly enriched uranium in the same area as nuclear weapons. Having uranium does not mean that you’ve found a nuclear bomb. But it is a good place to start. Thanks for the suggestion. No wonder you’re so good at your job.”
Lois blushed and Henderson replied, “Yes, well, no one would call Lane stupid, that’s for sure.” When his comment made all eyes turn to him, he finished, “although there have been many other things I’ve called her over the years.”
Flushing hotly, Lois replied, “And I’ve returned the favor.”
Henderson laughed, “I would have expected nothing less,” and this seemed to ease the tension.
“Okay,” Dan said, getting up. “I’m going to start working on this. The sooner the better since we don’t know exactly when he’s planning to send it. If I need more help, Superman, should I just call to you?”
Clark thought quickly and replied, “It’s probably best to do it the old fashioned way. It’s sometimes hard for me to distinguish voices. But you can reach me here.”
“Sounds good,” Dan replied as he moved toward the door.
Henderson got up as well to follow him out. Lois could hear the two men talking at the entranceway to the house.
“Thanks for calling me, Bill,” Dan said. “We will get to working on this right away.”
“Of course,” Henderson replied. “Let me know if I can help in any way.”
“Will do,” Dan replied before Henderson closed the door.
In a moment, Henderson had returned. Moving over to the closet, he retrieved his jacket.
“Can I find you two here tomorrow?” he asked them.
“Probably for a good part of the morning,” Lois replied. “I think we could both use a lot more sleep. In the afternoon, we’ll be at Star Labs.”
“Good. If you decide to make any more visits to Weis, please let me know first,” he requested.
“Sure,” Clark said, stifling a yawn.
**********************************************************************
Lois awoke to the smell of basil. Turning her head slowly, she looked at the clock. It was nearly two in the afternoon already. Still, given how little sleep she had been getting, that was not too much of a surprise. She and Clark had gone to sleep (in different rooms this time) shortly after Bill left, but that had been nearly three in the morning.
Finally deciding to investigate the smell of basil, Lois swung her legs out of bed. She made a quick stop in the bathroom to brush her teeth, and then pulled a sweatshirt on over the t-shirt and shorts she had worn to bed.
Padding barefoot into the kitchen, she found Clark bent over a pot. The scene brought back so many memories of watching him do this in his kitchen that for a moment, she said nothing so she could watch him some more. Finally, Clark looked up and saw her watching him.
He smiled at her and Lois found herself smiling right back. As with when he had watched her with Henderson, Clark looked truly happy, his smile warm and engaging.
“Feeling better?” he asked her.
“Me?” she replied. “I’m not the one not up to my usual standards.”
“I didn’t realize your usual standards including getting less than ten hours of sleep a week,” Clark shot back.
“Only when I’m in search of the Pulitzer,” Lois joked.
“I thought you weren’t in search of the Pulitzer now,” Clark replied, smiling.
“Okay,” Lois admitted, “Only when I’m in search of the Pulitzer or trying to save the butt of superheroes.”
“Do that often, eh?” Clark asked as he went back to stirring what ever was in the pot.
“What’s in the pot?” Lois asked, thinking it was time to change the topic and her curiosity getting the best of her.
“Marinara sauce,” Clark replied, putting some on a spoon and holding it out to her.
“Mmm…” Lois nearly swooned after she swallowed. It had been ages since she had had a good home cooked meal. Despite the lack of attention to them at the time, the meals Martha had helped with the last few days had been some of the best she had had in years until now. “Pasta?” she asked.
Clark shook his head as he moved to the oven. “No. I felt like something a bit more complicated today and thought you could use a more balanced meal to make up for all the meals you’ve been missing. I’m making eggplant parmigiana and garlic bread.”
Lois could feel her mouth watering. “Anything I can help with?” she asked.
“Nope,” Clark replied. “I’ve got this under control. Why don’t you get dressed? I told Bernard we’d be by Star Labs about 3:30.”
Lois nodded, heading for the shower. She felt herself relax under the stream of hot water. She smiled at the realization that she was relaxed because she was not stressed about her next move. While she wanted to do something to catch Weis and Skagle so they could get this whole case behind them and move on with their lives, she also recognized there was nothing they could do right now. Not without endangering Clark’s life, and that was too high a price to pay.
Lois entered the kitchen a few moments later feeling as happy as Clark looked. Having a day to relax a bit in the middle of this was not really a bad thing. She watched Clark place the garlic bread in the oven. “Another 15-20 minutes,” Clark told her when he looked up and saw her in the entranceway.
Lois moved toward the cabinets, singing softly under her breath. Clark moved over to help her remove plates and glasses from the cupboards, but stopped helping as Lois’ voice got louder. Suddenly, Lois realized Clark was staring at her and stopped singing. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Clark smiled at her. “Just enjoying the free concert.” Reaching out, Lois grabbed a dish towel and swung it at Clark’s hip. “What?” he asked, the picture of innocence.
Lois shook her head at him before going back to setting the table.
In another few minutes, Lois had the table set. She turned around to find Clark holding a glass of red wine out to her. “This is just going to send me right back to sleep,” she murmured as she took a sip.
“I can go to Star Labs myself, you know. If you’d like to rest,” Clark offered.
“Right!” Lois retorted. “I’m going to let you go alone. What if Bernard’s thought of a way to retrieve the kryptonite?”
Clark laughed, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to incite Mad Dog Lane. I was just offering. You are more than welcome to come.”
Lois found herself laughing back, rather than getting upset at the mention of Mad Dog. “It’s clearly been too long since we last worked together if you think this is Mad Dog Lane,” she said.
Clark turned away to remove the eggplant from the oven, but Lois heard his reply clearly, “No argument from me there.”
As Clark started cutting pieces of eggplant and Lois broke off two pieces of garlic bread, she asked, “Have you done any writing at all since the Planet? Under an assumed name? Or even just for yourself?”
Clark busied himself moving eggplant onto plates and did not answer until he had finished and they were both sitting down. “I did at first,” he said, “but after awhile I stopped. It was somehow too depressing to write things no one else would see. I thought of keeping a journal, but what would I include in it? I couldn’t write about my day in case someone found it. And what sort of journal could I keep for a dead Clark Kent?”
Lois felt her mood from earlier drop slightly. “Early on, when you were writing, what did you write?”
Clark did not answer and Lois looked up from her plate to see him blushing fiercely. She reached over and placed a hand on top of his. “Clark?” she prodded.
“Letters to you, mostly,” he said softly. “Some were just telling you how much I cared about you and how happy I was to have known you. Some were from Superman, letting you know how sorry I was not to have saved Clark. How much I wished I could help you with your depression. I guess in the end, also just about how much I cared about you. Others, most of them, really, told you about … well, you know, that I wasn’t dead. But I knew I could never send any of them. And I got worried about someone finding them. So I burned them all and stopped writing.”
Wiping her mouth on a napkin, Lois got up and moved over to place a kiss on Clark’s cheek. “I’m sorry you were so lonely,” she said. “And while I still feel very much like I had a right to know your secret, I want you to know that I do realize now what you did for me and I appreciate it. Even if it didn’t literally kill you, it was a really amazing thing you did stepping in front of that bullet and giving up Clark Kent. I’m glad it didn’t end up being permanent.”
Clark looked pained when she finished talking and got up to pace around the kitchen. Running his fingers through his hair in frustration he finally spoke, “Damn it, Lois! You’re not supposed to thank me. Do you know how un-heroic that was? I didn’t give up Clark Kent for you. It wasn’t like I thought about it and made a decision that Lois Lane was more important than Clark. I’d like to think that if I had had a chance, that’s the choice I would have made, but it’s not. I just acted on instinct. You were in danger and I knew I could take the bullet. Pushing past you involved no thought at all.”
Lois watched him quietly for a few moments seeing him slowly calm down. She moved back over to him, taking his hands in hers and whispered softly. “I know. I know you didn’t have time to make a decision. And I know that you would have done the same thing for anyone, probably even Luthor or Weis. Because that’s who you are. And I don’t mean Superman. I mean Clark Kent. But you put more than your life as Clark on the line in that move. What if someone had noticed that you weren’t bleeding or dead? Someone might have uncovered your secret. And I mean someone who shouldn’t know, not me.
“But you did it anyway. And you did it without thought because that’s all you could do. You didn’t have time to make a decision, so you just acted like Clark Kent. And Clark Kent would willingly take a bullet for me whatever the consequences. I just want you to know that I appreciate that. I don’t think I’ve taken the time to let you know that before.”
Lois pulled Clark to her, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, Lois,” Clark whispered into her hair. “I wish I had…”
“Enough!” Lois said, her voice strong, as she pulled away. “Look, you screwed up. There’s no question about it. And you screwed up in a big way. But while it’s not the type of thing I think I can ever really forgive you for, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be angry about it forever. I understand why you did it. I don’t agree with your reasoning and I think you’re an idiot,” she smiled slightly at this, “but I do understand what you were thinking. And I do believe that you are sincerely sorry and wouldn’t be such a lunkhead as to make the same mistake again. So, I’m ready to move past this. But both of us need to be ready to move forward, Clark, not just me. You have to stop beating yourself up over this. You’ve learned from your mistakes, now it’s time to let them go.”
Clark reached out a hand and ran it along her cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Lois moved forward to give him a fast hug again and then stepping back said, “So, can we go back to eating? The eggplant was delicious and now it’s getting cold.”
Clark smiled as he moved back to the table.
