Well, I looked at it all, and I already have more done than I thought, so I'm going to a 2x a week posting schedule - Mondays and Thursdays. I've got about 2.5-3 weeks of buffer that way so surely I can get the next parts done. It's always possible that it'll change again later.
So - here we go - on to the rest of the story
.
Carol
Chapter 3
*****
December 1984
*****
"Collect call from Lois Lane. Will you accept the charges?"
Clark just about dropped the phone. Lois was calling him? It'd been over 4 years since they met, but they hadn't spoken to each other in that whole time. Neither of them had been back to the Journalism Camp since that year, but thanks to the almost weekly letters, they were still best friends.
She knew that he'd moved back into his parent's farmhouse as soon as he could after graduation and he'd given her the phone number in case she ever wanted to call, but he didn't think she ever would. She'd indicated in her letters that she had the number and may call sometime, but when he read between the lines he got the impression that she wouldn't. That maybe – like him – she was afraid that more than letters would ruin their connection. That, somehow, one or the other wouldn't measure up to their memories – and imaginations. They hadn't even exchanged pictures because Lois' seventh grade picture apparently hadn't turned out well and with the precedent set...
"Sir? Will you accept the charges?"
The voice snapped him out of his shock. "Yes, yes, of course." He heard clicks on the line. "Lois?"
The tears were evident in her voice. "Clark, is that you?"
He was instantly concerned. "What's wrong, Lois?"
"It's my parents." She broke down into sobs.
"Lois, calm down. Tell me what happened." He stood and started to pace around the living room.
"An accident. Car accident."
He inhaled sharply. "Take a deep breath, Lois, and start at the beginning."
He could hear her try to get a hold of herself. "Okay. Clark, they're gone. They weren't the world's best parents but they're gone." Her breathing grew more ragged, but only for a moment and she pulled herself back together. "They were going out of town for the weekend. They said they'd had enough of teenagers and wanted a break."
"But Lois, your..." Clark stopped. He was sure she didn't need to be reminded that her parents had been going out of town over her birthday.
"I know, Clark. They were going to miss my birthday but I don't really care about that."
He could almost see her shrugging it off.
"They were headed to a ski lodge upstate and the skidded on some black ice. They went over the rail into a ravine."
Clark felt sucker punched. It was like his worst nightmare all over again. "Lois, what's going to happen to you and Lucy?"
She took a deep breath. "Clark, they are going to send us to live with my great aunt Louise."
He groaned. "Oh, Lois." He knew how much she detested her weeks with that woman. She hated kids.
Then and there he made a decision.
*****
Flying himself was too risky so he bit the bullet, so to speak, and bought a plane ticket. He had always hated flying inside an airplane, even as a kid and now he knew why. Flying was meant to be done under his own power. He ate the offered peanuts and drank a slightly stale soda during the almost four hour trip to Metropolis. He wasn't sure what he would do when he got there – how he would get to Lois' house, but he had to.
A plan had jumped into his head almost fully formed. He'd worked hard over the summer to put money in savings so he wouldn't have to work full time during the semester. The scholarships covered his tuition, but only a small meal plan. His first semester in college was over. He was glad he was on break so there was nothing to stop him from going to Metropolis.
He exited the plane and headed to baggage claim, stopping at one of the shops to buy an overpriced map of the area. She lived in the suburb of Pittsdale about 20 miles from the airport. He was grateful for the clouds gathering in the sky. He would take the Metrolink as far as he could and walk the rest of the way. If it was dark enough, he could fly.
An hour later he arrived in front of the house he had been sending letters to for years. He hesitated before raising his hand to knock.
*****
Lois swiped at her eyes, then rubbed her hands on her pants. She took a deep breath and opened the door. There was a tall, handsome young man standing there. He looked vaguely familiar, but as soon as he spoke, she knew.
"Lois?"
She launched herself at him, burying her head in his shoulder. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and pull her close. Her voice was voice was muffled by his body, but she spoke anyway. "You came."
"Of course I came, Lois. You need a friend."
They stood there for what seemed like hours before she was finally ready to let him go.
"Thanks for coming, Clark."
Ten minutes later they sat at the kitchen table. "I don't want to live with my great aunt, Clark, but the only other option is foster care." Lois sighed. "I don't want to do that either. Not after what you've told me."
Clark held her hand gently. "Lois, I wouldn't wish what I've been through on my worst enemy, but it might not be all that bad. Metropolis isn't Smallville. Smallville had very few places for me to go. No one really wanted an orphan – not even the Langs. I think they put up with me mostly for Lana's sake – she always could get her dad to do just about anything for her and she wanted me close." He shrugged. "Metropolis is different. Surely there's a good foster home who would take you in."
"Not just me, Clark. I can't let Lucy go with strangers. We have to go together. What are the odds of us finding a good foster home that wants both of us?"
Clark took a deep breath. "If you really feel that way, then I have a plan."
Lois looked sideways at him. "What?"
"Marry me."
Lois practically choked on her soda. "What?"
"Marry me, Lois. I checked – you can get married in New Troy when you're seventeen without parental approval and there's no waiting period. Your birthday is tomorrow. We can get married and convince the judge to give us custody of Lucy."
"What about Midwest?"
"I had a scholarship offer from University of New Troy at Metropolis. I deferred it for up to a year, just in case I didn't like Midwest. It'll cover all of my tuition and if we're married we won't need to live on campus so that won't be an issue –though we will have to figure out how to pay for a place to live, unless you want to stay here. Or if you can stay here – I don't know what the finances are like."
"We can't." Lois sighed. "I overheard my aunt talking to a lawyer yesterday. Between the sale of the house and the life insurance money, there's only going to be about $50,000. It seems like a lot but..."
"I know – it really won't get you all that far." Clark thought for a moment. "So we'll sell the house, stick the money in savings, use a little bit of it to get a car if we need to, and I'll work as much as I can and, if we need to, we could use a little bit of it to live on." He looked apologetic. "Not that I am trying to spend your inheritance or anything... I was just thinking out loud."
"Wow. I know you weren't trying to spend our money, Clark, but are you sure this is really a good idea?"
"Do you have a better one?"
Lois sighed. "No." She put her head in her hands for a minute. "Clark... you're my best friend. You know that, right?"
He nodded.
"Clark..." She took a deep breath and started again. "Clark, marriage implies... certain things..."
Clark chuckled. "Lois, I understand what you're saying. Don't worry about it." He stroked her cheek gently. "I would never pressure you or ask you to do something you aren't comfortable with."
Lois breathed a sigh of relief. "I know that, Clark, but what about Social Services?"
"What about them?"
"They'll want to do home visits right?"
He shrugged. "Probably."
"Then for Lucy's sake, everyone has to believe it is a real marriage. That we got married because we're in love and not to just keep us out of the system."
"Not a problem. We will get a place in the city somewhere. A two bedroom if we can afford it and I can sleep on the floor in our room."
Lois sighed. "No. That wouldn't be fair. We'll share." She grinned at him for the first time that evening. "Just no funny stuff, mister."
He laughed just a little bit and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "No funny stuff." He got down on one knee and pulled a box out of his jacket pocket. "Lois, will you marry me?"
Lois gasped. "Clark, where did you get that ring? It's beautiful."
"It was my mom's. She would want you to have it."
Lois nodded and Clark removed it from the box and slipped it on her offered finger. "Clark, I'll wear it tonight, but I think I probably better take it off until after the funeral Tuesday morning. We can sneak off sometime after that and go to the court house. Is it okay to wait until after the funeral to get married?" She had enough to deal with over the next couple of days – her birthday, New Year's Eve and Day and then her parent's funeral on the second. She – and Aunt Louise – hadn't wanted to wait that long, but with the weekend and the holiday... it seemed best.
Clark nodded and stood, never letting go of her hand. He tugged on it gently until she stood and then he wrapped his arms around her. "We'll make it work, Lois. Somehow, we'll make it work."
*****
January third they stood outside a wedding chapel in downtown Metropolis.
"Are you sure you are ready for this?" Clark looked down at Lois, who stood nervously by his side.
"Yes." She took a deep breath. "I know this is the right thing to do." She smiled at him. "I do love you, Clark."
"I know that." He pulled her into his side and kissed the side of her head. "Do you have the ring?"
She nodded and patted her purse. "Yep." She had Martha Kent's wedding band tucked safely away and she'd raided her secret stash to buy Clark a ring the day before. Who knew you could get a wedding ring for under forty bucks? She hadn't told him that though – she hadn't even told him she'd bought it. It wasn't a very nice one, but someday – if this all worked out – she'd get him a better ring. And have it engraved. Engraving for this one was too expensive. Martha's was engraved. Clark's parents had had them engraved when they got married. Hers said 'I've loved you since the beginning...' and his dad's had said, '...I'll love you till the end', but Jonathan's had been lost over the years. She grabbed his hand and held on tightly. "Let's go."
She grabbed his hand and held on tightly. "Let's go."
Ten minutes later, the minister said the magic words. The words that would keep her and Lucy out of foster care.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Those words were followed by ones he was sure Lois had allowed herself to forget.
"You may kiss your bride."
Clark placed on hand on the side of her face and leaned in until his lips gently touched hers. A shock ran through him, leaving him tingling from the roots of his invulnerable hair to the tips of his invulnerable toes. This was what he had longed for since he first set eyes on a young lady most would have described as a gawky preteen, but who he always thought was beautiful; since he'd kissed her the first time on that rock years earlier. It was only a brief kiss, simply the merest touching of the lips, but it was enough to solidify in his mind that he had done the right thing. The slightest hint of a return kiss was enough for him to know that someday she would feel the way he did.
That his *wife* would someday love him the way he loved her.
*****
Later that afternoon, they sat in the judge's chambers.
The judge sighed. "Well, the marriage is legal. New Troy law does say that a seventeen year old can get married without parental consent." She shuffled some papers around. "That takes care of Lois' placement, obviously. Now, on to Lucy."
Lois stood. "Your honor?"
"Yes?"
"We'd like Lucy to live with us."
The judge raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're newlyweds and you want a foster child?"
"She's not a foster child. She's my sister. Great Aunt Louise doesn't really want her – she hates kids and everyone knows it. I mean, she loves us in that we're family and she has to kind of way but given her preference, she would wait until we were about 40 to have a real relationship with us. And besides that, she lives 1300 miles away."
The judge looked at the woman on the other side of the room. "Is that true Ms. Lane?"
The older woman nodded. "They're my family and I would take care of them as best I could, but, in general, I don't like children. Lois and Lucy are the only two I could ever tolerate – even their father as a child..." She let the sentence trail off. "Besides, I live in a retirement community that I love. While they would allow Lucy to live with me, she wouldn't enjoy it. There are no other children, except the occasional visiting grandchild, and she would be quite lonely."
The judge nodded and then looked at Clark. "Mr. Kent, you are willing to take in your sister-in-law as a foster child?"
He stood and took Lois' hand. "Yes, your Honor. I know it would mean a lot to Lois and it would to me as well."
She sighed. "Okay. Here is what we are going to do. Mr. and Mrs. Kent, you have a month to find a place to live that is suitable and to set up housekeeping. In the meantime, Lucy will live with Louise Lane at the current Lane residence while it is for sale. We will reconvene in a month with Lucy's social worker. The social worker will have already conducted a home visit at Mr. and Mrs. Kent's new home. I would prefer a two bedroom, but I know how expensive those are in this area or even in Metropolis proper unless you're in an area of town where I would not allow Lucy to go. So I will allow a good sized one bedroom as I do believe it is in the best interests of Lucy Lane to stay in Metropolis. I also believe it is in her best interests, as well as your own Mrs. Kent, that you be allowed to stay at Lincoln High." She looked intently at Lois. "That is another condition of this arrangement. You will either stay in school or get your GED, Mrs. Kent."
Lois nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
The judge took her glasses off and set them on her desk. "I would like a moment to speak with Mr. Kent. The rest of you are dismissed. I will have a copy of the orders and requirements and conditions of Clark and Lois Kent's custody arrangements for Lucy Lane messengered to you within the next two days." She looked at the room expectantly until they, one by one, had left, leaving just Clark in the room with her.
She cleared her throat. "Mr. Kent, why did you marry Lois?"
He looked taken aback. "I love her, your Honor."
"I have looked into it a bit, Mr. Kent. You met several years ago and have not seen each other since then."
"We've written regularly, your Honor. I knew the first time I saw her that I'd marry her someday."
"Still, I am more than a bit suspicious of the timing."
Clark took a deep breath. "Your Honor, I love Lois, truly I do. The timing... well, you're right. It's highly unlikely that we would have gotten married if Lois' parents hadn't died – at least not until Lois was 18 or maybe after we graduated college, but as I said, I've known for years that she was the woman I would marry. I know what I'm getting myself into. I love Lois and she loves Lucy and doesn't want her to go anywhere else. I'm an orphan myself. I know what it's like to bounce from family to family, never staying in one place too long. I don't want that for Lucy."
"I can appreciate that." She sighed. "I mean it, Mr. Kent. I will be keeping a close eye on this situation and if I ever feel that Lucy would be better off elsewhere, I will move her."
"Understood."
"This is a huge responsibility for someone so young."
"I know it is, but I've essentially been on my own for a long time and I know I can do what I need to do to take care of Lois and Lucy."
"See that you do, young man." She watched as Clark left the room. Somehow she knew that Lois and Clark would make it.
*****
"Aunt Louise, you don't need to do that," Lois protested.
"Nonsense. You may have been right that I don't particularly want to raise children, but I do love you and not just in that we are family so I have to way. And I want to do this."
"Ms. Lane, it is really not necessary," Clark told her.
"Clark, please call me Aunt Louise. You're family now. And I insist. It's your wedding day. Now, Lucy and I weren't there for the wedding and I may have a thing or two to say about that later, but I'm not going to ruin your wedding day with that kind of griping. What I am going to do is get you two a room for the week. You do not need to start your married life living with your crotchety old aunt and your little sister. Lucy will be moving in with you two soon enough. So, I'll get you a room at a nice hotel, which I'm sure the two of you can't afford right now anyway, and you can spend your time together and looking for a place to live rather than being with the two of us." Her face softened. "I remember what it is like to be young and in love." She held up a hand as Lois opened her mouth to question her. "No, I never married, but that's because the man I loved gave his life for his country on Iwo Jima. My heart never recovered. Consider it a birthday and wedding present."
Lois hugged her aunt. "Thank you."
"I am also going to put some money on the account – order room service, get a massage, do something nice for yourselves. I'm going to tell them that I get whatever is left back so don't think you can just not do anything and keep the cash. It's for you two to spoil yourselves for the next few days. Now, Clark, get the keys to Ellen's car and load your bag into it. I will help Lois pack up a few things."
Clark did as he was told while Lois and her aunt headed upstairs.
Lois pulled the old brown suitcase out of her closet and started to pack a few things when her aunt entered her room holding a white box.
Louise sat down on Lois' bed. "This is something I reluctantly gave your mother because I wanted someone to have it. I knew she wouldn't appreciate it, but I couldn't die without passing it on to someone. She later told me that she had never even taken it out of the box. I found it in their closet the other night."
She opened the box reverently. "I bought this when I wasn't much older than you. Joe had gone off to fight in World War II and we were going to be married as soon as he came home. It never occurred to us that he would never be back." She pulled the nightgown out, holding it by the spaghetti straps. "This was for our wedding night. I could never bring myself to actually get rid of it until I found out your father was going to marry Ellen. Even then, it didn't feel right, but, as I said, I didn't want it to completely go to waste."
Lois fingered the white satin. "It's beautiful, Aunt Louise." She didn't have the heart to tell her that it wouldn't get used on this night either.
"It feels right this time. I can't explain it but it does." Her eyes glinted with unshed tears as she looked at Lois. "Don't think you're fooling me for a minute, young lady. I know you don't love Clark like a woman getting married should, but I see the way he looks at you and I know that, deep down, someday, you will know that you love him too." She smiled at the younger woman. "I know you won't use this tonight, but I am right that you two need some time just the two of you to figure this whole thing out. When you're ready, you'll have it."
Lois' eyes filled up with tears. "Thank you, Aunt Louise."
*****
Clark opened the car door so Lois could get in. He shut it behind her and turned to Aunt Louise.
"Thank you, Aunt Louise."
She held out her arms. "Come give your new aunt a hug."
Clark willingly obliged, wondering how Lois' impressions of her aunt could have been so wrong.
Louise pulled back and looked up at her handsome new nephew. "I know you love her, Clark. And I know that right now, she thinks she doesn't love you. It's going to take some time – probably a long time – but someday she will come around." She smiled slyly. "Tonight, I gave her something I bought for my wedding night that never happened. Someday, she'll wear it and then you'll know."
Clark pulled her in to him again and squeezed her quickly. "Thank you." He released her and headed to the driver's side of the car. He turned to thank her again, but all he saw was the front door closing.
*****
TBC
