Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Learning to love 3/?

I can't decide what to make of this. Is Clark being incredibly kind or is he just short-sighted and selfish to marry her? Probably both.

First thing I thought was 'What? Are you crazy?? Interesting choice of solution to your problems. Teenage marriage. Like that's not gonna go south fast.'

Or is it? I can't see it lasting, but at the same time I can't see him leaving her. So the question becomes will she learn to love him in time to save the marriage? My guess is not. They'll go their separate ways for several years and then find their way back to eachother. That at least is a given, right? No Tank endings allowed here.

Nicely done Carol.

I thought this was really, really good!

I was upset when seventeen-year-old Lois married Clark in another fic because she was pregnant with another man's child. I just couldn't stand the way this situation seemed to turn our favorite couple into Saint Clark and Slutty Lois, and it didn't help that the kid would be a constant reminder of Clark's chastity and Lois's lack of it. Of course I know that Clark would love Lois's child as if it was his own, and he would never blame Lois for getting pregnant by another man, and I'm certainly not saying that all those who loved this story was wrong about that. It was just totally wrong for me.

Oh, but this situation is totally different! Lois has three things to choose between: staying with Aunt Louise (like the name, by the way, since it may have had something to do with why Lois was called Lois), going into foster care, or marrying Clark. In so many ways, marrying Clark seems infinitely preferable. However, I was really glad when Lois said this:

Yes, it does! I'm so glad that Lois pointed out that she wasn't ready for this. Of course she isn't. She has no romantic feelings for him at all, so why would she want to have sex with him? Of course she wouldn't, and she trusts him enough to tell him so. I liked Clark's answer even more:

I totally believe him! This is my kind of Saint Clark. This is the Saint Clark who won't have sex with Lois until he knows without a doubt that she is ready for it.

I'm glad that Lois is relieved about Clark and worried about Social Services.

Good!

Aaaawww. That's beautiful. I love that it was his mom's ring.

So moving. Lois bought Clark a ring. Her parents' rings had been engraved. Her mother's ring had said 'I've loved you since the beginning...' and her father's had said 'I'll love you till the end', but his ring had been lost. How typical, and how appropriate. Because I don't believe he loved her till the end, even though he did come back to her.

But I can't help it, this is so sad. Lois said 'I do', because those were the magic words which would keep her and Lucy out of foster care. She didn't say them because she loved Clark, not that way anyway.

Aaaawww!!! That's just lovely.

Aunt Louise seems nice, but that retirement community is no place for Lucy!

Of course he is willing. This Clark is every bit as nice as we have ever seen him.

Sorry about the long quote, but I love it. The judge questions Clark about his motives, and when she is finished with him, she believes in Lois and Clark. That's lovely.

That's lovely, too! Aunt Louise may not like children, but she is adorable anyway. She pays for Lois and Clark's wedding night, and she gives it to Lois as a birthday present, too. And she never got married herself, because her loved one died at Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima. So moving.



I think there is supposed to be six American soldiers in this picture, although I only think I can see five. But I have read that three of these soldiers didn't make it home alive, because they were killed at Iwo Jima. One of those who were killed was the front man in this image.

Aaawww!

Louise gives Lois a wonderful nightie, which she was going to wear herself for the wedding night that never came to pass. She gave it to Ellen, who never wore it with Sam. How sad that Lois doesn't want to wear it either, although I most certainly don't blame seventeen-year-old Lois for that!!!

That's lovely! Lovely! And I'm glad that Lois understands it, too. I'm sure she can see that her Aunt Louise does love her.

Aaaawww! Adorable!

I love this, Carol!

Ann

Ann - I read through this two or three times because I wasn't understanding... Lois has Martha's ring, but Jonathan's was lost - they were the ones that were engraved - not Sam and Ellen's. I totally agree with you there - even if they had been - I think you're right about Sam and about Ellen too. The phrases don't describe either one of them.

I had a hard time figuring out why you would think Jonathan wouldn't have loved Martha till the end .

Carol

Ah! I see. Well, I thought you talked about Sam and Ellen's rings.

Another thing - just the other day I read about poor Marilyn Monroe. Her mother was sent to a mental hospital when Marilyn was quite young, and after that the girl had to go to one foster home after another. She got married at sixteen to get away from the foster homes - poor girl, her husbands weren't very good for her, either. Well, she certainly never married Clark Kent.

Ann

Sorry, Carol. I thought you were referring to Sam and Ellen, as well. Now that I reread I realized you said, "His parents had..." but in the context of the rest of the paragraph it was easy to misunderstand "his" and "hers." You might want to change it to "Mrs. Kent's" and "Mr. Kent's."

On to bigger and better feedback...
Lois' and Clark's wedding was so bittersweet. On the one hand, it was a means to an end. They chose a difficult road because they thought it was the better of three evils.

Aunt Loise is an interesting character. On the one hand, she's very blunt with the judge that she has never liked children. On the other hand, she's an old softie who thought that love couldn't come to her twice. She pays for a honeymoon and gives Lois a negligee that she knows won't be used for the purposes intended for a long time. Very interesting.


Elisabeth

Okay - that part had bugged me too but it was added at the last minute and unbeta'd so it's not Alisha's fault . I've changed it to the following:



Is that better?
Carol

Carol. Wow.

Some time later.
Clark: I thought you said no funny stuff.
Lois: Clark, this is deadly serious.

Don't worry, Lois. Clark will take care of if

And Aunt Louise was just great. And quite quick witted. Might explain certain talents in our intrepid reporter.

And the best part:
Michael

Yes, Carol, that's better for those of us who read at ninety miles per hour, glossing over pesky details like who the heck we're actually talking about. As I had said earlier, there was nothing wrong with the way it was written, but this reads better nonetheless.


Elisabeth

I, too, think your new version is better, Carol. I didn't miss the fact that Clark was giving Lois his mom's wedding band, of course, but I thought that Lois was just contemplating her own parents' rings when she started wondering how she'd get a ring for Clark. Of course, I can't see her wanting to give Clark her father's ring and so "invite him" to follow in Sam's footsteps!

Ann

So they'll be sharing a room, eh? Clark doesn't seem too worried about accidentally floating in his sleep....

This is a lot of fun to read. It may be a little odd that Lois agreed to marry Clark, but it's plausible, and it's going to make for an excellent plot. I'm looking forward to it!

Amy made a good point. When is Clark going to tell Lois about his abilities? Soon, I hope.

So half of me is a little scared of the teen marriage thing, but the other half is thinking it might work out. I think Lois and Clark have a lot to work through, and hopefully we'll see more of that in the next chapters.

I forgot to mention this earlier. Somehow I didn't mind as much this time that Clark didn't tell Lois EVERYTHING before he proposed this time. This were complicated enough without that.


Elisabeth

Wow, wonderful.


Depends on a lot of factors. I got married at 18 and have been married over thirty years now.
I wonder what Lois was feeling during this kiss?

I agree that Clark certainly needs to tell Lois about his powers. But I, too, didn't mind so much that he didn't tell her before the wedding this time. Considering that that she is marrying him to stay out of foster care (and out of Aunt Louise's retirement community) and considering that she is not forseeing having intercourse with him any time soon (right now it may seem to her that she never will), it is not so overwhelmingly important that she knows about his powers right away. But of course, she does need to know before long.

Ann

Wow!!! Can't wait for some of the difficulties the newly married couple might encounter

(sorry for not commenting on earlier part.. but definitely reading and am enjoying this story)

Lovely story! WOW, marriage! I didn't see it coming. But I'm loving this turn of events. It's going to be hard for Clark to keep his secret 'secret' living together and sharing a bed with Lois. How is she going to take it? I'm anxious to find it out.

More, please!

Andreia

Can't wait to see where this goes, Carol! Finally caught up on the last couple of parts!

JD

Not to hijack the thread, but I just saw Ann's comment that in Second Choice it portrayed Clark as Saint Clark vs Slutty Lois. I think that entire interpretation is off. Second Choice followed the canon in the show itself where Lois was experienced and Clark wasn't. And I don't see how carrying it a little farther changed things. In the show Clark didn't regard Lois as slutty, and no one else did either. And I'm quite sure that if Lois had had a child in the show, Clark would have loved that child as his own. So just how did what I wrote differ except in degree? Neither Lois nor Clark were saints as teens in Second Choice, as Clark admitted to himself -- he deliberately made spectacular touchdowns a couple of times to impress Lana. That isn't perfect behavior, either.

My apologies, Carol, for going off topic, but I felt thoroughly mischaracterized by Ann's post -- especially since she didn't apparently feel it necessary to read enough of the rest of the story to judge it fairly.

Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been posting feedback, but life has been incredibly hectic recently. I'll continue to read. You have an interesting story here.

Nan

Okay - I really should be going to bed now but I need to unwind for a few minutes .

Gr8 - that actually is where the whole premise for the fic came from. What if Lois and Clark got married young? What could cause that? SQD's wonderful Coming of Age showed what could happen with a teenage romance, but I wanted to see what would happen if they felt the need to get married while in/just out of high school. I emailed Nan at one point during Second Choice and told her that I was going to have to bow out because it was hitting too close. This was in October before Nano started. More on SC in a bit.

Ann - Aunt Louise totally shocked me. I honestly had her pictured as the horrid old, shriveled up nasty woman and then she goes and throws Joe at me. Literally. As I was typing, I didn't know what she was going to say until I saw it on the screen. The whole sleeping together [as well as *not* sleeping together] thing was something else I wanted to explore.

Ann and Elisabeth - thanks for helping me see what I could rework in that paragraph about the wedding rings .

Michael - you keep calling things I didn't see myself - like Lois wanting the top bunk and being the top banana. I didn't even see Lois in Aunt Louise, but you're right - there's definitely a similarity there! I'm glad you like the new posting schedule - I have another surprise to go along with that later this week .

Elisabeth - I read at 90mph too. I'm constantly having to go back and reread some things more carefully to make them make sense. Maybe I should just read more slowly in the first place?

Amy - I'm glad you brought up the powers! I'm not sure Clark's thought that part all the way through.

I'm glad to see that many of you agree that him tossing all of that into the mix at this point would have been too much. He does start obsessing about it soon - I promise .

Beth - /me takes a quick glance to see if there's any more Fidelity - they do have a lot to work through. Though they've written letters for four years, and each knows the other better than just about anyone else, but in other ways they hardly know each other at all.

Framework - wow! Congratulations!!! We were 20 and 21 though looking back I'm not sure why we didn't get married sooner. We've been together since 17. Our 11 year is coming up. What does Lois feel when kissing Clark... hmmm... Inquiring minds want to know! /me whistles innocently

AnKS - I'm glad you're enjoying it. I had the feeling the teen marriage was going to throw a lot of people for a loop. There seemed to be that 'oh I hope they don't lose touch for ten years' vibe. Of course, I knew that wasn't going to happen!

Andreia - you do get the gold star for the Norcross and Judd question!

JD - Glad you're reading!

Nan - no problem. I was planning on addressing that here anyway. I hope you know how much I enjoy just about any Nan-fic but in particular Second Choice in this case. I was so worried that we were going in the same direction when I read the proposal, but we weren't - not at all. I'm glad to hear you're reading even if you haven't been commenting .

Forgetting about Clark for the moment, I didn't think SC's Lois was Slutty Lois at all. If she'd slept with half the football team... well, I'd reevaluate. 'Our' Lois dated Joe - the football guy in high school. Though the only person they ever actually say she slept with was Claude, it wouldn't surprise me to find out she'd slept with Joe. She labels all of her relationships as 'federal disasters' and I know VD aired a couple months before Small World so Dean may not have known about her relationship with Joe when he wrote it, but for it to have been a disaster [though not on the scale of Lex of course]... I could see it, is all. Sleeping with one guy, one time and finding herself pregnant does not make her slutty, imo anyway.

SC's Clark asks her to marry him, I thought, for a lot of the same reasons LtL's Clark does. He loves her. She needs his help and he wants to do what he can. He'd want to marry her at 18 or 28, but in both stories, for different reasons, it's 18. She needs help and in both cases, marriage - something at least he wants anyway - is an answer and it makes sense. Clark's not a saint in either fic - as you pointed out with the touchdowns etc. For now at least, he's still Saint Clark here, but in the future he does make mistakes, as we all tend to do.

I've got the next few parts about ready to go but once I finish tweaking the one I'm on... well, the next part is still a list of half scenes. And Clark surprised me after Kerths on Saturday with something he said while I was tweaking part 4 so now I have to deal with that - and I couldn't make him take it back [and honestly, I didn't want to ]. Pesky characters!

Thanks guys!! Watch a message board near you on Thursday!
Carol

I feel like I ought to apologise for not spotting the ring confusion when I went through this part - Carol, I did warn you that I may not make a very good beta!

And also I apologise for not leaving feedback for the last part.

- Alisha (who'll try a bit harder next time!)