A/N- Thank you for all the responses I’ve gotten on this fic! This is canon only up until Home Is Where the Hurt Is, anything after that is my own version of events. I have a confession to make though - as of writing this chapter, I have not finished watching the series so hopefully I am not screwing anything up. Fanfic is just so darn addictive, you know?
Home Is Where The Hero Is
Rated PG
Chapter 2
“Lois,” a tortured voice called out, jerking Sam Lane out of the uneasy sleep he had finally slipped into. It had been a long time since he‘d had to sleep in a chair. “Lois...”
It was a voice Sam didn’t think he’d be hearing again, each hour that had dragged endlessly on without any improvement from the patient he was here to save had left him with the sinking feeling that he’d made a serious error in judgment. That instead of being a savior, he had managed to single-handedly kill Superman - finishing up what the virus had already set in motion. Zapping any defense and immunity Superman would have had to fight the alien virus that was ravaging his body.
Sam heard his ex-wife rush into the room and they shared a brief, relieved look. Superman was awake. That was more than either had hoped for, the outlook had been so grim. Keeping his promise to Lois, Sam made the call to her apartment to relay the news, keeping it short.
“Lois,” Superman bit out once more, his eyes blinking rapidly as he did a quick survey of the room, his brain slowly catching up from its round trip journey to death‘s door. He could still hear her calling his name - ‘Clark,’ she had uttered, her voice low and desperate - and so full of love. It had been that love that had managed to penetrate through the thick fog that had been slowly trying to suffocate him, drowning him as surely as the Kryptonite in the room. It had brought him back from the abyss, had given him the strength to fight for his life when death would have been so much easier. It didn’t hurt when you were dead. He may have been unconscious but it didn’t mean he was blissfully unaware of the raging battle taking place in his body. Superman wasn’t that lucky.
Lois wasn’t there, regardless of the voice that he had heard calling his name.
“Where is Lois?” Clark asked desperately, fighting to sit up, his eyes darting to the lead chest where the glow of green rock still painted the room. Clark drew a sigh of relief when Sam quickly closed the lid, feeling his strength slowly seeping back.
“Where is Lois?” he repeated, not caring how desperate he sounded. In the grand scheme of things, protecting his true feelings for Lois while he wore the face of Superman was low on his priorities at the moment. Something was wrong. He could feel it.
If Sam Lane ever doubted that Clark Kent was good enough for his little girl, all thoughts to the contrary were swiftly erased. It wasn’t every day that a man came along and loved his daughter so completely, so selfishly.
“Now son, just try to relax. She’s on her way,” Sam informed him quietly, watching as his patient’s color gradually returned to a shade the good side of normal. He caught Ellen’s eye and they shared a relieved glance. He had done it. He had been the hero his daughter had demanded of him. He hadn’t seen his ex-wife look at him with such reverence and appreciation since their early days of marriage and damned if it didn’t feel just a little bit good.
With a quickness that belied any lingering illness or weakness, Sam watched as Superman leapt from the bed, his face contorted with pain as he quickly cupped his ears with the palms of his hands.
“There’s something wrong,” Clark ground out. “Can’t you hear that?”
“Son, you’re still weak,” Sam soothed, reaching out to rest his hand on his patient’s shoulder. He didn’t think Lois would like it if her fiancé wore himself out before he had a chance to return to his full health.
Sam opened his mouth to tell Clark exactly that, knowing that Lois’ concern for him could be used to bully Superman back into bed - where he needed to be. Before Sam could even get the first word out, however, a gust of air was all that was left behind as Superman disappeared from the apartment in a blink of an eye.
Sam glanced at Ellen and they shared a look of confusion.
“Where did he go?” Ellen asked, slightly dazed. She’d never seen Superman before in person and the reality of his powers was so much more impressive first hand, she had to admit. She thought he’d be taller though.
“I think we should head over to Lois’ apartment,” Sam revealed, heading for the door. The worry and panic he had seen in Superman’s eyes before he’d sped away made him uneasy, and he had a feeling that Lois was in trouble. For the first time in a long time, Ellen followed him without question or hesitation.
Or complaining. Maybe miracles did happen.
The drive to their daughter’s apartment seemed to take an eternity. Multiple attempts to reach Lois at her place or on her cell phone had been in vain.
Sam was worried.
“Do you think something happened to her?” Ellen finally asked him fretfully as they neared their destination, not quickly enough for either of their peace of minds.
“I don’t know. I’ve got a bad feeling though.”
“If something happened to her… do you think Superman made it in time?” Ellen wrung her hands nervously. “I mean… he was so weak.”
Sam shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Ellen was silent for a moment. “It’s nice that Lois is friends with Superman.”
The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on Sam as he quickly parked in the street and they rushed to their daughter‘s apartment.
****
As it turned out, if it hadn’t been for Superman, no amount of haste on Sam’s part would have saved the lives of Lois or Martha and Jonathan Kent. Superman had been right, Lois had been in trouble. She had almost died at the hands of a diabolical genius who knew his deadly way around kitchen appliances.
But Superman had saved them. Had saved his daughter.
Of course, Superman hadn’t stuck around after the heroic rescue and Sam played along. Finding Clark Kent, looking exceptionally haggard, sitting at his daughter’s kitchen table when they arrived hadn’t surprised him. Sam listened as Lois explained that Clark had been up all night on assignment and had just gotten home, using fatigue as a way to explain the pale skin and dark shadows apparent beneath eyes that were only partially masked with Clark’s glasses. Sam merely nodded and commented that it was a good thing that Superman had been there to save the day, ignoring the single tear that had trailed down Lois’ cheek as she had buried her face into Clark’s neck. Or the way Martha and Jonathan had hovered over their son, their relief that he had lived to sit there with them not something they could easily hide.
And damned if his robot hadn’t come in handy, that voice recognition and recall feature he’d added being key in identifying who had tried to murder his daughter. So his ridiculous folly hadn’t been completely without merit.
But the real treat was the way his daughter had regarded him, like Superman hadn’t been the only hero that day. It would have been easy to whisper to her that he knew the truth, but not yet. He wasn’t ready for her to regard him with suspicion again, wondering where his true intentions lay. Not that he had any ill intent, but Lois had every reason to be wary.
Besides, Sam needed to have a few words with her daughter’s fiancé first.
TBC
A/N- I think the POV will change in the next chapter, haven’t decided yet. Feedback is so very appreciated!
