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Previously:«A secret refuge?» Henderson repeated, even more unbelieving. «And why didn't Clark go out of it when he learnt that Luthor had died and that he was in no danger? When his face made the headlines of the Daily Planet every day as a missing person?» He asked on a sarcastic tone.
Lois put himself at once on the defensive. She couldn't let him call her bluff. No matter if she had to continue inventing more and more pitiful and incredible lies to cover her story.
«It's in the Arctic! It's not as if he could be hitch-hiking to come back! There isn't a lot of people around, or the secret refuge would not be secret any more! And I'm not even sure that they have newspapers over there,» she answered on a caustic tone.
Henderson chuckled, so it was evident that she was lying. But he was obvious as well that she wouldn't speak. She would keep for her the Superman's confidences.
«All right. So, I won't hold you any longer,» he eventually said, letting her go in the car and leave, before going back towards the hospital rooms.
********************
And now:Part 9: Clark's returnHenderson entered without knocking in the secure room where Superman had been returned for the night. As usual, two of his men were in front of the door, and two others inside the room. The doctor who had to examine him before the night, to take note of his progress of the day had not arrived yet.
He went directly to the bed where was the superhero.
«So, a secret refuge in Antarctica, eh?» Henderson asked friendly, with a small smile aside.
«Sorry?» Superman answered him, perplexed.
Henderson suppressed a small laughter. It was so obvious that he absolutely didn't know what was it all about. Even if Lois Lane had managed to lie credibly - which she hadn't - Superman would have screwed everything up.
«It's okay, Superman. I've just grilled Lois, and she told me everything,» the policeman announced, looking at the superhero. He noticed immediately how much he became worried and nervous, and he smiled.
«Yes, I know that you put Clark in security in the secret refuge you have in Antarctica, before visiting Luthor.»
«Oh!» Superman exclaimed, apparently relieved, before stopping and frowning. «She shouldn't have told you, but it's too late now. Just… Promise me that you won't disclose the fact that I have a secret refuge in Antarctica.»
«Oh. I promise, Superman,» Henderson retorted, holding back a snigger. Then he regained his seriousness and bent towards the superhero to speak in a too much low voice so that two other policemen of the room couldn't hear what he said.
«I'm going to do you a favor, Superman, to thank you for all the help whom you brought to the police in the past. If you really bring back Clark safe and sound, and if he doesn't have another version of the story to tell, then I'm going to accept that as the official version. Otherwise, I swear to you that I won't leave you alone,» he announced him, threatening. «And something else. You really are a criminal amateur. Before saying whatever it was to the police, you should always agree on the details of the story with your accomplice.»
To the incomprehension on Superman's face of Superman, Henderson explained: «Lois said that your refuge was in Arctic.»
He saw Superman blush slightly. The defender of the truth taken in obvious offence of lie. And he wasn't good at it.
That's when a doctor entered the room. Henderson moved back to let the doctor examine Superman. But when he tried to make the usual blood test, the needle twisted itself instead of penetrating into his skin.
The doctor looked at the twisted needle, stunned, and Superman smiled. His invincibility was back. His other powers would probably return very fast now. He certainly should be able to leave the hospital the next day.
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As soon as she was back home, Lois phoned to the Kents. It was late but she wanted all the same to call them before going to go to bed. It had been one and a half month since they were worried for their son. They deserved to be reassured as fast as possible. And Lois was sure they won't mind the lateness of the call when they'd hear the good news, even if she was waking them up.
And effectively, she had woken them up, but they hadn't minded. On the contrary. They were delighted to finally know that their son was recovering well. Lois could hear them cry for happiness.
She had told them, naturally, that she knew their secret, and that she was sure that Clark was fine since she had seen him personally. She had felt a little ill-at-ease to tell them herself that she knew their family secret. After all, she was almost a stranger for them.
She had met them personally only twice. The first time, when she had accompanied Clark to Smallville for an article. And the second, when his parents had come to Metropolis when Clark had lost the memory. Then, it had been Superman who was reported missing.
She really liked Clark's parents. They were fabulous persons. Not surprising that he had became such a wonderful man. He had been really lucky to be found by them, and not by persons less well-intentioned. The history would have been very different.
As soon as she had given them the good news, they had decided to come to Metropolis. If Clark was about to go out of the hospital, then they wanted to be there to see him again as soon as possible.
They had immediately reserved two places for a flight which left Wichita in the dawns to land to Metropolis in the middle of morning. Lois went to look for them at the airport.
They wanted to settle down in Clark's apartment until he could leave the hospital, so Lois drove them there. She felt very touched by the way his parents had taken her in their arms when she had come to take them at the airport. They had welcomed her at once in the family, and made her feel comfortable by assuring her that they were delighted that Clark had told her his secret.
She had wanted to go at the hospital to see him this morning, before fetching the Kents, but she had fallen asleep so late, having rehearsed in her head what had just happened, that she hadn't be able to get up early enough. She would have wanted to see how he was, and tell him that his parents arrived. Now that she knew where Clark was, she had difficulty in being held aside. But she had got up too late to go to see him before going to the airport, and now that his parents were there, she would feel too guilty of going, by knowing that they still couldn't see their son. So she stayed with them, in Clark's apartment.
When they entered, she noticed that the apartment didn't seem to her dead and cold as the last time she had seen it, but just empty. It was incredible how much the world around could seem changed while remaining the same, simply because she perceived it differently through her feelings.
It hadn't taken long to Martha to start telling Lois all the stories about Clark's childhood which went through her mind. Lois had been right. Like all the mothers, Martha had dreamed her entire life of the day she could speak about his son to somebody. And Lois was more than delighted to be the one to hear all this.
They had again looked at Clark's photo albums, but this time, with the comments and explanations of Martha, and Lois had the impression to have known him her entire life.
His life had become to her a real open book. His happy childhood. His sad air at the adolescence when he had begun to feel different because of his developing powers. His hair that he had let grow long because his invincibility had already shown itself and that he had no more ways to cut his hair. His journeys to try to find his place in the world, until he fund her instead.
This comment from Martha made Lois blush, but she insisted.
«It's because you live in Metropolis, Lois, that Clark stopped to go all over the World. He looked for somewhere where he would feel home, and you were the one to offer him that.»
********************
Later during the day, Lois phoned to the hospital to have news of the progress noticed in Superman's health. She was delighted to learn that he had got back all his powers, and that the doctors were at present filling the papers to let him go.
From then on, she became more and more impatient. And his parents also.
They had turned on the television and had seen Superman flying away from the hospital in a live report on LNN. They had all three rushed onto the balcony, expecting to see him appearing any second, but nothing occurred.
Quickly, they had become very worried again. Where was he?
It was two hours later when they heard the front door opening. When they saw Clark entering, they all dashed towards him at the same time to take him in their arms.
«But where were you? We were so worried!»
«I got rid of the formalities,» he explained. «I visited Henderson, to explain to him that Superman had put me out of danger in his 'secret refuge in the Arctic’,» he added with a wink to Lois.
«I know that it was a stupid excuse. It was Jimmy's theory,» she defended herself.
«And indeed, it's also the official story, now,» he concluded with a grin.
«Jimmy is going to be very satisfied to have guessed the truth,» she made fun.
They spent the rest of the day celebrating their reunion. They were all so happy that he recovered from his exposure to the kryptonite, and that they were finally able to have him back. And he, he was happy to see them all again. He had missed very much his parents and Lois during the few days since he had woken up.
The evening fell too fast to the taste of each. They all wanted to stay together as long as possible. But the Kents had got up very early to take their plane, and they finally said good night and went to bed in Clark's bedroom. Clark would take the sofa.
As soon as Lois and him were all alone, they became a little bit nervous in each other presence. The day before at the hospital, they had both admitted their love for each other. At the time, Lois didn't know she was speaking to Clark, and he, he was so upset by what he had made her go through, in spite of him, that the words had seemed natural.
But now that they were alone together, with a mind more clear, they were very ill-at-ease. They didn't know what to say or what to do. They weren't just friends any more, and nevertheless they weren't more than that either, not yet. They had entered an unknown territory and they didn't really know how they had to act.
After a long moment when no one said anything, nor made any gesture, Clark broke the silence, the voice a little uncertain.
«It's awkward, eh?»
Lois raised the eyes towards him, and realized that he was as nervous and uncomfortable as she was. In a way, she found that reassuring.
"Yes," she answered him, with a small embarrassed smile by lowering the eyes again.
The silence fell again between them, even heavier than before with unspoken things. She felt the need to say something to reduce this embarrassed distance between them, but she didn't manage to find the courage to tell him how she felt. He already knew it, she had already told him, the previous day, that she loved him, but at the time, she ignored that it was him whom she had in front of her, and in a way, to tell it to Clark, in the face, turned out more difficult than what she had ever imagined. She didn't succeed in breaking the silence, in telling him the words «I love you» for the first time.
And there wasn't a lot of other things that she could tell him. Any other sentence would seem meaningless and would look like an attempt to avoid the subject. And she didn't want him to believe that she was trying to avoid the subject. Twice now, in the park and at the hospital, he had found the courage to tell her in the face that he was in love with her. He deserved that she made as much. But it was harder than she thought.
After some further moments of silence, Clark approached her, looking hesitant, and offered:
«Would you like to go for a walk?»
«Yes, sure,» she answered grinning. Maybe having had a little of fresh air, she would feel braver.
She put back her shoes and got up from the sofa where she was sat and began to advance towards the door.
"Err..." Clark objected nervously, «I thought rather of going out from the other door.»
He accompanied his sentence of a small sign of head towards the door which led to the balcony. Lois understood, amazed, that he had just offered to take her flying. She smiled wider to him, as delighted as a child in front of its Christmas presents, and followed him on the balcony.
Without changing in Superman, he flew away with Lois in his arms. She had always liked flying with the superhero, but this time, she found the flight even more magic, because she was with Clark. It was also the first time which he took her flying just for fun. Usually, he had just saved her from something…
The sight of Metropolis from the night sky was magnificent, and Lois couldn't help herself from being amazed by all that she saw. The flight was simply fabulous.
After a while, he rose even higher, through the clouds to show her the stars above. Lois had never seen anything more beautiful. She had never felt so happy as she was at this moment, in Clark's arms, hung between stars and clouds.
When she looked at him agin, and fixed him in the eyes, he broke the silence again.
«I love you, Lois,» he told her with an intensity which made Lois shiver with emotions.
«I love you too, Clark.»
She had made a mistake. The words had gone out of her mouth very easily. They were asking to be pronounced and she didn't remember any more why she had had so much difficulty to say them; why she had felt so shy. There really wasn't any reason. She felt so well with him. In his arms, she could relax completely.
«I love you so much,» she repeated, before he bends towards her and kissed her.
The END
