Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Separate Lives or Till Life Do Us Part 6/15 (?)

I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. This part will be a little longer than the previous ones in order to keep my promise. He'll tell her about his amnesia in part 7. I promise to post that one soon.

For the time being, I hope you'll stay with me and keep enjoying the ride.

Thanks to Tahu, Nancy and GuineaPants for their beta.

TOC

From Part 5:

Lois noticed that she was turning into Mad Dog Lane again and felt sorry for it. She didn’t want to be difficult after Clark had just returned and wasn’t really his usual self. He was behaving strangely and a part of it was surely due to shock. Lois wasn’t sure though if shock explained everything. Clark was more distant than he had been before. She wouldn’t have expected that after several dates and a few wonderful kisses. Particularly since she had told him now she was in love with him, Lois wanted things to be different between them. Clark was friendly and caring, but there weren’t those loving glances anymore. Or he hid them very well. Lois was afraid the past four days could have destroyed something, but she didn’t dare trust her uneasiness. Maybe she was overreacting and there was a perfectly logical explanation for everything, something Clark hadn’t told her yet.

* * *

Separate Lives or Till Life Do Us Part

Part 6:

Metropolis, some street on the way to the Daily Planet, a bit later that morning

Daylight raised no more memories than darkness had. It wasn’t really a surprise to Clark anymore. He was nonetheless disappointed, tired of all the mysteries in his life that made no sense. At the same time he was afraid of what he would find if he had more time to have a closer look at his life. It was strange enough as it was, he wasn’t sure he could cope with much more. In fact, Clark was close to telling Lois what was wrong with him, though he still didn’t look forward to it. He was almost sure she would understand how afraid he was. But almost wasn’t sufficient for him to gather the courage to actually tell her.

While he was looking for anything familiar outside, Clark watched the people. There were several groups of people standing there, a few of them at every other block. A small picture of Superman, barely recognizable but for the flashy colors, was right next to most of them. A black ribbon was fixed on its edge and the ground was covered with a few flowers and candles. They were mourning their hero’s death.

Other people were running through the streets, ducking their heads. It seemed as if they expected that the world was going to fall apart now that Superman wasn’t there anymore. Everything seemed to be less bright today, though Clark couldn’t really have explained why. He didn’t even have another day to compare it with this one.

“This is a frightening atmosphere,” Lois stated uneasily and briefly glanced at Clark. “I’ve never seen the people of this city so scared. They look around as if someone is going to strike them dead any moment.”

“All because of Superman,” Clark said and somehow managed not to make it sound as incredulous as he felt about it.

Clark bit his lips. The more he said, the more likely he was going to blow his cover. Or should he forget about his cover and tell her already? She surely deserved the truth - after all she had helped him, saved him. Even though he hadn’t been able to prevent Superman’s death, it would have been even worse without her. He would tell her everything, as soon as possible. She deserved it, because she had made this day start out wonderful. He couldn’t imagine anything that would be nicer than to stir to the kiss of this woman. It should be the prince’s task, but it was definitely delightful to be at the receiving end. She was the first person who had ever smiled at him. This might not objectively be true. But for him it was.

All in all these were reasons not to keep this from her. He couldn’t look at Lois, knowing that he wasn’t honest with her. It had become increasingly difficult to reason with himself that remaining silent about certain facts somehow differed from lying. He would tell her. But now that she was driving, Clark felt it was the wrong place and time for such confessions. So Clark chose to say nothing right now. Lois, however, wasn’t up to remaining silent.

“I don’t get it,” she exclaimed. “I mean, I know that Superman had many enemies. But why would someone kill him? He epitomized goodness...” her voice broke and a tear slipped from her eyes. She covertly wiped it away, but Clark saw it none the less. “And he stopped every criminal he could get hold off,” she quietly added. “I’m not very reasonable at the moment, am I?”

Clark cracked a weak and sympathetic smile, slowly shaking his head. “No, you’re not, but that’s perfectly normal.” Or so he believed. He had to face it, telling Lois about his condition wasn’t an option, it was a must. How was he supposed to help the woman he claimed he loved, when he barely knew what was going on and who Lois was mourning? “I’m not quite myself either,” he muttered under his breath. Lois didn’t seem to hear him.

She parked the car at the side of the street in front of a huge building that had to be The Daily Planet. Clark swallowed hard as he felt an unfamiliar source of heat that threatened to inflame his body. His glance wandered down to his knee where Lois had rested her hand distractingly close to his… No, he wasn’t going to think about something like that right now. Otherwise he was going to embarrass himself and that was the last thing he needed. He was already balancing on a knife’s edge and he definitely didn’t want to push himself over said edge.

‘Focus’, he silently reprimanded himself. But that wasn’t easy as she lightly stroked him and Clark had trouble breathing evenly. Did she notice what she was doing to him, he wondered almost desperately? He tried to force his concentration back on their conversation. Lois, however, didn’t seem up to talking to him.

“I’m so glad to have you back,” Lois said and placed a soft peck on his cheek.

Her gesture was sweet and innocent. No passerby would have guessed that it was a silent promise for more. Clark assumed his face had to have the healthy color of a ripe eggplant. He swallowed again, even harder this time. He felt her tender fingers on the prickly line of his jaw and she gently guided him to face her. Lois gave him a loving glance. If his heart hadn’t already been racing as quickly as it possibly could, it surely would have started to do so now.

“So glad…” she muttered and leaned in to close the distance between them.

Clark wondered briefly how it was possible that he had been transferred from the city of sadness into this fairy tale land. But whoever had placed him here deserved his gratefulness. As her lips met his, a pleasant shiver ran down his spine. Her tongue grazed his in a swift move and left him yearning for more. But Lois pulled back and lowered her glance shyly. And Clark understood. They were in public and this was neither the right moment nor the right place for passionate kisses.

Strangely, there was something else in her glance that he couldn’t quite nail. It seemed as if she was silently pleading with him to assure her that this was real and mutual. Clark dismissed the thought. This couldn’t be it; his empty mind was playing tricks on him. Why should a woman kiss him like that and not be sure that he felt the same way about her? Why should a woman like Lois doubt his feelings? No straight man in his right mind would be able to resist her. Clark wished he could be somewhere else right now to show her just how much he wanted her. With a sigh he noticed that Lois was already getting out of the car. How was he going to survive the day with a memory of such kisses tantalizing him sweetly?

He left the car as well; hoping his legs would carry him after Lois’ touch had very effectively turned them into jelly. Clark wondered how he was going to keep his sanity in Lois’ presence. Wouldn’t each glance she shot him remind him of this morning? Would he be able to look into her face without dreaming about kissing her? How had he managed to get through the day before? According to what Lois had told him they worked as partners. He had to have a lot of self-control, because being partners meant that he had done at least some work. But right now he even had trouble thinking straight.

* * *

Italy, a road somewhere in Tuscany, late afternoon

“There has to be a village somewhere!” Jonathan muttered impatiently and drove on, sometimes struggling with the gear shift of their rental car. He still wasn’t used to it. Moreover, he was desperately looking for a sign that would lead him to a phone. That didn’t exactly make driving any easier. But besides endless fields and vineyards there was nothing at all.

The street was curvy and the sun was low, beginning to blind him. It wasn’t that late yet, but the days were already getting shorter. Everything around them was bathed in a soft tone of golden honey and the rolling hills were glowing warmly. The endless sky was deep blue. Surely, at any other time, both Martha and Jonathan would have marveled at how beautiful this part of Italy was. Tuscany had fascinated them from the moment they had first seen the pictures in the traveler’s guide.

Martha shot a look at her watch seeing that it had finally become late enough for them to call Metropolis. She had hardly ever seen Jonathan so nervous and she had to admit that his fear was contagious. Gone were the days that she hadn’t needed to worry about her son’s health. The criminals seemed to have a secret source for things that could hurt her boy, like kryptonite or this strange sound thingy. Moreover she had had realize that while Superman was invulnerable to bullets, Clark Kent was not.

Martha tried to concentrate on her feeling that Clark was perfectly fine. But the mere feeling wasn’t enough to convince her. Like Jonathan, she started to look around for a phone booth or anything similar. But as long as there was no village, there certainly wouldn’t be a phone. She almost regretted that they had left the hotel this morning, though she had been looking forward to this part of their route from the very beginning.

With a deep intake of breath, Martha forced her concentration on the landscape. She saw the vineyards to both sides of the street. The grape harvest was over and the vine leaves were beginning to change their color. Now and again there was a mansion, belonging to important vintners. They looked more impressive than their farm house, but less homey, too. It didn’t take long and her busy mind wandered back to Clark.

Finally, they reached a small village. Martha feared that maybe there wouldn’t be a possibility to call Metropolis. And what if Clark wasn’t there? What if the answering machine was still flooded with messages and wouldn’t offer them to leave one?

* * *

Metropolis, Daily Planet building, a few minutes after Lois managed to find a parking space

In every window of the building beside him Clark could read the newspaper’s name: Daily Planet. It didn’t take long until he stood under a huge, fascinating globe. For a moment he was afraid what he would find inside the building. The globe made him feel small. It almost intimidated him. Even so, he wasn’t exactly uncomfortable with that. When Lois impatiently waved at him to follow her, waiting for him at the door, Clark finally managed to break the spell that the globe had cast on him. He followed Lois, acting like nothing had happened.

Lois crossed the hall and Clark had problems keeping up with her pace. He felt a little bit like a child whose mother was dragging him through a toy shop. He wanted to look, but didn’t have time for it. Clark surely wasn’t seeing this place for the first time in his life, even if it felt like that. So why would Lois wait for him? When they were waiting for the next elevator, Clark had at least a moment to study the place. A lot of people were running around hectically. A few of them nodded to Clark and smiled weakly. He returned the gesture until Lois grabbed his sleeves and pulled him towards the elevator.

“Are you sleeping?” she asked. “Or are you about to get that far away look again?”

Clark could tell by the tone of her voice that she wouldn’t like either of the possibilities, though the second one seemed to be worse than the first. Again he didn’t have the slightest idea what she was talking about. Perhaps asking her was a good option. But he couldn’t tell her everything right now, not with all the people around to listen.

“Far away look?” he muttered as the elevator doors closed.

“Yeah, that look you get when you suddenly remember that you’ve got to return a video or feed your neighbor’s cat or wherever it is you’re usually running off to.”

She sounded impatient as if this was a common topic among them. Clark flinched. The explanations were so bad that they were either true or a taste of his awful lying skills. He feared it was the latter. But where did he go when he left Lois? And moreover, if he had a good reason for leaving, what was happening now that he didn’t go? Clark couldn’t really imagine it would lead to catastrophe. It was unlikely that a man like him, even if it was a strange man, would be doing something important that he couldn’t tell his partner about. But what if he did? How was he going to know when he had to get that far away look and make his excuses, and where should he go then?

Clark rather assumed that he was forgetful. An unreturned video wouldn’t be bad and he could only hope that there was no starving cat waiting for him in vain. Clark chose to remain silent. When the elevator doors opened again, every attempt at discussion would have been futile. The newsroom was so busy that Clark almost wanted to escape it again. People were running around, seemingly without purpose. But that had to be a false impression. Maybe they were like a colony of ants. And really, as Lois stepped out of the elevator and rushed down the ramp, she became a part of the complex motion. A little confused, Clark stayed at the elevators. He was the only ant in this colony that didn’t know what it was supposed to do.

The newsroom was louder than Lois had ever experienced it. The deadly silence had obviously abated since Jimmy’s call. Noon was approaching quickly and Perry had surely assigned everyone on another feature about Superman. She was sure that Perry would let his reporters write articles for whatever result the press conference would have. After all nobody could be completely certain that Superman was indeed dead. Perry wouldn’t risk being unprepared for the tiny chance that the hero was still alive. There would be an obituary for Superman. Another article would be written, explaining that everything mentioned in the news this morning was just a huge misunderstanding. Perry would choose which of those articles to print as soon as the press conference was over.

Lois could only guess what the others were writing. A couple of them would be assigned on stories that didn’t deal with Superman - sports or whatever. That wouldn’t be a major part of this evening’s edition, though. This was one of the rare occasions where there was an evening edition, because every other important paper throughout Metropolis would have one as well. Lois could hardly imagine what this meant for Perry. No doubt, he would handle this and make dealing with such world changing news seem effortless. But she knew it was a tough job.

“Lane, in my office, now!” Perry shouted harshly.

By the sound of his voice, Lois knew instantly that she was wrong. Even the unshakable Perry White was nervous and it wasn’t the kind of nervousness he frequently used to irritate greenhorn reporters. She had briefly wondered why he had only called her, but then she remembered that she hadn’t told him about Clark. Perry, who usually saw everything and knew even more, obviously wasn’t aware that his dream team was complete again. He had to be really worried how he was going to make this a worthy Daily Planet edition, something the less serious newspapers of Metropolis weren’t able to offer – a well balanced and trustworthy coverage of Superman’s death. And honestly, Lois didn’t know how they were going to accomplish the Daily Planet’s requirements either. How could any reporter, even the best one, write about Superman’s death without drowning in an emotional turmoil?

Lois glanced back at Clark, who was still standing on the gallery in front of the elevators, seemingly frozen. He didn’t look like he had heard Perry’s yell, though that would mean he was either deaf or dead. Impatiently she wanted to shout at him to come down already, but then she wondered if he might be in pain. She realized she hadn’t had a second look at his gash. That wasn’t good. She should have taken the time, particularly since she hadn’t made him go to a doctor yet. Lois took a deep breath to put her impatience to rest.

“Clark?” she first asked and then shouted as she realized that he wasn’t going to hear her above all that noise in the newsroom. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Clark replied and also nodded to emphasize his answer. He gave her a puzzled glance, obviously surprised by her question. Lois waved at him to come down.

“Perry wants to see us,” she stated and added. “Didn’t you hear him?”

Clark flinched visibly and frowned, looking guilty as if she had caught him red-handed. It made no sense. It wasn’t actually a crime to be distracted, was it? Lois couldn’t help herself, it only added to her impression that Clark was behaving strangely. Something was wrong with him and she was going to find out what it was, no matter how hard he tried to resist.

In the meantime Clark went down the ramp. His face was flushed as if something was embarrassing him, which Lois couldn’t understand at all. She didn’t wait for him to join her, but continued her way to Perry’s office, figuring that Clark would follow her. Perry shouldn’t think that they let him wait on purpose. He already looked like he was on the verge of exploding. Lois had no intention whatsoever to be close to him when he did.

It wasn’t easy to find a way through all those people running around, seemingly without aim. But Lois managed, because she had often done it, although it had never before been quite so busy in the newsroom. A few of her co-workers nodded to her absent-mindedly, while they were hastily talking to someone on the phone, trying to gather newsworthy information in the general turmoil of this morning.

“CK!” a familiar voice yelled loud enough for everyone to hear.

What Lois had thought to be impossible happened. The frantic motion froze as if someone had stopped time and literally everyone was staring at Clark, open mouthed. It was so silent that you could have heard the proverbial pin drop. The center of interest however looked around in confusion until Jimmy had made his way through the crowd and hugged his surprised friend.

“CK, where have you been? We were so worried. No one knew what had happened to you. Are you all right?”

“Great shades of Elvis! Clark?” Perry exclaimed and approached. He was smiling and temporarily seemed to have forgotten about the impending deadline. “It’s good to have you back, son. We sure missed you. Where in the Sam Hill have you been?”

“I…” Clark muttered and tried to think of something that might explain his absence. Perry, who had already overcome his sentimental moment, looked around angrily and clapped his hands.

“What is it? Never seen a reporter in a newsroom? Come on! Let’s get back to work. They don’t call this an *evening* edition for no reason!” Perry interrupted him, obviously not willing to wait for Clark to find a suitable lie. “And you two, in my office, now!”

Clark wasn’t really sure he knew what was happening to him. Despite Perry’s order there were still a lot of people standing around, staring at him as if everyone was expecting that he gave a speech, explaining where he had been. Particularly the man who had hugged him seemed to be waiting for an answer to his question. He was grinning broadly, though Clark could tell that this smile was already fading. It would soon be replaced by irritation, because Clark hadn’t managed to react like a friend usually would. He didn’t even know the young man’s name, not to mention his own. Clark hadn’t even thought of reacting to Seakay. Maybe that was his last name? Clark Seakay? It didn’t sound familiar, but then, what did?

“Didn’t you hear what Perry said?” Lois asked and waved at their co-workers to get back to work. One after the other let out a disappointed and annoyed grunt, but they strolled off to get back to work.

Clark was grateful when Lois rescued him and pushed him towards Perry’s office, muttering that the editor-in-chief wasn’t the world’s most patient man. Clark mused that Lois would have been surprised just how much he owed her right now and he promised himself to make it up to her. Now he needed to fool Perry, which would be another difficult task. Very difficult, if not impossible. He really should talk to Lois, sooner rather than later. Now would be a good moment. But she was right. Their editor was waiting for them, so he had to wait as well.

Not much later, Clark closed the door of Perry’s office behind him. He couldn’t deny that he was nervous as he faced his editor who was studying him thoroughly. Clark wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had told him that Perry was reading his mind right at this moment. It was absolutely possible. On the other hand, if Perry could see all the blank pages there, he certainly wouldn’t just furrow his brows like he did now.

“Where have you been, Clark?” he wanted to know once again, this time awaiting Clark’s reply.

“I found him close to Suicide Slum,” Lois said helpfully, while Clark still wasn’t sure what he was going to say now.

“Suicide Slum?” Perry asked incredulously. “They found Superman in… wait… you’re not going to tell me now that you’re the anonymous source the police refuse to reveal, are you?” Perry collapsed into his chair, knowing the truth before either Lois or Clark had the chance to confirm his suspicion.

“Well, as a matter of fact, yes, I called Henderson. But Clark found Superman. He didn’t know it was him then, because it had been dark in that alley. He told me about an injured man and he tried to find him. But he was in no shape to show me the way back to that alley and so I decided to get professional help. We didn’t learn who this injured man was until Jimmy called us earlier this morning,” Lois explained. Clark was once more grateful that he didn’t need to say anything. The events of the previous night were still a little hazy.

“Great shades of Elvis!” Perry’s voice was low, barely above a whisper. “This is huge!” He was silent for a while, looking as if he was thinking hard. Clark didn’t need to be a well experienced reporter to know what this meant. The Daily Planet had the exclusive of the century that no other newspaper was going to get. “Injured man?” Perry said as he recovered from his surprise. “Does… does that mean that Superman was still alive when you found him?” he breathed.

“I don’t know,” Clark said, relieved that there was no need to lie. He didn’t exactly like it, much less considering his special talent telling lies. “I didn’t find his pulse. There wasn’t much I could do, my head swam and I realized that I wouldn’t be able to help him on my own.”

“You were injured as well,” Lois added soothingly. “You are injured,” she corrected herself.

“Did you see something, son? Is there anything you remember? Did you see who killed Superman? Was there a fight? Were you involved?” Perry obviously became very excited at the prospect of learning more. It tore at Clark’s heart to disappoint him. Sadly, he shook his head.

“I woke up in that alley and there was a man on the ground. That is pretty much everything I remember. The next thing I know is that I ran into Lois. What happened between these moments is still kind of hazy.” Clark bit his lip. There he had said it, the full truth. His curriculum vitae wrapped in a few sentences.

“So you have no idea what happened before that?” Perry couldn’t hide his disappointment. He hadn’t understood just how much Clark didn’t know about what had happened before. And Clark left it at that. He shrugged and nodded, not daring to say one more word. He wasn’t sure whether his voice would give him away if he added anything.

Perry scratched his head thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair. Maybe he was thinking of a way to make the best out of this situation. He glance wandered from Clark to Lois and back again. Neither of them could provide him with the perfect answer and thus everyone was silent. Clark felt increasingly uneasy in this office. The editor’s bright, intelligent eyes clearly indicated that it was no use to try and hide something from him, because he would learn about it sooner or later. Whenever Perry’s eyes met him, he couldn’t help but feel x-rayed. It seemed the older man was directly seeing through to his very core and he had to sense Clark’s fear. Clark tried to dismiss it as stupid, because Perry surely wouldn’t see that there was something wrong with him. Even so, Clark’s heart was pounding in his ears until Perry lowered his hand again and bent forward.

“Okay,” he muttered hoarsely and exhaled audibly. For the briefest of moments Perry didn’t seem to know what to say. But this helplessness flashed across his expression and then vanished so completely as if it had never been there. And Perry, the seemingly omniscient editor-in-chief, was back. “Not a word to anyone. The police haven’t yet released that information and I guess they will keep it confidential when you ask them to. Don’t get me wrong, I want this story. But my reporters write the news, they don’t *be* the news. We can’t work here when people start to lurk around to catch a glimpse of the man who found Superman. And I’m sure you agree with me here, Clark, that you don’t want to be the center of interest all over again.” Perry got up from his chair and walked around his desk, while Clark nodded and muttered something affirmative. He had no idea what Perry was talking about, but he sure had a point. Clark had no intention of facing cameras.

“What are we going to do now?” Lois asked curiously and everything about her stance told just how eager she was to start investigating.

“I want you to cover that press conference. I’ve got a special assignment for the two of you. And this is no easy task,” Perry responded and waited a moment before he continued. “I know how much Superman meant to both of you. He was special to all of us, but to the two of you in particular. If you feel you can’t handle the investigation properly, I would understand it. But I trust the two of you - and maybe Jimmy as well - like no one else in this newsroom. Find out what happened in Suicide Slum. Find out why Superman was killed and who did it. Did Superman actually behave strangely and could that possibly have something to do with his premature death? Clark, please try to remember anything that could help us, follow even the smallest lead. You two are the best reporters I know. Ask Jimmy to help you, if necessary.”

Lois and Clark stood there, surprised. Particularly Lois had expected that she would need to put up a fight with Perry in order to get assigned with this investigation. She had already anticipated that Perry would tell her that she was too entangled in this whole issue. Even more astonishing was that Perry had mentioned Superman’s strange behavior. That had been no more than a feeling, a general feeling, but a feeling no less. Perry usually killed every story when he didn’t have as much as a hint. At any other time a gut instinct wouldn’t count as a hint, even if it was Perry himself having that feeling. This time however, Perry was more reporter than editor-in-chief. He had decided to go with his instincts.

“Just to be sure you got this right. I don’t want to hear any rumors out there.” Perry continued and gestured towards the newsroom and then towards the window behind him. It was obvious that he didn’t want them to tell *anyone*. “I don’t want to be remembered as the man who trusted the two single most entangled reporters with the story of the year. Be careful, you two,” he said, not sounding like the tough editor anymore, but like the fatherly man he sometimes was.

“We will,” Lois reassured him and Clark nodded.

He didn’t say anything though and Lois couldn’t help noticing once more that he was awfully quiet lately. She wondered if he still was tired and just didn’t dare complain about it. But he should know that there was nothing to be afraid of. After all she had found him and she knew what state he had been in. But had she really cared about it? Lois bit her lips. She had been thinking of so many things ever since she had woken up this morning. There had hardly been time for being concerned about Clark.

“That’s all then, I guess,” Perry replied and Lois turned around to leave. Clark followed her and just as Lois left the room, she heard Perry clear his throat. Lois might have not been supposed to listen, but she did. “It’s good to have you back. Please keep an eye on Lois. I know the two of you were close friends of Superman and I know Lois. She will jump head first into trouble, no matter how often I tell her not to.”

“He needs someone to have an eye on him just as much as I do, Perry,” Lois pointed out as she returned into the office. Perry blushed slightly and muttered something unintelligible. Lois couldn’t help but grin. She had so often been furious about the protective manner of both Clark and Perry. But today she wasn’t angry at all. Maybe she just didn’t feel like fussing. But the truth was, she enjoyed that Clark and Perry cared about her so much. “When I found him yesterday, he was in a pretty bad shape.”

“Really?” Perry asked and raised an eyebrow and then he suddenly seemed to remember what Lois had told him about Clark’s injury. Worry was written all over his face.

“I… uh, I guess, she’s right there, Perry,” Clark replied. “But I’m fine now.”

Perry nodded, frowning briefly, but he went back to work. Clark followed Lois out of the office as if he was in a hurry to get away as quickly as possible. If she didn’t know better, Lois would have said that his forehead was covered with sweat. But Clark Kent didn’t sweat unless it was really, really hot. So that couldn’t be it.

Clark was indeed sweating. Since he had woken up this morning to that wonderful kiss he had felt increasingly uncomfortable with each minute that had passed after the ringing of the phone. And that wasn’t only caused by his side, which hurt with almost every step he took. It wasn’t bad, though impossible to ignore. Really bad was that he was trying to pretend that everything was as fine as it could be, considering that Superman was dead. The problem was not only that he was a complete loss at lying; he also didn’t want to lie. His stomach clenched painfully with every time he wasn’t honest and it almost made him throw up with self-contempt. He had tried to get through it all telling half truths or quarter truths more likely. Then he had decided to remain silent rather than starting to divide the truth by eight.

Back in the newsroom Clark felt even more uneasy. He had almost forgotten that there was a bunch of co-workers waiting for an explanation. According to Lois he had been absent for four days and before he had left, he obviously hadn’t called in sick. It was pointless to claim a sudden illness now. He couldn’t really think of one anyway that would render him unable to call anyone and allow him to return healthy afterwards. At least not in the set time frame, besides it would be a lie and Clark had no intention of telling another one.

He realized it wasn’t a bunch anymore that waited for him, but only a few other reporters. Most of them were trying to call someone and from the annoyed expression on their faces it was obvious that they were on hold. That meant listening to some ear hurting music and a female voice that frequently asked for the caller’s patience. Every single patient listener seemed to be eager to hear something else. Clark’s returning to the newsroom obviously was a more than welcome change in the frustrating routine. As much as reporters longed to get a good story, the really fantastic ones had only two advantages. They promised never ending fame and, moreover, they sold. Otherwise they were nothing but extremely hard work with the few moments of thrilling investigations. But there was also a lot of rather boring research that was only spiced up with the daily newsroom dramas.

Right now, Clark was one of those dramas, and promising to be one of the better ones, judging by the excited expressions he saw. Several pairs of eyes were following his every move. Clark was almost relieved as the young man who had greeted him earlier waved at him to come over. He pointed at the receiver in his hands, making it obvious that whoever had called wanted to talk to Clark.

“Hey, CK,” he yelled and waved once more to be sure Clark had seen him. “He’s coming now; I’ll give you to him,” he said into the phone.

Clark strolled over and tried to ignore the looks, some of them full of disappointment that the mystery of his absence wasn’t going to be solved sooner. Clark could have sighed with them, because truth to be told, he was pretty eager himself to know what had caused his absence. Lois was behind him and together they approached the young man, who held out the receiver for Clark to take it. Another jolt of nervousness cursed through him as he reached for the phone.

Clark wondered anxiously if he knew what to say. He realized once more that he wasn’t prepared. It was no use shying away from a phone call, even though it caused new beads of sweat to appear on his forehead. For a moment Clark thought he would pass out as his heart was pounding loudly in his ears. His throat was dry and he wasn’t sure his voice would work. It seemed like an eternity would pass and Clark was embarrassed of his own fear. He couldn’t explain to anyone why he was suddenly afraid of something that he must have done countless times before.

“Seakay,” he said hoarsely.

“This is Henderson,” a man said, sounding impatient and slightly irritated. “I need to talk to you and Ms. Lane about last night in Suicide Slum. I expect the two of you to be in my office at three p.m. Not a moment later! I’m pretty curious where you have been all this time. Have you any idea how many hospitals there are in Metropolis? I’ve been trying to find you all morning only to learn that you haven’t been in any of them,” Henderson stated testily and before Clark could respond, the line went dead.

Clark couldn’t help the feeling that a speeding train had just rushed past him. The phone call had been over so quickly that it took him a moment to take in everything Henderson had said. When Clark looked towards Lois and the young man beside her, he noticed the wrinkle on Lois’ forehead as she raised her brows. Strangely, this gesture wasn’t all curiosity. It had something dangerous to it. In fact, Clark wondered if he saw curiosity at all.

“CK, huh? And I see you’re growing a beard? And I kept complaining that you don’t spend enough time with me, bud. Looks like I’m wrong there.” The young man chuckled in amusement. He gave Clark a rather hard pat on the back. Lois looked at him with daggers in her eyes. She had done that practically ever since the young man had jumped in as she had been about to say something. Instead of flinching, he had kept smirking and had gratefully ignored the wrath in Lois’ eyes. But by now even the most courageous man on earth would have ducked his head, and so did Jimmy. “Gotta get back to work or Perry will give me a rough time. See you later, CK!” he said hurriedly and was gone before Clark could answer.

“What did Henderson want?” Lois asked as calmly as she possibly could. Jimmy had whispered the inspector’s name briefly before Clark had answered the phone. It wasn’t really what Lois wanted to know right now and it demanded all her self control not to drag Clark into the conference room right there and then. But Jimmy’s interruption had cooled her down a bit and her reasonable side had opted to take advantage of this.

‘Give him the benefit of doubt,’ Lois reminded herself, frantically trying to push Mad Dog Lane aside. She was tired of being mad at Clark. Besides, she wanted to be sure she had a reason to take his head before she actually got started. Maybe later she would need all the energy she could muster to accomplish that task properly.

“He wants to meet with us at three p.m.,” Clark replied and Lois could hear the trembling sound of his voice. Was he aware that he had made a mistake, if it actually was one? Lois wondered. She studied his face, attempting to find a smile there, anything that might indicate he had just been joking. He was serious, though. Again, Mad Dog raised her voice, growling at the obvious testament of Clark’s betrayal. He was keeping something from her, and never had that particular feeling been quite as strong as in this very moment.

“Okay,” Lois said hoarsely, her mouth dry as she noticed that she had no idea what to do now. She wasn’t used to being at a loss for words. Clark had given her evidence that something was wrong with him, she even had a witness. But nevertheless, she didn’t feel sure about this.

Clark didn’t say anything either. He just looked at Lois and waited for her to make the next move. Inwardly, his mind raced as he realized that maybe it was his turn to suggest something. Lois and he were supposed to be partners. She surely wasn’t the leader and he just did what she said. But Clark couldn’t come up with anything reasonable they might do now, apart from maybe one thing. He searched the newsroom for a calm place.

“Lois,” he started. “I need to tell you something…” He laid his hand on her arm, trying to guide her somewhere else.

“Hey, Clark, could you please sign this?” another young man said right next to him. Startled, Clark turned around and flinched at the sight of a sheet, just inches in front of his eyes.

“What’s this?” Clark asked and took it. He quickly read it and saw a whole list of things the young guy wanted to order.

“We’re out of a few things and you’re the first one I met who is not running around frantically, so I thought I’d ask you,” the young man explained and did his best not to look at Lois, who didn’t seem to take this interruption well. Thus Clark hurried to sign the paper and was just handing it back to the guy, when all of the sudden Lois’ hand darted forward and grabbed it. She stared at his signature, her mouth gaping open in utter disbelief.

A few moments later, Lois awoke from her stupor and hurried over to Clark. The next thing he knew was that he felt to strong hands grab his sleeves. For a moment he thought she was going to slap him, but then she half pushed and half dragged him towards the door of the conference room. Everyone’s eyes were on them as Lois made him follow her. Clark felt his cheeks grow red with embarrassment. He wasn’t even completely aware what had happened, but somehow he must have given himself away. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been as mad at him as she obviously was now. Lois didn’t seem to care that the whole newsroom was watching the most recent drama. Most likely it was even more interesting than anything Clark could have told them. They were waiting for either of them to shout and their co-workers’ expressions turned to disappointment as they didn’t start a fight right there and then.

to be continued...

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