Thanks again to the best betas
. I sent this out a couple days ago and they were wonderful in turning it around quickly.
Very special thanks to Queenie for breaking the logjam in the last Clark section of this. You can blame her
.
NTNF – New Troy National Forest
Last time:
ClarkSecretly, I'd... not liked that they were half all over each other the whole time I was growing up, but at least I never doubted that they loved each other.
Dad took Mom's hand and looked at her the same way I remembered him looking at her when I *was* five. "When you're married, son, you'll understand." He raised a brow at me. "And I seem to remember a time or two when you and Lana were a little closer on the couch than you should have been and a few guilty looks when we walked in."
I turned beet red, I was sure. "We never crossed the line. Any line," I mumbled.
Mom patted my hand. "We believe you."
I stood up and flipped the chair back around. "I better get back. Lana's probably looking for me by now."
Dad frowned. "It's a bit late, isn't it?"
I shook my head. "We don't have to be up with the roosters like you two do." I gave them both big hugs and after a few more minutes chatting, took off for Metropolis.*~*5*~*
October 2003
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I pulled on my favorite pair of jeans and buttoned them. They fit perfectly, which was part of the reason why they were my favorites. I pulled on my favorite Daily Planet sweatshirt. It hung almost to mid-thigh and was long enough that when I held my arms at my sides, the sleeves covered my hands; those were just two of the reasons I loved it.
I quickly pulled my hair back into a pony tail and put on some lip gloss – none of the flavored junk Ellie Mae favored, but rather my favorite color. I didn't really care if Joe liked it or not. Well, I cared, but I didn't really *care*.
I was ready not a moment too soon because no sooner had I finished application, than there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," I called.
"Hey, Beautiful."
"Hey, yourself, " I said, smiling at him.
He leaned on the doorframe. "You ready?"
I nodded. "Where are we meeting Les and Peggy?" I stuck my ID and some cash in my back pocket.
"At the trail – they're both home for the weekend." He shut the door behind me after I pushed the button to lock it from the inside. "Where's Dylan and Brenda?"
I shook my head. "Nice try," I smiled at him as he leaned in to kiss me.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close as he kissed me again.
"You don't like my 90210 reference?" he asked when he moved back. "You have all the seasons on DVD."
I grinned. "No, I don't. They've only released the first few seasons."
"You don't like my 90210 reference or you don't have all the seasons or both?"
"Both." He took my hand as we walked down the hall to the elevator. "Dylan and Brenda is a good reference, but I liked both of them, so I wouldn't use them. I'd go with Chandler and Janice."
"Why is that? Why not Ross and Rachel?"
I wrapped my arms around him as we waited for the elevator. "I like Chandler but not Ross. I like Rachel but not Janice. So Chandler and Janice are it." I kissed him lightly as the doors opened. "What's with the questions about the nicknames?"
He shrugged. "You've been using them a lot more lately, especially where your suitemates are concerned. Thought I'd figure out the rules."
We exited on the main floor and I looked around to make sure no one was around. "I like Clark, so he gets a good guy nickname. I don't like Lana, so she gets a nickname of a girl I don't like. Other nicknames just sort of depend on the situation."
"Got it." We walked out towards Joe's Mustang. "So what if *I* like Lana but not Clark. Then could I use Ross and Rachel?"
I glared at him. "Not if you want a date for next weekend."
He put his arm around me and tugged me towards him. "You know I do."
"Good. Then you won't use Ross and Rachel." I wrapped my arm around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. No, we weren't soul mates or anything like that, but he was a great guy and my best friend, besides being a *very* good kisser.
"Fine, I won't use Ross and Rachel. But you never answered my question."
"Which was?" I asked.
"Where Chandler and Janice are."
"Oh, that." I shrugged. "Not sure. She usually volunteers on Saturdays, but I have no idea where or doing what. I think anyway." I glanced around. "Clark probably drove her; I don't see his truck anywhere. He was gone before I woke up this morning."
"Well, are you ready for this?" he asked as he opened the car door for me.
I just looked at him. "You should know better than to ask me that, Joe. We're going to practically be in my own backyard."
He laughed. "I know."
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I watched as Lana sat on the floor with the four and five-year-olds. She was totally in her element. The twelve or so children were completely captivated with her and the story she was reading. It was the second story of the morning and I was sure it wasn't going to be the last.
I was leaning against one of the tables, legs stretched out in front of me crossed at the ankles.
I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was beautiful and, someday, she was going to be a great mother to our kids and a great preschool teacher.
She turned the page and her voice changed to reflect a different character. The kids all giggled at her rendition of an ant. Before long, the book ended and she set it to the side. There was a chorus of 'one more, please, Miss Lana' and she pretended to think about it for a minute before she gave an exaggerated sigh and picked up another book.
The kids giggled as she smiled and read the title of the book.
I pushed up from the table and headed towards the study area as I noticed one of the older kids walk in. "Hey, Darryl," I said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Hi, Clark," he answered with a smile.
"How'd you do on your English paper?"
His grin got even bigger. "B+!"
"Hey! That's great!" I was genuinely happy for him. We'd spent several hours the weekend before working on it. "I knew you could do it."
"You helped."
I shook my head as we sat at one of the tables. "You did all the work. I just helped guide you a bit." I watched as he pulled his backpack out. "What are we going to work on today?"
"Geography, if that's okay."
"Whatever you need." I lowered my voice. "If I don't know how to do something, I know how to Google."
He laughed. "Me, too." He looked over at the little kids. "My little sister loves her," he told me, nodding at Lana.
I grinned. "Me, too." I turned back to the table. "Geography it is, my friend."
For the next couple of hours, we covered Geography and U. S. History. The kids rotated in and out of Lana's reading group and she also read one-on-one with some of them, including Darryl's little sister. I kept track of her heartbeat as I worked with him.
When Darryl and I were finished, I hunted her down. She had just finished a making a construction paper crown with a little girl.
"Ready?" I asked her.
She looked up at me and smiled. She leaned over and whispered something. They both giggled before Lana put the crown over the little girl's brown curls.
A minute later, we were headed out to the parking lot. "So what did you tell her?"
"Who?"
"The little girl with the crown." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I told her you were my prince." She leaned against me as we walked.
I groaned. "As long as I don't have to wear tights or something for Halloween so you can be some Medieval princess or something."
She laughed. "Don’t worry. I wouldn't want you to put yourself on display like that."
I groaned again. "Thanks." I opened the door to the truck and she slid to the middle so I could get in after her. "Where to now?"
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
Joe sat against the rock and I sat against Joe. His arms were wrapped around me and I rested the back of my head on his shoulder.
"You made it," he said.
I rolled my eyes. "How many times have we made this hike? And I use the term 'hike' loosely. It's a three hour *walk* to get here." We looked out over the nearly pristine lake in New Troy National Forest. Les and Peggy had taken off for another area to have a picnic and probably do things I didn't want to think about. Joe and I had already eaten the lunch we brought with us. "The most difficult part of the trail is easy enough for a two-year-old."
He laughed. "True."
The house I'd grown up in – I couldn't bring myself to call it 'my house' anymore, not with *her* living there – backed up to the NTNF. I could never remember how many acres Dad owned, but the back part of it was forested and melded seamlessly with the park. We'd been looking at one of the maps provided at the check-in station one day and realized that we could connect to this particular trail by following one of the streams near the back edge of the property. Since then, we'd been here many times – both as friends and as a couple. I wasn't sure what his assorted girlfriend of the week would have thought about us hiking up here together, but he was faithful to a fault. He never cheated on a girlfriend, though most of the relationships didn't last very long.
In fact, our relationship – if you added up all the separate times we'd been a semi-couple – was probably the longest relationship by far. A couple of others, one before me and one after, had lasted a couple months each, but that was it. Regardless, they'd had nothing to worry about.
"So what're we going to do for the next hour until it's time to start back?" Joe whispered in my ear.
"What do you want to do?" I asked him, knowing his answer and knowing he'd already know my response.
"You know what I want to do."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "And you know it's not going to happen."
"Aw, come on." He sounded like a little boy who didn't get the cookie he wanted. "You never want to go skinny dipping. Even when it is just the two of us."
"First of all, it's October. And while it's a fairly nice October, the water is sure to be way too cold. And second, I know what you'll want to do if you ever see me naked – to skinny dip or for any other reason – and you already know the answer to that."
"So you're gonna make me wait until we get married?" he asked, his face buried in my neck.
I snorted. "You really think we're going to get married?"
"You never know."
"Then fine. I'm going to make you wait until we get married."
"And if we don't get married?" he asked.
"Then you'll never get to sleep in my bed."
"Aw, come on. Just once, I want to sleep in your bed at the cabin."
"Go some time when I'm not there."
"Will you at least be my back up?" he asked me, running one hand over my arm.
"You mean if we're both forty and not married, we hook up?"
"I was thinking more like thirty-five if we want kids."
I thought about that for a minute. There were worse things. "Okay. If neither of us is married at thirty-five, we'll get hitched."
"Wanna kiss on it?"
I groaned. "You'd rather do a lot more than that."
"You know I would, but I also know how you feel about that." That was one thing I'd always respected about Joe. He'd never made it a secret that he wanted to have sex with me, but he also never pushed once I told him no.
"We'll shake on it later. For now are we just going to stare at the lake or are we going to get out that Frisbee?"
"I've got a better idea," he said.
"What's that?" I relaxed more against him.
"Let's make out for a while."
I laughed. "Let's do that."
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I laughed. My arm rested lightly on the back of Lana's chair, my thumb rubbing her shoulder lightly. We'd gone to Steak and Shake for lunch and run into Ryan and Molly. Lana knew them from one of her classes.
We'd laughed and talked about professors and wondered how someone had turned the fountain by the administration building into red, yellow and blue suds without anyone noticing.
Ryan and Molly left a few minutes later, but Lana and I lingered over milkshakes.
"What's the plan for the rest of the day?" I asked her.
"I'd like to watch Friends, Survivor and ER. I taped Survivor and ER but haven't watched them yet." She bit her bottom lip. "I was hoping we could watch Friends on Lois' TIVO."
I shrugged. "Dunno if she'd care. I think she and Joe went for a hike so she won't even be there. Could watch it first. As long as we don't delete it, she won't care."
She rested her head against my shoulder. "What do you think a show about our lives would be like?"
"Huh?"
"You know, like Seinfeld. Where they proposed a show about nothing and really that was all they ever did. What would a show about our lives be like?"
"Like one of those reality shows where they follow us around with cameras?" I frowned at the idea. That would be a very bad plan.
She shook her head. "No, if our lives were a scripted show."
"Now? Or someday?"
"Five years from now."
I thought about it for a minute. "Are we in a comedy or a drama?"
"Drama. Not enough serious in a comedy."
"They can do serious in a comedy. Look at the Monica and Chandler baby thing," I pointed out. "Or anytime they do one of those 'don't do drugs' episodes. Remember the whole boyfriend who drank thing on Growing Pains? Wasn't he played by Matthew Perry?"
"They only do that in a 'very special touching episode', but dramas can have comedy more than comedy can have dramas.'
I thought about it for a minute. "Well, then, I guess we'd be married."
"In five years? We better be." She kissed me lightly.
"We will be. Do we have kids yet?"
"In five years?" She thought about it for a minute. "First one's on the way."
"Then you're barefoot and pregnant in a preschool."
"And you're a highly successful investigative reporter at the Daily Planet."
I raised an eyebrow. "In five years? In five years, I'll be lucky to be writing obits and covering dog shows. Fresh out of college, that's about the best I can hope for."
"Well, by the end of the show's run, you'll be a highly successful investigative reporter with a few Kerths and a Pulitzer or two under your belt."
"You have high expectations for me, Ms. Lang."
"Oh, I certainly do. You'll have to keep us fed while I stay home with the kids while they're little. Or only work part-time."
"How many kids are we having?" I asked.
She grinned. "At least four or five. Since it's a television show, I'll start showing two weeks before the baby's born and be skinny again two weeks after with no stretch marks to worry about."
"You'll be gorgeous pregnant and after, even if it does take you more than two weeks to get your figure back." I kissed the top of her head as it rested against me.
She sat back and looked at me with a grin. "I know what can hook the show so that we'd attract millions of viewers."
"What's that?"
"You can have a secret identity and be a superhero in tights."
I stared at her. The idea of a secret identity and being a superhero had never occurred to me but it might be more real than she knew if I ever felt the need to do that.
She looked chagrinned. "Sorry. No tights. Okay, so no superhero."
I recovered quickly, pulling her back to me. "I'd watch any show you were in, Baby. Superhero or not."
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I yawned. The walk to the lake hadn't been a hard one – it never was – but for some reason, I was extra tired today.
I shook my head slightly. At least I had a back up now. I wouldn't end up alone for the rest of my life. That had never been a real concern of mine. I figured when the time was right, I'd find Mr. Right.
I crawled under the covers of my bunk. Clark and Lana were watching ER – which had outlived its usefulness a couple years earlier – in the common room. I'd set the TV on my dresser, on top of my TIVO, so if I rolled right, I could see it without it being too awkward. I flipped it on, scrolling through the options until I found this week's NCIS episode and hit play. I watched as Tony tried to decide whether he was ready for his own team and everyone reacted to Gibbs being back permanently as they searched for a missing Naval officer, but I wasn't really concentrating.
After it was over, I clicked the TV off and rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling.
What would life with Joe be like if we got married?
One thing that bothered me was the lack of commitment he'd shown. Yeah, we were young but he'd never stuck with a girlfriend very long at all. I didn't think it would be an issue once he was truly committed to a girl.
The more I thought about it, the more I thought he'd be attentive and caring. He'd want kids. I wasn't sure that I wanted kids, but I wasn't completely set against them either. That was something that could be decided later.
What about careers?
He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life, but unless 'the girlfriend' of Dad's cheated him out of house and home, money wouldn't really be an issue. I mean, we'd have to support ourselves and all that, but if we ever truly fell on hard times, Daddy would let us live with him. And once Daddy... I couldn't bring myself to think it. Someday, I'd probably be very wealthy.
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine life with Joe. I could see us sitting at the kitchen table in the morning eating breakfast – something out of the freezer, most likely because neither one of us could cook. That wasn't hard. He'd gone with me and Daddy to the cabin a number of times and we'd eaten breakfast together. He'd slept in his own room though.
He'd mentioned wanting to sleep in my room at the cabin. Dad had always said Lucy and I would be able to use it for a romantic hideaway someday. Lucy no longer needed it of course, but I would. I hoped I would. What would it be like spending a weekend with Joe there? I rolled my eyes. It would probably involve a lot of being mostly unclothed together. That wouldn't be a bad thing if we were married, I guessed, but still made me a bit uncomfortable – just because it was something I didn't have a whole lot of practical experience with.
I sighed again. It was a pretty pointless exercise at this point. Maybe in ten years, I'd think about it in more detail, but for now...
I wasn't getting married until after I won the first Pulitzer.
*****
TBC
