Thanks - as always - to my very wonderful betas: Alisha, Beth, Nancy and CarolynK.
Last time:
Clark
I slowly opened the door. "Lois?" There was no answer. Slightly worried, I pushed the door open further. "Lois?" I called again. When the door was open far enough, I saw her lying in the middle of a big bed in the middle of a large room. She was wearing what I guessed was one of her dad's sweatshirts and was sound asleep. Her legs were bare and even with the power and heat back on, she was sure to be cold. I saw a blanket lying on one chair and I picked it up. Laying it gently over her, so as not to wake her, I realized how close we'd both come to losing everything.
As it suddenly hit me, I sunk down onto the bed. I wasn't supposed to get sick. If I hadn't been sick, this wouldn't have happened. I could have gotten us wherever we needed to go, even if it meant telling Lois my secret. I knew I could trust her – she'd proven that when she practically carried me a half mile or more to the cabin. I remembered telling her to leave me and I remembered the stubbornness in her voice when she said she wouldn't.
It was enough to make me dizzy. I carefully laid down – just until the unusual sensation passed. I closed my eyes just for a minute to try to come to grips with what had happened. When I opened them again, there was a blanket over me and a weight holding me down.
I looked to see that tousled dark head of hair resting on my chest again. I really should get up and go somewhere else, but I didn't want to wake her up. A glance out the window showed that it was probably the middle of the night and I knew she needed her sleep. I probably did too.
Without really making a conscious decision to do so, I fell asleep in Lois' arms for the second night in a row.
*~*12*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
The sun was way too bright. Again. I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head shutting out the offending light. I must have fallen asleep after I got out of the shower and slept all night.
I tried to roll over and face away from the window, but was stopped by something solid and a weight around my waist.
I cautiously checked to see what it was to find an arm wrapped around me.
Clark.
It had to be Clark.
But why was he in my bed?
As though sensing I was awake, his arm tightened around me and I felt him burying his face in my hair. "Morning, baby," he mumbled. "I haven't slept that well in ages."
I ran my hand up his arm – noting with one part of my mind that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and praying he was still wearing pants – until I reached his face. I laid my hand on his cheek. No fever. That's good.
He mumbled again. "Maybe Mom and Dad will let you stay in my room now that you're my wife. I think I want to wake up like this every day."
Great. He thought I was Lana.
Lana.
Had he even called her to let her know where he was? Had Daddy thought to contact the dorms to tell them we were okay? What about Clark's parents?
"Clark," I said quietly. "It's time to wake up."
When his only response was to tighten his hold on me and mutter, "Don't wanna," I silenced a scream of frustration.
"Clark," I said more forcefully. "It's time to wake up."
Still no real response.
I finally lifted his arm off of me and slid away from him and out from under the covers.
"Come back to bed, baby," he mumbled. "It's our honeymoon."
"Clark!" I said sharply, tugging Daddy's sweatshirt down as far as I could as I did, grateful once again that it came almost to my knees.
He sat straight up. "What?" He shook his head. "Lois?"
"Yeah. You were dreaming." I crossed my arms in front of me. "I would like to know what you were doing in my bed though."
His brow furrowed as he thought. "I came in to check on you – your dad asked me to – and I felt kinda dizzy so I sat down for a minute. I remember waking up and your head was on my chest and I didn't want to wake you up by moving and then... now."
The blanket had fallen to his waist, showing off the broad expanse of his chest.
"Then where's your shirt?" I asked.
He looked down. "I have no idea. I was wearing one of your dad's, but I don't remember taking it off." His eyes took on a wicked gleam. "You didn't take my clothes off again did you, Princess?"
"*Only* Daddy gets to call me 'Princess' and don't flatter yourself." I turned on my heel. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Could you please be somewhere else when I get back?"
I shut the door to my bathroom behind me. What would Daddy think?
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
Note to self: don't call Lois 'Princess'.
I could call her just about anything else, but not that.
I could see the pain in her eyes as she said it. I wondered what had happened to put that pain there. Maybe it had something to do with her mom and sister.
I flopped back on the bed with a sigh. I honestly didn't remember taking my shirt off. I remembered sitting down because I was dizzy and not getting up when I woke up because I didn't want to disturb her, but that was it.
I'd had another disturbing dream. The hypothermia induced one had flashes of being on the floor in front of the fire with a beautiful woman who was at times Lois and at other times Lana. That was disturbing enough. But this time...
This time, I'd been in this room, in this bed, and telling the woman in my arms I didn't want to get up because we were on our honeymoon. This time the woman was Lois – only Lois. Lana was nowhere in sight.
I didn't even want to think about what it might mean on some Freudian psychobabble level and decided it was just because I knew that's who I was with. Yesterday, I'd thought what a great romantic getaway this would be then fell asleep with Lois. That was the explanation I was going with. Nothing deeper than that.
I sat up and looked around, finding my shirt on the floor. I pulled it on as I left the room, shutting the door behind me.
"Sleep well?"
Sam's voice came from across the large room. I sighed. So much for hoping he didn't know.
"Um, I went in to check on her like you asked me to, but I got dizzy and sat down for a minute and I guess I fell asleep," I told him as I walked down the stairs.
He shrugged as he took another sip of coffee. "You're both adults, but I don't recommend hurting my little girl." His voice was devoid of inflection. I wasn't sure what to make of that.
"I don't intend to. I have a girlfriend I love very much and I honestly didn't mean to fall asleep in there." I groaned as I crossed the room. "I don't suppose you called the dorms to tell them where we are?"
He shook his head. "No. Sorry, it didn't occur to me."
"Can I use the phone?"
He nodded. "Go right ahead."
I dialed the number for Lana's room. "Hello?"
"Lana?" It sounded like she was asleep.
"Clark! Where are you?! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, honey. Lois and I got caught in the storm on the way back from Bremerton and holed up in her dad's cabin near Alberton."
"You're alone with Lois in a cabin in the woods?"
"No. Her dad got here yesterday."
"So you were alone with her?"
I sighed. "Listen, baby, I'll tell you the whole story later, but by the time we got here, we were both hypothermic. I was so sick and she saved my life by getting me here. I don't remember anything until her dad got here yesterday."
"So why aren't you on your way home?"
"We can't get out until a friend of Sam's gets here with a snow plow either today or tomorrow."
"Then how'd he get there?"
"He's got a big four wheel drive, but we have to get the car out of the snow before we can leave."
"Well, you need to call your Mom and Dad. When they couldn’t get a hold of you, they called me and I told them I had no idea where you were."
I winced. "I'll call them." I heard Lois' door open and I glanced over at her walking down the stairs, still wearing just her Dad's shirt.
With the whole big room available for her to walk through, she chose to walk right by me. What was she up to?
"Morning, Clark. Do you know where my clothes are?" Lois said in a breathy tone as she walked by.
I glared at her then winced as Lana's sharp voice came over the phone. "Clark, is there something I need to know?"
"No, baby. Sam loaned both of us some clothes while ours are in the laundry."
"And since when do you call Lois' dad Sam?" she demanded.
"Since he told me to." I sighed. "Listen, I better call my folks. I'll try to give you a call when I know when we'll be back, okay?"
"Fine. Just tell me you didn't sleep with her."
"Don't you trust me?" I couldn't tell her I didn't sleep with Lois, but I didn't really want to get into all of this over the phone. With Lois and her dad in the room.
"No, I trust you. I don't trust her. Did you have sex with her?"
"No!" A question I could answer honestly. Unless hypothermia dream sex where the woman morphed between Lois and Lana counted, and I really didn't think it did. And I certainly wasn't going to tell her that I'd woken up this morning dreaming of telling Lois to come back to bed because we were on our honeymoon in this very cabin. "I gotta go. I love you." I meant it.
"I love you, too."
"I'll talk to you soon."
"Okay. I love you, Clark."
I smiled. "I love you, too, Baby."
She hung up and I depressed the disconnect switch. "Is it okay if I call my folks in Kansas? Danielle probably talked to them and then Lana told them she hadn't heard from me so I'm sure they're worried."
Sam nodded. "Go right ahead. And if they want independent confirmation that you're okay, I'll be happy to talk to them."
"Thanks." I dialed Smallville, knowing it was even earlier there than it was in Metropolis. Knowing my parents they were either up getting ready to do chores or worrying about me.
"Hello?" Dad's sleepy voice said. Or more likely they'd stayed up as long as they could and then collapsed.
"Hey, Dad. It's me."
"Clark! Martha, it's Clark."
Mom's voice came on the line. "Clark! Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Mom." I told them the story – leaving out the part where Lois and I ended up naked in front of the fire; though I wondered if Mom suspected – and where we'd slept in the same bed together last night and the dreams. I didn't mention the dreams.
"Danielle told us you were sick, but how did you get sick?" Mom finally said in a very quiet voice. "You haven't been sick since you were five."
"I know. I don't know what happened. It just came on all the sudden. I hurt all over and couldn’t hardly stand up, much less... anything else. Lois got me in the car and I felt better enough that I didn't I didn't want to go to the hospital..."
"That's a bad idea anyway," Dad reminded me.
"I know, but I felt a lot better, just very tired. So we headed back to Metropolis but ended up here instead. She said I was burning up at one point, but I don’t remember that part."
"Well, we're glad you're both okay, son," Dad said.
"Me, too." I ran a hand through my hair. "Listen, I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
"Wait, Clark," Mom said.
"Yeah?"
"What about... are you feeling better or *better*?"
"Just better, not great. Not back to normal."
"You mean, you can't..."
"I won't be running any marathons or leaping tall buildings in a single bound anytime soon, but I feel okay."
"Ah." That came from both of them.
"We love you, Clark," Mom said.
"I love you, too. Both of you," I told them.
"We'll talk to you soon."
"Okay. Love you," I told them one more time before hanging up.
I leaned back on the couch. "What was that all about, Lois?"
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I put on my best innocent face. "What?"
He glared at me. "You know what. Lana's gonna be all over me about it."
"I'm sorry," I said seriously, my eyes wide. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble with Lana. How was I supposed to know who you were talking to? Besides, you're the one who slept in my bed uninvited." I had to make sure Daddy knew that too.
He sighed. "I told you what happened. I got dizzy and sat down. I woke up with you half on top of me and didn't want to wake you up, then you woke me up this morning."
Daddy sighed. "Is all you two do is bicker?"
I smiled sweetly. "No, Daddy. Sometimes he insults me."
"You start it," Clark shot at me.
"You fight like an old married couple," Daddy told us.
Neither one of us said anything to that. I took a big bite of my cereal, grateful I'd found a pair of bike shorts in my room last night. I didn't even know when I left them here.
"Pumpkin, why don't you show Clark the room above yours? We're going to be here at least another night."
"That's Lucy's room," I said glaring at him.
"Well," he said slowly. "Lucy won't be using it and it has its own bathroom."
"So? It's not like anyone else is going to be using the other upstairs bathroom. He can have it all to himself."
"Lo-is." His voice held a warning tone I knew not to mess with.
"Fine."
"It doesn't matter. Really," Clark said. "Any room is fine. I can even sleep on the couch if I need to."
"Nonsense. There's five bedrooms in this place. You can have Lucy's room. Go up the stairs and there's a half stair case on your left. That'll take you to the room above Lois'."
I shoved my last bite of cereal in my mouth. "I'll show you," I mumbled around my Cheerios.
I put my bowl in the sink and walked towards the stairs. "Are you coming?"
I heard both of them sigh and Clark moved to follow me. Up the stairs, on the left were two half stair cases – one up and one down. I pointed to the down one. "That leads to my room. This one goes to Lucy's room," I said pointing to the other one. I walked up it, opening the door when I reached the top.
I had promised myself on the way up here that I wouldn't cry. The room was just as Lucy had left it. Mom and Daddy had never decorated our rooms here like they were for little girls and I was sure Clark would be grateful for that. In the middle of the queen bed sat a little brown teddy bear. When I saw it, it was too late. The tears came.
I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, picking up the bear and holding it to my chest.
I didn't hear Clark follow me but he must have because before I knew it he was sitting next to me. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to his side. He kissed the top of my head – something I certainly hadn't expected – and then just sat there with me.
I don't know how long we sat like that before I spoke. I didn't move because I actually felt safe and comfortable like this. Ha. With another girl's boyfriend. Wasn't that just the way my life went? "I don't think I've been up here since the accident," I finally said. "Obviously, Vicki has been. Most of Lucy's stuff is gone, but this was her favorite bear."
"Who's Vicki?" Clark asked quietly.
"Daddy's housekeeper. She comes up here once a month or so with her husband or family and they spend the week or the weekend or whatever and she dusts and stuff while she's here. Otherwise, it's a vacation of sorts for them. They use one of the other two bedrooms above Daddy's when they're here."
We sat there for a few more minutes before I spoke again. "We were all up here one weekend. Daddy couldn’t get off work until late so me and Mom and Lucy came up early Friday afternoon. We were on some sort of long weekend or something – Veteran's Day I think. Daddy drove up that night. Monday rolled around and we were going home, but Dad and I were embroiled in a very serious game of Monopoly. Mom wanted to get Lucy home before bedtime so they left and we stayed to finish our game. The call came about an hour later. A tractor trailer lost its brakes on one of the downgrades and then slid on some ice, right into Mom and Lucy. The car was crushed. There was nothing anyone could do and they said that they died instantly."
"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "How old were you?"
"Ten. Anyway, I told you how Daddy lost almost everything, but this place and the house were both paid for so all we really needed was money for upkeep. It's not too much here because we're not here a whole lot so utilities aren't too high and stuff. He was able to hang on to enough to take care of the house and keep Vicki and her husband paid until he got back on his feet." I sighed. "He built this with all of us in mind. They weren't going to have any more kids. When Mom was pregnant with Lucy, it was really hard on her physically and she had her tubes tied so it was just the two of us. He had it built with three master bedrooms so that Lucy and I could come up with our husbands someday and still have some privacy."
"That's thinking way ahead."
"That's Daddy for you. He's always prepared. Plans ahead." I picked at the bear's ear. "This was Lucy's favorite bear. I didn't know it was still here. She must have forgotten it when they went home." I stared at it some more. "We used to come every year for Christmas, but Daddy and I didn't come that year or the next. It was nearly two years after they died when I made him bring me here because I thought it would help snap him out of his depression. He spent the whole weekend locked in his room but he came out of it somewhat better and things started going back uphill."
"That's good." He shifted his head where it was resting against mine. "Will you be coming for Christmas this year?"
I stood abruptly and walked to the large window looking out over the mountainside.
"What?"
"Sorry." I said staring straight ahead. "I don't know about Christmas this year. The dorms will be closed so I can't stay there, but I don't know what the plans are. I bet that they're probably planning on coming."
"They?"
"Daddy and his girlfriend."
"Ah. Is that why you couldn't move home?" He'd moved to stand beside me.
"Yeah. She doesn't like me but has Daddy wrapped around her finger." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about her." I turned and leaned against the window, really taking in the room for the first time.
Clark leaned next to me. "It doesn't look like a little girl's room," he commented.
"No. The cabin always had kind of a rustic thing going even when we were little." I looked at the four poster bed that Lucy had loved. Made of knotty wood, it looked like something out of a hunting lodge catalog. The rest of the furniture matched. The bathroom door was off to the side, but I knew what was in there. A really nice bathroom, just like mine directly below it.
I knew that someday I'd bring my husband here and we'd spend romantic weekends and Christmases and everything else just like Daddy had planned for both of us. There was a pang in the middle of my heart as I realized again that Lucy wouldn't ever get that chance.
The tears started falling again and Clark put his arm around me once more, pulling me to his side. Before I knew it, I'd moved to stand in front of him, my arms around him, crying into his chest.
*****
TBC
