Thanks again to the wonderful betas
.
Last time:
Lois
"So what's gonna be our biggest thing in Paris?"
"Well, the night we can eat wherever we want, I'll take you to my favorite restaurant."
"Is it one of those sidewalk cafés or what?"
"It was Mom and Daddy's favorite place to eat. It's where he proposed when they were there on a school trip."
"Ah, so nice and romantic?"
"Yep. Just promise me you won't propose to me there."
"I promise. At least not this trip."
I laughed. "Deal."
*~*17*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I wondered what the sleeping arrangements would be.
We were driving to the cabin to spend Thanksgiving with Lois and her dad. It seemed pointless to take two cars so we'd all piled in Lois' Jeep and were on our way. Of course, Joe was with us, so that left me with the discomfort of the back seat. Sure, Lana was there, too, but my long legs just didn't do well back there.
Before long, Lois pulled off on to Lane Lane and I heard Lana's intake of breath as she realized this cabin had its own private drive.
About a mile and a half down, Lois said something about how this was where the car had gotten stuck. It amazed me again how far we'd made it in a blizzard. A few minutes later, she pulled up in front of the large cabin and followed the drive as it snaked around to the garage under her room. She expertly negotiated the winding road and pulled the Jeep inside. That done, we headed in from the garage.
Lana's eyes were wide as she took it all in. Sam was already there and welcomed me with a hearty handshake hug thing. He did the same with Joe, but just smiled a welcome to Lana as he stood with one arm around Lois' shoulder. "Clark, why don't you show Lana to the room you stayed in last time and you and Joe can each have one of the rooms above mine."
I saw Lois stiffen a bit as he spoke. It made sense. She didn't want me in Lucy's room and she liked me. She and Lana were like oil and water. Of course she didn't want Lana in her sister's room. Sam, though, wouldn't understand. I picked up Lana's bag and she followed me up the stairs. I'd scouted out the other two bedrooms the last time we were here and knew which one I wanted. Neither were bad, but the one closer to the stairs was more my style. I couldn’t really define why but it was closer to Lana anyway. I set my bag in there before showing Lana to Lucy's room.
"Here you go," I told her with a smile. "Whaddya think?"
She looked around. "Not bad."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, it's a bit better than 'not bad' and you know it."
She sighed. "It would be better if you could stay in here with me." She moved in front of me and trailed one finger down the front of my shirt until she reached the middle of my stomach then hooked it in between two buttons and pulled me to her. My arms found their way around her, holding her close to me. "You slept with Lois while you were here. Why can't you sleep with me?"
I kissed her gently. "You know why. And you know I never *meant* to sleep with Lois while I was here. It just sort of happened."
"Three times?" she said with a raised brow, before kissing me again.
"You can't blame me for the first time - I was unconscious. And I was still sick the second time and the third time just sort of happened. I explained it all to you."
"I know, but why can't you stay here with me? Is her dad that much of a prude?"
"I don't think so, but Joe isn't staying with her so why should I stay with you?" I pointed out. "It probably didn't even occur to him."
"So tell him."
I kissed her again. "I can't do that, Baby."
This time she kissed me. "Well, you could always accidentally fall asleep up here," she said continuing to play with the buttons of my shirt without ever actually unbuttoning one.
I smiled at her. "I *could*, but let's just play it by ear, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
"So what do you really think of this place?"
"I think growing up with money would have been nice." She turned in my arms so that we could stare out the window at the snow topped trees.
"Money doesn't buy everything, though," I reminded her quietly. "Both her mom and her sister died when she was just a kid and her dad nearly lost everything. I wouldn't trade my mom and dad for any amount of money."
"I know, but still... it can make life a lot easier."
"You're right about that, but you still can't buy love or happiness."
"Her dad seems to love her."
"He does."
"So why couldn't she move home?"
"She hasn't really told me too much – a little bit but not much – but apparently there's a good reason."
A voice called up the stairs, telling us that dinner was almost ready. I kissed the side of her head. "Ready?"
"I guess. But if you want to accidentally fall asleep in here with me, I'd be okay with that."
I laughed. "I would be too."
"Then let's make it happen." She smiled at me – that slow, sexy smile I loved so much.
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I tossed my bag on the chair in my room and glared at the ceiling where I could hear footsteps.
Why did Daddy have to give Cruella Lucy's room? Couldn't Clark have stayed in there again? Or even Joe would have been better.
And why was I so cynical about Joe? He was a good friend and - toga party notwithstanding - had been there for me since I could remember. We'd talked about it a bit more the next day and he'd awkwardly asked a few questions about how I was feeling that seemed to confirm what Clark had said – that he'd gotten there in time. I wasn't... sore in... places and other stuff that should have occurred to me given the birds and bees talks I'd had with both Dad and Vicki. Even knowing how uncomfortable it made both of us, he'd asked.
Joe was a good friend when Mom and Lucy died and had always been a shoulder to cry on - even after we started dating but weren't together at the time. Like when Dad's new girlfriend moved in and Joe was going out with Lisa for a few weeks. The girlfriend told me I'd best move out and I'd cried on Joe's shoulder. Of course, that was part of the reason why Lisa broke up with him. I'd called in the middle of what was apparently a pretty heated make out session and he'd taken her home to come be with me.
I'd planned on living on campus anyway but the girlfriend made sure I had no choice in the matter. Joe went for a midnight horse ride with me that night and let me cry on his shoulder in the middle of New Troy National Forest near the lake we often hiked to. But our friendship went back much further than that. He'd stood up to Donny Johnson when he tried to kiss me in first grade. Joe had decked him and gotten suspended for three days defending me. Of course, I hadn't really needed defending. Donny had caught me off-guard but if Joe hadn't hit him, I would have.
I flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting to see if there was some sort of tell-tale creak as the Siamese twins started making out on my little sister's bed.
There was no creak, but that didn't mean they weren't going at it up there.
I heard Daddy call out that dinner was ready and I decided that I probably should put in an appearance at least.
I was glad that whatever it was from the near-death experience that made me eat everything in sight was over. I poked at the lasagna and finally excused myself, saying that my stomach didn't feel quite right – which was the truth.
I went to my room and lied down, curling up under a blanket. A knock on the door a few minutes later, made me sit up. "Come in," I called.
"Hey." It was Joe. He shut the door behind him. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Not feeling all that hot. That's all."
He sat next to me and pulled me towards him. I rested my head on her shoulder. "And it doesn't have anything to do with Lana staying in your little sister's room?" he asked quietly.
I didn't say anything to that.
"Hey, it's me. You can tell me anything."
"I know and no, I'm not crazy about her being up there."
"I know. You think Clark'll sleep in there tonight?"
I shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care."
He grinned suddenly. "I could always sleep on the floor in here. Because I can if you want me, too."
"What'll Dad think?"
He shrugged. "He probably thinks we've slept together already."
I shuddered. "I never told you what happened while Clark and I were stuck here, did I?"
"No," he said slowly. "Do I want to know?"
"Well, the first night, we were both practically unconscious and I managed to get all of our soaking wet clothes off and we slept together under blankets in front of the fire so we wouldn't freeze to death. The second night, I fell asleep in here and Clark came into check on me, got dizzy and sat down, and then fell asleep and slept in here with me. The fourth night, the power went out." I didn't look at him as I picked at an imaginary piece of lint. "He slept on the floor in here and I woke up completely freaked out by a nightmare. He came and gave me a big hug and held me for a few minutes while I calmed down and we fell asleep again."
"Should I be jealous?" I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice.
"Nah. Yeah, he slept with me naked, but he's never kissed me."
"That's good. I'd hate to lose my make-out buddy."
"You're not going to, unless you find someone else. Then you'll make out with her."
We settled a bit more on the bed. "You know, Lois," he said slowly, his hand rubbing my shoulder. "I know we said a long time ago that we weren't going to be the great love affair of the new millennium, but sometimes I wonder if we don't end up back together all the time for a reason."
I thought about that. "No one knows me better than you."
"And no one knows me better than you."
My voice was small as I finally voiced the thought that had been bouncing around my head. "Would you stay with me tonight?" I turned slightly towards him. "I really don't want to be alone. And you're my best friend."
"Anything for you, Lo."
"Stop calling me 'Lo' and I'll even let you share the bed with me." That was, of course, what I meant when I asked him to stay with me and he knew it.
"No more 'Lo'," he promised, kissing the side of my head. "Sit up for a minute." I complied and he pulled his shirt off and we crawled under the covers.
"You do know I meant only to sleep right?"
"Don't worry. I’m not about to try anything. Not tonight. Not when you need a friend."
"Thanks, Joe."
He pulled me close to him and I rested my head on his chest, tears falling. "I know Clark stayed up there when we were here, but why does the first real visitor to Lucy's room have to be her? Any why does it bother me so much?"
He shrugged, one hand playing with the hair at my temple. "I don't know, babe. But I do love you."
"I know." That was my last conscious thought until the sun came up the next morning.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I pulled a shirt and sweatpants on and headed out of my room. It was pretty early, but I ran into Joe.
Coming up the half staircase from Lois' room.
Looking rather tousled.
He brushed past me without saying anything and headed to his room.
Interesting.
Lois had told me – repeatedly and vehemently – that she and Joe weren't sleeping, or *not* sleeping, together.
I headed down the stairs just in time to see Lois, also looking fairly tousled, coming down the stairs from her room into the living room.
"Good morning," I said with a grin. "Sleep well?"
"Fine."
"Joe sleep well?"
"Joe slept fine." She glared at me. "What?"
I shrugged. "Was just surprised to see him coming out of your room, that's all."
"And you didn't fall asleep in Lana's room last night?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Well, not that it's any of your business, but we were talking and fell asleep. That's it."
She was lying about something, but I wasn't sure what. I didn't think it was about what had happened between them, but it was something.
"Are you making breakfast again this morning?"
I shrugged. "I can. Are you still eating as much as you were last time we were here?"
She shook her head. "I don't know what the deal with that was, but I've never been that hungry before or since. Must have been the near death experience or something."
I nodded. "Must have been." I headed to the kitchen to start breakfast while Lois grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to one of the chairs that looked out the large picture window. I didn't know where Sam was, but I was sure Lana was still asleep.
I wasn't paying attention to the noises behind me, so the arms that slipped around my waist and the cheek that rested against my back caught me a bit off-guard.
"Good morning," I felt, more than heard, Lana say. "Making breakfast?"
"Yep." I turned to face her. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Happy Thanksgiving," she said before she stretched up to kiss me.
"Want a cup of coffee?" I asked her. She nodded and I quickly fixed her a cup the way I knew she liked it – black. It was easy.
The rest of the day passed in relative peace. We had a big traditional Thanksgiving dinner and took turns being thankful.
Sam was thankful his daughter and her friend had survived the blizzard.
Joe was thankful he had somewhere to be because his parents were overseas for a few weeks.
Lois was thankful to be alive and for good friends. I noticed she didn't look at Lana when she said that.
Lana was thankful that she got out of Smallville and to Sam – but apparently not Lois – for the Lucy Lane Memorial Scholarship that was helping her attend Met U.
I was thankful for new friends and old and a place to spend the holidays away from home.
Lois said she wasn't sure why but was exhausted and took an afternoon nap in her room. Lana, Joe, Sam and I played Trivial Pursuit. Sam won. But it was the Millennium Edition and he'd lived through a lot more of the millennium than the rest of us. We didn't mention that part to him though.
Joe and I brought more wood in for the fire.
We all had leftovers for dinner. Except Lois who woke not feeling much better and without much of an appetite.
Sam had bought a new TV for the great room – a big HDTV that I was sure cost almost as much as a year's tuition at Met U – as well as a DVD player, so we all watched 'Miracle on 34th Street' as a way to get us in the holiday spirit. I noticed Joe and Lois sitting closer together than they had been recently. Maybe things in their world were getting better.
We only had a couple more weeks of school and then Lana and I would be heading home for the break. I wondered what Lois was going to do. She'd let it slip a couple weeks earlier that her dad's girlfriend was the reason she'd had to move out and why she really wasn't looking forward to Christmas like she usually did.
I was looking forward to going home and seeing my family and finding a way to buy Lana a ring without anyone knowing and talking to her dad and getting ready to propose when we went to Europe on the school trip right before the first of the year. We wouldn't get to spend New Year's at home because we had to leave Metropolis December 29, but a two week trip through Europe with Lana was worth it.
I couldn't wait.
*****
TBC
