I have no idea if/how weddings at an embassy work, so I hope this works okay... Go with it?
Last time:
Lois
Once inside, I leaned against the wall and breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I'm safe?" I asked, a big smile on my face, certain I knew the answer.
His face was still grim. "Not quite. There's something else."
"What?" I asked but he was already heading down the hallway.
I hurried behind him until he stopped in front of an open door.
I looked inside and then turned to look him in the eye.
"What exactly is it that we have to do, Clark?"
He stared at the ground as he took a deep breath and blurted it out.
"Get married."
*~*23*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
She stared at me.
Or I was sure she did. I didn't look.
Finally she found her voice. "What?"
I ran a hand through my hair. "We have to get married."
"Why? That's insane!" she hissed at me.
"I claimed the baby. That's all well and good." I leaned against the wall by the open door to the chapel. "But Navance is claiming the baby, too. And in Latislan, if he does, that's all that matters."
"Right. Daniel told us all that. What does that have to do with us getting married?" She crossed her arms and ducked slightly so she could see my eyes.
"If you're married, the husband is the legal father no matter what Navance claims," I told her.
Her breath hitched just a bit. "So we have to get married? Why can't we just leave the country?"
"Because then, Ms. Lane, he can claim all kinds of nasty things about you and the American government and taking his child from the country because legally, in Latislan, at the moment, you're carrying his child, and all sorts of other ugly stuff," Daniel said, walking up.
"He could still try to claim he's the father if I'm at home and DNA tests prove he's not?" Lois asked, stunned.
Daniel sighed. "I'm afraid so. It's on record in Latislan that he's the father of your child. That's all that matters under Latislani law. It doesn't make sense at all, but that's the way it is. No American court would send you or the baby back here, but the international relations..."
Lois interrupted him, angrily. "So you're going to disrupt my life and Clark's life and my baby's life by making us get married because of international relations?"
He shook his head. I closed my eyes as Daniel talked. We'd been over all of this repeatedly and we hadn't found any other way.
"It's not just international relations, Lois. The PR is going to be a nightmare as it is, most likely. We'll do our best to keep all of this out of the news, but if he has a *legal* claim, even in Latislan, he can make things miserable for you and the baby for a very long time. Drag you through the media and the courts and the baby, too."
I could hear tears falling down Lois' face and heard her swipe at them.
"So we have to get married?" she whispered.
"You don't *have* to," Daniel told her. "But... it's probably the best way to protect both of you."
"How long?"
"How long what?"
"How long do we have to stay married?"
I answered that one. "Just till we get home. We can get it annulled when we get back to the States."
"If I'm pregnant and you're claiming the baby, will we be able to get it annulled or will we have to get a divorce?" Lois asked.
"You should be able to get an annulment when you explain the circumstances," Daniel told her.
"What about Lana?" she asked me.
I shrugged. "She won't be happy about it, but it's not like we're going to have sex or anything like that."
"Why are you doing this, Clark?" she asked me without looking at me.
I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I can't let him get to you and the baby. I promised your dad I'd protect you, but even if I hadn't, I won't let anything happen to you." I couldn't tell her what else Navance had said.
She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest for a long minute. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt.
"It'll be okay," I told her. "We'll get you home and get an annulment and it'll be over."
"Are you sure?" I could barely hear her.
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"Okay, then." She pulled back from me and wiped her face. "Let's do this."
"Do you want to change first or anything?" Daniel asked her. "We got your stuff from Paris."
She sighed. "I would love to get out of these clothes and into something of my own and..." She blushed. "I could really use some clean underwear, too. And get rid of this IV."
Daniel nodded and motioned to a Marine standing nearby. "Will you show Ms. Lane to her room and have the corpsman meet her up there to get that out of her arm?" He turned back to Lois. "Don't take long. We need to get this done before Navance shows up."
She nodded and turned to the Marine.
He smiled at her. "This way, Ms. Lane."
I watched her as she walked away. "Are you sure this is the only way, Daniel?"
"Yeah, Clark," he answered softly. "It's the only way."
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I sat on the bed and held my arm out as the corpsman removed the IV from my arm. I held the cotton ball on the inside of my elbow as I curled my arm, willing the tears to stay put.
He put a piece of tape over the cotton ball. "All set, Ms. Lane."
"Thanks," I whispered.
"Mr. Scardino said to tell you that time is of the essence," said my escort.
I nodded. "I'll hurry."
"There's bathroom through there," he told me, pointing towards a door in the corner of the room. "Your suitcase and backpack are in the closet."
"Thanks," I told him as he left.
I closed my eyes and steeled myself for what was about to happen.
I was about to get married.
To Clark.
To protect me and my baby.
I was pregnant.
I sighed and made myself get up and opened the closet door.
I closed my eyes again at the sight that greeted me.
Clark's clothes were in there, too.
We were going to be expected to share the room – which made sense because we were getting married and I was sure it had to look good until we got home at least.
I dug through my suitcase and found a pair of slacks and a decent shirt.
I headed into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face and used a washcloth to scrub off some of the grime I felt I had accumulated just from being in that so-called hospital.
I changed clothes, feeling better than I had in days. It was amazing what clean underwear could do to make a girl feel a bit better.
I pulled my clothes on and ran a brush through my hair. I didn't put any make-up on in the interests of time and because I knew it was pointless given the tears I was sure to be crying.
No wonder I'd been so emotional lately.
Hormones would do that to a pregnant woman.
There was a knock on the door. "Ms. Lane?"
"I'm coming," I called.
I looked myself in the mirror.
Not exactly how I pictured my wedding day.
I sighed and headed towards the door.
I followed the Marine escort back to the chapel. Clark was sitting in one of the chairs in the front row.
"Ready?" asked Daniel.
I nodded and we walked to the front where a Marine chaplain stood.
Clark stood but didn't look at me. His hands were stuck in his pockets and he stared at the ground in front of him.
Jack was standing off to the side. I guessed he and Daniel were our witnesses.
Didn't you need witnesses to get married?
"Dearly beloved," the chaplain started. "We are gathered here this evening, in the presence of these witnesses, to join Lois Lane and Clark Kent in holy matrimony. It is commended to be honorable among men and not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly. Into this holy estate, these two persons shall now be enjoined. If any person can show just cause why these two should not be joined together – let them speak now or forever hold their peace."
I held by breath just waiting for the doors to burst open with the Latislani army in full force.
They didn’t.
We all breathed a sigh of relief as the three-count ended.
"Clark, take Lois' hand..."
He turned towards me and took the hand I held out.
"...and repeat after me. I, Clark, take thee Lois to be my lawfully wedding wife."
After a slight pause, Clark repeated the words.
"To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health."
Clark's voice was quiet as he said the time-honored vows.
"I promise to love, respect, honor, and protect you and keep myself only unto you as long as we both shall live."
I could hear the hesitation in his voice. This wedding wasn't a ceremony that was creating the marriage of a lifetime. It would last a few weeks at most.
He must have finished because the chaplain turned to me. "Lois, would you please repeat after me."
I nodded and repeated the same vows Clark had.
"May I have the rings?" the chaplain asked.
I started slightly, but still didn't look at Clark. He dug a box out of his pocket and handed it over.
"The wedding ring is a symbol of the commitment which binds these two together. There are two rings because there are two people, each to make a contribution to the life of the other and to their new life together. Let us pray."
We all bowed our heads and I closed my eyes. I guessed everyone else did, too.
"Bless, Oh Lord, the giving of these rings that they who wear them may abide together in your peace." He turned to me and handed me a plain gold band. "Lois, place this ring on Clark's finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge my life and my fidelity."
I stumbled slightly over the words, but managed to get the ring on Clark's finger, without ever looking at him.
A minute later, he'd slipped a band on mine and said the same thing.
"By the powers vested in me, by the State Department, I now pronounce you husband and wife." He grinned at us. "Clark, you may kiss your bride."
I could tell he was trying not to cringe, but he managed to brush his lips against the corner of mine.
The tears that had been sneaking down my face picked up and I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
"I need you two to sign the marriage certificate," Daniel said, handing a clipboard over.
I took the offer pen and signed my name on the line indicated before handing it to Clark. He signed and handed it back to Daniel, who wrote his name with a flourish and passed it on to Jack and then the chaplain.
"There you go. All legal," the chaplain said.
"Are you hungry?" Daniel asked me.
"No. Thanks, though."
"When was the last time you ate?"
I shrugged. "A while."
"Come on," Daniel said, putting an arm around my shoulder. "We'll get something in your stomach and then let you get some rest.
I hesitated slightly then nodded as he led me away from Clark.
My husband.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I watched Lois walk off.
Daniel was right. She needed to make sure she took care of herself. For her sake and the baby's.
Jack and I talked a bit about the plan for the next several days.
We had talked about trying to get us out of Dodge immediately, but the plane that was supposed to take us was having problems and so we were stuck. Daniel, Jack and I were hoping that we could even wait until we were out of Latislan to get married – or that we could get around it once we were out of the country – but the plane wasn't going anywhere and it was going to be at least the next morning before they could get us another one.
The four of us – and the ambassador, who I'd met the day before – were the only ones who knew the true nature of what was going on so the rest of the embassy had to believe that this was all real – at least until we got home and got it annulled.
We were going to go to another small, eastern European country – possibly Gadansk, but probably not because relations between the two were already very strained – where it would be hard for Navance to track us. Then we'd head back to Metropolis sometime the next week and get back probably before the rest of our tour group did.
And the first thing we were going to do when we got back was get this annulled and I could try to get Lana to understand and ask *her* to marry me.
Once I was done talking to Jack, I went up to the roof and stared at the stars for a few minutes.
I had done the right thing. I knew I had.
I'd had two days to think it over.
I'd sold Lana's ring and paid the fees to get the certificate or license or whatever and wedding bands for each of us.
I fiddled with the unfamiliar adornment on my finger. It was weird. I'd imagined a ring there before, but it had always been placed by Lana in my daydreams.
Navance was scary. The longer we were here, the more certain I was that he hated Lois. I didn't know why he'd latched onto Lois and the baby, but he had and then Lois threw up all over him and kneed him where it hurt. And in front of his men, too. He wasn't about to let go now.
And what he'd said to me in the hallway...
I shook the thoughts of that conversation out of my head.
Short of flying the two of us out of here, this was the only solution we'd come up with and no one else knew that was an option. This was the only option that Daniel and his team of lawyers or whoever he had working for him and who Sam had working on this wherever they were had come up with.
I hoped Lana would understand. I couldn't let Navance get his hands on Lois or the baby. I just couldn't.
I'd thought about flying home and talking to my parents, but there hadn't been a good time when I thought my absence wouldn't be noticed.
They had taken me in.
Two people had found a spaceship in the middle of a field with a baby in it and had taken that baby in.
Both of them – separately and together – had decided that taking care of me, adopting me, raising me with my secret and the inherent risks that went along with having an alien for a child – no matter how human I looked... They had decided that I was worth the risk. That they would protect me and love me and take care of me, no matter what.
Marrying Lois for a few weeks to protect her and another innocent baby was the least I could do.
Keeping Lois in the dark about the plans hadn't been easy. She wasn't happy about it at all, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She was in a room with microphones and the three people who really knew what was going on weren't saying anything. I was sure she was going to let me have it when we were alone somewhere without microphones. I could probably figure out if there were any in our room here at the embassy but I didn't know how to do so without letting on what I could do. It was probably safest to think that any and everything was being recorded until we got home.
Our room.
It suddenly hit me.
I knew that we were going to share a room intellectually, but knowing that Lois was likely to be there any minute, waiting for me and that we had to put on a good show in case anyone was listening...
Not that kind of show but the 'I'm tired and still don’t feel well' show.
I sighed.
This wasn’t going to be an easy week or so until we could get home, but then she and Junior would be safe and that was what mattered.
I had to keep telling myself that.
*****
TBC
