Thanks to Maggs and Kmar for betareading.
The characters of this story don't belong to me, I just borrowed them to have a little fun. I don't earn any money with them.
From Part 1:
While he held Cat, Clark watched the officers as they arrested the thug. He knew that Cat would have to tell them what happened. But maybe he could ask them to postpone the interrogation when the shock had worn off. Clark was grateful that he had come in time before anything worse could have happened.
When one of the officers asked how Cat was, she still hadn’t said a word. She was just leaning against his shoulder, sobbing and dampening Clark’s coat.
“I don’t think she’s injured,” Clark replied instead of Cat. “But I don’t think she’ll be able to answer any of your questions.”
“But we need your statements,” the officer said. “Without them, we can’t arrest the man for more than twenty four hours.”
Clark’s mind raced and he hoped that he could think of something that would help both Cat and the police. But before he could say anything, Cat harrumphed. Her voice was low, barely audible and crack as she spoke.
“You’ll get your statement, officer."
Nightmares
Part 2:
A few hours later...
“Clark, I....” Cat swallowed hard as Clark gave her a gentle prod past his front door. “You... you don’t need to do that, I mean, this is very kind of you, but...” She looked at him and gulped, before she stared at the floor, uneasily.
“Cat, you told me that you would rather not spend this night alone in your hotel room and that’s perfectly normal,” Clark replied patiently. “I guess, if places were reversed, I wouldn’t like to stay alone either. So, if you don’t feel bad about staying with me tonight, please be my guest.”
Cat looked at him, gratefully and nodded. A faint smile appeared on her lips, but she was smiling no less. It was the first time since Clark had seen her leave the newsroom. Self-consciously, she went down the flight of stairs and nervously pulled at her short skirt in a futile attempt to make it a little longer. Cat seemed so lost in his living room. It was scary, because his former colleague had been the last person he had expected to stare back at him with those haunted eyes.
It was getting really late. Clark noticed that his weariness was catching up with him again. When he had hurried to help Cat, he had been wide awake and the rush of adrenaline had also helped him in the police station. But now it was clearly fading and he remembered that he hadn’t gotten much sleep throughout the last couple of days. But watching Cat told him that it would take some time until he could think about getting rest. Like a caged tiger she was pacing through his living room, fumbling with her skirt. It started to make Clark nervous.
Suddenly she stopped. “You...eh...do you have...uh...” she didn’t need to finish her sentence. Clark could see that she was feeling uncomfortable in her sexy clothes. The obscene threats of the thug had obviously taken their toll on her.
“Of course. Give me a moment to look for clothes that might fit you.” Clark said and automatically thought back to the evening he had spent at Cat’s place. It had surprised him that Cat’s interpretation of changing into something more comfortable didn’t necessarily mean she would return wearing a negligee. He had liked the way she had looked then.
“I... thank you, Clark... I don’t think I deserve your kindness.” She said, her hands pressed against the hemline of her skirt. Her gaze wandered through the room, looking at everything but avoiding Clark. “I mean, I didn’t always treat you respectfully – for example when you lost your memory, or earlier today...” Remorse was written all over her face. The Cat Clark knew was hardly recognizable. She was obviously shaken to the bone.
“Let’s forget about that, Cat. Would you like to take a long, hot shower to relax a bit?” Clark suggested and was relieved when he saw her nodding affirmatively. “I’ll go and see what I what I can find in my closet. I’ll lay the clothes in front of the door of my bath room. And I promise you I won’t peek.” He grinned whimsically.
A small smile appeared on Cat’s lips. “I guess, I can trust you with this”, she murmured and the tone of her voice reminded him a bit of her former salaciousness.
Clark returned her smile and invitingly waved towards his bathroom. Then he made his way towards his bedroom. He wondered if his closet would contain anything a woman like Cat could wear. But that wasn’t his only problem. There was also the yet unsolved question where Cat would sleep tonight. To offer her his bed would be the decent thing. But the way to his bathroom would lead Cat through his living room. What would happen if he floated in his sleep, or if Cat saw him floating, more precisely?
But before he could find a solution, someone rang the door bell. A little confused, Clark looked at his clock. It was way past midnight. Who wanted to see him so late, or rather early in the morning? He lowered his glasses and was about to take a peek, when he remembered that he had a visitor. Given the circumstances, using his x-ray vision probably wasn’t the best idea. Shaking his head, he set his glasses back in place. Then he went to open the door.
He should have known it. When someone started to knock at his door impatiently and with certain perseverance, it became obvious that his late visitor could only be Lois. The slender silhouette in front of his door and briefly thereafter the raving beauty herself only confirmed his suspicion.
“You’re still awake?” Lois asked needlessly. Clark shook his head. Even if he had been asleep, he would have awakened from the noise Lois had caused.
“Hi, Lois!” he greeted his partner and wondered what she was having in mind. Would she finally start to ask for his company before she risked her life once again?
* * *
Shaking violently, Lois stood in front of Clark’s door and wondered what she had been thinking. Not even the sight of her partner’s well defined chest would have sufficed to make her warm. Suffering from a sudden attack of mental derangement, Lois hadn’t dressed warm enough – that was certain. Clark looked at her, curiously and a little surprised. It took him a moment to step aside and let her in.
“Clark, I...” Lois struggled with herself. The courage she had gathered to come here in the first place, vanished as soon as she stepped into his apartment.
“Any interesting leads waiting for you, Lois?” Clark offered and Lois would have liked to accept his excuse rather than say what she actually wanted to say. The declaration of love she had carefully prepared on her way to Clark’s place just wasn’t as simple to say as she had ludicrously hoped it would be. But she couldn’t think of an investigation either that couldn’t have waited until tomorrow. She was trapped.
“Eh...” she said eloquently and harrumphed hoping for the lump in her throat to miraculously disappear. “Clark, I... I know it’s late and I guess that you want to sleep rather than... What about those articles of yours? I...I wasn’t busy and I thought that maybe I could help you, so...”
This was so bad! Lois couldn’t believe she was actually saying this. Why would she have come to Clark’s apartment instead of the Daily Planet, if she wanted to help him do his work?
‘Tell him already, Lois. Tell him that you love him. That can’t be so difficult!’ she admonished herself silently.
But it was difficult, so incredibly difficult. Her heart clenched with fear as she imagined that Clark would shake his head and tell her that he wasn’t interested. He had done it before, so why would he change his mind? While her tongue seemed to be glued to her gums, her eyes drowned in the sight of his lips, dreaming of the miracle to come true. She dreamt of Clark bending towards her, kissing her tenderly. Why hadn’t she returned his kisses more passionately? It would have saved her from feeling so helpless now.
“I’m finished, but thanks for asking, Lois”, Clark replied with a wry smile, interrupting her thoughts. One of his brows was furrowed as if to ask for the true reason of her coming. He looked at her curiously, but relaxed. “Is there something else you want to tell me, Lois? What is the matter? Don’t tell me you came here just to ask me if I finished my articles,” he said gently.
“Clark? Clark, where are you? You wanted to... oh, hi Lois!”
Lois froze and looked at Cat, who had seemingly appeared out of the blue. She stood in Clark’s living room, wearing nothing but a towel that was loosely wrapped around her. With one hand pressed against her chest she stopped it from just slipping away. Lois blinked, stunned. But what Lois had hoped to be no more than a hallucination did not disappear. Lois would have loved to wake up from this nightmare. But no matter how hard she tried, this brazen wench in Clark’s living room was far too real to be just an ugly imagination. And what kind of cruel mind could think of something like this? Admittedly, Cat Grant was almost dressed decently, compared to her usual appearance. But that didn’t change the fact that this was Cat, who was supposed to be in Paris. Cat! With Clark!!!
“Cat, you’re here?” Lois managed to say, but her brave facade quickly began to break away.
Her knees were getting weak and the world around her seemed to sway underneath her feet. Lois could see that Clark’s lips were moving, but she didn’t understand a word. Her heart was hammering in her ears and told her to get away from him. And Lois did. She turned around and ran away as fast as she could. She didn’t close the door behind her, she just fled this nightmare as quickly as possible.
Lois didn’t see anything but the staircase that led her down from Clark’s apartment. She took as many stairs at once as she could manage without losing her balance in the process. She just wanted to get away from Clark and Cat, as far away as she possibly could. Rage and sadness formed a lump in her throat that threatened to suffocate her. The stairs became blurred and Lois blinked the tears away. She wouldn’t cry. No way.
“Lois, wait. Please wait!” Clark’s voice resounded on the staircase.
She didn’t stop her pace, but rushed on until she almost stumbled. Clark called her again and she heard him coming closer. What did he want to tell her? That things were not as they appeared to be? That the half naked Cat in his apartment was nothing but a huge misunderstanding? Not even Mr. Very-bad-lie could honestly expect her to believe that.
“Lois, please, I can explain,” Clark shouted. It only served to convince her that leaving him was the right decision.
Finally, Lois saw the exit and left the apartment house. Through the darkness she ran over to her car. From behind her she heard a rumbling noise. For a moment Lois stopped, startled. A loud curse was heard and Clark called her once again. Lois woke from her stupor and fled onto the driver’s seat of her car. Cat could take care of him, she thought angrily and her heart clenched painfully.
“Why? Why?” Lois whispered desperately and then she could no longer restrain the tears. Why had she wanted to declare her love for this guy?
* * *
Little more than a picture of misery was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. A few times, Clark had jumped to his feet, wanting to follow Lois. He longed to explain the reason for Cat’s being in his apartment to her. But each time, Cat had pressed him back into his seat and told him that there was nothing he could possibly explain. It was rather strange that Cat could so easily keep Superman in his apartment. But on the other hand, Clark had to admit that he wasn’t that super at the moment, except for being super desperate.
“She wouldn’t listen to you, anyway,” Cat said for the umpteenth time. “And even if you could make her listen, she wouldn’t believe you.” She sighed audibly and looked at him sadly. “I... I can leave you alone, if you want me to. If you don’t want to see me, I would understand. I’m so sorry, Clark. After all you did for me, I’m doing this to you...” she whispered slowly and full of self disgust.
For a moment, Clark looked up and watched Cat. He blinked and swallowed. Much as he wanted to, he couldn’t respond. Cat’s lower lip trembled and she looked at him, apologetically. It was the first time that he saw Cat blush. It was a completely new Cat he encountered in his living room. This Cat was vulnerable and almost shy. Although she was kind of a stranger to him – she somehow seemed to be more familiar to him than ever before.
“If I had known that Lois had come, I’d have stayed in the bathroom,” she murmured and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“It’s not your fault,” Clark managed to say quietly. His voice was weak, not half as sonorous as usually. “If I didn’t make it so difficult for Lois to trust me, this wouldn’t have happened. I should have told her right away that you’re staying at my place and why.” He burrowed his face in his hands. “I should have told her...” he whispered.
Clark was no longer talking about Cat and the incident in the alley. He had made so many mistakes, like for example taking back his declaration of love. His mother had warned him that his lies would sooner or later catch up with him. Unfortunately, she had been right about that. It was a strange insight for someone who usually fought for truth and justice.
Clark felt Cat sit down beside him. She laid her arm around his shoulders and hugged him soothingly. They sat there for a while neither of them saying a word. Both wondered what they could say to help the other one. But perhaps the situation was already too bad to save anything. An eternity seemed to pass. They sat there unmoving but for the small sighs that escaped them now and again.
“You love her very much, don’t you?” Cat asked after a while.
“Mmh,” Clark hummed. “Since the first time I saw her.”
Cat blinked. “Wow! I wasn’t aware that Lois was the love at first sight type of girl.” Clark raised an eyebrow in response and Cat harrumphed embarrassedly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. I just thought that Lois is, well, what can I say... a little cold?”
Clark had to think of the three rules, Lois had claimed to act on. Or how she had never gotten tired of telling him that there was no *we* in their partnership. Although he didn’t feel like it, he had to smile.
“You could be right there”, Clark admitted and Cat uttered a relieved sigh. “She’s not always easy to deal with. But nevertheless, I was fascinated from the first moment on...”
He fell silent. Cat certainly wouldn’t be interested in all these details. She wasn’t that keen on Lois, Clark knew that. Over the years, they had had their daily skirmishes that occasionally had turned into fights. All in all, Clark had often thought that they just loved to hate each other.
But Cat hadn’t heard enough. Gently she made Clark tell her more about his feelings. And so he told her almost everything. Starting with the bungled declaration of love and his awful idea to take it back afterwards, he continued with Lois’ problems getting over the catastrophe with Lex Luthor. He mentioned Mayson Drake and how he secretly enjoyed Lois’ jealousy. He even told Cat that he sometimes wished Lois would admire Clark as much as Superman. That wasn’t entirely true though, but Clark couldn’t possibly explain the truth to Cat. Clark didn’t want Lois to worship him like Superman. He just wanted her to see the man instead of the powers.
“Is she worth all the trouble, Clark?” Cat asked when he had finished.
He shrugged. “I’d like to claim that I know this without any doubt. Sometimes I wonder if fate couldn’t have come up with a simpler task than courting Lois. But the truth is that Lois is the first woman who made me feel like I belonged somewhere. Before I came to Metropolis, I was a restless wanderer. With Lois I could find a home.”
“Oh, boy, sounds like you’re truly smitten”, Cat remarked.
Clark smiled in embarrassment. “You can say that again,” he murmured.
One hour after another passed and soon the night drew to a close. After they had talked about Clark, he patiently listened as Cat spoke about her nightmare in the alley. She told him about her fear, as the guy had suddenly appeared behind her, armed with a knife.
“I thought that I’d never escape this”, she finally said. Her voice was low and she bent her head. “I can still smell him, when I close my eyes. He reeked of alcohol and sweat. It almost made me sick as he covered my mouth with his dirty hands. And I heard him whisper that if I screamed again, he would show me what he was capable of.”
Cat was sitting there, her face buried in Clark’s shoulder, weeping softly. Clark had laid his arm around her and stroked her back gently. He let her cry out her pain, hoping it was going to help her.
“I’m afraid that I won’t ever be able to forget this night,” Cat said somewhat later. “How am I supposed to go out and enjoy myself, if there’s a madman waiting for me behind the next corner? How...” Her voice broke. “After all I just went to the newsroom!” she added with a desperate sob.
“What happened isn’t your fault, Cat. It was bad luck that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Clark said gently.
He didn’t know what else he could say to soothe her. He couldn’t claim that Cat would wake up the next morning and everything would be okay again. That just wasn’t true. Time would help to make the wound smaller and hurt less. But Cat wouldn’t be human if a night like this didn’t leave as much as a scar.
It was almost too late for getting to bed when they finally did. He wanted her to take his bed, but Cat won over and spent the night on the small, but pretty comfortable sofa. They said good night to each other, both feeling that they had found an unexpected friend.
to be continued...
