Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: OTOH: He Didn't Have To Be, 2/2 and On The Other Hand, 51/?

FDK goes here.

Posting schedule [ET]:

Sunday: Chapters 52 and 53, sometime after 3pm

Tuesday: Chapters 54 and 55, 2-3pm

Thursday: Chapters 56 and 57, 2-3pm

Thanks .
Carol

Kent Farm:

Oh! Oh! Oh! Early postage!!!!

Yeah!!!!

James

That was very sweet. And I liked Lois's thoughts in the middle of stories.

I really feel sorry for Lois, thinking she'll have to give Clark up.

And Clark has done some irresponsible things in this story. But their very understandable. There is a difference between "this is the way I should feel" and "this is the way I feel."
I don't think a lot of people understand that. But the fact is, there is nothing you can do about feelings, and you shouldn't try to hide them. Clark knows he shouldn't resent Lois for not being Lana, but he does. Clark knows he should have told Lois before he did, but he was cowardly. (Pro-Clark, remember?)

You almost made me cry! That was beautiful Carol.

I like Lois' reactions in 51 too.... but He Didn't Have to Be was just beautiful...

Ok... so...

I loved the conversation after Lois read Clark's essay, and I adored the open chat Lois had with Clarks mom. I thought part 51 was wonderful.. open, honest, passionate, engaging... a huge step forward for Lois, Clark and his parents. There was a lot of revelation and realisation for Lois. Although I worry she's going to become moonstruck with wanting to 'keep' Clark...
Clark finally became honest.. reluctantly so, but nevertheless honesty is the way to trust. Martha I think is really 'falling for' Lois and (what she believes to be) her grandchild.. but I also wonder if Martha can read between the lines of what Lois is saying... especially given how well Martha knows her son.

While I can completely understand, and enjoyed the essay and Lois's thoughts being in this story (it was an amazingly heartfelt and sincere story from both young Clark and Martha), After reading 51, I can't help feeling that inserting the entire essay into the narrative wasn't really necessary. I guess I felt that 51's dialogue revealed as much to me, and more than the essay.

Regardless, I am thoroughly enjoying this story... and I can't wait to see what happens next in Smallville. Lana has been quiet for a few chapters... must be due for some Cruella stuff soon.... and I have a real bad feeling about that...

Carol, "He Didn't Have To Be" really made me laugh out loud more than once. First, there was that very cute bit about the frogs and Lois' thought about better having a girl.

Then the proposal. Clark really is too cute as a five-year-old.

I also loved Lois' comments. All of them, not only the one about frogs.

I also very much enjoyed the other part with the talk after the revelation. Wonderfully done and so very real. Clark-like and Lois-like, you could call it. I just wish Clark and Lois would tell Martha the truth about Lois' baby as they know it. (Btw, how far ahead will Lois be at hre next appointment? A week? Two? I still believe in that baby developing super-fast. )

Happy, teary, sigh.

I love Clark's essay and the story he told. Jonathan's first date with Martha...oh there are no words. And thank God Clark came out of the alien closet!

Great parts,
JD

Delightful part. I like how your Lois handled the whole thing.


If your Lois makes the same intuitive leaps as canon Lois I'd bet on her being the one to figure out Kryptonite.

So what evil bad thing is Lana going to do thus destroying herself in Clark's eyes so he can move on?

They have the globe, wonderful. They also have the ship, so perhaps B39 is not lurking in the shadows.

Absolutely wonderful, Carol. Both parts were great, but five-year-old Clark's POV in part 50 was absolutely irresistible. I love reading things where the story is told by someone who isn't quite getting the full story, and you have to read between the lines to understand the whole thing. In part 50, Lois's comments were wonderful too. I was moved and saddened by Lois's musings that just possibly Clark had been thinking about peas anc cherries during his wedding to her, just like he had been thinking about those things during his mom's wedding to Jonathan.

You portrait of Jonathan was simply wonderful. No wonder Clark loves his dad!!!

I'm wondering if Lois is going to understand that there was something there in Shuster's Field the night Clark threw up on Jonathan, and that he most likely had run across the something similar on the night when he was so ill that he would have died if she hadn't managed to get him into her father's cabin.

I, too, am so glad that Lois knows about Clark, and I hope that this new honesty is going to bring them closer.

By the way, frogs are cute! The boy in this picture could almost have been young Clark swimming in a pond somewhere around Smallville and playing gently with frogs.



Ann

Carol, I think the way you inserted the paper was really well done with all the Lois-thoughts in between. It sort of showed Lois coming to terms over the course of the story. I don't think I expected her to blow up, but at the same time I was surprised by the way she let her maternal instincts reach out for young Clark and thus projecting them to grown-up Lunkhead, too. Really sweet and well done. Please find a way to do the same in the archived version if you really intend to move HDHTB to a separate story.

And then he told her about listening to the baby's heartbeat at night. I think Lois' heart is so in love with him by now. Of course, her heart is buried, gagged, and guarded by an army of rabid dogs so there is no way it will ever come out and say so.

Michael, who now goes and slowly ticks off the hours till parts 52/53. More, please?

Lovely parts!

Quick note:

Thanks all .

Framework - yes, it should - thought I edited it from the 'Firefox fills in the blanks for you' old version.

Michael - the story will be uploaded twice - once on it's own as a stand alone story and as part of OTOH with Lois' thoughts in it. It was originally meant to be the first couple chapters of a stand alone story that then jumped to a practically canon L/C getting ready to have their first baby or something, but it fit so well here...

Back later...
Carol

What a truly inspirational story He didn't have to be is. Reading the paper certainly gave Lois time to come to terms with Clark's secret. Too bad she was so tired. I am sure there will be plenty of questions later. But hey, she already flew with him without freaking out so that is good.

I also enjoyed the conversation between Lois and Martha.

Now all they need to do is discover the kryptonite. I still think that with Clark being exposed to it, Lois will realize how much he really means to her. Please, I need some WAFFs in the future!

Before I forget, I am really glad that Lana and/or her parents haven't shown up yet...

Tell me again, what is the reason for not posting daily??

Natascha

LOL!

It's not done. When I finish Nano, which is the sequel to this, and I get this finished, I'll up the posting schedule to daily. Rest assured, however, that I do have enough buffer to get through the end of Nov. so Nano won't interfere with the current posting schedule .

Carol

Just wanted to say I am really enjoying this.
Plus I appreciate the regular posts. It is so nice to look forward to them.

Yay! Carol's back!

I agree with everything else that has already been said, so I won't repeat it all. The proposal was exceptionally sweet with five year-old Clark kneeling next to Jonathan. Lois's musings were nice additions as well. They were both funny and heartbreaking at the same time as she started to see the parallels between her life and HDHTB.

The talk afterwards was great and I am looking forward to seeing Lois's intellectual mind start putting things together (even stuff Clark hasn't figured out yet). It should be a nice scene to read when Lois realizes that he actually was studying on the Great Wall of China

Though there have been some kryptonite hints building up, I'm not sure that we'll get that reveal during this trip. I for one am actually hoping that there is a knite encounter during this trip, simply because I think the fallout will be interesting.

I'm still not sure that I want Martha to know the absolute truth yet. The last convo seemed so comfortable between Martha and Lois, and I sense that Martha's intuition is as strong as ever, but I don't want that to come up yet. At any rate, I will leave that in your capable hands (and read through my fingers while I cover my eyes in hesitant anticipation).

So, anyone up for raising funds to buy Lana a bus ticket back to Metropolis?


~s

With Chris Davis and Jonathan Kent as Clark's parental role models, his actions with Lois and her baby make far more sense now. He has two strong examples of selfless love and sacrifice in his heart and mind all the time. No wonder he didn't really hesitate to protect Lois and her unborn child, even though it's looking more and more like the snowy interlude at the cabin was the real deal where they were concerned.

And I love how you presented Jonathan. He loves Martha, so anyone who comes with her is automatically part of the package. Many men (like Mr. Smith) wouldn't be so eager to raise another man's child - which, to me, is false macho pride wrapped up in immaturity - he adopts Clark as hie own son. He's a real gem, and Martha was lucky to have two fine men like Chris and Jonathan in her life.

Looking for more, Carol. It just keeps getting better and better.

Thanks again everyone!

Off to do final edits before posting...

Carol

I can't wait until Lois realizes how honest Clark has been with her all along.

I loved that Clark told her how often he listens to the baby. It's nice that Lois realizes how much he loves that baby. However, there's a long distance between staying together because you want to and staying together for the sake of the child.


Elisabeth