I had this thought today about something I said in a feedback thread to Triangle about when Clark should have told Lois his secret. I'm not really sure when that should have been, but I was sure at the very latest, it should have been when he was intending to tell her (at the beginning of And the Answer Is…) and he should not have let the phone call from Jace deter him.
But then I thought about that and decided that while I still think that's true, I could also see him panicking and sort of forgetting about Lois. Still, how could he freeze her and not let her know?
This story doesn't so much explain that, as I don't have an explanation, so much as it corrects that.
I see this and the companion story, Revelation – Lois' Story sort of like these silly romance novels I used to read as a teenager. I'm not sure how common they were, or if they even still exist, but they would have a picture of some high school girl on one side and a high school boy on the other. The story inside would tell the story of the boy and girl getting together. If you started on the side with the girl's face, you read it from her perspective. If you started from the side with the boy's face, you got the same exact story from his perspective.
The story below is the one with Clark's face on the cover, looking contrite.
Thanks to Carol for the incredibly fast beta!! Particularly given all the writing you did tonight.
Revelation – Clark's Story
“Freeze you?” I asked her in shock. She couldn't be serious.
“Like cryogenics,” she explained. As if that made it better. “People who fall in frozen lakes, but get revived? You freeze me with your breath, fast. I've seen you do it a hundred times. Then it looks like I'm dead, you bring the body and…”
I had to cut her off, get her off this insane train of thought. “Lois, do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” I asked her. “There could be arterial ruptures, permanent brain damage.” I took her in – her beautiful eyes and perfect nose. Her… “You could die,” I said softly.
True to form, Lois brushed the concern away. “Yes. I could die. But Clark's parents will die unless we help.” She took a seat on the couch and looked up at me pleadingly. “Please, Superman. You haven't seen him.” She paused and when she looked up at me again, there were tears on her cheeks. “You don't know what he's going through.”
I had to stop her. I couldn't let her do this. It was insane. It was… typical Lois Lane. “Lois,” I started, but she spoke over me.
“He needs me…” she said and trailed off.
I did need her. It was true. But like this? I couldn't let her do this.
I sat down beside her and placed my head in my hands.
“You can't turn me down,” she said quietly. “You can't.”
“Lois,” I paused. I couldn't let her do this without her knowing. I had had all sorts of reasons for keeping this from her before now – some were good, like her involvement with Luthor; most were stupid. But this was different. I had said I wanted her to love me for me and not the super-powers, but what more could I ask for? She was offering to risk her life for me, for my parents. How could I let her do that when she didn't know the truth? When she didn't know that I wasn't who she thought?
“Superman, please,” she said. “We don't have a lot of time.”
“There's something you have to know first,” I said, but the words came out a whisper.
“There's no time,” she insisted. “Clark's parents…”
“No!” I said, more strongly this time. “I can't let you do this without knowing everything.”
“Superman, I'm begging you. Not now.”
I almost laughed. This was what she was willing to do for me. She was potentially giving up her life for me, and even knowing there was something she didn't know wasn't stopping her. What had I done to deserve this type of devotion? Lie to her for two years? I closed my eyes in guilt.
“I'm sorry, Lois,” I said. “I'm really sorry. I wish I could tell you this when we had more time to discuss it, but I can't let you make this decision without knowing.” I stood up and spun around.
When I finished spinning I looked at where Lois was sitting on the couch, looking up at me. I saw the confusion on her face for a moment and then saw that morph into understanding.
“Clark?” she asked as she stood up and took a step towards me. I nodded my head as she touched my face as if to make sure I was real. “You're Clark? And Superman?” she asked in wonder. I nodded again.
She took a step back and turned away from me. “You're Superman. I mean, it makes sense, but…” She turned back to face me again, looking confused. Then she stepped forward and brought her arm back. I slackened my jaw just in time. With the force she used to slap me, she could have broken her wrist.
“You lied to me,” she said coldly.
“I know,” I said softly as I sat back down on her couch. “I'm sorry, Lois. I'm so sorry. That's why I thought you should know… I know that I'm not who you thought I was. I couldn't let you risk your life for…”
“Your parents, Clark,” she said quietly. “I almost forgot. Look, there's no time to discuss this. Your parents are going to die if you don't do this. So freeze me!” she ordered.
“Lois…”
“This isn't for you. I am so not done with you,” she said and her eyes were on fire. “But your parents… They don't deserve to die. Now do it!”
I nodded my head, not sure this was the best idea. I stood to face her, though.
She was looking at me with her eyes flashing in anger and she looked so beautiful. I couldn't believe that this may be the last time I would get to see her alive. “I love you,” I said softly as I cradled her face in my hand. “I know that may seem hard to believe, but I do.”
She nodded. “I love you, too,” she said softly. “I'm beyond furious at you, but I do love you, Clark. If something happens to me…” she broke off as a tear fell down her cheek. “If something happens to me,” she continued sounding stronger, “I want you to know that. Just because I'm angry that you kept this huge secret from me, doesn't change the way I feel about you.”
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers, wanting to feel her against me one last time. Taking a step back after our kiss, I looked at her again. “Are you sure, Lois? You don't have to do this. We can find another way.”
She shook her head. “We don't have time, Clark. I'm sure. Please just do it.”
I nodded. “Close your eyes,” I said softly.
She closed her eyes and then whispered, “I love you, Clark.”
“I know,” I choked out and then took a deep breath. Crying would only complicate things right now.
*************
She was so still. So very still. What if… I couldn't think like that, though. I warmed up her body, and I could see her coming out of the freeze, but she wasn't breathing. I moved closer to her head and gave her mouth-to-mouth. “Breathe, Lois,” I pleaded with her.
Nothing. She still wasn't breathing. I ran heat vision over her again and when that still produced nothing, I repeated the mouth-to-mouth. “Fight, Lois!” I ordered her, hearing the tears in my voice. “Please, don't go. Breathe, dammit!”
I couldn't help it. I placed my head next to hers. She wasn't coming back. I couldn't seem to do it. The tears fell fast and I felt my mother's hand on my back and then another hand on my face.
I looked up and Lois was looking at me in wonder. “Superman?” she asked, her voice raspy.
“You're all right!” I said, standing up and pulling her towards me, holding her close.
“I guess,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
“You need to get her to a hospital, son,” Dad told me.
I nodded, gathering her into my arms. “I'll come back for you,” I said to my parents.
“We're not waiting around,” Mom told me with a smile. “We'll meet you back at the apartment.”
“Superman,” Lois said as we lifted into the air. “I had a dream that… that you were Clark,” she said sleepily. “Isn't that silly?”
“It's not,” I told her, shaking my head. “I am Clark.”
“Okay,” she said before she fell asleep.
*************
“You're here,” she smiled at me when she awoke two hours later.
“Where else would I be?” I asked her.
“I don't know,” she said confused. “Was it all real? Did you really… Was I really frozen?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Are you really…” she trailed off.
I nodded. “I am. I'm sorry. I know I'm not who you thought I was.”
“Who do you think I thought you were?” she asked me with a smile. “Did you think I thought Clark Kent was perfect?”
I shook my head, smiling at her softly. “No. I don't doubt I've made it pretty clear that I'm not perfect. But you thought I was someone who would never lie to you, didn't you?”
She shrugged. “Sort of. But I also thought you were keeping something from me. I mean, really, Clark, cheese-of-the-month club? I just…”
“Why didn't you ask?” I asked her when she trailed off.
“I… I guess I decided that if you were keeping something from me, you must have a good reason,” she said quietly. “It turns out I was right.”
“So, you're not angry?” I asked in surprise.
“Oh, no, I'm angry,” she smiled at me. “And I see a lot of groveling in your future. But I also think there are more important things than making you realize how wrong you were to keep this from me.”
“Like what?” I asked, smiling more broadly at the look in her eyes.
“Like being with the man I love,” she said softly.
“I love you so much, Lois,” I whispered. “I…”
“I love you, too,” she said, leaning forward to silence me with a kiss.
“I can't ever repay you for what you did for me today,” I told her when we broke away.
She laughed lightly. “All the times you've saved me doesn't count?”
“Not in the slightest,” I told her honestly. “None of those were nearly as dangerous…”
“Don't worry, Flyboy,” she smiled at me. “I have lots of ways you can make it up to me in the future.”
“Like what?” I asked, taking in the sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
“Oh, I think we'll start with chocolate from Switzerland as start,” she said. “Maybe dinner from China – that great little place you found when we were working on the Platt case. I'm guessing that wasn't in Metropolis.”
I nodded my head, blushing slightly.
“Maybe a few homemade dinners,” she smiled at me.
“That all seems fair,” I smiled at her.
“And I'll make the rest up as I go along.”
I nodded. “Okay, I can deal with that.”
“A flight,” she said softly.
“What?”
“A flight. I'd like to take a flight with Clark Kent,” she whispered.
“I have wanted to take you flying as Clark for a long time,” I said quietly.
“Good. Then we're in agreement,” she smiled before leaning forward to kiss me again.
