I hope this is long enough for a Thursday post. If not, I could go back to a M/W/F format. As you may have notice, I've given up trying to figure out how many parts there are, partly out of laziness and partly because the part sizes seem to change every so often. 
Link to TOC From Part 5:He closed his eyes and shook his head, then looked at her and lightly reached out a hand and touched her shoulder. "Lara, I don't know where you're from, but here, you can't just go walking around by yourself at night. Especially if you're a woman!"
Lara absorbed this information.
Dr. Bernard-Klein then let his hand fall back to his side and turned to shepherd her up the steps. "Just be glad this isn't Gotham. Come on inside."
And Now, Part 6:Lois watched her husband tear through the latest stack of papers at a speed that was only barely human. The past few weeks had been murder for him. After the incident with the globes, Clark had been a wreck. He'd spent roughly the entire past month trying to find...her. Them. Anything...anything at all that would give him answers. Co-workers had noticed his sudden irritability and frustration, and were giving him plenty of space.
He set the last paper down and turned back to his computer screen, seemingly deaf and blind to the rest of the newsroom. Lois had managed to bring back his focus to their stories from time to time, but she found herself having to cover for him more and more. Perry was being extremely gracious. Even so, it was clear that Perry's grace was quickly running out.
Lois walked over to Clark's desk and stood behind him. She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Clark---"
He seemed to jump at the sound of her voice, and Lois had to fight not to cry.
"Clark, it's time to stop. It's been a month, and you haven't found anything. There's probably nothing to find..."
Clark shook his head vehemently. *Circles* had formed under his eyes. He kept his gaze on the screen in front of him, scrolling at the speed of light. "I can't give up..." he said, "I have to try. I have to..."
"Clark!" Lois put her hand over his, stilling the mouse. She then grabbed both his hands and turned him around in his chair, to face her. "Stop. Please. It's been too long...you've been like this too long..." She forced the tears back, refused to let a single one fall. He was such a mess... "It's time to get back to normal, Clark."
He gave a short bark of a laugh. "Normal? Lois, my birth-parents might be alive. Nothing's normal anymore!" He drew one hand out of her grasp and rubbed his eyes with it.
"Clark, please," Lois insisted. "They know where to find you, but we don't know where to find them. There's nothing you can do; the ball's in their court. You need to get back to your old routine. Do you know how long it's been since---" She glanced around, and lowered her voice. "---since Superman has done a regular patrol? Since we've gotten a major scoop together? Since you and I----" she whispered the rest in his ear.
Clark blushed. "I'm sorry, Honey. I'm so sorry. But----" he said, starting to brighten, "I think I've got something here... There's rumors going around about a recent UFO sighting, somewhere in Arizona. If we could just---"
"No, Clark." Lois shook her head. She reached up and placed a hand on the side of his face. "That's enough. Stop."
He cast his eyes downward.
"Hey," Lois said, gently making him look at her again, "I read an article about some new genetics research that's going on. Why don't you go to STAR Labs and ask Dr. Klein about it?" She smiled impishly. "Then, later tonight, maybe we could do some 'research' of our own."
It worked. A slow smile spread across Clark's face. He leaned forward and kissed her. "Sounds good," he murmured. "And I'm sorry. I'll behave myself from now on."
She grinned. "You better not," she said, and winked.
Clark laughed.
********
The past month had been amazing.
Lara's English had improved dramatically, and though she wasn't the most eager and engaging conversationalist he'd ever met, she was certainly intelligent. That, in Bernie's book, was a plus. She still didn't quite grasp American culture and idiosyncrasies, and her distant, reserved manner wasn't helping her there at all. Yet as far as the world of science went, she was in her element.
Speaking of elements...
Bernie turned back to the Petri-dish and noticed that gentle vapors were rising. The beaker next to him was bubbling nicely, so he turned the Bunsen down a notch.
Now to carefully add a few drops of sulfur to the dish....slowly...not too---
"Dr. Klein, telephone!"
Bernie winced and turned away from the violently smoking dish. "All right, Tina! I'll take it in my office!" He hit the button for the vents. "Lara!" he called.
His newest assistant entered the room. "Yes, Dr. Ber--"
He raised his hand and pinched the air with his fingers.
"Dr. *Klein*" she corrected herself.
Bernie nodded. "Lara, could you get some more culture samples? Also, some more sulfur..." He checked his notes. "...and maybe some hydrogen, in liquid form..."
She came over, looked at the petri-dish, then looked at him and shook her head.
Dr. Klein reconsidered the still-smoking remains of his cultures. "You're right. Forget the hydrogen. Let's make it oxygen instead."
She turned to leave, but he put out a hand to detain her. "Oh, one more thing before you go. We're working on upgrading your security class, so you can help with some of the bigger projects, but we still need some more information about you so we can run a proper background check."
Her eyes took on the expression of a startled doe for a few moments, then she shook her head. "It is not necessary----" she said quietly.
"Yes it is, Lara," Bernard said, exasperated. It was one thing to insist on being private, but this was going too far. "You need a background check to be able to stay here."
And where would she go if they had to dismiss her? Back to where she came from? She certainly couldn't stay at the hotel very long without some kind of job to cover the rent, and he hated the thought of her talents being wasted behind a cash-register at Savemart.
What was she hiding? What was she so afraid of?
Was she a criminal?
No...she couldn't be...
"Lara, whatever you're hiding---" He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll get you the cultures." She turned and quickly left the room without so much as a backward glance.
********
Loose papers stirred as Superman landed in the laboratory of Dr. Bernard Klein. The scientist himself was currently bent over some kind of weird experiment.
Clark cleared his throat. "Dr. Klein?"
There was a muffled explosion and lots of smoke as the scientist spilled whatever it was he'd been pouring.
Clark winced. "Sorry."
Dr. Klein waved a hand dismissively and hit a button that was on the wall. "It's all right. Just the third time today..." his voice dropped to a mutter. He turned around to face him. "So," he said, brightening, "what can I do for you, Superman?"
"Well...ah..." Clark began, glancing around the room. When he was sure they were alone, he continued. "My wi---*girlfriend* heard about some new genetics research that was going on, and we were wondering if you knew about it, and if it was anything that could possibly help us be able to finally have children."
"Ah." Dr. Klein nodded. "Well, maybe. It's hard to say at this point. You see, the research is based on a simple...." The scientist continued talking, using long words of scientific jargon and hopping from concept to concept at a rate that Clark could only barely keep up with.
Apparently the study involved hamsters.
While Dr. Klein was speaking, there was a sudden crash behind Clark. In an instant, the scientist stopped talking and glanced up, and Clark whipped around to see what had happened.
A woman stood in the doorway, frozen, as if she'd just seen a ghost. She wore a lab coat, and her graying black hair was pulled back into a bun. At her feet was a dropped tray and several smashed test-tubes and beakers.
There was something vaguely familiar about her...
Bernie sighed. "Ah, yes," he said, addressing the woman. "I probably should have mentioned that STAR Labs has a certain affiliation with Superman." He turned to Clark. "It's all right; she's just a new assistant, probably a little star-struck. She's a foreigner, you see..."
Clark wasn't listening.
The woman had knelt down and was hastily picking up the shards of broken glass. She wasn't looking at him.
"Have we met before?" Clark asked, interrupting Dr. Klein's ramble.
There was a long pause, and he could hear her heart-rate accelerate rapidly.
Finally, she took in a breath. "I---No. We have not." She turned sharply away from him and focused her attention on the glass. Her heart was still pounding, and her expression...
...He studied her face a little more closely...
She straightened, carrying the tray with the broken glass piled onto it, and turned, headed for the door.
"Wait!" said Clark.
She stopped right in front of the door, her back tense and her heart thumping.
"You're her, aren't you," Clark said softly.
The woman stood completely still, and he could hear her breath starting to catch. "I...don't know what you mean..." she said slowly, and put a hand on the door...but she did not push it.
"At the Daily Planet," said Clark, feeling a lump start to form in his throat. "You were there, looking for me."
She started to pull her hand away from the door, but she didn't move from that spot.
"I've been searching for you for an entire month." It had been so long... There had been nothing for him to work with, nothing to go on. It was like chasing a shadow, or a wisp of air. Once it vanished, it was gone. There was nothing left to follow.
He could hear her breathing as she stood in front of the door, completely still, her back to him. "It was a mistake..." she said at last. "I should not have disturbed you. There's no reason---"
"You dropped the globe," he stated. "I saw the message."
She said nothing, but he could see her starting to tremble.
"Please," he said, "just tell me the truth." Clark took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Are you my mother?"
She finally turned away from the door and faced him. Her eyes were bright with extra moisture. She looked at him for a long time.
Clark could only guess how he looked, right now. He had completely abandoned the posture he adopted as Superman. Instead of a massive hero, he felt like a small boy, quaking in shiny red boots.
Finally, she spoke. "Yes." She took a step towards him. "Yes, Kal-El. I am Lara. I am your mother."
Their eyes stayed locked. The sudden rush of strong, conflicting feelings threatened to bring Clark to his knees.
"Wow," said Bernie, breaking the moment, "and to think I was planning on asking her out!"
They turned, simultaneously, to stare at the scientist.
"Oh, don't get me wrong," Dr. Klein said, holding up his hands placatingly. "Nothing would have happened..."
Clark cleared his throat. "Dr. Klein..."
"Although, you've got to admit," the scientist continued, "she's not half bad-looking for someone her age..."
"*Dr.* *Klein*." Clark repeated through clenched teeth.
The scientist looked from Clark to Lara, noticed both still staring at him, and finally got the clue. "Right. Leaving. I'll be down the hall, if you need me." He left the room, mumbling something to himself about a difficult background check.
Clark and Lara looked at each other again, and Lara lowered her eyes. "So," she said softly, "you found me."
So he had. Now what?
Clark studied the woman in front of him. "I thought you were dead," he said at last.
She wiped a tear away and took in a shaky breath. "Yes. That is what we told you." She looked at him pleadingly. "Kal-El, I'm so sorry!"
"Why?" he asked her. "Just *why*?"
"We had to, Kal-El," she said softly. There was a moment of silence, as she seemed to struggle internally with something, and then she took in a deep breath. "You were born...before your father and I were properly married. My father---your grandfather---would not have approved it. That is why we *had* to give you up."
Clark's mouth formed a tight line as he strove to remain composed. "I see. So then, why did you come here?"
A sad sigh escaped her lips. "It was your father's idea," she confessed.
His father's idea? "Is he here? Is he with you?" Clark asked, a sudden thrill racing up and down his spine.
Lara shook her head. "Jor-El passed away, recently, back on Krypton." She seemed to take a moment to compose herself. "It was his last wish that I come here, so...I came."
Clark felt his heart sinking. She had come here only because it was his father's last request, and then she had run off and hidden from him. She hadn't even wanted to see him!
"Kal-El?" Her soft, hesitant voice broke through his thoughts. "Has life been good to you? Did you...Are you happy?"
Happy...Well he *was* until about a month ago, when his world was suddenly turned completely upside-down...
He simply nodded. "Yes. I was found and raised by some people---*good* people."
Lara smiled. "I'm glad."
A thought entered Clark's head, sending shocks down his spine again. "Did you and Jor-El---did you have any other children? Do I have brothers or sisters?" His heart hammered in his chest as he waited for her reply.
She became quiet, and didn't quite look at him for a while. "No." Her voice was almost inaudible. She took a shuddering breath and spoke up a little, her eyes seeming a little too bright. "No. We almost had a child...but...it wasn't meant to be. After that...we stopped trying."
Clark snorted. "Did you abandon it, too?" he asked, only half-sarcastically.
A silence fell between them.
Lara stared at him with an expression of utter appallment. The long seconds that followed made Clark squirm, but before he could apologize or take back what he said, she reached up and slapped him.
Hard.
It *hurt*.
"How dare you?" she demanded, burning with anger. Her face was a violent shade of red. "It is one thing to disrespect me---I could not hold it against you---but how *dare* you make light of the *worst* *pain* a woman can endure!" Tears started streaming down her face. "You cannot begin to understand what I went through," she continued. "Your mind cannot fathom it! *Twice* I carried the weight of a child; *twice* I went through pain! But what have I to show for it? Nothing! At least you, I held in my arms! You, I could console myself knowing you were alive!"
Clark felt his sympathy vanish. "It must have been a minor consolation," he snapped. Her mortified look did little to stop the stream of biting words that followed. "As sorry as I am for what you went through, it's hard for me to sympathize with someone who just drops their kid off on another planet with nothing but a diaper and a note saying 'Don't come home; the planet blew up!'" He watched his words hitting her, flaying her, stunning her...but he didn't care. He was too angry. "I have parents," he informed her, "*good* parents. Parents who are *better* than that! I don't need *you*!"
He left her standing there, staring. He turned and flew out the window with all the speed he could muster, barely feeling the building shaking in his wake.
***********
Lois was just opening the box of pasta when she felt the rush of air and heard the back door slam open. She turned around and saw her husband standing in the doorway, the door dangling off its hinges.
He was still in his costume. His eyes were red and swollen, and they held a look of utter torment. He leaned against the doorframe as if it was all that was holding him up.
Lois gasped. "Clark?" She crossed the kitchen to him, reached up and laid a gentle hand on the side of his face. That simple gesture was all that was needed to bring him crashing down on her. Lois struggled to remain standing under his weight as he clung to her.
Finally she let herself sink, with Clark, onto the floor of the kitchen. He buried his face in her neck while she knelt there, cradling him in her arms.
**********
Dr. Klein heard the sonic boom and tossed the papers he'd been filling out onto the desk as he left the tiny office. Paperwork was never his favorite pass-time, anyway...
He poked his head into the laboratory and looked around. Superman was gone. Lara was sitting at a table, staring mutely into space. So, this was Superman's mother. Who knew?
Klein quietly approached her, clearing his throat when she failed to notice him. "Um...Lara?"
She kept staring forward, and said something in a language he couldn't understand.
Bernard frowned. "I beg your pardon?"
Lara shook her head slightly, as though she were coming out of a trance, and turned to face him. "What?"
He looked at her closely. "Are you all right?" he asked.
She nodded, but a tear rolled down her cheek, proving her a liar. "I'm---all right," she said, her voice choked and halting. She took a shuddering breath and stood up. "I'm all right. Nothing was said that I did not truly deserve. I'm all right. I'm all right!" Her body started shaking.
Dr. Klein tentatively reached up and put a hand on her shoulder.
The gesture was too much. She doubled over, tears cascading in full force. After a few moments, she turned towards him, causing her body to twist like a cork-screw. "All---I---wanted," she said from behind her tears, "was to marry the man I loved, and have his children. Was this so wrong?"
**********
TBC
