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Reflections TOC Reflections
Part 12
Lois was flying again. She had been snatched out of the jaws of death, and was now soaring through the clouds, held tightly against a very broad expanse of chest. She wasn't sure how she was flying, or why the wind wasn't bothering her. But she was, and she felt safe for some reason. She could feel the coolness of a cotton shirt against her cheek, and the edge of a silk tie tickling her nose.
Silk tie? That didn't sound right. She lifted her head to see the face of the man who was carrying her. It was dark, but for some reason she could swear she saw the reflection of the city lights in his eyes. No, that wasn't right... the reflection was a little in front of his eyes. She tried to bring the face into focus, thinking how she should be able to see him.
"LOIS!"
Lois woke up with a start, and sat up quickly in her bed.
"Geez, you're the hardest person I know to wake up in the morning. Come on get up, or you're going to be late for work." Lucy was sitting on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed, and a mischievous smile on her lips. Lois rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, trying to rub the sleep from them.
Still rubbing her eyes, Lois grumbled, "And just for my information, what do you use for that comparison? Have there been a lot of people you had to wake up in the morning? Never mind, don't answer that." Then it dawned on her that she was in her bed, and the last thing she remembered was lying down on the couch in the conference room. And to top it off, she was wearing only her panties and her bra.
"Lucy, just how did I get here?"
"Oh, Clark brought you home," she said airily.
"Clark brought me home! Don't tell me he..." She gestured wildly at herself, emphasizing her state of undress.
"Oh don't get in an uproar. I took off your work clothes after Clark put you on the bed. Though having him undress me wouldn't be an entirely unpleasant situation." Lucy had a wistful look on her face as she said the last sentence.
"Lucy!"
"Lois! What? Oh come on, you can't say you don't agree with me?"
"Lucy Maria Lane, you should be ashamed of yourself! That's someone I work with, not some hunk of meat to lust over. Besides, he's from Kansas..." she exclaimed, looking at Lucy like she should know the implications of that statement.
"I'm not even going to pretend to know what you mean by that. Oh, by the way, he's standing in our kitchen. He’s making some breakfast for us," she stated matter-of-factly.
"What!" Then again in a harsh whisper, "What is he doing here?"
"He felt the need to stand watch over us last night. And just who is trying to kill you this time? I can't keep up."
Lois, still whispering, replied, "What do you mean watch over us? I don't need an overgrown, corn-husking babysitter. Just who does he think he... wait, did he tell you about last night? I'll kill him."
"No, he didn't say a word. You, being you, I just guessed. And why are you whispering? He can't hear you. Just for your information, I thought it was sweet of him to stay, considering that one of your attackers got away." A wistful smile crossed her face. "He even stayed up all night, just to make sure we were safe." Then focusing on Lois again she asked, "So if you don't like him, can I have him?"
"Lucy!"
Lucy chuckled at Lois's exasperation. "Are you going to be saying my name like that a lot today? It's going to be very distracting."
"Lucy, that man out there is my partner, and I do not want you making him another one of your temporary boyfriends, just to be discarded later when you get bored. So just you be nice to him. Well not too nice, just... just... kept your mitts off him."
Lucy gave her a very impish smile. "Partner, eh? Hmmm... after only one day."
"I mean co-worker... you know what I mean."
"Yes, I do. You like him." She poked an accusing finger into Lois's arm.
"I do not! Well, not in that way. I mean he's a good reporter, and I haven't had to hold his hand much. Yet he's polite and down to earth... though he didn't let me get away with the attitude I gave him yesterday. I still haven't decided yet whether that annoyed me, or made me respect him more. He's from Kansas, but he can read Chinese, so he's hard to pin down. At first I thought he'd be this hick from Nowheresville, but he's traveled around the world, is a pretty good writer, has a nice sense of humor -- when he lets it out -- and can keep up with me most of the time. Though I don't think that gives him the right to elect himself as my personal bodyguard, considering that *I'm* the one with the black belt in Tae Kwon Do." Lois chuckled to herself. "Though he does know 'Door-Fu', I'll give you that. Hmm... I guess it was nice of him to offer to watch over us, considering that I was asleep."
She then looked up at Lucy, who had a wide-eyed expression, trying to follow Lois's ramblings. "So treat Clark with a little respect," she concluded.
Lucy blinked, then regained her mischievous look. "Oh, don’t worry, I'll respect him... in the morning. Maybe he'd like to go to a movie tonight."
"Lucy! You *cannot* ask him out."
"Lois you’re my sister, and I love you, but you can't tell me who I can and can't date. If I want to ask Clark out, then I will."
"You can't. He's mine... my partner... co-worker. He someone I work with, and it would be awkward."
"Ah ha, especially if you were thinking of asking him out someday."
"Lucy, I am not thinking of asking Clark out, I just met the man. It's just that he's... he's..." Lois sighed loudly. Then softly she said, "He's complicated, Lucy. I have this feeling that there's something deep inside of him that's hurting. And I think he needs a friend, not a girlfriend right now. Can you understand, Luce?"
Lucy immediately lost all of her playfulness. "I think I do. And just so you know, I didn't really want to ask him out, I was just teasing. Truth is, I think he kind of likes you too."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. But now that you mention it, he did seem kind of reserved when he spoke about you. I think you're right about something bothering him."
"Thanks, Luce. Well, we’d better get ready, and see what old Clarkie is whipping up for us. If he's a typical guy, it'll be cereal and burnt toast."
She snorted. "Look who's talking. You burn Jello."
"Hey, that was only one time!"
"You only made it once."
Lois promptly threw a pillow at her sister's head, which hit the mark. They both went about getting dressed and fixing their hair and makeup in their respective rooms. Lois decided that today she would dress down a bit, electing to wear a casual, pull-over shirt, and a pair of slacks. Looking at herself in the mirror, she let out a hint of an evil smile. She knew that the shirt was just the teensiest bit tight on her. She wanted to be Clark's friend first, but it didn't hurt to advertise.
She sighed, and took the shirt off, selecting a more modest one instead. She mentally chastised herself for thinking that way. Lois Lane would not use her... attributes in that way. Clark was a co-worker, and a *potential* friend, and she would treat him as such. If something developed later... well then it would. Besides, she hardly knew him, and unlike Lucy, she didn't jump at every cute man that came her way. When she got to know him better, she would see that he had his faults, just like all men do. And they'd offset the fact that so far she had found him to be strong, caring, gentlemanly, intelligent, witty...
'Oh God, I hope he doesn't know how to cook too.' As if on cue, the smell of food wafted into the room, enticing her to following it into the kitchen. As she approached the kitchen table, she could see that Lucy was already seated, accepting a plate of food from Clark. He had his tie and jacket off, and his shirt sleeves were rolled halfway up his arms, revealing his very muscular looking forearms. A five o'clock shadow adorned his face, which made him look even more...
Well, she wasn’t going to use that word right now. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat to get his attention.
Clark looked up at her, and seemed to study her for a moment, as if he needed to weigh very carefully what he was going to say first. Apparently he chose the safe road, as he asked cautiously, "Breakfast?"
She decided that if she really wanted to get to know him, she should let him off the hook. He really hadn't committed any great sin, and Lucy was right, it was sweet of him to worry about her safety while she slept... as long he didn't get carried away with the bodyguard routine.
"Yes, that would be nice Clark, thanks." She sat down at the other place setting, and looked over at what Lucy was eating. She could swear it looked like French Toast, but she was sure that she'd used the last one out of the box a couple of days ago. She remembered Lucy complaining about her not leaving any for her.
"Did I have an extra box of French Toast in the freezer?" she asked Clark, as he approached her with a plate.
He looked confused as he answered, "Freezer? Gee, I didn't think to look there. I just made this up with what I found in your refrigerator."
He placed the plate of warm French Toast and grilled ham in front of her, along with a glass of orange juice. Now she was sure that she didn't have any juice in the house, since she brought the last of that yesterday to work. She tentatively tasted the juice, and found it to taste like it was just fresh squeezed.
'Lucy's oranges!' she thought. 'I don't believe it, he squeezed us fresh juice. I didn't even know I had a juicer.' Grabbing the syrup, she poured some on top of her French toast, and took her first bite. It was fantastic. Made even more amazing by the fact that he'd made it from stuff in her kitchen.
'Oh no, he can cook too,' she thought to herself. Lois looked up to see that her sister wasn't even taking breaths between bites, as she devoured the contents of her plate. She then downed her entire glass of juice in one swig, and slammed the now empty glass down loudly on the table. The sound got Clark's attention, and he looked over his shoulder from the sink, where he was washing the pans.
"Clark, that was the best breakfast I ever had in my own house," Lucy declared. "Maybe ever. You can stay here any time you want." She bounded up from her chair, and gave Lois a kiss on the cheek. "Gotta go, sis, see you tonight." She started to go for the front door, but stopped and walked over to Clark, whose hands were still in the sink. She stood on her tip toes, and gave Clark a quick kiss on the cheek. Lois could see Lucy whisper something in Clark's ear, then she scampered out the door, leaving Lois just staring after her.
"Is the breakfast all right, Lois? I didn't know if you would like French toast or not, but it's all I could think of to make."
His voice snapped Lois out of her reverie, and she looked up at him. He was standing only a foot from her, wiping his hands dry with a towel.
"No, Clark, it's fine. Great, in fact. I was just thinking about what we need to do today. By the way, aren't you having any?"
"I, um, already had some. So, I was thinking we'd try to get in to see that Dr. Baines person, to see what happened to Dr. Platt's original filed report."
"I was thinking the same thing," Lois replied between bites. "Though we need to get all our updates to Perry first."
"Sure. I finished typing in all of our notes last night... well, early this morning while you were resting. So they're all ready to go." Clark flipped the towel he was holding onto his shoulder, then stuck his hands in his pockets, and just stood there, apparently not knowing what to do next.
Lois savored her last bite, and picked up her coffee cup to take a sip. Looking over the rim with an impish grin she said, "You know Clark, you can sit down if you want. I promise not to bite."
He visibly relaxed and sat down in the chair next to her. She noted how comfortable it felt to have him near her like this, relaxing together in her kitchen, with no newsroom, or homicidal maniacs to get in their way. A thought crossed her mind about Clark joining her tonight when she went to the ball. He would make a good escort, and it would help to have a fellow reporter with her. She just hoped that he knew more than square or line dancing.
"So, Smallville, you think you can get hold of a tux for tonight?"
Clark looked at her confused. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"
"I need an escort to the White Orchid Ball tonight, so I thought you could go with me."
Clark looked taken back by the request. "Oh, I don't know, Lois. I've got a lot to do... you know getting settled in and all."
"What??? Are you crazy? This is the social event of the season. All of Metropolis's elite will be there. Think of the contacts you can make."
"I'm not really much for those formal things, Lois. I'd probably be a lousy date for you."
'Date?' she thought. 'No wonder he's hesitant, he thinks I'm asking him out on a date. I'll have to fix that notion.'
"Listen, Kent, this is not a date, it's work. Anybody who's anybody will be there tonight, including the elusive Mr. Lex Luthor, who I'm still trying to snag for a one-on-one interview. So, don't worry, your virtue is safe with me. I promise not to corner you behind the Dairy Freeze after the dance and try to give you a hickey."
"Oh, I didn't think... I mean, I knew that." He contemplated it for a moment, then said, "Um, sure, why not? I think I can dig up a tux my size somewhere. What time do you want to leave?"
"Be ready at seven. Come on, let's get going." She got up with her dishes, and deposited them in the soapy water Clark had left in the sink. "I'll swing you by your place so you can change, and then we'll head in to work." By this time she was already at the door, with her purse in her hand.
"You can't do that, Lois. Your car is still at work."
"How the heck did you get me home this morning? Did you carry me all the way from work?" For some reason, her dream from this morning flashed through her mind. No, that couldn't be possible. It was over six miles from her apartment to work. He couldn't have walked that far with her in his arms.
Of course, Clark looked like he was in pretty good shape. But still...
He shrugged. "I just called a cab. I didn't want to presume anything by going through your purse for your car keys. I was able to wake you up enough to get you off the couch and help you to the cab, though I don't think you were ever fully awake. That shot they gave you must have really knocked you out. By the time we got to your apartment, you were completely gone again. I ended up carrying you up to your apartment from the cab." Then with a twinkle in his eye he said, "Good thing I keep in shape."
Lois just rolled her eyes at his country boy sensibilities as she opened the door. "You're such a Boy Scout, Clark. OK, you now have permission to rifle through my purse and get my keys if you ever need to drive me home." She closed the door behind them after they exited her apartment. She took out her keys and started the long process of securing each of her five locks.
She turned around to see Clark grinning at her.
"What?"
"Five locks?" He asked with obvious amusement.
"Hey, you can never be too careful! You know, you're not in Kansas anymore."
"Yeah, I’m starting to realize that. Maybe you should only lock every other one."
Now Lois was confused. "Why is that?"
"Well then, when some nefarious individual tries to pick the locks, they'll be locking every other one. It will really confuse them."
"HA HA HA. Very funny, Smallville. Come on, let's hit it." She smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand as she made her way to the elevator. After they got in, she found that the back her hand hurt where she had hit him. He must be built like a rock.
When they got to the street in front of her apartment, Lois whistled a cab over, and hopped in. Since Clark's hotel was in the opposite direction of work, he said he'd just meet her at the Planet a little later. Pulling away in the cab, she reflected on how well things went had gone with Clark this morning. She hoped that the way she acted this morning would help Clark feel more comfortable around her. She still couldn't get out of her mind how natural it felt to sit with him at her kitchen table. Like the chair was made just for him to sit in.
She also found herself looking forward to the ball tonight. A different feeling for her. Besides, she couldn't wait to see him in a tux. She wondered if it would be pushing it to suggest that Clark get a haircut before tonight?
End Part 12
