Thanks - as always - to Alisha, Beth and Nancy.
Last time:
Lois
He reached for the rolling pin sitting on a holder near me. "I love you," he whispered.
"I know," I whispered back. "I love you, too. More than anything."
"I've loved you since the beginning."
"I'll love you until the end."
Where that had come from I didn't know. We'd said something similar once before, but that was it.
But it was true.
I'd loved Clark since the beginning and I'd love him till the end.
He felt the same way.
I knew he did.
We just had to make it through the day and then we'd figure this mess out.
*~*20*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I'd told everyone I had a headache and went up to my room to lie down for a bit after lunch.
The morning had been hard. I'd stayed as busy as I could, but had to spend some time with Joe – and had to watch Clark with Lana.
Martha had come down and helped Clark with breakfast in the kitchen.
I curled up on the bed with a teddy bear I remembered from childhood and missing my Clarkie Bear.
"Clark," I whispered, "if you can hear me and come up for a minute..." I willed the tears back in. "I miss you."
I sighed. Even he had heard me... "I understand if you can't – or even won't – though. Being alone... With me... How long until Perry 'calls us in'?"
The door to the balcony slid open. I didn't bother looking – only one person would be coming in that way.
"Hi," I said quietly.
"Hey. How's your head?"
I moved just enough to shrug as he came to sit next to me on the bed. "Same as it always is after a crying jag."
"Did you take anything?"
I shook my head. "No. A headache gives me a reason to be off."
"Right."
I didn't want to ask him what I wanted to ask him. If being with Lana – even like this – was what he'd thought it would be before we got married.
"I miss you, too," he said quietly. "I was really looking forward to spending Christmas together this year. I got you a great present and everything."
I smiled slightly. "What?"
"Uh huh," he said brushing my hair back off my face. "Not telling. You'll see when we get out of this mess."
"What if we don't get out of it, Clark? Then what? Am I supposed to marry Joe and pretend to be happy? Are you supposed to have babies with Lana?"
"I don't know." I could hear the tears in his voice.
"Or do we leave them and run off together? Do we tell them the whole universe hopping truth? But even then we wouldn't have Christopher and Nate," I pointed out. "Christopher's three and a half in our original universe or whatever and Nate's almost eighteen months. And what if I am pregnant from last night? How do we explain that?"
"We'll cross those bridges when we get to them," he said quietly.
"I don't want to cross them. I want to go home," I told him. "I want to wake up to Christmas morning with our sons. I want to make love to my husband."
"I know. I want that, too, sweetheart. I want to do what we'd planned for the next week not universe hop or something." His fingers continued to play with my hair. "I need to get back downstairs, though," he said quietly.
"I know."
His head jerked up. "Joe's on his way up to check on you."
"Should we go see Bernie later?" I asked.
Clark sighed. "I don't know. I don't know that I know him in this world."
"Try to ask subtle questions? I find it hard to believe any version of you wouldn't have gone looking for his brother when Van-El showed up."
"I know." He kissed my forehead softly. "I gotta go."
"I know."
"I love *you*, Lois, and I don't want to be anywhere else."
How well he knew me.
"I know. And I love you." I finally looked up at him. "More than anything."
"We'll figure this out," he promised me again for the umpteenth time.
He leaned over and kissed my lips softly. "Joe'll be here in just a second." He kissed me again and was gone.
Tears overflowed – no matter how hard I tried, they wouldn't stay in.
There was a quiet knock on the door as it opened. "Lois?" Joe called, poking his head in.
I rolled onto my back. "Come on in," I said.
"How're you feeling?" he asked, sitting right where Clark had just been and brushing my hair back just like Clark had.
"My head hurts." That was the honest truth.
"I'm sorry."
I gave him a half-smile. "It's not your fault."
"You know what's good for headaches?"
"What?" I felt like I should know this answer.
"Run off to Vegas with me and we'll find out." He was grinning.
I smiled weakly. "Sorry. Not up for that."
"Well, we don't *have* to wait till it's all legal, do we?" he asked, stretching out beside me on the bed.
"Joe," I answered with a warning tone in my voice.
"I know." He propped himself up on his elbow, kissing my forehead as he did. "Two more weeks."
"Two more weeks," I echoed.
"We've been waiting a long time for this."
"I know."
"I love you, Lois Lane."
I smiled weakly again. "I know you do." I wanted to tell him I loved him back – that was what he expected to hear and I *did* love him even if not like that – but I just couldn't.
He looked slightly caught off guard by that but then he kissed me and I fought to keep the tears from flowing again. It was a nice kiss but it didn't evoke the same feelings a kiss from Clark did.
"What is it?" he asked, concerned.
"Just my head," I said.
"I'm going to go get your dad. You've never had a migraine like this before, have you?"
"Don't bother Daddy," I told him. "I just need to get some sleep. I didn't sleep well last night and that’s not helping."
He settled in next to me and pulled me to him. I wanted to fight it but I couldn’t. I could only hope Clark would understand. He should – he'd woken up in Lana's arms earlier.
"I'll stay till you're asleep," he whispered, kissing my forehead again.
"You don't have to."
"I want to."
I sighed and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I stifled a sigh. I kept an ear on the conversation between Lois and Joe and was so glad that they were still waiting for their wedding night. I knew Lana and I were... doing the kinds of things I should only be doing with Lois and I didn't know what I was going to do if she tried to get me alone – except find a way to avoid it.
"Clark, will you help me make some hot chocolate for everyone?" Mom startled me.
"Sure," I replied – quickly, but hopefully not too quickly. I moved from Lana's side and headed into the kitchen.
We made it into the kitchen and Mom just stopped and looked at me.
"What?" I asked, hoping I didn't know what.
"What's going on?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, getting the stuff out for hot chocolate.
"Something's off here today and I want to know what it is."
I sighed. "It's nothing, Mom."
"Don't give me that, Clark Jerome Davis Kent."
Well, that answered the question about Chris and my mom and this universe.
"It's nothing I can talk about, how's that?"
"What's going on with you and Lois?"
My head jerked up and I couldn't stop it. "What?"
"You and Lois. You've been looking at her all day and she's been looking at you when you think no one else is looking." She leaned closer to me and gave me the sternest glare I'd ever seen. "What is going on between you and Lois? You two aren't... Are you? Because that's what the looks I've seen say and, I swear to you, Clark, if you ever cheat on Lana, you'll have me to deal with."
I closed my eyes and leaned against the counter, covering my hands with my face before running them through my hair.
"Cl-ark."
"It's not like that, Mom. I swear. I can't tell you what's going on, but I'd never cheat on my wife." Whichever wife it was we were talking about.
"Then what's it like?"
I saw Joe coming back into the living room and listened for Lois again and sighed.
"What?"
"Lois is asleep and you'll never believe the story without her corroboration and then it's iffy." My parents we could trust, maybe they could help figure something out, but I couldn't tell them without talking to Lois first. "And really, it's more her story to tell."
"Well, something had to have happened overnight or something, because you guys were all fine yesterday."
"Kind of." Overnight in what universe? I sighed. "I need to ask you something and I need you to just answer and, if it's okay with Lois since it all ties together, I'll tell you why later, but for now I just need an answer."
She nodded slowly. "We'll see what the question is."
"Who knows about me?" I asked without looking at her.
"Why?"
"Please, Mom."
She sighed. "Lana, Sam and Ellen."
"Does Lois know? Jimmy and Lucy?"
"Not that you've ever said."
I nodded. "Why do Sam and Ellen know?"
"You and Lana were worried about whether or not you could have kids so you went to them." She eyed me. "You know this stuff, Clark, why are you asking me these things?"
"I can't tell you that. Not yet."
She looked at me for a long time before nodding.
"One more. Do I know Van-El?"
She gave me an odd look. "You talked about going to see him sometime and trying to find out what he knew about Krypton and all that, but you never did. You never said why."
I nodded slowly. "That's what I thought."
Ellen walked in just then.
Mom looked sternly at me and whispered so only I could hear. "I don't care what Lois says, you will give us some answers later, young man."
I didn't respond but turned to talk to Ellen.
The afternoon seemed to drag on. Lois finally made another appearance, but didn't do much but lie on the couch.
The movie marathon started in the basement theater. Lana seemed to indicate that she wanted to make-out under cover of darkness, but I tried to pretend I didn't catch her hints.
I went to the bathroom in the middle of 'Independence Day' and found Lois in the hall when I headed back.
"Hi," she said quietly.
"Hey." I sighed.
"What?"
"Mom called me on it earlier."
She winced. "We should have known."
"Your parents know about me and I never went to meet Van."
"You asked?" she asked me, surprised.
"I told her I needed answers, no questions asked, and she said we were going to tell her and Dad the whole story later."
"We?"
"I told her it was your story to tell."
"Ah."
"Now's as good a time as any."
The voice startled both of us and we turned to see my mom and dad standing there.
I looked at Lois, who nodded. "Okay. Let's go somewhere where no one else is going to hear."
"Where?" Mom asked.
"How about the room you're staying in?"
Lois turned and headed towards the stairs to the apartment.
"Lois," I started. She stopped and looked at me. "They're staying on the other side. In that middle room."
"Oh." She glanced back and forth between the three of us. "Right."
We started towards that part of the house. By the time we entered the room my parents were using, Lois was in tears again.
Mom looked at her, concerned. "What is it, Lois?"
She turned to me. "I can't do this, Clark. Not here."
I couldn't help it. I pulled her in my arms and held her close to me. "We'll find them, honey, I promise."
I didn't look at my parents but I could imagine and when I finally did, they looked about like I expected.
Fuming.
I sighed without letting go of Lois. "Have a seat and we'll tell you everything," I promised.
We sat in the seating area of their room. Lois sat in one chair and I sat in the other.
"What's going on?" Dad asked, quietly. Quiet Dad was worse than yelling Dad any day. In any universe.
"We're not who you think we are," I said quietly.
"Then who exactly are you?" Mom asked with a raised brow.
I looked at Lois and took her hand. "I'm Clark Kent and, this is my wife, Lois Lane-Kent."
*****
TBC
