Thanks, as always to Nancy, Alisha, Queenie and Beth!
Last time:
"We waited a while longer. We tried to convince them to wait until morning because we thought it was probably something like what happened, but at 2 A.M. we finally called Sheriff Lawson. He knows you two and knows it's not like you two to be late, so he agreed to send out a boat and if they didn't find you, then they'd wait till dawn and start hiking the trail. Sam said he would have done it in their boat, but it's at Parson's Lake so it didn't help any."
Clark groaned. "We were supposed to go to the lake with Lois' parents next weekend and go water skiing. Guess that's not going to happen."
"Guess not," Martha said quietly, "but I'm sure you'll figure something else out to do."
He shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe Maisie'll give me extra hours."
He sighed. It was going to be a long two weeks.
Chapter 6Lois pulled her mom's car into the farmyard and put it in park.
Clark was waiting to open her door and she practically launched herself into his arms, burying her head in his shoulder.
"I've missed you," he whispered.
"I've missed you, too."
After a long moment, he released her before grabbing her hand. "Come on." They walked quickly towards the barn and were in the hayloft a moment later.
"I know my folks aren't home but..." He pulled her into his arms, kissing her soundly.
Her hands found their way to the back of his neck and she pulled him closer to her. After long minutes, they both pulled back, breathless.
"We need to slow this down," Lois whispered.
"I know," he agreed, resting his forehead on hers. "I love you so much and..."
"I know." She kissed him lightly before moving away and sitting on the blanket that he must have spread out earlier. "It'd be easy to get carried away."
He sat behind her and she snuggled back into his chest. "Yeah, it would."
She sighed as she rested her head against him. "Two weeks is too long. Promise me we'll never do that again."
He chuckled. "Promise. I do have something for you, though. Sit up."
She complied and watched as he went to the small cabinet to pull out a small bundle.
He sat back down. "Here."
She took them. "The letters?"
"Yep. I wrote you every day. They're not much – mostly just what I did and that I missed you. And all I did was work and help Dad around here. And that I love you. Lots of I love yous in there."
"I left mine at home," Lois told him, chagrinned. "I was in a hurry."
"I'd rather have you here with me."
"I'd rather be here."
Tires crunched in the yard.
"That's Mom and Dad," he said. "You hungry?"
"Yeah. I slept in and didn't eat breakfast. Mom got back from Independence at ten and I dropped her off at her office in Smallville before I headed out here, but I didn't want to stop to get something to eat."
He helped her to her feet. "Well, Mom's got a brisket in the crock pot."
"Then what're we waiting for?"
They headed into the house and spent the rest of the day with his parents.
*****
Lois heard the doorbell ring and gave herself another once over in the mirror. She wasn’t nearly as nervous as she'd been the year before, since she and Clark had been a couple for a year. It wasn't their first date this time.
"Lois," her mom called. "Clark's here!"
"I'll be right down," she hollered back. She grabbed her purse and headed down the stairs. "Hey," she said with a smile when she saw Clark. It had been almost six weeks since her grounding had ended and they'd spent most of the time outside of school and football practice together.
"I'll have her home by midnight," Clark promised.
"Happy birthday, Princess," Sam said, giving her a hug.
Ellen did the same and then Lois and Clark were on their way.
"Where are we going?" Lois asked, resting her head on Clark's shoulder as he drove through Smallville.
"DiGiacinto's and Big Hill Lake. But this time we're not going to fall asleep."
"Reenacting our first date?" she asked with a raised brow.
"Why not?"
They drove in companionable silence to Hutchinson.
Clark opened her door when they got to the restaurant and wrapped his arms around her. "Happy Birthday," he said quietly. "I haven't really said that yet today." He kissed her gently. "I love you."
She kissed him back. "I love you, too. Thank you."
They lingered again over chocolate cake before heading towards the lake parking lot. They sat in the back of the truck looking at the stars, much as they had the year before.
"Thank you for tonight, Clark," Lois said quietly. "Dinner was great and I love being here with you like this."
"You're not asking what your birthday present is?"
"Dinner wasn't my present?" she asked, surprised.
He snorted. "No. I know better than that."
"Gimme!"
He turned and reached through the open window into the truck. He handed her a package. "Here."
She quickly ripped open the paper. "Well, I'm sure it's not a shirt from Men's Warehouse," she told him looking at the top of the shirt box.
"Well, no, but open it."
She did and carefully picked up the papers she found there. "What're these?"
"Those are my stories," he said quietly. "The ones I wasn't ready for you to see yet."
She twisted to look at him. "What?"
He nodded.
"You're ready for me to see them?"
He hesitated and then shook his head slightly. "No, not really. Not *entirely*. But I don't know that I ever will be completely ready to show them to you or anyone else." He smiled at her. "I love you and I trust you and, if I waited until I was completely ready, I don't know that I'd ever share them with you and I want to."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Thank you," she said softly before kissing him. "You don't know how much this means to me." She settled back against him, setting them carefully to the side.
"Listen, I know you wouldn't let anyone else see them on purpose, but could you do me a favor?"
"Anything."
"Only read them when no one else is around and keep them well hidden."
"Sure."
They talked quietly for a while longer, enjoying being together.
"I dream about the night we spent out here," Clark said suddenly.
"What?"
"I dream about sleeping with you in my arms."
Lois sighed dreamily. "I dream about sleeping in your arms, though it's rarely on a beach."
"Where is it?" he asked huskily.
She shrugged and ducked her head. "Usually on a couch or in bed or something, I guess."
"Your bed?"
"I don't really know. Our bed, I guess. I'm not really sure where it is. You?"
He shrugged. "Mostly the beach where we were. Sometimes someplace else."
"Like where?"
He changed the subject suddenly. "Do you want your anniversary present?"
"What?" She turned. "Clark, I didn't get you anything. I mean, I did but I thought we were celebrating it next week."
He grinned at her, the grin she loved. "I know," he whispered. "I did that on purpose. I wanted tonight to be about you."
She smiled back at him. "Gimme."
"Close your eyes."
She gave an exaggerated sigh and did as she was told.
He got something out of the truck and tugged her back against him. "Okay. Open your eyes."
She did and gasped. "Clark!"
The velvet box held a gold ring. Their birthstones were nestled inside the delicate gold heart which was accented with small diamonds. Clark's name was on one side of the band and hers was on the other.
"It's a promise ring," he said, taking it out of the box. "It matches your necklace and it means that I intend to marry you some day."
"That's good, because I intend to marry you someday, too."
He slipped it on her ring finger. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "I told your dad about this," he said quietly. "I told him I wasn't going to propose or anything like that but I wanted him to know that I do plan on marrying you and that I was giving you this tonight."
"What did he say?"
Clark shrugged. "I think he still thinks we're too young to be so serious, but he also knows that nothing he can say is going to change our minds. But it's not like I'm proposing tonight, just promising to."
She turned so she could look at him again. "I'm going to hold you to that. Thank you." She kissed him – a long, sweet kiss – before settling back in his arms. "I love you."
"I don't know how I feel about you," he said suddenly.
"What?" she asked, off-guard.
"I mean, there's no *one* way I feel about you. I love you, but I feel so many other things, too. Happy and kind of scared, because everything is new with us and new can be scary. Excited. Calm. You've always been my rock, even when you didn't know it. I'm safe with you in a way I'm not anywhere else. I'm lost. I'm found. Ever since I met you, whatever it is that's always been so right between us, is stronger than me. Being with you is stronger than me alone. That's what I mean when I mean I don't know how I feel about you. There's no one way to define it."
"Oh, Clark," she whispered, tears in her eyes, as she turned to kiss him again.
Her lips brushed against his, before returning to kiss him again – softly at first, but soon both needing something more. She shifted again so that she was facing him more fully. Her hands rested on his chest as he held her.
As the kiss continued to build, she didn't really realize what was happening as her fingers started to work on the buttons of his shirt. It wasn't until she slipped her hands inside his shirt to feel the soft skin of his chest under her hands, that she realized his hands, too, were doing some exploring of their own.
They had slipped under the bottom of her shirt and his fingers were tracing patterns on her lower back, slipping slightly higher with each pass.
She pulled slightly away from him as his lips left hers to trail down her neck. "Clark," she murmured.
"I know," he said, his hands stilling on her back. He kissed the base of her neck one more time before leaning his head against the cab of the truck. He tugged the hem of her shirt down as she buttoned his. He pulled her close, cradling her against him. "If for absolutely no other reason than our first time shouldn't be in the back of my truck." He kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry. I promised you a year ago I'd never push..."
"You weren't pushing. I wanted more as much as you did." Her cheek rested against his chest. "I love you. You love me..."
He kissed her forehead. "I know." He sighed. "I should get you home."
"Probably."
They climbed into the cab and her head rested on his shoulder as he drove her home.
*****
"Movie's over," Clark whispered. "I've got to get you home soon."
"I know, but it's still so early," she groused.
"It's a school night."
"Boy scout," she muttered, sitting up and stretching.
Clark laughed and stood, holding out a hand to help her up before pulling her into his arms. "It's one of the reasons why you love me and why your dad keeps letting me see you, because I get you home on time."
"Except the once," she reminded him.
"I know, but that was what? Ten months ago? Nine? Something like that."
The VCR clicked to automatically rewind the movie.
"What's that?" Lois asked as the 'Breaking News' bulletin sounded.
Clark shrugged.
"Good evening, folks," the local news anchor said. "We're not sure what exactly is going on at this moment, but the White House has asked that all stations cover an emergency EPRAD press conference that will be starting momentarily."
"That's odd," Lois said, sitting back down.
Clark sat next to her as the picture shifted to EPRAD headquarters in Metropolis. A distinguished looking gentleman, surrounded by harried looking scientist types, stepped to the podium.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Professor Tom Daitch – D-A-I-T-C-H. I will make a short statement and will not be taking any questions at this time. Earlier this week, EPRAD scientists found a previously undiscovered asteroid. Calculations have been run and double checked and redouble checked. It is our belief that this asteroid is on a collision course with Earth."
"What?" Lois whispered.
"Did he just say...?" Clark whispered at the same time. "Mom! Dad! Come here!"
The reaction by the members of the press at the news conference apparently had a similar reaction because Professor Daitch was calling for them to be quiet.
"What is it, honey?" Martha asked.
Clark nodded at the television as Professor Daitch began speaking again. "Please, calm down. The military has been prepared for something like this for a very long time and launched several ASGARD rockets earlier today. Calculations indicate that the rockets will reach their destination by noon Eastern Time tomorrow. Indications are that they will disintegrate much of the asteroid and any other pieces would be much smaller. Some of those may still be large enough to do some damage, but not nearly as much as Nightfall itself would. Nightfall is thirty-seven miles across and would potentially cause permanent damage to the Earth and life as we know it. We are confident that the rockets will perform as designed and there is absolutely no need to panic."
He looked back at his notes. "We will have short briefings every hour to update you on the progress of the rockets and will hold another press conference at two p.m. tomorrow afternoon after we have had the opportunity to assess the damage the ASGARD rockets have done to the Nightfall Asteroid."
He, and those surrounding him, turned and left.
Martha and Jonathan had long since sunk onto one of the chairs.
"Oh, my," Martha whispered.
"That was... interesting," Jonathan added.
Clark looked at the clock. "We gotta go! Lois, we're going to be late."
"Go on," Martha told him. "I'll call and let her parents know what happened."
"Thanks, Martha." Lois gave her a quick hug before following Clark out the door.
*****
Clark lounged in his desk in their Physical Science class. The TV was on and they were waiting for the latest update on the damage the ASGARD rockets had done to the Nightfall asteroid.
The same group of men from the night before appeared on the screen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I will be making an announcement. I will not be taking any questions at this time. We will have another briefing at six p.m. Eastern Time and we will take questions then."
He shuffled his notes. "The ASGARD rockets did reach their target approximately two hours ago. Most of them hit exactly as they were supposed to, disintegrating much of the asteroid and breaking the rest into a number of smaller pieces, the vast majority of which will burn up in the atmosphere creating one of the most spectacular shooting star light shows in history. More details on where best to see the asteroid show and what areas need to be prepared for some of the slightly larger chunks will be available later. We anticipate the events to be approximately one hundred hours from now."
He took a deep breath. "However, two of the rockets did not hit the target at all. The reasons for this are not important at the moment but will be reviewed in the coming weeks and months so that the problems can be rectified should this situation ever present itself again. That said, there is still one very significant piece of asteroid, measuring nearly ten miles across. More rockets are being readied to launch sometime early tomorrow morning."
"What happens if they miss?" one of the reporters called.
Professor Daitch hesitated. "More details will be provided later this afternoon."
"What's going to happen?" several reporters yelled.
He glanced at someone Clark couldn't see. "*If* they miss, and we have every confidence that they won't, then this will likely have a disastrous effect on the Earth. Those calculations are currently being rechecked and those announcements will be made at a later time. I want to reiterate that there is no reason to panic. The rockets *will* do their job. Thank you." He turned and left.
"Are you okay?" Lois whispered.
He looked over at her. She was pale but not overly so. "Um, yeah. Why?"
She shook her head. "You look awful. The color is completely gone from your face." She reached out and felt his face. "You don't feel warm."
He nodded. "Right. I'm fine." He wasn't, but...
"I don't think I trust those rockets," Pete said suddenly. "Not if a couple of them already missed."
A plan was starting to form in Clark's mind. He surreptitiously slipped his keys into his backpack and leaned it against Lois' desk.
He raised his hand. "Mrs. Burgess, can I use the bathroom?" he asked suddenly.
She was still engrossed in the continuing coverage and waved him off.
He left the classroom, leaving Lois a couple of notes – one in her locker, one in his – before leaving the building. He ran towards her house and into the backyard.
Under the cover of the trees, he lifted into the air and headed towards the farm.
*****
Class was over and Clark still wasn’t back.
Lois sighed and grabbed his backpack as well as her own.
"Where'd he go?" Pete asked as they headed towards their next class.
Lois shrugged. "I have no idea. He said he had to go to the bathroom and never came back."
She stopped at his locker to stick his backpack in it. When she opened it, there was a slip of paper with her name on it.
'Lois, sorry I didn't tell you where I was going. My keys are in my backpack. Bring the truck to the farm after school. I'll explain everything then. I love you. C'
"I guess he went home," Lois told Pete who was still standing there. She shrugged. "I gotta go to class. I'll see you later."
Her mind, like everyone else's wasn't really on school the rest of the day. Once it was over, she headed to her house to leave her parents a note, telling them where she'd be.
The phone rang. "Hello?" she said after she picked it up.
"Hey, it's me."
"Clark! Where'd you go?"
"I went home. I needed to talk to my folks about something and the three of us need to talk to you."
"Okay," she said with a shrug. "I just wanted to drop my stuff off at the house. I'm heading back over to school and on my way."
"I'll see you in a few minutes. I love you."
"Love you."
She stashed her backpack in her room and changed clothes before heading back to the high school. She climbed in the truck and headed out of town.
Clark was waiting for her when she pulled into the farmyard.
"Hey," she said as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, his head buried in her neck. "What is it?"
"I love you," he said into her shoulder.
"I love you, too. How'd you get home?"
"Not important."
"I thought you said you and your folks needed to talk to me."
"We do." He moved back and took her face in his hands before kissing her soundly. He let go and reached for her hand. "Come on. We need to talk."
*****
TBC
Ring
