This chapter dedicated to Karen for fixing my acceptance speech typos
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Thanks, as ever, to Alisha, Beth, Nancy and Queenie
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Last time:
He took a deep breath before lowering his face towards hers, their lips touching gently at first, then more intensely. He pulled her more tightly to him and her arms found their way around his neck, standing, he was sure, on her toes to lessen their height disparity.
><~><~><
"Get out." She stood with her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"Why?"
"Because I said so." Her brown eyes flashed at him.
He glared back. "No. You're *not* the queen of the sandbox."
"It's not a sandbox."
><~><~><
He could see her younger self standing there as clear as day as he suddenly found his present self lying on top of her on the edge of the surf, kissing her as though his life depended on it.
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He turned to Lois and landed a kiss right on her surprised lips. "I am going to marry you someday, though."
><~><~><
He stopped the feverish kiss, resting his forehead on hers, both of them out of breath. "I remember," he whispered.
Chapter 16Lois stared into his eyes as he rested his weight on his elbows.
"You remember?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes.
He hesitated then nodded. "I remember you. The sandbox. 'Rescuing' Lana. Kissing you and telling you I was going to marry you."
"Anything else?"
He closed his eyes, like he was concentrating, then shook his head and sighed. "No. That's it."
He rolled off of her, onto his side as the water continued to lap around them.
"That's a start," she said, missing the feel of him.
He rolled further away, onto his back, running his hands through his hair and stifling a scream. "Why can't I remember? I want to. You have no *idea* how badly I want to."
She sighed and rolled towards him, propping herself up on her elbow and resting a hand on his stomach. "I know you do."
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
Lois wanted to say no, but the truth was she hadn't eaten much lunch and she really was more than ready to eat, so she nodded. "Yeah."
He stood up and held out a hand to help her up. "What sounds good?"
She thought for a minute. "Italian?"
"That sounds great." He pulled on his shirt. "Do you want to come with me or wait here?"
"I'll wait."
He nodded and took to the sky.
Lois waded far enough in the ocean to rinse the sand out of her hair before heading back to lie down on the blanket Clark had spread out before they arrived.
He'd remembered *something*. That was a start.
And it was something about *her*.
She sighed and rolled over onto her back, not caring for the moment that she hadn't put sunscreen on yet.
She wasn't sure how long it had been when she heard a slightly amused voice.
"You're going to get a sunburn."
Lois rolled and sat up. "Did you bring me food?"
"Yep."
"Sit." She gestured towards the blanket.
He laughed and did as she suggested, pulling assorted dishes out of the bag.
She grabbed a breadstick. "What'd you bring?" she asked around her first bite.
"Ravioli, ziti, salad, chocolate cake."
Her eyes lit up. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yep. But not until after you finish your meal, young lady."
She gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine." She opened one of the containers and carefully picked up a slippery ravioli between her fingers. "Mmm," she murmured with her eyes closed. "This is delicious. Where'd you get it?"
"An Italian restaurant in San Diego," he admitted sheepishly. "I don't know anything about currency exchange or how to speak Italian or anything like that so..."
She licked the sauce off her fingers. "Well, you did good."
"Thanks." He handed her a fork. "Want this?"
She glared at the amused grin on his face. "Thanks."
She ate about half the ravioli while he ate half the ziti and then they traded.
"Full?" he asked as she groaned after taking another bite.
"Stuffed."
"So I can have the cake?"
She lay down on the blanket, stretching out in the sun. "I know your memory isn't that far gone."
He laughed. "No. It's not."
She rolled back onto her stomach. "Then put some sunscreen on me, would ya?"
*****
Clark squirted the lotion onto his palm and rubbed his hands together before moving to start rubbing it onto her lower back.
He somehow wasn't surprised when she reached behind her and pulled on the end of one of the strings that held the suit on until it came untied. She brushed both ends aside leaving her back bare before reaching up to untie the bow at her neck.
"Tan lines," she said simply, as a way of explanation.
She was trying to kill him. That was all there was to it.
He swallowed hard. "Right. Tan lines." He finished with her back when she asked if he'd do the same to her legs. He complied then settled on the blanket next to her.
"Thanks."
"Anytime," he told her, closing his eyes.
"So what else are we doing on this date?" she asked from her side of the blanket.
"Whatever you want."
"Are you going to kiss me again?"
He hesitated. "Maybe. I, um, stopped at the house when I went to get dinner and brought a few photo albums back with me. Do you think we could go through them again? See if something jogs my memory?"
"Sure."
He breathed a sigh of relief when she reached up and retied the swimsuit around her neck and then her back before she rolled over.
"What?" she asked looking at him and rolling her eyes. "*I* would be fine going skinny dipping or sitting here slightly less clothed than I already am, but I know you're not okay with that so I'm not going to just flash you or anything."
For a minute, he wasn't sure why that was a good thing. He pulled out one of the books and flipped to the first page. "Our first date, right?"
Lois ran a finger over the picture of them with Clark's arm around her and a genuine smile on her face. "I was annoyed at my mom for taking these."
"I kissed you that night." It was a statement not a question.
"Yeah," she answered softly. "It was an amazing first kiss. There's been a lot of *better* kisses since then, but few as memorable. That was the night you promised me we'd wait until we got married to make love."
She flipped the page. "'Our Town'."
"I watched the video again the other day." There were a couple dozen pictures from the play. "You look annoyed in this one," he said, pointing to one of George and Emily running off after the wedding. "I don't think I noticed that before."
Lois sighed. "Well, Lana had given you more of a kiss than she was supposed to at the wedding. Then, when you two were supposed to run off, you were supposed to grab her hand and be the eager one and all that, but instead she grabbed you and dragged you off. I don't know why it annoyed me, but it did. Maybe because I was the only one who was supposed to be dragging you anywhere. You pulling her off the stage and down the aisle was the way the play was written. Her dragging you was different. Don't ask me to explain it."
Clark chuckled. "Explain it or not, it annoyed you."
She nodded. "Yeah."
They spent another hour flipping through the albums he'd brought with him, but nothing else came back to him.
"I want cake," she said suddenly.
Clark pulled it out of the bag, digging through it. "Um, there's only one fork left. I must have incinerated all the other ones when I turned our trash to ashes."
Lois shrugged. "We can share."
He dug into the cake holding it out towards her. "You get the first bite."
"See? I knew your memory was coming back." She closed her lips around the cake and her eyes closed as he pulled the fork out of her mouth. "Mmmm," she sighed. "You're getting us more cake from there on a regular basis."
"Yes, ma'am." He took a bite. "It is good."
"More," she practically ordered, opening her mouth waiting for more.
As he slid the fork out of her mouth again, he knew for sure.
She was trying to kill him.
Or seduce him.
Whichever came first.
Lois sighed as she took the last bite. "We should probably get back soon."
"Yeah."
She stood and stretched. "I want to get back in the water first, though." She headed towards the ocean, wading in until she reached nearly waist level. She turned back towards the beach. "You coming?"
Clark looked up from where he was packing the books back into the bag. "Lois! Look out!"
A moderately sized wave slammed into her back, catching her off-guard and knocking her over. In an instant, Clark was in the ocean, holding her in his arms.
She clung to him, coughing from the water she'd inhaled.
He cradled her to him as he walked towards the beach. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, between coughs, her head on his shoulder. "I think so."
He set her on her feet, water still lapping around her ankles. He brushed her hair off her face. "Are you sure?"
She nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist. He rested his chin on her head.
"Really sure?"
She moved back enough to glare at him.
"I'll take that as a yes." He brushed her hair back from her face again. "I want to remember," he whispered.
She looked into his eyes. "Make love to me."
"What if that doesn't work?"
Her eyes sparkled at him. "As much as I want you to remember, who cares if it works?"
He laughed. "You're just trying to get me into bed?"
She shook her head. "No. I’m trying to get you to that blanket over there. Even as fast as you fly, 'bed' is too far away."
He hesitated. "Lois..."
She stopped him with her fingers on his lips. "Just kiss me and go from there," she whispered. "If we make love, we make love. Right now, just kiss..."
Whatever else she was going to say was cut off when his lips covered hers. His hands ran up and down her nearly bare back, pulling her closer to him. His lips left hers and trailed down her jaw line.
She moaned slightly when he reached the base of her neck.
That was his breaking point. He scooped her into his arms, his head still buried in her neck as he carried her over to the blanket. His lips never left her skin as he lowered them to the covered sand. Her hands ran over his back, his arms, tangling themselves in his hair as she wordlessly urged him on.
She pulled his face back to hers, kissing him again until they were both breathless and it before he knew what happened, she was stretched out on top of him. Her lips followed much the same path his had as his hands ran over her back, over the bottom of her swimsuit to her legs and back again, stopping when he reached the slim string that stretched around the middle of her back.
"It's okay," she whispered, as she kissed her way along his collarbone.
His eyes were closed as rational thought continued to flee. "Are you sure?" he whispered back.
He felt lost as she pulled away from him until she was sitting up, straddling his stomach. She reached behind her and untied that bow before reaching behind her neck and pulling on that one.
The top of her suit fell away. "I'm sure," she told him, leaning forward to kiss him.
Somehow – he wasn't really sure how – he managed to flip them over so she was underneath him again, her skin against his.
"I want this," he told her between kisses.
><~><~><
"Come on, Lois," he cajoled. "Let me be your first date."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm only fourteen. It's going to be a year and a half before I can date. Besides, I thought you were trying to convince me we were going to get married."
He grinned at her. "I'll settle for being your first date right now."
She sighed. "Will you leave me alone about if I agree?"
"Sure."
"Fine. You can be my first date."><~><~><
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"Look at me." They moved until he could look in her eyes. One hand cradled the side of her face, his fingers tangling in her hair. "I will *never* push you for... sex, ever. Or push you past whatever limits we decide to put on our physical relationship, once we have one. I think I've been falling in love with you for a decade now and I can wait until you're ready – until *we're* ready. You're worth it. *We're* worth it."
"You really mean that?"
"Yeah, I do." He grinned suddenly. "But once we get married, all bets are off."><~><~><
He wasn't sure how they'd both ended up completely undressed, but he didn’t really care either. All he cared about was the feel of the woman in his arms.
And she was his wife. They were married.
All bets were off.
><~><~><
He lowered his face to hers, his lips brushing against hers before they both came back for another long, sweet first real kiss.
A minute later, they both pulled back, slightly breathless.
"Wow," they both whispered in unison.><~><~><
"I love you, Clark," the woman in his arms whispered. "I know you don't remember, but I love you."
><~><~><
"I think I've fallen in love with you," she said quietly, earnestly, as she looked into his eyes. "I know I have."
His other hand played with the hair at her temple. "That's good," he told her, his tone matching hers. "Because I fall in love with you a little more every day. I know we haven't officially said it yet, but I love you, Lois Lane."
She smiled back at him. "I love you, Clark Kent."><~><~><
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"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."><~><~><
><~><~><
She turned towards the ladder only to find him in front of her, hovering in midair over the main floor of the barn.
Her jaw dropped. "Clark?" she whispered.
He moved back towards her, coming to a stop in front of her, his hands resting on her shoulders. "This isn't how I planned on telling you. I've planned on telling you for a long time, but not like this. Not until after I proposed to you after graduation. Then I was going to tell you and pray that you still wanted to marry me."><~><~><
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"I've known I wanted to marry you since you kicked me out of the sandbox in when you were in kindergarten." She wiped tears from her cheeks as she laughed. "I love you. I can't promise you beyond tomorrow, but, Lois Lane... Will you marry me?"
She nodded. "Of course I will."><~><~><
He looked at Lois. "I love you."
She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I know you do."
He kissed her again, losing himself in it as the memories continued to stream back.
><~><~><
His breath caught in his throat.
She stood nervously in the doorway between the living area and the bedroom. The white gown hung from slim straps on her shoulders and fell to pool on the floor around her feet. The filmy white robe did little to hide the neckline that revealed more than any shirt – or even swimsuit – he'd ever seen her wear. He could clearly see the small mole on the swell of her breast – the one he'd gotten glimpses of from time to time.
His eyes traveled down her body and back up again to see that she was nervously biting her lip – something he'd always found endearing.
"You look..." He shook his head slightly. "You look amazing."><~><~><
><~><~><
He kissed her softly. "I love you, wife," he whispered.
"I love you, husband," she whispered back. "Be safe."
"I will. I'll be home before you know it."
"I hope so."
"You'll see. Before you know it, we'll be telling them..."
She smiled. "You have to be here to help me with that."
"I will be."
He gave her a long, gentle kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He took a big step back and lifted into the air, putting the breathing regulator in his mouth and then disappearing before their eyes.><~><~><
She rested her head on his chest as a light sheen of sweat covered both of them. "That was..." she started.
He cradled the side of her face in his hand, making her look at him. "I remember," he whispered.
Her eyes grew wide. "What?"
"You were right the other night when you suggested that making love might bring my memory back."
"What?" she asked again.
"I remember, sweetheart. I remember *everything*."
"Everything?" she whispered.
"Everything," he confirmed.
Tears streamed down both their cheeks as she moved to kiss him.
One of his hands went to her stomach. "And you're having my baby."
"I am."
He kissed her again. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He kissed her or she kissed him – neither were sure which one of them moved first – but one kiss turned into two and two into three and three into another round of passionate love making.
Clark cradled her against his side.
"I've missed you," she said quietly, one finger tracing random patterns on his chest.
"I know. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault."
He sighed. "I know, but I'm sorry you've had to go through all this essentially alone."
"I knew you'd be back."
Clark grinned at her. "And we really live in Granny and Gramps' house."
She nodded. "With a big ole bed that's all ours."
"Hmmm... I know you said it was too far but..." He kissed her again.
Lois giggled. "We need to get home and tell your parents and *then* we can break in that new bed, Farmboy."
She moved away from him and put her swimsuit back on and then her shorts and shirt. Once his clothes were on, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.
He kissed the base of her neck. "You knew exactly what you were doing wearing that suit, didn't you?"
She shrugged. "Whatever worked."
"Well, it worked."
"I'm glad." She turned in his arms. "But even if you hadn't remembered, I'd still love you."
"I know, but I'm glad I remember."
She kissed him softly. "Me, too."
He released her and a second later was back with everything packed into the bags they brought. "You want to hold these?"
She nodded and a minute later, they were airborne.
*****
Lois let Clark cradle her in his arms as they flew back towards Kansas. As much as she loved the sensation of flying, she loved being in his arms more.
Slow tears continued to streak down her cheeks and before she knew it, they were landing on the porch of his parents' house. He set her on her feet before kissing her again.
She glanced down at herself. "Clark! I can't go in there wearing this," she hissed.
He chuckled. "Hang on." He took the bags from her and zipped to their house. A second later, he was back, one of his T-shirts in his hand. "Here."
She grabbed the John Deere shirt from him and slipped it over what she was already wearing. "Much better."
His arms went around her as she headed for the door. "I found that in one of your drawers."
She nodded. "Yep. I snagged it after you left."
He released one arm from around her to knock on the screen door. "Mom? Dad?" he called.
"In the kitchen," Martha called back.
His arms stayed around her as they walked into the kitchen.
Martha and Jonathan shared a look. "The date went well?" Jonathan asked.
Clark grinned at them. "I remember everything."
His parents both gasped. "You remember?" they said in unison.
He nodded, releasing Lois to pull both of them into a big hug. "I remember everything."
Ten minutes later, Lois was sitting on his lap in the living room as they talked to his parents.
Jonathan chuckled. "This is the Lois and Clark that we remember," he said, nodding towards them as they sat together.
"Do you remember the asteroid?" Lois asked quietly, fiddling with his wedding band.
He nodded. "I do. I remember flying towards it and ramming it as hard as I could and then managing to get myself on a course towards Earth. I remember entering the atmosphere and making sure I was headed towards home but that's it. The next thing I remember is waking up here with Mom in my room, but not remembering anything before that."
"So what was it that finally triggered your memories?" Martha asked.
Lois turned her head towards Clark, burying her face against him. She was sure they were both bright red and it had nothing to do with the sun she'd gotten.
Both of his parents laughed. Martha sat on the arm of the couch next to Jonathan, his arm resting on her leg and her arm wrapped around his shoulders as they exchanged a look.
Jonathan tried to hold in a laugh as he spoke in a stage whisper. "I'd guess Lois' suggestion from the other night worked," he told Martha.
Lois groaned. "I wonder if it's possible to die of embarrassment," she muttered.
Neither one of the elder Kents could hold back a laugh.
"Oh, honey," Martha said a minute later. "You two are married adults now. We'd expect that you two would make love regularly. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, especially when it brought Clark's memory back."
"Still," Lois said, not looking at them.
They talked for a while longer before Lois and Clark headed for their new home.
He stopped her on the front porch. "I didn't do this yet," he told her, sweeping her into his arms.
She squealed and grabbed a hold of him. "Clark!"
He carried her inside, not stopping until he reached their room, setting her in the middle of the bed and floating over the top of her.
Clark grinned down at her. "Now, I think we have some unfinished business to take care of."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Unfinished? Clark, we've already made love twice."
"Not in *our* bed, in *our* house," he told her, reaching a hand out to brush his fingers against her cheek.
She took a deep breath and rolled towards her nightstand. "There's something I need to tell you first." She pulled the leather bound notebook out of the drawer. "I found this after you got back but I never gave it to you." She wiped a tear off her cheek. "I never read it either. I could never bring myself to – in my mind it was like saying you were never coming back, never going to remember. I know it doesn't make any sense, but that's what I was afraid of. If I'd given it to you... Maybe it would have helped."
He lowered himself to her side. "There's no way to know if it would have helped or not. Part of me thinks that only making love to you would bring my memory back."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you we were married a lot sooner then," she whispered.
"Sh," he told her, a finger on her lips. "There's no way to know what would have happened in any situation. What matters is that I remember; that you're my wife and I'm your husband and we're having a baby together." He kissed her softly. "I love you. Even when I didn't remember, part of me still knew that I loved you even if I wasn't sure I should act on that."
"I love you." She bit her bottom lip as her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Hang on."
"What?" he asked, disappointed.
She scooted off the bed and headed for her dresser. She pulled a package out of the bottom drawer. She opened it and tossed the black boxers and shirt towards him. "Those are yours."
He chuckled. "Thanks."
"I got something else for you," she added shyly. "The other day when I went shopping."
"Really?" he asked with a raised brow. "Something for you to wear to help initiate our new house?"
She pulled out one pair of the boxers she'd bought. "These are for you." She threw them at him.
He laughed again. "Thanks. What're the other ones?"
She shrugged. "Matching ones for me. I even got a Cardinals baby doll tee to go with them."
He groaned and flopped back on the bed. "Nice." He held out a hand. "I don't care about all that right now though. Come here."
She climbed back onto the bed cradling his face in her hand as she settled in next to him.
"I've loved you since the beginning," he whispered, kissing her lightly.
"And I'll love you till the end," she whispered back before kissing him again.
And then... the only sounds in the little house were those of young lovers once again becoming one.
*****
FIN
