Thanks to Nancy, Cat, Alisha and Beth!
Last time:
Perry nodded and looked through the samples Clark had brought with him. "Knob-tailed geckos?" he asked with a raised brow.
"You write what you're assigned," Clark replied with a grin.
"I wish all my reporters knew that," Perry mumbled. He looked up. "Speaking of which..."
The door burst open. "Perry, you're never going to believe this."
Clark stood. "Lois?"
She turned towards him, her eyes wide. "Clark?"
It was his turn to ask what she had the night before. "What're you doing here?"
Chapter 7
Lois left the hospital with a bit lighter step. Because she was already more than three months along, her doctor decided to do an early ultrasound. She'd held her breath, letting out a big sigh of relief as the doctor said everything looked good, if a few days further along than she would have expected, but that was nothing unusual.
They'd gotten her right in, a few minutes early even, and she was done by nine. She decided against taking a cab, instead hopping the subway the two stops to the Daily Planet.
She stopped at her desk turning her computer on and looking at the messages on her desk. One in particular caught her eye. She took the pink slip of paper with her and headed towards Perry's office. She barely noticed that the door was closed as she walked in.
"Perry, you're never going to believe this," she said excitedly.
Belatedly, she realized that there was someone in the office with Perry.
"Lois?"
She turned to look at the other person standing there. "Clark?"
"What're you doing here?" he asked.
"I'd introduce you to up and coming investigative reporter Lois Lane, Clark, but apparently you already know each other," came the gruff voice of her editor.
"We've met," Lois said quietly.
"Yeah," Clark agreed. "We've met."
Perry sighed. "What is it, darlin'?"
"It's not official yet, but I just got a call from Chen Chow. He thinks you might be able to get some of your money back."
Perry closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Maybe that'll get me out of Alice's doghouse. Thanks for letting me know."
She took a deep breath and tried to make sure she was completely composed before she turned back to Clark. "I'd like to talk to you for a minute before you leave, if you have time."
Clark nodded. "Of course."
"Okay then..."
"Lois!" There was a knock on the window and she turned to see Jimmy motioning at her. She apparently had a call on line two.
"I've got to take this." She flight from the office was as controlled as she could make it. She made a beeline for her desk, taking a minute to compose herself before picking up the phone.
This time it was his personal secretary who gave her the brush off.
She'd been contemplating not going to the ball that night, especially since she'd found out she was pregnant, but if he was going to keep avoiding her, she didn't see another way. She'd even canceled with Mitchell, who was originally supposed to be her date. They'd made plans several months ago when the guest list first started floating around. She'd gone out on one... she hesitated to call it a date, but had gone out once with him. She hadn't spoken to him since he'd canceled their second 'date' because of the sniffles. He'd called the week before to confirm and she'd told him not to bother.
"Lois?"
Clark's voice startled her. She looked up to see him standing nervously next to her desk.
"Right," she said, standing. "Come on." She led him to one of the conference rooms, shutting the door behind them. "Was your job interview with Perry?"
He nodded and leaned against the wall near the door. "He doesn't have anything though. He said if I do any freelance stuff, he'd like first crack at it but that he just promoted you and hired someone else earlier this week."
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you tell me you worked here?"
She sank into one of the chairs. "Originally, I didn't tell you because I figured you'd hit me up for a job. I mean, you were a drifting reporter. I'd be your connection in. Later..." She shrugged. "I just didn't."
She didn't want to tell him that she didn't want him there. That wasn't *entirely* accurate but the thought of him working there when the only future they had was as co-parents...
He interrupted her internal musings. "I've been reading your stories the last few weeks. We get the Daily Planet and I noticed your car ring story, but I never put two and two together – that Lois Lane was the Lois I'd married. I never knew your last name," he told her quietly. "I figured there was more than one Lois in Metropolis."
"I'm sure there is," she agreed.
He sighed. "Well, I didn't get a job here, but I'm going to go see if I can scare anything else up." He looked down at his suit. "I might go home and change first. I can just imagine walking up to a construction foreman asking for a job in a business suit."
"You'd do that?" Lois asked him quietly, staring at her hands in her lap.
"What?"
"Work construction."
"There's nothing *wrong* with working construction," he said. "I'd rather be a reporter, obviously. I'd even take sports or lifestyles at this point, but if construction is what it takes to help you financially, then that's what it takes. Perry said he'd keep me in mind when he has another opening but who knows when that'll be. And it's not like I'm not physically capable of doing construction and I've done it before – lots of work around the farm and a couple different places while I was traveling – so I'm qualified."
"Still..."
"The other options are the Metropolis Star or the National Whisperer. I'd much rather work as a sewer technician, thank you."
She smiled slightly. "I can understand that, but what's a sewer technician?"
He shrugged. "Dunno, but I'd rather be one of those."
"Listen," she said suddenly. "Do you have plans tonight?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
"I have this thing to go to and I need an escort and the guy who was originally supposed to take me – those plans were made about four months ago and was barely a friend anyway much less anything more but he isn't going to anymore and I just wasn't going to go but I'm trying to get this interview but he's avoiding me and he's going to be there so..." She took a deep breath before plunging on. "Is there any chance you could go with me?"
"Sure," he said with a smile. "I'd be happy to."
"Can you get a tux?"
He hesitated slightly. "I can get one."
"Thanks."
There was an awkward silence.
"Is there anything I can do to make today easier for you?" he asked.
Jimmy poked his head in the door before she could answer. "Lois, Perry wants you down at the theater on 42nd before the demolition starts."
"Seriously?" she asked, more resigned than annoyed.
"Hey, I'm just the messenger." Jimmy left before she could say anything else.
"You could write that for me," she said with a sigh.
"I would," he said softly.
"Perry'd have my hide, but thanks for the offer." She put her hands on the armrests and pushed herself up. "I've got to get back to work. Good luck."
"Thanks." He held the door open for her, walking with her to her desk. "I'll see you later. What time do you need me to be ready?"
"The limo's coming at 7:15. It's a Daily Planet thing, sort of, so Perry had a couple limos ordered for. I hadn't told him I wasn't going but Jimmy and Lucy are going so it was coming by anyway."
"I'll be ready."
She sat down at her desk. "See you later."
"Bye."
She wanted to watch him leave but made herself focus on her monitor instead. Now that he was here and knew her last name, surely he'd find a lawyer. There was no point in torturing herself.
She'd woken up in the middle of the night to find Clark behind her, his arm around her stomach. For a minute, she'd thought she was dreaming but quickly realized that she wasn't. She'd held very still, making sure not to wake him but just to enjoy the feeling.
She'd never actually *slept* with someone before – except their wedding night. Dan and Paul... They'd both gotten up pretty quickly and there had been no 'sleepovers' with either one of them.
Given that she was pregnant, as soon as Clark found a place or her sister left, it seemed unlikely she would again for a very long time.
She sighed, closing her eyes and willing the tears to stay put. She opened them, typing away on her notes.
Ten minutes later, she left for the theater.
*****
Clark flew to Smallville to change clothes and fill his parents in on what had happened since he left.
He left out the part where he slept in the same bed with Lois instead just saying she'd offered him the air mattress.
He changed into something more casual and headed back to Metropolis.
He talked to several foremen, leaving Lois' phone number with them in case anything opened up. They said to show up on weekday mornings and they might have some day labor.
As he walked around, he saw a sign for the Sarah Bernhardt Theater. He turned the corner to see a crowd gathered around and construction equipment. He glanced at the street sign. Forty-second Street. Wasn't that where Lois was supposed to be?
He headed that way to see if he could find her.
Two hours later, he thought he had enough for a good story. He was a bit worried though – Lois hadn't shown up.
She'd probably been caught up in another story and that was why she hadn't made it. Those things happened, especially if it was some big breaking news thing. He wandered around the Riverview district of the West River area. It seemed to be going through a period of renovation or revitalization or urban redevelopment or whatever they were calling it these days. There was a small grocery store and a law firm. There were a few restaurants and even a couple clubs.
A sign in the window of one of the clubs said that they were looking for a bartender. He hesitated. He'd bartended before and, depending on what kind of club it was, he might make pretty good tips. He decided to go in and scope the place out.
The Metro Club wasn't open yet, but it looked nice. There were a number of men sitting around one of the tables having a meeting of some kind. Before he could take the rest in, someone spoke.
"Can I help you?"
He turned towards the voice and held out his hand. "Hi. I’m Clark Kent. I'd like to apply for the bartender's job."
She shook his hand lightly and he noticed that she unobtrusively wiped her hand on the side of her blue dress. "I'm sorry," she started. "We have a dress code and..." She looked him up and down. "...that's not it."
He glanced at his blue jeans, white T-shirt and leather jacket. He gave her his best smile. "Believe it or not, this isn't what I would normally wear. I had an interview this morning that didn't pan out and I wore a business suit to that. I didn't have any other leads so I changed because I didn't think a suit would impress a foreman on a job site and that was my next stop."
"So a businessman construction worker?" she asked with a raised brow.
Clark laughed. "Not exactly. Guy looking for a job and the only interview he could get in his field didn't pan out – there's no openings. It wasn't like they hired someone else; they just didn't have anything available. I only got the interview because my old boss was friends with the boss here." He shrugged. "I've done a lot of different jobs over the years and figured that without any other leads, construction or something along those lines would probably be easier to get into. I was walking by here, saw the sign in the window and thought I'd stop in."
"So you're not looking for something permanent?" She leaned against the bar.
He hesitated. "Probably not, but the impression I've gotten from calling around is that there's not going to be any openings I'm interested in for a while. Even if there is, I would give a minimum of two weeks' notice and let you know ahead of time of any promising interviews so you can be as prepared as possible."
She hesitated. She wasn't even going to give him an interview.
"Let me make you a drink," he offered. "What's your favorite?"
She sized him up. "Long Island Iced Tea."
He started towards the bar when the door slammed open behind them.
"Johnny, you're a dead man!"
Clark turned long enough to see that there were four men, all wearing silver jump suits of some kind and holding what he assumed were weapons.
A number of the men who'd been sitting around some of the table jumped up, guns drawn. What was he getting himself into?
Flamethrowers.
That's what the weapons were.
Clark turned, covering the woman's body with his own as the club erupted in flames.
A minute later, the men were gone, but the fire was starting to take hold. "Everybody out," he yelled, picking up the woman up and getting her quickly past the flames.
Everyone else was rushing out the doors and he set her down on the stage. "Go!"
He glanced around, making sure that no one could see him. He blew on the flames, extinguishing them before heading out the door himself.
Someone had called the fire department and they arrived a few minutes later as the lady in blue and one of the men argued.
He blew a deep breath out slowly. He'd been in Metropolis less than a day and he'd already pulled a 'stunt'.
"You'll need a tux." The voice behind him startled him.
He turned. "Excuse me?"
She held out a wad of cash. "Toni Taylor. You'll need a tux if you're going to be a bartender at the Metro Club. Go to Streets Formal Wear and tell them I sent you. They'll give you a good deal."
He took the money from her. "Thank you."
"You start tonight." She turned to walk away.
"Ah, I can't."
She turned back. "What?"
"I'll be here first thing in the morning," he promised, "but I can't start tonight."
"Why not?"
He grinned at her, probably a bit too flirty but... "I promised a beautiful woman I'd be her escort to an event tonight."
She apprised him carefully. "Your wife?"
He hesitated.
"I noticed the ring."
"It's complicated," he said quietly. "It wouldn't surprise me to hear from her lawyer any day."
"Right."
By then the fire department had been through the building, declaring it safe, and police tape had been set up.
"Clark!"
He turned to see a brunette ducking under the thin yellow barrier. He looked back at Toni. "Excuse me?"
She nodded. "Of course. We'll be here first thing in the morning. Come ready to work and bring the tux for when we open."
"Of course." He walked towards Lois. "What're you doing here?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm a reporter. There was a fire. Do I need to draw you a diagram? What are *you* doing here?"
He looked slightly chagrinned. "Um, I'm the Metro Club's newest bartender."
Her jaw dropped. "Clark," she whispered, "you do know it's a front for the Metro Gang, one of the most notorious gangs in the West River area."
"How was I supposed to know that?" he whispered back. "I've been in town for like eighteen hours. I was in the middle of trying to convince Toni to give me a chance when the Toasters walked in."
"The Toasters?"
"Yeah. They had flamethrowers, wanted 'Johnny' dead, and wrote Toasters on the wall with fire."
"Oy." She bit her bottom lip. "I wonder if that's who's been starting *all* the fires in this area. There was another one earlier," she said almost to herself.
"Is that why you weren't at the theater?"
Her brown eyes flashed. "Were you checking up on me?" she hissed.
"No. I happened to be walking by and stopped to see if you were there. You weren't. I hung out then left and saw the sign here. I was about to convince her to let me make her a drink when they burst in."
"Lane." They both turned to see a slender man in a suit walking towards them.
"Henderson," she said.
"You're not supposed to be inside the tape, you know that."
"Sorry." Her tone indicated she was anything but. "Bill, this is Clark Kent. He was inside. Clark, this is Inspector Bill Henderson, MPD."
Clark held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Inspector."
"Likewise. Make sure you give your statement to one of my men before you take off."
Clark nodded. "Gladly."
"How much damage is there?" Lois asked him.
He hesitated. "Off the record for now." She nodded. "Not as much as we would have expected. Given the other fires in the area, we would have expected it to burn to the ground. For some reason, it didn't take."
Clark glanced at Lois before asking his own question. "That should give you more evidence then, right?"
Henderson hesitated again. "Is he with you?" he asked Lois.
"Close enough," she retorted. "That should give you more evidence then, right?"
"Theoretically." He turned as someone called his name. "Don't touch anything, Lane. Stay out of the building." He walked off.
Lois rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say," she called after him. She turned back to Clark. "I've got to get back and get this written up so I can get back to the apartment and get ready for tonight. Lucy should be there whenever you're ready to go back."
He nodded. "I've got to go get my tux and then will head that way."
"See you later then."
"See you." He watched her walk away then spoke to one of the officers in the area before getting directions to Street's Formal Wear.
About an hour later he was back at the apartment. Lucy let him in and they chatted a bit while he went to work on a story about the theater. Maybe he could sell it to Perry White unless someone else from the Daily Planet had been there since Lois wasn't.
A little after four, the front door opened then slammed shut. He looked up from his spot at the table to see an annoyed Lois.
"Don't take it out on the door, Lo," Lucy said sardonically.
"I can't believe it." She tossed her briefcase on the couch. "I'm the *only* Daily Planet reporter to cover any of the fires today because everyone else was tied up *and* I had the inside scoop on the one at the Metro Club. Does Perry appreciate it? No-o. He's mad because I didn't get the theater covered, too."
Clark hesitated before closing his laptop. He held out his notebook. "Here."
"What?"
"My notes from the theater. Take them."
She looked at him warily, reaching for the notebook. "What's the catch?"
He shook his head. "No catch. They're yours to write up."
She flipped through them. "Thanks." She started for the bedroom. "Listen, if either one of you want in the bathroom, you have twenty minutes before I take over."
Clark looked at Lucy who shook her head. "I just need to get dressed and do my hair. I don't need in the bathroom for either one of those."
He stood. "Then I'm going to hop in the shower, if that's okay. I probably should have after I got back but got to talking to Lucy so..."
He went to Lois' room, gathered his things and took a quick shower, changing into shorts and a T-shirt when he was done. His tux was hanging in a bag in Lois' closet. It wouldn't take him long to actually get dressed even without using his gifts.
He headed out into the living room. "All done."
He looked up to see Lois standing there with his laptop open and his notes in her hand. He couldn't read the look on her face.
"What were you thinking?"
*****
TBC
