The usual disclaimers apply - I don't own the characters or Metropolis, or any of that stuff. The story was inspired by the Duke Ellington piece by the same name. If you've never heard it before, I highly recommend it (particularly the version on The Ellington Suites). It is my favorite piece of music.
Single Petal of a Rose
Henderson removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I really need to get a statement from her.” The exasperation dripped from his voice. He craned his neck to try to get a look into the private hospital room.
“I understand, detective…”
“Inspector,” Henderson corrected automatically as he handed her his somewhat worn business card. He really should get a holder for those instead of just carrying them loose in his pocket, he thought idly. Henderson watched the young doctor’s eyebrows disappear into her hairline. He might not have been what she was expecting the head of the Detective Bureau to look like, but to be fair, the petite little blonde who stood in front of him, blocking his way into Lane’s room, looked more like a MetU freshman than an ER doctor.
“Inspector Henderson,” the female version of Doogie Howser continued. “Her injuries are minor, but Ms. Lane is lucky to be alive.”
“Lane isn’t lucky,” Henderson replied drolly. “She’s immortal. If it were possible to kill that woman she’d be dead a hundred times over by now.”
The pony-tailed physician did not seem amused. “Let me check in on her,” she said. She backed into Lois’s room and Henderson stepped into the doorway.
“Ms. Lane, the Chief of Detectives is here to see you,” the doc explained so genially that Henderson couldn’t think of a better adjective to describe her than ‘perky.’ “He has a few questions he’d like…”
“Come on in, Henderson,” Lois interrupted. She turned toward him and he could see the tiny butterfly bandage covering the stitches under her eyebrow. Red abrasion marks stood out against the skin of her chin and neck.
The kid doctor smiled and excused herself, explaining that she’d be just down the hall. Henderson stepped by her, hoping his smile didn’t seem too smug. “Who’s trying to kill you now, Lane?” he asked, knowing he sounded annoyed. In reality, it was a miracle Lane hadn’t given him a heart attack yet. He didn’t much care for reporters; they had a tendency to jeopardize ongoing cases because it was easier to play fast and loose with the law than to rely on honest investigating skills. Lane, however, was as much an asset as she was a liability. And if he was going to be fair about it, she was often a tremendous help to the department, even if he and his cops didn’t want to admit it.
“I don’t know,” she said. For the first time, he noticed that all the color had drained from her face. She looked scared and if there was one thing Bill Henderson would have bet his pension on, it was that Lois Lane did not get scared.
There would obviously be no petty barbs or sarcastic quips tonight. He could cope with a change in tactics, though. He’d spent the better part of a decade working on sensitive crimes. It had destroyed marriage number two, but he’d learned a thing or two in the process. He could remember how to interview a witness without giving her the third degree. He pulled up a chair to her bedside. “So tell me what happened.”
“I was getting into my Jeep,” she began. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear awkwardly with her left hand. “I put the key in the ignition, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. I’d just had a tune up, so I knew there was nothing wrong with the car. I panicked, I figured it might be a bomb and I got out and started running. Then ‘boom.’”
Henderson frowned. “How did you know? That it was a bomb, I mean. It’s not something the average person would have guessed.”
“I have a few more brushes with death than the average person,” she replied wryly. The trademarked Lane sarcasm was back, but he noted that it disappeared just as quickly as it returned. “Last year I did a series on organized crime in Metropolis and got a series of pretty nasty threats. Someone from the Bomb Squad was nice enough to show me how to search my car for explosives. He mentioned that ignition triggers often keep the car from starting.”
“You got lucky, Lois.”
“I know,” she replied dully. He expected her to fight back, but she said nothing further.
“You’re what, twenty-eight now?”
“Twenty-six,” she corrected in unaffected monotone.
Geez, he’d forgotten just how young she was. “You need to be more careful if you want to live to see twenty-seven. I want to assign a police detail to you.”
“Bill, I can’t do my job with a pair of uniforms following me everywhere,” she declared, but not as emphatically as she had every other time he recommended she avail herself of police protection.
“You’re not even sure who’s trying to kill you. You aren’t safe.”
“I know.”
They both turned around at the sound of a knock on the doorframe. Her partner, Kent, stood in the doorway, an anxious look on his face.
“Come in, Clark,” she said.
He entered, carrying a bouquet of yellow roses. He set them down on the table beside her bed before turning to acknowledge Henderson with a slight nod and a tight lipped expression. Kent turned back to his partner. “How are you?” he asked earnestly.
“I’m okay,” she replied.
“I came by last night but they said you weren’t supposed to have visitors until this afternoon,” he explained.
“I know. The nurse told me that you and Perry were here most of the night.”
Kent looked down almost sheepishly. While he didn’t particularly want to bust up this tender moment, Henderson still had a job to do. “The Jeep must have been rigged up some time during the day yesterday. It’s definitely not that hard to figure out which car you drive, so where you live is just as easily accessible…” Lois’s eyes grew wide.
“You shouldn’t go back to your apartment,” he continued, more thinking aloud than talking directly to her. “Is there anywhere you can stay? Someplace out of town?”
“I’m not running away,” she replied stubbornly.
“Be rational,” Henderson rebuked. “Someone is clearly willing to go to great lengths to kill you. You can’t just ignore this.”
“What about Superman?” Kent asked. It wasn’t a bad idea, Henderson admitted to himself. Big Blue would certainly be able to provide ample protection, better even that Metropolis’s Finest.
“No.” Lane’s tone was just plain obstinate.
“It’s the only way to keep you safe,” Kent said, almost pleading with her to listen to reason. Henderson wasn’t holding out hope.
“I can’t ask that of him, Clark,” she replied. “There are plenty of people who need Superman a heck of a lot more than I do. What if he heard a call for help while he was babysitting me?”
Her partner nodded in apparent understanding. Henderson, however, was surprised. What reporter wouldn’t want Superman as a captive audience? He’d half expected Lois to jump at the opportunity to spend that much time with the century’s biggest story. “Well this leaves us with a problem. You’ll be discharged today and we still don’t have a place for you to go. Look, all I need is a day or two to have your apartment swept and set up a couple of plainclothes cops on watch.”
“You can stay with me,” Kent said without hesitation.
********
“All right, Kent, your place is clean,” Inspector Henderson announced as he handed Clark his keys. He’d zipped home before Lois had been discharged to fly all of his spare suits out to the farmhouse, knowing that the cops would be likely to find them in their search of his apartment. It was still a bit odd to have strangers rifling through all of his stuff, especially since he already knew the apartment was clean. He picked up Lois’s bag, packed by the female cops who had started the search of her place. Lois followed just a step behind him as he unlocked the door and held it open for her.
“Thanks,” she murmured quietly.
“You know how to get in touch with me,” Henderson said, still standing on the stoop.
Clark nodded. “Thanks, Inspector.” The sardonic cop gave Clark a half smile before turning and walking back toward his car.
He walked back into his apartment to find Lois standing just inside the entryway, her arms folded across her chest, looking like she was trying to keep warm. “Can I get you some tea?” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied.
Clark picked up her bag and started carrying it to his room. “You can take the bedroom.”
“Clark, I don’t want to be any more of an imposition than I already have been.” She looked up at him, seeming so small, but so much more together than anyone who’d almost been killed had any right to be.
He turned back to her and smiled. “Hey, you met my mom, you know she’d never let me make you sleep on the couch.”
“And I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with your mom,” she replied with a faint smile.
“You got that right.” He put her bag in his room and made his way to the kitchen. “Make yourself at home,” he called to Lois as he started boiling water for the tea. “I rented Lethal Weapon II and III, they should be on the coffee table.”
“These were due today.” He heard her call back.
“I’ll pay the late fee,” he replied. Like he would have remembered to return a couple of stupid videos when he’d spent the entire day and the previous night pacing anxiously and desperately waiting for news about her condition.
“Clark Kent, Boy Scout no more,” she responded.
He carried the two cups of oolong tea to the living room and handed one to Lois. He sat down on the couch, pleasantly surprised when Lois chose to sit down right next to him and not on the other end of the sofa. She seemed intently focused on the movie that was just starting, but he could barely take his eyes off her. Truth be told, he was terrified. He’d heard all about Lois’s penchant for getting into life threatening scrapes and he’d seen more than enough in the last few months to know that everything he’d heard was true.
Superman was taking the night off, even though Lois had emphatically stated that she didn’t want to be burden on the Man of Steel. He’d been somewhat surprised by Lois’s reaction to his suggestion that Superman keep an eye on her. Clark had been expecting her to jump at the chance, given just how star struck she seemed to be. But she’d thrown him by refusing Superman’s protection. Sure, Lois didn’t like to be handled, but he knew she meant it when she said that she didn’t want to keep Superman from helping the people who needed him. For all her cynicism, Lois was at heart an idealist and Superman was a big part of that idealism.
He stretched his arms across the top of the sofa and leaned back against the cushions. Lois moved closer to him and leaned against his shoulder. Wordlessly, she raised the cup of tea to her lips. Clark felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He wanted to tuck the errant strand of hair that fell over her eye behind her ear but he didn’t move.
Two hours of jokes and chase scenes later, Lois had fallen asleep, her head still resting against his shoulder. He reached out and finally took the opportunity to brush the hair away from her face. “Lois?” he whispered quietly. Drowsily, she lifted her head and opened her eyes.
“What time is it?” she murmured.
“About eleven,” he replied. “You can go ahead and take the bathroom first.”
“Thanks,” she said as she stood. “For everything, Clark. I don’t know what I …I wouldn’t have known where else to go.”
“You’re always welcome here,” he said softly, his voice wavering slightly.
********
Lois looked in the mirror over the sink, examining the cut over her eye. Her head still throbbed, but the ache was duller than it was before. She took the painkillers she’d been given and dug her toothbrush out of the toiletries bag that had been packed for her. She was glad that she’d been lucid enough to write down detailed instructions for the cops who did the packing. She fumbled a bit to brush her teeth left handed. The brace on her wrist was really making life difficult.
She’d changed into her MetU t-shirt and sweat pants, exhausted and hoping for a decent night’s sleep. Normally, she never slept well if she wasn’t at home, but something about Clark’s place was remarkably inviting. On top of that, she was dead tired.
Of course, she’d fallen asleep with her head on her partner’s shoulder. She almost couldn’t believe it. It definitely wasn’t something Lois Lane would do. It had to be the knock to the head. Yep, definitely the concussion. But there had been something nice about it. She didn’t want to admit it, but she really didn’t want to be alone. Lois was so used to taking it on the chin, getting back up, and continuing to fight. This wasn’t the first time someone had threatened to kill her and it certainly wasn’t the first time that someone had come close, but this time, she had no idea who was trying to do her in. She had a laundry list of people who were angry with her, but no good leads to narrow it down.
She padded out of the bathroom and crossed Clark’s room back to the living room. Her host had changed into a pair of shorts and a t shirt. The fabric of the shirt was stretched tight over his broad shoulders. He must have spent all of his free time in the gym. Clark was almost as well-muscled as Superman, but she couldn’t think of anyone less intimidating than her partner. He smiled his bright, perfect smile at her. How was it that this green, junior reporter managed to make her feel so comfortable?
“Bathroom’s all yours,” she said. Lois noticed the pillows and blanket piled up on his couch. She really did end up with a farm boy in shining armor for a partner. He’d gone far beyond just being polite by offering her a place to stay. Letting her take the bed was pure, old fashioned chivalry. Despite the initial teasing banter, he’d done the same when they were undercover at the Lexor. A blush crept up her cheeks as she remembered The Kiss. It may have been a ruse to fool a maid she didn’t even know was coming, but it was still the best kiss she’d ever experienced. Lois realized that didn’t say much for her love life, but she chose not to dwell on it.
“Hey.” She turned around, having not heard Clark come back into the living room. “I’ll be just out here if you need anything,” he explained.
She smiled. “Thanks. Goodnight, Clark.”
“Goodnight.”
********
Lois stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She dressed and made her way to the living room just in time to see Clark come through the door carrying grocery bags. Her sleep had been blissfully dream free and she felt a bit better than she had the night before.
“Fresh OJ and croissants from my favorite bakery,” he announced. He put the bags down on the kitchen table and handed her one of the still warm, flakey pastries.
She pulled off a piece and popped it into her mouth. Just like all the food Clark managed to find, it was out of this world. She had no idea how he knew all the best places in Metropolis. She was a local and didn’t know any of the places he seemed to frequent. “You’re something else, you know that, Smallville?”
Clark merely chuckled. He got dishes and glasses from his cabinets and began to set the table. “I’m planning to talk to Henderson and go down to the police lab today. I’m not sure they have any new info for us yet, but it can’t hurt.”
“I want to go with you.”
He frowned slightly. “You sure you’re up to it?”
“Are you handling me?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, holding his hands up in surrender.
“Good,” she said, triumphant.
********
“This was a pro job, Lane,” Henderson explained as he paced around the charred and twisted chassis of what used to be her beloved Jeep.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better? At least the people trying to kill me go to great lengths to do the job right?” The sarcasm hid the anxiety that grew inside her. She was supposed to be in that Jeep. She was supposed to be dead right now. There would have been nothing left of her but just enough ash to fill a Sucrets tin.
“Well, it narrows the list a bit. You can forget the two bit street hoods and small time political cronies. Your guy’s either an expert himself or has the kind of cash it takes to hire one.”
“Was there anything particular about the device itself?” Clark chimed in. “The accelerant or the explosives used?”
“Pretty textbook,” Henderson replied. “We won’t know for certain until we get the results from the lab, but it looks like pretty high quality, untraceable domestic explosives. Nothing exotic, nothing unusual. Trigger connected to the ignition, explosives linked to the fuel line so it used the car’s own gasoline as the accelerant. It’s simple and efficient.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Lois kept staring at the desiccated hull of her car.
“Not about the Jeep, but we’ve finished checking out your place. You can go home tonight. I’ll have a couple of plainclothes staked out outside your building all night.”
“Thanks, Bill,” she replied. The laconic detective gave her the closest approximation of a smile he was capable of. “You’ll let me know if you learn anything from the lab results?”
“Of course.”
Clark started toward the garage exit and turned back toward her, his hands in his pockets. She hurried to catch up to him and they crossed the police impound yard together. They walked in silence toward the street and headed toward the busy intersection where it would be easier to hail a cab.
“I really loved that Jeep,” she said wistfully.
“I know,” he replied. “But I’m glad it was the Jeep and not you.”
“Are you getting soft on me, Smallville?” she asked, still trying out the new nickname for him, and deciding that she liked it. He stopped abruptly and turned to face her, a frown marring his face.
“I heard about the explosion,” he began somberly. “And it scared me to death. I was sure you’d been killed. The police at the Planet told me you were in the hospital, but when I got there they wouldn’t let me see you and they wouldn’t tell me about your condition because I wasn’t family.” She listened quietly to his explanation, noting the gravelly tone his voice took as he spoke. She had no idea he’d been so worried about her. She had no idea he cared that much.
“Hey, I’m fine,” she said, trying to make her tone light, knowing that her voice wavered, belying her fears. She nudged him in the side with her elbow and they continued walking.
********
Clark swooped down over Suicide Slum, flying the last rounds of his evening patrol. The city was pretty quiet tonight. He’d plucked up a couple of car thieves in the act and had helped out at a minor traffic accident, but there wasn’t much that called for Superman’s attention. Instead, he’d spent the bulk of the time he’d allocated for his patrol investigating the area outside the Daily Planet building, where Lois had parked her Jeep for the very last time. The explosion had been too small to cause significant structural damage, but it could have easily killed Lois. He was still thanking the fates and any deities that may have had a hand in saving her life. Of course, her own quick wits had gotten her out of the jam, but she had been incredibly lucky. He’d felt a sharp twist of pain in his gut as he’d examined the scorched concrete and asphalt where the Jeep had once stood. The crime scene investigators had gone over the area with the proverbial fine toothed comb, and he hadn’t found anything that they’d missed—just a few remaining fragments of safety glass and gasoline residue.
A light rain began to drizzle down around him as he flew over the streets of Metropolis’s roughest neighborhoods. A sharp, cold gust of wind swirled between the warehouses along the riverbank. He finished his patrol over the desolate streets and made his way uptown to Carter Avenue.
********
Closing the refrigerator door, Lois decided she simply wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t as though there was anything appetizing in her fridge anyway. She really had to figure out where Clark ordered his Chinese food from. Picking up a sweatshirt from the basket of freshly done laundry, she pulled it on and checked her thermostat. There was clearly something wrong with the stupid thing. The needle was at seventy degrees but her apartment felt like an ice box. She cranked up the heat, hoping to jump start the system. She folded her arms across her chest and suppressed a shiver. Drifting toward the window, she stared out at the raindrops, hitting the glass and falling on her fire escape with an audible ‘plink.’ The soft drizzle was turning into a downpour. The sky looked almost purple, backlit by a full moon that was shrouded in the cloud cover. Down below on the street, a pair of cops sat in one of those plain looking blue sedans that only undercover cops drive.
Lois yawned drowsily. Suddenly she felt incredibly tired. She supposed that it was to be expected. She’d had a rough couple of days to say the least. In a sense, it was nice to be back in her own apartment. It was jarring to be yanked out of your home, told it wasn’t safe. Her apartment had been given a clean bill of health, however, no bugs, no bombs. At the same time, her place felt terribly empty. Several times, she’d picked up the phone, thinking to call Clark, but she never did dial his number, not sure what she would say if he answered. She was certain that if she’d asked, he’d come over and keep her company, but she really didn’t want to impose on him any further. She stifled another yawn.
He had his own life; he didn’t need to spend his time babysitting her. Besides, she was the senior partner in this pairing, she didn’t want him thinking that she needed to be looked after and handled with kid gloves. She’d done just, just fine before he’d shown up. She was the youngest Kerth winner ever and the only one to nab the award for three cons…consecu…consecutive years. Lois steadied herself against the sofa and shook her head woozily. Yep, she was Lois Lane, award winning investigative journalist and boy, was she tired.
Her eyelids began to droop and she felt herself begin to nod off even as she stood. Her head jerked upward. It wasn’t late. There was no reason for her to be so…so dead on her…feet. ‘Come on, Lane, focus here,’ she told herself. She just needed a nap, yes, a nap, a nice…long…nap. Starting to fall forward, she nearly tripped as she caught herself. Steadying herself once again she realized something was definitely wrong. She couldn’t…quite…put…her finger…on it, but there was… something…not right. Yes, something…wrong. Leaning against the wall, she dragged a chair toward the smoke and carbon monoxide detector on her wall.
Clumsily, she put one foot on the seat of the chair. She nearly fell backward, but managed to plant both feet on the ground once again. Steadying herself, she managed to step up onto the chair. The room began to spin. Yes, it spun slowly as the air was too…heavy to move quickly. She swam through the soup of the room’s atmosphere as it swirled around her. Gracelessly, she planted both hands on the wall in front of her. Now…all she had to do…was check the detector. Right…first, she needed…to unscrew it. With thick fingers, she twisted the plastic cover until it fell off. She tried to catch it but it fell between her hands and landed on the floor. She peered through heavy lidded eyes at the fuzzy, blurry image of the device’s innards – all wires and little lights. Lois grasped for the thin little wires.
‘Wait a minute,’ she thought as she fingered the green wire. ‘This wire…has been cut.’ She squinted at it. Yes, this…was a very…very…very bad thing. Someone had tampered with her carbon monoxide detector. Now, if only…she could remember…what she should do. ‘Get out,’ her brain slurred. She swayed and she let her eyelids finally drop. She just needed…a little rest. That was all.
********
Clark stood in between the buildings, trying not to draw the attention of the plainclothes cops just across the street. The rain was now falling in fat, heavy drops, drenching the suit and soaking him to the bone. He couldn’t have cared less, though. He wanted to stand outside her place, just to make sure everything was okay. Clark scanned the street again before peering up through her window.
His jaw dropped in horror. ‘Oh god,’ he thought as he darted across the street, through her window and caught her just as she teetered and fell off the chair toward the floor. Unnoticeable to anyone else, he realized the apartment was filling with carbon monoxide. He flew her out of the building as quickly as possible and landed with her still in his arms, beside the cops’ car.
“Superman, what happened?” one of the officers yelled as he leapt from the car.
“CO poisoning,” Clark explained grimly. He remained focused on her vital signs. Her pulse was still strong but her breathing was shallow and erratic. “I’m taking her to MetroGen,” he declared before taking off.
Within moments, he landed outside the emergency bay of MetroGen. He raced into the hospital, carrying a still drowsy Lois. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, clearly dazed. “Superman?”
“Everything will be okay,” he said, hoping he sounded convincing, and not afraid. He gently lowered her to the gurney that an orderly and a doctor had wheeled toward him. “Her apartment was filling with carbon monoxide, she’d just passed out when I found her,” he explained. Clark began to follow them as they rushed into the Emergency Department, but the triage nurse intercepted him.
“Superman, if you’d like to wait, you can wait out here. Let the doctors help her,” the nurse lectured gently. He thought better than to protest and merely nodded. What seemed like an eternity passed before a doctor came out to the waiting area to talk to him.
“I’m Dr. Hoffman,” he declared as he pulled his hand out of his lab coat pocket and extended it to Superman. Clark shook it somewhat absently. The doctor looked young, no trace of gray in his light brown hair, but he seemed confident and relaxed. He hoped that was a good sign.
“How is she?” A note of anxiety crept into his voice.
“She’ll be fine,” Dr. Hoffman said with a reassuring smile. “But she was lucky you were around. Do you know anything about her other injuries?”
Clark rubbed at his neck in a rather un-Superman like gesture. “Someone tried to kill her a few days ago. Car bomb.”
The doctor chewed his lip. “She’s even luckier than I thought. So you don’t think the CO exposure was accidental?”
Clark shook his head grimly. He folded his arms across his chest in an attempt to keep from fidgeting. He didn’t like hospitals much and liked them even less when Lois was the patient.
“I’ll want to look at her medical records. Was she brought here?”
“Yeah. I think the doctor that treated her was Dr. Burke.”
“I’ll talk to her. You’ve been a tremendous help, Superman. If you’d like to see Ms. Lane now, I think she’ll be up for it.”
“Thanks,” he replied gratefully. He followed Dr. Hoffman to the curtained off area where Lois was sitting upright in bed. She smiled at him as he approached. Relieved, he returned her smile.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on you, Ms. Lane,” the doctor said before retreating.
“How are you?” Clark asked softly, trying to remind himself that he was here as Superman, not Clark. He was supposed to be in control and calm, not fretting with worry.
“A little scared,” she admitted. “And really tired. But I can’t even begin to thank you enough. If you hadn’t been there…” her voice wavered as she trailed off.
He covered her hand with his much larger one. “Is there somewhere I can take you? When they release you, is there somewhere you’d feel safe?”
“You mean outside the city?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Anywhere in the world, you name it, I’ll take you there.”
She shook her head slightly. “I won’t feel safe until whoever’s trying to kill me has been caught and Henderson needs my help to do that. I can’t just run away from this.”
Clark understood. He didn’t agree with her, but he understood. “Your apartment isn’t safe.”
“I know,” she conceded quietly. “I don’t really think I’d want to go back there now anyway.”
“Wherever you want to go, I’ll stay with you, if you like.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said. “People need you.”
“And what about you? Lois, someone’s come pretty darn close to killing you twice in just the last few days. If something happened to you…” he began, but didn’t trust himself to finish that thought.
She smiled tremulously at him, her eyes unusually bright. “I’ll be okay,” she offered, squeezing his hand tightly.
“You have been such a wonderful friend,” he began, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “I couldn’t bear to lose you. Stay with Clark, please. I’ll check in on you, but I’d feel better if you stayed with him.”
“I can’t impose on him any more than I already have,” she responded stubbornly.
“Clark feels exactly the same way I do,” he replied, entirely honestly. “You could never be an imposition.” She finally nodded in acquiescence.
Dr. Hoffman returned as promised. “Your lab results look fine,” he explained. “If everything checks out, I’ll be able to release you tomorrow, but only if there’s someone you can stay with.”
“I’ll go get Clark,” Superman said. “He’ll want to see you.”
********
He waited just long enough for the doctor to complete his exam before rushing back into the hospital. He made his way back to Lois, relieved that she’d agreed to stay with him. She may not have realized it, but despite her protestations, she was getting Superman’s undivided attention for as long as it was needed. She’d claimed that other people needed him, but who could have possibly needed him more right now? He hadn’t been holding his emotional cards particularly close to the vest this evening, but he wouldn’t have been able to fool her if he’d tried. Besides, there was no reason why she couldn’t know that Superman considered her a friend.
Clark’s heart grew just a little bit lighter as he saw her face brighten at his approach. “Clark.” She smiled as she said his name and reached her uninjured hand to him.
“You okay?” he asked softly as he took her hand.
She shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”
“I talked to Henderson,” he said. “Superman is going to check out my apartment and make sure it’s safe.”
“Thank you. I’ll be gone as soon as possible.”
“You can stay as long as you need to,” he insisted. “Having you stay at my place isn’t a burden, Lois.”
“Three days of living with me and you’ll be singing a different tune, Smallville,” she said with a faint smile.
********
Lois walked into Clark’s apartment, relieved to be out of the hospital and somewhere she felt safe. Clark followed her inside, carrying her bag. “I’ll take your stuff to my room,” he said. “Is there anything you need? Anything I can get you?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. She’d spent the entire day stuck in the hospital while Clark and Henderson had spoken to the Fire Marshall and the building inspector. A repairman had accessed the building the day before while she was gone. He’d had the proper work permits, but he was still the best lead they had. Unfortunately, no one remembered what he looked like or which company he worked for.
She sat down on the couch, feeling drained. Clark reappeared from his bedroom and made his way to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with two cups of oolong tea and sat down next to her. “We’re going to find out who’s doing this,” he said solemnly, the deep tone of his voice reassuring.
“I hope so,” she replied.
He placed his hand on hers. “I promise,” he insisted.
“I can still hear the explosion ringing in my ears,” she said quietly. “I’m so afraid, Clark.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She went willingly, letting herself be enfolded in his embrace.
“I know,” he whispered. He stroked her hair softly. She felt tears roll down her cheeks and she screwed her eyes shut. A sob escaped her lips and she did nothing to fight it. Her body trembled and she felt Clark’s arms around her tighten. She cried herself to the point of exhaustion. Eventually, she raised her head from the hollow of Clark’s shoulder and looked up at him. He gave her a slight, half smile, but she could see the worry in his eyes as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She closed her eyes and put her head back on Clark’s shoulder, enjoying the reassuring weight of him arm across her shoulders. For a long while they sat in companionable silence. She felt so relaxed she could have dozed off right there on his couch.
“I should let you get some rest.” His voice was soft and gentle.
“I can’t kick you out of your bed again,” she replied.
“And I’m not letting you sleep on the couch,” he countered.
‘It’s a big bed, why don’t we share?’ His words of several weeks ago came back to her. “We can share the bed. We can both behave like grownups.”
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he said earnestly.
“I’ll be fine, and we’ll both get a decent night’s sleep.”
He stood and picked up the mugs of half consumed tea from the coffee table. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” she insisted. And she was. Sort of. She stood and walked toward Clark’s room. She knew she didn’t want to be alone and she felt so safe around Clark. Lois couldn’t figure out exactly what it was about him that was so reassuring. What it was that put her at ease. She changed into a tank top and flannel pajama pants and headed to the bathroom. She emerged to find Clark in the bedroom, having changed into a pair of shorts and a t shirt. He smiled as he stepped past her toward the bathroom. She stood in the middle of the room, waiting, uncertain. She shouldn’t have been nervous; they were just going to sleep after all. Besides, this was Clark. She was comfortable with Clark. There was absolutely no reason to be nervous. None at all.
The bathroom door opened and Clark padded back into the bedroom. He moved to one side of the bed and pulled back the covers. She turned down the other side of the bed and climbed in. He turned off the light and she heard the soft clatter of his glasses as he placed them on the nightstand. He lay down beside her, keeping a safe distance between them. Both of them remained flat on their backs, neither moved. She tried not to be so aware of his presence. “Good night, Clark,” she murmured as she closed her eyes, willing herself to just sleep.
“Good night,” he whispered.
********
It was a long while before Lois fell asleep. He’d stayed awake, motionless, but unable to sleep. He’d listened to her breathing and the sound of her heartbeat. Her pulse had raced as he climbed into bed next to her. She was nervous. He hated the thought that he was making her nervous. But he had to admit he wasn’t entirely calm, either. Of course, his racing heart was due to the fact that he was dumb in love with the beautiful woman lying beside him. God, he hoped he wasn’t going to float in his sleep. He turned his head slowly and looked at her. Her eyes were closed and she lay completely still.
She was gorgeous. Utterly and perfectly gorgeous. Her skin was marred by the dark stipple of scrapes from her recent brush with death, but her beauty was untouched. It came from her strength. From her dogged pursuit of justice and the truth. And from her unyielding passion to simply make things better. He was in awe of her. He, a man who could bend steel, who’d flown a space shuttle into orbit, who’d seen the world entire, was completely in awe of her. Clark wondered if she knew.
She’d warned him not to fall for her, but it was far too late. She wasn’t pushing him away anymore, but whether she’d ever see him as anything more than just her partner at work was still uncertain. There wasn’t any question in his mind that what he felt for her wasn’t mere infatuation. Sure, he was awestruck, but it went so much deeper than that, and the intolerable knot of worry that had formed in his gut over the last few days was proof of that. He was quietly trying to deal with the guilt of having failed to save her when she’d needed him. He should have been there; he would have noticed the car bomb. He could have kept it from detonating. And he should have realized that the carbon monoxide was pouring into her apartment much sooner than he did. He’d been too slow; he hadn’t been attuned enough to her, to whether or not she was in trouble. The guilt had kept him awake all of the previous night.
Clark listened to her breathing as it grew slower; her heart rate was calm and steady. He watched her as she lay in quiet repose. He was thankful that she felt safe with him, especially at a time like now, but he couldn’t help resenting just how safe she thought he was. When he’d lost his memory after his collision with the Nightfall asteroid, she’d told him that she thought of him like a brother. He hated being stuck in that box. She cared about him, but not the way he cared about her. Thinking about this all night was going to drive him nuts and it certainly wasn’t going to solve anything. He closed his eyes; hoping sleep wouldn’t continue to elude him.
He’d finally started to drift to sleep when her voice cut through the fog of his drowsiness. Clark was awake instantly. “No…no…” she murmured. She turned away fitfully.
He touched her shoulder. “Lois,” he whispered gently. She didn’t wake up.
“No,” she repeated. Clark squeezed her shoulder and said her name a little more loudly. “No!” this time, she shouted. He nearly jumped back; concerned that she was reacting to him. Her eyes flew open and he could see the hunted expression etched on her face. “Clark,” she breathed his name, her voice threatening to break. She went willingly into his arms.
“It’s okay, I’m here,” he soothed. She clung tightly to him as he ran a hand gently up and down her back. He could feel her heart thundering in her chest. Her breaths were shallow and rapid. “It’s going to be okay.” After long moments, her body finally stopped trembling.
“I’m sorry I keep falling apart on you,” she murmured against his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her.
“It’s all right, you don’t need to apologize,” he replied. He stroked her hair absently, letting the soft silk spill through his fingers. Neither one said anything. After a long while, he broke the silence. “Nightmare?” he ventured.
“Yeah,” she said. “It was the car, again. This time I didn’t make it out.” Her voice wavered.
“Shhh…you’re okay, you’re safe.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him, her dark brown eyes glistened. He reached up and brushed a tear away from her cheek with his thumb. Lois placed her hand on top of his. “I know,” she whispered. She put her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“Everything will be better in the morning,” he said.
“Yeah?” she asked.
He tightened his arm around her slightly. “Yeah,” he whispered. “We’ll get back to investigating and we’ll find out who’s doing this. We’re Lane and Kent, we always get the bad guys.”
"Right," she murmured. He continued to hold her and after a long while, he was certain she'd fallen back to sleep. His own eyelids grew heavy and he finally drifted off, the woman he loved curled up beside him, in the strong circle of his embrace.
