Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Long Road Home Part 19 - Comments

Thoughts?

I was sooo excited when I logged on and saw you had posted. Another great part packed with emotion. I could feel their pain and frustration. I could feel Clark's emotions at the dinner just simmering below the surface. I really thought he would erupt.

For me this part summed up so much

"“I know it’s difficult for him to talk about the things that happened…” she began.

“He’s told a great deal of it to me,” Dr. Friskin countered. Lois frowned severely. What was her shrink trying to do, make her jealous? “Why do you think it might be easier for him to talk to me than you?”

“Because you’re a professional?”

“Why was it that you could talk to me and not your own friends or family?” As usual, the good doctor answered a question with a question.

“Because I wouldn’t have been disappointing you if you saw me fall apart,” she said flatly as the epiphany broke over her suddenly. “I wouldn’t have been letting you down.”

That just speaks volumes to the issues. It is something so mnay of us do in real life. Feel like we need to be this perfect spouse, parent, etc.

This story just gets better and better. I am so glad they keep reaffirming their love for one another.

It does seem them living in Metropolis would be a problem until Superman decides to come back.

Clark needs to start writing childrens' books. Jon and Clark worked on that one story.

Keep it coming.

Excellent part!

Kathy
www.chili-everyway.com

Amen to that! Now Lois and Clark should just search for a way to start talking. Maybe Lois could start?

Yesterday I read an article by a therapist who treats women suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome because they have been raped. The therapist wrote that to us humans, being able to trust other people is absolutely essential if we are going to be able to trust and deal with the world we live in. If another person betrays us by deliberately harming us, we may lose our trust in the entire world. But this lack of trust in the world as such is totally debilitating for us. We can't live in the world if we can't trust it. We desperately search for a way to reaffirm our trust in the world, and to make ourselves believe that the world is a livable place.

A common strategy, the therapist wrote, is to place the blame for what happened on oneself. If other people are deliberately trying to harm me, I may be totally unable to defend myself. I am at the evil people's mercy. I am going to die. But if I myself am responsible for what happened, if it truly was my fault, then I can change my own behaviour and protect and defend myself that way. If it was my fault that it happened, then I must find out what I did wrong, and then I must make sure that I never make the same mistake again.

And then, of course, if things still go wrong, I must find out what I did wrong this time, and then I must change my ways all over again. I must readjust and readjust, always placing the blame for what happened on myself. I must realize that as soon as bad things happen I'm in the wrong, and I must change.

What a horribly exhausting, self-demeaning, debilitating strategy. And yet it may be the only strategy available, if the alternative is to believe that the whole world is dark, unpredictable and full of ill will.

But if the victim is full of self-recrimination, then he or she must also believe that others, too, will blame him or her for what has happened to him or her. Self-recimination is a heavy enough burden, but dealing with the contempt or belittling compassion of others may be just too much. The person who blames himself will feel inferior to others, and therefore he will often be angry or short-tempered in his relationships with others.

Clark must find a way to stop blaming himself for the horrible things that happened to him. And Lois and Clark both need to find the courage to start opening up to one another, regardless of the terrible risks to their fragile self-images that this may entail.

Ann

Loved the update

The dinner was fabulously presented. And that piece was hilarious.
Ultra Woman floating on the couch and fidgeting with her cape

Seeing Lois reminisce over the early years was

Did I mention, great part?

Michael

anxiously waiting for more:)

Can't wait to read the next part.

Hi Rac. Late as usual, but I wanted you to know that I was still reading and enjoying it immensely.

I thought it quite brave of Clark to visit the Daily Planet. I don't know what Dr. Friskin would say about how he handled things, but I think it was a step in the right direction. I know he was partly motivated by the thought that people saw him as hiding behind his wife, but it still took a lot of courage.
I think it would be sad if Clark couldn't write anymore. He was so good at it, and if he can work through his issues, could possibly become even more compassionate and compelling. Maybe he could start out editing and slowly move back into writing? Ha! Turn about is fair play, is it not? Things didn't go too well for them in the series when Lois was Clark's boss -- who knows how it would work for them after the events on New Krypton and their separation. I suspect that it would be a complication that they don't need right now.

Dinner with the Lane's was both painful and wonderful. There was strain between them, but on the whole, I think they were a united front. Sam was very well behaved and I wanted to gouge Ellen's eyes out with a soup spoon. I thought that Clark's defense of his decisions and actions were wonderful. Now, if he could deal with his self-imposed guilt as handily, we'd be getting somewhere!

Wah! This conversation had real potential and I was as frustrated as they were that it was cut off. I hope Clark can find the answer to his question and soon.

The conversation between Friskin and Lois was insightful, especially about her realization that she isn't allowed to make mistakes and the pressure is tearing her apart.
Sorry to quote the whole ending, but this was amazing. I think we all need a safe place with someone who loves unconditionally, no matter what they know about us. Unfortunately, I think people with the capacity to love like this are rare, rather than the norm. I hope that Clark and Lois can learn (or re-learn) to be that for each other.

I like the way you ended it -- you can't hide the things that bother us from our loved ones for very long. They have a way of creeping out in the most annoying (and usually unhealthy) of ways. And kids are the worst. Darn their empathetic little selves!

I'm fascinated by your story and wish I could have the rest of it right now. Can I?

Please?

Thank you for your very kind comments, everyone!

Thanks for your very nice feedback, Kathy. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I agree that the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect can be intense and not very productive. With any luck, these two will see that.

Hi Ann. Thanks for bringing up that point regarding PTSD - it's so hard not to be in control that we find ways, even irrational ones, to show that we have some control over our lives and the things that happen to us. I think it's harder for Clark than most to feel incapable, but he has to find a way to not blame himself for the things that happened on New Krypton.

Thanks for your comments, Michael. I'm glad you enjoyed the dinner scene. It was actually a rather tough scene to write. I wanted tension, but it was hard trying to find the balance between having the Lanes be difficult and confrontational and just making them irredeemable.

Cookiesmom and Flowerpot, more is on the way!

BJ, thanks for your very thoughtful comments. I know the interrupted discussion was frustration, but this was a part just full of turnabout for LnC. As you mentioned, when Lois was Clark's boss on the show, it didn't go very well. And Clark was constantly leaving Lois in the lurch to respond to cries for help.

More is on the way!

Regards,

Rac

I think it worked well. And it was quite within the parameters associated with a Sam and an Ellen in classic fanon

Michael