Edited based on feedback:
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Chapter 10: Morning
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By 7:00 the sound of meteor impacts had pretty much stopped and Lois decided it was time to take some initiative. The first step was to wake up her pillow. She wasn't sure who had done the most sleeping last night, but when she had woken up a few moments ago, she had found Clark's arm around her. She had been using his chest as a sleeping surface. Yes, there were far worse ways to wake up in the morning.
She looked up and studied his face for a moment. He still showed signs of the injuries suffered in the building collapse but it was clear that he was beginning to heal. She liked his look without glasses. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to continue to go without them when this was over. She considered giving him a nudge but was afraid that she might hurt him by accidently touching a sore spot. Trying not to startle him, Lois kept her voice low. “Clark. Wake up.”
His head lifted and he looked around in what was clearly a “Where am I?” moment. After only a second, he got his bearings and looked over at Lois. His face lit up with that brilliant Clark Kent smile. “Good morning. I see that we're still here.”
His smile flowed over her like a warm breeze. Now that she knew how he felt, it was hard not to think about the potentials that her partner represented. But this wasn’t the time to get distracted by such ideas. She reluctantly stamped down those thoughts and got back to business. “Yes we are, and it's time to get to work. I've been awake for a few minutes and I haven't heard any sounds from the city. I think the Nightfall shower is over. I want to get out of here and check out the damage.”
He seemed to think about this for a few seconds. Then he got that ‘cautious Clark’ expression and replied, “Perry asked us to stay in the building until the official all-clear announcement. If I remember correctly, you promised that you wouldn't go out until it was safe.”
Same old Clark. “Clark, you're always so... Hold it. How are you feeling this morning?”
Clark looked thoughtful. “I feel better. There are still a lot of aches and that funny burning is still there.”
“Burning?” she asked.
“Didn’t I tell you about that?”
“No.”
“When I first woke up in the hospital, not only did everything hurt, there was a sensation like burning inside all my muscles. It seems to be getting better, but I notice it most in the mornings. The doctor at the hospital thought it might be a reaction to the smoke. I’ll be fine. Yesterday I didn’t notice it once I started moving around.”
Since she was the one who made the hospital release him, Lois felt responsible for him. “Be sure to tell me if it stops getting better. How’s your memory?”
He got a faraway look on his face. “I think... I might have some images that weren't there yesterday. I have vague memories of places that look foreign. Do I travel much?”
“You traveled all over the world before settling in Metropolis. Do you remember anything else?”
“Not that I can pin down right now. The images are only that—pictures without context. They’re vague and I have no idea how they go together or what they mean. The idea that I traveled a lot sounds right. I have some memories of seeing the ground from high above. I must have spent a lot of time in airplanes.”
She hoped that when his memories came back he’d continue be as open with her as he’d been the past days. “That's great. I bet your memory will start coming back faster. Right now, I still want to see what we can find out about the city. I guess you’re right that we should wait for the all clear. I did promise Perry. Besides, we might get arrested for looting, then the only news we'd be reporting on would be from MPD headquarters. I'm sure I wouldn't get locked up, but it would cost valuable time.”
“Lois, if the impacts have stopped, it shouldn't be too long until the all-clear. Why don't we head to the roof to get a set of pictures and observations to go with those from last night? I'm sure Jimmy will be happy to come along for those shots.”
They found Jimmy and Perry very quickly. The shelter wasn't that big. Lois pitched Clark’s idea as the rest of the story from the night before. She knew that the Lane and Kent style would be prefect for this article, but to her annoyance, it was the idea of matching pictures of the city at sundown the night before and sunrise the morning after that got Perry's attention.
The elevators weren’t working. It was a long trip up the stairs to the roof. They were all a bit winded when they reached their goal. Lois was first out the door and was honestly surprised at the sight that awaited her.
“It's still here,” she said with an air of relief as she took in the Metropolis skyline.
The sky overhead was gloomy and overcast. The clouds had a dirty brown-grey look that she couldn’t remember seeing before. It seemed appropriate for the morning after a disaster. Fortunately, even though the sky was dark and gloomy, the cloud layer was high enough that she had a clear view of the city.
Most of the city looked intact. Smoke rose from a few places, but at first glance the city looked like it had the night before. As Clark and Jimmy started looking around, the optimistic mood slipped away. Jimmy pointed toward the northwest. “Where is the Baxter building?”
Lois looked to where he was pointing. There should have been shimmering blue-grey glass tower. Her memory of the modern building made the gaping hole in the skyline feel personal. “Oh, my!”
Clark had been looking in the other direction. He pointed to the south. “Wasn't there a cluster of buildings down that way?”
Lois and Jimmy both looked more carefully in that direction. “The Shuster complex is gone,” she said. Lois knew that she should have been able to see at least the upper sections of the tallest of the buildings that made up this development. As she stared, the hole in the skyline became more and more conspicuous. Lois gasped. “There was a large residential section in that complex. Hundreds, possibly thousands of people lived there.” This led to a moment of silence as the shock of how many deaths may have resulted from the destruction sank in. Over the next few minutes they were able to identify two other buildings that were not present.
Finally Lois felt her reporters’ instincts kick back in. “Jimmy, please take enough pictures to survey the city from here. We’re recording history. I wish we’d thought to take some ‘before’ shots last night. All we’ve got is the meteor streak shots.”
“I'm on it Lois,” Jimmy replied. “I didn't mention it at the time, but yesterday afternoon Perry sent me up here to take a series of survey shots for exactly this reason.”
Lois's initial reply was enthusiastic. “That's great. I can see the front page now. A set of mosaics from the top of the Daily Planet building.” Then the meaning of those missing buildings reasserted itself and she went on in a much more subdued tone. “I'm sure Perry can compose a page that is respectful given the situation.”
They lingered on the roof for a few more minutes while Jimmy shot a complete set of morning after pictures. Jimmy had marked the locations and angles from his shots the previous day and took extra time to reproduce them as accurately as possible.
As they were about to leave the roof, she noticed Clark taking one last look around. “I’m glad that so much of the city is still here,” he said. “But I wonder how many buildings were destroyed last night that we can’t see from here.”
Neither Lois nor Jimmy responded. It seemed like that was information that they would have all too soon.
On the way back down the stairwell, Clark stopped at one floor and paused as if listening for something. “Can we stop and look around here for a minute? I think I hear something.”
“People?” Jimmy asked.
“No. But something just feels different on this floor.”
Clark opened the door and the difference was quickly apparent. It looked like a small meteor had hit the building. There was a large hole in the outside wall.
“Wow!” Jimmy said. “I don't remember hearing anything like this last night.”
Lois started toward the hole for a closer look. She hadn’t gone more than two steps when she heard Clark’s voice. “Lois, please be careful. This whole area is probably unstable.”
She started to protest but he was right. Just because the floor looked stable didn’t mean that it was. Besides, there was little to see by going closer. “Okay, Clark.” She stopped where she was and looked at the damaged area. “We're fairly high up. It looks like the meteor clipped the building near the corner.” She pointed to a missing section of the ceiling. “See how there's a path from the floor above? I wish we could see where it went.” She was tempted to get close enough to try to see where it landed, but she suspected she’d have to argue with Clark about safety to get any closer. If there is a hole in the building next door, it will still be there later.
Jimmy took some pictures of the damaged area. After a moment he wondered aloud, “What would have happened if that had hit us straight on?”
Clark answered solemnly. “We might have a souvenir. Then again, if the impact was lower we might have a collapsed building on top of us.” After a few more pictures they resumed their trek to the basement shelter.
At 8:36 a.m. the all-clear came in. People were free to travel but only two-wheeled vehicles were going to be allowed in the downtown area until the roads could be repaired and the debris cleared. There would be some limited public transportation starting this afternoon, but for the first 48 hours or so, the only four-wheeled vehicles allowed in the metropolitan area were to be a few buses, emergency vehicles and police.
Many of the staff wanted to get out and look around the city as quickly as possible, even if that meant walking. However, for Lois and Clark, the trip to the roof and the realization of the magnitude of destruction that awaited them curbed any enthusiasm for rushing out. They were just beginning to discuss their approach to the day and how to report on the previous evening when Perry called the Planet employees together.
He climbed on a chair and addressed his staff. “May I have your attention? For those of you that are not members of the staff, we were happy to have you as our guests last night. We've received notice that it's now safe to travel the streets and return to your homes. For those that haven’t heard, for the time being if you don’t have a bicycle or motorcycle, you’ll have to walk.” Perry paused for a moment while many of the people started for the exit. When only the Planet employees remained, he went on. “Okay people, I'd like all of you to head out and see how your homes fared. Based on what we’re hearing about the level of destruction, some of you may find your homes destroyed. I'll ask for those of you that still have a place to live to consider hosting other members of our Daily Planet family. And if you don't have anywhere else to go, please give us the opportunity to help. So, go home and get cleaned up. I want to hear back from all of you within the next several hours.”
As Perry stepped down, Lois turned to Clark and said, “Will you be okay? I need to go home and get a shower.”
“I guess. I should go home and do the same.”
As Lois started to turn away, she heard Clark call to her. “Lois?”
“What is it, Clark?”
“I'd feel better if you'd let me escort you to your apartment. Once you’re inside, I'll go on to mine. Would it be a terrible imposition for me to walk you home?”
Lois’s first reaction was that Clark was being over protective. Her next thought was that she might need to put some distance between them or he was likely to get too dependent on her. Even as she had that thought, there was a counter-thought that having Clark depending on her might not be such a bad thing. That first day he had been pretty helpless. However, yesterday, in many ways he was very much like his old self. After another few seconds of rolling the idea around in her mind Lois decided to humor him for now. “Sure. I'd be honored to have an escort home.”
It took nearly an hour to reach Lois's building. They encountered almost no vehicular traffic. That was just as well since they couldn’t go more than a hundred feet without encountering sections of the road blocked by debris, or in some cases, large holes in the pavement. However, the streets were filled with more pedestrian traffic than Lois had ever seen. Once they had to detour around a pile of rubble that used to be a building. Fortunately, the building in question was in an industrial area and was likely to have been empty when it collapsed. They passed another building, an apartment complex this time, where there had been an impact that didn't take the building completely down. There was an ambulance out front but no one was nearby. They considered stopping and gathering some information but given the lack of anyone out front to ask, they decided to keep moving.
Finally they arrived at Lois's building. Or, more specifically, they arrived at what had been Lois's building. It must have taken a major hit near ground level because the entire structure had collapsed. The area was little more than a pile of rubble surrounded by police tape. When she saw what was left of her home, Lois froze in her tracks. The next thing she knew was feeling two strong arms encircling her from behind. The contact shocked her out of her frozen state and she spun into Clark's embrace.
After a moment she heard him say, “It'll work out.”
Now she could feel the tears running down her cheeks. “You don't understand. That was everything I had.” She paused to gather herself and then continued, her face still pressed into Clark's chest. “I had a break with my parents years ago. Everything I have... Everything that's me was in there.”
Clark pulled back just enough so that he could turn her face toward his. “Even without my memory I know that's not true,” he said fiercely. “Whatever was in that apartment wasn't what made you who you are. No more than what is in your desk at work defines you. What I can remember, and what I've seen these past two days, tells me that you define yourself. Your energy and drive are what makes Lois Lane who she is. As long as you stay true to yourself and remember who you are, you can get through any loss.”
As she considered his words, she realized that they really did help right now. “Clark, I'm... I'm glad you came with me.” Then she pulled Clark into another hug. It was amazing how good it felt to be in his arms. The moment of weakness passed and she turned and looked back at the remains of her building. She was holding back the tears but it was a near thing. “In spite of that wonderful pep talk you just gave, I don't think I have the will to try digging through that pile of rubble looking for my stuff right now.”
“I agree,” Clark said. “Why don't we go over a few blocks and see if I have an apartment left?”
Clark offered his arm and she was happy to take it. They turned away and started toward Clark's apartment. As they walked, Lois was lost in her thoughts. Her mind bounced between things as inconsequential as her furniture to wondering about the state of her neighbors. Once or twice, Clark might have tried to talk to her, but she barely noticed and never answered.
In what seemed like a surprisingly short time, they stopped. Lois found herself standing outside Clark's building. On seeing that it was intact, she felt a sense of relief that Clark still had a home. After a few seconds she heard Clark say, “I'm sorry, Lois.”
She turned to face him. “What? Why are you sorry?”
“I don't know. I feel bad that my apartment survived and yours was destroyed. Somehow it doesn't seem fair.”
“You're being silly. How would it be better if we both had no place to live? Now, let’s go on in and make sure the interior is in good shape.”
They walked up together and Clark opened his door. The interior was exactly the way they had left it the day before. Clark went into the kitchen and made sure that he had running water. After looking around for another moment, Lois turned to Clark and said, “Why don't you get a shower and change your clothes? I'll wait for you out here.”
“All right. I'll be as quick as I can.” He headed into the bedroom and in short order Lois heard the shower running.
The sound of the shower reminded her that she was a bit ripe from the previous evening in the shelter. There was a shower at work and she did have a change of clothes there. That would help. She would need to see what to do about a place to live. For an instant, the image of her fake apartment in Lex's shelter came to mind. However, that idea was so repulsive that she actually said “Never!” out loud to the empty room. Ever since she had seen her demolished apartment building, she had been thinking of Perry's offer of coordinating housing with other members of the office staff. That would probably work out for the best.
She was startled from her train of thought by Clark emerging from the bedroom. She looked up at him as he entered the room. “Either I completely lost track of time or that was one very quick shower.”
Clark responded with a light chuckle. “Ice-cold water is a great motivator. I guess my building superintendent followed the suggestion and had both power and gas shut off all night. Lois, would you like to rinse off? The water is cold, but it might help you feel better.”
“Thanks, but I remembered that I have a change of clothes at the office. I'll wait to get back there. Besides, I've never been a fan of cold showers and while I know this water is cold, there is a chance that power may be restored at the Planet and I might be able to get hot water there. I also need to get my name on the list for people that need a place to live.” Lois felt her voice catch as she thought about her lost apartment. She was going to have to come to terms with the loss of a large part of her life.
Clark sat down in the chair across from Lois. “You know, I have no recollection of ever sleeping in that bedroom over there.” He paused, took a nervous deep breath and then continued. “In fact, when I walked in there it felt more like I was in your place than mine. After all, the only memory I have is you sleeping in there and my sleeping out here. Lois, would you consider staying here?”
TBC
Bob
