***~~~***
Chapter 19: Date
***~~~***
Lois woke up determined that the morning would play out as if nothing unusual had happened the night before. She didn’t say anything about Superman, and Clark acted as if that part of the discussion never happened. Over morning coffee, she stayed away from the issue of her relationship with Superman.
It wasn’t long before the subject turned to Clark’s newly recovered memories. Since she couldn’t talk about Superman, she pushed the conversation to a safe path. “Are you going to call Dr. Plinkton this morning?” she asked.
“It’s the first thing on my agenda when we get into the office,” Clark replied. “I still can’t believe those memories came back last night. It gives me hope that there are still more memories that I’ll be able to retrieve.”
“Have you given any more thought to how it happened? It seemed like suddenly you just knew things that weren’t there before.”
“That’s exactly what it was like,” Clark offered. “It all started when I was thinking about Lex disliking Superman. Then I wondered what it would have been like if they had ever spoken to each other when they were alone. Somewhere in there it was like turning a key and all these new memories came tumbling out.”
“You said last night that they were confused. Has that gotten better?”
“No. I laid awake last night for over an hour trying to fit the pieces together. I can guess at what the images and memories mean but no matter how hard I tried there wasn’t any more there. I’ll be curious what Dr. Plinkton has to say about this.”
Lois wanted to know that also. She didn’t know how to tell Clark that what she really wanted to know the rest of his inside information on how Superman felt about her. After last night she was now sure that there was some sort of an agreement about her between Clark and Superman.
At one level she was irritated that she might have been the prize in a contest. When she first thought of it that way last night, she’d been furious for a few minutes. Then she realized that from what she could tell, it was nothing like a contest. There were two friends, both in love with her, and each waiting for her to decide. She’d ended up with a vision of standing in the middle of a field. A White Knight on her left and a farmer on her right. Both were waiting for her to go to one of them. But they only waited. They never competed or tried to be anything other than what they were. It was way over-the-top romantic but it did seem to fit.
She realized she’d fallen into a silent muse. It was time to figure out what to do with the more practical information that had popped out of Clark’s memory yesterday. They needed to figure out what to do with this. The first step was to determine who they could tell. “Clark, what are your feelings about sharing the information that Luthor himself was probably behind the sabotage of Superman’s Nightfall mission pack?”
Clark took the subject in stride. “I think we need to start with Perry. Then he can decide if we bring in anyone else from the Planet staff. I’d like to tell Fred and Dr. Klein. Fred especially needs to know that our most likely suspect is the top man in his company.”
“You’re right. As soon as we’re in the office, we can set up a meeting. I’d like to do it at the Planet but that will depend on if Fred can get in and out without attracting attention.”
When they got to work they brought Perry up to speed right away. He was unsurprised to learn that Luthor would be their prime suspect. He cautioned them that given Luthor’s connections and power, they would have to have rock-solid evidence before the paper could run any story that implicated him in anything.
Half an hour later Lois was working on another story. At the end of their earlier meeting, Perry had asked both her and Clark to pick up some regular reporting duties. The Superman investigation was important, but Perry needed them on other things as well. She’d just set down the phone when Clark approached her desk. “What’s up?” she asked.
“I just finished talking with Dr. Plinkton. He was just as surprised as we were at my recovered memories. He said that the literature doesn’t say anything about that kind of memory recovery. He’s been trying to get in contact with one of the doctors that handled the original case. He did say that what happened was reasonable based on how memories are stored in the brain.”
“Does he think any more will come back?”
“He thought it was likely. His guess is that there may be other ‘key thoughts’ that might unlock more memories. Unfortunately, until I happen to think the right thing, there will be no way to know it’s going to trigger anything.”
To Lois, this all sounded both weird and frustrating. “You mean that you might think about eating a chilidog at a football game and new memories will come flooding out?”
Clark closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, he smiled back shyly. “Well, that one didn’t do anything but that is the idea.”
They ended up scheduling their Nightfall team meeting for noon. Fred was convinced that he’d have no problem getting away at that time and promised that he’d avoid using the main entrance to the Planet. Lois and Clark spent the morning working on issues not related to the Superman investigation.
When the time for the meeting arrived, they kept it small. Perry had decided that only Jimmy would assist from the Planet staff.
“Would there be any value in trying to work through Luthor directly?” Jimmy asked.
“I doubt it,” Perry offered. “There aren’t many people that get close to Luthor who talk much about it afterwards. I’m aware of a few people that have had…encounters…with him. Based on what I know, he never lets any conversation get outside the boundaries that he wants. Lois, you’ve been closer to him than any of us, were you ever successful in getting him to open up?”
“No Chief,” she replied, shaking her head. “I hate to admit it but he’s very good at avoiding issues he doesn’t want to discuss. You know that the first time I interviewed him, he ducked all but the most fluff questions and turned the interview into a date. The next time I tried, the same thing happened. He never slipped for a moment. He was so good at it that I was getting used to dates even though he never even came close to granting the in-depth interview he promised.”
“That fits.” Perry added. “When your initial interview produced nothing, I asked around. Remember that your original challenge with him was that he’d never granted a serious interview. I did some digging on my own and found that wasn’t exactly true. He has granted interviews before, but only a few times and only with attractive females. None of them were able to produce a usable interview with him but there is circumstantial evidence that many of them turned, um, personal.”
Lois looked indignant. “Well, my investigation never turned ‘personal’ in that way, but I didn’t get anything.”
Perry looked at Dr. Hanson. “You seem to be our best hope. Do you think you will be able to find out where the equipment went when it left your control?”
“I think so,” he replied. “There are a number of people in my section that have transferred around the company a few times. They have personal contacts that should help. If I ask the right questions, I believe I can find out where it went. I’ve started asking some questions very quietly but I don’t have anything yet.”
“Fred, you need to be very careful,” Clark added. “I regained enough memories yesterday to know that Luthor is an extremely dangerous man.”
Hanson nodded seriously. “I will be.”
Perry looked around the room. “Dr. Klein will continue to work the scientific and EPRAD channels. I’ll work my military contacts. Dr. Hanson has LexCorp while Lois, Clark and Jimmy will work the Metropolis street angle while coordinating what the rest of us find. Is there anything we haven’t covered?”
When no one offered any more, the meeting adjourned. Lois and Clark spent the rest of the day on their other stories. The city had put itself together enough since Nightfall that the need for regular reporting was too great to ignore.
***~~~***
Lois finished her assignments for the day before Clark did. He had made almost incredible progress this past week but he still had a long way to go before he would be as good and as fast as he once was. With what he knew the first few days after Nightfall, he would not have been able to get a job at The Daily Planet. Of course, under the circumstances he wasn’t held to the same standards that would normally apply.
Those first few days he was little more than half Lois’s assistant and half intern. He had been able to provide some help and produced some decent work but nothing like would normally be expected of a Daily Planet journalist. That had changed and he was now at least as good as some of the lesser staff writers. The way he was making progress, he would be very close to his old level of skill in less than a month.
While she was waiting for Clark to finish the assignments that Perry had left for him, Lois couldn’t help but think about the about the previous evening. She had lain in bed an exceptionally long time trying to decide what to do. She had been keeping her feelings for Clark at a distance. There were many reasons but key among them was the idea of honoring what had almost been with Superman. With what she now knew, or at least suspected, she was convinced that the one thing that Superman would want would be for her to give Clark a chance.
She walked over to Clark’s desk. She stepped behind him and leaned down to look over his shoulder. “How are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m almost there. Would you mind taking a look?”
“Sure,” she replied.
As she started to read over his shoulder, the closeness became impossible to ignore. Lois concentrated and after only a minute she made it to the bottom of the short article Clark had been working on.
“You might want to re-sequence these sentences.” She pointed at the screen. “Otherwise it looks good.”
Clark looked over the offending lines and shook his head. “I see what you mean. This is still so frustrating. When you point something out, it seems so clear. You’re sure you didn’t do this all the time?” Lois could hear the frustration in his voice.
“Well, something like this can happen to anyone. You’ve done as much for me in the past.” She barely finished speaking when she caught the skeptical look from her partner. “Okay, you’re still making more mistakes than you used to. But, Clark, you know you’re getting better. It’ll come back to you. The skills are there even if so many of your memories are gone.”
It was only another few minutes when Clark pushed his chair back and announced, “Done.” He looked over at Lois who had returned to her desk. “Are you ready to head out, partner?”
“Clark, I’d like to do something special for dinner.”
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Would you like me to make something special tonight?”
“I’d like to go out.”
“Sure, Lois, there are a few places to pick from on the way home.”
He just wasn’t going to get it. It was time for her to spell it out for him. “How would you feel about going out on a date?”
He just stared back at her for a moment. She couldn’t help but think he was so cute. It was clear that he had no idea how to respond. Lois knew that only one answer was possible. After all, she had been living with him for long enough. Even so, she couldn’t resist a teasing prod. “Well, if you don’t want to go out with me, I’m sure…”
“Yes!” he interrupted. “I’d love to go out with you. I just…” He floundered around for a minute and finally composed himself. “Lois, I’m sorry to be so dense, but this is unexpected and… well, it’s important that I understand what this means. You know I… I didn’t think….”
“Clark, this is what you think it is. But if you’re too uncomfortable we can just go home and try to do this some other time.”
Clark’s expression fell for only a second and then he got a determined look. He stepped over to her and reached out to take her hand. “Ms. Lane, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on a date this evening?”
Lois almost missed the slight smile that accompanied that oh-so-formal request. Not letting go of his hand, she took a half-step back. “The pleasure is mine, kind sir.” It was all she could do to keep from giggling as she said the words. She accompanied her reply with a slight curtsy. When she straightened up she found that megawatt Clark Kent smile beaming back at her. She hadn’t seen it at full intensity very much since Nightfall.
Clark seemed lost in thought for a moment. Lois wondered if he was feeling the same nervous anticipation that she was. There was only a very short pause before he asked, “Should I pick you up at your place?”
***~~~***
Clark enjoyed the feel of Lois on his arm as they walked back to his—their apartment after dinner. The evening had been perfect. When Lois had suggested the date, once he got past the excitement of the meaning of a real date, he had been wondering if it would turn into just another evening. He was elated to realize how wrong he had been.
After work, they had gone back to the apartment and made an effort to dress for dinner. Clark had been worried about how to dress. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what to wear on a date; he was concerned that Lois didn’t have any clothes. Since he wasn’t willing to run the risk of embarrassing his partner, he asked her about this ahead of time. It turned out that Lois had snuck in some shopping over the past week and had managed to acquire some nice clothes.
Dinner was marvelous. The setting was romantic and Lois clearly wanted to send a signal that this was personal. She was very open about her background and growing up. Normally she should have expected her date to talk about his past and tell some personal stories, but she was helpful all through dinner at leading the conversation to issues that he could talk about.
As they walked up the steps to Clark’s apartment, he couldn’t fight the temptation for some humor. “Lois, could I invite you in for some refreshment?”
Her expression and posture took on an air of mock indignation. “I don’t know. I don’t normally go into a man’s apartment on the first date.”
Clark paused for just a second. “You’re right, Lois, that wouldn’t be proper. I should never have suggested such a thing. Why don’t I just escort you to your place?”
She couldn’t keep a soft giggle from escaping. “That’s better. You take me home right now.”
Clark opened the door and Lois went in before him. He closed and locked the door then turned to Lois. “May I get you some tea?”
“Tea?” she asked. Her tone suggested that he must be out of his mind.
“Okay, coffee it is.”
While Clark went about preparing the coffee, Lois sat in the main living area. She thought about going to her bedroom and dropping off her coat. However, this evening had all been about form. The fact that she was looking at her still-closed bedroom door meant that the date wasn’t over. Instead of opening that door and ending the dance that was their date, Lois chose to drape her coat over a chair so that she could deal with it later.
She had to laugh when, after starting the coffee, Clark came over and asked, “Lois, may I use your restroom?” He had also sensed the importance of form this evening.
She had to fight to keep a straight face. “Sure, Clark,” she replied. “You know where it is.”
As he disappeared through the door, she couldn’t help but think about how in-tune with each other they were. When she thought back, that had been in case almost since he appeared at the Planet. Except for that episode with the Toasters undercover assignment, they had always been amazingly in-sync. To his credit, there was no repeat of that error where he interfered with her investigation.
Soon the coffee was ready and Clark served them in the front room. As he sat, she could almost swear his eyes were glowing. “Did you enjoy tonight?” he asked as he settled into his chair.
“Yes I did,” Lois replied with a smile. “This was one of the best dates I think I’ve ever had.”
“Well, I can honestly say this was the best date I can ever remember having. And even though that’s not saying much in my case, I believe I’d say that even if I still had my memories.” He paused for a moment as if trying to decide whether or not to go ahead. Finally, he looked up and broached the subject they’d both been avoiding all evening. “Lois, do you think that it’s true that Superman and I were both waiting for you?”
Lois almost dropped her coffee at that question. Here they were talking about how nice the evening had been and Clark brought up Superman. At first she looked away to try to hide her surprise at a question about a … rival. After a moment she collected herself. This is still the uncertain Clark that she’d known from before his accident. But now that uncertain Clark was asking very direct questions. She still wasn’t used to that. Just now, the directness of this question had caught her off guard. But Clark had been more direct since so many of his memories were missing. It was the one personality change that she had noticed most. Lois suspected it was his way of trying to find out as much as possible about this unfamiliar world in as short a time as possible.
Well, if he was going to ask, he deserved an answer. “I thought about that a lot last night. I never would have guessed it but I can see now that I wasn’t looking. But yes, I think it was true.”
Clark looked like he wanted to pursue that line but instead steered the conversation back to the safer topic of the Nightfall reconstruction and the still odd but improving weather.
When they finished their coffee Lois looked at the clock and said, “I think it’s time I should be turning in.” They both stood and stepped over to her door. As they reached the door, Lois turned to him and said, “I had a wonderful time tonight Clark.”
“Thanks for asking me out tonight,” he said. Lois could see that he had the look of someone that wanted to say so much more but lacked the words. After only a second, he leaned down for a goodnight kiss.
The emotions Clark felt were so strong that he could hardly stand. Simply noticing Lois lean into him in anticipation of the kiss sent a jolt through him. In the second it took to close the distance between them, Clark had decided that he wanted this to be his chance to show Lois just how strongly he felt. As they came together, he lost himself to the feel of her lips against his. They were as soft as he remembered from their previous kiss. Those thoughts were quickly overwhelmed by the sensation of the moment. Everything seemed to be changing. For Clark, in this moment, the world began and ended with Lois. In that instant, there was nothing else. He found that his arms, almost on their own, were circling this woman that was his universe and he was pulling her into a more intimate embrace.
Lois had always expected this kiss to be something more than she had previously shared with Clark. However, that idea didn’t prepare her for the reality of this kiss. It had started as a kiss. A very good kiss, but in many ways just a kiss. Then there was a subtle but profound change. Her awareness of the world beyond Clark started to fade away. She didn’t notice his arms around her until she felt herself being pressed more firmly against him. In that instant she knew that being as close as possible to Clark was exactly what she wanted. Her arms slipped around his shoulders and it was her turn to pull the two of them even closer together. This was no longer about a kiss, it was about sharing yourself and being shared and feeling more intensely connected than Lois had believed possible.
After a long minute they both seemed to sense that it was time to end this particular kiss. The looks of their respective face reflected their differing expectations for the kiss. Lois looked confused but in a rather pleased sort of way. Clark wore a megawatt smile that suggested that this kiss was very much along the lines of what he had hoped for.
As they separated Lois found that both of her hands had slipped into Clark’s. In this moment, his touch was more than just comforting. There was a feeling of rightness that she struggled to place. It was a wonderful feeling and familiar in a vague sort of way. Between the rightness of his touch and the warmth of his smile, Lois’s confusion fled and she could feel her expression morph into a shy smile of her own. This moment felt so ‘right’ that she didn’t want it to end. She spent a long minute gazing into Clark’s eyes before she finally released his hands and turned to open her door. She entered her room and turned back to Clark. He was still sporting that same smile. It seemed like there should be something important to say right now, but she just couldn’t think of what it might be. She finally settled on the simple solution. “Goodnight, Clark.”
“Goodnight, Lois.”
His smile never wavered and he was still beaming that smile at her as the door finally closed that last inch.
TBC
Bob
