With thanks to HappyGirl for answering my questions for this part.
And, as always, thanks to my wonderful BR, Iolanthe.
From Part 9
They arrived home mid-afternoon. Lois went into the study to download the lists of employee names onto the computer. A few minutes later, Clark came in.
“Honey?” he said. “Are you going to be all right with that list of names?”
“Sure,” she said. “I have a whiz-bang program that Jimmy gave me before he left. It will do most of the cross-referencing for me. Why? Do you have something you need to do?”
“I just called my folks and they’re not answering,” Clark said. “I tried their cells and still couldn’t reach them. I’d like to check that they’re all right.”
Lois stood and put her arms around his neck. “Are you worried?” she asked.
“No. It’s probably nothing. It’s just unusual that they aren’t home and don’t have either of their cells with them.”
“Do you want me to come?” Lois asked.
Clark smiled. “No, you follow up those leads. I’m sure I’ll find my parents in the barn, or doing the chores or something. I’ll have a quick cup of tea with them and be home for dinner.”
“OK. Give your parents my love.” She leant up and kissed him. “Tell them I will visit them soon.”
Clark kissed her, spun into the suit and flew out of the window.
Part 10
Lois leant back, stretched and surveyed the desk that was mostly hidden under piles of paper and scribbled notes.
She had been lost in another world – a world of names and half possibilities and leads that stubbornly refused to take her anywhere and, eventually, leads that converged to one place.
Martin Marelli employed a general technician called Jack Smith who worked at the Riviera Resort.
Lisa Lancaster employed a maintenance manager called Joe Smith who worked at the Chateau Chicago.
Carlos Bernhardt employed a groundsman called Dave Smith who worked at the Dar-Jamai in Morocco.
Liam McAvoy employed a computer specialist called Monica Smith who worked at the Spa Kea in Hawaii.
Lois accepted that Smith was a common surname.
But she already had solid evidence that Jack and Dave hailed from the same home town in Ohio.
And Joe had a police record for burglary.
It was enough to follow up.
On site.
She needed to talk with Clark.
But he hadn’t returned from Smallville. It was past seven o’clock and he wasn’t back yet.
Lois stood from her chair, stretched again and went downstairs. She turned on the television, flicked to the news channel and immediately saw Superman emerge from the window of a burning factory carrying two unconscious women.
She watched to the end of the report – the factory was on the western side of Metropolis and the cause was, at this stage, unknown - and then turned off the television.
She wandered into the kitchen and made a sandwich and a cup of coffee.
Lois ate in the silence – recalling her time with Clark today. She had so enjoyed working with him again. She hadn’t realised how much she missed working the beat – being out there, chasing down the leads, asking questions, talking to people, scavenging for anything that could tie together two pieces of seemingly unrelated information.
But her enjoyment wasn't just because she’d been investigating.
It was because she’d been investigating with Clark.
In her mind, Lois again sifted through their current case. She wasn’t sure she knew who was behind the spate of burglaries, but she was sure she had a lead worth following up.
She finished eating and lingered over her coffee, always listening for the swish of Clark’s return. She switched on the television and watched with minimal interest until they returned to the story of the burning factory. They replayed the report she had seen earlier and only added a few lines to update the number of injured.
Lois muted the television and hunched back on the sofa.
She missed Clark.
She wished he were here with her now.
She wanted him.
To talk to. To laugh with. To share her progress with the story and hear his thoughts. To mull over it together, their ideas bouncing off each other until it seemed their minds were working as two halves of the same whole.
The way it used to be.
She wanted to lean into his broad body and feel his arm around her shoulders.
To soak up his presence.
Lois stood and wandered aimlessly through to the kitchen. She washed her plate and cup and spent a few moments remembering the youthful energy and laughter that had filled the room yesterday as the kids had made the pizzas. She recalled what Clark had told her about Vivienne. And Boston. And Maddie. What about Todd and Beau? Were their stories equally sad?
She went to the phone and called Martha and Jonathan.
No one answered. Their phone rang out.
Then she called Lucy. “Lois,” came her sister’s voice. “It is good to hear from you.”
“How are you?”
Lucy sighed. “I’m realising how lonely and how difficult it is being a full-time single mother.”
“Have you had any more contact with Dan?” Lois asked.
“His lawyer has contacted mine,” Lucy said. “Dan is keen to formally end this marriage.”
“Ah, Lucy,” Lois said. “I’m sorry.”
Lucy sniffed and then spoke with gritty composure. “I was expecting it.”
“But still, it must be hard,” Lois said. “So cold and so official.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Are you happy with your lawyer?”
“Yes. He came highly recommended. Apparently he’s not someone to be pushed around and he specialises in divorce settlements.” Lois heard Lucy take a deep, wobbly breath. “I still can’t believe this is happening to us. I mean, I knew things weren’t perfect, but I never expected it could all unravel this quickly – this permanently.”
“You know I’ll help however I can,” Lois said, realising she meant it wholeheartedly.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t let money be an issue,” Lois said. “I don’t want you or the boys to miss out on anything.”
“Thanks.”
They were quiet for a few moments. Then Lois said, “I’m taking leave next week.”
“You’re taking time away from the Planet?” Lucy exclaimed.
The surprise in her tone hurt. Not that Lois blamed Lucy. “Yeah. I’m hoping to go away.”
“Is there a story involved?”
“Lucy!”
Her sister giggled. “Well ... *is* there?”
Lois smiled. “As it happens, yes.”
“Lois!”
“Clark and I are going away together,” Lois said, hoping it would be the truth. “The plan is to wrap up the story quickly and have the rest of the week to relax.”
“Come and visit us when you get back.”
“OK.”
“*Both* of you.”
“OK.”
“Thanks for the call, Lois,” Lucy said. “I ... I love you, Sis.”
“I love you too,” Lois said. “Sis.”
She heard Lucy chuckle. “G’night.”
Lois hung up the phone, switched off the lights and climbed the stairs. After a long shower, she pulled on clean pyjamas, collected a few pages of notes from the desk and slipped into bed.
She shuffled through the notes, but they couldn’t hold her attention for more than a few minutes.
She wanted Clark.
Her hand drifted to his vacant pillow and she smoothed away the non-existent creases.
She wanted Clark.
Lois was jolted from her longing by a blur of movement as the curtain billowed and Clark landed beside the bed. His eyes immediately sought hers and she saw the deep concern furrowed on his face. She had a flash of memory – another time when Clark had come into her bedroom, dressed as Superman.
A flash of memory that ignited her mind.
A flash of memory that took an incident from the past and infused it into the present, forging sudden profound insight. Lois gasped, but there was no time to digest it. No time to respond.
Clark crossed the room and Lois caught a whiff of lingering smoke. He sat on the bed and she reached for him, her hand cupping his forearm. “What’s wrong, Clark?” she said. “Did something happen in the fire?”
“It’s Maddie’s mom,” he said. “She works in that factory.”
“Oh no,” Lois groaned. “How bad?”
Clark swallowed roughly. “I don’t know. There could be burns and smoke inhalation. Some of the people in the back part of the factory were in a bad way when I got to them.”
“Is she expected to live?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s Maddie?”
“She must have heard about it because she came to the factory and had to be restrained from running in. She didn’t recognise me, of course. There was a female police officer who was trying to calm her. I heard the cop tell Maddie that they would find a nice family for her to stay with tonight.”
“What did Maddie say?”
“She cried and screamed and said that she wanted to stay with Clark.”
“Of course she can stay,” Lois said quickly.
“You’ll have to be here,” Clark said. “There’s no way they’ll allow a thirteen year old girl to stay alone with a man.”
“I’ll be here,” Lois promised.
“You will?” Clark said.
“Of course.” Lois squeezed his arm. “You change your clothes, I’ll get dressed and we’ll go to the police station together.”
Before Clark had the time to agree, a loud knock sounded on their front door. He stood, spun into jeans and a t-shirt and headed for the stairs. Lois pulled on her robe and followed him.
||_||
The moment Clark opened the door, Maddie flew at him and clung to him, her body shaking with sobs. He put his arm around her and looked over her head to a female police officer and another woman.
“I’m Sergeant Howard and this is Mrs Nicholls,” the officer said. “You must be Clark.”
Clark lifted his hand from Maddie’s shoulder and extended it to the women. “Clark Kent.”
“You know Maddie?”
“Yes – through an after-school activity program.” The officer’s gaze moved behind Clark and he took a half-step to the side. “This is my wife, Lois Lane.”
The officer seemed to assess both of them. Then she turned to the woman beside her. The woman’s disdainful expression didn’t waver, but Clark thought he detected a tight nod in response to an unspoken question. The officer turned back to Clark. “Maddie's mother has been injured in a fire and taken to the hospital.”
“I saw it on the news,” Lois said.
“Maddie has said she would like to stay here tonight. In circumstances such as this, we try to locate a relative of the child, but Maddie has no one suitable. Standard practice is that we choose a family from our list of licensed foster parents, but it is late and she is very upset.”
“Maddie is very welcome to stay with us,” Clark said. He felt a sigh shudder through the small body that was still clinging to his waist.
Mrs Nicholls reached forward to gently tap Maddie’s shoulder. “It will only be for one night, you understand, Maddie?” she asked stolidly.
Maddie turned her tear-stained face to the woman and nodded.
“Is there anything else you need?” the officer asked.
Lois stepped forward. “No. We have everything Maddie will need. Does the hospital have this number?”
Mrs Nicholls nodded. Clark wasn’t sure if she were always so poker-faced or if she were trying to hide her lack of hope from Maddie. He stepped back from the door and ushered Maddie more fully into the house.
Sergeant Howard offered them a printed piece of paper. “These are the numbers to call should you require any assistance,” she said.
Clark took it. “Thank you,” he said.
The women hesitated. Lois stepped past Clark and decisively gripped the door knob. “Thank you for bringing Maddie,” she said. “I think it’s best that we try to settle her for the night now.”
“Thank you,” the officer said and the women turned away.
||_||
Maddie sat at the table, staring ahead, occasionally swiping at new tears as they drizzled down her cheeks.
Clark crouched beside her. “Maddie?” he said gently.
Slowly her eyes focussed on him. “Uhm?”
“What did they tell you about your mom?”
“Nothing,” she said as her tears leaked again. “They wouldn’t tell me anything except she had been taken to the hospital and I wasn’t allowed to see her.”
“Will you be OK here with Lois if I go to the hospital?”
“You’ll find out about Mom?”
Clark nodded.
“They think she’s gonna die,” Maddie said brokenly. “That’s why they won’t let me see her.”
“They won’t know anything until the doctors have looked at her,” Clark said gently.
“Will they have looked at her yet?”
“I’ll go to the hospital and find out what I can.”
“’K.”
Clark stood and nodded for Lois to follow him into the living room.
“What do you think?” she asked.
Clark lowered his voice. “I didn’t recognise her mom,” he said. “I didn’t know she worked at that factory until I saw Maddie there.”
Lois laid her hand on his chest and looked up at him, her eyes soft with concern. “I’ll stay with Maddie while -.”
“I can’t find my parents.”
“You can’t find them?”
“No,” Clark grated. “They’ve gone away. I talked to Wayne Irig and he told me Dad asked him if he would do their chores for a few days.”
“Did they say why? Did they say where they were going? When did they leave?”
Clark loosely wrapped his arms around Lois’s waist, needing her closeness. “This morning. They said something had come up that they needed to deal with, but didn’t say where they were going.”
“Family? Have you called your aunt?”
“Yes,” Clark said. “She hasn’t heard from them. I tried to be vague because I didn’t want to worry her, but it was clear she doesn’t know anything.”
“Did they drive? Fly?”
“The truck is in the barn, so they haven’t gone away on farm business, but the car isn’t there.”
Lois lifted her hand to caress his face. “Honey, they’ve probably just gone away for a few days and forgotten to tell you.”
The knot in Clark’s stomach twisted tighter. “There’s something else, Lois.”
He saw his anxiety reflected in her face. “What?” Lois asked.
“I checked the last number dialled on their phone and I got a ... a diagnostic medical clinic in St Louis.”
“*St Louis*?” Lois’s arms slipped up to his neck and she drew him into her embrace. He could feel her heart beating just below his. He could feel her love seeping into him, could feel her strength coursing through him. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where they’ve gone,” she said quietly.
Clark wanted to ask why else they would call that number, but resisted – speculation wouldn’t help anything. And in the kitchen they had a very scared girl who needed to know about her mom. He eased away from the sanctuary of Lois’s arms and managed a small smile. “I should go to the hospital,” he said.
Lois nodded, but before she released him, she reached up to kiss him – a kiss that poured comfort through the choking cords of fear that were knotted around his heart.
Overpowering his reluctance to leave her, Clark stepped towards the door. “I’ll call as soon as I know something,” he said.
||_||
When Lois returned to the kitchen, Maddie hadn’t moved.
“Clark has gone to the hospital,” Lois told her. “You’ll know something soon.”
Maddie looked up and tried to push a smile through the cloak of her fear. “Thanks.”
“Would you like to go and have a shower now? I can find some pyjamas for you.”
“No. Thanks. I don’t want to do anything until I know about my mom.”
“Would you like a drink? Something to eat?”
Maddie nodded, although Lois suspected that the real motivation was not hunger, but an instinct to take whatever path seemed least resistive.
Lois put on the kettle to boil and opened the fridge.
Her mind filled.
*Had* Martha and Jonathan gone to a medical clinic in St Louis? If so, why? What tests did they need that couldn’t be done in Kansas? Which one of them required tests?
Lois tried to recall the last time she had seen them. She had visited the farm ... with Clark ... when was it ... in the spring? They had both seemed fine then.
Why hadn’t they told Clark they were going?
Perhaps they feared it was something serious. That had to be the reason why they hadn’t told him. Even if the need to go to this clinic was sudden and pressing, they could have called Clark. Knowing he could come to their farm, they could have left a note for him on the table.
But they hadn’t.
They were probably hoping to get the tests done and, if the results were good, avoid having to worry Clark.
Her heart ached for him. He loved his parents so much. If one of them was seriously ill, he was going to be devastated.
Lois opened a packet of chocolate chip cookies and put them on a plate as her mind whirled back half an hour. She had been sitting up in bed and Superman had approached her, his face lined with anxiety.
The situation had been a replica of the one years ago – when Clark had come, dressed in the suit to tell her he was breaking up with her to keep her safe.
Sure, tonight, his concerns had been about Maddie’s mom, and probably his own parents too, but the similarities had been enough to bring illumination.
*Now* she understood Clark’s distancing.
Somehow, he’d again decided that her life would be better without him.
Lois clamped down on a rising sob.
What twisted machinations of his brain had led him to that conclusion?
What possible failing in himself had he managed to dredge up and allow purchase in that super-active conscience of his?
Her eyes closed as realisation hit. A baby!
This had to be all about a baby.
He couldn’t give her one, so he was freeing her so she could find someone else who could.
After all these years, he still battled the doubts that seemed to come with being the only one of his kind in an alien world.
And ... Lois swallowed down the shame that pushed into her throat ... the one thing that assuaged his isolation was ... her love. For all his strength and powers, he needed her love.
Her mind replayed snatches of memories.
<I used to come up here a lot by myself and just ... drift. Not part of the stars, not part of the Earth. Not knowing where I fit in ... till I met you.>
<I kept waiting for some incredible feeling of connection ... A feeling that I was exactly where I belonged. But that’s only happened to me once in my life.>
<This thing with us, whatever it is ... is stronger than me. Being with you is stronger than me alone.>
And emotionally, he had been alone for much of the past year.
This time her sigh was out before she could drag it back.
Oh, Clark. You fatheaded, lamebrained, gorgeous hunk of self-sacrificing idiocy.
Lois collected the two cups of hot chocolate and put them on the table. She followed with the plate of cookies and sat next to Maddie.
The girl broke from her reverie and nodded her thanks. Lois could see the fear and uncertainty etched on her young face. “When will Clark be back?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Lois said. “It will take some time to drive to the hospital. And once he’s there, he’ll have to explain that he’s there on your behalf. They won’t just give information to anyone.”
“Do you think she’s going to be all right?” Maddie asked in a voice that shook.
Lois looked into the fear-riddled face. “I don’t know,” she said. “But we can hope she will be.”
“What happens if she dies?” Maddie said, her eyes wide. “I don’t have a father.”
“I don’t know what will happen,” Lois said honestly. “But I do know there are people whose job it is to make sure you will be looked after. And,” she said, trying to inject some brightness into her tone. “We don’t know anything yet except your mom has been hurt. She could be back at home in a few days and ready to look after you herself.”
“You don’t know that,” Maddie said.
“No, I don’t,” Lois agreed, “But we don’t know for sure that she is badly hurt either.”
Maddie was quiet for a long moment as she toyed with the simple bracelet on her wrist. Then she looked up at Lois. “What’s it like having someone like Clark love you?”
Lois was taken aback by the question. “It’s ... it’s wonderful.”
A small smile crossed Maddie’s face. “I can’t imagine what it must be like,” she said. “To have someone so strong and so caring and so kind and to know he loves me more than anyone else in the world. That must be the most amazing feeling.”
“It is.”
“I wish ... I wish someone loved me the way Clark loves you.”
“You’re young, Maddie,” Lois said. “Someone will come along who loves you.”
“No, they won’t,” Maddie said disconsolately.
“Why?”
“Because no one came along who loved my mother,” she said obstinately. “My father got her pregnant and then left. He didn’t love her. And since him, no one has come along. She hasn’t had a date in five years.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want another relationship yet. Maybe she’s happy raising you.”
Maddie sighed. “If she found someone who loved her, she wouldn’t have to work two jobs. If she found someone who loved her, we wouldn’t always be late paying the bills. If she found someone who loved her, maybe she would be able to buy nice clothes. Maybe she’d laugh sometimes.”
“She has a daughter who loves her,” Lois said quietly.
Maddie looked up at Lois. “Why don’t you have children?” she asked. “Don’t you want them?”
“It’s not that we don’t want them,” Lois said. “It’s just that they have never come along.”
“Like a husband for Mom?” she said dejectedly. “They just never come along?”
Lois nodded.
“If I had a man who loved me ... someone who would stay with me no matter what ... I wouldn’t care if I never had children. Just having someone love me ... that would be enough.”
Lois swallowed down her tears. “It’s enough for me too,” she said softly.
Maddie averted her eyes. “I have something I should tell you,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Something I did that’s real bad.”
“I doubt it was that bad,” Lois said.
“It was.” Maddie looked up. “Before I knew you ... when I knew Clark was married to someone he didn’t spend much time with ... I sort of hoped ... I wondered ... if he wasn’t happy with you ... maybe ... maybe if you didn’t really want him ... maybe he would ... like my mom.”
“I can understand that,” Lois said.
“It was a terrible thing to think,” Maddie said.
“But I can understand why you would think that,” Lois said. “It’s hard not having a father.”
“Do you have a father?”
“Yes, I do. Although he separated from my mother when I was very young.”
“Does he love you?”
“I think he loves me,” Lois said. “But he wishes I were different.”
“How?”
“He wishes I were less opinionated and more gentle. He wishes I were less stubborn and more reasonable. He wishes I wanted the things he wants for me.”
“He must have been pleased when you married Clark.”
“I think he was pleased. He didn’t say much.”
“Did he marry again? After leaving your mom?”
“No. They tried to reconcile and for a short time, it seemed to work, but then they remembered all the things they didn’t like about each other and stopped seeing each other again.”
“Did you hope it would work?” Maddie asked. “Do you hate it when they fight?”
“I used to hate it. But now I’ve accepted that they are both happier apart.”
“And you have Clark,” Maddie said.
“And I have Clark.”
“You’re very lucky.”
“I know.”
Maddie smiled shyly. “I think he’s pretty lucky too.”
Lois covered Maddie’s hand with hers. “Try to drink some of your chocolate,” she said.
“I ... I’m not really hungry.”
“I know,” Lois said. “But I know if Clark’s mom were here, she would suggest that you try to drink it.”
“Clark’s mom? Is she nice?”
Lois rammed down the rising clod of trepidation. “She’s very nice. She makes great cookies – much better than these bought ones – and she has great advice and she always knows exactly what to say to make someone feel better.”
“She sounds like Clark,” Maddie said.
“Yes, she does.”
“Does Clark have a dad?”
“Yes. His name is Jonathan.”
“Does his dad love his mom?”
“Yes. Very much.” Lois took a gulp of her chocolate, hoping its warmth would dissolve the hardening lump trying to invade her throat.
Maddie fell silent. She stared at her hands.
Lois watched her, wondering what she could say to help.
The jangling of the phone cut across their thoughts. Maddie lurched. Lois sprang from the table to answer it. She saw the displayed number and turned to Maddie. “It’s Clark,” she said, as she picked up the receiver.
||_||
...
Lines directly quoted from ...
‘We Have A Lot to Talk About’ by John McNamara.
‘Battleground Earth’ by Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner
‘Ordinary People’ by Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner
