This one isn't very long, but for a good reason. You'll definitely want to read the next part. I think it's what you've all been waiting on.
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Standing in the doorway of Clark’s bedroom, Martha could only wait. Wait to find out if her son would live or die. She and Jonathan had traveled to Metropolis to be with Clark for Easter, and she was glad they had. They’d only been there for a day when he’d become ill. His symptoms presented much like the flu, but they’d progressively gotten worse.
“He’s slipped into a coma,” came the voice of Sam Lane.
Not knowing what else to do when her boy had come down with this bug, Martha had tried to call Lois. When she wasn’t able to reach the younger woman, she’d called Ellen Lane. With a little prodding, Martha had told Ellen that Clark’s friend was ill. Because of who this sick friend was, they’d need a special kind of doctor to treat him. Within an hour, Ellen had shown up at Clark’s door with Sam. Sam had induced a coma using Kryptonite to starve the infection.
Martha nodded sadly at the doctor before going to join Jonathan on the sofa. He wrapped a comforting arm around his wife. All they could do now was wait. Wait and worry.
****
A prison break in Alabama had kept Lois busy for over three weeks. It wasn’t until she was on her way to Florida that she saw an article on the Planet’s website that stopped her cold.
She’d been forced to find a table in the coffee shop of the Miami International Airport to wait for her luggage to arrive. Since she’d been out of touch, she’d decided to peruse the Planet’s site on her laptop to catch up. When she read an article about Intergang trying to poison Superman, her breath left her in a rush.
She dialed the number to the Planet as fast as she could.
“Perry White?” came her editor’s voice.
“I need to speak with Jimmy, Perry,” Lois told him right away. The article in the Planet carried the bi-lines of Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen. She was pleasantly surprised about that, but had always known Jimmy would some day become a great reporter.
“Nice to speak with you, Lois. I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
“How are you, Perry? Where’s Jimmy?”
He chuckled softly. “He’s actually running down leads with Clark. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Well...” She glanced back at the article on the computer screen before asking, “No. I’ll get back with Jimmy later.” She wasn’t sure why she didn’t just call Clark. It had been so long since they’d spoken, and she was more than a little apprehensive about speaking with him after all these months.
And she was scared he’d ask questions she wasn’t prepared to answer.
“Ah, fantastic work on that prison break.”
“Just another day at the office.”
Perry laughed again. The girl was relentless. “Since I have you on the phone... Do you plan on making it home any time this year?”
She had wondered how long it would take him to get to that. He asked her when she was coming home every time she talked to him. And she gave him the same answer.
“Are you there, honey?”
“Yeah, Perry. I’m sorry... I just...”
“I know,” he told her. He didn’t really, but he understood. He and Alice had gone through a rough patch over the last year, too, because he’d been hiding away in this damn newsroom as long as they’d been married.
“Ah, listen,” he continued. “I got advance word this morning. He doesn’t even know it yet, but Clark edged you out for the Kerth this year.”
For the first time in months, Lois’ smile reached her eyes.
<<Way to go, Kent!>>
“That’s great,” she said softly. “Hey, Perry, tell Jimmy I’m proud of him,” she said to change the subject quickly. Though she was proud of him, she really didn’t want to discuss Clark with Perry.
“That boy’s really startin’ to shine!”
Lois could hear the pride in Perry’s voice. Jimmy was like a son to her editor.
“Gotta’ run, Perry. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay. Take care.”
“I will.” She flipped the phone closed, then immediately dialed another number she thought she‘d forgotten.
“Hello?”
She had to take a breath when she heard the other woman’s voice on the line. Lois had loved this woman as much as she’d loved her son. All this time had passed without so much as a word. Why hadn’t she called the Kents? She’d been too stunned at first, then it had been too painful. And now...
“Hey, Martha.”
The older woman inhaled sharply. Even after all this time, she’d know that voice anywhere. “Lois?”
“It’s been a long time.” Lois had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from crying aloud.
“Too long.” Martha, too, realized she shouldn’t have allowed so much time to pass.
“I, ah, I just read the article Clark and Jimmy wrote about Superman being poisoned.”
Martha smiled. Lois had read between the lines. “He was really sick, Lois.”
“Oh, God.” This time a sob escaped before she could stop it.
“He’s fine now... Thanks to your father.”
“My father?”
“I tried to reach you. I finally called your mother to see if she could reach you. She suggested Sam might be able to help.”
“You told my father?”
“Oh, no,” Martha told her quickly. “We told him that Superman was Clark’s friend.”
Lois had long ago lost touch with the kind of man her father was, so maybe it was best not to trust him with that kind of secret.
“How are you, dear?” Martha asked after a moment of silence.
“I’m... okay.” It wasn’t a total lie. She’d learned to deal with her past.
“I wish...”
“Don’t, Martha.” Lois gulped down her emotions. She’d only wanted to know that Clark was okay. If she and Martha drudged up the past, she’d be thrust right back into that horrible abyss she’d worked so hard to climb her way out of.
The older woman struggled with her emotions as well. Finally she sighed and said, “Should I tell Clark you called?”
“Ah, no. I just had to know if he was all right.”
Martha understood. She understood that too much time had passed. She understood that while Lois and Clark still loved one another very dearly, so much stood between them.
“I’m glad you called,” she replied instead. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will, Martha.” Lois blinked away a few tears, wishing desperately that things had turned out differently. “Take care of him,” she whispered, then quickly closed the phone.
“I will,” Martha said as she listened to the dial tone. She’d give anything to know how to help those two.
In the airport, Lois tapped the key to turn her computer off. He’d been sick, and her father had taken care of him. Jimmy had co-written his first big story. Clark had won another Kerth.
Life had gone on without her.
****
Clark read over the notes he’d made the day before about a story involving a man named Baron Sunday. It seemed Sunday was the alias of a man named Henderson, who had been involved in a case Clark had covered in the beginning of his career. It seemed Sunday was bent on ruining Clark the same way he felt Clark had ruined him. He was a master practitioner of the black arts and tried to use Clark’s own fears to kill him. But what Clark had first thought to be his deepest fears was actually visions of his departure from Krypton. Those memories combined with thoughts of Lois ended up saving his life.
It also helped him write another powerful story.
He’d just taken his seat when Perry stepped out into the newsroom.
“Listen up, people!” He waited until he had everyone’s attention before he continued. “I am more than pleased to announce that our very own Lois Lane was just named as a finalist for this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism! Turn those monitors up. They’re about to announce the winner.”
Loud applause broke out when Lois Lane was indeed named the recipient of the prestigious journalism award.
“Here ya’ go, CK,” Jimmy said as he gave Clark a glass of cold bubbly. “The Chief insists we celebrate!” He’d had several bottles of champagne chilling since early that morning. He was more than convinced that Lois would be named a finalist and win.
“Thanks, Jimmy.” Clark allowed a smile to spread out across his lips. He lifted his glass in salute to his former partner. “Congratulations, Lois,” he said softly, then took a sip of his drink.
She’d finally written the story that earned her that coveted award she’d chased for so long. Everyone knew this was something Lois had sought her entire career.
“How ‘bout that girl?” Perry asked as he stepped up to Clark’s desk.
“She’s something else,” Clark replied.
“I tried to get her on conference call. She’s undercover somewhere in Florida. Or was last I heard.”
Clark merely nodded. He and Perry had an understanding when it came to Lois. He didn’t ask, and Perry didn’t tell.
“I’d have thought the African diamond case would have earned the win,” Perry continued. “It was...”
“The illegal immigrant case,” Clark answered for him. The detail that Lois had written into that piece was truly riveting.
“Yep,” Perry agreed. “She was there... when those people were shot.”
“I know.” And he did know. There was no way she could have written such detail if she hadn’t witnessed it. He was just glad that the patrol officer who pulled the trigger was behind bars.
“I, ah, I don’t know if she’ll make it in,” Perry stammered.
“Not this one, Perry.” He just couldn’t accept this award.
Perry looked down at the man he’d come to think of as another son. “She wouldn’t want anyone else to do it, son.”
Clark looked away. He knew that; he knew she wouldn’t want anyone else to accept her beloved prize, but how could he? She’d worked so hard for this chance. How could he stand before those people when he knew it was the place she’d lived to be? It was different when he had accepted the Merriweather for both of them. And the solo award last year, the Kerth, and the Bailey... they were different. She hadn’t talked about any of them the way she had the Pulitzer.
“Just think about it.” Perry clapped him on his shoulder and headed back toward his office.
Clark was alone with his thoughts of the past. He reached down to pull open a drawer on his desk and took out a picture. The image was of him and Lois, when he’d won his first Kerth. They were happy then. There had been no pressure of a relationship or of Supermen. How he wished he could have that time back again.
****
Clark laughed softly as he walked along with his parents, Perry, and Jimmy. Even though part of him hadn’t wanted to accept the Pulitzer for Lois, another part- the part that would always love that fiery woman- wouldn’t have been anywhere else.
As predicted, Lois hadn’t even shown up. She was still undercover, chasing down a major drug dealer, somewhere in South Carolina. So, Clark had stood on that stage and proudly accepted the illusive dream Lois had chased for so long. It had felt as if it had been his triumph.
“I can’t thank you enough for inviting us, Perry,” Martha told the editor.
“I think Lois would appreciate you both being here.”
“I think she’s going to be psyched,” Jimmy said with a chuckle.
“That she will be, son. Come on. Give an old man a lift home.” He and Jimmy said their good-byes, then made their way down to the parking lot.
Clark smiled down at his mother. “I’m glad you guys came.”
“We are, too,” she replied.
“You did a heck of job on that speech, son,” Jonathan told him as he squeezed his shoulder.
“I just hope she sees this some day,” Clark said as he lifted the leather bound jacket that covered the golden engraved paper within.
“She will. Perry’s sure she’ll come as soon as she finds out about it.”
“Yeah. I’m sure you’re right.” But he wasn’t. Not really. He wasn’t at all sure if he’d ever see Lois again. To see the pain he’d caused her had been excruciating. To finally realize the true extent was something else altogether. He just prayed that one day she’d be able to put that pain and betrayal on a shelf long enough to come home to see her family.
****
Martha had been far from right. What Perry hadn’t told any of them was that Lois already knew about her prized acclaim. Somewhere during her self discovery, she’d found out that winning an award was no where near as important as the leads she chased and the stories she wrote.
And none of it was as important as just living. Living without the constant pain of shattered dreams. She’d learned to do that. Going back, standing in the midst of a life that had slipped through her fingers would only cause the pain to return. Though she’d learned to live without it, she’d hadn’t learned to live with it.
It had taken her months to uncover the players in a drug ring that spanned twelve states and two countries. That story was written under an assumed name while her own bi-line was attached to a few stories that took place across the country so that no one would connect her to it. The stakes were way too high to take chances.
She’d moved on from there to a drag racing case in southern California, a ski accident involving the President’s daughter in Colorado, and a gambling scandal in Vegas. Case after case, state after state. She’d even managed to see Paris, Rome, and Sydney.
Back in Metropolis, life rolled on for both Clark and Superman. He’d met Jimmy’s dad, a spy, and uncovered a plot to assassinate the heads of the CIA, FBI, and the NIA. Story after story, rescue after rescue. Life marched on.
Month after month, life marched on.
