When Lois returned a few minutes later, Clark spotted her, caught suddenly in the heat of her gaze.
“Get out of here, you two,” Molly said, obviously picking up on the electricity that was suddenly charging the atmosphere.
Clark needed no further encouragement. Grabbing Lois’ hand, he led her quickly to the door. While waiting for the elevator, it suddenly occurred to him that he had dropped a particular paper bag on his way into the building.
“I’ll be right back,” Clark said, leaving Lois staring after him as he disappeared out the front door and giggling when he returned a few seconds later, carrying his paper bag. “I didn’t think I could father children with an Earth woman,” he said, staring straight ahead as they entered the elevator. “I’ve just recently learned that I can.”
Lois giggled.
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
EPILOGUE ‘Happily Ever After’ (aka ‘Weekly Trips to the Fudge Castle’)
* * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * July 1997 * * * * * * * * *
Clark ran his fingers through his newly grown beard - and just in time, too. The charity event ended next week. It had been a month since Lois had joined him in 1997, a month since he’d realized that Charlie was his son, a month where he’d been falling ever more in love with his wife and a month during which he’d been happier than he’d ever been in his life.
For the first couple of weeks, he’d had no choice but to avoid appearing as Superman. He simply hadn’t been able to risk it, given the danger it would present to Lois and Charlie and even Molly if anyone made the connection between Clark and Superman. But as soon as the beard had grown in again, Superman had returned to the skies.
Before he’d gone into the past, his Superman duties had been completely overwhelming him. Now... Having Lois to come home to after a hard rescue... Her pride in him, her support and even her knocking some sense into him when he’d begin to obsess made all the difference. And when that didn’t work... Well, it seemed she had other ways to get his mind off a bad rescue. A smile made its way onto his face as one memory in particular suddenly distracted him.
After a moment, he turned his mind to other matters, knowing if he didn’t, he was unlikely to get anything else done today.
He was glad that they had decided to stay in Molly’s apartment building for the foreseeable future. They would probably move into a bigger apartment when one became available, but for now Molly was thrilled to have Charlie continue to live with her. And since Lois hadn’t had more than a number of boxes of clothing and other nicknacks, having her move into Clark’s apartment hadn’t been a problem. Given that they were only one flight of stairs away, it was almost like living in one big house together.
Agent Scardino, Mr-Please-Call-Me-Daniel as Clark had taken to calling him when he wasn’t around, seemed to have become a regular feature at the apartment building lately, too. Clark still didn’t see the attraction, but Lois approved of the newly budding romance, so he was more than prepared to accept Scardino as part of their little family. Besides, even he could see that Scardino made Molly happy.
Lois parents were thrilled she was alive and Lois had been stunned when her mother, in tears, had actually thanked her for not listening to them when they had demanded she have an abortion all those years ago. It would still take some time, but all three parties were working hard to restore their relationship.
Still, her parents had both seemed slightly hurt by the announcement that she and Clark had gotten married. Not that they didn’t like Clark. Or at least, he didn’t think that was it. And since they’d been able to tell them that Clark was the man who had been visiting friends at NTU when Lois had gotten pregnant, they hadn’t objected to the marriage on the grounds that she hadn’t known Clark all that long.
Clark got the impression that their hurt stemmed from the fact that they hadn’t been invited to the wedding. After all, Lois and Clark didn’t feel comfortable telling them that they’d actually gotten married back in 1987 - not without telling them about time travel. After all, how else could they ever explain getting married and Clark then simply disappearing? But it had been wonderful being able to tell people that he was Charlie’s father.
He briefly wondered what Lana would think should she ever hear of it. But he hadn’t seen or heard from Lana for years so it was unlikely she’d ever know.
Perry was thrilled to have Lois back. And even more thrilled when they’d told him they were married. He’d had her back on the Daily Planet payroll so fast it almost made Clark’s head spin.
Cat had almost been beside herself when Lois had walked through the doors to the Daily Planet, asking questions so fast that Lois hardly had time to answer through her laughter.
Cat was the only person besides Perry who they’d told about time travel. That had been unavoidable because, in a leap that was impressive, the first time she’d seem him and Lois together Cat had finally figured out why Clark had always looked so familiar to her. When they had tried to claim that, while it was true that Clark was Charlie’s father, it was when he had visited Metropolis once while he was in college, she simply hadn’t bought the story. She’d known that it wasn’t a twenty-one year old version of Clark who she remembered but one who was more like thirty. And she’d refused to believe that Clark wouldn’t have figured out fairly quickly that Charlie was his son if he had slept with Lois in college.
Clark had to wonder if the only reason Lois’ parents had bought the story was that they didn’t dare challenge the story - due to their determination to reestablish their relationship with their daughter.
The story they were telling everyone, other than those on the inside, about Lois’ disappearance had actually been provided thanks to the other Lois who had shown up over a year ago. Since that Lois had found out about Charlie quickly, she had taken great care only to be seen by himself, Perry and Jimmy Olsen. So they’d been able to use the excuse she had provided. That she’d been hurt... in a coma, in fact... and convalescing at a mission in the Congo, unable to get as much as a message back that she was alive.
Not that everything had gone smoothly. Driver’s license, bank accounts, credit cards and even means of transportation had all been a problem. But they were sorting them out one at a time. At least seven years hadn’t passed and she hadn’t been officially declared dead. Otherwise, there would have been added problems like life insurance payouts since she’d had a couple policies to take care of Charlie.
In addition to the other changes in his life, Clark had started taking Charlie out to the country to explore the extent of his developing powers. Clark smiled as he thought about Lois’ reaction the first time he’d suggested the idea.
“A little father/son bonding time is always a good thing,” she’d said as casually as if he’d suggested taking Charlie to a football game. Although, given her aversion to football, maybe her reaction was even better than if he had suggested the game. But after Lana, Lois’ easy acceptance of his powers was refreshing.
Yes. Life was good. Still, there was one detail that Clark had yet to take care of.
“Hey, kiddo,” Clark said from the doorway to Charlie’s room.
Charlie looked up from where he was concentrating on putting together a model airplane. The principles of flight had recently become his new passion.
“I could use some help. Wanta go out and help your old man.”
“Sure,” Charlie said, springing to his feet with all the energy of an eight year old boy who loved spending time with his father. “Where are we going?”
“We need to do some shopping.”
Charlie’s smile faded. “Shopping?”
Clark nodded. “Trust me. It’s a matter of life or death and I can’t do it without you.”
Still not sure it wasn’t some kind of trick, Charlie accompanied Clark to the door to the apartment where he slipped on his shoes.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois pulled Molly’s car up in front of 344 Clinton and turned off the ignition. Molly had sold Lois’ Jeep when she hadn’t returned from the Congo and put the money in a trust account for Charlie’s education - which was great, but left Lois without a car now that she’d returned. Just one more thing she was going to have to take care of in the very near future.
She sighed. It had been a long day - so much longer than the days when she was working with Clark. In fact, working with Clark was just as great as she had imagined it would be all those years ago. But he’d had the day off, so she’d had to hold down the fort. They had decided to do a little bit of juggling with their schedules so that they could each spend some alone time with Charlie during his summer vacation. It was working well - except that she so desperately missed Clark on the days he wasn’t at work with her.
“You’ve got it bad, girl,” she said to herself for what felt like the millionth time.
She was just getting out of the car when, in the corner of her eye, she saw the door to the apartment building open briefly and a little head poke out before quickly disappearing back inside. Gathering up her briefcase, she locked the car. The head poked out briefly again.
She smiled. What was going on?
As she walked up the steps, the door opened a third time and Charlie was there.
“Hey, what are you...” she began when she realized that Charlie was wearing a tux.
“You have to come with me,” Charlie interrupted, grabbing her arm as he began pulling her towards Molly’s apartment.
Lois allowed her son to take her into the apartment where she saw Molly sitting on the couch, reading a book. Lois shot a questioning look her way.
“I know nothing,” Molly said, but the tone of her voice told Lois a different story.
“Sure, pull a Schultz on me now,” Lois grumbled playfully as she was pulled through the apartment to Charlie’s bedroom.
“Put those on,” Charlie said, pushing her into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
“What?” Lois said, even as she stepped over to the bed to see a dress laid out on top.
She picked the dress up by the hanger. It was a classy, but simple, long, flowing red dress. Beside it were a package of pantihose and an elegant pair of pumps. The only thing she recognized was the shoes. It seemed that whoever had purchased the dress wasn’t so sure he could manage shoes that would fit. Well, okay, let’s see how he or she did with dress size and style.
* * * * * * * * *
“You look beautiful,” Molly said when Lois emerged from the bedroom.
Lois smiled. “Thanks. I have to admit, I love the dress. I just wish I could do something with my hair.”
Molly rose to her feet. “Well, let’s see if we can do something about that,” she said, gesturing Lois into the kitchen where Molly began tossing Lois’ hair into something a bit more dressy.
“Oh, I forgot,” Charlie said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a small white box. “This is for you. Dad said this dress needed something else.” He shrugged, as if he didn’t exactly understand that.
Intrigued, she opened the box to see a heart shaped gold pendent with three different colored stones in it.
“See...” said Charlie, pointing at it. “Those are birthstones for you and me and Dad.”
“I love it,” she said, fingering the delicate piece of jewelry affectionately even as she realized that there was space to add more stones - if necessary. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. Still, for now she pushed the thought aside. There would be plenty of time to think about that in the years to come. “Thank you very much.” She pulled her son closer to kiss his cheek, chuckling when he wiped it off. Removing the pendant from the box, she undid the latch before handing it to Molly who helped her put it on.
“We gotta go,” Charlie insisted, pulling on his mother’s hand the moment the necklace was in place.
“Oh, are you my escort for the evening?” Lois asked, rising to her feet. “Isn’t he so cute in his tux?” Lois asked Molly.
“Mom,” Charlie groaned in embarrassment.
“Yummy enough to eat,” Lois continued.
“Mom,” Charlie groaned again, even as Molly laughed at the interaction.
“I’m so hungry that maybe I’ll do just that,” Lois said, grabbing her son and planting kisses on his face.
“Mom!” Charlie said, pushing her away. “I’m almost nine!”
“Oh, right,” Lois said, grabbing a tissue to wipe the lipstick off his face. “I forgot. Okay, so if you’re my escort for the evening, where are we going?”
Charlie quickly recovered, offering her his arm. Her eyebrows rose. She suspected he’d been coached by someone. She took the offered arm, enjoying herself immensely, as he led her down the hall to the elevator.
“Have fun,” she heard Molly call after her.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois wasn’t surprised when they arrived outside the door to her and Clark’s apartment. Still, when Clark answered his door, looking handsome in his tux, she still felt her breath catch in her throat.
“You look beautiful,” Clark said immediately, stepping forward to give her a kiss.
Lois’ hand on his chest stopped him. “I don’t kiss one guy when I’m on a date with another,” she said. “Unless, of course, my date gives me his permission.”
“Mom!” Charlie complained.
“How about it, pal?” Clark said, looking at Charlie. “Is it okay if I give your date a kiss?”
“I guess,” Charlie said, his crinkled nose telling both his parents what he thought of the whole kissing thing.
Lois laughed as she grabbed the lapels of Clark’s jacket to pull him in for a slow and sultry kiss.
“Wow!” Clark said when she finally released him. He looked over at his son. “Trust me - your mother sure knows how to kiss.”
“Come on,” Charlie said, grabbing his mother’s hand again to pull her into the room, trying to ignore all that gross kissing stuff in his excitement to show Lois what the apartment looked like.
And Lois had to admit, the apartment was impressive. The room was lit only by candle light. Clark must have bought out an entire candle store. From the ceiling hung streamers and attached at various places around the room were balloons - obviously Charlie’s contributions to the decorations. Soft, romantic jazz filled the air. The wonderful aroma of something incredible cooking made Lois’ stomach grumble and directed her eyes towards the kitchen where a romantic table for three was set up.
She smiled. It seemed she was about to be romanced by her two favorite guys.
“Why don’t you escort your mother to the table...” Clark suggested. “...while I open the wine?”
Charlie immediately held his arm out for his mother, widening the smile on Lois’ face.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois relaxed back on the sofa sipping her wine while her guys finished cleaning up in the kitchen. Dinner had been wonderful. And that dessert... Obviously it had come directly from The Fudge Castle. But Lois had to admit, she was slightly confused. It wasn’t her birthday. It wasn’t a special occasion. So what was going on here?
Glancing over at the kitchen, she saw Charlie and Clark with their heads together, obviously plotting something.
She was surprised when they came into the living room and Clark picked up the coffee table, moving it to the side. She was even more surprised when he got down on one knee in front of her.
“Back in 1987 when we got married,” Clark began, “something was missing. You told me that when you got to the future, I better have it waiting for you. So today, Charlie and I went out and made a couple of purchases.” He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.
She glanced at the ring before looking back in his eyes.
“It’s not a blood diamond, I promise,” Clark began, causing Lois to giggle. “I made sure to get a Canadian diamond.” Then Clark turned more serious.
“Lois, since I’ve met you, you’ve given me so many gifts. You’ve given me your trust, your acceptance, your heart and your love. You’ve also given me something that I wasn’t sure I could even have. A son. And you took on the responsibility of raising him by yourself.
“I fell in love with you back in 1987 and I love you even more today. More than I ever thought it possible to love.” He paused briefly. “I want you to accept this gift as a symbol of how much I love you.” He reached into the box and withdrew the ring.
“Yes,” Lois said immediately. As he slipped the ring onto her finger, tears began congregating in her eyes and then they were kissing.
“I thought this was supposed to make you happy,” Charlie said when he saw the tears now slipping down her cheeks.
Lois laughed as she broke the kiss so that she could reach out and pull Charlie into their family circle. “I am happy. But... shouldn’t there be another ring?”
Clark gave Charlie a nod and he nodded back before pulling a second velvet box out of his pocket.
“Charlie and I also picked up two more rings. But I asked him to hang onto them for now.” To Lois’ questioning look, Clark continued. “I’d like for us to renew our vows in front of family and friends. I want the world to know how much I love you. So... what do you say? Will you marry me... again?”
“I will marry you, Clark Kent, as many times as you want,” she said, throwing herself back into his arms and kissing him with renewed passion.
“Do you guys have to keep doing that?” Charlie asked.
Lois and Clark laughed.
“Someday you’ll actually understand this,” Clark said.
“I hope not,” Charlie said. “You guys are gross.”
“Why don’t you go down and see what Molly’s doing?” Clark suggested as Lois began planting kisses on his neck. “Thanks for all your help today, but I think I can handle it from here.”
Charlie was out of the apartment almost immediately, closing the door, leaving both Lois and Clark chuckling behind him.
“Are you sure Molly’s home?” Lois asked. “That she didn’t have a date with Dan tonight?”
“Molly told me that she and Scardino would stay in tonight so that they could keep an eye on him if we needed them to,” Clark said, sweeping Lois up in his arms and slowly walking towards the bedroom. “She seemed to anticipate we might... need some privacy. So...what’s your position on premarital sex? I mean, I guess we could wait until we’ve exchanged our vows again before...”
Lois pulled him in for a kiss which caused his feet to drift off the floor.
“What were you saying?” she asked, pulling his bow tie apart as the kiss broke.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Good,” she said as she began undoing the buttons on his shirt. “Then how fast do you think you can get us into the bedroom?”
Clark didn’t need a more explicit hint. In less than a second, a gust of wind blew out all the candles and left the now-abandoned living room in darkness. A very feminine giggle echoed through the apartment.
* * * * * * * * *
Across the street from 344 Clinton Avenue, a man in an old fashioned suit and bowler hat watched the lights go out in the second floor apartment. It had been quite an adventure. But then, every adventure with Lois Lane and Clark Kent was quite an adventure.
All was now right with the universe. He was confident Lois and Clark could take it from here. The future would be whatever they decided to make it. Knowing Lois and Clark, it was bound to be full of love and excitement. Still, all was now in their hands - which was where it should be.
He checked his pocket watch one final time before pushing a button on the small black box in his hand. A moment later, he was gone, leaving behind him... the future.
If you want to hear George Michael’s ‘Faith’ you can do so here:
My submarine references came from watching too many WWII movies, in particular War and Remembrance and U-571.
Dr. Emmett Brown is not my creation. He is the scientist who invented the time machine in Back To The Future - which you Back To The Future fans may have already figured out from my description. In the spirit of the show, I also used names for some of my other characters that were take offs on names of real people. Did you figure out who?
My information about GHB and other date rape drugs came from many different websites. If you want more information on date rape drugs and how to protect yourself, I would suggest you begin your research with this website: http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/date-rape-drugs.cfm#b
Upon doing a worldwide search of caselaw, the first reference I saw to the phrase ‘date rape drugs’ was in 1999. However, it does take some time after something is introduced to make it into the cases that are published. So although I do not remember the year I first heard the term, I’m going to guess it was the mid-1990s, making Clark aware of this crime while Lois is not. However, if I am wrong... Well, this is an alternate universe <g>. (And thanks to Ann (TOC) for giving me the idea to search the caselaw.)
The comment made by Katie Carrick when she becomes editor of the Ink and Quill (“Competition is one aspect of the job, but if you’re too busy worrying about the competition, you don’t focus enough on what you’re doing.”) is a direct quote from Katie Couric (clever, ain’t I <g>).
The Italian in this story was provided courtesy of Sara “Lieta.”
As for the plug for Canadian diamonds... Hey, I’m a Canadian. What can I say? If you’re interested in information on conflict or blood diamonds and want to know how to avoid them, check out this website: http://jewelry.about.com/cs/diamondmining/a/diamonds.htm and then click on the list of signatories for those retailers who are committed to selling conflict free diamonds to find out where you can purchase them.
ML
She was in such a good mood she let all the pedestrians in the crosswalk get to safety before taking off again. - CC Aiken, The Late Great Lois Lane
