Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK - Trusting Me, Trusting You 3:Trail (1/?)

Many thanks again to my wonder BRs - Iolanthe, Deja Vu, and Lynn.

Thanks!

Corrina.

First of all ... wow!!!
That was powerful ... and sad ... and great ... and so many other things which I have absolutely no words for.
My heart breaks for Clark, I figured that this big change wouldn't come easy for him. I hope that a good nights sleep will take some pressure from them and they'll find a way to rebuild their bond.

I absolutely love it.

Great!

Waiting for the next part

Kathryn

Is it sad that I did a happy dance when I saw this posted?

I was right there with the happy dance

This chapter was right where it should be - Clark having difficulty processing his newfound freedom. If it was happy ever after at this point, it wouldn't be a good representation of your writing.

Thank you, once again, for sharing this amazing tale with us!

Apoendix:
I hope not because I did that dance too

I know I'm coming a little late to this, but after catching up on the rest of the story, I had to tell you how much I'm enjoying this wonderful tale!

I love how you've crafted the characters we know so well into these people so different and yet still so Lois and Clark. And I love how you're showing the birthing of hope and healing in them both.

This chapter was, as everyone else said, absolutely excellent! I can't wait for more!

Yet another happy dancer signing in!

Better late than never, welcome to the fray!

Phew - no external boogie men jumping out from the shadows, only the internal ones in Clark's head. I was super impressed with Lois's determination here. She is so strong in the face of all this adversity - including now Clark's despair. I hope she can hang tough.

Such a sign of the times when I had to remind myself that Lois doesn't have the luxury of a smart phone at her fingertips.

Charlie and Linda King - v. nice!

The poem is so sweet.

I love that Lois refers to his abilities as powers. Already planting the seed that they are a gift rather than a 'defect'.

Hee!

Great beginning to a long road ahead. Can't wait for more. So happy TMTY is back!

I hope you had a great vacation, Corrina... and welcome back!

This chapter was fantastic as usual. It is certainly a new beginning for both Lois and Clark, full of new challenges and inner demons to fight along the way.

Just like EmilyC, I was glad to see that Lois is starting to approach the topic that haunted Clark throughout his life, especially the last 7 years - about how his differences are "powers" and not "defects" as he considers them to be.

I can't wait to find out more about where they'll be heading and trying to make a living. Maybe they'll try their hand at being freelance journalists Charlie and Linda King, sending their articles to Perry?

Have a great day/night everyone!

Wow! Wow! Wow! As so many already said before me, you're writing is so powerful-- the strong emotions, the fears, the demons inside them and those unknown-- so wonderfully written that makes it so clear to your readers!

Awesome part! As ever, can't wait for more. And yes, I was also doing a happy dance to see you are back and posting!!!!

Cheers
Elizabeth

Another happy dancer here! )

I loved his poem. But it cuts off in mid-verse. Was there more that Lois didn't read? If there was no more, will we learn why he stopped there? Will we ever find out the end of that line? (No, I'm not begging for spoilers, just wondering. I'm assuming we will eventually find out. If, on the other hand, you hadn't planned on writing the answers into the story, then go ahead and answer here! )

How sad that Clark can't seem to hold on to any of that hope now, when he needs it most. The preview, however, seems a bit encouraging. I can't wait to read more!

Wow what a nice surprise this was seeing this here tonight. I am so glad you are back with this continuation. I think everyone expected his depression but me. I thought he'd be nervous but happy to get out. I thought after the shock of being free wore off he'd start to have nightmares and deal with where he was and how to get back to a new normal. I can see it is going to be a long road. I just didn't expect him to be so lethargic and depressed. He is out! He is with Lois. I hope his hope starts to make an appearance soon. I am not used to him being so defeated, especially when they accomplished so much. I am looking forward to the next chapter. And of course I will be waiting impatiently through this whole fic ;-)

Glad to see this up, Corrina. And glad to see you taking Clark's trauma seriously. His depression and even defeatism is completely in character. In fact, an occasional bout of defeatism is one of cannon Clark's weaknesses, especially if he feels that Lois is in danger because of him. So I found it completely in character for him that he would focus on what Lois has given up. Clark is always willing to suffer just about anything himself, but he is always reluctant to ask Lois to sacrifice on his behalf. This is as it should be because he cares about her happiness more than his own. One of the biggest adjustments in any truly committed relationship is learning to accept gifts of love--even costly ones--from the other party without either feeling guilty about them or taking them for granted. And it's especially hard for this Clark because he's been told for seven years how unworthy he is of any dignity at all. Of course he doesn't feel worthy of Lois's love and sacrifice.

On a practical note, I hope they're going to switch license plates soon. It's a race between Clark regaining his powers and the authorities discovering their absence. Of course, if you go by the show when Lois and Clark managed to evade the authorities after Lois's murder conviction, the Metropolis PD isn't too sharp at catching fugitives. :p

Exactly. Excellent analysis, HappyGirl.

I agree totally that this is in character for Clark, and that after 7 years and all the torture and torment he has had, in being devalued as a person and programmed to think himself unworthy; it is a huge hole to climb out of. It's tough to remember sometimes that much of his maturing must have been stunted by this whole experience, and while he would have depended on his parents to get him through before his imprisonment, he doesn't even have them now. No wonder at all that he feels so lost and alone, even though Lois is trying so hard to be there for him.

As usual, Corrina is writing powerful stuff. You have such a flair for writing the drama so believably.

We're ready for more anytime now!

Welcome back, Corrina! Well, you've been back already, but, well, um... yeah

Poor Clark's gotten ripped out of his comfort zone.
I wonder if he realizes that they *could* probably be zipped together into one double-sleeping bag.

Hope he won't start to cause lot's of insecurities inside Lois or actually decide that she'd be better off if he, well... left.

/sits back and waits patiently for next part./

Michael

PS: Work should easy up in a week or so, and once that happens, my mind will no longer be completely preoccupied with work, and start to realize the waits in between parts. Just saying

Kathryn
That's the essence of 'Trail'.

MozartMaid

He's moved from physical isolation to mental/emotional isolation.

Bellarase

One of the reasons that I detailed how bad imprisonment had been for Clark was so that the readers would understand his feelings now.

AntiKryptonite Hi and welcome. There's always room for new readers!!

Thanks for the comment re the characters. I think that's the crux of fanfic - to keep enough the same that the characters are recognisable but make enough changes that you're not just rehashing canon.

Emily

Lois deliberately kept herself from being tainted by Trask's views, so she can see Clark's abilities so much more clearly (and positively).

True Love

True. 'Junction' (obviously ) started with a new beginning, so did 'Bridge'. If anyone's counting, this is the third 'new beginning' .

Evelyn I like writing about strong emotions. Sadly, sometimes that means putting Lois and Clark through some unhappy times.

And later ... thanks. It's important to remember where Clark is coming from. It is a huge hole he has to climb out of.

Elizabeth

Thank you!

Good point.

On a practical level, because this was before *everything* was computerised (remember the woman wrote down their names in a book?) it would be impossible to do a 'search and find' on all motels. Even then, you'd have to actually ask for the name 'Linda King'. So, the task would have been to check every motel/hotel/B&B and see if any names rang a bell.

'Linda King' would certainly cause Scardino to notice - but Lois was banking on the enormity of the task giving her some time.

On a (very!) subtle level, I was hinting that Lois wasn't quite as composed as she was portraying. Using Linda's name gave her a modicum of comfort - Lois is still getting used to working alone, and (for very good reasons) Clark isn't much help yet.

Vicki Towards the end of Bridge, I hadn't been in Clark's POV much - I wanted this scene to have impact!

No.

I won't tell you, but I'm sure you will work it out.

Yes.

I'm happy to answer questions if I can do it without giving too much away

(And actually, your questions helped because I want the readers to remember the poem!)

Laura

I think he's still in shock - physical, emotional and mental.

That's true. However, I've only given you one small scene in Clark's POV. I'm hoping his thoughts and feelings will become clearer as we spend some time in his POV.

Michelle Thanks for the great explanation. The other thing is that Clark has never been in love before - some of what he's experiencing is totally new, the rest is almost-forgotten.

They will switch plates!!

DW

Exactly - and even at 21 (pre-capture), he had some fairly serious issues to deal with.

I'm trying to rebuild my buffer by writing a little more than a chapter before posting a new one. I've finished T9 and sent it to the BRs. As soon as I write at least 3000 words of T10, I'll post T2.

Michael

Maybe not, because that wasn't what they did in the cell.

Glad work should ease up for you. You could use the 'waiting' time writing. Just saying.

Thanks again to you all. I'm so glad that T1 delivered after the long wait.

Corrina.

I'm pressed for time, but just have to say:

1) Yay, you're back! I hope you had a great vacation! (Sorry, holiday. )

2) I was LOL'ing at all the "happy dance" comments because that was exactly my reaction when I saw the new chapter was up. We're in the middle of a big blizzard/ice storm here in the midwestern US, so this was a wonderful treat to be able to read a new chapter of this story before heading off to bed ... and hoping we'll still have electricity in the morning!

3) I love how you didn't gloss over Clark's depression, fear, and emotional numbness. He's had a hell of a day, and although he's mentally stronger than any mere mortal, he's still Clark and he's still damaged. And that's not going to just go away now that he's out. He might be physically free, but he's still in an emotional prison, and that's going to take some time to escape from. (Though I have no doubt Lois is up to the job and it will be wonderful to watch it happen. )

4) Yay, you're back! (It's worth saying twice! )

Kathy

Huh... yeah... this certainly sounds like an... interesting concept

/nervously eyes half-finished super-short/

Michael