Hi everyone.
This part didn’t make the 6-day positing schedule that I’ve been trying to maintain. Sorry about that. And, you will notice that this is Part 9/?. Sorry about that ‘?” too. So, excuses, excuses…
1. RL has been crazy.
2. Work has been busy.
3. I had to fix a major problem in this part at the last minute.
4. The dog ate my working copy.
5. The cat threw up a hairball and shorted out my keyboard.
6. I lost a beta reader.
7. I’m spending time on my annual Valentines Day short.
8. I’m spending time on still another writing project.
1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 are true. 4 and 5 are false. 6 is true but not part of why this is late.
So, as for 6, HappyGirl has been betaing up through this part. Unfortunately (for me) she is not going to be able to continue. I will do my best to keep the quality as high as possible for the rest of the story. I still have IolantheAlias and The Fabulous Beverly as my beta team so we will press on.
However, the schedule may remain stretched for the rest of the story. 1 and 2 remain true. I want to finish 7 so I can post it before Feb. 14. And finally I plan to sign up for that Ficathon that popped up today in the
Fanfic Related section. So, for the next few weeks it may be as many as 10 days between posts. I have every reason to believe that this story will be complete by the middle of March.
Finally, I guess I should actually post the next part of the story.
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And the Truth Will Set You…
Chapter 9
Lois’s bed felt hard. It was also cold. She tried to snuggle lower under the covers, but as soon as she moved, a sharp pain shot through her right shoulder. That brought her to alertness and her eyes popped open.
She looked around quickly. She was in a hospital room. Not only that, but one wall was all glass and looked out onto a nursing station. She recognized the style of the room. She was in an ICU. It was coming back to her. The press conference. The shooting. Clark! Was he okay? She needed to get out of here and find out what was going on. She started to climb out of the bed. That turned out to be a mistake. At the first hint of movement, that sharp pain in her shoulder came back with a vengeance.
Lois looked at her right arm. It was in a sling and heavily bandaged. Then she remembered press conference. Just as she’d reached the person shooting at Clark, she’d felt pain in her right shoulder. What could have happened?
Lois tried to move again. The combination of pain and fatigue was overwhelming, and she had to concede that she wasn’t ready to go anywhere. She looked around for a call button and sure enough, it was right next to her left hand. It took only a few seconds of fumbling to press the button.
Through the glass, she saw a nurse at the station look her way. The woman called to another nurse who started toward her room. “Good morning,” the nurse said as she entered Lois’s room. “My name is Peggy and I’ll be taking care of you today.”
“Hi,” Lois replied. “Can you tell me where I am and what happened?”
“Sure, dear. But first, how do you feel?”
Lois almost tried to brush her off but, having been around a lot of medical professionals, she quickly realized that it would simply delay things. “My shoulder hurts deep inside. I feel achy all over but otherwise I feel fine.”
“Good. As for how you ended up here, you were shot in your shoulder by a police officer. He was trying to get the guy who was shooting at Superman.”
Lois remembered the scene and the sharp pain in her shoulder. “How is Superman?” Lois asked urgently.
Peggy chuckled. “The police inspector that came by earlier told us that would be your first question. Normally we can’t talk about a patient’s condition, but there’s a note in your folder that you have been designated as Superman’s next of kin.”
“What? How did that happen?”
“I don’t know how it happened, but there are forms in both of your folders affirming the relationship. You can probably get that changed, but then no one will be able to talk to you about Superman’s condition.”
“No,” Lois said quickly. “I’m glad someone did that. I was just surprised. So, how is Superman?”
“He’s alive, but he’s in a coma.” The nurse lifted her arm and pointed at the wall to Lois’s left. “He’s actually in the room next door. In fact, that’s why you’re here. Your injuries wouldn’t normally land you in ICU but the police wanted you near Superman so that one guard could watch both of your rooms.”
“Can you tell me any details about what happened?”
“I don’t know much more than was on the news. He was hit by several shots with some kind of bullets that hurt him. He was in surgery for nearly 10 hours while the surgeon dug out the bullet fragments. Superman’s hand is pretty messed up and so is his chest.”
Lois was sure that the bullets had to be Kryptonite. “I have information that might help with his treatment. Would it be possible for me to talk with his doctor?”
“Of course. That’s probably part of the reason that you were identified as a relative.”
“Thanks,” Lois said. “Can I see Superman?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know. On our documents you’re a relative, but the guard hasn’t let anyone in his room that isn’t on his list. Even the nurses and doctors that go in there have to have clearance.”
“I should be on that list,” Lois protested. “Do you know who made it?”
“No, but that police inspector wanted to be notified as soon as you were awake. If you feel up to talking, I’ll let my supervisor know and she’ll call the police.”
“I’m ready. Anything if it’ll get me in to see Superman.”
Lois watched the nurse go back to the station. She spoke briefly with the woman that Lois guessed was the supervisor and then started back. “We’re going to notify the police. You’ll probably have a few visitors today.”
“Really, who do you mean?”
“I imagine your boyfriend will be coming by,” Peggy replied brightly.
The only person that was even close to carrying title was in a coma next door. “My boyfriend?” Lois asked.
“Lex Luthor. We don’t get celebrities visiting very often.”
Lois felt a cold chill. “Lex isn’t my boyfriend. We broke up last week.”
The nurse looked suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. His name was on your contact list. We thought…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Lois was not excited about seeing Lex, but whatever Lex was up to, Lois was sure she’d have a better chance of finding out what was going on if she kept that channel of communication open. The old Sun-Tzu quote came to mind, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Lex definitely fell into the second category.
~~~***~~~
Peggy hadn’t been gone more than ten minutes when she heard a knock on her door. She looked up to see a handsome man with red hair. “Ms. Lane? I’m Dr. Anderson. I’m Superman’s doctor.”
Lois was instantly awake. “Doctor, can you please tell me how he’s doing?”
Dr. Anderson responded with a huge smile. “Inspector Henderson told me that would be your first question. With privacy laws the way they are, he figured that if we didn’t find some way to talk to you about Superman’s condition, you would have to be… well, he said we’d probably have to tie you down and gag you. Since that was clearly unacceptable, he worked with a judge to expedite the ruling of your next of kin status. You might want to thank him when you see him.”
That was very thoughtful of Bill. “I will,” Lois replied. “So what’s Superman’s condition?”
“There were five gunshot wounds. The bullets seemed to be able to penetrate his body, but not reliably. Three of the wounds were very shallow. But two bullets penetrated more deeply. One went into his shoulder and the other hit a rib and shattered. Superman’s rib is broken, but it stopped the bullet and probably saved his life.”
“Were the bullets made of a green crystal?”
The doctor’s face grew hard. “Why do you ask?”
It was clear to Lois that she’d hit the mark. Lois looked out the window. There were nurses and aids coming and going. “Would you please close the door?”
The doctor looked confused for a second then closed the door. While he did that Lois made sure the intercom was off. “I really do know more about Superman than most people. That green crystal is called Kryptonite. Did you get all of it out of Superman?”
“We were able to remove all of the larger pieces. The two bullets that penetrated more deeply shattered. We removed the larger fragments and we did our best to get it all, but there may be some very small fragments remaining. We had to balance the effect of the fragments against the time he’d been in surgery.”
“Under normal circumstances Superman heals much faster than a normal person,” Lois explained. “But Kryptonite is poisonous to him. Based on what Superman has told me about his previous experience with Kryptonite, if there is any left in his body, it could kill him.”
“He’s in a coma. If what you say is true, we may need to risk a second surgery. Is there anyone else that you’d suggest I talk to for authorization?”
“No. Just me,” Lois answered quickly. She figured she could call Martha and Jonathan and relay their wishes. “But with the pain killers I’m getting, I’m not sure I’m competent to make that decision today unless it’s an emergency.”
“It won’t be today,” the doctor replied. “I want to watch him for 24 hours. If he’s worse tomorrow morning I’d like to talk about going in again. We would have to remove some more tissue in the vicinity of the wounds. Since Superman isn’t exactly a normal patient, I’ve been in contact with a scientist out of Star Labs to get input on how best to treat him. I’ll see if the Star Labs scientist can suggest anything that will allow us to locate any tiny fragments might still be there.”
“Please do whatever you can,” Lois pleaded. “The world needs Superman.” And she needed Clark.
~~~***~~~
Lois found it hard to stay awake. Her doctor had come by and told her that that she would stay overnight and that if everything looked okay in the morning, she’d be discharged.
Based on her conversation with Peggy, Lois had been expecting visitors this morning. She was reading a magazine when she heard a voice at the door. “Lois, I was so worried.” It was Lex. He came in and walked to the side of her bed. He looked like he was genuinely concerned about her condition.
She composed herself. “Hi, Lex. Thanks for coming by, but it wasn’t necessary.”
He looked hurt. “Lois, I know you wanted some time to find yourself, but you can’t expect me to turn off my feelings. I was watching the coverage of Superman’s press conference. When I saw you on the ground my heart almost stopped.”
He sounded far more sincere today. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as Clark had thought. Then she shook herself. What was she thinking?! It must be the drugs again. How could she forget all the things she’d seen this last ten days? Whatever Lex did or didn’t do, this all started because of LNN. Suddenly she felt an overwhelming surge of anger. “Lex, this whole mess was your doing. My getting shot… Superman getting shot… You did all of it. Just leave.” Her voice was bitter and angry. She knew she was angry, but usually she was better at keeping her opinions to herself. Part of her was wondering where this was coming from but she didn’t seem to be able to control it.
Lex’s mouth dropped open. “Lois, what…”
She felt another rush of anger and the words came boiling out again. “I saw the LNN talking heads rousing the public against Superman. Tell me, Lex: What does the L in LNN stand for?” She paused for only an instant but Lex seemed frozen in surprise. Then she continued in a tone of sarcastic surprise. “Wait, I know. It stands for Luthor.” Her voice switched back to pure anger. “It was
your people on
your station that did this to me. Why are you here? Did you come to shoot me again? Just get out!”
Lex was standing there as if he’d been slapped. He clearly didn’t know how to react to Lois like this. “But, Lois, I…”
Lois could feel the rage burning. “Get out!” she yelled.
Then Peggy was at the door. “Sir, you need to leave.” Without another word, Lex turned and started to leave.
Lois was still angrier than she could ever remember as she watched Peggy stop him just outside the door. Peggy had lowered her voice but Lois could still hear their exchange. “Mr. Luthor.”
“What?” Lex replied shortly.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t think to warn you ahead of time. The medication that Ms. Lane is on can cause people to lose control of their anger. I’ve seen this before. The littlest thing can cause people to blow up.”
Lex seemed to consider this for a moment. “I see. When she calms down, would please tell her that I would like to see her but only if she wants me to come by.”
“I will.”
Lex glanced back into her room and then turned away and was gone in an instant. Peggy came over to the door. “Lois, are you okay?”
The anger was still there but not nearly so intense. “Yes. Peggy, what happened?”
“I am so sorry, Lois. If I’d known there was a chance you’d get upset, I would have warned you. One of the possible side effects of your medication is that some people have a hard time keeping their emotions in check. It’s usually only a problem if a patient gets angry. Because of the way you reacted, I’ll be talking to your doctor about reducing your medication. In the meantime, if you feel yourself getting angry, take a deep breath.”
“I’ll try,” Lois replied. As Peggy walked away, Lois reviewed what she’d said to Lex. She’d known what she was saying and these were all the things she wanted to say. However, normally she’d have never actually voiced that anger. There probably wasn’t any harm done. She hadn’t revealed anything that she shouldn’t and Lex deserved it. Still, unless there was some way to take Lex down immediately, she should probably apologize. The Sun-Tzu quote came to mind again. There was more to gain by maintaining a cordial relationship with Lex. She’d see about getting the medication adjusted and try to see him tomorrow.
~~~***~~~
It was mid-afternoon before she had her next visitor. “Lane, is it safe to come in?”
“Come on in, Bill. It’s good to see you.”
Bill Henderson came in and sat in the guest chair. “How do you feel, Lois?”
“Pretty good,” she answered. “I’m noticing the pain more than this morning. They had to change my pain meds after I tore Lex’s head off.”
Bill smiled and shook his head. “I heard. The nurse warned me before I came in that I was not to get you angry.”
“I think I’ve got a handle on things now. Bill, first off I wanted to thank you for making arrangements for me to have access to Superman’s condition.”
Bill laughed. “Well part of it was self-preservation. I didn’t want you coming after the hospital staff or me. Besides, he needs someone close to him having that sort of input.”
“Still, I really appreciate you taking the time to make this happen,” Lois said. “I owe you and I won’t forget. Now, can you get me on the list to see Superman? I know he’s in a coma. I just want to be able to hold his hand and talk to him.”
“Sure, Lois. I’ll take care of it before I leave. Have they said when you’ll be able to go home?”
“Maybe tomorrow. They’re going to let me know in the morning.”
“Lois, at the press conference, what happened?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you. Why didn’t your officer do something sooner?”
“I don’t understand,” Bill replied.
Lois was about to reply when Bill held up his hand. “Why don’t you walk me through the events that preceded Superman’s shooting?”
“Okay. Right after people stopped throwing stuff at Superman I saw this policeman acting… I don’t know… fidgety or something. Then I saw him start to take out his gun. It was really slow, sort of like he was waiting for something to happen.”
“Hold it,” Bill interrupted. “Was this before Superman was shot?”
Lois felt a surge of irritation similar to what she’d felt when Lex was here. “If you’ll let me finish I’ll get to that,” she replied sharply.
Bill looked startled by her reaction. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
She took a deep breath. Lois reminded herself that Bill was her friend and was here to help. “I saw the officer looking at something over to my right. I looked that direction to try to see what had caused him to take out his gun. At first, I didn’t see anything, but then I saw that guy reach into his coat and pull out a gun. He started shooting and I charged him. I remember knocking his arm down. Then I remember pain and hearing a shot from behind me.”
Henderson was quiet for a moment. “Lois, are you sure? I mean of the sequence.”
“Of course I’m sure!” There was that anger again. This time she made sure to wait until the anger had passed. Bill seemed to sense what was happening and just waited for her to continue. After nearly a minute, Lois felt like she could go on. She forced herself to be calm. “Yes, Bill. I’m certain of what happened. The officer had his gun out and was watching the guy before anything else happened. It was the officer’s actions that caused me to notice the gunman.”
Henderson was quiet for a moment. “What do you think happened?” he asked.
“Honestly, Bill, I don’t know. When I saw the guy pull the gun out, I remember thinking that the officer must have seen something suspicious. Once the guy shot Superman, I don’t remember thinking much of anything. I still can’t believe your officer waited so long, and then when he finally decided to act, he shot me.”
“Neither can I,” Bill replied somberly. “Lois, the internal investigation is still underway and it wouldn’t be fair for me to speculate until I’ve had the chance to interview the officer.”
~~~***~~~
Lois was finally alone with Clark. She’d gotten on the admittance list in the early afternoon, but waited to see Clark. She kept hoping Clark would wake up but it never happened. It was now just before 7:00 p.m. As she looked at Clark, she was struck by how little he looked like Superman right now.
She sat in the chair by his bed and took his hand in hers. “Can you hear me?” she asked. “I hope you can. You need to get well. A lot of people need you. I need you.” She was struggling for words. She desperately wanted to talk to him, but she didn’t dare use his real name. She could call him Superman, but she didn’t want to call him that when they were alone. For all the good it enabled him to do, Clark didn’t want to be known as Superman. Lois would never again risk him thinking she cared more for the false-front than she cared for the person.
She stayed like that for nearly fifteen minutes. It was so frustrating. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to tell him how afraid she was that he might die. She’d finally found him. He’d been there for a year but he’d been hidden.
She needed to go. Just the exertion of sitting here was starting to affect her. She stood, but instead of turning to go, she leaned over so she could whisper in his ear. “I love you, Clark.”
TBC
