Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Everywhere 16/22

Hopefully this isn't too late in coming. Trying to stay on top of things, despite a hectic RL.

Enjoy!

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Lois and Clark set out with a picnic lunch hand in hand. They really didn't have a destination in mind other than somewhere together.

"I've been thinking," Lois began to break the silence.

"About?"

"Us, the future."

"And?"

"And, when I moved to the farm, it was simply self preservation. Yes, I longed and prayed for you to come back. When you did, I planned for us to move back to the city and pick up where we left off."

Clark pulled on her hand to stop her. "We can't pick up where we left off. Too much has happened."

"I know. So much more than I've thought would. That's why..." She stopped, looking away.

"Tell me," he urged.

"The farm is the only home Lane has ever known. And your parents, my parents- they're here. Then there's my job."

"Lois."

"Yes?"

"I'm not sure if I want to go back to the city, either."

Her brows rose in surprise. "Really?"

"Really."

"What about Superman?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that, too." He started to walk again and she followed. "It's been a very long time since I've been Superman. And there's so much I've dealt with on New Krypton. I'm afraid that might have tainted my view of things where he's concerned."

It was Lois that stopped him this time. "Are you saying you don't want to be Superman again?"

"I'm saying I might want to scale back. The world has apparently done well in my absense. Yeah, I know I'll be expected to be everybody's hero, but I have to be able to be my own savior first. Not to mention I have other responsibilities now. I'd really like to be Lane's dad."

"But can you turn a deaf ear to this world?"

"I don't think that would be a problem living on the farm. And I'm not planning on totally disappearing. I'll still help out with the big stuff."

"And what will you do on the farm?"

"I thought maybe I'd help Dad. Maybe learn a bit more about farming and business, expand the farm some more. I'd also like to take care of my son as much as possible."

"You sound like you've given this a lot of thought."

"I have." He glanced behind him toward a grove of oak trees. "Come on. Let's set up under that big tree over there."

She nodded and followed his lead. She'd follow him anywhere. From the sounds of it, she wouldn't have far to go. Had he really given thought to staying on the farm? Would he be satified here once his powers returned? And if he wasn't satisfied, could she make a life where ever he chose to go?

She watched him spread their blanket and smiled. She would make a life on a yurt if that's what he wanted. But she really hoped he could be happy here. It was funny how priorties changed.

****

Clark was leaned back on his outstretched arm, watching a couple of squirrels fighting over a nut. He and Lois had talked, mostly about world events that had taken place in his absense. She told him about a terrorist attack that had taken place in September of the year before. Two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. Another had crashed into the Pentagon and another in a field in Pennsylvania. He felt absolutely horrible that so many lives had been taken, stolen from them by a group that felt they should control the world. But if there was one thing he'd learned while he'd been gone, it was his limits. Yes, he could have saved countless lives if he'd been here. However, unless he'd known it was going to happen before time, there was no way he could have stopped those planes from crashing. And even if he could have stopped one, there was certainly no way to have stopped four.

"You couldn't have stopped them, Clark."

"I know," he said sadly.

"The most you could have hoped for was to help dig out survivors."

"Yeah," he agreed, but it didn't help right now. He still felt awful so many had perished.

"You'd be so proud of the heroes that emerged from this tragedy. Mankind has learned they are stronger than they thought they were."

"And they're fighting now?"

"Unfortunately. But what else was there to do?"

Clark sighed and pushed himself up, wrapping his arms around his bent legs. "That's another lesson I learned the hard way. There are times when that's simply the only way."

"It's a shame, but it's true," Lois agreed. "Maybe once your powers are back, you can do something."

"I won't step in and try to take over. That would negate all the progress made to this point."

"I know," Lois told him. "But maybe you could influence them to find another way."

"I'll only offer assistance if I'm asked."

"Good enough," she said because she certainly understood what he said. And he was right. If he stepped in, there would be those that took that as a sign they were incapable of taking care of themselves. The attacks had been a dark day in history, but it had also taught a few very valuable lessons. One was that man needed man to survive.

Clark pointed out across the field. "My folks found me right over there."

"I know. They told me."

He stood and began walking toward the spot he'd pointed out. "I wonder what they were thinking that day," he said without looking to see if Lois was behind him. He knew she would be there.

"They probably felt a bit like I do about Lane."

"I've asked myself a million times if they loved me so much, how in hell could they bind me at birth to someone they'd never met and might never meet. For a race of intelligent people, they were... not very smart." He bent and picked up a rock, then threw it across the field.

He was angry, Lois realized. More than anything, he was angry about what had happened. Would he ever tell her everything? She hoped he would.

Clark turned to her, an expression she couldn't quite dissern on his face. Finally he smiled and she felt her entire world brighten.

"What do you say we get our picnic cleaned up and go see if our boy's home yet?" he asked her.

"That sounds like a great idea." She took the hand he offered and moved back toward their blanket to pack up. As they worked together in silence, she decided that whatever he offered she'd take because having him home was worth so much more.

****

Clark stepped into the hallway from Lane's room. He'd read his son a book and made sure he was tucked in tightly. Instead of heading toward his room, he turned down the hall toward Lois'. They'd already said goodnight, but he needed to see her just one more time before he went to bed.

"Come in," Lois called when she heard the soft rap on her door. "Hey, you," she said when Clark stepped inside. "Something wrong?"

"Not now," Clark said with a grin. "I just wanted to see you again." He leaned back against the closed door and folded his arms across his chest.

"I'm glad," she told him as she climbed onto her bed and folded her legs. "I was just on the phone with my mother."

"And?"

"She wants us to come for lunch tomorrow."

"Sounds fine with me."

"Are you ready for the world?"

"I have to get back into it sometime." He pushed away from the door and went to sit on the chair in front of her vanity. "Is Ellen just now finding out I'm back?" he asked as he perused the items before him.

"No. I called her the other day. She and Daddy understood our need to reconnect."

"Do they know?" he asked without looking away from the items before him.

"Yes," she answered, knowing exactly what he meant. "I confided in them when I was pregnant with Lane. I know it wasn't my secret to tell, but..."

"It's okay," he said as he picked up a particularly interesting item.

Lois blushed when she saw what it was he held.

"Kryptonian women had periods, too," Clark offered as he inspected the tampon in his hand. "But only three times a year. Medical science had advanced to the point that they could control the frequency with hormone injections." He finally put the offending item back down. "They didn't believe that it was very sanitary for women to have one every month."

"It's certainly aggravating," Lois told him, feeling even more heat taint her cheeks.

"I can imagine," he said as he reached for another item. It was Lois' brush. He picked it up and rose to walk over to the bed. "May I?" he asked when he sat down.

"Ah, sure," she answered and turned around to give him access to her head.

"They're a... unemotional race of people," he said after a few strokes. "They would never talk about something like a woman's cycle."

"I honestly didn't think you'd ever do it, either," Lois admitted, the embarrassment again heating her cheeks.

Clark stopped moving the brush. "I hope that we get to the point where we can talk about everything," he said.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Me, too, but..."

"But what?" He pulled the brush away from her head, dropping his hands to his lap. "If you can't tell me that you're dying of cramps, how will I know to get you some aspirin?" He said that with a grin, but he was serious.

"I know that." She waved her hands dramatically like he was supposed to understand what she meant.

And apparently he did. He turned her around to face him fully. "I would hope we're way past that stage."

"What stage?"

"That shy, 'everything's embarrassing', first kiss, first time I've bulched in front of you stage. You know all those awkward little things you do in private that you don't want anyone to know about. Well, I want us to get past that. I want us to be able to share anything without embarrassment. That includes talking about tampons or midol. Sheez, Lois, I watched the video earlier of you giving birth."

"That's different! You would have seen that in person if you'd been here."

"And we'd already be past this conversation." He turned her again so that he could continue to brush her hair. "I know we never made it very far in our relationship before, but too much precious time has escaped us. We can't afford to waste another minute obsessing about things so trivial. You're a woman; you have a period. You need things for it. We both have bodily functions and itches, little quirks we'd rather no one knew about. And there will probably be more times that we have to discuss things we're not comfortable with."

He was right; she knew that. Still, to have him talk about it so openly... "You're so..."

"Different?"

"I was thinking... more." She leaned around to see his face again. "When I was growing up, I always dreamed about this wonderful man coming along to sweep me off my feet." She grinned at him. "I never thought one would do that literally." He grinned back. "I dreamed of a man I could talk to, really talk to. Even about bodily functions." She said that with a crinkle of her nose. "I found that with you. We might not have made it to that stage back then, but we would have gotten there."

Clark lifted his hand and reverently caressed her face. "I'm so glad to be home," he whispered.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of his hand on her skin. All too soon, the spell was broken and he began brushing her hair again. He started talking about things on New Krypton. She sighed and happily gave herself over to him.

****

Lois rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes to total darkness. She must have fallen asleep while Clark was brushing her hair. For a moment she felt a tinge of embarrassment, but then their conversation came back to her. If she couldn't fall asleep with Clark, then who could she fall asleep with?

He was there, beside her on the bed. She turned her head to look at him. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. "Clark?" At first he didn't seem to hear her. "Are you okay?"

Finally he blinked and his eyes met hers in the shadows. "Couldn't sleep?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

He rolled to face her and lifted his hand to smooth the hair back away from her face. "Will you marry me?"

"Absolutely," she said without a second's hesitation.

"I intend to ask you again when I can propose properly."

"Is that why you were lying awake staring at the ceiling?"

He moved his hand down her neck and over her shoulder. "I woke up because I had another nightmare."

"Want to talk about it?"

He sighed, then gently pushed her back so he could lay his head on her stomach. She began to idly play in his hair as he started to talk. "Right before the end of the fighting came, Nor took a village hostage. He raped dozens of woman and young girls." Her hands stilled briefly. "I'd reached my limits with Council and insisted I lead the raid on the village. Council made the decision that the... lives of countless people were more important than those of the ones in that village. They'd made the decision to sacrifice them for the good of the world."

Lois wanted to cry out because she knew how much pain that decision had cost her gentle boy scout. He'd probably fought it tooth and nail, arguing feverishly for the lives of innocent people, even if it was just one. Instead, she continued to smooth her hands through his hair to offer him comfort as well as the courage to continue.

"Nor was supposed to be inside the main hall in the center of town. We entered the building, unobstructed, to find six little girls lying naked in their own blood. They'd been repeatedly raped, beaten, and eventually their throats had been slashed." He reached out to squeeze her arm. "I heard the shouting, then Ching grabbed me. I didn't realize what had happened until I'd hit the ground. We'd just managed to get out before the building blew up."

An involuntary gasp escaped Lois' lips before she could stop it. She'd come so close to losing him and would have never even known it.

"We were thirty strong when we went in. Ten remained afterwards. Ching was the one who found Nor. We began door to door searches. He was there, ravaging a poor woman in front of her kids. So sure that we'd die in his trap, he'd taken the time to do that!" He spat the last words and rolled back over on his back.

He was upset. Lois watched his chest rise and fall heavily as he tried to calm himself. She remained quiet; he needed to get this out.

"How does a man do that?" Clark pushed himself up to lean against the headboard. "Those kids didn't talk for a year. Rape was not something that happened on New Krypton. With wives and concubines men didn't need to rape anyone."

"Concubines?" Lois asked before she could stop herself. She, too, sat up.

"Yeah. Real bright race of people, huh?" He ran a hand through his hair. "They're okay now, the kids. At least as okay as one can be after seeing something like that. The woman..." He stared off across the room. "She reminded me of you. She had incredible strength. Never concentrated on herself, just fought to get her kids better. And she did it while she carried that monster's baby."

"Oh, God!" Lois covered her mouth with her hand. That poor woman.

"Her husband was killed during the war, so he never knew. And through all of that, she was a rock." He half turned to Lois. "That's what woke me up. She reminded me of you. I can imagine you fighing for Lane like that."

"How about the baby?"

"She kept it, Lois. Beautiful little brown haired girl. I dubbed her nobility on her second birthday just before I left."

"I don't think I could have ever been that strong," Lois said softly.

"I hope we never have to find out." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, then hugged her close.

They sat in silence for a while, just soaking up the emotions rolling off each other in waves. "I don't mean to sound like I'm questioning why you asked me to marry you, but how did you go from that village to asking me to be your wife?"

He smiled before leaning her back to see her face. "Thinking of you brought me out of that nightmare. But not before I woke up. So I lay here in the dark listening to you sleep and letting my mind fill with you. Like it wasn't full enough," he said with a snort of laughter. "My mind just kind of wondered naturally to our future. And when you spoke..." His hand lifted hers, carefully opening it against his. Hers was small in comparison. Her soft skin contrasted with his. "I remember the first time our hands were against each other like this. I was thinking 'how can these small, delicate hands be so strong?'" He carefully wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled her hand to his chest. "I can't wait to see this finger..." He demonstrated which one by gently squeezing it between two of his. "... with a band of gold around it."

Lois smiled tearfully. "I can't wait to wear it." She leaned into the hug he offered, completely content for the first time in years.

Clark held her that way for a moment before he shifted them to lie back down. They lay together, clinging to one another. "Don't ever let me go," he whispered some time later.

"Never," she answered, but to deaf ears. He'd uttered that command in his sleep. Would he ever heal from all the wounds caused by his time on another planet?