I know it's been a while... so long everybody's probably forgotten about this thing. I'd originally said it was 22 parts, but it might not make it. I do hope I haven't worn out my welcome with this one. Thanks for continuing to read.
Be warned... this part is definitely PG-13!
Enjoy!
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His mom had been right; Lois was awake. She'd showered and was brushing her hair. "Hey," she told him when he walked in.
"Hey." He went over to sit down on the chair at the end of her bed, watching her pull the brush through her hair.
"More nightmares?"
"Something like that," he answered as he stood and began to pace.
She stopped, placed her brush on the vanity, and turned to wait for him to continue. There was something on his mind and apparently it was pretty serious.
"Lois," he began as he shoved a hand through his hair. "You never said how you felt about the things I told you happened with Zara."
"I know about the other night you spent with her," she told him softly.
He stopped and looked up at her.
"I read about it last night." She held up another of his notebooks. "I won't lie to you. I was a little hurt when you first told me about the things you shared with her. And when I read about how much she'd meant to you that night..." She looked down at the notebook in her hands. "I asked myself what I'd have done in your shoes, in hers. We'd never made promises..."
"It still doesn't make me feel better."
"Nor did it make me feel better when I first read it. I didn't exactly sit at home the entire time you were gone. I've dated a time or two because I was lonely."
"And that's okay," he said as he stepped toward her.
"But my heart was always with you, so there was never anything but a couple of dinners with some nice guys." She placed the notebook on the vanity before continuing. "Actually, I'm grateful to Zara. If it hadn't been for her, you might not have ever been able to come home to me."
Clark dropped his head, pain piercing his heart over how he felt. "I, ah, I... There's part of me that loved her," he said quietly.
"I know." She waited until he looked back up at her. "She sent you back to where she knew you needed to be. That takes a great love. I wouldn't have been able to do that. I'd have been selfish and kept you for myself."
"If I'd stayed..."
"I know," she said with tear filled eyes. She knew. If he'd stayed, he would have eventually become Zara's husband. Both might have lost their hearts to someone else, but they would have dealt with their new destiny. They would have loved one another as passionately and as completely as their wounded hearts would have allowed them to.
"I never *fell* in love with her, not like I did with you."
Lois rose and approached him. "I know," she said again. Not only did she know, she understood. "There's part of me that loves Zara. She gave you back to me." She rubbed his face, her thumb stroking the soft skin under his right eye.
He stared into her eyes, searching for anything that would tell him she might have doubts about them being together. He only found love- a little deeper than was there before. He lifted his hand to cup her face. "How did I ever get lucky enough to find you?"
"I'm only glad you decided to come home." She'd read that, too. How he'd come to the realization that he'd never be the same again without her.
Clark pulled her against him for a hug, allowing her to wrap around his very soul. After a moment, he drew back and kissed her softly. "I'm glad you decided that you wanted me to be home," he told her.
"There was never anywhere I wanted you to be more than with me."
"I know." He wrapped his arms around her loosely. "You don't know how much I regret pushing you away."
"That was another time, Clark. We can't keep dwelling on that."
"I know." His hands roamed up and down her back. "I seem to remember somebody telling me we could fool around a little today," he said with a sly grin.
"You remember that?" she asked with wide eyes.
"I felt good, but I was a long way from being drunk." Leaning down, he trailed a few kisses down her neck.
She tilted her head to give him better access, wondering just why it was they were waiting to reunite physically.
"Clark!"
He growled and lifted his head at the sound of his father's call. "Yeah, Dad?" A light tap sounded on Lois' door. "It's open."
Jonathan opened the door, cautiously sticking his head in. "I did't mean to disturb you two."
"It's okay, Dad. I was about to ravish Lois, but it can wait." He pulled away from her to face his dad, but kept one arm around her shoulders.
His dad chuckled softly. "Well, now, I wouldn't dare ruin a man's plans." He and Clark shared a laugh, but Lois just smacked Clark on his arm. "I was talking to Sam yesterday and well... I could use some help this morning."
Clark's face lit up like a child receiving a new toy. "Just give me a second to get dressed." He kissed Lois quickly. "Do you mind?"
"No, go help your dad."
"Thanks, baby. I'll see you at lunch." And he was gone.
Jonathan turned back to Lois after watching Clark practically run from the room. "If I'd known asking him to help would do that to him, I'd have asked the day he came back."
Lois approached the older man, reaching out to take his arm as they made their way toward the stairs. "He told me he wants to feel like he's contributing."
"Yeah, that's what Sam said."
"Do you know he's planning on asking you if he can stay on here to help out?"
"I got that impression from my conversation with your father." They stopped at the top of the landing. "Do you think he'll be happy here?"
"I'm not sure he'll be happy anywhere, but here. He's not the same man, and I just don't see the city or the fast pace of journalism ever keeping him content again."
"Neither do I," came the voice of the man they were discussing.
"Sorry, boy. We didn't mean to talk about you behind your back," his dad told him.
"It's okay." Clark lifted his hand to rub his dad's shoulder. "So, how about it? Do you think you could use another pair of hands around here all the time?"
"Clark, you know I've always wanted to be able to leave my farm to you. And I've missed working alongside you ever since you left for college. But..."
"I knew there was a but," he moaned.
"I only want you to help in the mornings for at least the next two weeks. The afternoons are reserved for this here beautiful lady and your son. You still need to get to know them. Soon enough Lois will go back to work and Lane will be in school. We can work then."
"And when my powers come back, things will become a whole lot easier for you," Clark told him.
"Now that I won't mind. My old bones are really starting to tell my age." They all chuckled. "I don't want you here just to be a work horse. I want you to learn the business."
Clark shared a knowing look with Lois. "I told Lois the same thing."
"Then I guess I have myself a partner," Jonathan said as he stuck out his hand to his son.
"I guess you do," Clark agreed as he took the hand offered.
"Welcome home, son." Jonathan smiled softly, then began his trip back down the stairs. "Get a move on! Breakfast is getting cold and daylight's a wasting!"
Clark laughed soflty. "I sure have missed him," he told Lois.
"He's missed you, too."
"Come on. I'll buy you breakfast."
"You're on, farmboy."
He just shook his head with a grin on his face as they headed for the kitchen. He'd dearly missed this woman.
****
Lois looked up to watch Clark across the room. He'd put Lane to bed earlier and now he was just sitting there staring unseeingly at the television. He did a lot of that. He'd shared stories about his time on New Krypton. Horror stories in her opinion. She'd held him when he'd cried. She'd laughed with him. She'd listened, she'd read his notebooks, and she'd watched. For over a week she'd mostly watched him. He was so different... quiet now.
He'd started helping his dad in the mornings a few days ago, and the work had done wonders for his outlook. There was a new kick in his step that hadn't been there before. There was also a different look on his face.
In the afternoons, he'd take her and Lane swimming at her folks, fishing at one of the ponds, exploring the farm, or they'd stay in and play games. Mostly there was a lot of talking and a lot of laughing. It was so good to have him home.
Suddenly he turned and looked at her. "Let's go flying."
"Your powers are back?" she asked in surprise. That was another thing he hadn't mentioned. And she hadn't asked. She hadn't asked anything of him. He'd talk when he was ready.
He stood and approached her. "Come on." He offered her his hand and grinned when she automatically took it. His parents smiled at one another as the couple stepped onto the porch.
Clark led her out into the grass and turned to grasp her sides. "Wonder if this is like riding a bike?"
"Should I be worried?" Lois asked playfully.
"Not a bit," he replied and lifted them into the air.
Lois gasped slightly and drew just bit closer to him.
"Since I've been back I've felt... I don't know... like something was wrong," he began as he moved them under the blanket of stars. "Now I know what it was. I missed being... me."
Tears filled her eyes as she understood exactly what he meant.
"I've been here in body only. But I think I'm ready to actually *be* home." He grinned brightly. "Hold on." And with that, he tucked Lois against his side and they sliced through the night air.
****
"That was so great," Lois said excitedly as they tiptoed into their room. Clark had moved his things into her room earlier that day, refusing to sleep alone any longer. Nearly every night he'd wake and come to her. And he'd been the perfect gentleman, simply holding her as they would lie in bed at night. They'd often talk into the early hours of morning. He'd sleep deeply, but just as often he was restless. Nightmares of his time on New Krypton refused to release their handle on him.
A wide smile graced his lips, his body positively humming with life. He'd felt his powers returning a couple of days ago, although the power of flight escaped him until today.
Lois continued to rattle on about their flight while she gathered her clothes to change for bed. When she turned, she had to stifle a gasp. Clark had taken off his shirt and an almost predatory look was on his face.
"Clark?"
"Why don't you ever kiss me, Lois?" he asked, taking her by surprise.
"What? I kiss you all the time."
"No," he started as he moved toward her. "You accept my kisses."
"I kiss you back," she defended herself.
"You haven't initiated the first kiss. It's not often you touch me unless I've touched you first." He'd made it to her, his face just inches from hers.
"You're right," Lois admitted shamefully. "I haven't, have I?"
"Nope," he replied with a shake of his head.
"I wanted to give you time to adjust."
"*You* needed time to adjust. If it had been up to me, we'd have made love the first day... and every day since."
Is that why she hadn't made any advances? Had she needed time?
"It's okay, honey," he told her as he lifted a hand to gently cup her face. "I know it's been a lot to deal with."
She felt like kicking herself. This man, who'd learned about a son he never knew, who'd patiently gotten to know that boy over the past week, he was telling her he understood. Suddenly it made no sense at all to waste another second.
Lois dropped her clothes and thrust herself into Clark's arms. They kissed frantically, as if to devour the other. She vaguely heard material ripping. Who cared?!
Not another second, she thought as she worked to help rid Clark of his clothes.
He wasn't sure how they'd ended up on the bed, clothes part way off, but he wasn't about to stop now.
A cold sweat drenched his head as he gave himself over to this woman once again.
Home! He was finally home!
"That was..." He heaved to catch his breath.
"Wow!" she finished.
"I was thinking... quick." He shifted, pulling away from her.
"What did you expect?" She still couldn't move.
"I don't know," he said as he pulled his clothes off completely. "Something a little more..." He closed his eyes as he shifted his body over hers again.
"More?" she finished for him with a contented sigh.
"Yeah," he agreed as he leaned to capture her lips in a kiss. "You know... this might..." he began between kisses. "...ah.... not be... ooo..." He sucked in a sharp breath when she nibbled on his neck. "... the best...ah, ah, time... to mention it..." He kissed the side of her neck. "But we haven't taken precautions... again."
A brief panick rushed through Lois, but then she smiled. Would it be so bad if they created another baby? "Don't stop," she replied.
They'd discuss birth control later, Clark thought as her tongue slipped into his mouth. Much, much later. There had to be worse things than Lois becoming pregnant again.
****
Clark lay with his arm across his forehead, his body spent. He and Lois had made love three times since entering their room. It had been even better than he'd remembered. He glanced over at her. She was staring at the ceiling, a look of pure satisfaction on her face.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I am now," she told him as she rolled over to look at him. "That was better than I remember."
He chuckled softly. "I was just thinking the same thing." He rolled so they were face to face. "Let's start planning our wedding tomorrow."
"I thought you were going to propose properly."
"I am. Our folks are keeping Lane over the weekend and you and I are going away."
"We are?"
"Yep. I wanted to wait until my powers were back because I plan on flying us to a little place in the Carribean."
"That sounds sinful," she told him with a grin.
"You have no idea," he said as he reached out to trail his hand over her hip, instantly reminded of another time he'd done the same thing. He leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "The cabana's on the beach, fully stocked, very private." Another soft kiss.
"I should shower."
Lois blinked in surprise when she found herself pinned against the wall in the shower, a warm spray cascading down on them as Clark held his mouth a mere breath away from hers.
"Tell me yes, Lois. I want you."
Yes, they'd made love several times that first night, in several different positions and places. But she'd never seen this look on his face. He looked like an animal about to pounce his prey.
"Yes, oh, God, yes, Clark!" She breathed and wrapped her arms around his neck as he devoured her in the most incredible kiss yet.
He was invading her senses like nothing ever had, not even the previous times they'd made love. They'd come full circle; he claimed her and she'd claimed him. They were truly part of one another.
"That was..." he panted.
"I know."
They stared at one another in disbelief. They'd just shared themselves on an almost cosmic level, neither quite believing what had just happened between them.
Her hand lifted to cup his face. "My beautiful super man."
"My beautiful Lois," he replied before he leaned to kiss her tenderly. "I love you so much," he told her as he folded her into a hug.
"And I love you," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. If she'd thought this man was vital to her survival before, she'd been sadly mistaken.
