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Synopsis of Chapters 1 - 9 Missing Lois - TOC ***
Where we left off in Part 5...They went downstairs holding hands and Penny glanced up from the sofa.
“I didn’t know if you knew I was back,” she said. “I was beginning to wonder if I needed to make more noise.”
Clark tugged on his ear. “I knew.” But Lois still blushed, glancing away.
“I put your lunch in the kitchen,” Penny informed them.
“Lunch! I’m starved,” Clark said, darting off to the kitchen.
“What’s up with him?” he heard Penny ask Lois.
“I have no idea, but whatever it is… I could get used to it,” replied Lois with a snicker of laughter.
Clark grinned. So his wife had liked the afternoon delight.
There were more ‘hot leads’ where that one came from, Honey.“He has never so overtly mentioned his Super skills to me before,” Penny continued.
Clark paused with the last bite of his sandwich halfway to his mouth. He had done that, hadn’t he? What was up with him? He shrugged, popping the sandwich into his mouth. What’s done is done.
Returning to the living room, he tossed Lois a paper bag. “Your lunch, madam. Shall we fly?”
Lois stared at him, her jaw hanging open.
“I’ll drive, while you eat,” Clark continued, picking up his keys and her briefcase from the desk.
She blinked her eyes and nodded. “Sounds good.”
***
Part 6Back at the office, Clark stayed with his wife like a leech in swamp water. Lois shook her head. That sounded like something Lucy El would say.
What was up with Clark, today? Was all this stress over Lara making him worried that something might happen to her as well? But it didn’t feel like his overprotective side. Was it something else?
Lois opened her top desk drawer and reached for the cassettes for her mini-recorder. Her fingers bumped into the white box with the necklace. She opened it up and stared at the heart. It almost seemed to glow within the semi-darkness of her drawer.
Who was it from? Clearly, not from her Superman. But the other Clark? Maybe. He was a more traditional, chocolates and flowers, kind of guy, though. True, it was a roomful of chocolates and a truckload of flowers. Would the other Clark come to her dimension to just leave jewelry on her desk? That didn’t seem like him. Could their separation be harder on him than she thought it was? But he had Ultra Woman? He didn’t need her, right? He had made that clear after Lara was born. Lois didn’t need this dilemma right now. She was trying so hard to rebuild her life with Clark. And she certainly didn’t need her Clark seeing that necklace.
As Lois closed her drawer, a shadow darkened her desk. It was Clark, smiling that sly grin once more. Oh, no, super Romeo was back again and before she could stop him, she was in his arms on the receiving end of another intense kiss.
“Clark!” she gasped. “We’re at work.”
“So,” he murmured. “Everyone knows we’re married.”
Lois pushed on his chest. “Yes, but we don’t need to demonstrate the finer details to them.”
Her husband chuckled at her joke, but she saw the corners of his mouth fold down. Oh, no. She hurt his feelings. Then that wicked grin was back and he slid his hand into hers. “I think we need to get some pencils.”
“Clark, no!” Lois said as he dragged her away from her desk and towards the supply closet.
“No?” he asked, glancing at her forlornly.
“Work, Clark. We need to find that baby. Any luck getting permission to interview that refugee couple?”
Goodness gracious, was he pouting?
Lois chuckled and placed a light kiss on that big extended lip. “I love you, Clark Kent.”
Her man deepened the kiss, then whispered in her ear, “Let’s go home.”
“Clark!” She slapped him on the chest with a giggle, then teased, “You’re acting like you’ve been sprayed with
Revenge.” Oh, my God. That was precisely how he was acting. All emotion, no brain.
“
Revenge doesn’t have any effect on me,” he reminded her with a raised brow and pinched lips.
“Exactly. You’re acting as if it did.” She covered her mouth. “And I took advantage of you in this condition.”
Clark grinned mischievously, pulling her against his chest. “Do so again, Lois. Please.” He batted his eyelashes at her. “Pretty please. I’m begging you.” His face went serious, his voice huskier. “I
need you, Lois.”
Lois swallowed. How was she going to be able to work with a man who was all libido? And she needed him, too. Just not in the same way at the moment. She smiled. Let’s see if this would work… She licked her lips. “Clark, I need you to help with getting that interview with the refugee couple with the missing baby.”
“I know, Lois. But I can’t concentrate on anything but you,” her husband whispered in her ear. Then she heard him take a deep breath and savor it.
“Try. As soon as we get that interview taken care of…” She ran her fingers over his chest. “Then we can go home and make it an early night.”
“Can’t we just…” He motioned his head towards the supply closet.
“Clark.” Lois cleared her throat. “Concentrate, please.”
He started to pout, again.
“Clark, work first, then reward.”
Her husband grinned, pressed a fast – Superman fast – kiss on her lips and then was back at his desk and on the phone seven seconds later. OK, Clark. That was too fast. Not good.
“Wow, Lois. CK still acting up? Did you ask him about…”
Crap. She had forgotten about Windy Wing and the
National Whisperer. Lois grabbed Jimmy’s arm and dragged him into Perry’s office.
“What in the Sam Hill…” Perry said as Lois shut the door and glanced back at Clark. She knew it wouldn’t block the sound from Superman’s ears but she needed back-up.
“Clark’s been dosed with
Revenge,” she explained in a rush.
“Oh, come on, Lois.
Revenge, again?” Perry laughed. “You’re being paranoid.”
She rolled her eyes at Perry and then waved at her husband. Clark sighed and waved back, with a big silly grin on his face.
Perry watched this exchange. “I thought you got rid of all those samples at home.”
“I don’t know where he got sprayed. I don’t even know if it is
Revenge or something else,” she told him honestly. “But I’ve never seen him act like this before.”
Perry turned around and pulled out a CD. “Time to play some Elvis, then.”
“No!” Lois gasped, shaking her head adamantly. “We don’t know what
Revenge would do with someone who was angry. All we’ve seen are the side effects on desire. We don’t want Clark angry.”
Jimmy nodded. “I’m with Lois on this. Let’s not make CK mad. When I got rejected on
Revenge, I walked in front of a truck.”
Disappointed, Perry dropped his CD. “Why don’t you just take him home until it is out of his system?”
Lois glanced out the window at Clark, who was staring at her and nodding quickly. He had heard Perry’s suggestion. Great, she groaned sarcastically, he was listening. “Perry, Clark’s trying to get us an interview with that refugee couple with the missing baby…”
“They aren’t going to let you and Clark anywhere near that couple and you know it,” Perry told her.
“Why not?” she asked defensively.
“Honey, you and Clark have a major conflict of interest. I’m assigning someone else this story.”
“But… But…” Lois stammered. “If we don’t find that couple’s child, they might take Lara away from us.”
Perry’s shoulders fell. “OK, what do you need from me?”
“Let us work on it,” she pleaded with him. “Background stuff, anything. We have to find that child. We just have to.”
“Chief, if I could get some photos of the couple, I could run them through my sketch program, come up with a composite of what their missing child might look like,” Jimmy suggested.
Lois grabbed his arms. “I could kiss you!”
Clark threw open the office door, cracking the glass. “Did you call me, Lois?” he asked, fury just barely contained under the surface of his eyes.
Jimmy took a step back with a gulp. “Lois was just saying how much she liked to kiss you, CK.” That excuse was the weakest she had seen in years, but Clark seemed to cling to it like a life preserver.
“Really?” Clark turned to Lois, taking her hands in his. “Is that what you were saying?”
“Of course, Honey. I’m always telling the guys how much I love you,” Lois said, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I wouldn’t want to kiss anybody else but Clark Kent.”
He snarled. “You mean me or just any old Clark Kent?”
Lois swallowed. He would bring that up. “You and only you, Clark.” She kissed him again.
Perry stood there, staring at Clark, then he glanced at Jimmy and then back at Lois and Clark. “OK, you two, go home. Rest. Get this out of your system,” he told them. “Take the whole weekend, if you have to… you already were planning on taking it anyway.”
Clark grinned wickedly, pulling Lois closer. Just what he wanted to hear. “Let’s go, Honey.”
“Hold on,” Lois told him, staring at Perry.
“We’ve got this interview thing covered. As soon as we’ve got that composite sketch, we’ll call you. Jimmy, how accurate is this sketch program of yours?”
Jimmy glanced at her and Clark, then back at Perry. “Pretty accurate, Chief.”
Lois’s brow furrowed. What was that look for? “Perry, to whom are you assigning this story?”
“I don’t know… Ralph?”
“Why don’t you make it Barry? Nothing’s happening on the Superman front,” suggested Clark. He snuggled up next to Lois’s ear. “He’s taking the weekend off, too.”
“But, Lois, what about…”
She glared at Jimmy and he got the hint. “Right, just gossip.”
“What gossip?” asked Clark, turning Lois around to face him.
“Ow.” She cringed and he let go of her arms.
“I’m sorry, Honey. What gossip?”
Lois rubbed her biceps. “Just the usual stuff. What was the latest, Jimmy? Superman has a new girlfriend?” She laughed.
“Yep, that’s the one,” Jimmy place a grin on his face. “As if.”
“As if, what, Jimmy? As if he could get a date? He’s dated, before. He dated Lois,” Clark retorted with a growl.
Lois cringed, again, as Perry looked at her with raised eyebrows. “That’s not true, Clark. I
never dated Superman. We had dinner once or twice. We may have kissed a few times. But we never officially dated. Anyway, that’s ancient history. Superman has volunteered to take Clark, Lara, and I to Kansas, if we get approval to leave the state,” Lois informed them. “So, we’ll be going now.” She grabbed Clark’s arm with a glance back at Jimmy. “Call me, ASAP, with any news.
Any news.”
The researcher nodded.
Lois slowly closed the cracked door behind them.
“Tell me I didn’t act like that on
Revenge, Jimmy,” she heard Perry ask Jimmy.
“No, Sir. You were worse.”
Clark picked up Lois and kissed her again. “I’m not drunk on
Revenge, Lois. I’m fine.”
Lois raised a brow at him. “Fine, huh? So, are you going to fly us out of here and announce to everyone at the
Daily Planet that you’re you-know-who or are we going to take the elevator like normal folks?”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks or knows about me, Lois.” He shook his head. “I don’t even know why I cared in the first place.”
Clark was worse than he was back at the townhouse. Had he been re-exposed to whatever it was making him crazy? “Tell you what, big boy, let’s just keep that secret between us for now,” she whispered into his ear. “And I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Really? How?”
She whispered in his ear and a big grin spread across his face. He grabbed her briefcase and his jacket, headed them towards the elevators.
“Have a nice birthday,” called Jimmy.
Clark grinned back at him. “She will.”
Lois just waved.
***
The call from Constance came while they were having dinner. Lois had sent Penny home as soon as they got there. Lara was the best excuse she had for keeping out of the bedroom and even Clark conceded that point.
Constance had been able to get the approval they sought, thanks to their ‘friend’ Superman’s reassurances that all three Kents would return to Metropolis by Sunday night.
While an overjoyed Clark called his folks, Lois checked in with Jimmy.
“
I got the photos, Lois, under the condition that the Daily Planet would not publish them. I’ll start the mock-up of their daughter tonight and send it right over to you.”
“We’re heading out to Smallville tomorrow morning. Fax the sketch there.” She gave him the Kents’ Smallville fax number. “But if the mock-up turns out looking anything like Lara, call me tonight and warn me.”
“
It won’t,” Jimmy reassured her.
“Jimmy, I want a true representation of what this little girl will look like. We need it to help find her. No messing with it to make her look less like Lara,” Lois warned.
“
I won’t. I just meant Lara and this little girl have different parents, so there’s no way she’ll look like your daughter.”
Lois smiled. Jimmy. Always her champion… well, except when she kissed Superman. Always believing in her and Clark one hundred percent. “Thanks, Jimmy.”
As they were washing up the dinner dishes, Clark got that look on his face again. Oh, no. Superman. That could be trouble.
“Got to go,” he said, running into the living room.
“Clark,” she called, chasing after him.
Her husband paused – already in his blue suit – and looked at her.
Lois kissed him. “Hurry home. I’ll try to get Lara to sleep while you’re gone.”
He gave her a wink, wrapping an arm around her. “I don’t need to go.”
“Sure, you do. We’re not going to bed before she is.” She ran her finger over his ‘S’. “I mean just don’t stand around chit-chatting or anything.”
“Not with you here waiting in that new nightie you mentioned.” He kissed her and Lois had to push his chest to get him to stop. “Right. Bad guys.” Two seconds later he was gone.
Lois released her breath. She hoped whatever Clark was dosed with wore off before they got to Smallville the next morning. She wouldn’t want to explain to Martha and Jonathan why their son was chasing her around the living room.
***
Clark woke up the next morning refreshed, despite the little sleep he and Lois had gotten the night before.
By the time Lois started stirring around nine, he had packed their bags, cleaned the house, done a load of laundry, flown to Paris for breakfast, made coffee, delivered the bags to Smallville, fed and changed Lara, and checked in with Perry at the office.
His conversation with Perry had been a strange one. Their boss had guffawed when Clark had told him that Lois was still asleep. “
Late night, Kent?” Then after Clark’s mortified silence, the Chief had said, “
Just kidding.”
How in the world had… and then the memories of the previous day flooded in.
Clark made some lame excuse and hung up, staring at the phone. Had he done other crazy stuff yesterday, besides seduce his wife in front of everyone in the newsroom? He covered his face. How was he ever going to live that down?
Flying upstairs, he sat next to Lois on the bed, brushing the hair off her forehead. He owed her big time.
Her eyes slowly opened at his touch. She then looked at him and sighed. “Just give me a few minutes to wake up first, Clark. OK?”
Her words cut through him like a knife. Oh, God! How many times had they made love during the night? All he could remember was wanting her more and more and more after every time. Why hadn’t she stopped him? It must have been after three in the morning before she had passed out from exhaustion.
Clark smiled weakly, almost sheepishly. “Happy birthday?” he asked.
Lois patted his hand. “So far, it has been interesting.”
He rested his head on her shoulder. “Forgive me, Lois. I’m so sorry.”
His wife caressed his head. “For what?”
“For being a wild, crazy animal last night.”
She kissed the top of his head. “Yea! I got my birthday wish.”
He looked at her with confusion.
“That my husband is back from Horny Town.”
Clark winced. “That bad, huh?”
“Only some things,” she murmured, tilting his face up and kissing him. “On the rest I was a willing participant. And no apologies accepted for desiring me. The feeling was quite mutual.”
“Willing?”
“Always.”
Clark released a breath of relief.
“Though, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to walk straight today,” she said, trying to sit up.
“Achy.”
“A bit.”
“I can help with that,” Clark replied.
Lois cautiously raised a curious brow.
“Heat,” he whispered and she relaxed. He started at her shoulders and worked down to her toes and back up again. When he reached her arms he saw matching bruises on her muscles. “Lois? Did I do…”
She glanced down at her biceps. “Don’t worry about it. They’re already starting to fade.”
“Lois. That is unacceptable,” Clark said, burying his face in his hands. “You shouldn’t have to worry about your safety around me.”
“I don’t. That was an accident,” Lois reassured him, wrapping her arms around him.
“I don’t deserve you,” he mumbled.
“I don’t deserve you, more.” She giggled. “So, I guess that makes us even.”
Clark kissed her soft and slow and gentle. Then he sat back, not wanting her to think he was pressuring her.
“Mmmm. Nice.” Lois smiled, licking her lips. “Have I told you how irresistible you are? Recently?”
“Hey, that’s my line.”
His wife laughed. “Let me take my shower and get dressed, so we can get out of Dodge, before you get infected again.”
Clark watched her saunter into the bathroom. Infected? Infected by what? The only thing that had ever effected his emotions like that was Red Kryptonite, but the last time it made him apathetic. Yesterday, he had been anything but apathetic. It was like any fluttering of emotion he had flooded his system. And for some reason, the biggest flutter was desire. He smiled. Well, his wife was hot.
“Do you need any help in there?” he called.
Lois stuck her head out the door. “You’re on baby duty, Daddy,” she reminded him and shut the door again.
“I could fly her over to Smallville and come back to…” he suggested, his hand on the bathroom door.
“Down boy.”
OK. Maybe he was still on the road back from Horny Town. But then again, with Lois as his wife, he would always be a frequent traveler on the road to or from Horny Town.
***
Martha hugged Lois, but when she went to let go, her daughter-in-law didn’t.
Slowly, Lois pulled back and smiled. “I’ve missed you, Martha.”
Martha returned her smile. “You know you’re always welcome here.”
Clark’s mother watched as Lois looked around the kitchen, soaking it all in. “It feels like a lifetime ago…”
“Last Thanksgiving,” said Jonathan. “And Lara wasn’t even born, yet. So, I guess that makes it a lifetime.”
“No. Christmas. Before Christmas,” murmured Lois, before finally sitting down next to both Clark and Martha’s husband. Lois took Jonathan’s hand and squeezed it. “How are you doing? Feeling okay?”
“Sure,” replied Jonathan hesitantly. Lois never asked about his health. “Never better.”
Clark’s wife glanced back at Martha as if for confirmation. Did Lois know something they didn’t?
Martha patted Clark’s father on the shoulder. “That’s not quite true, Jonathan, and you know it.” She looked at Clark. “Doc. Thompson has put him on a low fat diet.”
Lois squeezed his hand again. “Glad to hear it.”
Jonathan looked uncomfortable. He had never liked being the center of attention. He leaned around Lois to speak to Clark. “Low flavor is more like it.” He sneered.
Clark laughed at the comment.
“We’re still looking for good recipes,” Martha explained to Lois.
“I wish I could be of some help. Everything I learned to cook is full of butter, cream, cheese and / or meat.”
“I’m looking forward to tonight, though,” said Jonathan, rubbing his hands together and grinning. “Your Mom’s rich butter cake, fudge frosting, ice-cream.”
“That’s right,” said Martha, walking over to her hutch and grabbing the gift that the other Clark had dropped off early that morning. “Happy birthday.” She set the gift in front of Lois.
“Oh, Martha! Jonathan!” Lois gasped with pleasure. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this. Your hospitality is gift enough.”
“We didn’t,” responded Martha’s husband.
“My cake is my gift.” She smiled. “That’s from someone else.”
Lois looked at the small square gift, wrapped in light blue paper covered with palm trees. She ran her fingers over the paper, but didn’t seem interested in opening it. Their daughter-in-law flipped up the tag.
Lois, Happy Birthday! Love, Clark. She swallowed.
Clark stood up and left the room, abruptly.
“Don’t,” whispered Lois with a wince.
“That other Clark dropped it off this morning. He was disappointed to have missed seeing Lara,” said Jonathan.
“And you too, Lois,” Martha added at her daughter-in-law’s strained expression. She sat in Clark’s abandoned chair. “Is everything all right, dear?”
Lois nodded, but Martha could see her lashes sparkle with tears. “Just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Yes, all this stress with Lara’s adoption…”
“Oh, no.” Lois laughed, but Martha could sense her heart wasn’t in it. “Well, yes, but no, that wasn’t it.” She pushed the gift away from her, still unopened and stood up, heading for the sink. She filled a glass of water and took a sip.
Clark returned with Lara. “Look who woke up.”
“Hi, there, beautiful!” said Jonathan, holding out his hands. Lara looked at him suspiciously and clung to her Daddy.
“Give her time, Dad,” Clark reminded him. Martha saw his eyes dart to the unopened gift. He walked over to Lois at the sink and kissed her cheek. “I thought you might want to open it without me here,” he whispered.
Lois wrapped an arm around her husband’s waist. “I always want you with me, Clark.”
Martha raised a brow at this exchange.
“Lois was just telling us about why she didn’t sleep well last night,” Jonathan said, clearly trying to shift the topic.
Clark looked away and blushed. “You didn’t?” he stammered.
“What’s this?” Martha asked, sensing a story.
Lois grinned, merriment filling her face. “You son turned into the mayor of Horny Town, yesterday.”
“Lois!” Clark turned away, his face redder than his mother had ever seen it.
“Oh.” Jonathan turned away with a glance at his wife. Then the two of them started to giggle.
“Great. How did I go from visitor to mayor in one day?” Clark murmured.
“Oh, come on, Clark. It was funny. Your emotions were bouncing all over the place. You even broke Perry’s door out of jealousy when I told Jimmy I could kiss him.”
“What?” Jonathan gasped.
Lois waved off his concerns. “It was nothing. Jimmy is doing a mock-up of what the refugees’ missing baby might look like.”
“Clark, you were out of control?” Jonathan looked at him. “You can’t be out of control, son.”
“I know, Dad. Perry even sent me home early after Lois told him I’d been dosed with
Revenge.”
“What, that stuff that made Lois do the dance of the seven veils? I thought you said it didn’t affect you?” Jonathan asked, confused.
“What’s this?” Martha inquired glancing between the men. “I didn’t hear that part of the story.”
Lois stared at Jonathan and then at Clark, mortified. “You told him about that?” She covered her face with her hand.
“You’ve got to admit, Honey, it’s a great story.” Clark grinned, bouncing Lara on his hip. “At least,
I didn’t take advantage of you in your weakened state.”
Lois socked him in the arm. “Don’t even go there, Clark Kent,” she snarled. “You begged, pleaded, and practically dragged me off to the supply closet, yesterday.”
“Clark Jerome Kent! I didn’t raise you to act that way,” Martha scolded. “Even if she is your wife.”
“I know, Mom.” He looked away again, blushing. Then he turned to Lois, lowering his voice. “I didn’t mean…”
“I know darn well what you meant, Clark, and we’ve already discussed this…”
“In this instance, I’m right,” he retorted.
“We’re not discussing this again, Clark. Period. You want to bring it up with him, fine. But my opinion on the matter isn’t changing.” Lois crossed her arms and turned away from him. Then she noticed Martha and Jonathan staring at her. She cleared her throat. “Clark was not himself yesterday,” Lois said in her husband’s defense.
“Clearly. Well, if it wasn’t the perfume. What was it?” Martha inquired. “New and improved Space Rats? Hypnotism? Red Kryptonite?”
*** End of Part 6 *** Comments
