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Synopsis of Chapters 1 - 9 Missing Lois - TOC ***
Where we left off in Part 11...Clark watched her but didn’t move. “I thought you were throwing out the CD?”
“This is the one he sent me for my birthday.” She held it up.
“Isn’t that the same CD you gave Perry?”
“Yes,” she murmured and waited. She heard the question before he asked it. It was echoing in her head. She decided to nip it in the bud. “Ella Fitzgerald reminds me of Perry… Mayor White played Ella Fitzgerald, when we went to his house for Thanksgiving. Clark must have remembered that I enjoyed her music.”
“Mayor White?” asked Jack, glancing between the two of them. He picked up Lara and set her on his shoulder.
“Perry is the mayor of Metropolis in the other dimension,” Clark explained.
“How confusing that must have been for you, jumping between the two dimensions,” said Jonathan with a shake of his head, following Jack and Lara into the kitchen.
“Extremely,” she murmured, walking over to the stereo. She opened the case and a piece of paper fluttered out from inside. She set the CD in the stereo and picked up the paper as the music began to play.
Lois closed her eyes and started to sway to the music, singing along, “
The way we danced 'til three… No. No. They can’t take that away from me…”
She heard Clark approach and opened her eyes. He was holding out his hand. She put her hand in his and he pulled her into his arms. Slowly, he danced with her.
Part 12“Does this song remind you of him?” Clark whispered.
Lois could feel his anguish and knew she would add to it by telling him the truth. “Only because he’s not here. When I heard it at Perry’s, I thought only of you, because you weren’t there.”
He spun her around, leisurely; back in his arms, they lifted off the ground. She rested her cheek against his.
The other Clark’s note floated down to the ground. If her Clark noticed it, he didn’t say, only holding her tighter.
“Can I ask you one question?”
She smiled. “You can ask me a thousand questions, Clark. And I will give you a thousand and one answers. No secrets, remember?”
“Do I need to worry about Aquaman?” he whispered.
She pulled back and stared at him in disbelief. “What?”
He chuckled. “I’ll take that as a definite
no.”
“You take that as you’re lucky we’re three feet off the ground, buster.”
Clark lowered them down to the floor and picked up the note she had dropped, handing it to her. On the backside of his poem, the other Clark had written
Hope you and Aquaman are happy.
Lois laughed. “You’re Aquaman, Clark.”
“No,” he corrected, raising a brow. “I’m Superman.”
She turned over the note showing it to him. “You are the man who swims in my ocean.”
He grimaced. “Ugh, Lois, this is awful. The mixed metaphors, puzzles and oceans.” Clark shook his head in pity.
Lois pulled the note out of his hand and wadded it up, tossing it into the fireplace. She grabbed his hand, tugging him to her. “Come here, Aquaman.” She placed a soft kiss on his lips.
“Don’t call me that,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Why not? Do you think there’s a real Aquaman out there?” She laughed.
He shrugged. “You never know. There’s a Batman.”
“There’s no Batman in the other dimension except in comic books.”
“Poor Clark. He had really, truly been alone, hadn’t he?”
“Like you and Batman are the best of buds,” she added sarcastically.
“We’ve met. Once or twice.” Clark shrugged again. “He grows on you.”
Lois shivered. “That guy gives me the creeps.”
“Loving you even more,” he murmured, pulling her in for a kiss.
That soft, loving kiss deepened, intensified, bringing her closer still.
Mmmm. He tasted of peppermint, cinnamon, and chocolate.
His fingers caressed her cheek, down her neck, across shoulder, over her…
“Clark,” she moaned and he pulled her tighter to him. Her toes began to curl as he lifted her up into his arms, their feet leaving the floor.
***
“Clark! Lois! Lunch!” his Mom called and they landed back on the floor with a thud.
“Wow,” Lois murmured, still clinging to him. Clark smiled. He would take a wow from her any day.
“Not half bad yourself, wife.” He grinned wickedly.
“So, what was in your last gift?” she asked, glancing towards where he had been sitting by the tree. She stepped away from him, straightening her hair and fanning herself.
“Oh. I forgot to open it,” Clark said, retrieving the package. He tore open the paper to reveal a couple of notebooks and his brow furrowed. The other Clark gave him notebooks? He flipped it open. It was filled with his wife’s handwriting.
Dear Clark,
I know it must seem strange that I am writing you a letter that I know I cannot mail to you, but I needed to talk to you. I miss you. And it confuses this Clark, let’s call him Kal, when I speak your name aloud. I miss you more here than back in our dimension. You seem farther away. Unreachable. Untouchable…He scanned that page and went to the next
Yes, you heard me right, Clark Kent. I am pregnant and you are the father. Remember that night I told you to forget? Well, my body remembers. I’m about five weeks pregnant as I write this letter to you… A chill went down his spine as he turned to the next page.
Dear Clark;
Wow! What a day! Where to begin? I guess I should begin at the beginning. I found my father…well, this dimension’s Sam Lane, or what’s left of him. He was still living at the shelter on Fifth…He flipped through the pages quickly.
Concubines, really! Clark, what am I going to do with you? But you do look regal in those black tights. You can bring a pair of those back home when we… sorry, you finally get rid of Lord Nor. Oh, how I hate him. And what’s up with these Kryptonians? Have they never heard of privacy? Knocking? Tell me, again, how these people are civilized? Well, at least, we are together. Even if I’m on a leash, Lord Kal-El…Clark smiled as he continued to read.
Dearest Clark, you’re alive. You’re alive. Thank god, you are alive. The last 48 hours of you bouncing between life and death have been sheer torture. Please, promise me that you won’t die on me ever again! I couldn’t take another weekend like this one. I guess, you couldn’t either…The pages continued to fly by.
My dearest Clark, my love, my husband. I know today was a long day for you, what with the Wedding Destroyer and our wedding on the hill and time travel and all. I did a little traveling myself today, when you and the younger me wanted to start your honeymoon, I disappeared for awhile. Apparently, if anything happens to the younger me, it erases me from existence. Actually, I disappeared at least three times today…Clark gasped, glancing up, but Lois was no longer in the room. He was tempted to look for her, but his gaze was drawn back to the notebook. He continued to read, trying not to speed read faster than a second a page, but her words, her loneliness drew him in.
Clark, you are such the sweetie giving Jimmy some of your longevity and now I won’t grow old alone. I love you…
I’m in jail? Jail? Like I would shoot someone?...
Help me, Clark. I can’t stand being stuck in that cell, pacing back and forth in my dreams. I can’t come home to you while the younger me is under arrest…
I am four months pregnant now and beginning to show. Although you’d have to see me naked to tell. No one who does not already know will find out. Lucy El’s style of extremely baggy pants and flouncy shirts should keep my secret safe. Coat and sweater season will be upon us before we know it and the extra layers will make it easier to hide my growing belly. I miss you, terribly, and wish I could be sharing all this with you…Clark’s hand paused on the next page.
Kal said that Jaxon told him that the Neuroscanner allowed one to watch through the eyes of whomsoever’s genetic fingerprint it was linked to…He swallowed. She had known about the Neuroscanner all those months before they had experienced it in their dimension. He read on.
Mayson’s car blew up today. Poor Clark was covered in her blood as he tried to rescue her. She survived, but I don’t think he ever will. He went after Jaxon thinking Junior had something to do with this and Jaxon tricked him to go into his Virtual Reality computer…
Happy Birthday to me! Forget something there, Clark? No, it’s okay, really. You broke me out of jail, what more could ‘Mad Dog Lane’ want for her birthday than to spend the night making love with you? I never realized how naked my finger felt without your ring (I had to give mine to the younger me), until Kal gave me a ring to replace it. Now, every time I look down at my hand I think of how much I love and miss you…
Watch out! Bob’s bad news, Clark. Kal told me all about his magnetism. Please, don’t touch him. Please. I can’t have you die on me again…
So what does it say about me that I have to be possessed to finally learn to cook?...
I’m editor of the D.P.? I finally get the chance of a lifetime and I’m stuck in this god-forsaken dimension! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! (That’s me pulling out what’s left of my hair.)…Page after page after page, Clark read; then he stopped and reread a page over.
Clark, why am I allowed to love you in my dreams, but not when I’m awake?He swallowed, trying to chase the bad taste from his mouth.
I can fly!...
What have I done? Oh, God! What have I done? What have I done?...
John Doe is Tempus! Oh, Clark, be careful. I have a bad feeling about this. That man is evil and I don’t throw that word around. I can’t lose you, not now…That was her only mention of what happened on Halloween, until…
I know it’s wrong to love Kal, because he’s *not* you. But at the same time, how can I not love Kal, because he *is* you.He read her words again, slowly, wiping the moisture from his eyes.
Dearest Clark –
I know I should start out this letter with an apology for seducing you. But strangely enough, I’m not sorry. Not sorry in the least. (Picture me with a huge grin, here.) It was so nice to have a little Clark break. I’ve missed you so much. I thought having the stand-in Lois’s memories would be enough, but it isn’t. Even though, she is me… I’m still not in control and you know how much I like to be in control…
James found Lex Luthor! I know… James? Lex is in Singapore of all places. Lois is his wife and she’s blind. The bastard blinded her. We’re all in agreement that we can’t tell Kal. It would break his heart…
My hands are still shaking, Clark. I felt like I was speaking to someone in hell. I’m so glad that Kal was there to comfort me. I never knew how hearing Lex’s voice would affect me. Often this other dimension feels like hell. The Kents dead, Kal all alone, Lois’s mom abandoned her and then Lois ends up married to Lex and no Perry at the DP…
Kal is sending me to your parents while he goes to Singapore. He’s worried that Lex will send someone to hurt me while he’s out of town…
Oh, Clark, I want you to know how much I wanted to run away with you. To stay with you. I learned tonight that I have to stay in Kal’s dimension or the curse could still kill me. We have a daughter. I had been 97% sure, now I’m 100%. We’ll name her Lara…
Kal is so in love with his Lois, he’s completely changed. He no longer looks at me like I’m his soul mate. This is good. My life will be easier now…
We cured Lois’s blindness. Infrared light. Sound familiar? Oh, and Lex kidnapped me today. But don’t worry, I escaped… thank you, super biceps… and he never learned that I’m pregnant with your child. Now, I’ve got police protection to and from work. Lovely – please note sarcasm. Sam says my blood pressure is elevated and he wants me home on bed rest for a few days. A few days of dreaming, what more could I ask for?...
Kal *still* hasn’t told his Lois that Superman is Clark Kent and Clark Kent is Superman. I don’t know what’s worse, what you did by lying to me for two years or what he’s doing by keeping her in the dark to what everyone else knows. She’s completely humiliated at work; her career is in shambles. She’s not going to forgive him easily…
Oh, my God! Clark, are you okay? How could they shoot you with Kryptonite? For a little property damage? Don’t they know what that will do to you? Mankind is evil…
I’m as big as a house. I don’t know how much longer I can go on pretending I’m fat instead of pregnant. You’d think someone in this newsroom was observant to the people around them. I miss Perry.
The truth is out. The tabloids not only know I love you, but actually have the photo to prove how I love you. Oh, Clark, what will we do?...
YOU KISSED HER? Hurricane Lane? How could you? Are you nuts? I’m not feeling an ounce bad for kissing him, now. Not. One. Ounce.
Kal’s Lois almost died in a car accident yesterday, but Kal was struck by lightning while flying her to the hospital. We’ve got another William Wallace Webster Walldecker on our hands.
Well, Lois finally figured out Kal is Superman. It only took her almost dying…
His Lois is taking over my Lucy El persona. She’s sick of hiding from Lex Luthor and I’m just plain tired. I’m ready to go on maternity leave and I still have a month to go before this baby is born. I’m ready to come home…
His Lois has decided to kill herself… well, the ‘Lois Lane’ name, actually, and stick with Lucy El as her secret identity for Ultra Woman. (Who knew this dowdy, clog-wearing, gum smacking, glasses wearing, vegetarian, recovering alcoholic would be preferred to Lois Lane?) Kal’s going to blow a fuse when he learns what we did and that we kept her transformation from him. But then, he STILL hasn’t admitted he’s Superman! You Kent boys. Who says only evil masterminds can be good planners?...
I spent the weekend at James Olsen’s penthouse after Ultra Lois blew up the apartment while faking her death. Did I ever tell you that I told him I’m pregnant? James has been my best friend here, since Kal found his Lois. All Kal can think about is her…
Wow, Kal really does have tunnel vision when it comes to Lois Lane. You aren’t that bad, are you? Not that I would mind if you are…
OK. I’ve been trapped in this infernal apartment alone for three days. THREE DAYS! Thanks, Kal. Thanks, Ultra. Forget, I can’t really leave due to our double identity, plus I’m bigger than a house. How do women do this pregnancy thing on a regular basis? It’s damn uncomfortable. Luckily, no stretch marks! Hidden blessings. I was originally supposed to give birth on February 15th, which is only days away. I’m counting down the minutes. I only hope I can keep a few of my enhanced abilities after the birth. Not enough to be Ultra Woman, but just enough to give you a run for your money for the next Kerth award. I’ve read every book on parenting ever written or so it feels like I am actually somewhat prepared for the inevitable, (shiver) becoming my Mother…. You better be laughing, fly boy!Clark smiled.
Thank God, James invited me up to his penthouse for dinner. He knows about Lois’s faked death; he figured it out that first weekend. It took until the funeral for Perry to figure it out; no one has bothered to tell me how. Mayson figured it out, too, but she promised not to tell anyone; she recognized that the body (UW used the dead clone) wasn’t this dimension’s Lois by the length of her hair. Still nobody but Sam, Clark, and I know about UW, though. Let’s hope it stays that way…The handwriting changed. It still looked like Lois’s, only slightly neater, and he realized the next entry had been written by someone else.
Hi, Kal. Ultra Lois, Clark’s Lois, here. You are now the father of a beautiful and healthy baby girl. She has flaxen hair and brown eyes and was born just after midnight on Valentine’s Day, weighing just over seven pounds. I love her. I simply love her, she’s so wonderful.
Lucy, on the other hand, isn’t doing so well. After Lara’s birth (oh, sorry, Lucy named her Lara Kent, after your and Clark’s birth mom), Lucy started hemorrhaging. My dad did everything he could to stop the bleeding; it was just more than he could handle.
Clark wanted me to take Dr. Klein back to S.T.A.R. Labs to retrieve a blood sample he had had taken a while back. Men! Sorry, that probably would have killed her more quickly than helped her, but he didn’t know what else to suggest. He was grasping at straws. He would have done anything, short of killing me or Lara, to save her life. Anything! That’s how much she has come to mean to him. He was being crushed by the enormity of this decision.
I still don’t know why Clark and Lucy were so opposed to the idea of taking her to a hospital. Lucy actually made us promise never to take her to a hospital, even if the other option was death. Did something happen to her at a hospital?
I donated a pint of my blood to her, since I knew it would be a perfect match (almost identical, except for the Super genes) and fresh. This was my choice, not Lucy’s and certainly not Clark’s. I figure if Clark could stand the pain of the Kryptonite long enough to have blood drawn, so could I. Oh, my God, Kal! Why didn’t anyone tell me the extent of the pain that stupid green rock causes you? It felt like someone was turning my skin inside-out, peeling it away slowly with a dull scalpel and no painkillers. I never want to feel that ever again.
My blood ended up working, but something is wrong with Lucy. Since she recovered, she’s distant, quiet… I know, Lucy quiet?... almost hopeless. She’s taking care of Lara, but only the rudimentary stuff. She nurses her, changes her diaper, holds her, but it’s as if her soul isn’t it. She seems a shell of her former self.
I miss my friend. She’s the closest I’ve come to having a girlfriend since college. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with Clark. She yells at him almost every time he enters her room, especially if he’s in the blue suit. It’s almost as if she blames Superman for her infidelity… scratch that. Oh, crap. Well, I guess it really doesn’t matter. She’s never going to give you these notebooks anyway. Even I know that.Clark gulped. That’s why Lois hadn’t brought the notebook letters back with her. They had turned from letters to a diary. His eyes returned to the page, not able to stop reading after coming so far.
If she doesn’t start to show signs of improvement by this weekend, I’m coming to get you to take her home. She misses you so much. I’m sure half the reason she refuses to get out of bed are all those stupid dreams of the other dimension, of you. Kal, I’m one of the first to admit you are quite a hot toddy and not a bad kisser, but to give up on life? For a man? Any man? Even… granted, this coming from the woman who faked her death to be with Superman, so I guess I see her point. But I faked my death to live, not to die. Big difference.
Lara is perfect. She can even communicate telepathically. How cool is that? There aren’t words to describe the bond circle. I’ve never felt a part of something until Lara joined us together, Clark and me and her. But even she is worried about Lucy… her mother. She keeps asking me to bring Clark to Lucy to cheer her up. Lara must have him confused with you, because seeing Clark doesn’t cheer Lucy up, it usually infuriates her.
OK. I’ve rambled enough for one passage. Thanks for letting me bare my chest to you. Oh, get your head out of the gutter, Kent! You know what I meant.
Lois Lane (the other one)
PS: She’s not better. Tried the time machine, but it wasn’t working. It looks like she’s stuck here for awhile. I’m sorry.The next entry was in the same handwriting and dated several weeks later.
Dear Kal:
I have some bad news. Your Lois still isn’t doing well. She’s stopped eating. We didn’t notice at first, between my Dad watching over them during the day and me watching over them at night, she’s started skipping meals. Telling one of us that she had eaten with the other one of us. Kal, she’s down to 100 pounds.
My father has insisted that Lara’s higher than usual metabolism has been sucking her dry while nursing and Lois would do anything for her child, even to her own detriment. My father thinks that if Lois had kept up with her meals, she would have been fine, but she’s given up.
Given up hope that she’ll ever return. Given up hope that she’ll see you again other than in her dreams. I’m afraid she has lost her will to live.
Clark and I have been so busy hunting down Vixen, we’ve been distracted from Lois’s overall health. I’m so sorry.
Clearly, Lois is not able to care for herself and she will be watched around the clock now, if for no other reason than to safe-guard Lara. Clark and I are ever so sorry to have let you down. We will never forgive ourselves.
My father has put her on a high calorie diet to try to bulk her up, so that should we ever get the time machine working again, we can return her home looking as she should. Let’s hope this works. At the moment she’s flesh and bones.
UltraClark covered his mouth with his hand. “Lois.”
Clark, I heard your voice today. Your voice – not Kal’s. I don’t know how she did it but Lara communicated with Star (OUR Star!) telepathically cross-dimensionally. Star was searching for me for some reason. Me! Why was Star looking for me?
You love me, you miss me, and you want me to come home. You love me, got that. You miss me? How can you miss me when you have me there with you? You want me to come home? Me, too. I’m tired of being stuck in this hell dimension. I want to come home. But WHY would you say this to me? Unless you are trying to contact that me from Christmas. Are you?
Oh, Clark. I don’t know anymore. I know you love the me right there with you… I haven’t noticed anything in the way you talk or speak with her (me) to make me believe that you’re searching for another me. Am I going crazy again? LLLois got his message. Clark shook his head. His daughter was amazing.
If I never see another Double Fudge Crunch Bar in my life – FINE BY ME! Ugh. Clark, how can you eat like this all the time?
Clark, started another entry,
watch out for Vixen and Luckaby. Luckaby is a Luthor! Lex, Jr. to be exact, and *not* that cute guy posing as him. Also, Ultra Lois says he has a twin, Alex(ander? perhaps); she heard the two of them discussing him once. Clearly this Lex has brainwashed all his children into helping him take over the world. UW has also given me a long list of his ex-wives; I’ve included their names below so I will not forget. So, you know, if I don’t make it. And I once believed him when he said he loved only me. What a fool I was!Clark’s brow furrowed. How could the notebooks make it to him without her? She had survived the curse. His hand started shaking as he tore that page from the notebook and started reading the next entry.
I’m worried about James. Vixen is kidnapping heads of corporations and I just know from previous experience, the DP will be on that list.
Sam and I have devised a plan. Should something happen to James, I will run out to the street and convince Vixen to kidnap me as well (tell her I’m Lola Luthor or something). It is the only way we can catch Lex and Junior red handed, cookies in the cookie jar, you might say. I know Kal and Ultra will not stop looking until they find us. Sam has bought me a gun to carry for protection and should I get a chance, I’ll take Lex and Junior down, end the Luthor reign over our happiness, once and for all. Lara will be well cared for by Ultra and Kal, should our plan go array, until they can bring her home to you, that is.
I can no longer stay-at-home and twiddle my thumbs when there is evil in this world. Sam and I have decided that Lex Luthor is the root of all evil. With him out of the picture, happiness and flowers can once again bloom in Metropolis.Clark thought about that phrase a moment. “Happiness and flowers?” He shook his head. “Delusional, Lois.” His eyes popped. “Oh, God! Delusional.”
It had been five months before she went delusional during the Tempus event. And it was once again almost five months since they met up in Smallville in December.
He read on.
Sam has noticed I’m showing the early signs of Interdimensional Time-Sickness. We spend a part of everyday reminding me what’s real and what’s not. We have decided not to tell Kal and Ultra as there is nothing they can do, but worry. Since the time machine to take me home is broken and there is no sign of H. G. Wells, I’m stuck here. Anyway, if Kal knew about me getting sick again he’d try and stop me like you would. If I end up going full on delusional I’ll probably end up in a sanitarium. And I CAN’T GO BACK TO THE CRAZY HOUSE! Clark, no. No way! I’d probably end up bumping into Dr. Deter with my luck, and truthfully, I’d rather die.
I love you, Clark. You are my full circle. My beginning and my end. Take care of Lara and you will always have a part of me within reach.
And since I’m either going to burn these notebooks before I return, I hope, or you will receive them only after my death, I should probably start by telling you the truth and warn you the Bureau 39 still exists. If I hadn’t come to live with Kal, Lara and I would have died in childbirth at Metropolis University Hospital. Our bodies will have been stolen before they were even cold. My body will have been dissected and dumped in the landfill. Lara was never found. You will have returned in time for my funeral, where the knowledge that we died because you weren’t here to save us, causes you to hang up the blue suit forever.
I couldn’t let that happen to you. I love you, all of you. I could not be the cause of the death of even a part of you. I’m sorry if anything I did caused you pain. It was not my intention to hurt you. I would not have come to this dimension, to Kal, knowing full well the intensity of his feelings towards me, had there been any other cure for this curse.
I love you, Clark. Live long and prosper. LLClark shut the notebook, his brow wrinkling. “Live long and prosper?”
This last entry had been dated a week before they had found Lara in their dining room. Lois had mentioned the gun and trying to shoot the Luthors with only an offhand comment about having gone crazy.
He walked over to the fireplace and, one by one, dropped the notebooks into the fire.
“Clark Jerome Kent! Are you coming to eat or not?” His mother opened the kitchen door. “Usually you’re the first to lunch, not the last.”
Clark smiled weakly at her as he followed her into the kitchen. His father and Jack were sitting at the kitchen table, just starting their sandwiches. Lara was sticking her entire fist into a bowl of pumpkin pie. Lucky kid. His wife was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Lois?”
Jonathan wiped his face. “She said she needed some fresh air. So she took her sandwich to go.” He nodded toward the back door.
“That sounds good to me, too,” Clark replied, pulling on his coat from the rack by the back door. He grabbed a sandwich off the tray and kissed his Mom’s cheek. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Sweetie.”
Clark ate his sandwich in the two steps it took him to walk out the door. He shut the door behind him. He was turning around, with his back to the house, when a snowball creamed him in the face.
Lois gasped from behind a tree.
Wiping the snow from his face and removing his glasses as he could hardly see through them anymore, Clark looked at her.
“Oh, Clark! I’m so sorry. I never thought you’d let it get that far.”
Clark smiled at her. “It’s okay, Lois. I forgive you.” And in his heart he knew he had. Then his smiled turned to an evil grin. “Because I know I can catch you.”
Lois squealed and started to run, quite difficult for her in the high drifts of snow.
Suddenly, the two of them were rolling in the snow, Clark cushioning their initial fall. Lois was laughing by the time they stopped rolling, her on top of him. She slapped his chest. “No fair. You cheated.”
He glanced up at her innocently. “You never called no super powers.”
“Ha-ha.”
“I love you, wife.”
“And I love you, husband.” Lois leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips. “Always.”
Rolling her over so he was on top and pressing a more intense kiss to her lips, Clark repeated, “Always.”
***End of Part 12*** Comments
