Clark and Lois The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 3 21/46
By Ken Janney
This version is rated PG-13
* denotes emphasis *
< denotes thoughts >
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary] / telepathic communications /
(#) footnotes
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Reminder:
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 - Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Previously –
“I knew that I had to act to save you. I know that Herb warned me that I couldn’t risk revealing my powers because I hadn’t been revealed as Superman as yet, but I had to act. I couldn’t let you die even if it meant revealing what and who I am. I couldn’t let the only woman I have or ever will truly love die no matter what the repercussions.”
“I flew you here as fast as I was able to, given your condition. The doctors say it was a near thing. But, you’re tough. You’re a strong woman. You’re the only woman fit to be the partner of Superman. I need you with me. I need you so much. Come back to me Lois. Come back to me. I love you, more than you will ever know.”
Clark continued on in this fashion for several hours. Finally the emotional drain and the energy expenditure caught up with him and he fell asleep holding her hand and with his head on the bed next to her. Without realizing it he was doing the best thing he could possibly be doing for her. The simple act of holding her hand and being with her. Time would reveal just how important that act could be.
And now –
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 21 – A Declaration of Love
May 24, 1992
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few hours later Charlie awoke to the feel of a hand on his head and fingers in his hair. He looked up to see Lois looking at him. His face lit up with joy and he started to smile when she said “Charlie.”
He replied “Lois, I have been waiting to hear you say that. How long have you been awake?”
“Just a few minutes. I was hearing you talking to me. I wanted to get back to you but it was like I was wading through molasses. Charlie, what happened? I remember that I was shot. What happened after that? I remember waking up a few times but I must have been delirious because it felt like I was flying in an open cockpit airplane. All that wind. Where are we? This looks like a big hospital. Are we in Brazzaville? How did we get here?”
Trying to deflect her Clark asked “How are you feeling?”
Lois replied “Kinda woozy. They must have me on some heavy duty pain meds. What happened? All I remember is I was shot then you were there. Then I woke up here.”
“They had to operate. You have lost your spleen and your left kidney. They also had to do something with your intestines. But, the important thing is that you’re alive.
“Lois, I have a question. I need to ask and I hope you will answer.”
“Charlie, if I can, I’ll answer.”
“When you were shot, as you were lying there, you called for me. Just as you passed out you started to say something. You said ‘Charlie, I lo …’. You didn’t complete it. What were you trying to say?”
“Charlie, I was saying that I love you.” With a little chuckle she continued. “I’m just glad it wasn’t my dying declaration because I never finished it.”
“Lois, my Lois, you don’t know how long I have wanted to hear that from you. How I have longed to tell you that I love you. I know, I told you the other morning in the tent, but that was before. Now all the questions are behind us. Now I can give vent to all my feelings. I have loved you for a long time. I’m going to say something that won’t make a lot of sense to you, but, please accept that I’ll explain later. I have loved you since before I even met you. I have loved you for well over a year. I know that sounds absurd. How could I love someone I never even met before? Just believe me. I’ll explain.”
“I have another question. But first I have to tell you something. Remember how I said my name was Charles King *for now*? Well, my name isn’t Charles King and I’m not a stringer for the Daily Planet.”
Lois replied “I knew that.”
Somewhat taken aback by this response, he said “You knew that? How?”
Lois replied “When you showed me your ID. For one thing they don’t give stringers an ID. For another thing the style of the ID was wrong. It didn’t look like mine. At first I thought that you might be working for the gun runners so I decided to play along until I could find out for sure. I decided some time ago that you were on the side of the angels and that I could trust you.”
Charlie was chuckling as he said “I should have known that I couldn’t put anything over on Lois Lane. Well, my name is really Clark Kent.”
Lois said “I think I like that better than Charlie.”
Clark said “Charlie King is the name I use when I go undercover on assignments.”
Lois asked “When I decided that you weren’t with the gun runners I came to the conclusion that you were a government agent. What are you, NIA, ATF, FBI?”
Clark responded with “Right now that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m a guy that is in love with you. I just needed to tell you my real name before I asked you my next question. Lois Lane, will you make me the happiest man alive, will you marry me?”
“Clark, we haven’t known each other for very long. I can’t say that I have been in love with you for over a year like you say you have with me, and you’re definitely going to have to explain that one. I do think I have been falling in love with you for a while. Everything just feels so right with you. When I thought that Drago’s men had killed you, I thought my world had ended. I couldn’t bear the thought of going on without you and wanted to die with you. There was this Charlie sized hole in my heart. Then when Drago started threatening me to get you to come out and I realized that you must still be alive my world lit up again. I realized then that I didn’t want to be separated from you again, so, yes, Clark Kent, I will marry you.”
“Lois, my Lois I have so much to say. I have so much that you need to know about me and about us. We are going to have a lifetime together and that may not be long enough for everything I want to show you and do with you. I don’t want to wait any longer. If it’s okay with you, in a few days I’ll make arrangements with Jacques D’Arnet to come in to the hospital and marry us.”
Lois replied “It’s going to shock a lot of people when they find out that I’ve gotten married, Perry White in particular. I’ve always worked alone and haven’t even so much as dated since college, but this just feels soooo right. I don’t know how else to express it. Being with you I feel content, comforted, protected and complete. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before and don’t think I could feel this way with anyone else. I feel like we have been married for a while now, at least emotionally so why not in actuality. Just give me some time to heal a little. I want to be able to stand up on my own when we’re married.”
Noticing that Lois was starting to look fatigued, Clark told her that he had some errands to do and that he would be back after a while. He suggested that she should get some sleep. Leaning over he gave her a kiss. As he was doing this her hand came up and caressed his cheek. He said “I’ll be back shortly. Please, get some sleep while I’m gone.”
She replied “I am kind of tired. I think I will take a nap.”
He gave her another kiss and exited the room.
As he was exiting the room he almost literally ran into Dr. M’benga. The doctor asked “How is she?”
“Doctor M’benga, so nice to see you. She seems to be doing just fine. She came out of the anesthesia a short time ago. We spoke for a while. She was getting tired so I encouraged her to go back to sleep promising that I would return later.”
“That is good news. Is she in an unusual amount of pain?”
“She didn’t appear to be. She said that she was feeling somewhat woozy and attributed it to pain killers.”
“We do have her on some rather strong pain killers. As she progresses we’ll be reducing the dosage so that she shouldn’t experience any after effects of those. There is always the concern about addiction in these kinds of cases. As long as the medications are used in doses sufficient to mitigate the pain and as the pain diminishes the dosage reflects that reduction any chance of addiction can be avoided. I’ll try not to disturb her if she is resting. I just need to check to see that all the monitors are registering properly.”
“Thank you doctor, for everything you have done for her. I really appreciate it.”
“No thanks are necessary, my boy. It’s my job and, even if I do say so myself, one I am good at. I never like to lose a patient. I have to admit it was touch and go there for a while. I thought we had lost her.”
“Doctor M’benga, I may not be able to adequately express my appreciation to you at this time, but, rest assured I will express it appropriately when the time is right. <How apropos that statement really is, when the time is right. When we have caught up to the time that we actually belong in, Superman will do something appropriate for this hospital out of gratitude for what this doctor has done.> with that thought Clark left the hospital.
Clark’s first stop was Artois’ Jewelry Shoppe where he and Lois had gone to when they had purchased their wedding bands. He had been watching Lois as they were browsing the store and had seen her reaction to a particular engagement ring. He purchased it and placed the little velvet covered box in his pocket. Next he went to a flower shop and ordered flowers to be sent to the hospital room 105. Next he went back to Bonne Nuit de Sommeil and rented suite 501 again, this time paying for 6 months in advance.
When visiting hours came around Clark was there. They spent the time just holding hands and talking and enjoying being together. Reluctantly, when visiting hours were over Clark had returned to the suite.
After it was dark he flew to the outskirts of Dongou and then walked in to the port area. He found the man he had hired to guard the Ubuntu and told him that he would be removing some things but that he was still on the payroll until he moved the Ubuntu back to Brazzaville. Accordingly he packed Lois’ and his clothing and carried the bags toward town. When he was out of sight of any prying eyes he took off straight up until he was out of sight and flew directly to the Bonne Nuit de Sommeil and landed on the roof. He took the bags to the suite and placed them all in the master bedroom.
The next day when he got to the hospital he entered the room to find Lois awake. As soon as she saw him she held out her free hand to him in invitation. He crossed the floor and took her hand in his <She has some color in her cheeks today. That’s a good sign! She is really going to make it. Let’s see Dr. M’benga said three weeks. Can I wait that long? I’ve got to hold her.> He asked, “How are you today?”
She answered “Better, now that you’re here. I’ve missed you, where have you been? I need you here with me because I feel so much better when you hold me. I crave your touch so.”
Clark responded “Well, I had some things to do. I had to get the suite ready for taking you home with me. But I came as soon as I was able to.” Lois could sense the eagerness in his voice and she felt the same eagerness to be with him.
She said “I loved the flowers. Who sent the other arrangement?”
Clark hadn’t noticed the other flowers; he had only had eyes for her. He replied “I don’t know. Let’s look at the card and see.” He pulled the card and read it. It was in French wishing Linda a speedy recovery and was signed with affection by Madam D’Arnet. He said “I wonder how she found out about you being in the hospital.”
The answer to that question was actually forthcoming. A few minutes later Dr. Bashir came in to check on Linda. “And how is our patient today?” he asked.
Lois replied “I’ve been better, but, I’m happy to be alive.” With a sideways glance at Clark she thought <and with Clark.>
Dr. Bashir continued “I cannot tell you how happy I am to have been part of the team that saved the life of one of the saviors of our esteemed Mayor’s family. I recognized you from the picture that was in the paper. I called the mayor’s office and notified them of your circumstances. They requested that I personally keep them advised of your progress.”
Lois Looked at Clark and said “*That* explains the flowers!” Clark nodded.
Dr. Bashir busied himself with checking her vitals and making annotations on her chart. When he had finished that he examined the surgery site to make sure it was knitting properly. He then asked how she felt, was she in any pain. Her answer was, no she felt just fine. At this Dr. Bashir started to question her more closely. “Just how fine do you feel?”
Lois said “Actually it feels like I have a little bit of a buzz on.”
Dr. Bashir responded with “I think we need to reduce your pain killers a bit. Here is what we are going to do. I am going to write an order for a reduction by twenty five percent at your next dose. I will be back to see you after that should have taken effect. If you are a little bit uncomfortable we will adjust the dose slightly until you are comfortable, but just barely. We don’t want you becoming addicted to these medications.”
Lois replied “Thank you doctor. I don’t want to become dependent on them either.”
Dr. Bashir made a notation on her chart, gave Clark a wink and exited.
Clark walked over to the bed. He had a somewhat concerned expression on his face as he sat down in the chair and asked. “Lois, how are you really feeling?”
Lois replied “I’m feeling okay.“ <He is a worry wart, but I love it.>
Somewhat shyly he asked “Remember what I asked you earlier?”
She replied “Yes.”
With some apprehension in his voice he asked “Have you changed your mind?”
Lois replied, firmly and with conviction “Not in a million years.”
“If that’s the case …” He pulled the box out of his pocket and offered it to her. “Can I give you this?”
Lois opened the box and gasped then she said “Oh, Clark, it’s beautiful. I love it.”
Then with growing conviction he said “Then let me ask you again. Lois Lane, will you marry me?”
She replied with equal conviction “Yes, I will.”
Clark took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. Then he leaned in and kissed her and then said “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”
They spent the rest of the visiting hours together talking about the future, making some very grandiose plans.
After morning visiting hours were over, Clark went back to m. Artois where they had purchased the rings and took one of the uncut gems from the bag with him. The gem he chose was what he believed to be a blue sapphire. When m. Artois examined it he was completely beside himself he was so excited. “Zis stone eet weighs in at roughly two t’ousand seven ‘undred carats. What type of stone ees eet? Eet appears to be a blue sapphire; ‘owever zee density measure ees not right. Eet appears zat zee molec-u-lar weight ees wrong even for zee star sapphire alzo eet ees very close. Eet must be a star sapphire and eef eet ees zen eet ees zee largest uncut stone of zis type evair dis-cover-ed. After eet ees cut and polished zee primary stone weel dwarf zee Black Star of Queensland by a fac-tor of t’ree and zee Star of India by a fac-tor of five. We should notify zee Gemological zoziety of ziss find!”
(tr: “This stone, it weighs toughly two thousand seven hundred carats. What type of stone is it? It appears to be a blue sapphire; ‘However the density measure is not right. It appears That the molecular weight is wrong even for the star sapphire although it is very close. It must be a star sapphire and if it is then it is the largest uncut stone of this type ever discovered. After it is cut and polished the primary stone will dwarf the Black Star of Queensland by a factor of three and the Star of India by a factor of five. We should notify the Gemological Society of this find!”)
Clark replied “Actually I don’t want the notoriety, let’s just keep this between ourselves, okay? You may document as much as you wish. I simply request confidentiality.”
Disappointed, but agreeable the jeweler continued his evaluation. He determined that this was not just a Sapphire but a Star Sapphire of highest quality. “Ziss ees a remark-able gem. W’en cut and polish-ed you weel ‘ave a great number of gems, all of zee ‘ighest quality. I’ve nevair zeen anysang like ziss een my entire career of forty years. You could ‘ave sever-al large gems wiss some smaller or fewer large and an even larger quantity of smaller gems. I would recommend at least t’ree to five larger gems in the five ‘undred to one t’ousand carat range, several medium say five to ten carat and zee balance smaller.”
(tr: “This is a remarkable gem. When cut and polished you will have a great number of gems, all of the highest quality. I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire career of forty years. You could have several large gems with some smaller or fewer large and an even larger quantity of smaller gems. I would recommend at least three to five larger gems in the five hundred to one thousand carat range, several medium say five to ten carat and the balance smaller.”)
Clark commissioned the jeweler to cut, polish and mount the resulting gems. “I would like at least a ring, ear rings, necklace, anklet, bracelet and tiara. You can add any other pieces as you see fit and if you have the stones to do it.”
The jeweler said “Ziss set weel be a masterpiece, my Sistine Chapel … my Mona Lisa as it were. Eet weel bee zee crowning jewel of my work. Zee opportunity to work weeth zuch a gem as ziss, eet ees inspirational!”
(tr: “This set will be a masterpiece, my Sistine Chapel … my Mona Lisa as it were. It will be the crowning jewel of my work. The opportunity to work with such a gem as this, it is inspirational!”)
Clark had given it some thought and had made a sketch. He gave the sketch to the jeweler and as he looked it over he explained what he had in mind. Clark asked “There is going to be a special event in about ten days. Would it be possible to have at least some of the pieces ready within that time?”
The jeweler brought out a selection of settings for Clark to choose from. He allowed Clark to pick out the settings for the gems and then said “Rest assur-ed zat we will be able to meet your deadline. We should be able to complete zee entire zet by zen. I weel ‘ave one of my apprentices start on zee gold work, preparing zee settings. I person-all-y weel cut and polish zee stones. Ziss set weel be my masterpiece! I am sure zat you weel be very well pleas-ed wiss zee result. May I ‘ave your permission to at least tak pictures of zee completed zet?”
(tr: “Rest assured that we will be able to meet your deadline. We should be able to complete the entire set by then. I will have one of my apprentices start on the gold work, preparing the settings. I personally will cut and polish the stones. This set will be my masterpiece! I am sure that you will be very well pleased with the result. May I have your permission to at least take pictures of the completed set?”)
Clark replied “Of course you may. I am sure you would want a memento. Thank you for everything you are doing for me.”
“No, I t’ank you for zee opportu-nity to work wiss zuch a special gem. Eet ees my pleasure”
(tr: I thank you for the opportunity to work with such a special gem. It is my pleasure.”)
Clark shook hands with him and left.
To be continued in Chapter 22 – Double Star of the Congo
