Clark and Lois The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 3 23/46
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 –
“No, wife, I can’t say wife enough. My *wife*! I want to shout it from the rooftops! Lois Lane is my wife! Look out world! I have it on good authority that there is nothing in the world that the team of Lois Lane and Clark Kent can’t do. Just look at what we have accomplished so far. I think we have enough on this story to go to print, but, we have to wait on that for just a bit.”
“Why wait?” she asked.
“I still have to check on a few things.” He replied “Right now we need to get you back into bed so that you can heal.” As he was saying this he was unzipping the back of her gown. She stepped out of it and he neatly laid it out on the chair so that he could repackage it and then take it to the hotel. She was standing there in her bra and panties. Admittedly they covered more than the string bikini had but these were not bathing apparel. These were lingerie. All he could do when he turned around from arranging the gown on the chair was to stare at her.
Closing the distance between them she reached behind and unclasped her bra and shrugged out of it. She placed it on the chair with the gown. Clark was frozen in place. She turned to him and said “I’m yours now so you’re allowed to touch me. In fact I would like you to touch me.” He reached out and placed his hand on her breast. She gave a sigh of contentment and leaned her head back silently asking to be kissed. As he kneaded her breast he took her up on her silent offer and leaned in and claimed her lips in a kiss. After several minutes of this they broke from the kiss. He put her hospital gown back on her and carried her over and put her in the bed. She marveled at this display of strength, but didn’t mention it. He said he would tell her everything, soon. She gave a contented sigh and reached out with her hand to stroke his face. He took her hand in his and kissed the palm and said “You get some rest. I’m going to check on some things. I’ll be back for visiting hours. You’ve had a big day and you need to rest. We want to be able to have you discharged as soon as possible.”
She said “Dr. M’benga said that it should only be a couple more days.”
After giving her another kiss he said “That’s terrific news. I’ll have the suite ready for you when they do and then we can start our life, together. I’ll be back in a little while.”
There had been this nagging feeling at the back of his mind that this was in fact a major change in history. Lois was alive. They were married. The investigation was more or less complete. There were just a few loose ends to tie up and it would be ready to publish. But, he knew that in his time the story never went to press. He needed to figure this all out. He needed to find out just how profound this change was, if it was a change. <I wish Herb was here. He would be able to tell me just what effect these changes have actually had. I know he said that he believed that whatever actions I would take were just part of the history that I knew, but how can this be explained? In my time Lois was missing and presumed dead and the story was never filed, now neither of those is the case.>
And now –
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Chapter 23 – A Bedtime Story
Later that same day
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clark headed for the Planet office. When he arrived he was greeted by Derek. “Charlie, we haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks. Where’s Linda?”
Clark responded “Oh, Derek, I’m sorry. Things have been really crazy the last couple of weeks. Linda is in the hospital because she was shot by one of the rebels. She is going to be fine they’re going to discharge her in a couple of days. I should have come by and let you know but I’ve been spending all my waking hours at her bedside. I’m sure you understand.”
Derek replied “Shot by one of the rebels? How badly was she injured? What happened? Give me some details. I’m sorry to hear it and I’m glad to hear that she is going to be okay but please fill me in.”
“Well, Derek she was shot at close range with a handgun. I got her to a doctor just in time. They had to operate and she lost her spleen and a kidney but she is recovering nicely. She is in room 105 if you want to send flowers or visit or whatever, I’m sure she’d like to see you.”
Derek said “I think I’ll send some flowers from the Planet.”
Clark said “That would be a nice gesture. I’m sure she would appreciate it. Uh, Derek, could I have that roll of film back? Now that we’re back from the interior we can secure it.”
Derek walked over to his desk and reaching to the far back of his second drawer retrieved the canister and handed it to Clark aka Charlie.
“Thanks, we appreciate you babysitting this film for us. This is our evidence on the gun running.”
“I figured that out when you gave it to me. How goes the investigation? Getting anywhere?”
“I think we have just about wrapped it up. We won’t be able to publish until we at least are back in the states though.”
“Okay, I look forward to reading it when it’s published. Can you give us a heads up?”
“I’ll do that. I have some things I need to check on so I’ll be using the computer for a while.” With that statement Clark then went over and logged onto the internet and made a query. He checked for any records regarding Lana Lang and also Clark Kent in Smallville. <Let’s see how much information I can find on myself and Lana. I was just completing my senior year at Midwestern. Let’s see if my academic transcript is available.> He started digging. After a lot of searching on the web he couldn’t find anything. He changed tracks and looked up the Registrar’s phone number and after clearing it with Derek he gave them a call. What he found was startling.
First he identified himself and explained where he was and gave them a story about being called out of the country on an emergency. They told him that it was a good thing he had called in as he was going to be given incompletes for all of his classes since he hadn’t taken his finals. He thought <What’s the story here? I *never* missed an exam. That is not the way things were. This change to history looks like it’s more profound than Herb or I could have imagined.> Based on what the Registrar’s office had told him he called the Kansas City Police Department and identified himself. When he gave his name he was immediately transferred to the detective division. He spoke with a Sergeant Friday in missing persons. He explained that he had been called out of the country suddenly but would be returning soon. He was informed that Lana Lang had filed the report. He thanked the sergeant and asked that the missing person report be cancelled. He was informed that that could not be done until he came in, in person, for a positive ID or the person filing the report called in to close it. He promised to have Lana call and cancel the report.
In his conversation with the Registrar’s office he found that he had not signed in for classes in the last couple of weeks. <The date I stopped attending classes is the date Lois was shot! That has to be more than coincidence>.
When he had talked to the police he found that the report was filed by Lana Lang on May 25. He thought <Is this the result of changing history this way? Let’s see about Lana.>
He typed in a few more commands and got the information he was looking for. <Lana is still in Smallville. Here is her phone number. I think I need to call her and have her call off the search.> He asked Derek permission to make another trans-Atlantic call. Derek approved it so he placed the call. “Hello, Lana.”
“Clark, where are you? I’ve been frantic!”
“Lana, it’s a long story. I’m in Africa.”
“How did you get there and why are you there?”
“I came here on a rescue mission. Please cancel the Missing Person report. Tell the KC Police that you have spoken to me and that everything is fine.”
“Okay, I’m just happy you’re alright. I didn’t know what had happened. You didn’t get there by you know how did you?”
“Lana, it’s a long story. A lot of things have changed since we last talked. Our relationship has changed. I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. We’ll talk when I get back.”
“What do you mean ‘our relationship has changed’? Are you going to start doing you know what even though I don’t want you doing it?”
“Lana, I have come to the decision that I need to be who I am. To deny what I can do is not good.”
“Clark, they will put you away in a lab and study you like a monkey!”
“No, they won’t! Look, we can talk after I’m home.”
“When will that be?”
“It won’t be for a few weeks yet. I’m not exactly sure when.”
“Look, I’ve made it perfectly clear that I will not have you doing you know what if we have a relationship. You need to decide is it going to be me or you know what.”
“Look, Lana, I don’t want to hurt you, but, I just can’t deny what I am any longer.”
“In that case, don’t bother to come back. Just stay where you are and do you know what where I don’t have to watch them haul you away. I couldn’t bear it. Good bye, Clark.” She hung up the phone without even giving him a chance to reply.
He thought about the conversation he had just had. It was with a sense of relief that he thought <Well, that didn’t exactly go the way I had planned it, but at least this way I don’t have to tell her about Lois. I guess she’ll find out soon enough though. We do have to go to Smallville and you can’t hide something like that in a small town.>
Shifting to the other topics he thought <It looks like when I changed history the other me ceased to exist. Nothing that happened in the last five years has happened. I have a chance to do it over, with Lois by my side. Wow, this is too much.>
< I need to salvage my academic career if I want to get that job at the Planet. In order to do that I’ll need to contact the registrar and make arrangements to make up the exams. I’ve already told them I was called out of the country on an emergency.> He logged off the computer and went back to the hospital.
When Clark arrived at the hospital he found Lois asleep. He didn’t want to wake her so he moved the chair over next to her bed and sat in it with her hand in his and thought about his discoveries.
<OK, I’m now the *only* Clark Kent in this time period. I need to try to find out exactly what time my other self disappeared, if it happened in front of other people that could be a problem. If he was alone in his dorm room then it should be OK. The exact time will also tell me what event triggered the change. Let’s see … I was in my senior year. It was a Saturday. I didn’t have any classes. I would have had something to eat and gone back to the dorm to study. Unless it happened mid afternoon I should have been alone. I would have been calling Lana around 8:00 PM for our weekly call. The date on the Missing Person report was May 25. That means I missed the call. Lana must have tried to find me and when she couldn’t she filed the report. I disappeared sometime before 8:00 PM May 24, 1992, that narrows it down somewhat. It must have something to do with what happened to Lois. If she had died would things have continued on as they were? Herb is the only one that can tell me and he won’t be here until February 28th. According to him, this shouldn’t have happened so I’ll need to figure this out without him. Let’s see, I have used virtually all of my powers since that time and I have them all.>
His thoughts suddenly moved onto another track. <Five years to do over, and if this is the kind of change I think it is, I can have my life back with no Tempus to expose me. How did Clark maintain his secret? Let’s see, he wore glasses when he was not in the suit, slicked back his hair when in the suit and had a different attitude. Is that what he depended on? I can’t understand how he does it and yet, he seems to have carried it off for a while now and no one the wiser. I’ll have to talk it over with Lois after I’ve explained everything. I still feel like I would need a mask but Clark seems to think that a mask would be counterproductive. What about the Lone Ranger, he was a good guy and he wore a mask. I think people can get used to it, but this’ll have to be a joint decision, I’m not alone anymore>. He got a smile on his face as he continued in thought. <Mmmmm I’m *not* *alone* *anymore*! Lois>
Clark looked up and noticed that Lois was looking at him. “Hi, I didn’t know you were awake.”
“You looked like you were a million miles away.”
“A million miles and five years to be exact.”
<There’s that five year period again. What does he mean? I’m starting to think it isn’t figurative.> “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, just be patient with me for a few more days. Once you’re out of here we can start working on our new life together.”
“OK, but you know I hate mysteries. I always found my Christmas presents and opened them early.”
With a wicked little grin on his face he said “I’m going to ask you to be as patient as I am. I’m going to wait to open my present.”
With a bantering tone she replied “Is it all wrapped up and have a bow on it?”
“I don’t know. Let me see.” He stood up and looked at the top of her head. “No, I don’t see any.”
Lois laughed and said “I’ll have to see what I can do about that.”
He leaned in and half lifting her off the bed put his arms around her and kissed her. She in turn wrapped her arms around his neck. As the kiss continued one of her hands found its way into his hair and started playing with it. <So soft, I love the feel of his hair. I can’t wait to get out of here.>
“Okay, how about this. I’ll tell you a bedtime story. Earlier today I was glad I had ordered a tiara for you as part of the set. You looked just like a royal princess. So, how about this, ‘Once upon a time there was a very beautiful princess.’”
Lois clapped her hands and said “I love this story already!”
He started again “Once upon a time there was a very beautiful princess. She ruled in her domain and had many subjects but she left them so that she could take a trip. This trip was going to be dangerous and her father didn’t want her to go but she went anyway. In another realm there was a handsome prince. This prince was engaged to be married to a princess from his realm however she wanted him to give up his power in order to marry her. Then a twin sister of the beautiful princess came into his life. She showed the prince how he could use his power for the good of all the people. He thought that he now loved the beautiful princess’ twin and wanted her to stay with him. When his fiancée found out that he would not give up his power she called off the wedding. The twin of the beautiful princess then returned to her realm. The prince was then alone and very lonely until one day a wonderful wizard came to him and proposed that he help him find the beautiful princess, not the twin. The prince was very happy when the wizard offered his help and the handsome prince took him up on his offer. They entered his magic carriage and flew to where the beautiful princess was going to be and he waited for her to appear. When she did they had an adventure together. After the adventure they were married and lived happily ever after. There, did you like that story?”
“I’m a little confused with all these princesses running around all over the place.”
Laughing he replied “You can’t tell the princesses without a score card. I’ll give you a little hint. You are *the* beautiful princess. I’m going to let you try to figure the story out. After you’re discharged and we are in our suite, if you haven’t figured it out then I’ll explain. Right now it’s time for me to leave and for you to get your beauty sleep.” With that he put his arms around her, hugged her and gave her a kiss. He then said goodnight and left promising to return in the morning.
comments go here. To be continued in Chapter 24 – Together At Last
