Clark and Lois The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 3 24/46
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 –
“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.
And now –
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 24 – Together At Last
June 4, 1992 AM
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning Clark brought an outfit in for her to wear when she was discharged. It was a good thing that he had because when he arrived he found Dr. M’benga in Lois’ room. Lois held out both arms to him and said “I’m free! Dr. M’benga has released me!”
“That’s terrific news. Dr. M’benga I want to thank you for the excellent care you have given my wife. I feel certain that if it hadn’t been for you I would have lost her.”
Dr. M’benga replied in a very humble tone “I have just been doing my job and am happy to have been of assistance. I will send an orderly around in a while with a wheelchair but I’ll give you time to get dressed before he arrives. Just have the nurse call him when you are ready she will also go over the aftercare instructions with you.”
They both replied “Thank you doctor.” And he left.
Clark placed her bag on the bed. She opened it and found more clothes that she knew that she had left on the Ubuntu. She said “Clark, you’re going to explain these, aren’t you?”
Clark realized that he had been careless. He said “I’ll be explaining everything, shortly. Let’s get you dressed so that we can get you out of here. Have you figured out the story I told you yesterday?”
As she started pulling clothes out of the bag and laying it out preparatory to dressing she answered. “No, not yet. You may have to explain it all.”
“I think that the first thing I’m going to do is take you out to lunch. You have been eating hospital food for too long.”
With a distinct look of pleasure on her face she said “Once again you’re a life saver. I love the way you think.” She turned around and presented her back to him. “Will you undo the ties at the back of this gown for me?”
With a grin on his face he moved over and started untying the gowns fastenings and said “I think you’re going to learn that I’m always going to be willing and able to help my wife get undressed.”
Lois looked back over her shoulder at him and with a wicked little grin on her face said “Something for me to look forward to.” She then shrugged out of the gown and turned to face him. All she had on was a pair of panties. She looked up at him and tilted her head back in silent invitation. He leaned in and claimed her lips in a kiss while his hands found their way to her breasts. Realizing that the sooner he got her dressed the sooner they could be in the suite he released her after a quick caress and kiss and said “Let’s get you dressed so that I can get you out of here.”
Clark helped her dress. She was still somewhat stiff and sore from the surgery and had to be careful of how she moved. The doctor had promised that this would pass fairly rapidly though. Until then she would have to exercise some caution. After she was dressed Clark went to the nursing station and informed the nurse that she was ready to go. The nurse called for an orderly and then accompanied Clark back to room 105. Before the orderly arrived the nurse went over the aftercare instructions with them. She gave them some dressing materials for changing the surgery dressings and told them what to watch for. When the orderly arrived with the wheelchair Lois climbed aboard and was wheeled to the front door. Clark had parked the Land Rover near the door and went to fetch it. He loaded her things which included some of the flower arrangements and luggage in the back and then helped her get into the front.
Upon leaving the hospital they went to Le Jardin which had become one of their favorite eating places in Brazzaville. Afterwards they went to the hotel. Lois was greeted courteously by the desk clerk who expressed his pleasure at seeing that she was out of the hospital. Clark asked that the bell boy bring the flower arrangements and luggage up to the suite and proceeded to the elevator with Lois. When they left the elevator Clark opened the door to the suite and turned to Lois. “Can I carry my bride across the threshold?”
She looked at him with a shy grin on her face and asked “Is this another one of those traditions that you feel compelled to follow?”
His reply was a simple “Yes.”
He picked her up. Her head came to rest on his left shoulder and a memory, indistinct at first but then becoming stronger by the second intruded. A memory of being carried this way, by him, after being shot, but there had been wind blowing her hair around at the time. She remembered recovering consciousness several times while being carried this way. Then she thought <He carried me this way all the way to Brazzaville after I was shot! How could that be? We were hundreds of kilometers from Brazzaville at the time.> She spoke up “Clark, you carried me like this after I was shot, didn’t you?”
He continued to hold her and turned his head to look into her eyes and said “Yes, I did.”
“All the way to Brazzaville?”
“Yes, all the way to Brazzaville. I had to get you there immediately. You were dying and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Just how long did it take?”
Clark carried her into the bedroom he added some pillows so that she was reclining rather than laying flat and laid her down on the bed.
Just then the bell boy arrived with the contents of the Land Rover. Clark saw to the disposition of the flowers, tipped the bell boy and saw him out.
He returned to the bedroom and lay down next to her before he said “This is a going to be a long story and I was hoping to have some more time with you before we got into this but some things have happened which make it necessary so here goes. You know my name is Clark Kent, Clark Jerome Kent and I grew up in Smallville, Kansas. I was the adopted son of Jonathan and Martha Kent. They were killed in a car wreck when I was ten years old.”
“Oh, Clark, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right. It happened a long time ago.” It was so practiced it just slipped out of his mouth without thinking. So many people said that, but in a rather patronizing fashion. But, he realized, not this time. When Lois said it he felt as though she really meant it. He relented and said “Thank you. You know, actually it did happen a long time ago but it does still hurt. I mean, why did they have to die in something as senseless as a car crash? It happened just outside our property! Another hundred yards and they would have been safely off the road. I saw them die right in front of me and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”
Metaphorically shaking himself he returned to his original topic. “Sorry, I don’t mean to get all maudlin on you. Anyway, about Smallville, Kansas … I grew up there, but I wasn’t born there.”
“Where were you born?”
“A long way away from there but I’ll talk more about that later. Do you remember the story I told you?”
“Yeah, it was rather confusing. You said I was the beautiful princess and I assume that you are the handsome prince but then you talked about the beautiful princes’ twin. I don’t have any twin.”
“This is going to be hard to explain. Please believe me that I am telling you the truth. I’m not feeding you a science fiction story. I’ll fill in some names so that it makes more sense.”
“Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess, Lois Lane by name and she ruled in the domain of Metropolis, New Troy at the Daily Planet. She left there to take a trip to the Congo. She knew that the trip was going to be dangerous and so did her father, Perry White and he didn’t want her to go, but she went anyway. This all happened in 1992.”
“Yeah, it’s 1992. What’s so special about the date? Why mention it?”
Clark replied “Please bear with me and let me get back to the story. In another realm there was a handsome prince, Clark Kent by name. This prince was engaged to be married to another princess. Her name was Lana Lang whose domain was Smallville, Kansas. The handsome prince ruled in a domain far from Smallville, Kansas. His realm was in Metropolis, New Troy at the Daily Planet.”
“But, how could that be? I never met you until a couple of months ago.”
“Please be patient. This should make it clear. The handsome prince’s domain was the Daily Planet in … 1997.”
Lois let out a gasp. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“Lois, I’m a time traveler. I came here from 1997 to find and rescue you. I was hired by Perry White in 1995 as a reporter on the city desk – your old job. You had never returned from the Congo. You were missing and presumed dead.”
Lois said in a somewhat musing tone “Then that’s how you knew when I was to arrive. That also explains all those five year references. To you it was history. Okay, if I’m missing and presumed dead in 1997 does that mean that I’m still going to die?
“I wasn’t sure until a short time ago, but I *thought* we had changed history. But now actually, I’m sure, we *have* changed history. I’ve been checking on a few things while you were in the hospital. It would appear that the night you were shot I disappeared.”
“That’s funny. I can still see you.”
“I mean my other self. When I came back in time to 1992 suddenly there were two of me in this time period. You see in 1992 I was finishing up my senior year at Midwest U. I have checked and the night you were shot I went missing. Lana Lang, my girlfriend at that time filed a missing person report after I missed our weekly call. That means that I’m the only me here now. Okay, so I’m from 1997 like I said.”
“Lana is the other princess. Okay, so what about my twin. I don’t have a twin and if I’m missing and presumed dead for five years where did I, uh, she, come from?”
“Okay, I think we can dispense with the fairy tale now. There was a criminal running for political office in Metropolis. He was being opposed by Perry White. In order to win the election he needed someone to be an enemy that he could ‘rescue’ the people from. He chose me to be the enemy, but, in order to do this he had to make me become a symbol to the people. For this he needed someone familiar with what I could become. His name was Tempus and he was also a time traveler, but he was more than that, he was also a dimension traveler. He crossed the dimensional barrier and captured the Lois Lane from another dimension and brought her to this one. Tempus was sure that she would be able to convince me to be the symbol that the people needed and she did.”
“What kind of symbol did you become?”
“A symbol for truth, justice and the American way to a city and country that had almost lost its way.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of responsibility. How do you handle it?”
“I’ll handle it better now, with you by my side.”
“How? Am I that important? What makes me so special?”
“In order to explain that I need to ask you a question. Lois, what is the soul?”
“Wow, talk about changing the subject. Okay, well, let’s see. Well, the soul is part of what we are.”
“Lois, it goes a way beyond that. The soul is our essence. It is *what* we are. Our memories define *who* we are but the soul defines *us*. The ancients had a theory that there were at least some souls that are split into two parts and they cannot rest content until the two are reunited. Lois our souls, yours and mine, are two halves of a single whole. We are soul mates and we are fated to be together.” Clark reached out and grasped her hand. “That tingle you feel when we touch is a sign of the connection we share. I came back in time, but it wasn’t to simply rescue a person that I should have been working with. I came back in time five years to rescue the one woman in the world who completes me. The only woman I can ever truly love.”
Lois was blown away by this “Wow, so you and I are meant to be together? I can’t tell you how glad I am that you found and saved me. I’m so happy being here with you. There’s still more though, isn’t there?”
“Yes, a lot more. As I said I have been checking up on current events and I’ve confirmed that we have definitely changed history. Your survival was the key item causing that change. You were supposed to die from that gunshot wound and when you survived the other Clark vanished. I have a rendezvous scheduled for February of next year, but I don’t think it’s going to happen because of this change. At that rendezvous we were supposed to meet Herb Wells and if we were together he was going to take us back, in your case forward to 1997 so that we could resume our lives from that point.”
“Who’s Herb Wells? That name sounds familiar somehow.”
“Herbert George Wells is his full name, H. G. Wells.”
“You mean the author, H. G. Wells? He died in 1946!”
“Yeah, I mean H. G. Wells. Herb is actually a time traveler. He brought me here in his time sled.”
“Wow, this all sounds convincing, but so do a lot of science fiction stories. Time travel and dimension crossing and patriotic symbols, you are my husband now and I know that I should believe you but don’t you think you’re stretching the envelope a little? If I know Perry White the last thing he would do is run for Mayor.”
“The new owner of the Planet put him up to it.”
“Wait a minute, the Planet changed hands?”
“Yeah, in 1996, anyway, as I was saying, I don’t think that moving forward to 1997 is going to be feasible at this point. Since my other self has disappeared I’m going to have to step in and finish my college degree so that I can get the job at the Planet. It looks like I have five years to relive, so as soon as you’re healed we’ll need to return to the states so that I can take some make-up exams and finish the term.”
“Oh, and here’s another change. In my time this story is never filed. I think we have almost enough to publish. I would like to wait until I have completed my exams to file it. If we publish under a joint byline Perry might hire me immediately. Let me tell you something about your twin. She did this story before she met her Clark. She and the Clark Kent of that dimension have been married for about a year and have been reporting partners for four years. They are billed by the Planet as ‘The Hottest Team in Town’. They have multiple Kerth awards, both individually and as a team, Lois’ first Kerth award was for this story. I’m convinced from how we have worked together on this investigation that we can also be ‘the Hottest Team in Town’.”
“I’m willing if you are. I’m happy that we are partners now in more ways than one; both as a reporting team and as husband and wife.”
Clark noticed that she was showing signs of fatigue. “Lois, why don’t you take a nap? You look tired to me. After you get up we can order dinner from room service and talk some more.
“Only if you will lay here and hold me.”
“You’ve got a deal. I would like nothing better than to hold you for the rest of my life.”
Clark went over to the dresser and pulled out the drawer where he had placed her pajamas and other night wear. “What do you want to wear?”
Lois got a quizzical look on her face. “The night shirt with the bunnies on it.”
Clark pulled it out and walked over to her. She had started unbuttoning her top. He helped her finish and then unhooked her bra and she shrugged out of it. She put her arms up and he slipped the garment over her arms and down. She then stood to remove her skirt. Clark took her clothes and folded them and placed them over a chair back. He then pulled back the covers so that she could get in bed. Clark went into the bathroom to do a quick wash up and changed into some sleep shorts. When he came out she was sitting up against the pillows. When she saw him she let out a small gasp. She hadn’t seen him in this little clothing since she had walked in on him in the clearing in front of the tent. He was a sight to behold, that physique, the well defined muscles in his arms, legs and chest. She just wanted to run her hands over them again. The sudden realization hit her that there was absolutely nothing stopping her from doing just that. He was hers now after all. She patted the bed next to her and said “Come join me big boy.”
As he was lying down she removed the pile of pillows so that she was laying flat. She turned toward Clark and said “Come closer. I want you to hold me.” He moved over and put an arm under her and she moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder and her right arm across his chest. She had never felt so secure and contented since that morning in the tent. She fell asleep almost immediately. Clark lay there awake just marveling at her presence watching her sleep. Eventually he dropped off to sleep also.
He awoke to the feeling of her hands on him. He looked her in the eyes and said “Do you think this is wise?”
She looked at him with obvious desire in her eyes and said “You carried me across the threshold because it’s traditional. Well, I’ve got news for you, there is one tradition I don’t want to miss out on. This is my wedding night and I don’t want to miss out on any part of it. Its past time that we made love. I’ll be on top, that way I can control what is happening and if I find it’s too much I can stop.”
“Lois, I need to tell you something. I’ve never done this before. I hope I don’t disappoint you.
Lois let out a small gasp at this statement and asked “You’ve *never* made love to a woman before?”
“Honest, I haven’t. I was waiting for the right woman and you know who that is. I did have some experience with Lana and Mayson, you know some petting and such, but we never went ‘all the way’ and there was that trick that Suzanne and Colette played on me that I told you about.
“Well, I’ve got a confession to make to you. I’ve never done this either. In the past, all my failed relationships failed because I wouldn’t go all the way with the guy I was with. When I wouldn’t go there the guys I was interested in started calling me frigid, a lesbian or “ a really sarcastic tone entered her voice as she finished, “and I really liked this one, ‘The Ice Queen’, just because I wouldn’t have sex with them. Oh, we did the petting thing too but I was waiting until I was serious about someone. It looks like we’re a matched set. In view of this I think we need to make this very special for both of us. Do you think we can do it? I for one don’t want to wait any longer. Let’s try.” She leaned in and they started kissing, a deep full kiss of soul shattering proportions. Lois experienced that blissful haze she had been in on previous occasions but this time she had an object in mind and a kiss, no matter how wonderful was not going to satisfy her.
She crawled on top of him and lay down with as much of her skin touching his as was humanly possible. She started sliding her breasts back and forth across his chest. Every time her erect nipples came in contact with his nipples they both let out a soft moan. While she continued this she initiated another kiss. As their tongues performed a gentle duel she knew that she couldn’t hold out much longer. After a time of intimacy Lois lay down flat on his chest stretched her legs out on top of his and promptly fell asleep. Clark’s hands continued to explore her body for a time and then he too fell asleep.
Some time later in the afterglow of their lovemaking Lois was still groggy with sleep and lying on his chest when she reached over with her leg preparatory to rolling off of him. When she did her leg didn’t find anything to rest on. She straightened her leg and started questing with it for the bed but it was nowhere within reach. This fact slowly filtered its way into her consciousness and she opened her eyes. She looked over his shoulder expecting to see that they had moved to the very edge of the bed and that her leg was dangling over the side. Her eyes opened very wide as she said in a less than calm voice “Clark. *Clark* **Clark**” He finally awoke. “She looked him in the eyes because she was afraid to look anywhere but at him right then and said, “Clark, we’re floating five feet above the bed! How can this be????”
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 25 – Revelation
