from part 8:

Suddenly, Clark was behind her, whispering, "Someone's coming!" They ducked down and split up, each moving between two carts on opposite sides of the row, hoping that would shield them. As Lois got her breathing back under control, she began to hear the approaching footsteps.

****

J is for Jet Set
part 9
by Pam Jernigan

****

It seemed like an eternity spent crouching down behind a mail cart to Clark, as the footsteps grew gradually louder. He entertained some hope that whoever it was would pass by the sorting room, but instead the steps slowed, and entered the room, the sounds changing subtly.

Someone was in the room with them, moving idly around. So far, no one had come close to their hiding places, which was good, but still, how could they find the package with someone right there? Maybe he ought to do something, although he wasn't sure what. Could he knock the man out? What if it was a woman? The footfalls had sounded masculine in some not-fully-understood way, but that could be deceiving.

Another set of footsteps approached. "Hey, Harry, whatcha doing in here? The Chiefs game is on in the lounge."

From inside the room, Harry replied, "Well, I'm done with the front room, so now I'm finishing up in here. You know, doing what they pay me for."

"Oh, relax, it's all set for tomorrow. It'll get crazy soon enough, once the Christmas rush starts to hit. We should enjoy the slow nights while we can!"

"Well... I guess it is a pretty quiet. What's the score?"

"We're creaming them."

"Come to think of it, I'll just take my break now. I can get back to this later." Two sets of footfalls receded down the hall.

Clark closed his eyes in relief, his heart thumping loudly. If his plan had gotten Lois thrown in jail, he'd never have forgiven himself. Bending the rules in Metropolis was one thing, but there was no sympathetic Inspector Henderson in Wichita.

The footsteps had almost completely died away when Lois peeked out from her hiding place. "Clark?" she called softly. "I think they're gone."

Clark stood up on shaky legs. "Yeah, I think so. That was close."

Lois stood, too, looking at him speculatively. "I don't think it was as close as you think... I didn't hear that guy until he was almost in the room. You heard him a lot earlier than that."

"Oh." Cautiously, Clark listened to the room. His own heart was beating loudly... but behind that, he heard Lois's heartbeat as well. His hearing was back! The intensity of his relief staggered him.

"What is it?" Lois asked warily.

He smiled broadly. "I'm back."

Her face lit up. "Yes! I knew you'd get over this." She hugged him impulsively, pulling back almost immediately so she could see his face again. "You're sure?"

"Firing on all cylinders," he assured her. His energy was back and the soreness in his shoulders had disappeared. Even the lead box he was carrying seemed to have lost ten pounds.

"Great! Now all we have to do is find that stupid rock -- I think I'm getting close on the zip codes." She turned back to her perusal of the outgoing mail carts.

"Right." Clark squared his shoulders. If anything, it was even more important now to keep the existence of Kryptonite a secret -- they not only had to find it, they also had to get away undetected. And he was still the fastest way to locate it.

He walked down the aisle, x-raying the carts as he passed them. He'd never actually seen this stuff, he realized, but how many packages of green crystals could there be? A wave of dizziness hit him, and he stopped. "Lois, I'm getting close."

Unfortunately, he'd only narrowed it down to four or five potential carts at best. Slowly, he inched forward, trying to feel where the pain was coming from. His stomach began cramping, and he bent forward, instinctively putting out a hand to steady himself. A second later, he snatched it back, gritting his teeth against any loud reaction to the sudden pain.

He felt Lois's hands on his back as she helped him retreat. After a few steps, the symptoms began to fade and he could breathe easier. "Okay, far enough. It's that one, Lois -- somewhere in the one I grabbed onto." He handed her the lead box. "I'll just watch from back here."

She still looked worried about him, but after only a second of indecision she turned, holding up the lead box and marching toward the cart he'd indicated. She rummaged around inside it for a moment, then let out a soft, "Yes." After a moment of fumbling, he heard the box snick closed, and let himself relax, just a fraction.

Lois straightened up and turned back towards him. She grimaced. "Time to find out whether this really will protect you." Moving slowly, she progressed toward him.

He tensed, but as she got closer he smiled. "I don't feel a thing."

"Thank goodness. Now let's blow this popsicle stand."

Clark nodded fervent agreement. The tiredness was back with a vengeance, but at least his arms felt okay. Thank goodness for accelerated healing.

They headed back the way they'd come in, keeping a wary eye and ear out for wandering employees. Lois kept the box a few feet away from him, just in case, Clark noted, but he wasn't about to complain. While he removed their strip of tape from the door, she went ahead and loaded the box into the trunk, then moved forward to meet him on the sidewalk. "Whew."

"Yeah." He hugged her tightly. "Thanks."

"Clark, I hardly did anything!" she protested. "You're the one who... oh, I forgot! What about your powers?"

He shrugged. "They're gone again. But that's okay." He smiled at her, feeling almost light-headed. "It's only temporary."

****

"Are you sure it'll be okay in the car?" Lois asked, casting a doubtful backwards glance.

Clark swung around, walking backwards for a step or two. "It's a well-lit parking lot, and we got a space near the front of the hotel... I think it should be safe enough."

Lois raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that your professional opinion?"

He grinned at her. "I guess it is." He held open the hotel lobby door for her. "Anyway, we don't have anywhere else to store it, and I do *not* want it in the room with us."

"Can't argue with that." Lois reached for Clark's hand. She was happy to note that her earlier nervousness was completely gone. In fact, she was quite relaxed. She smothered a yawn and rested her head on Clark's shoulder. "Why am I so tired?"

"It's been a long day -- and don't forget the time change. It's nearly eleven at night back home." They reached the bank of elevators and Clark hit the button. "And it's only been two days since we were chasing Toni and the Toasters until dawn."

She smiled up at him. "You called Metropolis home."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" He shrugged, smiling faintly. "Well, I love Kansas, but I haven't really lived here for a long time."

The elevator arrived, and they boarded the empty car. A memory from weeks ago surfaced. "You said... you said Metropolis had a bigger hold on Superman than I might think, or something like that... I guess you'd be in a position to know."

"Yeah." He put an arm around her, and Lois enjoyed the sensation of snuggling in a little closer to him. She just loved touching him, and she was deeply pleased that he seemed to enjoy contact with her just as much -- and that he was gaining confidence in his reception. So, Metropolis had a hold on him, did it?

The elevator deposited them on the fourth floor, and they walked quietly back to their room. This time, instead of nervous, Lois was merely curious about what might happen inside that room. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to have happen. Or what she'd have the energy for.

As Clark unlocked and opened the hotel door, she caught him trying to stifle a yawn. It had been a long day, and had to have been a lot more trying for him. He'd been exposed to Kryptonite twice, passed out, been dragged through a field, and he'd lost his usual super strength. It was a testament to his strength of character that he was still on his feet at all. "Tired?"

"Just a little." He waved her inside the room. "Here we are..."

"It's deja vu all over again," Lois joked as she slipped inside.

Clark followed her into the main area, looking uncertain. "You can have this bed, okay? I'll take the other one."

"That'll be fine, Clark." It wasn't like either of them were up for anything more exciting. "I guess we should just get some sleep -- it'll be another two hours to drive back to Smallville tomorrow."

"That sounds sensible," Clark agreed unenthusiastically. He yawned again, which set her off, too.

"We'd better get ready for bed before we pass out," Lois advised dryly. "Dibs on the bathroom!"

After a few minutes of puttering around, Lois climbed into one of the two beds, closest to the nightstand between beds. She was glad she'd thought to pack for an overnight stay. The loose flannel pajamas she'd brought weren't her idea of attractive nightwear, but then maybe that was a good thing. And they were comfortable.

Clark came out of the bathroom wearing only sleep shorts and a t-shirt. Drat. She'd hoped to get another good look at his chest. Her hands itched to slide inside that shirt and reacquaint themselves with it.

He moved up the narrow aisle between the two beds, and hesitated, looking at her. Before she could decide what signal to send, though, he turned away, and got into the other bed. Lois tried to remember which of them had decided they'd need separate beds, anyway. Probably Clark. But a moment ago, he hadn't looked so sure.

After a moment, Clark took off his glasses, setting them on the nightstand between them. He met her eyes uncertainly, but she just smiled, enjoying the view. Even without them, he no longer looked like Superman to her -- or at least, not Superman as the unapproachable icon.

"Ready to turn out the lights?" he asked.

"Yeah."

He switched off the lamps, leaving the room lit only by reflected street lights coming through the window's sheer curtain. "Goodnight, Lois."

"Goodnight, Clark." She lay on her back, closing her eyes. A minute later, she popped them open again. She was tired, but more restless than sleepy. She rolled over onto her side, peering across the gap toward Clark. "Wanna talk?"

"Sure," he replied sleepily, turning his head her way.

"Okay. Um..." Lois searched for a question. "In your whole life, what was your very favorite Halloween costume?"

"Halloween costume?" he asked, bemused at her choice of topics.

"It's only a week away, you know."

"Yeah, I guess so. Okay, let's see... in my whole life... when I was eight, my mom made me a really cool pirate costume. How about you? I'll bet you were a really cute princess."

"When I was younger, maybe," Lois replied, keeping her voice neutral. "Daddy used to call me that. After he left... I went with other costumes."

"Ah." Clark rolled over to face her, too. "Sorry."

She shrugged. "Such is life. Actually, I think my favorite Halloween," she said with more enthusiasm, "was the year that Lucy and I dressed up as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I might have been fourteen, I'm not quite sure."

He grinned, his teeth flashing in the shadowy room. "Which one were you?"

"One guess," she told him, smiling sleepily. "I had a lot of fun saying 'elementary, my dear Watson.' It drove Lucy nuts."

"I'll just bet it did." There was a moment of comfortable silence before he spoke again. "What's it like, having a sibling?"

"Um, I've never really thought about it before." She supposed it wasn't surprising that Clark would be curious; from what he'd said so far, she'd gotten the impression his childhood hadn't included many other children. "She was my playmate. And she could make me crazy. And after the divorce... we got closer, I think. Daddy was gone, and Mother was drinking heavily. We had to take care of each other." Lois decided she really didn't want to dwell on that tonight, so she asked, "What's it like having superpowers?"

"Kinda strange," he admitted, with a hint of humor in his voice. "Sometimes, it's the best thing in the world. I love to fly -- and the other stuff can be pretty fun, too. And then, sometimes..." his voice slowed down. "It's kinda scary."

Lois was intrigued, straining to see his face. "Scary how?"

He shrugged, sounding almost embarrassed. "Well, growing up... I never knew what might happen next. There was this one time, when I was eleven, I think. I'd picked up a dandelion -- you know, when it's all gone to seeds and you blow on them to see them float away?"

"We have dandelions in the city, too, Clark."

"Just checking. Anyway, it was a perfect puffball... and then I blew on it... and the air came out super cold. Frosted the poor dandelion." He laughed softly, ruefully. "I was terrified to open my mouth after that -- but then Dad hauled me off to the fields so I could practice."

"He made you practice?"

"Well, I needed to learn how to control it. Dad was great -- no matter what happened, he was never rattled."

"Yeah, I can picture that." And she could imagine that Jonathan's calm would have been the exact thing that a terrified young boy needed to see. "Your dad's cool."

"Definitely." Clark fell silent, and rolled back on his back. After a moment, he said softly, "It was scary today."

Lois looked over at him, trying to read his expression, but he was too far away. Okay, enough of this. "I'm sure it was," she replied, climbing out of bed. She took one step forward. "Scoot over."

He looked up at her, a question clear on his face.

"We can just keep talking, but I... well, that other bed is just way too lumpy."

"Ah... it is, huh." He moved away from the edge, creating a space for her. "Can't have you trying to sleep on a lumpy mattress."

He clearly didn't buy her excuse. As long as he didn't call her on it, that was fine. She crawled in next to him and cuddled up. It was a bit awkward, at first, though it helped that they were both fully clothed. After a moment, she began to relax, just savoring the warmth of him. Now she was ready to continue their discussion. "I can't even imagine what today must have been like for you."

"It was... weird. I don't think I've ever hurt like that before. But that wasn't even the worst part. There for a while... I didn't think the powers would ever come back."

"That must have been devastating." It had been deeply unsettling for her, and she'd only known him a few months.

"Yeah. But there was one small part of me..." he hesitated, his voice getting even softer. "It was happier without them. Glad to be rid of Superman."

She pulled her head back from his shoulder, looking up at him. "Really? Why?"

Clark squirmed a little. "Superman's taken up more of my time than I ever thought he would. It's great to be able to help, but being public has its own problems -- more attention than I ever wanted, whether it's from groupies or UFO nuts. But the worst part was... he was scaring you away."

"What? No, he wasn't!"

He turned his head to meet her eyes, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Not even a little?"

Lois sighed. "Okay, maybe it was a little intimidating to suddenly find myself in a relationship with the strongest man on the planet... but that was pretty short lived. Once I knew what I wanted," she added for emphasis, "It would take a lot more than just Superman to put me off."

His arms tightened around her. "Well, that's good, 'cause it looks like Superman is part of the package -- two for the price of one. Just call me a twin set."

She snickered. "Considering that one of you can fly, maybe we should call you a jet set."

"Just so long as you call me..." There was a sleepy pause. "I don't want to be without you."

Lois considered that, before softly admitting, "I don't want to be without you, either." She wasn't comfortable saying something like that to a man. Her previous experiences had taught her that letting down her defenses only led to a more painful attack, later on. But this time... well, this was Clark. She didn't think he even knew how to be malicious or cruel. If -- speaking theoretically -- she was in love with him, it would be safe to say so.

She looked up at him, taking a deep breath.

He was sound asleep.

Her lips curved helplessly upwards. It just figured. Oh, well. She lay down again and snuggled in closer. She didn't have to say anything, really. It would keep. She closed her eyes and joined him in sleep.

****
to be concluded...