I know it's been eons since the last part of this went up but here is the end finally!! I had a series of RL crises [no, not you Roger
], including a new baby who went back to the hospital at 6 days but is fine now. You can see pics of the new little FoLC
here if you're interested.
Anyway, the end is finally written and so Annette can count it as the end of a very late birthday present or a slightly late Christmas present or a right on time New Years' Eve present!
Special thanks go out to Anna who had most of this sitting in her inbox for months and months and didn't delete it so I'd have to start all over!
The TOC is
here and I know most of you will need since it's been so long.
Without any further ado, the final part of TOWLACMSNF.
CM[Who got Friends S5 on dvd for Christmas:)]
From Part 7:Clark knew she was there even before he heard her voice.
"Clark!"
He heard the slight crack in her voice and stood to find her launching herself into his arms. He gladly wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the base of her neck. He breathed in her scent, taking in every little nuance of her being.
"Oh, Clark." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I have missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too, Lois."
"You have some explaining to do..."
"I know."
"... but you could tell me you were Superman and that's why you left and I wouldn’t care!"
Part 8 Clark swallowed hard. He'd have to tell her that truth soon.
The wheels in Lois' head were turning as she held Clark as tight as she could, never wanting to let go. And in the moment she made the Superman comment, she knew it was true. Superman had held her last night and now Clark was holding her and she knew they were the same man. As it settled in and she felt Clark's breath tease the hair on her neck, she knew it didn't matter. Oh, he'd have to explain, and probably fly her all kinds of places to make up for it, but it was okay. She had Clark back. She pulled back suddenly. "You saw me with Dan, didn't you?"
"What?" What on earth was she talking about?
"I told *you* there was nothing between me and *Superman* and that there was someone else in my life and then you saw me talking to Dan, didn't you?"
Clark's eyes widened as he realized the implications of what she'd said and how she'd said it. How could she have figured out his most important secret in the time since he'd seen her the night before? She obviously hadn't known then. "Yeah, I did."
"And you thought I meant he was the man in my life."
"Yeah." The answer was softer this time as he remembered the pain that tore through him when he'd seen them together.
"I hadn't even planned on seeing him that night, but he was there and I had to tell him that it was over. Then I went over to your apartment and..."
"I was already gone."
Lois nodded and sat on the couch. "You didn't even say goodbye."
"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left like that." Clark sat next to her.
"And if you ever do it again..." Lois wiped the tears off of her cheeks.
"Again?" Clark had a hopeful look in his eyes. Maybe even now that she knew the whole truth, she'd give him a second chance.
"Yes, again. If you leave me like that again, I won't take you back."
Clark grinned at her. "Then I guess I won't leave."
Lois ran her finger along the side of his face. "I've missed your smile."
"I've missed everything about you."
A throat cleared behind them. "I hate to break up this little love fest..."
Clark and Lois managed to tear their eyes off each other and turned to Rachel.
"Sorry, Rae." Lois tried to look chagrined, but failed.
"Sorry to interrupt, but is Joe coming soon?" She had a hopeful puppy dog look on her face.
Lois checked her watch. "He should be here any minute."
"Who's Joe?" Clark asked.
"A friend of mine from high school I saw at the airport yesterday. He's moving to New York and I thought Rachel might show him around."
Clark grinned at Lois. "I know of an apartment that I hope will be available. If you think Perry might have an opening."
"I know he does. They hired some putz named Ralph to take your place and he's..." She shuddered, unable to find words to describe him. "Perry said the other day that if I found you, he'd gladly let Ralph go and hire you back."
"Great. Well, then if Joe is interested, he can have my apartment and I may just have to head back to Metropolis."
Lois shifted her body so that she was nestled against him. "No may about it, mister. You're coming back to Metropolis with me and Joe..."
"What about Joe?" A new voice caused them to turn around.
Lois stood. "Joe! It's good to see you!" She introduced him. "This is my friend, Rachel I told you about and this is Clark... my partner."
Joe shook hands with both of them. "It's nice to meet you but what were you saying?"
"Clark's been living in New York and is moving back to Metropolis so his apartment is going to be available."
"That's great. I've heard it can be really hard to find an apartment in this area, and this is just where I'd like to live."
Rachel tossed her hair. "Well, I live in the next building over so I'll be glad to show you around."
Joe smiled at her. "That'd be really nice. Oh, Lois, I ran into Peggy yesterday too. We're supposed to get together sometime soon, for old time's sake."
Lois smiled. "Well, tell her I said hi."
"I will." Joe smiled at Rachel. "So when does this big tour start?"
"How about now?"
"Sounds great. We'll see you guys later?"
Lois and Clark nodded and waved as their new friends left the coffee house. "And now you and I are going to talk. Is there an empty alley around here somewhere?"
Clark laughed. "There's a handy roof. Come on." He took her by the hand and led her out the door.
*****
Clark stood on the roof of his building and grinned at her. "I've always wanted to do this in front of you." He tugged at his collar and then began to spin. When he stopped, Superman stood there in his place.
Lois' mouth hung open. "Wow. I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll fly with me."
"Always."
Clark moved towards her and then scooped her into his arms. "Then let's go." They took off into the sky, secure in each other's arms.
*****
Lois tried to work on a speech for Clark, telling him all of the things she wanted him to know about how the last few months had been for her and how mad she was about the whole Superman thing. Well, not mad really. Hurt. Of course she was hurt. He'd lied to her for years now and then left without a word and…. She tried to work herself into a frenzy but found that she was unable to. Not when she was flying over the eastern seaboard in Superm… Clark's arms.
A cloudbank of brilliant oranges and reds and purples appeared on the horizon as the sun began to set. Lois was overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. She almost didn't notice when Clark stopped to hover over the clouds.
"Why are we stopping?" Lois looked puzzled.
"Well, we're over a populated area but there's a lot of clouds here and we're not on any flight paths…"
"So?"
"So that way no one can see me when I do this."
"Do what?"
"This."
Clark lowered his lips onto hers and through her closed eyelids Lois could see the brilliant red of the sun disappear beyond the distant horizon. Her head spun as Clark pulled her closer until she could feel their hearts beating in unison, faster and faster until their staccato rhythm drowned out all of her other senses.
When they finally pulled apart, the stars shimmered above her and the moon bathed them in a warm glow.
"Wow."
Clark smiled at her. "You said that earlier. But you're right. Wow."
Lois picked at the S on his chest. "I'm trying to be mad at you."
Clark swallowed hard. "Is it working?"
"No. And I wish it was, but it's not."
"Well, I have to admit that I’m pretty glad it's not."
Lois smiled up at him. "You should be, flyboy. Just because you're invulnerable doesn't mean…"
"I'm not invulnerable to you. I never was."
"Good. Now, before Perry fills that position at the Planet, we better get moving. But not before you kiss me again."
"Your wish is my command, milady."
Clark kissed her again, the stars swirling around them until they could hardly breath. Moisture creeping up her legs made Lois start to shiver.
Clark pulled back as she shuddered in his arms. "We're not going to be able to do this often."
Lois looked at him, puzzled. "Why not?"
"Because kissing you makes me lose altitude. Not a good plan."
Lois looked around and realized that they were up to their knees in clouds.
Clark swooped her up into his arms. "Metropolis, here we come!"
*****
Clark landed them on the roof of the Daily Planet and spun back into his Clark clothes.
Lois watched him in awe. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching you do that."
Clark grinned at her. "And I don't think I'll ever get tired of doing this." He pulled her close and gave her another soul-shattering kiss. "Let's go."
Lois straightened her wind swept hair and they headed down the stairs to the newsroom.
*****
"Well, hell's bells, Jimmy. Look what the cat drug in!"
Jimmy turned to see Lois and Clark heading across the newsroom, hand in hand. "Clark!"
The long lost reporter stuck out a hand only to find himself enveloped in the arms of the young photographer. Clark laughed. "Hi, Jimmy."
"Man, I have missed you, CK."
"I've missed you, too. All of you."
Jimmy turned to Perry. "Does this mean we can get rid of Ralph now?"
Perry groaned. "I don't know about that, but there is an opening in classifieds." He turned to Clark. "I hope this means you're back, son."
Clark took the older man's offered hand. "I sure am, if you'll have me. I know I left kind of suddenly and all but…"
"That job is yours as long as you want it."
"Then I'll take it." Clark grinned at the editor. "It's good to be back, sir."
"We're glad to have you, but Lois, I didn't think your flight got in until tomorrow."
Lois and Clark glanced at each other wide-eyed. Lois spoke first. "Well, it didn't. But, um, we ran into Superman and he offered to fly us back."
Clark nodded. "He also said that the gang problems in New York have improved so much that he's thinking about moving back to Metropolis.
"That'd be great." Perry looked directly at Clark as he spoke. "We've missed him around here."
Clark swallowed hard. There was no doubting what Perry meant. Well, he hadn't become editor because he could yodel so it was probably only a matter of time before he'd figured it out anyway.
"Son, your old desk is yours again. It's about time someone put it to good use. And don't worry about the stuff in it now. It'll be gone in a few minutes." Perry leaned his head out the door. "Ralph! Get in here!" He turned back to his favorite reporting pair. "Now, you two better get to work before I change my mind."
"Yes, sir!" The two spoke in unison.
Clark found himself in a familiar spot on Lois' desk. "Now what?"
Her phone rang at just that moment and he waited while she 'uh huh'd' for a few minutes. She stood up, a wide-eyed grin on her face. "That was Bobby Bigmouth. Some corpses were found in the river. And get this," she continued as she grabbed her purse. "They're all headless."
Clark smiled to himself as he followed behind the whirlwind known as Lois Lane. It was definitely good to be back. No, not just back. Home.
