T.O.G.o.M. 2013 With a Little Help from Their Friends (2/2)
by Tank
Tears running down her cheeks, Lois stared at the empty club entrance. Just moments ago, her best friend and partner was killed right in front of her. He had stepped between her and Dillinger to protect her from his unwanted advances and had been shot down like a dog and dragged out like yesterday’s garbage. Clark wasn’t a person to them. He was an inconvenience; a nuisance to be dealt with.
But he wasn’t a nuisance, or an inconvenience. He was Clark. He was the most gentle and caring man she’d ever known; and she would never know his like again.
Her shoulders shook with the severity of her sobs. She couldn’t control the devastation she felt, nor did she want to.
Suddenly, through the fogged haze that was her mind, she could feel someone putting their arms around her and helping her to her feet. She wanted to shake those arms off of her, but she didn’t have the strength.
“Come on, Lois, we have to get you out of here.”
She looked over her shoulder to see an attractive man holding her and trying to guide her toward the door. There was a genuine look of concern in his bright blue eyes. She could see that he had been fighting back some tears of his own. He made a general gesture at her.
“Were you hurt? I don’t see any blood on you? Can you walk?”
Can she walk! Of course she could walk, but why should she? Lois stopped short, causing the man to stumble against her. “What are you doing?” She said between sobs. “I’m not going anywhere. I need to be here when the police come. I need to make my statement, then I need to see that those bastards pay for…” She couldn’t say it.
The attractive man shook his head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Lois. We need to be out of here before the police arrive. They will only complicate things.”
Didn’t this guy understand? She was Lois Lane. She didn’t run from trouble, she met it head on and defeated it. Only, this time the cost was way too high. “What are you talking about?’
“Lois, think about it.” For some reason the look on his face made her realize that he seemed to care about her. It was almost like the looks that Clark gave her. That thought caused her eyes to mist up again.
“Think about what?” It was weird, but somehow she knew she could trust him.
“Lois, there was no blood.” He began to push her toward the door again. “We have to get you out of here before anyone recognizes you, and by extension, Clark.”
Lois was too confused to argue, and too emotionally crippled to resist, so she allowed the man to usher her out of the club.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Beckett quickly followed after the gangsters as they exited the club. She watched as they stuffed Clark’s body into one of two vehicles. A couple of the thugs got into that car while the rest got into a classic 30’s touring car. She looked around for some mode of transportation. She didn’t want to risk losing their trail.
Providence provided for her as an elegantly dressed couple drove up and stepped out of their luxury sedan. They obviously were unaware of the chaos that was reigning inside. She ran up to them, mumbled something about complimentary valet service, and snatched the keys out of the surprised gentleman’s hands.
Once behind the wheel, Beckett slammed her foot on the gas pedal and spun a rooster tail of dirt and gravel from the rear tires as she took off after her prey. The two cars holding Capone’s gang had taken off in different directions but Kate chose to the follow the vehicle that Clark’s body had been shoved into. She was sure that she and Castle had deduced the same thing about their future friend, but she still thought it best to follow them just to make sure.
It would be a terrible thing if all she could really do is bring back the dead body of her future husband back to Lois.
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Clark had kept himself as still as possible while being manhandled by Capone’s thugs. Suddenly the back door of the car he’d been thrown in was flung open and he was unceremoniously pushed out. He hit the street hard and rolled several times finally ending up in a small puddle. Grimacing, he stood up and readied himself to fly off. His mind was in turmoil over all that had just happened and he knew he should get home and get some advice from his folks.
Before he lifted into the air he was distracted by the squeal of tires and the opening of a car door. He turned to look and saw a beautiful young woman step out from behind the wheel.
“Clark, stop!” She hurried toward him. “Please, stop.”
She tucked an errand strand of her shoulder length hair behind her ear. It was a gesture so familiar to him. She pulled a badge from her belt as she holstered her gun.
“Who are you? Do I know you?”
“I’m Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. I know who you and Lois Lane are. I followed you out of the club when Capone, or whoever he really is, had you dragged out of there.”
Clark ran his hand through his hair. “Oh, it’s really Capone alright, along with Dillinger, and Bonnie and Clyde.”
The woman’s face furrowed in disbelief. “Seriously, how?”
Clark shrugged. “It’s a long story, It’s a good thing that old revolver isn’t as accurate as today’s weapons. I was really lucky that all three shots missed.” Clark licked his lips. “I felt I had to play dead so that no one else would get hurt.”
“Uh, huh. That’s your story? That’s what you are going to tell Lois when you see her? That the shots missed? She was standing next to you, and the shooter was only a few feet away.”
“Uh, yeah, that’s what happened.” Clark was sure the woman, Beckett, didn’t believe for a moment that the shots missed. If she believed that; did that mean that she knew… He had to steer the conversation elsewhere.
“What was a New York Detective doing investigating an illegal gambling club in Metropolis?”
The Detective shook her head. “That’s also a long story. Let’s just say that my being there was a lucky coincidence.” Clark frowned. She raised her brow. “Are you going to deny that you were about to fly off and just leave Lois thinking that you’d been shot dead.”
Clark was momentarily flustered by her use of the word fly. “Um, no, I was going to find a phone so I could contact the police to let them know I was alive, then I could get in touch with Lois.”
“I thought you loved Lois.”
“What? Of course I love… I mean what are you talking about. How would you know how I feel about my partner?”
“I know a lot of things about you, and I know how you feel for your partner because it’s the same way I feel about my partner.” Clark stared at the woman as a tear snuck out of the corner of her eye. “A while back I was shot in the chest by a sniper at the funeral of my Captain. My partner, Rick, tried to knock me out of the way but he was too late. He thought I’d died in his arms. It devastated him, just like the devastation the Lois is feeling right now.”
Clark let his head hang. The Detective reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. “You can’t let her suffer any longer than she has to. You have to tell her the truth.”
Clark jerked his head up and looked the woman in the eyes. She knew! He clenched his fists.
“You’re right.” He grimaced. “But what about all the people who saw me get shot?”
“I don’t think that will be a problem. I doubt if anyone recognized you and I pretty sure no one is going to admit being there even if the police are called in.” She nodded toward the car. “Come on, let me give you ride back to Lois’ place. Rick and Lois should be back there soon.”
Clark nodded and followed the mystery woman who seemed to know more about him than was possible.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lois sat on her sofa, fat tears of grief rolled down her cheeks. She was so confused. She was sitting in her own apartment instead of talking to the police. She had witnessed the callous murder of her friend and partner yet the man sitting across from her insisted that Clark was going to be alright. That she just had to be patient and everything would turn out okay.
She needed more than platitudes and empty promises of comfort. She needed answers and she needed them now.
“Who are you and how do you know me?”
The handsome man gave her a weak smile. “My name is Richard Castle. I’m a writer.”
“A writer; you mean you’re a reporter too? Your name seems almost familiar.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m a mystery writer.” He paused, as if he was trying to remember something. “I’ve recently come out with my first book; In a Hail of Bullets.”
Lois nodded, more to herself. “I think I remember hearing something about that from our book reviewer. It won some awards, didn’t it?” The man nodded. A puzzled look came over Lois’ face. “I thought that book was written by a college kid?”
The man, Castle, smirked. “I look older than I am.”
Lois brow rose. “Really.”
Before she could begin to question Castle further there was a knock on the door.
“Lois… it’s me.”
“Clark!”
Lois leapt from the couch and ran to the door. Flinging it open, she didn’t let Clark even move before she threw herself into his arms.
“Omigod, I thought you were dead. I didn’t know what I would do without you. I was already missing you so much, Clark. Don’t ever do that to me again, please. I don’t think I could stand it. I just want…”
“Shhh.” Clark placed his fingertip over her lips as he carried her into the apartment. She never noticed the other woman who came in behind him and quietly closed the door.
Lois felt tears coming to her eyes again as Clark set her down next to the couch she had recently occupied. She stared up into his deep brown eyes. She saw the love he had for her shining back at her. He had admitted his feelings for her before, but he’d retracted his confession. She knew the retraction was a lie, but never allowed herself to truly feel more than a friendship for him.
How could she have been so stupid? Why did it always take the thought of actually losing something to realize just how much she wanted and needed it? It took the shock of Clark’s apparent death to make her realize that she loved this man more than she loved any other…ever.
“Lois… I …”
She shook her head. “Not now.” She stretched up onto her tips toes as he lowered his head toward her. She captured his mouth in a hard, desperate kiss of relief and longing. Neither noticed their two mystery guest silently leaving.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kate dragged Castle from Lois’ apartment and they quickly made it to the street. She indicated the car she’d driven over.
“Nice ride… rental?” Castle smirked at her.
“Loaner, get in. We have to get back and find the machine if we have any chance of getting back where we belong.”
“So, you do admit that we have come to Metropolis in the past and will need the time machine to get us back.”
Kate glared at her partner and lover. “I’ll only admit that whatever has and is happening, revolves around that contraption and logic tells me that it could be our only way back.”
Beckett got in and within moments was on the road back toward the warehouse near the pier that their whole evening had centered on.
“I can’t believe you remember where to go. We’ve only been to Metropolis a couple of times and we weren’t driving.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m a cop. I have a head for directions.”
True to her word Beckett brought them back to the site of their earlier travails. The place was eerily quiet. Obviously, after the apparent shooting nobody called the police. They had been more interested in getting away before any authorities came. After all, they were in an illegal gambling club. Not the place any upstanding citizen of this fair city would want to be found; especially after a murder.
Kate left the keys in the car as the two of them exited and headed back toward the cluster of run down warehouses that dominated the area.
“I think we came from that direction.” Kate pointed off to her right and moved down a narrow drive leading past an adjacent building. Castle followed.
It took them nearly a half an hour of blind alleys and doubling back till they finally came across the gaudy sled like machine sitting in the alley where they had appeared.
Castle quickly jumped into the large bench seat and began to fiddle with the controls. Beckett noticed him moving the dials affecting the time and place.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Rick?”
He patted her hand. “We’ll find out soon enough.” He reached over and pulled down the largest lever.
The giant disc in back began to once again spin at an exceedingly rapid rate. The light show that had originally surrounded them came back. As their surroundings began to blur, Kate closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. She really hoped this would work.
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Clark sat next to Lois on her couch. He was looking at her, his mind full of worry and doubt. She wasn’t looking at him. She was staring at her hands folded in front of her. She had stopped crying hours ago, but he could tell she was still in a great deal of pain; pain that he had caused with his betrayal of her trust.
He had confessed his dual identity to her and she had reacted as he’d expected. In some ways it was not as bad as he expected because she had been so happy to see him alive. She was more forgiving of his deceit. But is other ways it was worse. It was worse because he now realized that his feelings for Lois weren’t a one way street. This experience had shown her and him that she cared for him much more deeply than he’d ever imagined.
If he was being hopeful he might even say that he thought that Lois loved him; loved him more than just a partner, more than just a friend. He dared to believe that she loved ‘him’.
But where they went from here was up to her. His feelings wouldn’t change, but he knew how big an issue trust was with Lois, and his keeping such a secret from her for so long was a big obstacle for her. He just hoped that she would give him the time to make it up to her.
She raised her head and looked over at him. Her eyes were still a bit misty. “So, where does this leave us, Clark? What are we?”
Clark reached out and grabbed her hands. He held them tightly in his own. “My feelings for you have never changed, Lois. I am your partner, and I am your friend. I always will be. But if you ever want more I’m willing to be more for you; whatever you want, just ask and I’ll give it to you.” He took a deep breath. “I have had my reasons for holding back, Lois, but I never meant to hurt you. You are the last person I would ever want to hurt.”
She nodded her head slowly. “I know, but it still hurts, Clark. Seeing you slumping to the floor ripped my heart to shreds. Do you have any idea how badly I felt? It was all so avoidable if you’d just trusted me enough to tell me the truth; I wouldn’t have had to suffer that desolation.”
“I know, Lois, and I am sorry. It’s not like I planned to keep my being Superman from you forever. I knew I wanted you to know; that you deserved to know. I just never could find the right time.” He ran his hand through his hair and he sighed again. “I know that sounds like an excuse, and it is; but I was scared. I was scared that I’d screw it up and that I’d lose you.”
He placed his hand on her cheek in that oh so familiar gesture. “I could continue with just being your friend and partner if that was all you could give me, but I don’t think I could survive if I drove you away. If you never wanted to see me again I would be lost.”
She finally gave him a slight, sad smile. “That’s never going to happen. This episode has made me confront some of my own repressed feelings and the truth of the matter is simple. I can’t imagine myself without you either.”
His smile lit up the room as he reached for Lois. She stopped him with her upraised hand. “This is going to take us a little time. I’m going to need some time to get over the hurt and to be able to trust you again. But I know that we can survive this. Our relationship, our future, our…” She hesitated for a heartbeat. “Our love is too important to let this stop us.”
He opened his arms, letting her make the move to embrace him; and she did.
It was only a few moments before their lips sought out each other’s again.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
2013
Rick Castle took a sip of his wine and turned toward his lovely fiancée. “Do you think it was alright for us to just leave that time machine where we found it?”
Kate shrugged. “It’s where we found it, and it’s not like we want to have anything to do with it ever again… right.”
Castle expression drooped a bit. “I guess not, but just think of the fun we could have with a machine that could…”
“Castle!” She reached over and swatted him on the arm. “I consider us lucky to have gotten back with no complications this time. I’m not about to tempt fate again just for the fun of it.”
“I guess.” Rick took another sip of his wine. “Wow, do you believe it; Clark Kent was really Superman?”
Kate chuckled. “I imagine he still is Superman.”
Castle gave her a dirty look. “You know what I mean. I can’t wait to call Lois and tell her I know her husband flies around in spandex.”
Kate grabbed Rick by the arm. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. There’s obviously a reason why the world doesn’t know that Clark is Superman. Can you imagine what a complicated mess their lives would be? Take the impositions your celebrity adds to your life and multiple it by a thousand. And can you imagine the extra danger that Lois would be in?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like we would tell anyone, or let it out to the media.”
Beckett nodded. “True, and I know you’d love to show her how clever you were to figure it out, but really, Rick, do you think she needs that added worry on her mind? Even though she knows that you’d never consciously, or willingly, give up the secret; the more people that know the greater the risk to them even if it is unintended.” She took a sip of her own wine. “No, I think it’s best that we keep this little secret to ourselves; at least until such time that they wish to share it with us.”
“I guess you’re right.” Rick set his wine glass down on the coffee table. “I don’t know about you but all that time traveling has worn me out. I think it’s time for bed.” He rose. “You coming, Kate?”
Beckett set her own glass down and let Castle pull her up from the sofa. “It’s too bad you’re so worn out, Rick. I had some ideas on what we might do to really tire us out before we drift off to an exhausted slumber.” She gave him a sly grin.
Castle’s breath caught in his throat. “Suddenly I feel energized. Lead on Detective, lead on.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1994
“I can’t believe this; this can’t be right.”
“Lois, what’s wrong now?” Clark had come over and was sitting on the corner of Lois’ desk.
“This internet search is getting me nowhere.” She pointed at her screen. “The only writer named Richard Castle that I can come up with is some college kid who wrote his novel while in college.”
Clark leaned over and read the article she had displayed. “It says he wrote “In a Hail of Bullets” while still in college. Isn’t that the name of the book he mentioned to you?”
“Yeah, but look at this picture. They do look somewhat alike, but this kid is barely in his twenties. The guy who took me home was much older; still nice looking, but older. Why take the name of some you kid writer?”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t know Lois. What about the detective? She said her name was Beckett, Kate Beckett.”
Lois shook her head. “There’s nothing about any one named Beckett, Kate or otherwise who is a member of the New York Police Department.”
Lois hit the shut down on her keyboard in frustration; her furrowed brow indicating her annoyance. “Who were those two?”
Clark shrugged, then smiled down at Lois. “I don’t know if we’ll ever know who they were, but I’m really glad they were there for us.”
Neither Lois nor Clark saw the strangely dressed gentleman with a bowler hat smiling at them from the back of newsroom.
fin
