Kerth Challenge #4 sorta?
Originally I was just going to end it sooner, you'll see where.
***
Jimmy Olsen leaned against the doorway of the Editor-in-Chief’s office, a steaming coffee mug in each hand. “I still can’t get used to seeing you behind that desk.”
Lois let out a quiet laugh, glasses perched on the end of her nose as she looked up from the article she was editing. “Yeah? Well, I still think of you as my copy boy most days.”
Jimmy groaned. “I’m almost fifty, Lois.”
She smirked and accepted the coffee, swallowing a large gulp. Her gaze lifted to the clock on the wall, and she sighed softly.
“Ugh, I’m going to be late.” Lois' eyes dropped to the stack of paperwork in front of her, and she shook her head. “I’m never going to make it out of here on time.”
Jimmy’s stomach twisted as realization dawned on him. It was Friday night.
“Date night, isn’t it?” he said softly.
Lois nodded, her pen poised over the page. “Comes around fast, doesn’t it?” she murmured, eyes still fixed on her work.
Jimmy leaned across the desk and gently plucked the pen from her hand. “I’ll finish this.”
Lois lifted her head, her eyes shiny and hopeful. “Really?”
He smiled. “Of course! Just… don’t forget to say hi from me, okay?”
Lois hesitated for a moment, then gave him a small, grateful smile. She pushed her chair out from behind her desk and reached for her coat and purse.
Pausing at the door, Lois turned and gave Jimmy a quick hug.
“Always do, Jimmy.”
****
Lois slipped inside the dimly lit hospital room, setting her purse down on the uncomfortable chair she’d grown far too accustomed to over the past five years.
She stepped closer to the bed. The usual machines hummed softly, their wires snaking across nearly every visible part of her husband's body. The steady beep from the monitors filled the silence in the room—a reminder that he was still here.
Lois reached for his hand—warm, familiar, but still.
Too still. She traced lazy circles against his palm, just like she always did, hoping for movement.
Even if it was just a reflex.
“Hey, Farmboy,” she murmured. “I’m here.”
No response. There never was. But that never stopped her from talking.
“Missed you this week,” she said. “Laura had the baby. We’re… grandparents! Can you believe it? Where does the time go?”
She sighed.
Five long years since she had lost him.
No, she told herself firmly, looking down at his still form. He was still here.
Wasn’t he?
She clung to the fact that his specialists all agreed his brain was still alive and his body remained as strong as ever.
He just couldn’t wake up.
“I’m being as patient as I can with you, Clark.” Lois swallowed the sudden lump in her throat.
She turned and dragged the hideous chair closer to the bed, sitting down as she took his hand again.
“None of us are getting any younger here, you know. Jimmy is almost fifty! Fifty! Which means that you and I…” She trailed off with a sigh, eyes fixed on his closed ones. “I just need a little more time with you, sweetheart.”
Her thumb brushed over his wedding ring, and she pressed a kiss to his temple.
“All you have to do is wake up...”
****
A sharp gasp tore from Lois’s throat as she jolted awake, her heart pounding in her chest.
Her fingers fumbled for the lamp, nearly knocking it over in her haste. She flicked the switch and turned around to confirm her husband was in bed beside her.
Clark groaned and shifted onto his back, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light. “Lois?”
A dream. It was just a dream!
“You’re alright!” Lois flung herself at him, kissing his cheeks, and running her hands over his bare chest.
His hands came to rest on her hips as he looked up at her. “Hey,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. “Everything okay?”
Lois' relief vanished, replaced by a sudden burst of anger. She pulled away sharply, as if he had shocked her.
Her mind flashed to the dream— the cold sterile room, the constant beeping and the tangle of wires covering his unresponsive body.
His limp hand in hers…
"Lois?" His adorably furrowed brow and bleary eyes only fueled her rage.
“You jerk!” Her fist connected with his shoulder.
“Wha…?”
“Ow!” She rolled further away from him, back to her side of the bed, clutching her knuckles in her other hand. “You really are the man of steel…” she muttered.
“Lois… wha…?” He sat up, fully alert now, concern replacing his confusion. “What’s going on?” He reached for her injured hand, caressing her knuckles gently in his warm hands.
She bit her lip, her anger softening as he fussed over her sore hand.
"Nothing. Just a dream," she said in a small voice, feeling embarrassed for getting so worked up over a dream. A horrible dream, at that—but still, just a dream, right? Not real. Clark was perfectly fine, sitting up in bed beside her, kissing the bruised knuckles she had just used to punch him with.
“A dream? Tell me about it. You’re shaking…”
Lois pulled her hand away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. He was right, she was shaking. She shook her head. “No, I’m okay now,” she said quietly, not really wanting to relive it all with him at the moment. Maybe in the morning, when it didn’t still feel so real. “Tell you tomorrow.”
He frowned but before he could ask any more questions, Lois switched off the lamp and lay back down.
Clark followed suit, silently curling his body around hers, soothing her trembling one. “Tomorrow…” he repeated, sounding like he was already drifting back to sleep.
Lois’ hand found his under the covers, and she clutched it in hers, her thumb tracing over his wedding ring.
She closed her eyes, but the dream lingered, keeping her awake for hours.
The end.
TBH I was just going to kill him off.
FDK can go below if you would like...
