Thank you, everyone, for the lovely comments! Over all, I'm incredibly relieved that the excuse/explanation for how Clark comes back didn't seem too out of the ordinary (you know, for their excuses).
LMA, thanks for noticing all the links between chapters and scenes -- it's something I love doing but that not everyone has to notice, so it's fun to hear it's not there just for me! I'm glad the hand-holding stuff worked for you, because I needed them to be touching and connecting for my own sake so I couldn't have undone that part! :rolleyes: And yay, I was hoping the ending of the chapter would go over well -- so glad I didn't back off using those capital letters, because there was no other way to end that part. Those quiet moments where everything sinks in can oftentimes be worse than the action-packed moments!
Thanks, Colleen! And yes, leave it to Lois to come up with the explanation -- she is very good at coming up with the excuses, isn't she? Good thing for Clark! And he is adorable, isn't he?
And again with the mind-reading, Vicki!
I did actually try to come up with a way for Lois to take care of Clark, but it didn't work -- not even enough for me to start writing the scene that way. Clark was just all-out determined to be the one to take care of her and turn all attention away from himself, if at all possible. And I'm so glad it was clear why Lois thought Clark was pulling away from her -- and why she then pulled away. It's hard to show her POV without ACTUALLY showing her POV, so very encouraging to see your comment putting all the pieces together! Hopefully the ending lives up to your hopes!
Yeah, stretching it out, Virginia -- trust me, that's something I can do.
The arctic fortress isn't my favorite place, though it sure leads into some interesting stories and I do seem to find a way to add at least the thought of it to several of my own stories (hmmm...just realizing that), but yeah, our Clark certainly wouldn't see anything good about it at all! Loved all your extrapolations about Lois's thoughts -- so glad to see they were coming through loud and clear!
Lois drove her Jeep to the Lex Tower behind the police to arrive with Henderson, then drove 'Superman' to STAR Labs to get him help, which is where the blood on the backseat came from. Coffee...maybe not so familiar since he's serving it in blue and red, but it helps him pretend for a bit anyway. Love that you wanted to hug Clark -- that was kind of what I took away from this whole story too!
And thank you so much for the amazing compliment about characterization -- it's what I'm most interested in, what I work on the hardest, and so seeing your comment was a true gift!
Thanks, Morgana! Lois doesn't stint on covering for Clark/Superman, that's for sure!
Glad you're enjoying, Iolanthe!
Clark stop torturing himself, Kate? That would be nice, wouldn't it? There is, however, one more chapter, so who knows how likely that is...
Thanks, everyone! Sorry the next chapter is late -- but it still is the final chapter, so that makes up for it a bit, right? I hope.
