“You are going to be shadowing Ms. King for a week or so, until you get your bearings.” Clark looked up at his boss in surprise but nodded along. “So she’s going to show you around the office this morning, get you situated, but your main project for today isn’t until tonight. Lex Luthor’s White Orchid Ball.”
Oh, boy. I can't imagine that Lois will be pleased that Clark is working for the Star in the first place, never mind working with Linda directly.
Clark shook her hand firmly with a grin. “Clark Kent. Society. Graduated University of Kansas. I’m just starting out in the field, and I’ve recently become a father.”
That's ... not quite the introduction I think he should have made in a professional context, especially given his tenuous situation with said child and baby-momma. But it shows how much Havana and Lois are on his mind constantly.
"And I’m also guessing that you don’t really have a tuxedo, do you?”
He gaped at her. “How did you--?”
“Kansas boy? Come on. You can’t fool a Metropolis native.”
He shut his mouth, a little miffed and a little impressed. “I’ll get one by tonight, I promise.”
Psst! Clark, she didn't
know. She guessed because she's stereotyping you as a rube hick from the sticks.
“And then what happened?”
She giggled again, eyes crinkled from her grin. “Juice went all over!”
Clark laughed at the unexpected ending, thinking she must have missed something in the middle, but it was somehow better this way.
I get the distinct feeling that you have talked to actual toddlers.
Sometimes people write kids, toddlers especially, and I get the sense that they have never actually interacted with a kid because the behavior is weirdly off or not age-appropriate. Havana talks and acts like an actual two-year-old.
With Lois holding all the cards, as it were, and Clark falling all over himself apologizing to her and feeling guilty, I started to feel like she was blaming him completely for their situation and wasn't really giving him a chance, when
of course if she just got to know him, she'd realize that he's basically the perfect guy. But then I realized how much slack she's actually giving him. Going to yet one more doctor after everything she's been through, just to extend an olive branch to a guy who she met for one night three years prior and knows basically nothing about her medical history, is pretty significant. And letting him see Havana again so readily is pretty significant. Clark is basically a stranger, and she's right to be cautious. As a reader, though, I see both sides, and I already know a lot about Clark to be able to root for him. I've been sympathizing with him this entire time, but when Lois showed up at Bernie's lab and mentioned how many doctors she's seen, it hit me that it's not really fair to just take Clark's side. She's really stuck between a rock and a hard place, and on top of everything else, she feels like she's on a deadline to vet Clark and determine whether he's good enough to take care of Havana when she's gone. There's an incredible amount of pressure for her to accept Clark.
So... yeah. I guess this story has got me being introspective.
“Kr… Kiptawn.”
He shot his gaze to his daughter with a pull in his chest. “What?”
She looked at him, a little puzzled. “Kipton?”
Uh... woops? Definitely Clark's daughter.
“Clark,” Lois’ voice cut in seriously. “Did you tell her about Krypton?”
“No! Well, kinda… She found my globe and heard the name and--”
“You do realize she repeats everything, right? She's practically a parrot.”
Yeah, that sounds like a 2-year-old. When my son started repeating everything we said, occasionally my husband would swear around him. One time he yelled, "Soccer ball!!!" immediately after swearing to divert my son's attention, and it worked. After that, any time anyone would swear around my kids my husband would say, "Soccer ball!" loudly to either catch himself or remind whoever it was to watch their mouth. It's become something of a running joke.
“Well… no, I didn't realize. But it's not like the word means anything to her or anyone else.
They'll just think she's precocious and interested in the Noble Gasses... Just teach her xenon and argon, and you're good.
Clark smiled over at the girl as Bernie cleared his throat uncomfortably beside him. “Not that kind of sample,” he muttered.
So... Bernie has a theory already. My current theory is that there is something extremely addictive in Clark's :ahem: fluids (possibly only addictive to someone with a certain set of genes so that it wouldn't necessarily work on everyone) and that Lois has been going through withdrawal for years. It's kind of a romanticized theory, and the real-world implications are actually kind of horrific, so maybe that's not it. Hm... maybe I should come up with something else that doesn't
force them together. I think Lois would be much more receptive to dating Clark if it wasn't a life-or-death situation.
Maybe she just caught some Kryptonian bacteria or something and will have to be periodically detoxed with Kryptonite. (Periodically assuming that they actually get together.) (Which I feel pretty comfortable assuming.) (Given the context of this forum.) (
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