A random thought to begin with... during my long years as a comic book reader I gradually grew furious about the fact that the owners of the Superman trademark seemed determined to keep him a virgin, i.e., they'd were determined to keep him away from the clutches of Lois Lane. And when she finally did catch him and put him in a position where he stood to lose those red briefs of his, the owners whatever they could to undo the damage. I won't go on about that heartbreaking movie, Superman II, but do you know what happened when Superman got married to Lois in the comics? The owners sent Clark and Lois on a honeymoon, where they got barely ten minutes to themselves before they had to spend the rest of the time chasing villains. Hardly had they defeated the badguys than they had to board the next plane to Metropolis (Clark was powerless at the time, I think), and when the plane touched down in the Big Apricot, Lois had mysteriously vanished into thin air! Only no one noticed or worried, least of all Clark, who blithely went about his bachelor life as usual! What was the cause for her disappearance? I swear it was to keep her hands off Clark's anatomy! So how did she return? Heck, she sort of slowly dripped or seeped back into the story, one panel at a time, and whenever we saw a glimpse of her again there was nothing but polite friendship between her and Clark, believe me!
But, Sue, as I was reading this part and had come about half-way through it, I was thinking to myself: Is it possible? Can Lois and Clark have a
worse honeymoon than the one they had in the comics? I didn't think that was possible, but hey... you have outdone yourself again, haven't you?
Oh, but... then towards the end, you gave us the kind of dialoge between that them that was so perfect that it almost brought tears to my eyes. And it wasn't just the dialogue, but the volumes they spoke to each other using body language. They were honest and just a bit annoyed and teasing, and they were caring and tender and warm and just the right amount of embarrassed, and... wow. Mmmmmmm. No, Sue, this honeymoon is so, so much better than the one they had in the comics. No matter how much their bodies are suffering, the togetherness you gave them at the end was just wonderful:
Lois cracked open one eye to peek at him. "So your plan to save us includes spending the day sunbathing?"
"Do you have a better plan?" he teased.
She grinned and shook her head slowly from side to side. "Hey, I'm just here for the pampering. It's like a spa, only sandier."
"Hard to believe people pay good money for this, isn't it?"
He put his arm around her and she laid her cheek against his chest. Clark closed his eyes, tipping his chin to rest against the crown of her head. His fingers smoothed her hair back, absent-mindedly repeating the action over and over, the soft repetition soothing both of them.
So funny... so beautiful... *sniffle* (I swear that was more WAFF than some people get out of a lifetime of marriage.)
And I know this much: assuming both of them survive (and I think they will), there is no way Lois could disappear without Clark going mad with worry and fretting his cute little backside off!
Both of them had gunshot wounds and were also suffering from dehydration and sunstroke. Lois had been unconscious and in shock. Clark hadn't been much better off, he had been barely conscious and had asked repeatedly about how his wife was doing.
At least we know a bit of how badly injured Clark and Lois were when they were brought in to the hospital. Gunshots? Have they been shot so far? Yes, they have, haven't they? Not just beaten up? (Sorry, Sue, I have no time to re-read the previous parts.) I think they have been shot already, and that's a relief, because then we don't have to "look forward to" addtional shooting in the next two parts! (Bad Sue - you added a chapter so that we can agonize about the horrors still awaiting our favorite couple a little longer!)
And now I'm afraid I don't have time to comment more right now. I'll be back, Sue!
Ann
