Hi CookiesMom and DW,
I'm glad you both enjoyed the story. Thank you for leaving feedback.
I really don't think I should write an epilogue for this story, simply because I don't think anyone would like it. I had wanted to keep both Lois and Clark true to character, but I wanted the story to be light and WAFFy. The epilogue, were I to write one, would be much more serious.
I know Clark meant well by Operation Puzzle Piece, and he thought he was doing a very good deed by Lois; but I think he misjudged the situation very badly. I really don't think Lois' reaction would be a positive one. She would soon realize that:
a) Her partner not only did have a bigger scoop than her governor's misappropriation story, he WAS the scoop.
and
b) She had once again failed to see what was right under her nose. Considering how long and how closely she had worked with Clark, and considering that she knew Superman better than anyone else in Metropolis (Clark aside, of course), she would probably have considered herself galactically stupid for not having realized his dual identity before. She probably would have considered this an even bigger failure on her part than the Lex fiasco.
I also think that, at least initially, she would see the Sherlock Holmes puzzle theme as mocking her. (I think she would get over this, at least, fairly quickly.)
Therefore, I think Clark's actions in this story would have left Lois with even less self-confidence in her investigative abilities than she had had at the start of the story.
Joy,
Lynn
