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Edit: Hard? The author was nominated multiple times in the latest Kerth awards. This is one of her earlier stories.

Originally posted by LabRat:
<strong> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Edit: Hard? The author was nominated multiple times in the latest Kerth awards. This is one of her earlier stories.

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it's less about it being hard to identify the stories as that I don't have time right now to go look out another quote if I post the correct answer!

She wasn't going back to the airport?!

Lois noticed Clark's dumbfounded look and spoke up. "You don't mind an uninvited guest, do you Clark?"

Clark could only shake his head. Did this mean what he thought ... hoped ... it meant?

"You see, Clark," she told him, just a little too reasonably, "there wasn't another flight to Metropolis available until Monday. Isn't that incredible?"

Lois was looking at him with a provocative little smile that drew a responding grin from him. "Unbelievable, actually."

She wrinkled her nose at him, which made his eyes light up. "Hey, it could happen!" she exclaimed defensively. "Anyway," she resumed her poor-orphan-unfairly-cast-upon-the- cruel-world act, "I didn't know *what* I was going to do. I mean, I'd already checked out of my hotel."

For someone who was new at this teasing game, Clark reflected, Lois had sure caught on fast. She must be a very quick study. But, good performance or not, he couldn't let her score all the points, so he put a sympathetic expression on his face and said in his most helpful tone of voice, "Well, you've come to the right place, Lois. I'd be happy to help you find another hotel."

Perry gave a brief burst of laughter, but it wasn't heeded by the other two who were fairly joined in their game, spurred on by their excitement at the unlooked-for prospect of extra days spent in each others' company.

She appeared to ignore his offer. "Besides, I'm just *exhausted* after the convention and Diane's snoring. What I think I need are a few days in the country."

"I didn't know you knew anyone who lives in the country, Lois."

"I thought maybe I could stay at ... I don't know, a farm maybe ...?" She glanced up at him through her lashes, but all the response she got was a grin and one eyebrow raised in inquiry.

"I think a farm would be just what the doctor ordered," she reiterated. "Peace and quiet -- "

"Roosters," Clark supplied helpfully. "And crickets -- really loud ones, and tractors. Let's not forget the tractors ..."

"Plenty of fresh air, great views," Lois continued, unheeding.

"Breakfast at dawn. Supper at 6. In bed by 8."

"Relaxation."

"Chores. Lots of 'em."

Lois opened her mouth to counter, but Perry jumped in first. "I think I'll leave you two to work this out," he interjected with a grin and a wave.

Perry wagged his finger gently from side to side. "Don't ask. When you have as much experience under your belt as I do mine, you'll realize that you just know things that other people don't want you to know, and you know when to use them and you know when to keep your peace. Now, I want you to get all the experience you can get because you're a good reporter and I'm making you a better one. I want you to out Murrow Murrow. And if I can help you get that experience by signing a waiver for you, I'll do it. But news of this does not go beyond these walls."

"No, sir..."

"Or everyone else will want one, too."

"Yes, sir."

"And you'll have to start wearing saffron robes and shave your head."

"That's a possibility I hadn't though of..."

"You didn't have time to think of it, I understand that. Everyone's taken by surprise now and then."

Mostly now, Clark thought. "Yes, sir."

"Of course, if I do find out that you're flying around high on drugs, I'll tan your little blue hide and hang it on that wall over there."

For the next half hour, he thought to himself, sometimes muttering, “I’ve had a pissing contest with Superman, and didn’t even know it! Wait a minute; I thought he was supposed to be above that kind of thing . . .”

"Leave him. We need to scram." Capone, Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde quickly disappeared through the door.

Lois was knocked back onto her backside when Clark fell. She crawled on her knees to his side. His face was turned so his cheek was lying on the cold, concrete floor. His eyes held a light of shock and sheer pain.

"Clark? Clark, answer me." She reached to lift his head into her lap.

"Lois, no!. Don't move me." He struggled to breathe through his pain.

Lois pushed his hair back out of his face. Clark was sweating and his jacket was becoming soaked with blood. "What can I do?"

"Just... stay close."

"I will. I will." She looked up with pleading eyes. "Someone call an ambulance." As her eyes fell back to her partner, her tears began to spill down her cheeks. "Clark, please don't close your eyes. Stay with me."

"It... hurts... so much."

She glanced up, noticing the lights of the city all around her. Downtown was beautiful at this time of night. She made her way slowly down the carpet, escorted by the driver, to the glass doors that led to the foyer of the Merriota Building. The Planet had spared no expense in making sure the evening was first-rate. She stopped by the doors to greet a few of her colleagues, who were also arriving, before making her way into the building.

And then she saw him.

He stood across the room from her, a crowd of people surrounding him, laughing and hugging their returned colleague. For a moment, she
couldn't breathe; the force of his presence in the dimly lit foyer was that strong.

Clark was here.

She'd spent the entire weekend convincing herself that he wouldn't be here tonight, all the while secretly hoping that he would prove her wrong. And now that he had, Lois wasn't sure she was prepared for this at all. She bit her lip, amazed at how strong the urge was to run to him and throw herself in his arms.

What should he do? Should he hug them? The other Martha Kent had hugged him, and *he* had hugged Jonathan, who hadn't seemed to mind, and--oh, yes, Jonathan had hugged him once, too, when he left. A smile touched his eyes at the memory. He hadn't known how to take it at the time, but on the whole, he had decided later that he liked it.

So this was the question: should he hug them? Martha--Mom! ...probably. Dad ... maybe. First he would--

"Clark."

Clark spun around, his eyes glowing in anticipation. One look at Lois's expression and his face fell. "They don't want to see me, do they?" he said quickly, trying not to heed the painful tightening in his chest. "Okay, we'll go home now ...." he picked up Lois and rose swiftly into the air.

A hand caught the zipper of her jacket and yanked it down. She squirmed involuntarily, and the blade pressed tighter against her skin. "Don't." Again the whisper. "Behave, and I might just let you go ... later." The hand seized the front of her blouse and yanked. She gasped as the buttons gave and the frigid air contacted her skin. This was it, she knew. If she didn't get away, she would be lucky to escape with only a rape and a beating.

A gust of air swirled about her and suddenly he was there; a tall, caped figure in the darkness, who had disarmed her assailant so swiftly that she hadn't been aware of it until it was over. With one hand, he casually held the rapist's wrists behind his back as he turned to her, and his voice was soft and concerned.

The idea that his presence was making her unhappy was unbearable for Clark. He didn't understand how it had happened, but somehow, over the last week, she must have fallen out of love with him. Before last week, they couldn't get enough of each other and there weren't enough hours in the day for all the things they wanted to say and do. But since then she'd been moody and distracted, and just wanted to be alone.

Despite himself, Clark found himself swiping at his eyes with his free hand. Darn it, he was not going to cry. If she didn't love him anymore, he would take it like a man. If she no longer wanted to be with him, well, he would let her go. He would simply start over somewhere else, the way he'd done a dozen times before he'd come to Metropolis. He'd be just fine ...

Clark took a shaky breath. Who was he kidding? His heart would shatter into a million pieces and he would never be the same again.

"I can't leave you here," she said, even as a tear found a path down her cheek.

"You have to. Lois, listen to me. That's my baby you're carrying. It's my choice. I want you to save my child."

Lois looked at him in stunned silence. He wished he could explain. He wanted to explain, but there wasn't time.

"Trust me, Lois. Just go," he finally said. "Tell my parents about the baby. They'll explain everything." At
least his parents could make sure that she knew what she needed to know. "Just let him know I loved him. I would have been there for him if I could." The last words were barely a whisper.

"I'm not exactly sure how to say this," she said in all
honesty as she studied her hands. There was no way to tell
him this without sounding like a tramp. "I don't know if
this is your child," she whispered.

"This is my child, Lois," Clark said, his absolute
conviction coming through on every word.

She let out a slow breath. "I know you believe that, but
even I..." She emphasized the word. "...don't know if this
is your child. It could be, but... Please, just let me say
this," she said when he looked as if he was about to
interrupt. "I've only been with two men in my life," she
began. "You and Claude."

"The man you're involved with," Clark said.

"Was," Lois corrected. He looked confused so she continued.
"I sort of lied about that. I haven't been with Claude
since you and I..." She looked down again. "I just couldn't
stand the thought of him touching me after you..." Her
voice trailed off and she began nibbling on her lower lip.
She hadn't meant to tell him quite that much.

"Why didn't you tell me all this when I asked about the
baby's paternity?" he asked.

"I didn't think you'd want the complication of being a
father - given the way you obviously feel about me."

The bus had been half empty when he'd got on, yet he'd chosen to
sit right next to her. She'd been looking out the window at the
time, just like she was now, and had flinched when she'd felt him
thump down heavily beside her. She hadn't dared look at him, but
she knew this for a certainty: he hadn't needed to sit beside
her.

Which was why she knew he was after her.

She stared blindly out of the window, rigid with fear and totally
at a loss as to what to do. The bus reached her stop but she was
too scared to get up and push past him. She didn't want him to
know where she was going. He'd follow her. Walk into the clinic
behind her and then find a way to hide until she was alone.

"Lois, I'm Superman."