A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for how long this took. I'm in somewhat uncharted waters right now, so posting may take a little longer. I'm sorry. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here's the Table of Contents. In the mean time, I hope you're still enjoying the story. 
----------
Part FourWandering the hospital without a guide, Lois was more free to stop and look at whatever caught her attention. Of course, she also had no-one to explain to her just what she was looking at. Some of the rooms were helpfully labeled—Examination Room, Radiation Lab, DNA Analysis—while others just had vague designations such as B1, AMSC-2, and one door that simply had a bio-hazard symbol with no other explanation.
Occasionally, she'd poke her head into some of these places for a swift look around. Some of the equipment she saw would probably make Clark cringe. On the other hand, some of what she saw looked interesting and, probably, very useful. She doubted Clark had ever seen a diagram of his insides compared side-by-side with those of a normal man, let alone as a manipulable 3D hologram.
She didn't know how long she'd been exploring when she started to feel a little tired. Lois had to admit that she wasn't sure how long it had been since what was effectively last night, and all this time-traveling was leaving her jet-lagged. Perhaps it was time to find some coffee.
There were voices in the hall ahead; Lois turned the corner and came across what seemed to be a group of doctors and medical students taking a tour of the facility. Though she still held the opinion that tours were nearly useless, she followed them for a bit before tapping someone on the shoulder.
“Excuse me,” she began, keeping her voice down, “do you know where I could go to get a coffee or something?”
For a moment, the young man she'd accosted squinted at her as if trying to figure out where he'd seen her before. Finally, he shrugged and pointed down the hallway. “Just make a left up here,” he told her; “go two hallways down, then right, and you'll see signs for the cafeteria.”
“Thank you,” Lois said, patting him on the arm.
As she headed off, the young man squinted again, then shook his head and caught up with the departing group.
**********
The cafeteria seemed nice enough, if a little empty. Lois couldn't see any staff, only a number of machines lining the walls with signs that displayed whatever food or beverages they dispensed. As for diners, she seemed to be alone except for a man in the corner who sat picking halfheartedly at a sandwich.
She crossed the room to the coffee-dispenser and stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out just how it worked. A placard on the side of the machine held the completely useless instructions of “Scan and Enjoy!”. After several moments of fruitlessly searching for any buttons or levers, Lois gave up and strolled over to the room's only other occupant.
“Pardon me,” she said, causing him to look up from his mostly-untouched sandwich. “Do you know how that coffee machine works?” She pointed at the machine in question.
The man stared at her as though she were an idiot. “It's a scanning dispenser,” he said simply.
Lois nodded. When no other explanation was forth-coming, she sighed. “What does that *mean*?” she snipped.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “You're joking, yes? You're not joking,” he amended at her glare. He adjusted his glasses and squinted at her. “You truly don't know what a scanning dispenser is? Where are you from?”
“Oh,” Lois shrugged. “I grew up in a pretty isolated town. This is my first time in the big city, and everything is just so *new*, you know?” She smiled at him, winningly.
He cocked his head at her, frowning. “I see.” His eyes narrowed. “And where are you *really* from?”
At Lois's apparent surprise, he tapped his ear. “I can tell when someone is not being truthful.”
Lois deflated. “Fine. I'm a time-traveler from the Metropolis of 1996. Are you happy?”
The man tilted his head at her again, his eyes widened in surprise. “Huh,” he said at last. “I was not aware that this hospital had a psychiatric ward.”
She glared at him again. “I am *not* a mental patient,” she fumed, plunking herself down into the seat across from him. “Look, you're obviously one of the family, right? So maybe you've heard of me: I'm Lois Lane. I've been traveling through time, and if you know your family's history, you'll know that's not even remotely strange.”
The man's lip curled in repulsion for a brief moment before he schooled his features back into a neutral expression. “First of all,” he said, “I am not one of the half-race. I am a New-Kryptonian. My apologies for the confusion.”
Lois couldn't help the sudden, indrawn breath. “New-Kryptonian?” she echoed, ignoring the “half-race” remark for now. “I thought you weren't allowed on Earth. There was this whole thing where my great-grandson couldn't retire because nobody could come or go between the two planets on account of the war. Did that change? Is the war over? Who won?”
The man stared at her with an expression of confused fascination. “Our planets are still in a state of cold war,” he replied after a moment. “I came as part of a political envoy to renegotiate the terms of the armistice.”
“I see.” Lois nodded, once again wishing that she had *something* to take notes with. If nothing else, this would make quite a story to tell Clark... “So, what are you doing in the hospital, then?”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “That is none of your concern,” he said, coldly.
Lois shrugged. “Oh, I'm sure it probably isn't, Mr.—?”
“Smith,” he grumbled.
She smiled graciously. “Smith. Of course. I just find it interesting that a man with such an important task on his shoulders would be sitting here, eating a—”
“It's my daughter, all right?” he snapped, shoving the uneaten sandwich off to the side.
Lois leaned back, her mouth snapping shut. “I'm sorry,” she responded.
Mr. “Smith” rested his elbows on the table and sighed. “She came with me to Earth, and shortly after our arrival, she contracted a mysterious illness. We were advised that this was the only hospital with even a hope of being able to treat her, yet none of the doctors here know what to do.” He leaned forward, burying his head in his hands. “I should never have brought her to this Rao-forsaken planet,” he muttered.
“Is there any way you can get leave to take her back to New Krypton?” Lois asked him.
His back stiffened.
“Or maybe,” she amended, “they can somehow bring over a Kryptonian doctor? I mean, I know it's a tense political situation right now, but if a child's health is involved—”
“I don't think our doctors would be very familiar with Earth's numerous diseases,” he interrupted, raising his head and leaning back in his chair again.
Lois considered this. “Perhaps not,” she conceded, “but you have all that higher technology, don't you? Back in my day, your people had spaceships and transporters; I can only guess what kind of medical equipment they have, especially now that so many years have passed.”
“Are you suggesting that Earth's doctors are incompetent?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“What?!” Lois exclaimed, startled. “No!”
Smith folded his arms. “Well, they must be, if it falls to my people to cure an Earth-born disease.”
Lois opened her mouth to respond, then shut it. She'd been in the interviewing business long enough to know when someone was trying to deflect. She decided to let him have this round, but made a mental note to dig into this, later. “You still haven't answered my question, Mr. 'Smith',” she said, locking her gaze with his.
“What question?” he asked with an air of innocence.
She leaned forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “How do I get coffee?!”
To Be Continued
