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The Matchmaker Files - An Unusual Proposal

Rated PG-13


G - Story - TOC


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<thoughts>

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * time passed – scene change

/ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ * scene change – universe change


Previously

When Lois and Clark drove away from the Irig farm they headed into town. When they reached the town center, Lois found a place to park right on Main Street. Looking around Lois saw that the Corn Festival was still underway.

As they were exiting the car, Clark told Lois, "If Mr. Irig's around, somebody here will know about it. That's the great thing about a small town. Maybe I should ask Rachel."

Lois was surprised by the sparks of jealousy that suddenly hit her when he said this and she blurted out, "Why not ask someone else?"

As she was finishing speaking, there was a shout from across the way, "Clark!" A redhead ran up and threw her arms around Clark. He was without his powers, so before he could react she, without asking permission, planted her lips on his. When she pulled back, Clark disengaged himself and looked at Lois apologetically.

Lois was looking daggers at this new woman. The sparks of jealousy she had felt moments ago at the mention of Rachel, seeing this had suddenly been fanned into a blazing inferno.

Stepping back, next to Lois, Clark finally was able to perform the introductions, "Lana Lang, I'd like you to meet, Lois Lane, my fiancée." He turned to Lois and tried to explain, "Lana is sort of … my ... ex."

Lana's face fell, she gasped out, "Fiancée?"

"Yes, Lana, fiancée. Lois and I are getting married."

Lana collected herself. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Lois supplied, "We made the announcement at the dance last night."

"I wasn't there." She held out her hand and said, "Hi. Pleased to meet you. I was just so happy to see Clark. It's been so long."

As she shook her hand, Lois asked, "Ex what?"

Looking at Clark with an unreadable expression, Lana replied, "Well, we were high school sweethearts until I left in our senior year. I went with my father on a dig. He's an archeologist and my mom had passed away so it was just him and me. You know how it is. When Clark finished college he came back to Smallville, it just happened that we were here, looked me up and asked me to marry him."

"But you told him, no." Lois nodded in understanding. After what Suzanne and Collette had said and intimated with the nickname they had used for Clark she now understood. He had been rejected by this woman and he was being extra cautions in any relationships that came after. The endearment that Suzanne and Collette had used indicated that they had pursued a relationship with him and had been unsuccessful in their attempts. So why was he acquiescing to her demands that he marry her?

"Yeah, fool that I am, I told him, no. I was going to be doing more traveling with my father. I think that's why Clark left on his world travels." She had been looking back and forth between Lois and Clark. Now she centered her attention on Lois as she said, "My, you two are getting married, so I guess he's told you all about himself."

"I'm still learning what there is to know. There's a lot to learn."

"You don't have to pretend with me. I know."

"Know what?"

This answer unsettled Lana. She looked at Clark accusingly and asked, "You haven't told her yet, have you?"

"It hasn't come up, yet."

"But I thought you said …" She stopped abruptly and pulled Clark out of Lois's hearing before she said, "I thought you told me that you would only marry someone after they knew about you, about what you could do."

Somewhat sheepishly, Clark replied, "Yes, I did, but this is a different situation."

"Okay, if you say so." Lana gave Lois a wary eye as she turned to leave. As she did, she said to both of them, "I'll be seeing you around."

As soon as Lana had walked away, Lois asked, "What hasn't come up? What do I need to know? Is it something that Mr. Ramsbottom will ask about?"

Clark tried to deflect her by saying, "Oh, I don't think he'd ask about this, it's something personal. I'll tell you at … the proper time."

Lois challenged, "When will it be the proper time?"

"I'm not sure just yet, but when it is, we'll both know it."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

Clark stuck to his guns and replied, "Because the right time hasn't occurred as yet. We'll both know when it is the right time."

/ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ *

Lois let out a gasp, "Wow! That was a close one. Lana almost gave away The Secret."

"Clark may have been able to cover it because right then he was powerless," pointed out Clark. "But she brought up a good point. Clark's going to have to tell her sometime and soon."

"Right you are. Right then he didn't have his powers so it would be difficult for anyone to prove that he was Superman, especially him, but he did need to tell her."



And now

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 11
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lois and Clark spent the balance of the day looking for information about Wayne Irig's farm and his whereabouts.

Some comments that had been made had piqued Lois's interest. When they had been reporting partners, they had started getting close. She had to admit to herself, that she had gotten closer to him than anyone else in her life. That had actually scared her and was part of the reason that she had been so aggressive in the editor's office finally relegating Clark to a position not much better than executive assistant. It felt safer that way. Now, with this situation, that was changing, again. Suddenly they were reporting partners again and they were getting married. What had she been thinking? She had put herself back in the situation that she had worked so hard to get herself out of. Again she was getting close to Clark and if she wasn't careful, this entire situation would blow up in her face. What if … what if he decided that he wanted to consummate the wedding? Would she be able to go along with that? He might feel like he was entitled to just that.

Their first stop, after Lois had parked, was City Hall after which they strolled around town for a bit, asking questions of those people that Clark identified as local residents. Eventually they ended up in Maisie's Café because she had the best burgers in Lowell County. Clark led Lois to an empty booth and stood as he waited for her to sit down.

Even though Lois was in a grumpy mood because of what had happened outside, she noted Clark waiting for her and thought, <Ever the perfect gentleman. If we were sitting at a table, I'm sure he would hold my chair for me. So sweet. How can I stay mad at him? But, what he said!> Looking around she thought, <This place looks like something out of Norman Rockwell. Red and white vinyl checkered table cloth, sugar container, salt and pepper shakers, and a ketchup bottle, like ketchup is the only condiment you would want.>

Lois dug into her bag, pulled out her cell phone and threw it carelessly on the table. She reached in again and this time found what she had been after, her notebook and pencil.

While she was doing this, Clark grabbed a potato chip and crunched on it then said, "All right, four hours at city hall and all we know is that in twenty years, there were no permits and no citations issued on the Irig property."

She slammed her pad down on the table interrupting him. No matter how nice he was the incident outside was still digging at her. She crossed her arms on the table and gave him a look that he recognized as irritation.

He asked, "What's the matter?" and then crunched another chip.

In an irritated tone which matched her look as she mocked him, "'Don't mind my friend, Lois. She's from Metropolis.'"

Clark leaned across the table and said, quietly, "You were coming off a little ... 'intense'."

Defensively, Lois replied, "Look Clark, intensity might be a crime in Smallville, but in Montreal and Metropolis, well, maybe not so much in Montreal, but in Metropolis it's a survival skill."

"This isn't either Montreal or Metropolis. You need to learn to relax some."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Lois flipped to a fresh page and started to write. She spoke to herself as she wrote, "No activity that would attract the attention of the federal government."

She was interrupted by the arrival of Maisie, a good-looking, blond, middle-aged waitress who placed a couple Dixie cups of ice water on the table.

As she was placing the water on the table, she recognized who it was that was sitting in the booth and in a happy tone said, "Clark Kent! Your mom said you were here for the Corn Festival." Pointedly she looked at Lois and gave her a sharp appraisal. She wiped her hand on her apron, to dry it, before offering it to her and said, "So this must be Lois. I heard that you announced your engagement last night at the dance. Glad to finally meet ya." Without missing a beat, she turned to Clark and said, "Your parents must be really happy. Here it is, their anniversary weekend and you announce your engagement," she released an audible sigh and said, "and that kiss, just everybody is talking about that kiss, so romantic."

By this time Lois had become accustomed to everyone knowing who she was and about the engagement. She was blushing at the memory of the kiss as she said, "I guess it was, wasn't it?"

Recovering from her romantic haze, Maisie pressed on, "I'm Maisie. How's the writing coming? I'd just love to read a good romance novel."

Lois just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her novel was one of her deepest darkest secrets. She hadn't done any work on it since taking the editor's position. She looked daggers at Clark and if looks could kill, Clark, especially in his present condition, would have died a thousand deaths.

Clark had just reached into a basket of chips and taking one placed it in his mouth. When Lois turned to glare at him, he crunched down on it. Chagrined, Clark swallowed and then tried to make an excuse, "I must have," he cleared his throat, "accidentally … mentioned it to … my mom. She may have …"

Lois almost growled as she finished for him, "Accidentally told the whole town."

Maisie could see what was brewing and it wasn't the coffee. There was a storm brewing and it was her fault. Hoping that she hadn't done something to break them up, she tried to defuse the situation, "Oh, that's just Smallville for you, honey. Everybody knows everything about everybody else."

Lois was quick to pick up on that. It fit right in with her desires. She needed to learn all that she could about Clark so that she could pass Mr. Ramsbottom's little test. Maybe there was something that Clark had left out of that binder. He had left out the information on his allergies, after all. Maybe there were other things, like whatever it was that Lana was talking about. She also wanted to know if Clark was for real. Claude had been a fake, a fraud that had cheated her, tried, at Ralph's instigation, to seduce her and had actually stolen her story. She needed to know if Clark was like that or not. Here was Maisie giving her the perfect opening. She stared straight at Clark as she asked, sweetly, "If that's so why haven't I heard any dirt on Clark, here?"

Maisie looked back and forth between Clark and Lois, she felt that Lois was giving her an opportunity to correct whatever problem she had created by mentioning the novel so finally she returned her eyes to look at Lois she answered her question in a very sincere tone and a straightforward manner, "Honey, I've known Clark all of his life. You can take it from me … with Clark, here … what you see … is what you get. He's always been Mr. Straight Arrow." Taking a couple of menus out of the pocket of her apron, she handed them to Lois and Clark and then hearing another customer calling said, "Here you go. I'll be back in a jiff."

As if this was a big revelation, Lois repeated in an almost mocking tone, "What you see is what you get, huh?" However, Maisie's statement had started a chain reaction of thoughts and emotions within Lois and after Maisie turned away, Lois took a close look at Clark with a new appreciation. She was thinking about what Clark had said at the dance. Was it all part of the act or was he being serious. She had suspected that Clark was attracted to her. Could what he said have been true? Did he really love her? If that kiss had been any indication ... After a few seconds of this contemplation, she looked at her menu.

While Maisie had been speaking, Clark had reached for the pad and started reading. As Maisie walked away, he flipped back to Lois' notes. As he did he let out an exclamation, "Ow!" Surprised and confused, he looked at his finger. It was cut and bleeding. He was thinking, <How did I get cut? Oh, no, I'm not only weak, I'm … vulnerable. That actually hurt. That rock!> Out loud in a shocked tone, he said, "I'm … bleeding!"

Looking up from her menu, Lois asked, "Haven't you ever had a paper cut before?" <Why is he acting like such a big baby? You'd think he wasn't used to being hurt.>

Still staring at the blood seeping from his finger in fascination, he said, "Not that I can remember."

Half distractedly as she was trying to decide what to order, she said, "Put it in your mouth, Clark and suck on it."

Following Lois' orders, Clark put his finger in his mouth and sucked on it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After lunch they returned to the farm and found that the FAX had come in. After looking the FAX over, Lois almost shouted, "Look at this!” She shook the paper from the fax in his face as she said, “This is a working list of clean-up sites from the Environmental Protection Agency and guess what." Not waiting for them to answer, she continued in an I-told-you-so tone, "Smallville's not on it. I think we might be onto something here. Let's go, Clark."

"Where?"

"The Irig farm, of course. I want another chance at that Ms. Sherman."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In typical Mad Dog Lane fashion, as soon as they rolled to a stop, Lois jumped out of the car and approached the barrier to confront Ms. Sherman.

Carol Sherman had seen them as they drove up and had moved to intercept them at the barrier.

As they exited the car, Lois had seen her approaching and had hastened to meet her. She was therefore between Sherman and Clark as he rounded the back of the car and bending slightly, attempted to lift the back end by hooking his hand under the bumper, unsuccessfully. Once he was sure he couldn't lift it, shaking his head in disappointment he followed Lois.

As he approached, Lois was confronting Ms. Sherman with the list of active EPA sites that they had received. As soon as she was at the barrier, Lois had addressed Sherman, "It seems that Smallville is not on the EPA list!"

The previous day, unknowingly, Sherman had been lying. Now she was doing it deliberately, because her life depended on it. She knew that she had to play the part flawlessly if she was to live to see her daughter again. Playing the officious bureaucrat she said, "Look, if you want to match paperwork we can do that." She was thankful that Trask had thought of this possibility and prepared her for it. She began flipping through official looking documents on a clipboard that she held. Finding the ones she was looking for she started the litany, "This is our certificate granting access to EPA Superfund status.” She flipped to the next page, “This is the property rights waiver.” Turning over yet another page, she said, “Here's the authorization from Smallville City Hall.” She flipped to the final page, “And this … this is the updated list of what you've got. See? There's Smallville right there." She pointed at a line item on a list.

Clark was now close enough to see the forms. The sheet she was pointing to sure looked a lot like the one Lois had and sure enough, there was ‘Smallville' right where she indicated. He said, "She's right, Lois."

Refusing to give up that easily, Lois asked, "May I see those?"

Ms. Sherman said, "Sure," and hoping that the forged documents would hold up under her scrutiny handed the clipboard over.

Clark was now sure that there was a problem here so while Lois was looking at the forms and comparing them, Clark slipped his glasses down his nose and tried to use his x-ray vision to see what was in the tents, but he failed in the attempt. In fact there was actually pain associated with the attempt. With a disgusted grunt, berating himself for failing to do that the previous day, he pushed his glasses back up his nose.

Seeing that the fakes seemed to be fooling Lois, Sherman, feeling on solid ground, began to elaborate on the story, "It always takes Washington about six weeks to figure out what the people in the field are up to. I can make a call if you like." This was pure bluff and she knew it, but she had less to lose if Lois figured it out than if Trask was displeased.

Lois was angry at being thwarted like this and it showed in her voice as she replied, "Do that. And while you're at it, we definitely want to talk to Mister Irig.

Somewhat exasperated, Sherman replied, "I told you. He's been relocated during the disruption." Now, unlike the previous day, she knew this was a lie, but she had to follow through with it, or else.

Lois challenged, "But you didn't tell us where."

Sherman was becoming exasperated and it came out in her voice as she replied, in a strained tone, "Because, I don't know. Probably one of the motels."

Lois started to smile like the cat that had just caught the canary, because she knew that she had Sherman. The inside knowledge she had gained by being with the Kents was now going to pay off, big time. She challenged, "I doubt it. Most of the rooms around here were booked up months in advance, or maybe you've never heard of the famous Smallville Corn Festival." She smiled in triumph.

Sherman, realized that she had been caught and had to come up with an explanation, but all she could come up with was, "The government has pull."

Going for the kill, Lois challenged, "All right, then, which one?"

Sherman decided that she would need to bluff this pushy woman again, "I don't know. I'll try to find out." She hoped that the stall would make them leave. She turned and headed for the tents.

She was disappointed when Lois shouted after her, "We'll wait."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ms. Sherman was worried. Her skin crawled each time she had to meet with Trask, but she had no choice. These pushy reporters were forcing her hand. As she entered the command tent she saw Trask watching as a couple of his guards unloaded a crate which had, ‘39/ULTRA' stenciled on the outside. The markings meant absolutely nothing to her, but she noted it nonetheless. She decided to get this over with as quickly as possible. Knowing that he would know exactly who she was speaking about, she said simply, "They're back."

Trask transferred his attention to her long enough to ask, "And …"

"I think they believe me, but they still want to see Irig."

"Tell them that he'll be in touch." He dismissed her by turning his back on her and returning to the unpacking.

Sherman was about to exit with that message, but she was not satisfied with this response. She said, "Look. If I'm involved in this, I have to know what's at stake, in order to do my job."

Trask turned back around and faced her again. After a moments consideration he said, "Fair enough. I have reason to believe there's a very important meteorite here in Smallville."

Sherman was even more surprised at this answer. She blurted out, "Meteorite? Why do you need to keep it such a secret?"

Trask, as if explaining the concept that 2 plus 2 equals 4 to a two year old, said, "Because if I don't, I will lose the element of surprise over Superman."

Startled and confused at the mention of Superman, Sherman asked, "What's Superman got to do with this?"

She was looking at Trask, but Sherman could see that behind him, the guards had succeeded in removing the top of the crate.

Gesturing at the crate behind him, Trask answered, "This, Ms. Sherman, was retrieved by my predecessor, in Smallville, Kansas in 1966, not far from here."

As he finished speaking, without the top holding them in place, the sides of the crate finally fell away and there was revealed to her sight a small spacecraft. On the nose she saw a familiar sigil, the same symbol that she had seen on the chest of the superhero. Her surprise at the sight that met her eyes caused her to take a gasping breath.

Trask continued to speak while Sherman stared at the small craft, "The meteorite probably landed here at the same time but wasn't discovered until a recent storm. It seems reasonable to assume that it comes from the same source as Superman. The planet Krypton. It's all in this report here." Picking up a folder from the table with official type markings ‘FOUO -- TOP SECRET' and opening it he riffled through some sheets of paper and then finding the correct one started to read, "Not of Earthly origin. Periodic element 126. Emits an extremely high band radiation that doesn't seem to affect humans." As he finished reading Trask was smiling. He closed the folder and looked up at Sherman. "However, my theory is that if a Kryptonian were to be exposed to a significant piece for any length of time, the result could be … lethal." He smiled that very unpleasant smile.

Sherman was shocked at the thought that anyone would wish to harm the superhero. All he had done was help mankind. She challenged, "But why kill Superman? He hasn't done anything hostile."

Sherman was shocked by the look in Trask's eyes. It was the light of fanaticism or insanity, she couldn't tell which.

With total conviction Trask said, "His very existence is hostile. He's the advance man ... the public relations guy. He's here to soften us up ... for the hoards to come. Now do you understand?"

Yes, now she understood, only too well. Now that Sherman had heard this directly from Trask she knew which it was. The man was insane, a maniac and she was beginning to have serious doubts that she would actually survive this job. If all of the guards that worked for him were as mad as he was, her hours, let alone days, were numbered. All she could do was play along and hope for the best. Maybe she could escape or else be rescued. She returned to the barrier and relayed the message to the reporters.

Lois gave Sherman her cell phone number and then she and Clark headed for the car. Lois asked, "Are you hungry, Clark?"

Nodding his head, Clark said, "I could use a bite to eat." He wasn't extremely hungry. Usually he derived most of his energy from sunlight, but ever since being exposed to that rock he had needed to eat and drink to keep up his energy.

With the air of one forming a plan, Lois said, "Let's go into town. Maybe we can find someone who knows something for a change before we eat."

The day was bright and sunny and for once Lois took her time driving which gave them plenty of opportunity to talk and for Clark to soak up some sunlight.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

They headed back into town and returned to Maisie's diner. They sat at a table and as Maisie deposited a couple of cups of ice water and a couple of menus on the table ordered coffee.

Lois started to reach for a menu as Maisie turned to get their orders, but as she did, Lois' cell phone began to ring. Forgetting about the menu, Lois reached for it.

Clark also reached for it.

It was inevitable that as Lois reached for the phone she would knock over one of the glasses of ice water and it would naturally land in Clark's lap. It was impossible to tell if it was an accident or deliberate. However it happened, suddenly, Clark's pants were wet and he was cold, something he hadn't experienced in years, not since he had been a kid. Jumping up from his seat he started to frantically brush off the water to prevent any more from soaking into his pants.

While he was doing this Lois picked up the phone, looked at him and said, "Oops, sorry," flipped the phone open and extending the antenna, answered it. "This is Lois Lane." Hearing the voice on the phone she blurted out, "Mr. Irig? Where are you?"

He responded, "I think I'm just outside of Salt Lake City."

Incredulous, Lois repeated what he had said for clarification, "Salt Lake City?!?"

Wayne replied, "I just got in my Winnebago and decided to go visit my sister. Been on the road so long, hardly know where I am."

Lois didn't like what she was hearing. It just didn't sound right. She said, "Mister Irig, I'm going to put you on with Clark Kent."

She handed the phone to Clark and he immediately brought it to his ear and spoke, "Hello, Wayne. Can you give me a phone number where I can call you back?

For a few seconds there was silence and then he was back, "I don't see one here. I'm at a truck stop."

Clark was practically shouting, the connection seemed to be really bad and Wayne sounded really confused. Clark persisted with, "What did the EPA guys tell you about the work they're doing on your property?"

Wayne replied, "Just that they needed to do some digging."

Worried, because Wayne's answers seemed to be rather wooden, Clark asked, "Wayne, is everything okay?"

Wayne's reply was not really convincing, "There's no problem. Looks like somebody else needs this phone now. Goodbye, Clark."

As Clark shouted, "Wha, wait, Wayne I …" the line went dead.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the command tent on the Irig farm, Trask took the field phone from Wayne's hand and dropped it onto its pouch as a telephone operator hit a switch on a field switchboard to kill the connection.

The guards that had been standing around started to relax.

Trask then took the index cards which he had used to write out the script that Wayne had followed. He was irritated that Wayne had started to improvise, but then there hadn't been much choice. Trask hadn't anticipated every possible question. He actually thought that the Winnebago was a nice touch.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In a questioning tone, Clark said, "Salt Lake City?"

"That's where he said he was calling from. He couldn't wait to get off the line, could he?"

Shaking his head, Clark said, "Wayne's never been much of a talker."

Thoughtfully, Lois said, "He said he was calling from Salt Lake City, but he could have been … anywhere."

Picking up on where Lois was taking this train of thought, he suggested, "You mean like here in Smallville." Looking at Lois he asked, "What did he say to you?"

"He said that he had just decided to visit his sister, hopped into his Winnebago and started driving."

With a shocked expression, Clark said, "I think you're right and he was giving us a clue."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Wayne doesn't own a Winnebago."

With a nod of dawning understanding, Lois said, "It sure looks like it is possible." Looking out the window and across the street at the Corn Festival activities, Lois said, "I'd suggest that we go mingle, but I'd like one of Maisie's burgers and a chocolate shake first. Real ice cream, yum."

/ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ */ *

Clark commented, "That was different, Wayne never dropped a clue like that to us. In our universe, Wayne had a Winnebago so that wouldn't have worked. Wayne is a tough old farmer. I think Trask has met his match. Wayne can out last him."

Lois commented, “So far it’s a lot like what happened to us.”

Herb replied, “I believe that when the events of the two universes parallel the similarities will outweigh the differences. In this case even though the source of the encounter was from a different cause the events that followed were strikingly similar. Although, when you come right down to it, the outcome was more like that other couple I mentioned.”

Clark commented, “You’ve mentioned them a few times now. When are you going to tell us about them?”

Herb smiled and said, “Ah, yes. That would be another interesting story to tell, but that is for another time. Let me just say that they put their Luthor is in prison and he will be there for a very long time, a very long time, indeed. Unlike what happened to you; that Lois, with Martha’s help, managed to recapture Luthor after he escaped from the police and prevented him from leaping from the balcony.” See House of Luthor – Matchmaker Style for that story

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