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Between the Pages

By: VirginiaR.

Rated: PG

Description: Lois and Clark team up to prevent a potential scandal from Lois’s past from reaching her fiancé’s attention.

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Part 1

Instinctually, Clark glanced up as Lois came down the ramp from the elevators into the newsroom. He took a deep breath and sighed before he could pull his eyes away and back to the data Jimmy had compiled for him, unable to focus on it.

It had been too many weeks since Perry’s retirement bash when Lois had told Clark flat-out to ‘get over’ her engagement to Lex Luthor. She was marrying the billionaire and that was that. If Clark couldn’t see how the man had rescued them all when he had bought the paper, then she no longer wanted to be partnered with him.

When Clark had rebutted that Luthor hadn’t rescued Perry, Lois had said that until Clark apologized for that slanderous remark, she would no longer work with him.

Clark had steadfastly refused to apologize for speaking the truth. Fat lot of good it did him.

Therefore, here they were, in their current stalemate. Lois in blind denial about her billionaire fiancé as well as unwilling to acknowledge Clark’s existence, other than those rare moments at work when she was forced to. Meanwhile, Clark – despite every effort – was still more in love with Lois than any other woman he had ever known.

It was his fault, Clark knew. She had always been stubborn; it was one of the endearing traits that he had learned to love about her. Stubbornly loyal to Superman, no matter what the world threw at him. How could he hate that? Still, Clark had pushed too hard on the subject of Luthor and Lois had dug in her heels – mostly because she could never admit defeat, or acknowledge that she ever could be wrong. Usually, he loved these quirks or traits as well, just not in this case.

So, he had remained. He wasn’t about to abandon Metropolis, the Daily Planet, or Lois to Luthor while there was still hope.

His gaze was once more drawn to her, as it was whenever she entered the office. Her laughter could make his pulse quicken; sadly, he heard it only rarely these days. He missed his best friend with all of his heart and was willing to do almost anything to get in her good graces again, short of out-right lying to her about his true opinion of the Daily Planet’s new owner.

Luthor had made Lois editor after Chip had been unable to handle the writing and grammatical side of being the editor-in-chief. Clark would never understand how the woman whose copy he had corrected on a daily basis while they were partners could do Perry’s job, but Lois claimed that the position was only temporary until Luthor could find a suitable replacement for their former boss.

That had been two months ago and Clark doubted that Luthor wanted his future missus to ever investigate again. Did Luthor think that a management position would knock the drive out of his fiancée? Would it? Clark hoped not.

“Kent! My office! Pronto!” Lois called as she passed through the newsroom.

Clark’s chin jerked up so fast in surprise, his neck actually pinched for a split-second.

“Today, Kent!” Lois roared again. “Jimmy, hold all my calls!”

“Yes, boss!” Jimmy replied. “I’ll tell Susan.”

Lois winced for a second, and Clark could see her slight embarrassment for having forgotten once again that Luthor had supplied her with an assistant to ease her workload. Clark suspected Susan was there more in a spying capacity despite, or maybe because, she was too good at her job. Since Susan’s hire two weeks previous, Lois rarely left the Daily Planet building during the day.

Not wanting to be barked at a third time, Clark scurried from his desk to Perry’s old and Lois’s new office, catching the door before it slammed behind his new boss.

“Shut the door, Kent,” Lois said, dumping her briefcase down unceremoniously on Perry’s… her desk.

Clark had repeatedly asked that she call him ‘Clark’ during those rare moments they were alone, but so far she had stubbornly refused.

She plopped down in her chair in what had all the telltale signs of exhaustion. How had he missed the dark circles under her red eyes, the haphazard way she had applied her lipstick as if her hand had been shaking, and her slouched defeated demeanor?

“Sit!” she ordered, and Clark realized he had been staring.

He sat. “What’s wrong, Lois?” he asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, Kent, and it’s Ms. Lane to… to…” Her eyes closed and her shoulders slumped. “Nobody. I could never lie to you, Clark,” she murmured.

“I can recall a time or two you had no difficulty doing so,” he replied softly.

She didn’t rise to his bait and even half-smile. “I’m in trouble,” she continued.

Clark’s heart stopped for a split-second. ‘I’m in trouble’ didn’t necessary mean pregnancy in Metropolis as it often did when whispered about unwed women in Smallville. Anyway, if Lois was pregnant she and Luthor could just move up their wedding date. It wasn’t as if it was far off anyway.

He swallowed down these bile-filled thoughts despite the fact they were likely to give him indigestion.

“Do you need me to contact Superman?” he asked.

With Lois now the editor, Clark had become the paper’s main source of Superman stories. He often felt it was the only reason Lois hadn’t canned his behind after his repeated warnings to her about Luthor.

Superman’s name did what Clark’s earlier joke had been unable to do, bring a brief light to her eyes. “No. Actually, this is a job for Clark Kent.”

Having no control over his heart, he could not stop it from swelling at her words. How could it not? Lois Lane wanted him. She needed Clark Kent. He had fantasized about this moment.

He leaned forward. “What can I do for you, Lois?”

“I need you to investigate something… something private.”

“Private?” he echoed.

Had Lois finally stumbled onto one of Luthor’s devious plots? He moved even closer to her desk. This was becoming better than his daydreams.

“Not a story,” she went on. “Because it’s too newsworthy.”

Okay, not a plot. Another woman perhaps?

Clark waited for her to continue.

“I’m being blackmailed.”

“Blackmailed?” Clark sputtered. He knew all of her secrets, or thought he had, and none of them was blackmail material. “Why come to me?” he couldn’t help but inquire. “Why not ask your fiancé for assistance?”

She put her briefcase into her lap and gazed down at it, as if hoping she could hide behind it. “It’s private.”

He raised a brow at this declaration but didn’t comment. What could be so private she would want it secret from her intended? Yet, not so secret to keep from him?

Reluctantly, she pulled a manila envelope out of her briefcase and set it on the desk. “This was slipped under my apartment door during the night.”

Clark waited for her to slide the envelope over to him.

Lois set her hand on the envelope but more to hold it down than to move it. “Very private,” she whispered, still not looking Clark in the eye. She exhaled and closed her eyes.

“Even from your future husband?”

“I… I told Lex that I…” She swallowed. “Uh… wanted to wait until… um… our honeymoon… to…” She glanced up at Clark and flushed a deeper shade of maroon than he had ever seen on a perfectly healthy individual and then shifted her gaze away again.

“You told Luthor you’re a virgin?” Clark guessed.

Lois quickly nodded. “Not in so many words, but I’m sure he thinks…” Her voice petered out.

“What about Claude?”

“That’s why I know I can trust you, Clark. You know about Claude and never told anyone,” she explained.

Clark glanced down at the envelope Lois still hadn’t passed over to him. “Why don’t you just tell Luthor the truth?” he asked. “I’m sure he would understand.”

Okay. That wasn’t exactly honest. Clark wasn’t sure of that in the least. Clark, himself, would understand if Lois had lied to him and then came clean, but mainly that could be because he had been keeping a big secret from her. However, he wasn’t Luthor. Nor was Luthor him.

Thank God.

Lois closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. “This isn’t about Claude,” she went on. “You remember Linda King? Of course, you remember Linda King! Do you recall that I told you that she not only stole my story, but also my boyfriend?”

Clark nodded slowly.

“Paul. Paul Bender was his name. He was editor of the Metropolis University newspaper.”

“I recall you mentioning him,” he prodded when she went silent.

“Well, while we didn’t go all the… um… way… he did convince me to pose for some risqué pictures. It was just a game, he said. A flirtatious way to get me to feel more comfortable in my skin to get me to relax around him,” Lois said. “He told me there wasn’t any film in his camera.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “He lied.”

Clark drew in a sharp breath as both of them looked down at the envelope on the desk. He lifted his gaze back to Lois’s and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, glad he hadn’t slipped into temptation. She nodded, finally letting go of the envelope.

As he pulled open the flap of the envelope, a couple of latex gloves landed on the desk in front of him.

“How dirty are these photos, Lois?” he teased, raising a brow.

“It’s just one photo,” she explained. “And the gloves are for fingerprints.”

“Why don’t you take it to Detective Henderson at the MPD if you don’t want to risk fingerprints?” he asked, putting on the gloves.

Lois scoffed. “I’d never hear the end of it.”

He nodded. Plus, knowing Luthor, he probably had sources planted within the police department. Clark drew out the enclosed letter first.


The letter wasn’t signed with more than a scribble that could be one of six letters or a combination of several.

Clark tilted up the envelope until the photograph slid out.

Lois covered her face.

The print was in black and white. Lois sat on a disheveled bed and appeared only to be wearing a grey Metropolis University sweatshirt. Her right knee was bent flat in front of her on the bed and the left was up against her chest. Her longer than shoulder-length hair had been brushed out of her face with her left hand, whose elbow rested on the knee against her chest. She stared at the camera with an expression Clark had only seen in his dreams… and while Lois had been high on pheromones.

He swallowed his thudding heart back into his chest and set down the print. “That isn’t so bad.”

“That was one of the tamer shots,” Lois revealed.

“I thought you said Paul Bender had told you that there wasn’t any film in the camera,” he said.

She pressed her lips together.

“Are there more photos?” he asked when she didn’t reply.

“I’m assuming there are and no, I haven’t seen them, but I remember the photo shoot and… and…they get worse.” She covered her face with her hand. “Will you help me, Clark?”

As if he could ever resist a plea of help from her.

“I’m guessing that you already contacted this Paul Bender fellow?” he asked.

“Of course!” she growled. “I hunted him down and confronted him this morning. He claims the camera with the photos still in it was stolen during his senior year at Metropolis U.”

“That does widen the pool of suspects a bit,” Clark murmured, tapping his chin in thought. “Even if you do get the negatives back, Lois, there’s no guarantee that LFI hasn’t already made prints enough for their readers.”

“I know! I know! But, at least, I need to try,” she exclaimed, hitting her fist against the desk in a manner resembling their old boss. “Lex hates reporters… well, other than me. That’s why he started LNN and bought the Daily Planet to make sure the coverage about him and LexCorp wasn’t slander-based.”

Clark stared at her, wondering if she heard the words coming out of her own mouth.

She must have seen the chagrin plastered across his face because she gestured as if knocking her words away. “You know what I mean.”

“You’re saying Luthor got into the media business in order to control the freedom of the press?” he said, trying to keep the scoffing tone from his voice. He failed.

“Well, to protect his own interests,” Lois rebutted.

“So, you’re admitting that he bought the Daily Planet to get favorable press?”

“You’re twisting my words!” she said, standing up and leaning towards him.

“Maybe you should try listening to your own words sometime, Lois, because the reporter I knew a year ago wouldn’t have accepted a Public Relations job if her life depended on it!”

Lois crossed her arms and tried to out-glare him into caving. It didn’t work. She had asked him for his assistance, after all. She sat down. “He’d be mortified, Clark. Humiliated if these came to print.”

He doubted that Lois meant on her behalf.

Clark picked up the photo. “Personally, I think it’s sexy.”

She snatched the picture out of his hand and stuffed it back into the envelope.

He handed her the letter. “If you love him that much, Lois, tell him the truth. If he loves you half as much as…” He cleared his throat. “If he loves you, he’ll forgive your white lie on why you wanted to wait until your honeymoon. He’ll understand that after dealing with scum such as Paul and Claude, you wanted to know his intentions were honorable and not a means to an end.”

Lois set her hand on his for a moment longer than necessary as she retrieved her blackmail letter. “I knew you’d understand. So, you’ll do this for me.”

Clark brought his hand back to his lap and rubbed the spot she had touched with his other hand. “Do what exactly? Act as your negotiator? Do you have access to one million dollars?”

“I’m not paying this scumbag! I want you to find the photos and steal them back.”

“Aha! Grand larceny. I’m not a private detective, Lois. I’m an investigative reporter,” he reminded her.

“The best one at the Daily Planet,” she returned.

The thrill of her words was deadened by the truth he knew that lay behind him. “You’re the best investigative reporter the Daily Planet has, Lois. Why don’t you find your own photos?”

“I don’t have the time, Clark!” She held out her hands to encompass the whole room outside the office walls. “I have a newspaper to run.”

Clark stood up. “The Lois Lane I used to know would’ve been thrilled at the challenge at running some nasty blackmailer over the coals.”

A sly grin spread across her face. “I was really hoping it was Paul. I would’ve enjoyed pulling out his spleen.”

“Lucky man,” Clark deadpanned.

“The truth is, Clark, the blackmailer obviously knows me and will see me coming from a mile away. You’re a nobody. You’re invisible. You’re so open and honest; nobody would ever suspect you of having an ulterior motive.”

He crossed his arms and stared at her in disbelief. She really didn't listen to what she said, did she?

Lois went around the desk and patted Clark’s arm. “I mean that in the best possible way, Clark.”

“Gee, thanks, boss.”

Jack knocked on the door and opened it. “Mail call!” he said, handing Lois a pile of letters including another manila envelope.

A petite firestorm of a blonde secretary stormed into the office after Jack and grabbed the stack of mail out of Lois’s hands. “I’ll take those!” she announced before turning on Clark’s friend. “This is the last time, kid. I warned you that I am to open all of Ms. Lane’s mail from now on.”

“What are you going to do? Demote me from the mail room?” Jack scoffed.

The woman turned to Lois. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lane. It won’t happen again.”

“It’s okay, Susan. I can open my own mail,” Lois said, holding out her hand. Delegating to anyone not named Jimmy wasn’t Lois’s strong suit.

“It’s in my job description that I answer your phones, schedule your appointments, and open your mail, Ms. Lane,” Susan returned. “It won’t take but a few minutes.”

Clark snatched the manila envelope from the pile while giving Susan an apologetic smile. “Excuse me. Isn’t this that report you were just telling me about, Ms. Lane?” he asked, holding up the envelope so that Lois could see the familiar script and lack of a return address.

“Why ‘yes,’ it is, Kent. Good eye. The rest of you can go,” Lois said, dismissing Susan and Jack with a wave of her hand.

“Ms. Lane,” Susan said, standing her ground and holding out her hand. “What if that envelope is laced with a deadly poison or an explosive? If you let me do my job properly, your safety won’t be at risk.”

Clark tilted his head to observe this petite woman who would dare speak so to Mad Dog Lane.

“Susan went through Army ROTC, Kent. She’s trained in handling explosives and to expect danger to come from anywhere,” Lois explained. “Don’t worry, Susan, I’ll have Mr. Kent here open the envelope and we’ll know in a few minutes whether someone was trying to kill me… by whether he’s still alive.”

“Have you had death threats, Lo… Ms. Lane?” Clark asked. This was the first he was hearing about it.

“Lex is overly cautious,” Lois went on with a shrug. “As you well know, Kent, a good reporter always gets death threats.”

“Mr. Luthor worries about your safety, Ma’am,” Susan corrected. “And you’re no longer a reporter.”

Clark took a large step backwards, out of the blast radius.

“Don’t call me ‘ma’am’!” Lois roared, pointing to the newsroom. “Out!”

Susan disappeared out the door with the rest of Lois’s mail, shutting the door behind her. Jack had left when Lois had kicked them out several minutes earlier.

Lois picked up her letter opener from her desk. Meanwhile, Clark quickly x-rayed the package to see that it, indeed, contained another suggestive photo, but otherwise was harmless. She pulled the envelope out of his hand and sliced through the flap.

Clark tsk-tsked this action. “Susan is going to be so disappointed if I don’t get the opportunity to die for you, Lois.”

“It’ll be our little secret,” she replied with a sly wink. She glanced inside the envelope but instead of removing the photo, sucked in a sharp breath. Almost just as fast, she clutched the envelope to her chest. “You know, I’ve been thinking that you probably have enough to go on with that first photo…”

Clark picked up his discarded latex gloves and put them back on. Then he held out his hand.

Lois eyed him warily. “Why weren’t you attracted to me when we were sprayed by that love perfume?”

He wondered if he looked as he felt, as if she had just hit him upside the head with a two-by-four. “Who says I wasn’t?” he said, tugging the envelope out of her gripe.

“You didn’t serenade me as Perry did to Rehalia nor did you try to impress me as Jimmy did with April Stephens,” she went on, holding tighter onto the package. “You didn’t even respond when I did the dance of the seven veils.”

“That’s not how I recall it,” he murmured, running his free hand through his hair. Her gaze told him she wasn’t going to let this drop. “I’m different than they are. I woo differently.”

“With patience, kindness, and understanding?” she scoffed.

He shrugged. “Some women appreciate…” Not only did he not need to excuse his behavior, he had allowed her to distract him. “What does this have to do with your current predicament?”

Lois straightened her spine. “Just curious. You didn’t seem any different than you normally do.”

He lowered his voice to a suggestive tone, “Maybe that’s because I’ve been wooing you since day one.”

The shock of that statement made her loosen her grip on the envelope and he was able to extract it. “A-ha!” he exclaimed with triumph.

“Hey, give that back!”

Clark poured the photo into the palm of his gloved hand.

It was another black and white photo. Lois wore only a men’s white button-down Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows as Clark was apt to do on hot days. Her long hair was tied behind her head in a makeshift knot held by a pencil. She was sitting at a desk with a computer on it, turning away from the desk and towards the camera as she used to do here at the Daily Planet whenever she had wanted to speak with Clark. There was a certain sexy librarian / secretary vibe to it or, in Lois’s case, reporter.

Actually, the more Clark stared at the photo, and he couldn’t stop himself from doing so, the more it appeared as if Lois had jumped out of bed with a brilliant idea and headed straight to her computer to write it up without bothering to get dressed in more than the first shirt she found beside her bed. A shirt that could’ve easily been taken off Clark’s chest. He could picture a scene where he walked out of her bedroom, still wiping the sleep from his eyes, to find her so. The shock of that fantasy image socked him in the gut as strongly as a punch from his immature double had. Clark’s knees buckled and he sat down.

He didn’t want Luthor to see this print. He didn’t want anyone to see it. Clark wished he hadn’t seen it, because there was no way to un-see it and un-feel the emotions that had come with seeing it. He swallowed.

“That bad?” Lois asked.

He didn’t answer as he flipped the photo over under the guise of looking for a developer’s stamp. No such luck. He cleared his throat.

To Clark, it seemed to be a risqué photo. However, to those who didn’t know Lois as he did, it still could be considered quite innocent by LFI standards. It was even the type of print that they might choose to leave out of the photo spread. Should these photos ever make it to the pages of that magazine, he hoped this one wouldn’t be included… for Lois’s sake.

“It’s not too bad,” he finally spoke, hoping that she didn’t hear the catch in his throat.

She moved next to him to peer at the photo from over his shoulder. “I was afraid my underwear was showing.”

Clark closed his eyes. “No.”

“That’s good, at least.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, standing up and handing the photo back to Lois. He removed his gloves and tossed them into the trash. “It doesn’t appear to have another note enclosed. I’m going to… uh…go…” He pointed to the door with his thumb. “— get started.”

Lois slipped the photo into the first envelope and nodded.

At the door, he turned back to her. “I’m going to catch this guy, Lois.”

“Thanks, Clark. I appreciate it.”

She looked so fragile and vulnerable, instead of her usual tough self. That combined with the emotional impact that last photo had on him, Clark felt an overwhelming need to protect her… more than his usual need to do so.

It wasn’t until he was back at his desk that he remembered that she wasn’t his to protect, no matter what his wishes might be. That honor belonged to Lex Luthor.

Instead of lessening with this realization, his desire to protect Lois doubled… tripled, even.

Lois needed Clark Kent to save her, and he wasn’t going to let her down.

***End of Part 1***

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