Whine No More
Folc4evernaday
Part 4
***
Rated: PG-13Lois stared at the spot Clark had just vacated shaking her head. These two men that had become so important to her were one and the same. That also meant that every time Clark had been running away he hadn’t been running from her but running to a disaster. He hadn’t left her in the middle of her date. He’d been rescuing someone. Now realizing all this all she seemed to be coming back with is more questions.
<<“Your going out with Dan DOES upset me.”>>
<<“Lois, this isn’t easy for either of us, but I promise…no more shutting you out.”>>
<<“Are…you….sure?”>>
<<“Lois, I’m…Superman.”
“Yes, you are…”>>After his confession about lying about his feelings for her, she hadn’t been interested in talking anymore. She’d been so tired of the back and forth so when he’d finally stayed and not disappeared on her after declaring his feelings she’d decided she was ready. He’d said the words. She just hadn’t connected the dots. She hadn’t been focused on what he was saying.
<<"I love you, Lois Lane,">>
<<“I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you,”>>
<<“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long…”>>At the time she thought he was talking about his confession about being in love with her. Now she mused it was probably about what he’d thought was his confession.
<<“ Making up for lost time?”
“You have no idea,”>>
<<“You stayed the night,”
“Mmm hmm, was I not supposed to? Someone fell asleep with an alarming tight grip on me,”
“Just making sure you didn’t disappear in the middle of the night,”>>Everything had been perfect the next morning. He hadn’t disappeared. He’d promised not to disappear. How many calls for help had he ignored that night to be with her?
He’d stayed the night, and they’d had breakfast together then gone to check out the street fair together. Everything had been…perfect. Even now after everything... She couldn’t deny how she felt. She was still in love with him…both of him. He was still Clark. Her best friend. The man she’d been in love with for almost two years now…and the superhero that had saved her from herself countless times.
<<“Isn’t there some kind of unspoken rule about horning in on another guy’s date?”
“Date? I’m sorry. THIS is a date?”
“What are you doing here, Scardino?”
“Yes, Dan, what ARE you doing here?”>>
<<“Man, did you see that?”
“Lucky Superman was nearby.”>>
<<“Clark?”
“So now you know,”
“ Know what?”
“Just about how much you mean to Clark Kent.”>>Dan. That was another problem she had to nip in the bud. Obviously, he wasn’t taking ‘no’ very well, and she needed to take care of him before he caused anymore issues between herself and Clark. She recalled how he seemed to get some sort of pleasure out of one-upping Clark every chance he got. That night at her apartment flashed through her mind again. Obviously, he still thought he had a chance with her.
<<“I’m sorry, Lois. I’ve hated keeping this secret from you. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times…Everything just got so complicated.”>>Complicated was an understatement.
A sonic-boom and familiar breeze of wind brushed against the nape of her neck. She turned around to face him and was surprised to find him standing in front of her in his suit and tie from earlier. “Hi,” He said softly.
“Hi,” She crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her arms up and down.
<<“When you think about it, the only time people really express themselves is when they're passionate, and the polite veneer of society drops away... like when they're fighting...”
“Or make love.”>>He sighed, “Lois…” at the same time she said, “Clark…”
He said, “I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
“Okay,” She said, pacing in front of him, “I think I get why you didn’t tell me at first and why you felt like you couldn’t tell me…at first…BUT,” She slowed down turning to look at him, “What I don’t get is why you felt you couldn’t tell me after we started getting closer. I mean, you DIED right there in front of me and ....Do you have any idea what you put me through? You should have…”
“I know,” He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I just kinda panicked and REALLY didn’t think things through. I was so focused on how to get out of the mess I’d created I didn’t think about how it was affecting you. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Then why did you?” She asked holding back her tears.
“Honestly?” He shrugged, “I was afraid.”
“Of what?” Lois asked.
“This!” He gestured between them. “Lois, you have no idea how many times I’ve tried to get the courage to tell you. The other night was the first time I actually did…or thought I did. I should have made sure you heard me, but …”
“You thought I already knew?” Lois finished for him, recalling their argument from earlier.
“Yeah,” He said shamefully. “I swear, I would never have taken that step without telling you everything.”
Lois nodded, “I know,” She said quietly. “At least I think I do, but you waited SO LONG to tell me. I mean, I thought…Am I really so intimidating?”
He gave her a half-smile, taking a hesitant step toward her. “No, but you have to understand how I grew up…”
“I’ve met your parents, Clark. Not exactly a hard childhood.” She retorted bitterly, leaning against the Daily Planet globe as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“No, but growing up with powers developing and not knowing why…not knowing where I came from. It scared me.” He said, walking toward her, squatting down to the concrete of the roof by her feet. “When I was younger…before, the invulnerability kicked in my dad was afraid I’d get picked up by some government agency, so he always gave his speech of ‘One of these days someone’s gonna see you and they’re gonna put you in a laboratory and dissect you like a frog.’”
Lois bit her lip, suppressing a laugh at Clark’s impression of his dad. She squatted down next to him, “I’m sorry. I thought…I mean you told me you came from Krypton. I guess I thought you always knew.”
He shook his head, “Not until we found Bureau 39 and Trask.”
“Oh,” Lois murmured softly, “So, all those years you never knew?”
He shook his head, “Not until the globe started playing those messages.”
“Globe?” Then she recalled the globe Clark had had stolen from his apartment, “Oh, right the globe. I had forgotten about that. “
“It’s just a disguise…I wear the suit and change my voice a little, so I can use my abilities to help. I got tired of moving every time someone got suspicious so ….thus, Superman was born.”
“It’s pretty clever,” She gave him a half-smile, “I’ll give you that.”
“I just wanted to help. That’s all I ever wanted. Now, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to do that anymore,” He remarked bitterly.
“What do you mean?” She asked, looking at him in concern, “Look, I know I got angry earlier but I would never…”
“No, not that,” He shook his head, “This…” He pulled out a rolled up copy of the subpoena he’d been served with. “Superman just got served.”
“What???” Lois snapped, grabbing the papers from him. “Half a
million dollars??? Reckless endangerment? Loss of income? For a
sprain? You have got to be kidding me!” Lois fumed as she read through the subpoena.
Clark hung his head, “I know. All I did was move him out of the way. There’s no way he should have even been that injured…”
“You’re gonna need a lawyer, Clark,” Lois said reading through the rest of the subpoena. “I know a guy who handles cases like this…He’s never lost a case,”
“Is he a good person?” He asked.
Lois gave him a shrug, “He’s a
lawyer.”
“Lois…” He sighed. “I can’t just go with any lawyer. How would it look if Superman was being represented by someone that is anything but honest?”
“I guess you’re right,” Lois relented, “We’ll call around and see if we can get any recommendations. Maybe talk with Perry?”
“Yeah,” He nodded. “Thank you. I didn’t know who else to talk to about this. I know you must hate me right now…”
“Oh, Clark, I don’t hate you. I’m just ….confused.” She glanced back at him and sighed, “You’ve just got to give me some time. I mean I spent almost three years getting to know you as two different people and trying to wrap my head around all of this.”
“I know,” He stood up, helping her to her feet. “Do you need a lift home?”
Lois nodded, “I suppose we should get going. I’ll take a rain check on the flight home.” He hung his head, and she continued, “but you can ride with me, and we can finish talking if you’d like,”
“Okay,” He smiled back at her.
***
Elise stared at the papers in front of her in shock, “Calvin, are you out of your mind?”
“What do you mean?” He asked in confusion. Her eyes widened as she read through the details of the lawsuit.
“Calvin, this says you’ve lost wages. You weren’t working. If you say this stuff on the stand…” She began to panic.
“No, no, no, darling,” He cooed. “You don’t understand. It’s a loss of
potential wages. See?” He pointed at the line on the lawsuit, “See? If I can prove Superman damaged my hand to the point of not being able to play again, then I can clean him out…We’ll be rich! You won’t have to work at that stupid diner anymore and can stay home with me,”
“But Calvin, Superman
saved your life…”
“…and he’s going to pay for it,” Calvin reassured her, patting his wrist.
***
On the drive back to her apartment Lois had begun picking Clark’s brain. Asking question after question about things she’d wondered about but had been too afraid to ask. He obliged, answering what he could with what he knew, “I don’t know,” She parked the Jeep and got out, grabbing her things.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” She asked, “You said you got tired of moving. So what was different about Metropolis?” Was he trying to be difficult? She gave him a lingering gaze, and he shifted, turning away for a moment.
<<"Lois, I'm...Superman..."
"Yes, you are...">>“I don’t know,” He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets as they continued, “I guess it was a combination of things. I just wanted to lead a normal life. Friends, a job…” He glanced at her with a blush, “girl?”
She gave him a small smile. Girl. The memory of Lenny Stokes’ taunt to him some months back flashed through her mind,
<<“She’s your girl?”>>It hadn’t been true at the time. She had often wondered why Superman seemed so torn and taken aback by that statement. It was another reason why she’d thought she’d had a chance with him. Now, she slowly realized it had been Clark all along.
<<“When you think about it, the only time people really express themselves is when they're passionate, and the polite veneer of society drops away... like when they're fighting...”
“Or make love.”>>
<<“I have been in love with you for a long time,”>>
“I guess, getting the job at the Planet, meeting you…It gave me a reason to want to stick around…” He continued.
<<"You're so gorgeous,"
"Make love to me, Clark,">>She felt a shiver run down her spine as her mind flashed back to the other night in her apartment. They climbed the steps to her apartment building, and she sighed, “I guess I can understand that,”
He smiled, “I’ve been trying to tell you for months you know…”
<<“Oh, Lois...God you’re so beautiful...I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you,”>>She nodded, trying to force the memory of the other night out of her mind. This was not helping things. “I know,”
“You do?” He asked.
“Looking back I could see the signs where you seemed like you were trying to hint at something but just never finished saying it.” She murmured. He had. There were so many signs over the years. She’d just never followed through on them because she’d been too mad at him.
<<“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long…”>>“I’m glad you know,” He said as she fumbled for her keys in her purse, “I’ve carried this for so long, but you have to understand when I decided to become…” He glanced around the hallway and mouthed, ‘Superman.'
<<“Wrap your legs around me,” >>She bit the inside of her lip, recalling the way he’d felt the other night. Why was her mind so intent on recalling every detail of that night at this very moment? “You became a target so anyone close to you would be a target and then it got to be more complicated when you realized you loved me…”
“Which was about two minutes after I met you,” He added with a smile.
<<“ I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you,”>>
‘Two minutes? No, don’t go there. Bad bad thoughts…’“Don’t try and score points,” She warned.
<<“I lied,”
“What?”
“I said, I lied...In front of the Planet. After everything you went through I didn’t want to complicate things even more for you so…”>>“Sorry,” He sighed. “Lois, I know this is a lot, and I’m sorry about the way you found out. I know you need time to adjust and I’ll give you whatever time you need…just please don’t shut me out,” He pleaded.
She unlocked her door as she spoke, “I know you are, and I’m not. I just…” She sighed, opening the door and stepping inside.
“I love you, Lois,” He leaned in to kiss her, cupping her cheek as he spoke, “Everything I said Saturday night…I meant every word.” He mouthed ‘Superman’ before returning to his normal tone of voice, “…doesn’t change any of that. No matter what I’ve always loved you…I just hope you can forgive me,”
Forgive him? Did she forgive him? She didn’t know. She did know being this close to him was making it hard to concentrate. All she seemed to be able to focus on was his nearness and the memory of what he felt like the other night.
‘Stop it.'
<<“You said you like to be on top,”
“And don’t you forget it,”
“Never.>>“Oh, Clark, I love you too,” She said, wrapping her hand around his wrist as he stroked her cheek.
<<“You slammed the door in my face last night.”
“That was a mistake.”
“Don’t let it happen again.”>>“You do?” He asked uncertainly.
“Always. That’s what was so confusing ….Trying to figure out HOW I could feel the way I felt about you and…” She mouthed ‘Superman’ “…but now it makes sense,”
“Do you regret Saturday night?” He asked.
<<“Lois, open your eyes,”>>“A part of me wants to say, ‘yes,'” She said softly, noting the way he hung his head and turned away.
<<“ Making up for lost time?”
“You have no idea,”>>
<<“When you think about it, the only time people really express themselves is when they're passionate, and the polite veneer of society drops away... like when they're fighting...”
“Or make love.”>> “But another part…says ‘not in this lifetime,’” She said gazing at him hungrily as she bit the inside of her lower lip.
He caught her gaze for a moment and cleared his throat, pulling away, “Um, I should go,”
<<“You stayed the night,”
“Mmm hmm, was I not supposed to? Someone fell asleep with an alarming tight grip on me,”>>“Yeah,” She nodded, watching as he took a step toward the door. He leaned in to kiss her one last time, “Good night, Lois,” Before she could protest he’d already pulled away.
<<“When you think about it, the only time people really express themselves is when they're passionate, and the polite veneer of society drops away... like when they're fighting...”
“Or make love.”>>***
She didn’t even remember how it had started. All she clearly remembered was dropping her things on the floor and pulling Clark to her by the tie, capturing his mouth with hers hungrily. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recalled slamming the door shut and locking it as she molded her body against his. “Lois, what…are we…? Oh, God, yes…” He’d moaned against her lips. “Bedroom?” He asked. She smiled, hearing the strain in his voice.
“Too far,” She gasped, as she loosened his tie.
“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” He murmured in her ear as she glided her right leg up his backside, trying to increase the contact of his body against hers.
She unbuckled his belt and murmured, “It doesn’t hurt your case,”
“I have a case?” His body rumbled against hers as his hands slipped below the edge of her skirt, inching it higher as he spoke.
“Does this mean we’ve made up?” He asked.
“What do you think?” She tugged his tie from his collar and grinned up at him.
“Good, I’ve missed this…missed you,” He said between heated kisses, fumbling with her pantyhose as his hands roamed up and down her thighs slipping the edge of her pantyhose lower and lower as he walked her back toward the door until she found herself pinned against it.
“I know. I had so many plans for you on Sunday,” She murmured, running her palm up and down his chest seductively.
“Plans?”
“The rest of the day in bed…clothing optional,” She whispered seductively and laughed when he groaned against her.
“Take these off,” She ordered, pointing at his slacks.
“Always giving orders,” He murmured against her lips.
“Someone’s got to,” She kicked the panty hose off and let out a long moan when she felt his hand brush against her. “Oh, God, Clark…”
His jacket and tie found its way to the floor. “Cl…” She helped him out of his dress shirt.
She fumbled with the buckle of his belt as his mouth whispered feather light kisses against her collarbone. “You like that?”
She moaned against him, raking her fingers up and down his expansive chest, “You have no idea…” He helped her out of her blouse, tossing it over his shoulder, “Clar…” She gasped as his lips brushed against her chest, nuzzling the curve of her breast with his face.
“Oh, God, yesss!” She growled, fisting his hair as she tugged his head to her, capturing his mouth with hers. She bit her lip in frustration, reaching for the zipper to his pants, “You are so frustrating...”
“You are so impatient,” He murmured against her lips.
“Oh, God, I love you,” She let out a guttural moan. She was about to protest with the loss of contact when she saw him unfastening his slacks. “Oh, thank God!” She hissed, helping him tug his pants and underwear down, licking her lips in anticipation.
He hoisted her up in his arms, pressing her against the door as he pulled her skirt up, “I love you…so much,” He murmured against her neck.
“Now, who’s being…im-patient?” She tightened her legs around him, linking her arms around his neck, “I’m still wearing …half my clo…Oh! Oh, Clar…”
All coherent thoughts quickly dissolved on her lips. “I love it…when you wear..these… skirts…”
“In that case…maybe I’ll …wear…them…more…often,” She teased, tightening her arms around him. His hands roamed up and down her legs, “Tease you in …the office…”
He laughed against her neck, “Only if you don’t mind…being whisked into … the supply closet.” She laughed, and he recaptured her lips with his. He grinned against her neck, “Do you like that?”
“Yes,” She breathed heavily, He slowed his motions causing her to whimper, “No, no, no, don’t stop…So not nice.”
“I am VERY nice to you,” He murmured, pressing himself against her.
“Prove it, Superman,” She challenged, tightening her grip on him. He stepped away from the door turning, so his back was against it for support, leaning her back against his arms as he began to do just that. “Clark!” She gasped, “Oh, that’s…very…”
“Nice?” He breathed in her ear.
She nodded, not trusting her voice as he continued, “I love you,”
“I love you … so much,” His chest shuddered against hers. His grip on her tightened as he molded his body against hers. He let out a muffled cry of pleasure against her mouth as his body shuddered against hers. She clung to him, fisting his hair as the world around them disappeared, shattering around them.
He slowly broke his mouth away from hers, resting his forehead against hers. She gripped his shoulders, burying her face against the curve of his neck and shoulder, “I love you,”
He ran his hands up and down her legs massaging them, looking down at their current state of undress, “How’s my case now?”
She grinned against him, “I’m becoming more open-minded…but I could use some convincing,”
He lifted her up walking back towards the bedroom, “I can be VERY convincing,”
***
Nothing. No one had heard anything about what had happened with Lois and CK yesterday. They had literally disappeared yesterday after their confrontation in the newsroom. When Jimmy had asked the Chief about it, he’d told him to just let them sort it out. He hoped they’d sorted everything out soon. It was hell tip-toeing around them when they were at each other’s throats like that
Jimmy headed toward the coffee machine to get a fresh pot going so he could wake up. He’d spent a lot of long hours at the Police Station last night talking with different officers that had responded to ‘Noise Disturbance’ calls from the Dreggs residence. From what he was able to gather neighbors would call the police on Calvin for his ‘emotional outbursts’ and Elise Carr would try to reason with him while the officers gave him warnings and tickets.
He needed to talk to CK about what he’d found. From the sound of it there seemed to be a suspicion of possible mental or emotional abuse going on, but nothing anyone could prove. Unlike with typical abuse cases, the emotional wounds weren’t something you could see on the outside.
“Did you see the way Clark carried Lois out of the newsroom yesterday? I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head!” Dianne laughed as she fixed her coffee.
“Uh, yeah,” Jimmy stammered, feigning interest as he began fixing his cup of coffee.
Kathy from Marketing interjected, “I know, right? Who would have thought? Then again, Lois does have a way of pushing people’s buttons…”
“They disappeared after that. What do you think happened?” Dianne snickered, “Think they made up?”
Jimmy headed back to his desk and groaned when he realized Dianne and Kathy were following him. “I don’t know, but my guess is Clark spent the rest of the day
‘making her’ listen to him just like she told him to.” Kathy laughed.
“You don’t think they’re…?” Dianne gasped.
“That passion’s gotta come from somewhere,” Kathy shrugged as she and Dianne headed to their respective desks.
“Please make them shut up,” Jimmy muttered as he took a sip of his coffee. The elevator bell rang, and he looked up to see Lois stepping out with a stack of papers in her hand, engrossed in what she was reading. “Come on, where’s CK?” He muttered, realizing Clark wasn’t with Lois…which usually meant they were fighting.
“Too bad. Clark could probably
‘make’ any woman in the office do whatever he wanted...and he wouldn’t get nearly as big of a fight.” Dianne laughed.
Jimmy cringed, “Go away,” He muttered under his breath, “Just go back to your desks so I can’t hear this conversation ….anymore.”
Lois approached his desk, and Kathy smiled at Lois, “Morning Lois, you’re looking…well.” She eyed Lois’ burgundy suit with a matching skirt that came just above her knees, “New suit?”
“Uh, yeah,” Lois smiled, looking down at herself, “Thanks,”
“Yeah, no way,” Dianne muttered under her breath before adding, “Um, looks great on you. Is that where you disappeared to yesterday?”
Lois seemed to realize where Dianne was going with this and gave her a forced smile, “We heard there was an incident,” Kathy added. “Are you and Clark okay?”
Lois glared at the women, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The two women looked back and forth uncomfortably before heading back to their desks. Lois muttered under her breath, “Nosy busybodies…” She then turned toward Jimmy, “Jimmy have you seen Clark this morning?”
Jimmy shook his head, “No, and don’t even think about trying to stick me in the middle of it.”
Lois crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow at him, “
Excuse me??”
Realizing he might have poked the bear a little too hard, he relented, “I mean, uh,” He looked around the office, praying Clark would show up and rescue him from Lois’ wrath soon, “No, I haven’t seen him this morning…yet, uh…Why?”
Lois laid the packet of papers she was flipping through earlier on his desk, “Superman is being sued. I need you to dig up everything you can on this Dreggs guy and help try and find something we can use in court to fight this.”
Jimmy picked up the papers she’d laid on his desk and laughed, “Man things between you and CK must be
baadd…”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Lois snapped irritably.
He handed her the file he had ready for Clark earlier, “It just means you’re not talking to one another. CK had me do some research on them yesterday. Superman apparently suspected the Dreggs guy was abusing his girlfriend..or wife. She hasn’t changed her name yet or identified as married, but I found a marriage certificate,”
“Oh,” Lois twisted her mouth slightly, “No, he didn’t tell me. We were a bit, uh, preoccupied yesterday,”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” with a snicker could be heard a few cubicles down and Lois turned to shoot a threatening glare in the offender’s direction before turning her attention back to Jimmy.
“Unfortunately we’re going to need a bit more than this to get this lawsuit thrown out.”
Jimmy grabbed his pen, “What do you need?”
“Job history, financials, maybe check the courts and see if he’s got anything pending against him…” Lois listed off.
Jimmy nodded, jotting down the list as she continued, “Okay so background checks, employment and financial and any court proceedings. You got it.’ He spotted Clark coming down the ramp and did his best to prepare himself for the fireworks. “So, Lois, about yesterday…”
Before he could finish, Clark approached them, placing an arm around Lois’ waist from behind. She turned to him and smiled, “Hey, I was just updating Jimmy about that lawsuit,”
Clark smiled back at her, “Good. We can use all the help we can get,” He leaned in to whisper something in her ear, and she laughed. Jimmy smiled, watching as Lois leaned back against Clark with a grin. It seemed things had definitely begun to pick back up in the romance department between the duo.
Jimmy cleared his throat, “Uh, CK I ran that background check on that Dreggs guy and his girlfriend…Turns out it’s his
wife.”
“Poor woman,” Clark muttered, shaking his head.
“Tell me about it,” Lois said, handing him the file, “Great minds think alike I guess. I was gonna have Jimmy run a background check on him. We need to figure out a way to shut this lawsuit down before the paparazzi get wind of it.”
Jimmy winced, pulling out a copy of this morning’s Dirt Digger from his desk, “Uh, Lois?” He held up the cover for her to read. “Might be too late for that,”
Lois took the paper from him, reading the headline, “Super Rescue = Super Bully?” She shook her head in disgust, “What a load of…”
Clark took the paper from her, trying to change the subject, “Well, since the Dirt Digger is telling this Dreggs’ side of things maybe we can let Superman tell his side of things. Jimmy, is the Chief in yet?”
Jimmy nodded, pointing toward Perry’s office, “Been in since six,”
“Come on,” Clark guided her toward Perry’s office.
Lois called over her shoulder, “Let me know the minute you find something, Jimmy,”
“You got it,” He called after them, watching Clark rest his hands on Lois’ hips as they headed toward Perry’s office. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear, and she turned to laugh at him before leaning in to kiss him. Yes, things had
definitely changed between the duo.
***
Perry was at his desk, marking up the latest story when Lois knocked on his door, “Chief?”
“Just a sec,” Perry said, finishing the line he was on. He made a note then looked up, “Lois, Clark, what’s up?”
Clark handed the copy of Dirt Digger that Jimmy had shown them earlier to Perry, “We found out last night Superman got served with a subpoena in this lawsuit,”
“And we were wondering if you knew of a…”
“…Honest…” Clark interjected at the same time Lois added, “…But good…”
“…Trustworthy…” Clark added.
“…lawyer?” They finished in unison.
Perry grinned at them, pondering for a minute, “I know a couple. I can give you some names. My top pick would be Constance Hunter. She used to work in legal. Real smart, good character. She started her own practice about five years ago. Won’t take a guilty client,” Perry said, pulling her card out of his Rolodex.
“Sounds perfect,” Lois said, taking the card from Perry.
“Uh-huh,” Perry nodded, “So can I assume that …. whatever it was that was going on yesterday is…ironed out?” He asked, leaning back in his chair to look at them sternly.
They both had the decency to look ashamed, but Lois interjected, “Sorry about that Chief. It was just a BIG misunderstanding,”
“Won’t happen again,” Clark added.
“It better not,” Perry said with a raised eyebrow, pulling out a few more cards from his Rolodex, “They’re not all pure, but they’ll get the job done. Tell Superman the Daily Planet’s got his back,”
“We will,” Clark nodded, “Thanks, Chief,”
Perry nodded, turning back to the story on his desk, “…and tell Jimmy to stop bringing this trash into the newsroom,” Perry tossed the copy of Dirt Digger in his waste basket to illustrate his point.
Lois laughed, closing the door behind them, “Well, I guess Superman has some work to do,”
He nodded, “I’ll check these out and see what I can find out. Hopefully, Ms. Constance Hunter is as good as Perry says she is and Superman won’t have to meet with anyone else.”
Lois glanced at the clock, grabbing him by the tie, “It’s almost eight right now. Maybe if Superman gets there early enough, he can get in without an appointment?”
“I guess now is as good a time as any,” He sighed, glancing at the clock.
She leaned in to kiss him, “Good luck,” She whispered, loosening his tie for him.
***
Elise helped Calvin with his suit, brushing the lint off his jacket, “I’m sorry I can’t go with you, Calvin,” She apologized.
“I don’t understand how serving slop to stupid businessmen is more important than me being on the Jerry Show!” Calvin whined.
“I tried to get someone to cover for me, but no one was available. I’m sorry,” She said, hoping he would understand.
“You don’t care about me,” Calvin whined, pulling away from her.
“That’s not true!” She argued. “Please, Calvin, try to understand. I have to work,”
He scowled at her, “I don’t want you to work. I want you to be with me,”
“I know,” She sighed, “I’m sorry. Listen, I get off at noon. I’ll get a portable television on my way to work so we can watch the show together when I get off. How does that sound?”
He seemed to be mulling it over, “Okay, but don’t be late. You know how I hate to wait.”
She nodded, “Just meet me at the café,” She gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving.
***
Clark stared up at the building in front of him uncertainly, eying the passersby that were staring. They were probably wondering what Superman was doing standing outside a law office. It had been a rough morning.
After several hours of
‘convincing,' he and Lois had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Since he’d forgotten to patrol the night before, he’d had to slip in a quick patrol after stopping by his place for a shower and change of clothes. On patrol, he kept running into people that were trying to fake injuries. After that, he did his best only to intervene in absolute emergencies and let the police handle the rest. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but it was the only thing he could do until this lawsuit was nipped in the bud.
A tall woman with messy, dirty blonde hair and glasses, carrying an arm full of files began climbing the stairs hurriedly. Her foot slipped on the last step causing her to lose her grip on the files and the stairs as they scattered around. He reached out to catch her at super-speed before she could hit the pavement. “Are you all right?”
She let out a huff, pulling herself up and straightening herself, “I, uh, guess so…” She began tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked at the mess, “but this…” He nodded, picking up the files for her at super-speed. She smiled, “Thanks. Lucky for me you were nearby. Doing your daily boy-scout routine?”
He smiled, “Uh, no, actually,”
She extended her hand, “Constance Hunter,”
He gave her a half – smile, “Superman,” He showed her the card Perry had given him, “Mr. White said you were the most honest lawyer he knew,”
She sighed, motioning for him to follow her, “How is Perry? Still cheating at poker?”
He laughed, “I’m not sure.”
She closed the door behind them and motioned toward the office marked, ‘Constance Hunter Attorney at Law.’ He nodded, entering the room that was filled with file after file. It was a mess. “I have my own system. It’s organized chaos.” He raised his eyebrows at the mess but didn’t say anything, “Have a seat.” He complied, “Well, Superman, I’d ask what brings you why you need a lawyer, but after listening to the radio on the way in this morning I already know,”
He nodded, folding his hands in front of him, looking around the room nervously. It was odd being here like this as Superman. “I guess you could say no good deed goes unpunished,” He pulled out the subpoena to show her, “His hand will heal, and since he has no job, there's no loss of income...”
Constance nodded, taking notes on a legal pad, “So aside from his medical bills, he has no case...”
He nodded, “Yes, and at the hospital, I offered to pay the medical expenses.”
Constance nodded, jotting a few more notes down, “What was his response?”
He chuckled lightly, “He seems to have only
one response to everything: He
complained.” He said emphasizing on ‘one’ and ‘complained’ with a strain. This whole experience was frustrating.
Constance smiled back warmly, setting her pen down, “I know the type.
They want,
they need,
they deserve. Nothing is ever right, and nothing is ever enough. They stand alone at the center of the universe whining for more. Their hunger is insatiable, their thirst unquenchable, their demand unappeasable...” She rolled her eyes, blowing a stray hair that had fallen in her face out of her eyes, “I
really hate them.”
Clark smiled, “You must be great in front of a jury... So you'll take the case?” He asked, confident he’d found the right lawyer.
To his surprise, she shook her head, “No.”
He looked at her in shock, “What?”
She sighed, shaking her head, “I don't want to be the person who destroys Superman.”
“Excuse me, but don't you think you're being a little hyperbolic?” He stammered, uncertain why she could think she could ‘destroy Superman.’
“No... I don't try cases anymore. I gave it up because I never won. I never won because I think justice should be about truth, not about who's the better
liar.” She said, shaking her head.
“But that's what I need: Someone who understands that justice is about truth.”
“No. You need to win.” She argued, “Otherwise you'll spend the rest of your life in court answering to greedy plaintiffs and their obnoxious attorneys. Is that what you want?”
He frowned, “No, of course not.”
She smiled back, handing him the copy of his subpoena back, “Then you need someone who sees an open wound and automatically reaches for the salt. You need a
real lawyer... I'm sorry.”
He sighed, accepting defeat for the moment. It looked like he would have to keep looking. Maybe he and Lois could put their heads together and find
one semi-decent lawyer out of the bunch. He hated he couldn’t go with Constance. She seemed to genuinely care about truth and justice.
***
Back at the Planet, Lois sat at her desk going through the research she’d found on Calvin Dreggs and Elise Carr. She seemed like a good person. From what Clark had said she had thanked Superman and tried to intervene to keep Calvin from blowing up even more at the hospital. What Lois couldn’t understand was how someone like that had ended up with someone like Calvin. He was an out of work deadbeat. He was always starting fights. From what Jimmy had found out his
musical career he was suing Superman over was non-existent.
It amazed her to no end how anyone could tolerate such behavior. It was abuse. Not the kind you could see with bruises but still abuse. Emotional abuse was just as powerful. She should know. She’d watched the emotional abuse her parents put one another through for years. When it was finally over her mother just fell apart; almost like she didn’t know how to cope without the abuse there. Her mother turned to alcohol causing a rift between herself and Lucy and their mother. After the divorce and a much-needed intervention by their Aunt Lynn both her parents had gotten into counseling and worked out their issues. Her dad claimed he was a changed man, but she still didn’t trust him. She blamed him for what he’d done to her mother, and she knew Lucy did too.
She’d done her best to put it all behind her and had made her attempts at trying to have some semblance of a normal life. She’d dated in high school and college but never found herself able to really trust a man; especially after what happened with Claude. Even with Lex she never fully trusted herself with him. That had been part of what had kept her from consummating the relationship as well as her realization that she wasn’t in love with him. Clark was the only one that she’d been able to trust, completely.
After working through their issues yesterday…and last night…repeatedly they were in a better place. She still wasn’t sure if she had completely forgiven him yet, but she was enjoying the ‘convincing’ thoroughly.
She felt a pang in her back and winced, massaging her backside slightly. As fun as last night was they definitely needed to make sure not to use doors for support anymore. The area where the knob of the door had been pressed against her back was still a bit tender. She leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on her desk, hoping that the removal of pressure on her back would help. She glanced over at Clark’s desk. Maybe when he got back, she could talk him into a back massage? She smiled to herself, recalling his teasing from last night and this morning.
<<“I love it…when you wear..these… skirts…”
“In that case…maybe I’ll …wear…them…more…often...Tease you in …the office…”
“Only if you don’t mind…being whisked into … the supply closet.”>>
<<“I thought we talked about these skirts...”>>
<<“So not nice.”
“I am VERY nice to you,”
“Prove it, Superman....Clark! Oh, that’s…very…”
“Nice?” >>“Nice view,” Dan Scardino’s voice broke her out of her reverie, pulling her back to the present.
Startled, she looked up to see him standing over her desk eying her legs appreciatively where her skirt had ridden up, hinting at the edge of lace from her thigh highs. Following his line of sight, she hurriedly tugged her legs down off her desk, pulling at her skirt to make sure her stockings were covered. “Uh, Dan, what are you doing here?”
He held up a pastry bag, “I thought I could interest you in breakfast. Thought maybe we could talk…”
“I already ate,” She said hurriedly, recalling the French croissants Clark had picked up for them early this morning before he’d left for his patrol.
“O-kay,” He set the bag down, pulling up a chair, “How about we just talk then?”
“What is there to talk about?” Lois asked, getting up from her desk to take the file on Dreggs on Elise Carr back to Jimmy. “Like I told you before I can’t continue doing this…”
“You aren’t being fair to me,” Dan argued, following her across the newsroom.
“Jimmy, here’s the info Henderson faxed over…” She said handing Jimmy the file in her hand.
“Uh, thanks,” He murmured not too happily when he looked up from his keyboard and saw Dan standing behind her, “Agent Scardino, something we can help you with?”
Dan ignored him, “Lois, I’m just trying to be a good friend, and every time I turn around you’re shutting me out. I know you’re hurt about what happened this weekend but…”
“How is what happened this weekend any of your business?” She asked, turning to face him as she headed back to her desk. “That is between me and Clark!”
“Well, I figured after he…” Dan looked around seeing the crowd their argument had begun to draw and lowered his voice, “…abandoned you again.”
Lois crossed her arms over her chest, “Again, not your business!”
“Well, forgive me for being a little upset about seeing you hurt.” He retorted sarcastically in a hushed whisper. “You’re really not being fair to our relationship at all. You dump me while I’m out of town then hung up on me before I could even argue. Then when I try to talk to you about it, you keep shutting me out. I’m just trying to figure out…”
“What? You want to talk about FAIR??” Lois asked, irritated, “I told you from the beginning I was seeing Clark, but you kept horning in, trying to wiggle him out of the picture. Making your digs…and your sarcastic comments…and making him think something more was going on than what was…”
<<“What is your problem? What is so bad about him?”
“What is so good about him?”>>
<<“Fascinating…and well told too. Of course, you’re a writer, so you’re good with words.”
“Agent Scardino just dropped by to, uh, chat about the case.”
“It must have been some chat for you to need a shower.”>>
<<“If you remember awhile back we talked about maybe us going out,”
“Dan, I’m really flattered, but the thing is…I’ve been seeing Clark…”
“Kent? Nice guy. Real…polite.”
“Oh, he’s a lot more than that.”>>
<<“Shall we toast?”
“To what?”
“How about the future?”
“Whose?”
“How about ours?”>>“What does it matter?” Dan asked, “The guy’s a wuss. Never around when you need him. Letting you boss him around like he doesn’t have a spine. Wouldn’t know how to treat a woman if his life depended on it…”
<<“Always giving orders,”
“Someone’s got to,”>>
<<“You are so frustrating...”>>
<<“You are so impatient,”>>Her mind briefly flashed back to just how well Clark had treated her last night before she lit into Dan, “Excuse me??” It took every ounce of her self-control not to bite back and tell Dan exactly how wrong he was but divulging her and Clark’s personal business in the middle of the newsroom was not what she wanted. “How
dare you?!”
Jimmy seemed to sense her struggle to maintain her professionalism and put Dan in his place after the low blow he’d delivered and came to stand by her for support, ready to intervene if necessary, “Is there a problem here?”
“Why don’t you take a walk…” She said to Dan in-between gritted teeth.
“…off a cliff…” Jimmy added with a stern gaze.
Lois bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. Dan glared at her, “Why are you defending Kent? Don’t tell me he actually
convinced you to take him back after what happened Sunday?”
<<"Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
"It doesn't hurt your case,"
"I have a case?"
"Does this mean we've made up?"
"What do you think?">>The memory of just how ‘convincing’ Clark had been last night flashed through her mind for a moment, and she shifted uncomfortably beneath Dan’s gaze. “That’s none of your business,” Lois replied coolly, crossing her arms over her chest.
<<"How's my case now?"
"I'm becoming more open-minded...but I could use some convincing."
"I can be VERY convincing.">>“Hey! What in the Sam Hill is going on out here??” Perry bellowed, busting out of his office.
“Nothing,” Lois reassured, “Agent Scardino was just
leaving,” She arched her eyebrow at Dan as she emphasized the ‘leaving’ part.
Perry approached them, “Agent Scardino unless you’re here on an official capacity I’d suggest you head out…now,”
Dan shook his head, “I’ll leave…but I’m not going far. This is far from over,” He said before turning to leave.
Perry watched as Dan stepped into the elevator and turned to the crowd that had begun to form to watch the confrontation between Lois and Dan. “I’m not paying you for your mime impressions! Everyone get back to work!” Everyone began to scramble back to their desks in record time, and Perry then turned to Lois, “Lois, my office…NOW!”
Jimmy winced patting her on the shoulder, “Good luck,” He whispered.
Lois sighed, following Perry into the Editor-in-Chief’s office. “Close the door,” Perry instructed.
‘Oh, boy, this is gonna be good,’ she thought to herself, noting the crowd that had begun to form by the water cooler, watching with interest. She closed the door behind her, “Perry before you say anything…”
“I thought I made myself perfectly clear this morning. No more outbursts!” He barked.
“Perry…” She began.
“No more personal problems making their way into the newsroom.” He continued.
“I know, but…”
“I thought you and Clark worked things out.”
Annoyed, Lois sighed, “We did, but…”
“Can’t you see that boy is
crazy about you?”
Frustrated, Lois tried to interject, “Yes, Perry, I know, but if you could just let me…”
“These last few weeks I’ve done my best to sit on the sidelines, but you and Kent are pushing my buttons.”
“I know, Perry, if you would just…”
“I am through sitting. You need to make a decision, and you need to make it now! No more of this back and forth and…”
“Perry!!!!” She finally yelled loud enough to get him to stop talking. “Thank you very much for your insight, but I think Clark and I can handle our personal lives without our ‘teacher’ poking his nose in.” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration.
He cocked his eyebrow at her, “That’s not what it looked like from here,”
She sighed, pacing around the office, “I know. I broke up with Dan on Saturday, and he seems to think he can ‘convince’ me to give him another chance.”
“Oh,” Perry said a little more softly, “So, things are good between you and Clark?”
Lois nodded, “Yes…very good,” She reassured him. “We just had a bit of a ….
’miscommunication’ that we needed to work out yesterday but everything’s fine.”
“Good,” He harrumphed, “I mean, uh, I don’t need a break-up tearing up my newsroom. Hurts circulation,”
Lois fought the urge to say something sarcastic back. Perry tried to put on a good show of being a tough Editor worried about his bottom line, but she knew he was just a big teddy bear at heart. “Don’t worry your circulation is safe, Chief,”
“Good,” Perry nodded, “So about this lawsuit mess…”
Lois nodded, “Clark went to find Superman and try and get his take on it…and also pass on the attorneys' names you recommended. I’m working on background checks on the plaintiff. We’re hoping we can get what we need to help get it tossed, but I think the Planet needs to stand behind Superman. Obviously, this guy has all the slime ball paparazzi eating out of his hand. Superman needs to know he’s got at least one friend in his corner.”
Perry sighed, “I couldn’t agree more,” He began, “Our Publisher’s given us the go ahead to back Superman. He wants us to back Superman and try to nip this in the bud.”
“That’s generous,” Lois said surprised.
“Well, let’s just say he got a new appreciation for everything Superman does when he saved his wife from a mugger last week.”
Lois smiled, “That’ll do it,”
***
Clark stepped off the elevator and entered the newsroom, looking for Lois. He spotted Jimmy at his desk, “Jimmy, have you seen Lois?”
Jimmy pointed at Perry’s office. “She’s in with the Chief after the scuffle this morning.”
“Scuffle?” He asked confused.
Jimmy nodded, “Scardino showed up, and Lois got in his face trying to get him to leave. You should have seen her face. She was
piiiissssed. What a day to be charging the video camera. That guy is such a
TOOL! Anyway, she was trying to get him to leave when Perry overheard from his office and kicked him out.”
Clark scowled as he listened to Jimmy relay the happenings from this morning with Scardino. “Is Lois okay?” He asked.
Jimmy shrugged, “She seemed fine. A couple of people were trying to listen in, but they shut the door.”
He nodded, heading to Perry’s office he listened in to see if it was a good time to interrupt. Hearing it wasn’t anything personal they were talking about he decided it was okay to open the door.
“Our Publisher’s given us the go ahead to back Superman. He wants us to back Superman and try to nip this in the bud.” He heard Perry say.
“That’s generous,” Lois said surprised.
“Well, let’s just say he got a new appreciation for everything Superman does when he saved his wife from a mugger last week,” Perry added.
Lois smiled, “That’ll do it,”
“Definitely,” Clark said, placing a supportive arm around Lois’ waist. She turned to smile at him.
Before he could ask her about the confrontation earlier, Perry interjected, “Kent, were you able to track down Superman?”
“Yeah,” He nodded. “I was able to talk with him briefly. Apparently, Ms. Hunter doesn’t try cases anymore because she doesn’t want to lose. So he’s still looking for an attorney,”
“Aw, that’s too bad,” Perry said shaking his head. “She was always a lot of fun to watch in the courtroom.”
“She said she didn’t want to be the one to ‘destroy Superman,’” Clark sighed, giving Lois’ shoulders a gentle squeeze as he spoke.
Perry shook his head, “That’s a shame, but what can you do?” He shrugged. “Lois said you two were working on the background for the plaintiff in this case…”
“Calvin Dreggs,” Lois supplied with a nod, leaning back against him. His eyes widened when he felt her back her bottom against the front of his slacks. He suppressed a moan, biting his lip but Perry seemed oblivious.
“Right!” Perry snapped his fingers, “I’d like to get something ready for the afternoon edition. Do you have anything ready for print?”
He was about to respond when she brushed up against him again. Was she
TRYING to kill him? He could feel his body begin to respond to her nearness. He shuddered, trying to get his mind to focus on anything else at the moment.
She shifted away from him, and he sighed in relief as she spoke, “No, nothing yet. We’re still in the research stage.” He counted to ten backwards, slowly but surely he could feel his body calming down. He sighed in relief, thankful he’d avoided an embarrassing situation… until he saw Lois’ hand reach behind her thigh to scratch behind her upper thigh, brushing against him again with her hand. He caught a glimpse of the lace edge below her burgundy skirt and swallowed, diverting his gaze back up.
‘This is bad. Very very bad.’ He thought to himself.
‘Think states, countries, capitals…Ottawa, Canada, Vienna, Austria, Paris, France…’ Slowly but surely the heat wave that had washed over his body seemed to disappear and he sighed in relief.
“All right, well get out of here and keep me posted.” Perry said, “Kent?”
“London,” He said before realizing he’d said the capital of Britain out loud. Realizing Perry was looking at him funny, he covered, “Uh, I just remembered that’s where Calvin Dreggs is from. London.”
Perry looked at him with a perplexed look for a minute, “Uh-huh, well, uh, thanks for sharing,”
“Come on, Mr. Walking Encyclopedia,” Lois turned, grabbing him by the hand to guide him out of the office and they headed back to the newsroom. “I think Superman’s hunch about that Elise Carr was right. From what Jimmy was able to find definitely sounds like emotional abuse…”
It took him a minute to realize she was talking about the story and he cleared his throat, “Right, uh, which is going to be harder to get her help than if it was physical.”
“Always is,” Lois said softly.
“Huh?” He asked, not sure if he’d heard her right.
“Uh, nothing,” She said shaking her head as she took a seat at her desk. “It says she’s a waitress at Marge’s Café. Maybe we can go there before lunch hour and try and talk to her? See if she can reason with this guy…or at the very least get herself out of this abusive relationship.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, and then maybe we can talk about what hap…” He stopped short when he heard an alarm blaring in his ear.
<<“All units respond! Carjacking in progress! Minor child is involved. Repeat…”
“Help! Somebody help! He’s got, my baby!”>>Lois looked at him in concern and mouthed, ‘Superman?’ He nodded, and she sighed, “Is it a REAL emergency? Because with that article this morning there’s probably going to be people climbing out of the woodwork…trying to get their six minutes of fame…”
“It’s a carjacking…with a baby…” He whispered softly, tugging at his tie.
“Go,” She said softly. “If you’re not back by ten…”
He leaned in to kiss her, “I’ll meet you there, I promise. As long as nothing else comes up,”
***
TBC...
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