Wow! I didn't expect that much of a response. Thank you!!
I have to say it's funny that so many of you commented on the revelation. Not that it wasn't a big part of the fic, but I hadn't ever intended for Clark to do that, so in my head, this isn't a revelation fic. I had wanted this story to fit into the original timeline and just explore what happened in the summer between the first two seasons. But as often happens when I write, my characters took me in a different direction.
Mozartmaid and Kathy - So I have to come clean. This idea came from watching an episode - I don't recall which one as I watched it over a year ago and the idea just simmered since then - where Lois' license plates were visible and were LL. At first, I was surprised - she didn't turn those in when she didn't become Lois Luthor? But then I remembered. (Try to cut me a little slack on how stupid this was - I had a newborn in the house at the time.) But I could really see Lois making the same mistake.
I think Lois got caught up in marrying Luthor - I always got the impression that part of what Lois found attractive about him was simply that a man like him (or the Lex she thought he was) was interested in her. And the other part was just dazzled by the idea of belonging in his world. I can easily see her swept up in the idea of being Lois Luthor and not realizing that her initials aren't changing.
And then later, in the time of this story, she's just not up to par. Like she says in the story - she's a slow, watered down version of herself. Normal Lois would have caught that, but this Lois can't. As HappyGirl says, she's depressed.
IolantheAlias, DW, and HappyGirl - Thank you for letting me know that this worked for you!
Lynn and L - I've always struggled with revelations. I've written several as I find that aspect of Lois and Clark's relationship interesting, but while I often think Lois' anger is more than justified, I don't believe I can do it justice in my writing. This one was sort of fun as it was easier as I really could see her being too shell-shocked and depressed to react at all.
Mozartmaid and DW - I agree that Lois changes during this time and that change is part of what opens the door for her to come to love Clark. I always get the sense that she realizes she cares for him at the end of season 1, but the type of relationship they develop later couldn't have formed then. I've always felt like there wasn't enough shown during this period - what happens after the wedding.
This was what I wanted to explore here - I could so easily see Lois slipping into a depressed state, but how did she get out of it (meaning the details, besides the obvious, which is that Clark helped her)? Of course, as stated above, I hadn't expected him to help her in quite the way he did here, but oh well...
Sue - I'm so glad you mentioned that line. I was worried about how to carry this off - once Clark convinced me that he had to give away his secret, I was worried that it wouldn't be believable that this would actually work. It could so easily have gone the other way and made Lois slip more into depression. I just hoped Clark managed to convey enough of his emotions for her not to get caught up on the whole idea of missing some other big secret.
Jen - Thanks! But not much hope for a sequel. Like I said, I had wanted this to fit into the original timeline. I realize it doesn't anymore, but if I had to move them forward from here, I think I'd try to move us closer to the Lois and Clark we know than they are right now, so it wouldn't be a very interesting story.
Thanks, Amy, Laurach, and Patrick!
Bobbart - I'm glad Clark's act came across as desperate and believable. That's basically how it felt to me. When Clark showed up at Lois' door, I really couldn't think of anything he could say to move her past her depression. The revelation in the end seemed like the only hope.
Malu - I thought the same thing when I saw the plates in the original episode. Don't know what the writers were thinking.
HappyGirl - Since I hadn't intended to break canon, the idea of getting them together never crossed my mind. I so don't see them being anywhere near ready for that.
Michael - It's funny how different people see things differently. As I said above, I went to Lois Luthor before Lois Lane when I saw her plates. No idea why. I actually had this story idea written down before I realized what an idiot I was being.
