=Fallout=
By Molly
Rated PG-13(?)
This story is set in the latter half of season 1. It’s our Lois and Clark, but with a twist on what actually happened on the show.
Suggestions, pointers, thoughts, typo noticing, and comments much appreciated!
Note: I see the italics didn't transfer over from my word program. Oh well. Anything that sounds like it's a thought will be italicized in the end.
* * * * *
Lois
* * * * *
“Everybody down on the ground!”
Lois Lane did as she was told, dropping to the tile floor of the courtroom. But unlike the others around her, she did not fall into a shivering heap of human cells. She kept her guard up, her ears perked, her senses keen.
This was going to make an amazing story.
Suddenly she felt someone grab her by her hair and yank her upwards. Resisting the urge to scream, she struggled to her feet to accommodate the wishes of her assailant. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew if this was the man who’d entered the courthouse with a gun, she wasn’t about to try anything heroic.
“Nobody move, or she dies!” a loud, burly voice echoed in her right eardrum. Oh, God, she realized, as the end of a gun was pressed against her head. I’m a hostage. Why do these things always happen to me? I’m a reporter; I’m supposed to report on what happens to OTHER people -- not to ME!
And then everything around her began to swim. Oh no, not again! she thought, as her vision began to blur. She felt her knees go weak, as they had nearly once a week for the past two months. Hold it together, Lane! she urged herself, but her body wouldn’t listen. The gunman must have felt her slipping. He must have panicked. Because before she could slip into unconsciousness, she heard a deafening sound. An intense pressure was felt on the side of her head, but to her amazement, it didn’t hurt.
I’ve been shot. No pain. I must be dead. Now her knees buckled completely and she fell to the floor.
But she wasn’t the only one.
* * *
The gunman was dead.
Witnesses all said the same thing: The gunman had pulled the trigger next to Lois Lane’s head, and then somehow, someway, he had shot himself. The gun must’ve backfired. At any rate, the bullet had killed him almost instantly.
It was over as quickly as it began. No innocent lives were lost in the courtroom that day.
At the hospital, Lois had been interviewed by police officers and was now being examined by a doctor for a second time when the door burst open and Lex Luthor strode into the room. The doctor looked surprised by the intrusion, but did not order Luthor out.
“Lois,” Luhor said directly. “I just heard. Are you all right?”
Lois could only nod. She didn’t trust herself to speak, but deep down she knew she wasn’t all right. She had clearly been shot in the head, yet the only blood on her was that of the gunman.
Luthor turned to the doctor. “Is she clear to go, now?”
“Well, we’d like to run a few tests if that--”
“No tests,” said Luthor. “She needs to rest. I’ll take her home now.”
The doctor nodded, and with a quick, “Yes, sir,” he exited the room.
Lois couldn’t help but feel grateful. Although she did want to know more about what had happened and why, she was not feeling up to any examinations at the moment. She was shaken, confused, puzzled, and -- Lex was right -- she needed to rest. To lie still and just think.
After signing the necessary paperwork, Luthor led Lois to his waiting town car and ushered her inside. Once the vehicle began to move, Lex put his hand on Lois’s cheek and caressed it. “Are you truly all right, Lois?”
“I’m a bit shaky,” Lois replied honestly.
“It’s understandable,” Luthor assured her. “You were inches away from losing your life. It’s a miracle that only the gunman was injured. Clearly, it was not your time,” he added with a small smile. “And for that I am immensely grateful, my dear.”
My dear. Always with the affection. Lois closed her eyes. She didn’t mind that Lex cared about her; what was bothersome was that she didn’t completely feel the same way toward him. She felt a bit guilty for this, but she knew it was nigh impossible to care for anyone in that way when your heart was solidly fixated on somebody else.
Though she never outright admitted this, she was sure Lex must suspect that she was in love with Superman. Lex wasn’t an idiot. Still, Superman rarely seemed to want anything to do with her outside of saving her life and occasionally giving her a quote for a story. He treated her like a friend.
And then there was Clark… Lois begged her mind to focus elsewhere, but as soon as she thought of him, the memories started flooding her consciousness. Clark Kent… her friend and partner at the Daily Planet, who, two months ago, had become -- for one night -- more than just a friend. Guilt swept over Lois as she remembered the circumstances of their night of intimacy: The world was just hours away from being pummeled by the Nightfall Asteroid. Superman, Earth’s one last hope, we nowhere to be found. And Clark, who had been hit by a car a few days prior and had lost his memory, yet who still looked at her with the same strong affection he ever had, was there, right in front of her.
So they had slept together. She’d started it. Maybe it was fear of being alone, maybe it was the world about to come to an end, or maybe, deep down, she felt an attraction to Clark that she would never, at any other time, have admitted to, but something had propelled her to lean forward and kiss him. And one thing led to another and before long, the were lying next to each other in his bed.
The night had been purely wonderful. She had never felt so loved, nor so satisfied. But the next morning, when she woke, she was alone. Clark’s side of the bed was empty. Lois laid there for half an hour, mentally kicking herself for letting it go this far. And yet… wondering if maybe it didn’t matter, if this was truly The End anyway.
With tears in her eyes, she got dressed, wrote Clark a note, and headed for the Planet, intent on waiting there until Nightfall made its appearance.
But as soon as she hit the streets, Lois recognized a change in the atmosphere. Whereas in days prior there had been moaning and mourning galore, there was now cheering and whooping and hugs among strangers. She nabbed the first cheerer she saw and asked what was going on.
“The asteroid’s turned around!” the woman had cried. “We just heard it on the radio! It’s reversed direction!”
“Superman!” was all Lois could say.
The woman shrugged. “Well, what else, I guess? Who cares? Everything’s going to be okay after all!”
Lois couldn’t believe her ears. After days of terror and fear… it was going to be all right. The world wasn’t ending. There would be a tomorrow. And a next day. And she would have to live with what they had done. No… what she had done. Making love to a man who didn’t even know who he was! Would he ever forgive her? Could she ever forgive herself?
She glanced back toward Clark’s apartment building. Should she return, wait for him to come back (where had he gone, anyway?), and share the good news with him?
With a steeling of her heart and a shake of her head, she raised an arm to hail a cab to the Daily Planet.
* * *
“Lois? We’re here.”
Lois opened her eyes. Lex was peering at her worriedly.
“Where are we?” she asked. Then, with an embarrassed smile, she realized: He had taken her home.
“Let me walk you up to your door,” Lex said.
As they headed toward Lois’s front steps, Lois noticed the street seemed oddly quiet. She wondered if she was losing her senses.
Lex offered to stay with her, but Lois declined. He kissed her cheek goodbye and instructed her to lock her doors. Like she didn’t always.
After locking three out of the seven bolts, Lois slipped off her shoes and went toward her bedroom, where, without removing her work clothes, she collapsed onto her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, but rest would not come.
I nearly died today, she could not stop thinking. It was, she had to admit, a strange thing to think, because, as a tenacious, headstrong investigative reporter, she had “nearly died” many times before. But this time, it was different. Those times, her wits and quick thinking -- and limited but still effective self-defense skills -- had gotten her out of a jam. Or Superman had arrived in the nick of time to catch her from being splattered on the ground or blown into a million pieces. But never before had she been saved by… well… a miracle. A non-Superman-related miracle.
Or had she? Maybe Superman had actually been in the courtroom, and maybe he had, in the quickest of motions, stopped the bullet with his hand, and perhaps it had just ricocheted and hit the gunman instead. Then Superman had made a quick exit before anyone could see anything but a faint rush of blue.
Okay, that was possible. But if it were just today… if strange things hadn’t been happening to her for weeks, now…. What about the boiling water she had accidentally splashed on herself that hadn’t done anything more than get her arm a bit damp? Or the time she’d been running toward a story and had tripped and landed sprawling on the ground, and hadn’t even torn a hole in her nylons?
Something strange was happening to her, but what? Why?
Riiiinnnggg! The phone jarringly forced Lois out of her ponderous state. She reached for the receiver beside her bed. “Hello?”
“Lois, Honey, is that you? Are you all right? It’s all over the evening news. Gosh, I’m glad you weren’t hurt. Should I get someone else to cover the trial, or are you going to be able to do this? If you think you‘re too close to it, now, I understand, but--”
“I’m okay, Perry,” Lois lied. “Everything’s fine. I’ll be back in that courtroom as soon as they decide to resume.”
“Well, it sounds like it’s business as usual in the morning. They think today was an isolated incident. They’re going to amp up the security at the courthouse, though, that’s for sure. Do you want me to send Kent in with you tomorrow?”
“No!” Lois spoke almost too quickly. “I mean, no… no, there’s no need to have two reporters there. I’m sure lots else is happening in Metropolis… plenty to report on elsewhere….”
“Well, all right. Keep me updated. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. You stay safe now.”
“Thanks, Perry.”
No sooner had she hung up the phone when it began to ring again. “Hello?”
“Lois Lane? This is Erica Spelling, with the Metropolis Star. I’d like to ask you a few questions about your ordeal today. First off--”
“How’d you get this number!?” Lois spat. Then, “You do realize I’m a Planet reporter?!” The nerve! “I have nothing more to say,” she said firmly, and hung up.
Ten seconds later, it began to ring again. Lois felt ready to scream. She yanked up the receiver and growled, “WHAT?”
There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a very meek, “Is… this a bad time?”
Color flooded her cheeks. “Oh, Clark… hi… sorry, I--”
“Hey. I heard about what happened. Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, really. It was just one of those crazy things. No harm, no foul, though. I’ll be back in the courtroom tomorrow.”
“You’re sure?” Clark sounded surprised.
“Yeah. I mean, I’m a reporter, I’ve got a job to do. Can’t let the public down, right?”
“You’re more important than the public, Lois.”
“That’s sweet, Clark, but really, what else could possibly happen? The psycho who tried to kill me is dead. What are the odds than another gunman will take up the job tomorrow?”
“With your luck?” Clark teased.
“Very funny.” But this brought a smile to her face.
“All right, well… have a good evening. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, Clark.”
As she laid the phone in its cradle, she pulled the cord out of the wall. No more calls tonight. She needed her rest.
* * * * *
Clark
* * * * *
Clark stared at the phone in his hand and sighed. He was glad he’d had a chance to talk to Lois, glad that she’d picked up and actually conversed with him. These days, he never knew if she’d give him the time of day or just brush him off completely. Ever since their night together, she had seemed so distant and guarded. He didn’t understand it, and a part of him wished that night had never happened -- if only because it had derailed any progress they’d made in their relationship up to that point.
But why? They had both seemed to enjoy it that night. She had seemed so content, and as he watched her drift off to sleep afterwards, he had felt nothing but love for her. He knew at that moment that he had always loved her. And he knew it because, all of a sudden, all his memories had come pouring back.
The Nightfall Asteroid. EPRAD. Kissing Lois goodbye. His parents. His first day at the Daily Planet, seeing Lois storm into Perry’s office. The heat wave, the pheromone compound, the Toasters, Lois in a chicken outfit, the Invisible Man, Jason Trask, the Kryptonite, the bomb on the space shuttle, the Superman costumes his mother had made--
And as he lay there, with a sinking heart he realized he’d done something he had sworn he’d never do. Of course, not until that very moment did he remember about his self-promise, but now it was too late. He had always dared to dream that someday things might go this far with Lois, but if they did -- IF They did -- he would tell her his Secret first. She had a right to know. And if learning the news caused her to run in the opposite direction, then so be it. But he would tell her.
But here they were, and… he hadn’t. He knew, deep down, it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t even remembered he was Superman until just now, so how could he have told Lois? But now he knew. And now he felt like he’d somehow knocked over a priceless vase with his elbow and let it fall to the ground. He had, without meaning to, done something huge. Huge and irreparable.
No, perhaps it wasn’t irreparable. Perhaps if he told her everything now, she would understand. But she was asleep, now, and sleeping so peacefully. He would wait. There would be plenty of time for that.
No! No, there wouldn’t! The Nightfall Asteroid was speeding toward Earth at that very moment! There was no time to waste. He slipped out of bed and went toward the closet where he kept the suits. Moments later, he was taking off toward the sky, intent on stopping that asteroid one way or another.
Clark remembered the people at EPRAD saying that he -- Superman -- had managed to break apart the asteroid in his initial attempt. Now there was just a three-mile-wide portion headed for Earth. Clark wondered if he could tackle that on his own. Well, there was only one way to find out….
He sped toward the chunk of asteroid, but slowed himself when he got near it. He would not risk smashing into it this time. No, he would push, push with everything he had. And if that wasn’t enough, then… well, he didn’t want to think about that.
At first it felt like he would not succeed. It felt as if the asteroid was merely pushing him along with it. But with all his strength, he steeled himself against it, and to his relief, he felt its pressure begin to diminish. When it had come to nearly a complete halt, he took a deep breath and began to push again. As his mind flashed to Lois, his parents, and everything else on Earth he was fighting this battle for, an extra ounce of adrenaline kicked in, and he felt the asteroid moving in the opposite direction.
Relief. He’d done it. He flew back to Earth. As he approached Metropolis, he could hear cheering in the streets. He headed to his apartment. He would tell Lois everything. Right now. No matter what came of it, she deserved to know.
But when he got there, she was gone. There was a note, scribbled in her handwriting, saying she’d gone back to the Planet and he could join her there if he felt up to it. His heart sank. A glance at the clock told him he’d been gone for longer than he’d realized. How it must have looked to her, to wake up and see that he wasn’t there….
He rushed to the Planet. She was there; they were all there, toasting each other over the good news of the asteroid’s retreat. A noisemaker blew near his ear. Cat planted a kiss on him. But all he cared about at that moment was speaking to Lois.
“Hey, Clark,” she said when she saw him. “Did you hear the good news?”
He could only nod.
“Well, great, because we’ve got a story to write.”
“Lois… can we… talk?”
She looked at him strangely. Then she shook her head. “Clark, if it’s about last night… there’s really nothing to talk about. It shouldn't have happened. I’m really sorry about that. You without your memory, and--”
“No, Lois, my memory -- it’s back!”
“Really?” Now she looked indeed happy. “Clark, that’s great!” She quickly turned toward her desk and began rummaging through the top drawer.
“Yeah, and, well… there’s something I need to talk to you about. Could you come with me to one of the conference rooms?”
“Clark, can this wait? We really need to get this story out by the afternoon edition. Where IS that stupid thing? Oh, there it is,” she said, extracting what appeared to Clark to be an ordinary pencil.
“I guess it can wait,” Clark said quietly. “But we do need to talk later….”
“Yeah, sure, fine,” Lois said, studying the pencil tip as if it was something odd and fascinating.
But “later” had still not come. Clark had tried several more times, and Lois had always put him off. After a time, she began to snap at him whenever he’d suggest a conversation, and eventually it became clear that it was not going to happen. Clark became discouraged. How, he reasoned, Can I tell her My Secret, trust her with something that big, when I can’t even count on her to engage in an important conversation? No, Lois was playing things her way, and Clark knew the only thing he could do was back off for now. Maybe someday….
* * * * *
Lois
* * * * *
Lois awoke with a start. Her alarm clock was screaming at her, urging her to rise. She reached over to shut it off, misjudged the distance, and sent it careening off the nightstand. Thud.
Oh. So it was going to be one of those mornings.
It had been nearly three weeks since the incident at the courthouse. In fact, the trial itself had come to an end yesterday. Today she’d be back at the Planet. Lois decided she wouldn’t miss starting her days at the courthouse -- they had the worst coffee.
She stumbled to her closet and began rifling through her outfits. She pulled out a blouse, skirt, and matching blazer and began to dress. As she fastened the skirt around her middle, she was dismayed to find that it felt snug.
A nagging thought resurfaced, but she pushed it aside. It had been pawing at her for two months, but… no, she wouldn’t listen to that craziness. It could not happen to her. She had just eaten too many fudge bars, that was all. And she hadn’t had much time to go to the gym since the trial started. She would just have to watch what she ate. She’d be back to normal in no time.
Normal, she mused, as she went for a different skirt. I haven’t been ‘normal’ since…
Suddenly she fell to the floor in a heap and let the tears fall and fall. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t! She couldn’t be, no… her career… everything she’d worked towards… and how was she going to explain this to Lex? To Perry? To… no, not to Clark. Darn it if she was ever going to speak to him again!
By the time she arrived at work an hour later, all evidence of her breakdown had vanished. She’d managed to pull herself together. She was determined to get through today without letting anyone know anything was amiss.
“Good morning, Lois,” Clark said, in his cheerful but slightly-hesitant way, as Lois approached her desk.
“Morning,” she replied, refusing to look at him.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” she answered tightly, taking a seat and turning on her computer. “Now if you’ll excuse me….”
“Um, well, actually, Perry said he wanted to see us in his office as soon as you came in.”
“Us?”
“Yes, us.”
She heaved a great sigh. “Fine,” she muttered, “but this better be good.”
* * * * *
Clark
* * * * *
Clark glanced sideways at Lois as Perry filled them in on their new assignment. Something was definitely off with her. Clark couldn’t quite put his finger on what, but there was something. Did she look different? No… she was as beautiful as ever. Had she done something with her hair? Was he supposed to have noticed? Was she mad because he hadn’t said anything?
“Kent! Are you listening?”
“Sorry, Chief, what?”
He could swear he saw the corner of Perry’s mouth twitch into the tiniest of smiles.
*****
TBC
