The Green, Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker style 6/10
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
Jimmy answered the phone on Lois' desk. "Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen"
"Hi, Jimmy, It's Clark."
"Hi, Clark. How's the investigation going?"
"We're getting the run-around from the government types. Same as usual. Is Perry around?"
"Sure, hold on, I'll get him." Jimmy pushed the hold button and hung up the phone before heading for the Chief's office.
The door was ajar so he just pushed it open and walked in. When he did he saw Perry, in a yoga-like posture on the floor, listening to what sounded like bird calls, falling rain and insect chirps. As Jimmy moved into the office, he stopped. A very curious expression crossed his face. With a hesitant tone, Jimmy asked, "Chief?"
Without breaking his pose or even opening his eyes, Perry said, "The Rain Forest, Jimmy. The sounds of nature promote harmony in all living things. There are no wild animals with high blood pressure.
"Still stressing, huh?"
Irritation and anxiety was evident in his voice as Perry denied, "Stressing? I am not ‘stressing'!" His voice rose half an octave and became more stern as he bit out, "What do you want?"
"Clark's on the phone."
Slowly, Perry unfolded himself from the position he had been in and moved around behind his desk. Seeing the blinking light he hit the button, "Kent? What have you got for me?"
In Smallville, Lois and Clark were both sitting at the kitchen table. Lois had her notepad open so that she could pass notes to Clark as he talked. "Chief, we might be onto something. We spoke with Wayne and he may have tried to pass us a message that he's in trouble. The ‘EPA' may or may not really be involved in this. We're going to be looking deeper into it."
"Are we talking ‘cover-up' or what?"
"That may be it. The EPA could be a cover for what's really going on. We're going to find out."
"In other words, this is a bigger story than we first thought."
"Could be, Chief."
"Okay, keep me posted." Perry hung the phone up. He thought for a few seconds before speaking, "Uh, Jimmy, I think I need a photographer out there.
Jimmy smiled; he could see his big break on the horizon, "Ready, Chief!"
Perry continued as if Jimmy hadn't even spoken, "Let's see. What's Johnson up to?"
"Johnson's in Utah, but I'd sure …"
Perry interrupted, "I got it, Sevinson?"
"Winnepeg."
"Photographers! Just when you need one, you can't find one."
Jimmy offered, "Maybe there's a new guy looking for an opportunity."
"No, I don't want to take the chance."
Jimmy offered, "Somebody had to take a chance on you once, didn't they?
Perry looked up at Jimmy, weighing this small insurrection, but appreciating the desire behind it. Finally he said, "All right, all right. You can go."
Jimmy's face broke out in a wide grin and he impulsively hugged Perry, "Thanks, Chief."
Perry pulled away and said, "You're welcome, but don't ever … ever … hug me again."
Jimmy smiled again and left before Perry had a chance to change his mind.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 06
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
While Lois and Clark had been on the phone with Perry, Martha had prepared an old fashioned country breakfast. When they hung up they joined Jonathan and Martha at the table. Lois was surprised that she was able to eat as much as she did. Most of the time her breakfast consisted of a donut and coffee so this was a treat. Everything was so tasty that she couldn't help herself and she made sure that she complimented Martha on her cooking, "Everything is just so good! I wish I could cook like you, but cooking has never been my thing. I can burn water."
Martha replied, "If you want to learn, Clark can teach you. I taught him and he's a pretty fair cook."
Lois looked at Clark and smiled at the memory of a dinner prepared by him as she replied, "Oh, I know that. I've eaten his cooking."
Clark didn't notice her looking at him. He was preoccupied because he had an important, nay a crucial decision to make. He had to decide how and when to tell Lois about his secret. He needed to do that before he could consider proposing and he was using the time they were eating breakfast to puzzle that problem out.
After having breakfast and before setting out, Clark asked, Lois, "Can we go sit on the swing for a minute?"
Lois was anxious to get started, but she saw how agitated Clark was. He had been so thoughtful at breakfast that Martha had really been the one to carry the conversation. She didn't know the cause, but she knew that something was bothering him and she wanted to hear what it was. She replied, "Well, if you really want to. I guess we have some time."
Hand-in-hand, Clark led her to the front porch and handed her onto the swing. Once she was settled, he sat next to her. She could tell that he was nervous. His hand had been trembling in hers the whole way through the house. She was becoming worried. This had to be something serious to make him this nervous, or … afraid. <What is he
afraid of?>
After a minute, gathering his thoughts, Clark finally said, "Lois, about last night …"
Lois had been worried about last night and there it was. She was afraid that her worst fears were about to be realized. Knowing Clark and how shy he was about relationships. The fact that he usually disappeared at odd times, especially when she wanted to have a serious discussion with him. She was afraid that she had pushed things too far too fast and possibly scared him off and she really, desperately, didn't want that to happen. She had come to the realization that she and Clark were meant to be together. Sleeping with him last night had been
wondrous. It had just felt so natural, being together like that. She didn't want to even think about going back to sleeping in separate rooms, let alone separate apartments anymore. She wanted to be with him so much it hurt to even think about being separated. Thinking about this and worried that she had really messed everything up she tried to prevent him from saying what she most feared. She thought she knew what was coming and interrupting him she started to babble, "I was too pushy, wasn't I? I shouldn't have assumed that you wanted to sleep with me. I enticed you into bed with me and then all we did was sleep. I led you on and then disappointed you. Really, I just needed to be with you. I really couldn't sleep without you being there. You must hate me …" As she said this last she hung her head.
As she was speaking, Clark reached and gently placed his hand on her cheek, the touch stopping her flow of words and lifting her face to his. He said, "No, Lois, you didn't lead me on and you could never disappoint me. I loved being with you last night."
Brightening somewhat, but still worried, Lois asked, "Then … what's the problem?"
"Lois, remember what Maisie said?" Lois nodded her head. "Well, she wasn't entirely accurate."
"What do you mean? All she did was confirm what I've seen. That I've seen the real Clark Kent this entire time."
"Yes, you've seen the real Clark Kent, but you haven't seen all of Clark Kent."
"I've seen all I need to see. I've seen the quiet, caring, considerate, fun to be with, emotional, loving Clark Kent. What more could there be?"
"Lois, trust me, there is a lot you haven't seen, yet."
"Like what?"
"Lois, I'm going to tell you a secret. A secret that is only shared by me and my parents. A dangerous … a
very dangerous secret."
In a worried tone, Lois said, "You're starting to scare me, Clark. What kind of secret can be that dangerous?"
"Trust me, Lois. This is a very dangerous secret. Once I tell you, your life could be in danger."
Lois smirked and said, "Story of my life. When hasn't my life been in danger? Sometimes, it seems like danger is my middle name."
"Don't make light of this, Lois. I'm serious. This is probably the most dangerous secret in the world. There are a lot of people that would torture you to find it out and that would kill me if it happened, so you can't even let on that you know it."
"Okay, my lips are sealed," and she made a motion like pulling a zipper across her lips. Lois was always eager to be on the inside of any secret and this was exciting her. "What is it?" She felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting to open her present.
Clark took his time and looked closely into her eyes. Finally he nodded and said, "Okay. I hope you don't get too mad. Maisie only knows half of me. She doesn't know the secret half."
Trying to lighten the mood somewhat, Lois interrupted and asked, "What are you, a werewolf, or something?"
Steadily, Clark looked at her and said, "Or something."
"Oh, come on Clark, those things aren't real."
"No, but there is someone who is."
"Who?"
Clark took a deep calming breath and let it out slowly.
Before he had a chance to speak, Lois interrupted, "Now, you're really scaring me, Clark. What is it? Come on. You can trust me. It can't be that bad!"
In a worried tone he replied, "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Really worried now, Lois said, "Look, I promise not to be scared."
"Or mad?"
With a shocked look she replied, "Okay, I won't be mad either. What is this big secret?"
Before he could have a chance to back down he blurted out, "Lois, my other half. That half that I have kept hidden. Lois, I'm … I'm Superman." As he finished speaking, he flinched back, afraid that she was going to hit him.
However, her reaction shocked him. She started to laugh, hysterically. When she calmed down she asked, incredulously, "That's your deep dark secret? You're Superman? Come on, Clark. Everyone knows he's your friend, but really, you can do better than that. Everyone knows that Superman is invulnerable. You got a paper cut yesterday. Your allergies were kicking up earlier."
Clark was speechless, he couldn't believe this. He had expected her to be at the very least angry, livid, that he had kept this secret from her all this time. He never expected her to be so skeptical. Now he was going to have to work to convince her of the truth. He had to convince her before their relationship could move forward. "No, Lois. I really am Superman. Look …" Clark pulled off his glasses.
Lois looked closely and said, "Nice try. There is a slight resemblance, but only a slight one."
"How about this?" He put his hands up and pulled back his hair
Lois looked thoughtful and said, "Well, there may be a strong resemblance at that. Maybe if you picked me up and flew me around the farm or back to Metropolis or something."
Realizing the impossibility of fulfilling her request, he was crestfallen that she had suggested something like that and all he could do was shake his head. "Okay, look, Lois, that's what this whole thing is about. I guess you could call it an allergy, but it isn't to pollens. There's this rock. We think it came from the same planet I did. Dad accidentally exposed me to it and it … it robbed me of my powers. That's why I'm vulnerable. That's why I got the paper cut. That's also why I can't fly you anywhere. The thing is, this rock is what they are looking for over on Wayne's farm. That's not really the EPA. I don't know who it is, but it definitely isn't the EPA."
The tone of his voice was so sincere that Lois had to believe that he was telling her the truth and with more of the story coming out, Lois was starting to believe it and with genuine concern in her voice, she asked, "Who would want to have a rock that would do that to Superman?"
"I can think of several people, mostly criminals, the Boss being prominent among them."
"Will your powers return?"
"We don't know. I've never been exposed to this rock before. All I know is that right now, until they do, I'm a normal guy."
Lois was starting to worry now. Her voice was somewhat shaky as she asked, "What does this mean … about us." Suddenly panicky, Lois exclaimed, "OhmyGod, I told Superman I was in love with him." She started to move like she would jump up and run away.
Clark put his hands on her shoulders to stop her and have her look at him and said, "No, Lois, no you didn't. You told Clark Kent, normal guy, that you love him." Slowly, Clark slid off the swing and knelt on the porch. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a little paper wrapped item. Once he had it out he said, "Lois, this normal guy, Clark Kent, the guy you said that you love is telling you that he loves you. And he is asking," he unwrapped the ring and finished, "Lois Lane, will you marry me?"
Lois was too shocked to respond immediately. Without speaking she simply held out her left hand for him to slip the ring on her finger. Once it was all the way on she started to smile and throwing her arms around his neck, found her voice, "Yes, yes, Clark, yes, I'll marry you," and she leaned in and kissed him to seal the deal.
The young couple didn't see any of the watchers, but in the house, there was a couple that was peeking through the curtains and when they saw this, Martha and Jonathan hugged each other and did a little dance around the living room.
When Lois and Clark broke the kiss, she pulled up her hand to admire the ring. "It's beautiful. It looks old."
"It is. That was my Grandma Clark's ring. Mom had been saving it for me, for when it came time."
Eagerly, Lois asked, "How soon do you want to have the wedding?"
"As soon as you are ready," was his reply.
"I'm ready right now."
"Don't you want a church wedding? What about your family?"
"That's not really necessary. We'd be just as married if we went to a judge. Mom's in rehab right now. Dad and Lucy are in California."
"Do you want to wait until you can get them together?"
"That could take too long. I don't want to wait. What are the laws in Kansas? Is there a waiting period?"
Clark chuckled, "Funny you should say that."
"Oh, why?"
"Dad informed me this morning that technically, we are already married."
Startled, she blurted out, "What?!?!?!"
"Yeah, there's an old law on the books, here in Kansas that says, if a guy spends the night with a girl, they are automatically married. It dates back to the settlement of Kansas as a territory."
"So, you're saying that last night was our wedding night?"
"Technically, yes."
In a pouty voice, Lois said, "I feel cheated."
"What? Why?"
"We didn't consummate the wedding." She started smiling.
"I think we'll have the time for that. We can wait for the actual ceremony."
Lois stood abruptly and taking Clark's hand looked around. Thinking about the barn she smiled a mischievous smile and started dragging him in that direction.
Startled at this behavior, Clark asked, "Lois, where are we going?"
"I've always heard about a ‘roll in the hay', but I've never experienced it. Come on, husband. I want a roll in the hay with you."
As they rounded the corner of the house, the little man in the derby saw the young couple headed in his direction, he ducked out of sight around the corner of the shed and disappeared. He had a happy expression with a smile as he did.
Upon entering the barn, Lois looked around and spotted the ladder to the loft. She dragged Clark to it and started climbing. Clark had a small preview of what was to come as she climbed. He accidentally looked up her skirt, but as soon as realized what was happening, he blushed and turned his face away and allowed her to finish her climb. After she was in the hay loft she turned and looking down at him said, "Come on, Clark." So he climbed up and joined her.
Once he had joined her, Lois stood there for a few seconds, looking around and spotting what appeared to be a big, fluffy pile of hay, fell back onto it as if she were falling onto snow to make a snow angel. Clark dove onto the pile next to her and she pulled him into a hug and a kiss. The kiss quickly escalated in intensity and their hands started roaming over each other's bodies.
Clark kept his hands on her back, her sides and her legs while she felt the planes of his back and chest.
Lois started working the buttons of his shirt loose. Fortunately he was wearing one of his comfortable denim work shirts and being well worn the buttons came open easily. Once the buttons were open she pushed the shirt off of his shoulders leaving him naked to the waist.
Clark enjoyed this, but took no action toward removing Lois' clothing, content to simply be kissing her. She eagerly participated in this and allowed her hands to roam, but began to feel some frustration as her desire increased and he made no move toward her stated goal.
Finally, tired of waiting for him, she broke the kiss and sitting up started to unbutton her own dress. Once she had enough buttons undone she pushed the top off of her shoulders and down her arms which left her wearing only a very light, lacy bra which did little to conceal her assets.
He continued to lie there and watched as she started to disrobe.
Once she had pushed the dress down to her waist she saw how Clark was looking at her. There was desire, but also fear and trepidation in his eyes. She lay down next to him with her head and one hand on his chest. She asked, in a gentle, but somewhat disappointed tone, "What's the matter, Clark? Don't you like what you see? Don't you want to make love with me?"
Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her into a close hug and said, "No! I love you and I love seeing you. It's something I've dreamt about ever since we met and I do want to make love with you. It's just … I don't …"
"You don't what? You don't think you can satisfy me? You're afraid you'll hurt me or disappoint me?"
"Something like that."
"Clark, I don't think you could ever disappoint me."
Worried, Clark asked, "How can you be so sure? What if I do something wrong?"
"What could you do wrong? It's just like riding a bicycle, once you do it, you don't forget."
With an embarrassed look he replied, "That's the problem."
With a surprised look she asked, "Problem?"
Still embarrassed he said, "Well, before you can forget, you have to learn, right?"
Shocked, Lois pulled back and said, "You mean …"
Color moved into his cheeks and his tone held a tinge of embarrassment as he replied, "Uh huh."
"OhmyGod. You've never …"
"Well, you see, with my special status, I kinda felt that I needed to wait until I was sure that the one that I became … intimate with … would be the one I would be with … for the rest of my life. So I never …"
"You mean that I'm going to be your first? Wow, talk about pressure."
"A long time ago I made that decision. I dated some, but I never crossed that intimacy threshold with anyone."
"That makes me wish I had waited." Thinking about the previous day, she asked, "You've never been intimate, not even with Rachel?"
"Not even Rachel. I think she would have been willing, but I just wasn't sure. We dated a few times. We kissed some, but that was all."
"It's been looking like she wants to make up for missing out before."
In a surprised tone, Clark asked, "Really?"
"Really. I saw it the first time she saw you the other day and then last night, at the dance. She was trying her best to entice you away from me."
"She never would be able to."
As they had been speaking, Clark had started becoming more comfortable with the situation and his free hand had moved to her back and released the hooks on her bra.
As soon as she felt it loosen she smiled and shrugged out of it. In a teasing tone she said, "Are you sure you haven't done this before? You did that with one hand, like a pro," and rising off of his chest allowed him to view her upper torso, unencumbered. The look in his eyes as she did put her fears to rest.
They moved into a period of intimacy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A bit later Lois and Clark made their way back into the house. Clark was smiling down at Lois with an awed expression and Lois was smiling happily and bouncing on her feet as they swung their arms along together.
Seeing them enter, Jonathan and Martha both smiled. Then Martha started to giggle, she stepped over to Lois and removed a couple strands of hay from her hair. As Lois started to blush Martha opened her arms to her and once Lois had moved into the hug, Martha said, "Welcome to the family. This son of ours has kept us waiting a long time to have a daughter-in-law, trying to find the right woman. We're glad he finally found you."
Hearing this, Lois started weeping and returning the hug with something close to desperation. The unconditional love that she felt from these people was like nothing she had ever experienced before in her life. Her mom had been lost in a bottle most of Lois' life and had not been there for her. She had never felt accepted by her father, especially since she had not gone into medicine the way he had wanted her to. She sobbed and said, "I'm just glad he didn't give up on me."
After holding her for a time, Martha pulled back, still holding Lois' arms and asked, "I know you want to get started on your investigation, but would you like a cup of coffee first?"
Lois smiled and wiped the happy tears from her cheeks as she nodded and looked at Clark who nodded. All four headed into the kitchen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later, on the dirt road, near the Irig farm Lois pulled the Mustang off the road and parked. Before they exited the car, Clark asked, "What exactly is our plan?
Lois, knowing that she was flying by the seat of her pants, as usual, challenged, "You sound like you're one of those people who has to have his whole life worked out ahead of time before he can live it."
"Yeah, I usually do. So, you have a clear plan?"
"Oh, like you planned to trick me into marrying you last night?"
Clark reached for her hand and clasped it in his. "You know I didn't do any such thing. That was a happy accident."
"Does that mean you won't change your mind?"
"Not in a million years. That wasn't planned, but I'm happy that things have worked out this way, aren't you?"
Of course, I am and I do have a plan, sort of."
"Okay, let's hear it."
"Oh, harrumph, as soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know."
After they exited the vehicle, Clark led the way to a secluded area where they could see the Irig farm.
When the were finally able to see the farm, in the distance through the foliage, Lois said, "Okay, here's the plan. We know that whatever they say they're doing there is not what they're actually doing. So, we stay here until we see them doing it." Thinking of something Lois frowned, "Maybe we should have brought lunch."
In a very dry tone, Clark said, "Great plan. Look, as I see it, we need to find out who's behind this. We need to spy on them until we know who that is."
Lois turned on him and said, "Yeah, like I said, we spy on them, now if you have a better one, speak up."
Just as Lois finished speaking an individual in a camouflage uniform, his face painted in a camouflage pattern and holding a Colt .45 Automatic dropped out of a tree next to them.
Seeing this, Clark rushed the guy, shouting to Lois, "Lois, get out of here!"
A second agent appeared out of the bushes, this one was holding an M-16. Lois attacked him, getting in a kick that almost dislocated his knee.
One more, this one with a Mossberg 12 Gauge shotgun with a pistol grip sprang out of the bushes and shouted, "Freeze!" so Lois and Clark stopped moving.
The agent that Clark had been struggling with took the opportunity to vent his anger by punching Clark in the stomach.
Clark was bent over gasping for a few seconds as a result of the blow. When he straightened up he said, wryly, "Well, there goes the picnic."
Under guard by this crew, Lois and Clark were hustled away and into the back of a cargo van. Two of the guards climbed in back with them while the third drove. A few minutes later they stopped and the back doors were pulled open.
As they were climbing out, Lois said to Clark, "Just in case you were wondering, this wasn't in the plan."
The guards started to manhandle them, pushing them in the direction that they wanted them to go.
Clark replied, "I had a hunch."
Lois started shouting, "Who are you guys? Who do you work for? Do you know who we are?"
As the guards stopped shoving them, Lois stopped shouting. When they stopped, they were facing a tent. Suddenly, Trask stepped from the tent. His men were in a mix of uniforms which was another indication of the rogue nature of his organization. Some, like the ones that had captured them, wore the camouflage battle dress uniform while he preferred the olive drab jungle fatigue which dated to the Viet Nam War era. He said, "So many questions and from someone in such a precarious position." He laughed as he spoke.
In startled recognition Lois said, "Trask! What are you doing in Smallville?"
Putting his hands on his hips he replied, "Now, here I was, wondering the same ... thing ... about ... you."
In an irritated tone, Clark replied, "Our newspaper sent us to investigate an EPA cleanup. Our editor thought it could possibly be another Love Canal."
Smugly, Trask replied, "You're not here for your environmental virtue any more than I am. You know it and I know it.
The realization of just who they were up against finally hit them and they exchanged looks.
Clark challenged, "What have you done with Wayne Irig?"
Trask, with that malevolent grin said, "Why, I … let him go." He paused to let that sink in before he continued, "Yes, you see, small town ties mean a lot. Any other man would have given up their contact in a minute. But this man, this man took sodium pentothal and a couple of broken fingers and he still wouldn't talk. Then it came to me. Let him go."
Just then Ms. Sherman emerged from the tent behind Trask. Spotting her, Lois said, "You're not as clever as you think. I knew she was a fake all along."
Surprised by this remark, Trask asked, "Really? How?"
Lois spat out, "Too competent to work for the government." Lois directed her next question to Ms. Sherman, "How'd you get into this, Sherman?"
Trask moved over directly in front of Lois, so close that Lois could smell his bad breath. His exasperation was showing as he said to the guards, "You are really starting to get on my nerves. Get her out of my sight, now, please."
Lois glared daggers at him.
Trask started to raise his hand as if to strike Lois. Clark was almost mad with anxiety about Lois' safety and he struggled against his captors as he shouted, "Leave her alone, Trask. Don't you touch her, or …"
Lowering his hand, Trask asked, "Or what, Mr. Kent? Huh? What will you do?"
The guards were hustling Lois toward the tent and Clark continued to struggle against the ones holding him, but was powerless to break free.
As Lois was being led away she shouted to Sherman, "Did they recruit you? Did you think you were getting into government work?"
Trask shouted at her, "Shut up!"
Lois continued to shout at Sherman, "Instead, you're a thug. Is that what you went to college for? To be a thug?"
Trask, losing his patience completely, gestured at the holding tent and Lois was shoved inside.
As Lois disappeared into the tent, Clark, in anguish, shouted, "Lois!"
Trask stepped closer to Clark and said, "Relax, Mister Kent. My business is with you, not her."
comments go here TBC
