All comments welcome and appreciated! Plus, they earn you my eternal love!

If you would like to hear the song, please click here.

Vicki,

You need to change the marker to a blue arrow.

Knew I forgot to doing something! Thanks!

Wow! Normally, I don't go for fics that revolve around songs, or skip over that bit... but wow! It was so beautiful (the lyrics and the story)! And so very fitting! I liked the mood of this piece very much. Clark's run through on how he feels everything his life(lives) has surmounted to seemed both accurate and well expressed. The last line, especially, was perfect. Excellent job!

Oddly enough, Mouse, I also usually don't go for fics that revolve around songs. But after listening to my "Beethoven's Last Night" cd for the nine bilionth time, I was just so struck by how well the lyrics to this one could match Clark.

Glad you enjoyed this fic. It was one of the hardest ones that I've ever written (in maintaining a link to the lyrics while keeping Clark totally in character). But it was one of the most rewarding because of the challenge.

I'm glad that the last line worked for you.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

What an excellent premise!

Clark's thoughts during (up to that point) the most trying night of his life. His fears about Lois marrying a monster, his concerns over whether it was right for him to have created Superman, considering the havoc it has wreaked on his private life. Finally his fear of Luthor being the one to adminster the last blow, ending his life.

Who would have thought he wondered if it was all worth it?

Yet despite it all, his deep and abiding love for a certain dark haired lady reporter came shining through.

Bravo!

I'm not usually a song fic person either but you've done a nice job using small portions of the song through your piece.

Love the idea that Clark is willing to risk anything for Lois.

It's an interesting conflict - Clark wondering if creating Superman has made Clark insignificant.

This is an insightful paragraph too:

I like that you've addressed some of the darker emotions Clark might be feeling - especially under those circumstances. What makes Superman great is not that he doesn't have those emotions, but he is able to do what is right despite them.

Joan

Thank you very much Morgana! I was a little afraid when I first wrote this that the piece might be a little *too* dark. But then I thought, "well, this really is the worst night of Clark's life" and I knew that he probably really *was* in such a dark place. Glad that it worked for you! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Thank you Joan! I'm glad that you liked the darker tone/emotions of the piece. It's part of what makes Dean's Clark/Superman so human and so relatable. He does have (and readily shows) every human emotion. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

You really cover every facet of Clark's and Superman's life and how each would be impacted should either one or both would disappear.

I'm glad you didn't forget the importance of Martha and Jonathan. If Superman disappeared, everyone would notice, but M&J would notice if Clark disappeared and they would make sure that he was never forgotten. They would go to Perry and even Lois to help them find their missing son. If Lois said that "oh, it's Clark, giving up and moving on again..." Martha and Jonathan would be there to correct her... of course, if she's married to Luthor their having access to her would be limited.

Like the others I liked how you showed Clark's discomfort that creating Superman made him (CK) feel insignificant, especially in Lois's eyes. If he only knew what was happening upstairs in Lois's mind before and during the wedding!

But this line shows that Clark hasn't lost hope:
Thank you for not ending on a depressing note!

You're very welcome! There was no way I was going to end this on a dark note though. Because he *does* get out of the cage and is able to get to Lois. And she *doesn't* marry Luthor. Besides, after asking my readers to follow me on this dark journey, I owed it to them to end this on a hopeful note.

I'm glad that you liked how Clark has reflected on both sides of who he is. And that his discomfort with being Superman (and how Lois views him as a result) worked for you. It was one of the things that I kind of noticed a few months ago when I watched the entire series again. It may not be shown prominently in the show, but there are little hints of it, I think.

But true - if only he knew what was going on in Lois' mind upstairs! If he'd heard her say "Lois Lane...Kent," he'd have broken free in a heartbeat! (Once he picked up his jaw from off the floor and gotten his heartbeat into a regular pattern again.)

Glad you liked the small inclusions of Martha and Jonathan into the story. It would only be natural for his thoughts to turn to them, even when he's mostly focused on Lois.

Thanks for reading and for the review!

Wow- I've never heard that song before. This phrase so describes what I feel about my own life:
And what good is a life
That leaves nothing behind
Not a thought or a dream
That might echo in time

Awww! Big hugs to you!!!

{{{{rkn}}}}

Thanks- I think "Sociology of Aging" is getting to me. Good thing it is only an 8-week course!

Ah! I had to take "Death and Dying" in my senior year of high school for the religion requirement. That was a pretty depressing course too - only it lasted either all year long, or at least half the year (it's been a long time).