I was right!!! Well... not about my first theory... but my second theory!! It's Kyle's dad, isn't it?

Just like we went from hopeful to heartbroken once again.

I actually started chewing on my hand sometime before this paragraph. See what your doing to me? My medical bill will be in the mail. <g>


Aw, I love this... this is so heartwrenching. She's so frustrated about being so weak... and she's finally showing just how much she is. She hadn't really said much about it before.

Ha! *smug Julie* <g>

So, Lois is still dying, Clark is still vbeing tortured along with her, no one knows what's killing her - but now we have the villain! I hope. This better not be another one of your false strands of hope.

Can we have more kisses in the next part? They need to make the most out of the time they... *might* have left. But don't take this as permission to leave the toys broken... <g>

Great part! You left me in a pathetic heap on the floor.

I'm going to be doing a lot of this ->> before Saturday!!

Julie

Oh, wow, so much emotion. Every time Lois choked, I choked. And then in the conference room.. But it looks like they're on the right track now! Oh, hurry, hurry! *covers eyes*

Haha! Love it.

Is this where I need to step in to defend the doctors in this world?

With so many parts left, how could she NOT be?

*sniff*

Poor Lois.

You're killing me. And Lois.

The plot thickens!

And still so much left to go. Can Lois survive that long? Can I?

Hi,

Great piece.

More ASAP, please.

MAF

Angst! Time is running out! And somehow I don't feel that we've done all of our suffering!

ARGH!! We're all still hanging on!!

Here's hoping this next clue pans out to be something!!

Still waiting for more!!

More soon!!

Missy

/me points up at Missy's graphic. Ditto!

JD

That sums up Lex's whole self so exactly. He believes - has always believed - that he is above absolutely everyone else. Remember how he said, in the series, that he'd win over Superman because Superman had scruples while Lex had none? This just hits that so squarely on the head. But he's wrong. Ultimately, that absolute conviction that he can't be touched will be his downfall. Very nice characterization, Wendy.

And this is just so typical of the early Lois, the one who when cornered would come out fighting, never mind who got caught in the crossfire. She's feeling horrible physically, she's very frightened that she will, indeed, die, and she knows what she stands to lose if they are unsuccessful - so much more than just her life. She's lashing out. Again, so good! The contrast with her inner thoughts regarding Clark - You have got to save her! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease? That's our Clark. Always there, even at the expense of his own sorrow or fear, for her. So beautiful, so heart-breaking, these little moments we're seeing between them.

Has it been long enough to post part 15 yet?

~Toc

Um, what's this about it looking like 21 parts? I thought you had this exercise in FOLC-torture finished????

By the way, after that last bit of false hope, I'm not putting too much reliance on them finding the bad guy and getting him to tell them how to fix this. That would just be too easy.

Glad they twigged that Griffin might not be Kyle. There are other people in the world named Griffin, y'know. I was yelling at Clark (mentally, 'cause it's past bedtime in my house) to look beyond the obvious.

Interesting little moment when Clark has to explain to Lois who his source is, and then why he thinks Lex would have "connections." Poor Lois, she's just having a bad day with mistaken identities Clark? Not Superman. Lex? Not evil. Griffin? Gotta be Kyle.

Still, you gotta admire her. She's still kicking and screaming, even if Clark has to prop her up for the kicking part

PJ

Wow. That was incredibly emotional.

Heartbreaking. And awesome.

Just really loving this story and looking forward to more.

Well at least they are getting somewhere I hope. Laura

This part really started the tears. It's like the final showing of giving up. Although it is sensible, it's not something Clark wants to see if he's going to attempt to remain upbeat...in her presence anyway.

I really hope they've found the right guy, but with how many parts left...7? I'm afraid to hope too much. Although, I don't see the person who did this giving up their information too readily either. That alone could take awhile. I just hope not too long!

Can Saturday come any faster???

~Kristen

Seven more parts to go? I can't believe this. You are torturing us, Wendy.

Oh, and by the way, I could have told you long ago that the Toyman had to be behind this. That guy is a wolf in sheep's clothing if *ever* I saw one!

Hurry up and post, now!

Ann

Liked how you managed to show Lex as an overall not-so-nice guy despite his helping Lois & Clark.

Loved Lois' and Clark's small gestures of affection and support throughout the ordeal.

Hey, here's a thought... how about doubling part size? I mean... 7 more parts is two more weeks... I can't spend two more weeks thinking about whether Lois will die or not... And it's not fair either, 'cause Christmas is supposed to be a happy time, and this doesn't help get in the mood...

Now, how convincing was I???? :p

What to say, that no one has already said. Little actually; this story is so great, I keep checking the boards repeatedly just in case you changed your mind and went for a different posting schedule!

Btw, Griffin! When you mentioned his dad a few sections back, I really thought it'd be important. Seems so again. Can Luthor after all not be involved?

Oh, and when are Lois and Clark going to get really emotional with each other? Time's running out, I want some more wafffff (while Lois stil has enough strength to kiss him )

Oh dear. My thoughts are all over the place!! ) This part left me feeling hopeful, that we're heading in a new direction (and yeah, because it came from Lex, I have faith we're heading in the right direction), while it also left me a little nervous because Lois is so sick and weak and scared! And Clark's scared. And time is really running out. 4 HOURS!!! My god, Wendy. REALLY!

See? I told you. My feelings are all over the place. Giddy one minute, mad the next. I can't help it. YOU DID THIS!

There were so many parts I loved! I had a wonderful visual of Lois being a human pin cushion. Nice!

I love her impatience here - she has no time to do anything. She definitely doesn't have time for resting! You can just sense where her thoughts must be at! LOIS! Love it! She would say that! Even in her miserable state, where she probably would love to do nothing more than take a 4 hour nap. They want her to take it. SHE wants to wake up from it. So so Lois!
Because he loves you!!!

I really love Lois's POV in this section. You see her realize the strength of Clark's feelings in so many ways. I just love seeing her witness how much this is affecting him: Honestly, Wendy, this is beautiful and had me completely choked up. Those subtle moments where you show the feelings of one of them through the other's eyes make this story so fantastic, heartbreaking and beautiful!!

Clark's POV offered some favorites for me, too:
I love this. It just shows Lois's confused state of mind. Clark has to remind her that the attacker is still on the loose, basically. She's clearly not at the top of her game and normally she's ahead of everyone else, at that. This moment is sad, and just awful.

I was so upset that she lashed out at Henderson, but as Clark noted, it was completely understandable, given the circumstances. But I just love what he said later - it gets to the heart of his relationship with her. The whole reason he cares for her is her integrity and boldness, so he nicely gives back the same; it's what she respects about him, too, after all.
And then this last part. Her fight is leaving her. Her time is running out. She might try to be strong, but I love that Clark sees through that and sees the completely heartwrenching look of hopelessness in her eyes.

This has been quoted already, so I won't say much; just wonderful! I loved this.

PLEASE save her soon, Wendy! You should read these sections and see how sick she is! Then you'll really want to save her; I just know it!

More soon

~NICOLE

Ah, Nicole, you said it so perfectly! What can we do to make Wendy read these sections and make her hurry up and save Lois? Just keep nagging her, I suppose!

Ann

You can't *possibly* leave it until the last part to tell us who did it! Because they need to find the guy in order to find the antidote. So there has to be a part where they find him, a part where he brags about what he did, thus revealing what poison he used, a part where Lois gets better, and a part full of smoochies. That leaves three parts for them to spend tracking him down and dealing with incompetent doctors and nurses. Okay, so they're not incompetent, just in the way. So surely we don't have time for any more red herrings or dead ends! Right?

The pathos in this story is well-done. You have a strong mix of angst through the sadness and worry over Lois's potential fate, a repositioning as Lois and Clark redefine their partnership and friendship as affected by the situation, and also an urgency driving them towards finding a solution. The urgency, of course, keeps me reading each part at such a fast rate that I miss details and have to reread just to get everything, once I've satisfied my longing to know whether Lois gets well or at least finds out the poison's name in *this* part.

I look forward to the next post!

Chief Pam said:
I was screaming the same thing too... it's about time the characters figured it out!

Nicole said:
It better! I haven't read all of this angst for nothing!

Another great part...looking forward to the next. Susan

Yay!

You know, I really am running out of words to express my thanks for all the wonderful comments you guys are leaving me. Each time I read the folder for a new section I come away speechless and absolutely bowled over. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're all still following the story and that you keep coming back with fantastic, insightful and very, very generous comments. Again, thank you. Words aren't enough, but they're all I have.

Also, he is still concerned with his own position more than with Lois; he wasn't going to tell Superman anything about what he'd found out if Lois was going to be okay. Self-interested, as always.

As for the lead... will it pan out? Well, you'll just have to read on!

And, speaking of that... I guess it's time to post part 15.

Thanks again for reading! Hang on in there - we're getting closer to the end. Time's definitely running out for Lois...


Wendy

Oh boy; I had just started reading part 15 and one of your first lines reminded me of something I *meant* to comment on in *this* section! So I came right over I hope it's not too late!!!

I can't believe I forgot it, because it was my favorite image in the section, Clark leaning against the wall, her will too much for him to take. It brought tears to my eyes, but was such an important part of this ordeal - the acceptance that she could die. It's heartbreaking and I had to say something!!!

Okay, off to read part 15!!!

NICOLE~

I had almost forgotten about Kyle Griffan's father until Lex told Clark JUST 'Griffan' and then it clicked. Brilliant job! MORE