That was very sweet and to the point. No major revolations. I could almost see that as a filler episode during season 1.

The thing with the boy was so sad, yet it helped Lois and others I think understand the true meaning of Chirstmas.

Well writen and for someone who doesn't do "WAFFY", that was awesome. More soon!

~Lois Lane Wanna Be

aww! I loved it! it's a sad little story, but it was so beautiful.

...and it had the potential to turn into something really waffy - if it had continued just a few more paragraphs. hehehe! I wish you'd write them, you've done an amazing job of the story already.

And Father Danny comes out, catches them and calls Clark's mom (or orders them to get a room.)

well, yeah, but I thought the end had a strange sad but waffy feeling.

Very nice. I like that you don't do waffy (I don't either).

Oooh, what a sweet, though sad, little vignette. Sigh!


Sigh!

Very well done. I liked the way you handled this it was a nice bittersweet story. Granted I love the sweet waffy bits in stories but it is nice to have something out there that shows that not everything is always perfect.

Plus it was about Christmas... and Christmas stories are my most favorite thing in the world.

I really have a low threshold for waff so thanks, I definitely enjoyed this.

alcyone

Oh, this was wonderful! It definitely had some waffiness but there was some good realism too. Good job!

I'm not really into Christmas (or really any other holiday) fic . . . but since I saw your caveat about not doing WAFFs, I figured I'd read your story anyway, Dandello.

I wasn't disappointed.

Great story.

Sorry for rambling a bit here, Dandello. I'm not religious, and I don't really believe that we are going anywhere except into the ground when we have died - not that I can't be totally wrong about that, of course....

Anyway. Personally I don't believe that we are going anywhere after we have died, but I don't doubt for a moment that sometimes you can help people to die a happier death. I'm certain that sometimes, at least, the things you do can make the dying person feel that he or she is off to a better place. You really can help some of them that way. Of course, if there is a God and the dying person is worthy in the eyes of this God, then the person is going to heaven no matter what you do, or don't do. Even so, you can make a difference when it comes to helping the dying person meet his own death.

When my grandfather was almost 95 years old and had been a widower for eight years, he had had it up to here with life. He wanted to die. He had stopped eating and drinking. But now that death was approaching, he was scared. Several members of his family were gathered around him, and he cried out to us, "Hold me! Hold my hand!" We held his hand, we stroked his cheek, we spoke soothingly to him, but it seemed as if he couldn't feel it when we touched him. And he kept crying out in anguish.

My grandfather was a very religious man. Never in his life had he doubted that good people go to heaven when they die. But I guess that now, when he could feel death approaching, he couldn't feel heaven getting closer. I'm sure he wasn't sensing the presence of his beloved, dead wife. And he was so scared.

Suddenly, one of us started singing. Soon we were all singing my grandfather's favorite hymns. The change in my grandfather was amazing. He relaxed. He looked peaceful. And after only a few minutes, he stopped breathing altogether. Personally, I'm always going to think that he relaxed and he stopped fighting death because he believed he could hear the angels singing to him. He hadn't been able to feel heaven approaching, but our song made him feel that heaven was opening its portals for him.

The reason for my long rambling, Dandello, is just that I wanted to say that the scene where Superman took Bobby flying, and Bobby died in his arms, was outstandingly beautiful. The poor boy was clearly going to die anyway, and he could never have died a happier death.

As a non-religious person I almost never like sermons, but I often like churches. Churches, particularly old churches, are silently reverberating with the hopes and dreams of so many people, many of them long gone. In the church, their dreams remain, echoing from the walls. This majestic building was where they went to express their dreams. And when you sit in such an old church, and hear beautiful music being played or sung, you can find peace inside yourself, somehow tapping into the dreams of so many people before you.

So I thought it was a very good thing that Lois and Clark went to that church together, after Bobby had died and Clark was hurting so.

I just wanted to say that your story is beautiful, Dandello, and in spite of its religious content, it appeals strongly to a non-religious person as myself.

Ann

Lovely. I'm in the mood for Christmas stories this morning, and this was perfect. Bittersweet, tender, and a little heartbreaking all at once. You did such a nice job of showing not only the weight of responsibility Clark carries around but also the friends who help him carry it - even if they don't always know they're doing it.

Thank you!

Hmm. I didn't think of this story as religious at all, despite Bobby's death and the church. Must go re-read.