FDK: Extraordinary (1/1) - Lois & Clark Fanfic Message Boards

A new Caroline fic! You have no idea how happy this makes me, embarassingly so.

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I realize for the first time that I want her to be happy far more than I want her to be extraordinary.

With Clark, I believe she can be both. So I will save him if I can, and it will be my one quiet act of greatness - my gift to my beautiful daughter. For once, I will meet her expectations.

For once, I will be extraordinary.

WOW. I... just... WOW.

That is all.

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So no, she didn’t live up to my expectations. I expected her to be something more than just a journalist, and she knows that, however much I try to hide it. I expected her to marry someone more interesting, more important, than a mere farmer’s son from Kansas, yet Clark Kent’s diamond sparkles on her finger. But I’ve finally realized, maybe too late, what the weight of all those expectations has cost us. I can see that Clark thinks she’s extraordinary just as she is, and he’s right. I wish I had been able to see that all along.

But I see things more clearly now.

He is dying. He is dying, and my little girl is looking at me with those huge eyes that still have the power to pierce my heart, and she is counting on me to make him better. She is trusting me to do something truly great, for once in my life, and to save the life of a dying Kryptonian.

A brilliant insight into the mind of Dr. Sam. There was no way he couldn't have figured it out.

Beautiful! Laura

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This strange visitor from Krypton is also, somehow, the farmer’s son from Kansas, the one I thought too inconsequential for my daughter, and he is dying and she is counting on me to save him.

I always wondered about that. I agree with Dandello. There's no way he couldn't have figured it out.

Loved it!

Prose at its finest. And great topic too. Awesome story.

What can I say? Delightful, lovely.

Patrick

I have no time to quote, Caroline, and I'm sorry about it, because your lovely vignette is the most beautiful poetry humbly disguised as prose.

Ann

Beautifully written, Caroline. I'm not a "first person as narrator" fan but it works really well here. (Perhaps because Sam was a minor character?)

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There are things a doctor sees, and there are things a father sees,

You've rehabilitated Sam Lane.

Not to mention filled in that B plot hole in the episode - Sam had to have figured it out by the end: Lois's behaviour made it so obvious. Why I wonder was she so careless - maybe a sequel to explain that??

c.

I'm sitting here getting all teary eyed at my desk.

I've told you before in private email and on the boards how much I envy your way with words. This fic only deepened my admiration. I love how you manage to convey in just a few images how Lois was always driven and determined. Her four steps for every one of Sam's is a great example of that. I also loved how he never saw the same qualities in Lucy, no matter how much he looked for them.

You're absolutely right - I can understand his disappointment when this gloriously gifted child chooses to use her talents as a journalist. It would seem like such a waste if you didn't believe in the power of words to make a difference.

His dismissal of Clark as a farmer's son was very poignant. Especially when he realizes who that "farmer's son" is. That's where I started getting weepy. And this... ah, this was amazing:

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With Clark, I believe she can be both. So I will save him if I can, and it will be my one quiet act of greatness - my gift to my beautiful daughter. For once, I will meet her expectations.

"...quiet act of greatness..." Wow. This was achingly lovely, Caroline. Like Lois, you're gifted in being able to use the power of your words to full effect.

Awesome!

I almost didn't post anything, because I couldn't come up with anything original, but I also believe that this is a beautiful, tender, heart-rending piece. I couldn't not respond.

I, too, know the pain that comes when an adult child makes choices which aren't those which the parent wish had been made. But Sam has, in this painful, eye-opening moment, finally realized that greatness isn't found in the path of life chosen, but in the striving. He sees that Lois will do something so much greater than he has done, simply because she took the risk and reached for something without rigging up a safety net first. That moment of prescience, along with his willingness to do whatever she asks of him, bridges the gap betweeen himself and his little girl more completely than any number of family celebrations could ever do.

This is such a wonderful glimpse into a man driven to accomplish something beyond himself, something he couldn't quite do, yet who is given the chance to do that incredible, wonderful thing without anyone else ever knowing he'd done it, and he embraces it willingly. Good for him.

And good for you, Caroline. Your beautiful words have touched me once again. Thank you.

I soo much liked your fic. It was most definitely awsome. I, too, have always wondered why Sam didn't already guess the secret in HIWTHI.

And I agree with Ann that it's pure poetry.

Yeah, what they said.

This was... well... extraordinary

PJ

Wow, Caroline. This is wonderful.

Nan

I have to add another WOW!

Wow! I'm overwhelmed by the response to this

. Thank you all so much for your kind comments!

Best,

Caroline

Rach

Wow Caroline!

That was simply beautiful. It takes me 20 minutes to write a short feedback note. I can't imagine writing as much as you did plus make it sound so coherent!

Write on!

Anne

So amazing, the whole fic left me speechless! I really adore your poetic style!

I have to agree with others - gave me chills. Sam and my dad are much alike in the expectation area [I can never live up to them - and so I can relate to her and how much it would mean to know that her dad finally understood.

Carol