Wow...Just fabulous, Sue! There were so many emotions tied up in here. I just thoroughly enjoyed this!
"Aren't you afraid you're going to get sunburned?" she asked, more to break the boredom than out of curiosity.
"I've never had a sunburn before," Clark answered. "But I have kind of wondered what it would be like."
"It's no fun. Your skin gets really tight and itchy and it actually does feel like it's on fire. And then you start peeling."
"The peeling part sounds interesting." He wiggled his toes and wondered how odd it must feel to shed one's skin.
"It's not," she told him matter-of-factly. "And it's terrible if it's on your back where you can't reach."
"Isn't that what marriage is about? Maybe this would be a good time to discuss your wifely duties."
Slowly, Lois and Clark break into a comfortable level of "talking". The banter starts but just so that they are feeling at ease with each other again.
"Did you really mean it, when you said you liked being married to me?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Well," he let the word hang as he pretended to consider the question. "That was before we got kidnapped, shot and left for dead. This hasn't been the most ideal marriage. But just going by the first six hours of our married life? Yeah, I definitely liked that part."
Lois tossed another pebble, missed the ledge and resolved to stop trying to delve into just how committed he was to this marriage.
Clark couldn't resist adding, "Especially the part where you kissed me."
Clark is trying to tell Lois how he feels about her, but at the risk of losing her emotionally so he relays his feelings in a joking manner.
"Well then, my life's ambition is realized. I can die happy now."
At that, he lifted the arm from his eyes and raised his head to look over at her. "Don't say that, not even in jest. You aren't going to die, Lois."
He was in earnest and her empty stomach tightened a little bit more. "Let's make a deal then," she said. "If you don't die on me, I promise not to die on you."
His eyes met hers and he nodded. "I promise," he said solemnly.
Her gaze dropped to the raw-looking bullet wound beneath his ribs. "I'm going to hold you to that promise, Clark."
Nervous chatter or not, when the cards are all laid out, he isn't ready to lose Lois yet, especially since there are still so many unchartered waters. And Lois doesn't want to lose him either. She is almost comfortable saying that now.
"Lois, when we get back to Metropolis, will you go out with me?"
There was a clatter as she dropped the gravel she was holding. Then she cleared her throat and said, "You're supposed to date me before you marry me, not after."
Slowly, the wuestions that Clark has been wanting an answer to are brought forth. It's find out now or never.
She looked at him assessingly. "So this scorching kiss of yours - have you given one to Mayson?"
"No. Just you."
"So you didn't want to spend the weekend with her?"
"Not really. Not like that, anyway."
"Like what?" she pressed.
"Are you honestly going to tell me that you don't think there are expectations to be met when two consenting adults go to a secluded location together?"
"So you didn't want to meet her expectations?" she asked hopefully.
Clark swallowed hard. Leave it to Lois to cut to the heart of the matter so quickly. "No, I didn't."
Okay, so Mayson was out. But there had to have been someone, sometime... "So whose expectations have you met? I don't think you've ever mentioned any kind of serious girlfriend in your past."
"Have you told me about all of your serious relationships?"
"Actually, I have. I mean, you know about Claude."
"And Lex." He couldn't keep the bitter note from his voice.
"I never met Lex's expectations."
"Really?" Clark pushed himself to a sitting position, wiping the sand from his hands with a few small claps.
"You thought I had?" Lois looked at him in amazement. What kind of girl did he think she was?
"Well, you were engaged..." Clark hedged.
Her mouth made a perfect 'O' in astonishment. Had he really thought that? "Don't make assumptions! We're married and I haven't met your expectations, have I?"
He grinned. "Don't beat yourself up about that, Lois. I'm not deducting points for it."
She frowned and realized that he had neatly deflected her. "Nice try. You didn't answer my question. Whose expectations have you met?"
He flushed and looked away. "No one's," he admitted softly.
Lois furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Ever?"
He shook his head.
"You're kidding me, right?" He had to be teasing her.
"Nope."
"You, you're, oh my god, really? I, uh, geez. I don't know what to say to that."
Say you'll be mine, his mind whispered. Say you'll want me after this is all over.
Slowly the conversation turns to the most intimate that either of them has ever had with each other. No more secrets. Asking about ayson was just an opener and Clark stood aside and invited Lois into that door.
He grunted. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts too much." Clark lay back down. "You're a good wife, Lois. The best I've ever had."
"I'm the only wife you've ever had." She fought a smile and wished he could have really meant the words.
"And yet you keep threatening to annul our blissful union," he pointed out.
"Like you haven't wanted a divorce since the moment you said, 'I do'!" she shot back.
"Lois, when did I ever say that I wanted an annulment or a divorce?"
Again, teasing but meaning every word of it. They are finally opening up completely and letting each other know how they feel.
"Clark? Maybe you should go without me? You could go and get help."
"Did you leave me?"
She didn't answer because she knew where his logic was headed.
"We're in this together, Lois. I promised I wouldn't leave you and I meant it."
Clark's undertone is saying "not just geographically".
"This isn't so bad. I think if I had to choose, I'd want to die in your arms."
"What if I go first?" he answered, his voice a little huskier at the thought of actually losing her.
"You know how competitive I am. Are you really going to make this a contest?"
He tightened his arms around her. "It's not a contest. Besides, you promised you wouldn't leave me."
"That's right," she murmured. "I did. You're a good husband, Clark. The best I've ever had."
"I'm the only husband you've ever had."
"I know." Lois tipped her head back so that she could see his face. "But, even if you weren't, you'd still be my favorite."
Lois is sounding like she is giving up and wanting to be sure that Clark is sure of how she feels about him. He's struggling to hold on to her but he can feel her slipping away, slowly.
"I love you, Clark. Did you know that?"
"I love you, too."
"I'm glad we're married," she added and patted his arm again.
"Me too." He wished it wasn't so dark so that he could see her.
"I won't die a spinster, huh? Will you tell my mom that we were married? I know she's disappointed that I'm still single."
"You can tell her yourself."
Finally, everything has been said. And the final nail...but Clark is still holding on and not ready to let her go.
"Clark? Are you going to divorce me?"
"No."
"Not ever?" she asked hopefully.
"Not ever," he reassured her. "Not ever, I promise."
Til death parts us, his mind whispered. How much longer until that happened?
Finally, Lois gets an answer and it's the one that she has been wanting. Now she is at peace.
"You have to stay with me," he told her. "You promised."
"Get help," she mumbled. "Leave me."
"I can't leave you," he whispered. "You didn't leave me."
"S'different."
"It's no different,,,"
"I'm sorry," he mumbled to her. She didn't answer and he was glad for it. It was so much less painful to think that she would just drift from this world to the next without having to wake up and be in agony anymore.
"Lois," he murmured, "can you hear me?" His shaky fingers felt for and found a pulse. It was faint, but at least it was there. He pulled her onto his lap, cradling her in his arms despite how much it hurt to do so. Clark kissed her cheek, then her closed eyelids.
"You don't have to stay with me anymore," he whispered into her hair. "But I want you to know that I'm glad you married me. I love you. I've loved you since the day I met you. All I ever wanted was to be able to hold you for the rest of our lives." The words became stuck in his throat and he choked on a half-sob at the knowledge that he had got his wish.
"All I ever wanted," he repeated, hoping that she could hear him. "My wife."
Oh God! So sad. Cark has finally come to term with losing Lois. With everything said, it's okay now. He is giving her permission to leave himm so that she can be at peace.
Sue, how do you do it? Amazing emotional rollercoaster. Hurry back with the next part!
~Sheila
Glad to know Clark can still tease Lois even while their hurt and alone in the desert. I can't imagine Lois submitting to anyone's notions of "wifely duties" but her own. 
). 
What a picture you paint, Sue...
Comments as I go, as usual.
)
Please, don't let us wait too long for the next part.
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