Table of Contents


From Part 15:



Then the tone of his mom’s voice registered, and he switched his gaze quickly to her. She seemed angry, but then her expression softened, became sympathetic. “Oh, honey! How could you ever think that? Haven’t you been listening to anything we’ve been saying? Of course we don’t blame you! And shame on you for even thinking it for one second!”

Clark gave her a rueful look, running his hand through his hair again. “Sorry. Like I said, most of the time I don’t think that kind of thing - but when I’m awake at three in the morning...”

“Next time you wake up at three in the morning, you call us,” his father admonished. But at the same time he placed his hand on Clark’s shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze.

He really had the best parents in the world. He had no idea how he’d got to be so lucky, but it was something he would never cease to be thankful for.


*********

Now read on...


“Wow!” Lois stood back, admiring the effect from the top of the steps. “That looks great, Clark! Thank you!”

And it did. After a two-hour absence, Clark had suddenly returned, carrying a bed. He’d disappeared again almost immediately, and for the next ten minutes had flitted in and out, each time bringing a new item of furniture. The gallery area now resembled a very comfortable bedroom, with bed, nightstand and lamp, a comfortable chair, a closet and dressing-table, and even a desk where she could work. Martha Kent had supplied bed-linen and a set of curtains, and Clark had installed a rail from which to hang them, so Lois could have privacy whenever she wanted it.

He smiled widely at her, clearly pleased by her obvious delight. “I hope you’ll be comfortable here - and whether you just stay for a week or two or if you take up my offer to stay longer, treat the apartment as your home, please, Lois.”

She nodded. “And next time you talk to your mom, thank her for me, please?”

He smiled again and indicated that she should precede him back down the stairs. “You can thank her yourself. My parents want me to bring you for dinner soon - you okay with that?”

Lois hesitated for a moment. She’d only met Clark’s parents briefly, that night she’d rescued them all from Trask, and she was beginning to wonder what they - Martha in particular - would think of Lois having moved in with Clark, however temporarily. And if Clark was setting up a bedroom for her, that would hardly sound temporary. But then she dismissed her concerns - after all, from her own experience of them, and from everything Clark had said about the elder Kents, it was obvious that they were nothing like her own parents. The chances were that she might even like them.

So she nodded. “Yes, I’d like that.”

“And speaking of dinner,” he added, “I think it’s time I fed you. I could cook again, but it’s a little late - any objection to takeout?”

“You’re asking me that?” Lois exclaimed, laughing. “Do you know how many restaurants I have on speed-dial?”

“Oh yeah, stupid question.” Clark rolled his eyes, then grinned. “I think I can probably do better than the local pizza parlour, though - do you like Thai?”

“Love it! Feed me green curry and coconut rice, and I’ll be your devoted slave all evening!”

A bark of laughter greeted her request. “That sounds too good an opportunity to pass up. Okay, I’ll be back in a few.”

And, before she could blink, he’d spun into the Spandex again and disappeared through his bedroom. Lois drew breath once he’d left and wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her that he was probably going to Thailand. So much for her offer to supply him with a phone number of somewhere local... She really had to get more used to what her new apartment-mate could do.

Making herself useful in the meantime, she found plates and cutlery to lay the table, before moving her overnight bag up to her new bedroom. It was a good thing Clark had left earlier, she mused as she unpacked the few possessions which remained to her. It had given her time to collect herself and stop behaving like an idiotic teenager with a crush around him. He clearly didn’t feel the same way, and the last thing she wanted was to embarrass him with the realisation that the woman he’d opened up his apartment to actually wanted to share more than just his living space.

The whoosh of Clark’s return sent her downstairs again, and she joined him in the kitchen as he was unpacking delicious-smelling containers. There was even beer - a couple of bottles of Phuket Island which, Lois saw when she examined the label, was brewed in Thailand.

“I probably should have brought some Thai iced tea,” he told her with a grin. “It’s made with condensed milk - good to drink if your mouth is on fire.”

“You trying to imply that I can’t cope with spicy food, Kent?” Lois challenged him.

He shrugged slightly, the grin widening. “Would I dare? But I warn you, this is hotter than most Western restaurants make it.”

It was too, Lois realised after a couple of mouthfuls. Delicious as it was, her mouth was burning - but she wasn’t going to tell Clark that he was right. She didn’t have to, though. He reached down to the carrier-bag, which he’d left on the floor, and produced a small container. “Coconut and condensed milk. Just add a little.”

Lois rolled her eyes, but did as he suggested. “Yeah, much better. I love it - but it was just a little bit...”

“Too spicy?” he finished with a wink.

Of course, he was eating his own meal - also a green curry - without even breaking a sweat. One day, Lois thought. Just one day, she’d find *some*thing about Clark Kent which was vulnerable!

In the meantime, they had work to discuss. She filled him in on Jimmy’s findings and her thoughts. Clark paused in the act of sipping his beer. “Did I hear right? Lois Lane is proposing to share information with the police?”

“Only in return for information we’d find it hard to get. And only because I trust Henderson,” she retorted, trying not to feel defensive.

But he gave her a quick grin. “Oh, I think it’s a good idea. And I trust Henderson too.”

“Okay. I’ll call him after dinner to set up an appointment.”

Henderson was surprised to hear from her, though he was clearly doing his best to hide it. However, he was unable to disguise his astonishment at her suggestion. “You actually want to share information with the cops before you’ve got your story?”

“You scratch my back...” Lois pointed out.

“No thanks, Lane; I’d rather keep my fingernails intact,” he quipped. “Besides, I heard that Kent’s been acting kind of possessive around you lately - I wouldn’t want to upset your new boyfriend!”

Lois felt herself flush. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it’s nonsense. Clark and I work together.”

“Okay, if you say so! Geez, Lane, it’s just too easy to jerk your chain.”

“Jerk it any more and I’ll withdraw my offer.”

“I doubt it,” Henderson said dryly. “You obviously want something from me, or you’d never have made it. Tomorrow, one o’clock, my office, okay?”

“We’ll be there,” Lois agreed, then hung up.

Turning to look at Clark, she felt herself blushing again as she acknowledged that he’d have heard both sides of the conversation. But he’d obviously decided to ignore Henderson’s reference to their relationship. “One o’clock?” he confirmed. “Okay. Want to show me your notes?”

They moved to the couch and she handed over the papers she’d assembled; ten seconds later he handed them back. “Where were you when I needed to research my term papers?” she demanded rhetorically.

Clark grinned. “Probably researching my own.”

“I’m glad you’re my partner,” Lois commented dryly. “I wouldn’t think much of my chances of getting any more Kerths with you around!”

“I don’t use my abilities to get ahead in work!” Clark protested. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, okay, maybe just occasionally. But never to get a story by cheating.”

Yes, that was certainly believable, knowing Clark, Lois thought. But before she could comment, he slapped a hand to his forehead. “I completely forgot!” he exclaimed.

“What?”

“I have something for you!”

He was jogging into his bedroom before she could even ask him what he had. Seconds later, he was back, and carrying something - some *things* which looked very familiar.

Three pieces of glass - crystal, in fact, engraved and personalised.

“My Kerth awards!” Lois exclaimed, standing up and taking them from him. “But how...?”

“I found them,” he explained. “That cabinet you kept them in - it must have protected them from the worst of the heat and flames. They were a bit black, but I’ve cleaned them up. The only thing I couldn’t do much about was the edges - you see they got a bit melted.”

But she barely paid attention to his explanation; she was focused on examining her precious awards, the symbols of her success as a reporter that she’d thought had been lost to her.

“My Kerths,” she murmured again, sinking back down to the sofa. Unbidden, tears flowed freshly, splashing onto the pristine crystal of her statuettes - which, despite Clark’s protests, looked near-perfect.

“Thank you,” she said through her tears, looking up to smile at him.

He sat beside her, his body language seeming to her to be awkward. “I’m just glad I was able to find them for you.”

“I... I’ve lost so much, but there’s nothing you could have... found that would’ve made me happier,” she managed despite her sobs.

He patted her shoulder gently.

No hug, which was what she wanted most of all. No comforting embrace. Just a pat on the shoulder.

Yes, Clark really did have a problem with physical closeness of any type.

But he was the perfect best friend in every other respect. So what right had she to wish for more?


********

Clark woke abruptly, sitting bolt upright in bed and trying to figure out what had woken him. A glance at the clock by his bedside told him that it was almost six in the morning.

Not a nightmare this time. Talking to his parents seemed to have done the trick, he decided, relieved.

And then he realised what it was that had awakened him - sirens. Not another fire!

In under a second, he was dressed in the Suit and was on his way to the balcony. Leaping into flight, he followed the sound of the sirens, quickly realising that the emergency, whatever it was, seemed to be over on the west side of the city, by the river. The West River area, in fact, he confirmed as he flew. And it was definitely a fire - a big one.

What was happening in the city lately?

But then, he reminded himself, the fire at Lois’s apartment was arson. There was no reason to suspect that this was too.

Half an hour later, however, he had cause to reassess that idea. This was definitely arson - and even more obvious than Carter Avenue had been. Eyewitnesses reported seeing men dressed in something similar to chemical protection suits and using weapons akin to massive flame-throwers. The fire had spread rapidly, therefore, putting many lives in danger - although the building which had been attacked was an old, but still operational, warehouse, right next to it was a boarding-house. Clark's priority had been rescuing the terrified residents, carrying them out as quickly as possible through thick smoke and leaping flames.

A couple of people, wakened abruptly from sleep and frantic once they realised that there was a fire, had panicked, clutching at him and at the same time fighting his efforts to pick them up and fly them out through the choking smoke. He'd had to hold them more tightly, gritting his teeth and hoping fervently that he wouldn't hurt them. Telling himself that even a broken bone or two was preferable to letting someone die, Clark focused on suppressing his fear of causing physical injury to the people he was saving. It wasn't easy, and each time he deposited a victim on the sidewalk outside the blazing building, he had to fight the urge to spend a few crucial seconds X-raying to check that he hadn't actually injured them.

Somewhere at the back of his mind was the nagging thought that his sense of panic about hurting people was getting worse. After all, he'd been using his powers to save people for years, and most of the time he'd never really thought about it; he'd gone in, picked up the person and flown them or carried them out. The knowledge that his strength could easily cause him to injure someone, so present in his reactions on a daily basis, had usually taken second place to instinct when he was in an emergency situation.

Somehow, now the fear was taking hold and causing him to hesitate in a way he never had before. Which was bad, he recognised; even a split second's hesitation in a situation like this fire could mean that he was too late to save a life. He had needed to tell himself several times this morning that not grabbing hold of someone, or waiting until he could ensure that his grasp was gentle, didn’t mean that he was saving that person from injury; it meant that he might be leaving someone to die.

People could die because he was too scared of his own strength to save them.

He didn't know how, but he was going to have to do something to test the limits of his control, to reassure himself that even when acting on instinct and at speed he could be in command of his strength.

He'd never hurt anyone before, had he? But even as he tried to tell himself that, he had to acknowledge that he simply didn't know. After all, it wasn't as if he tended to stick around after rescuing somebody. It was entirely possible that people could have been hurt and he would never know about it. What he did know for sure was that he'd hurt Lana all those years ago. And that the constant awareness of how he could hurt Lois was making him... well, he could only describe his behaviour now as paranoid. And that wasn't good.

He didn't know what was worse - this continual terror that he would hurt Lois, or the way he'd felt last night when she'd sat beside him and cried and he'd been helpless to comfort her in any way. He'd longed to take her into his arms. At that moment, he'd wanted nothing in the world more than to wrap his arms around her and hug her, to brush away her tears and to promise her that he'd never allow anything to hurt her ever again.

It tore him apart that he was incapable of holding the woman who meant more to him than anything in his arms. And he hated this feeling of second-guessing himself every time he tried to rescue someone in danger. One way or another, he was going to have to do something about it - but what?

Even with his assistance, the firefighters were struggling to bring the fire under control. And, even more alarmingly, a second fire had started a couple of blocks away. And one of the firefighters had mentioned a couple of smaller, but suspicious, fires over the previous couple of days, all in the same part of the city. Fires he hadn’t heard about because, of course, he’d been distracted by the problems at Lois’s apartment building.

Another story for Lois and him to investigate? He was pretty darned sure of it. He’d have to discuss it with her over breakfast, see how they could fit it in along with their investigation of Lex Luthor and making time to see Henderson.

But when he got back to the apartment, she was gone.

The realisation hit him like a slam to the gut. Lois wasn’t there. And the apartment felt very strange without her vibrant, energetic presence.

It felt... empty.

Clark returned to the kitchen, deciding that he might as well make coffee. Then he noticed the slip of paper on the worktop, weighted down by a mug. Lois’s handwriting stared up at him.

‘Gone to meet a source. See you at the DP.
L.’

Okay. At least he merited a note, Clark told himself in a not-very-effective attempt to cheer himself up. But it was only what she would have left him had he returned to the newsroom to find his partner gone. It was nothing special, as far as notes went. No ‘hope everything’s okay wherever you were’; not even a ‘love, Lois’.

Telling himself not to be so idiotic, he reached into the fridge for some milk. But then the phone rang. Lois, reporting on what she was doing? he wondered as he went to answer it. But it was Perry White.

“Chief! What’s up?”

“Can you make an 8.30 press conference?”

Clark glanced at his watch; it was only just 7.30. “Sure, no problem. What is it?”

“On the face of it, nothing deserving more than a couple of columns in the business section. But I think there’s more to this one,” the editor explained. “It’s apparently about plans for redevelopment in the West River area -”

“You said West River, Chief?” Clark interrupted.

“Yeah. Apparently the plan is to demolish most of the existing buildings and create a new ‘city within a city’,” Perry drawled.

“Who’s behind this?” Clark asked quickly.

“That’s why I wanted you or Lois there. It’s Lex Luthor - well, one of his companies, but he’s speaking at the press conference. You two are investigating him, aren’t you?”

Clark frowned. “We didn’t tell you that, Chief.”

“What, you think I was born yesterday, son? You and Lois have had Olsen looking up stuff on Luthor the last couple of days. Plus the two of you went off with him yesterday, all so doggone polite I could’ve made coffee for the entire board with the saccharine in your smiles. Of course I know what you’re up to.”

“I’ll be there,” Clark promised. “In fact, I’ll be in the newsroom in -” He glanced at his watch. “- about five minutes. I want to do some research first.”

“Olsen’s already here. Anything he can help with?”

“Yeah. Get him to check out a series of fires in the West River area in the last few days.”

“More fires? What’s this?”

“Arson again, and reports of guys in protective suits using weird flame-throwers. The police are looking into it, but they don’t have any leads so far.”

“You’re thinking someone’s trying to buy up real estate cheaply?” the editor suggested.

“That’s what springs to mind,” Clark said dryly. “I wouldn’t miss that press conference for anything.”


**********

...tbc


Just a fly-by! *waves*