Here is part 15. Any comments will be very welcome.
Hope you enjoy!
AnnaBtG.
TOC here From Part 14... nah, forget it. Nothing of major importance in the end of part 14. Part 15: Next day, Lois and Clark read ‘Cat’s Corner’ together. The article bore the spicy title: ‘Pregnancy At The Planet!’
“You all know Lois Lane, who has been working with us as an investigative reporter for five years. You are probably aware of Clark Kent’s work too, who joined our team last month, working on that same field.
“Maybe you saw it coming, maybe not, but it’s true. Lane and Kent, after doing so with their bylines, decided to join their lives as well. It was love at first sight, and it is about to be blessed with the arrival of a baby! The couple is delighted with the news, as expected, and has already started planning their future together. The wedding should take place next March, after the baby is born.
“In the meantime, the Planet staff will keep their fingers crossed for the arrival of a healthy, beautiful baby. If it takes after its parents, it certainly will be.”
“It’s not bad,” Clark commented.
“Not at all,” Lois agreed. “Certainly better than I expected.”
Lois rose from Clark’s laps, where she had been sitting, and stretched. Then, she noticed Cat heading their way.
“I see you read my piece,” the auburn-headed reporter said with a self-confident smile.
“Yeah,” Clark replied.
“How come everything you wrote is true?” Lois asked with suspicion.
Cat shrugged. “I wanted Perry to print it.”
“It’s good.”
“Thanks,” Cat replied before turning around and heading back to her desk.
“I’ll just *never* understand this woman,” Lois declared.
“There’s a good side in everyone,” Clark reminded her.
“I know. It’s just that I hadn’t seen Cat’s one for a very long time.”
“She’s used to hiding it?”
“Just from me.”
“Why is that?”
Lois shrugged. “Who knows. Anything new about that story Bobby told you about yesterday?” She found again her comfy seat on Clark’s lap.
“I spent the night patrolling over Suicide Slum, but no sight of the supposed gun smugglers.”
“And how are you?” she asked. “Do you feel tired?”
“No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Make sure *you* are okay.”
“Clark, I’m *expecting* a baby, I’m not *turning* into one.”
He smiled. “I’m getting overprotective, huh? Sorry.”
She kissed his lips. “It’s okay. Just don’t make it too much of a habit.”
“I’ll try.” He kissed her back. “Now, how about getting back to work?”
“I have better things to do than writing about the cat that returned home after three months of roaming in the city,” she grumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I guess so,” he said. Then, he heard something. “Your phone is ringing.”
“Oh, it is?” She hastily rose and hurried to and pick up the telephone. “Lois Lane.”
“Hi, Lois! It’s Glory O’Gerald.”
“Oh, Glory, hi!” she said pleasantly. “What’s up?”
“Fine. I just called to congratulate you and Clark.”
“Thank you! I didn’t know you were a regular reader of the Daily Planet.”
“It’s the only newspaper where even the gossip column is worth reading.”
“Our editor would be happy to hear that,” Lois chuckled.
On the other end of the phone, Glory burst out laughing. “Then, tell him.”
“Okay. Anyway, how’s your life? Any writing?”
“You can’t imagine one’s life without writing, can you?”
Lois rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Wouldn’t it be boring?”
“Yeah. So, can you keep a secret?”
“Of course!”
“Well, the truth is, apart from my column and the occasional poem, I’ve actually begun thinking about a new novel.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But that’s between you and me. It’s just playing with ideas yet.”
“Will I get the exclusive?”
“You and Clark.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“And you’ll release it when I tell you.”
“I promise. But you’ll give us more information by then!”
“A whole interview, if you want to.”
“You’re a star.”
“I know,” Glory teased. “Anyway, congratulations again. Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Who was it?” Clark called, when he saw Lois hanging up.
“Glory. She called to congratulate us.”
“Oh, that’s nice of her.”
“Yeah, it is. She even promised to make us a present.”
“Really? And what would that be?”
Lois winked. “You’ll see. In time.”
-----
A few days later, Lois was walking from the parking lot to the Daily Planet building. Passing by a newsstand, she took a quick glance at the newspapers’ front pages.
She froze with horror as the full impact of the Metropolis Star headline struck her.
‘YORK SAULTER REVEALS – LOIS LANE’S BABY IS MINE!’
Pale-faced, Lois stared at the paper. This was more than unexpected. This was… crazy. Insane!
After a quick debate with herself, she decided to buy the paper and show it to Clark.
She hurriedly paid for it, grabbed it, held it folded and headed to the newsroom, to thrust it in the hands of a confused Clark.
“Read this.”
Just looking at the headline made his eyes grew wide. “Lois…”
“It’s insane!”
He found the complete article in the inside pages. After speed-reading it, he handed her the paper back. “Did you read this?”
Her face red with anger, she cleaned some space on Clark’s desk, sat on it and began reading.
‘Last Friday we read about Lois Lane’s pregnancy and her forthcoming wedding to Clark Kent. So did York Saulter. In an exclusive interview with the Metropolis Star, Saulter, who is kept in the Metropolis Reformation Center, under accusations of raping 14 women, 8 girls and 3 boys, claims that Lois Lane was another of his victims, something that had never been brought to light until now.
Metropolis Star: Mr. Saulter, what makes you think that Lois Lane’s baby is yours?
York Saulter: First of all, the date the baby is due coincides with the time she and I made love...’
“Made love!” Lois exclaimed. “As if I did it willingly!”
“Read on,” Clark said, his tone serious.
‘…Second, the story about Clark Kent and her isn’t very believable.
M.S.: Why did you decide to reveal that Lane is one of your victims? Why hadn’t she said anything until now?
Y.S.: I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t consider herself a victim.’
Lois stared at the paper in shock. “The nerve of that guy!” She slapped the paper down on Clark’s desk. “I can’t read any further.”
“There’s nothing else important,” Clark said. “Now we have to get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“Reaction! Look, we could go out and belie him, or we could admit that he’s telling the truth.”
Lois remained silent.
“What do you prefer?”
“I don’t want to lie,” she said in a low and slow voice. “But…” She shrugged. “I don’t want…”
“I understand.” He softly took her hand into his.
“So, what are we gonna do?” she whispered.
“We’ll do whatever you decide.”
She lowered her head. “I think I need some time.”
“All right.”
“Clark, will you drive me home? I can’t stay here any longer, and I don’t feel well enough to drive.”
“Sure.”
-----
Once she was home, Lois lay on her bed, closed her eyes and tried to calm down and ponder her next move.
What were the options at hand?
Go out and belie the man.
Admit the truth.
Remain silent.
Negotiate?
She dwelled a little more on this idea. If she talked him out of it, if she could convince him – heck, blackmail him – to take it all back, everything would be over easily and harmlessly for everyone.
Of course, it was probably too much wishful thinking on her part to believe that she could persuade him to act in such a way. But it wouldn’t kill her to give it a try, right?
With that thought, she got up, headed to her dressing table and began wiping off her make-up.
-----
An hour and a half later, casually dressed, wearing sunglasses and a blond wig, she arrived at the Metropolis Reformation Center.
With all the courage she had, she walked to the information window. “I would like to see York Saulter.”
“And you are…?”
“Press,” she said, showing her ID card.
The man took a look at the card, then pointed at a door on the other side of the hallway. “Wait in there. He’ll join you in a minute.”
Lois entered the room, chose one of the tables and sat down. Soon, another door opened and an officer entered, accompanying a man in prison uniform. The man had blond hair, blue eyes, and stubble-covered cheeks. He had handsome features, but his expression was malicious and somehow threatening.
“You have ten minutes,” the officer said and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Saulter sat down and stared at Lois. She looked oddly familiar to him, but he hadn’t recognized her yet.
She took off her sunglasses. “We need to talk,” she said, seriously.
“Lois Lane!” he exclaimed as she revealed herself. “You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.” His tone held a hidden bit of irony.
Less than one minute with him and she was already pushed to the limit. “I’m not here to listen to your nonsense. I have better things to do with my time. What are those things you told the Metropolis Star?”
“Just the truth,” he shrugged.
“Why?”
“Well, you didn’t. Someone had to.”
“Do you understand that you’re putting yourself in an even more difficult position?”
“And you care so much about me?” he said, an eyebrow raised.
“No, but if you go out and say you were lying, we both win.”
“No.” He leaned over the table and looked at her with the scariest, most evil expression Lois had ever seen. “I don’t win, one way or another. You ruined my life. And I’ll ruin yours.”
Lois had heard enough. She rose and headed to the door.
“Is your baby mine after all?” he mockingly called from his seat.
She turned back to him. “This is none of your business. See you at your trial.”
Then, she swung the door open and left the room.
-----
She arrived at her apartment fuming. She should’ve known better than going to see that man. She should’ve known nothing positive could have come of it.
After closing and locking all five locks of the door, she called for Clark, while opening the fridge and taking a big chocolate ice-cream bucket.
Clark was there in a matter of seconds and entered by the window. “Lois?” he called. “Lois?” he repeated, slightly amazed, looking at her blond wig.
She looked back at him, trying for a moment to figure out why he was staring at her like this, then she remembered. “Oh. That.” She used her free hand to pull her wig off and placing it on the kitchen table. “I went to see Saulter, and didn’t want any of these gossipers who call themselves journalists to know I was there.”
“You went to see him?” Clark was astonished.
“Yeah, and I regretted it the moment I saw him. He’s the most awful, horrible person you’ll ever meet. How could I believe he could act reasonably? He has nothing to lose. In his own words, I ruined his life, and he’ll ruin mine.”
He approached her and put his arms around her waist sympathetically. She just stayed there, savoring the feeling of being held like this.
“So, have you decided on the track we’re going to follow?” Clark finally asked.
Lois smiled. He was such a caring person.
“Yes, I think I have.”
“And?”
Lois was encouraged by his interest.
“It’s exactly what I told Saulter. It’s none of his business, nor anyone else’s. As far as I’m concerned, this kid is yours. I don’t care what anyone else says, and I’m not gonna make them happy by letting their writing affect me.”
Clark smiled. “You are a wise woman,” he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
She felt reassured, knowing that Clark would always be by her side.
Things wouldn’t be easy. But together, they’d be able to work everything out.
-----
Glory turned on her computer and opened the text processor. It wasn’t like her to start working on a novel before she had figured the whole thing out, but this scene had been bugging her for too long.
She started typing.
‘Sheila finally reached the door. At last, out of this place!
Jenna was already waiting for her. “I’ve been waiting for ages, where have you been?” she asked.
Sheila dragged her out of the yard. “We’re still going to the café, aren’t we?”
“Of course. Why?” Jenna asked, as they began walking.
“I just don’t wanna go home now, I’m ready to explode.”
“What happened?”
“I fought with Lance again. In front of the whole classroom.”
“Oh…” Jenna tried to hide a smile.
Sheila eyed her in suspicion. “What’s this smile for?”
“I learned something very interesting today.” She looked around and noticed something that made her smile even broader. “But I’m not gonna tell you now, because Lance and his buddies are following us.”
Sheila grimaced, without turning to look at them. “Betcha that in less than a minute he’ll start singing one of those nice songs he likes to sing about me,” she commented, an ocean of irony covering the word ‘nice’.”
“Yeah, since he can’t sing ‘I will always love you’,” Jenna muttered.
Sheila’s voice became bitter. “It’s not funny, Jenna. This situation is irritating.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“What?” Sheila asked, confused.
“It’s that thing I learned today.”
“Will you tell me what it is?”
“Okay…” Jenna lowered her voice. “Lance’s got a crush on you.”
“Yeah, right!”
“I’m not kidding! I heard him say it himself!”
“What?!” Sheila shrieked.
“Shh! We can’t talk now, he’s just a few feet away!” Jenna whispered.
“Jenna!”
“Shut up and walk!”’
Glory reviewed what she had written and frowned. She could write better, she definitely could. She’d have to start working on the story from the beginning. Hopefully, when she’d finally reach that point, she’d be able to rewrite it in the way she wanted it to be.
In any case, she decided to save it. After naming the file ‘new-revelation’, she closed the text processor and was ready to turn off the computer, when, suddenly, inspiration struck.
She re-opened the text processor, named a document “new-first chapter” and began writing:
‘It was a warm September morning, first day of school for the Zimmerman’s High students. Boys and girls swarmed reluctantly through the iron gates, gossiping with their friends about everything that had happened during their summer vacations.
Some girls were sitting on a bench near the gates. One of them was talking, and the others were following her words with unfading interest.
“…It’s a magnificent city. You can’t even picture it unless you go there and see it with your own eyes. Our hotel was close to the Champs-Elysées, so first thing we did after unpacking was go and take a walk there. It was a real fairy-tale scenery.”
“Of course, what did you expect?” a brown-haired boy said loudly to his friends, as they were passing by the bench. “First day of school and Sheila Sanner is already bragging.”
“I wasn’t…” Sheila tried to defend herself, but one of her friends softly reached for her hand and hushed her.
“Ignore him,” she whispered.’
Glory smiled, pleased with herself. Yes, this was much better.
-----
Next day, when Lois arrived at the Planet, she noticed everyone staring at her sympathetically. Obviously, they had read the Metropolis Star article.
She pretended not to notice, only shooting annoyed looks to those who looked *too* sympathetic. Luckily, no one had actually spoken to her. Not until Jimmy decided to.
“Hey, Lois…”
“Hey, Jimmy.” She felt relieved that it was Jimmy who took courage in speaking to her. Had it been anyone else, she’d have gotten mad. Because she knew that, unlike almost everyone else in there, Jimmy genuinely cared about her, and wasn’t just being nosy.
“How are you?” he asked, worried.
“Fine,” she replied naturally. “Why are you looking at me like this?”
After a moment of hesitation, he spoke again. “Haven’t you read the Metropolis Star?”
“I don’t read the Metropolis Star.” Which was true, most of the time.
“There was this article about you and…”
“Oh! Yeah, I’ve heard.”
“And?”
“And, what? You give credit to what the Metropolis Star prints?”
“Lois, I know you don’t like it all that much, but it’s a serious paper.”
“Honestly, Jimmy. I don’t care about what they write.”
“Oh… All right,” Jimmy nodded sheepishly and went back to his desk.
Lois mentally congratulated herself. She had managed to evade the truth without lying. Well, okay, maybe she did care about what they wrote, when it did concern her, but she had decided that, from now on, she wouldn’t give credit to what the others said about her. It was her life, and what mattered for her should be what she and her beloved ones said.
She looked at her belly. There was a child growing in there. Unfortunately, it had a father who was a horrible monster. Fortunately, it would have a new father, the most gentle, caring person in the whole world.
All of a sudden, new moral dilemmas flooded her mind. Should she tell her kid the truth someday? Should she register it as of unknown father? Or as Clark’s? Or maybe she should just register it under Saulter’s name, as he was the biological father?
Was it right to make decisions regarding her child, without its knowledge? How could she know it would later agree with the choices she would make? Maybe it would like to be close to its real father.
Maybe it would hate her for keeping it apart from its father.
Closing her eyes, she wished that Clark would arrive soon. She needed his advice. He was the only one who could help her reach a correct decision.
-End of part 15-
