Table of Contents
From Part 17:Of course. He was right. Her next of kin... and yet she’d just been assuming that Clark would be able to do whatever she wanted on her behalf. That was just plain
wrong. Clark
should have that right. He knew her best, had been with her all today, knew what she wanted...
There had to be a way to make sure that...
Yes! Of course there was!
“Can you fly me to Vegas?”
He blinked. “Las Vegas?” His grip on her almost slacked. “Lois, I know I said... but it’s not a way of getting out of talking to your parents, is it?”
“No!” She caught his gaze, those dark brown eyes which were almost liquid as they stared at her. “No, it’s... how I want to deal with them. Clark... will you marry me?”
**********
Now read on...Marry her?
Marry Lois?
Him standing at the front of a church, family and friends seated behind him, an organ playing in the background... Lois, in ivory silk and organza, clutching a bouquet of spring flowers, gliding up the aisle on her father’s arm towards him... the minister, standing in front of them, leading them through their vows...
Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife... to have and to hold... to love, honour and cherish... in sickness and health... till death us do part...Till death.
“Lois...” He was still holding her cradled to his chest. It suddenly seemed kind of an awkward position for this conversation, and he gently slid her to the ground, still with his arms wrapped around her. “There’s nothing I’d... But...
Marry you? Now?”
“Yes.” Her eyes, glazed with tears, stared back at him. His own were stinging, and his glasses were spotted with moisture. “Because that way... then
you’re my next of kin. Please, Clark? Will you do it?”
That was what she wanted? For him to be able to take the place of her parents - make the decisions for her, be the one who acted when she couldn’t? That was why she wanted him to marry her? Not because she actually wanted him as her husband?
But then, why would she? It wasn’t as if she was in love with him, after all. Sure, they’d become closer today than ever before - but most of that was circumstances. If it wasn’t for what had happened, she’d still be keeping her distance, treating him as a friend but on her own terms.
Definitely fewer touches, much less closeness, far fewer hugs - and no kisses.
And now she wanted him to marry her.
A quickie marriage, in a tacky chapel somewhere in Las Vegas. Far from the kind of wedding he’d dreamed of.
And yet...
Her reasoning made sense. And, more than that, it was appealing. Because she was right. Once her parents got involved - as they had to - he’d be pushed aside. Out of the way. Without even any right to be with her. Chances were he wouldn’t even get to keep his promise that he’d stay with her till the end.
Besides, Lois was asking him to do it. For her. And it was probably the very last request she was ever going to make of him.
How could he possibly say no?
“Clark?”
“Yes.” Why didn’t his voice sound like him? He cleared his throat. “Yes, Lois - if that’s what you want, then I’d be... be honoured to marry you.”
“Go... good.” Her voice cracked on the word. “So, can we... get going?”
About to scoop her up and fly off, he stilled. There was just one snag... “Lois, what if... well, what if you do get well? What then?”
“Oh.” She blinked. “Come on, Clark, we both know that’s not going to happen.”
She really had given up, hadn’t she? But then, he’d come to the same conclusion himself. There was nothing that could be done for her, nothing to hope for. The cure had died with Edwin Griffin.
He had to know, though, all the same. “But still, what if?”
An impatient look crossed her face. “Well, then we just go back to Vegas and get a quickie divorce. Or an annulment. Whichever’s easiest.”
Yeah. Of course. Why had he even bothered to ask?
“Don’t worry,” she continued. “You won’t have to stay married to me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Hell. She was hours from death, and they were fighting. He closed his eyes, tried to push away the hurt. “I was thinking of you, Lois. Of what you’d want.”
“What I
want, Clark, is for you to take me to Vegas. While I’m still able to talk.”
“Lois.” Her name came out as a sigh. “I’m sorry.” He enfolded her against him again. “I didn’t want to fight... I just... I want you to be sure that this is what you want, that’s all.”
“I want it.” The words were muffled against his chest.
“Okay.” He caught her shoulders and gently put her from him. “Just give me a minute.” And he whirled, coming to a halt seconds later in the Spandex. “Then let’s go.”
His first visit to Las Vegas, and he was looking for a wedding chapel.
A quickie marriage, even if it was to the woman he’d always dreamed of having as his wife - and, instead of a honeymoon, he had widowhood to look forward to.
Congratulations.
“Where to? Is there somewhere in particular you want to go?” he asked her as the neon signs and dazzling lights appeared up ahead, shimmering over the desert night.
“It’s a while since I’ve been in Vegas. Anywhere will do - anywhere we don’t have to wait.” Her voice was so soft, so faint now.
“Okay. I guess I’ll just take a look from above and then bring us down.”
“Wait...” She caught at his arm. “I feel all... I mean, I’m sure I look like I’ve been crying and my make-up’s smudged - can you take me somewhere I can freshen up first?”
That wouldn’t be a problem - any of the dozens of hotels within the ten square mile area that made up the Strip would do. Somewhere decent, though. There was no reason why she should have to make do with one of the shabby, tacky hotels in the older part of town.
He chose a hotel - nothing too glitzy, but not run-down either, and brought them down in a shadowed area to the side. One quick spin later, and he was Clark Kent again. “Come on. There’s an entrance this way.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her inside. With a quick thanks, she disappeared into the restroom, and he was left to wait. To listen to the distant clinking and jangling of slot machines. To contemplate what they were just about to do.
Get married.
He was willingly entering into what would be one of the shortest marriages on record. Marrying the woman he loved more than his own life, though she didn’t know it.
And he didn’t even have a ring to give her.
Though that would surely be easily remedied in a place like Las Vegas. Sure enough, something on the other side of the lobby caught his eye. A jewellery concession.
Two minutes later, he was signing a credit card payment slip for the largest amount he’d ever paid out in his life. More, even, than the first and last month’s rent and deposit on his apartment. But the matching his and hers wedding rings were worth it. Whether his marriage to Lois was going to last mere hours or not, he was still marrying the woman he loved. And she deserved the best he could give her.
Even if the best was only a chunk of 18-carat gold, and not the one thing he most wanted to give her.
So, armed with shiny new wedding rings and information, he crossed the lobby again to wait for his bride-to-be.
*********
She was about to get married, and she looked a wreck. Even after splashing water on her face, doing emergency repairs to her make-up and dragging a brush through her hair, she looked as if she’d just got up out of a sick-bed. Pale. Shadows and bags under her eyes. Pinched cheeks and thin lips.
Just as well they hadn’t booked a photographer.
In just a few minutes, she’d be a married woman. Marriage was something she’d always imagined she’d do one day, but... not like this. Not a sudden decision, out of desperation, in the last few hours of her life. Not a runaway marriage in a seedy Las Vegas wedding chapel, with nobody she knew there to see it happen. Just her reluctant groom and herself.
Clark was reluctant. That was obvious from the length of time it’d taken him to say yes, and the way he’d worried about what would happen if she survived. Some chance of that.
Well, she wasn’t who he’d choose as his wife, and this certainly wasn’t how he’d choose to be married, either. It didn’t take much knowledge of Clark Kent, son of Jonathan and Martha - though adopted son, of course - to know that he’d want a traditional wedding, in every way. Well, in ideal circumstances she would too. The circumstances she was in didn’t give her the choice.
Clark was waiting when she went out, standing in the lobby, his hair rumpled and his expression sober. Somehow, he seemed to have aged about ten years in the course of the day.
“Hey.” She looked up at him. Maybe he wouldn’t notice that her smile was shaky. “Let me fix your hair...”
He stood still while she finger-combed it into better shape, then smiled in return. “Ready to go? I asked - there’s a nice, discreet little chapel just a block across from here. Nothing tacky, nothing over the top. And they even have an arrangement where we can get our licence there instead of having to go to the courthouse.”
“Sounds good.” It was just as well, in fact. Was the courthouse even open at this time of night? She hadn’t even thought of that. Without the licence, they couldn’t be married.
He extended his hand to her, and she slid hers in it. Just another couple going to their wedding.
“It’s this way.” Outside, he headed around the corner and to an intersection. The streets were thronged with people, but then of course Las Vegas came alive at night. This same intersection, in the middle of the afternoon, would probably be empty. It didn’t even seem dark, but that was the effect of all the neon and illumination.
“Lois?” Something in his voice made her look up at him. He was going to be serious again. Well, they didn’t have a lot of time left for serious conversations...
“Yeah?”
“Are you... disappointed in me? Do you think I’ve let you down?”
She stumbled, and he caught her, held her steady. What was he talking about? Let her down? How?
“Because you didn’t want to marry me?” That was the only thing she could think of.
“No!” He stopped dead in the middle of the street and turned to look at her. “No, Lois. I... Of course I want to marry you. I... hesitated... well, like I said. Because I wanted to be sure that we’d thought of what we’d do if... if you do survive. That’s all.”
Okay. That did make some sort of sense. Even if it’d felt as if he was reluctant to agree in case he ended up saddled with her. “So why would I think you’d let me down?”
His voice was low, but she could hear the pain nonetheless. “Because I couldn’t save you. Because every other time when you’ve been in danger I’ve been there for you - arrived in the nick of time and kept you safe. But this time... I can’t. I’m Superman, and there’s
nothing I can do to save you.”
But that was crazy!
Oh, sure, Superman had saved her life countless times since he’d first appeared. And, true, she’d come to rely on it. To take risks she might not have taken if he hadn’t been around, because somehow he always did seem to come when she yelled for him. This...
This was different.
This wasn’t held-at-gunpoint-in-a-dark-alley kind of life-threatening. It wasn’t falling-out-of-a-plane danger, either. And it wasn’t tied-up-waiting-for-a-bomb-to-go-off. It was a completely different kind of threat to her life, with a secretive enemy revealed far too late and a formula even top scientists couldn’t figure out. How could she possibly expect Superman to save her from this?
She didn’t. Hadn’t. But clearly Clark had.
And that was the real reason for his question.
He believed he’d let her down.
She gripped his hand as tightly as she could - not easy when the muscles in her arm and wrist protested. “Clark, no! You can’t think that - I don’t think that!”
“Why wouldn’t you?” His mouth was twisted, his tone bitter.
“Because I could never have got through today without you!” The words were almost shouted and, out of breath, she had to stop. He tried to speak again, but she shook her head, demanding he wait. “I needed you, Clark. You. Yeah, I needed Superman too...” She paused for breath again. “...but when I needed him he was there for me too. What you have to understand is... most of all today... I needed... my friend. Clark. You.”
Slowly, his stance relaxed, his expression softened. And then he reached out and caught her other hand in his, and lowered his head until his forehead touched hers. “Oh, Lois.” He sighed. “I still wish...” He pulled away from her in a sudden movement, an agonised expression on his face. “There had to be
something I could have done!”
She tugged on the hand he’d still left in hers. “Don’t torture yourself, Clark. You did all you could - we all did all we could. Don’t you know that I... couldn’t have got through today without you! You - you’ve been my strength.” She gazed at him, willing him to believe her. “Now... now we just have to... make sure the rest is as easy as we can - ” She broke off, coughing, and eventually managed to finish. “ - make it.”
“Yeah.” And he came back to her. Hugged her again, his body warm and solid and comforting against hers. “Come on, then,” he said after too short a time. “Let’s get to that chapel.”
A couple of minutes of silent, companionable walking later, they were outside a small clapboard house which had a discreet sign outside proclaiming that weddings could be performed there from 12 noon until midnight. “This is it, then.”
“Yeah.” She studied the house for a moment. It certainly didn’t look like any kind of building she’d ever imagined getting married in. Yet right now it was perfect. “Come on.”
Inside, the paperwork was handled quickly and efficiently. They showed their drivers’ licences. Clark handed over bills before she even had a chance to open her purse. Shakily, she signed where she was told. And that was it; the clerk told them to have a seat, that they’d be called into the chapel in a few minutes, once the officiant was ready for them.
Clark was still silent. Though he held her hand tightly in his, he wasn’t looking at her. And, despite everything, even though this was the only way to stop her parents taking over, agreeing to things she didn’t want, doubts set in. Was this the right thing to do? Was she being fair to Clark? After all, by tomorrow morning he was going to be a widower, not just a bereaved friend. She was dumping him with the whole mess of sorting out her estate, tidying up her life, dealing with everything she was leaving behind.
What kind of way was that to treat a friend?
Should she give him a chance to back out?
“I... if you want to... to change your mind...” Her teeth were chattering and she had to break off.
“Lois.” Suddenly, he was looking at her. He reached for her other hand, holding both tightly as he gazed at her. His expression was intent, his eyes blazing with... something she couldn’t quite recognise.
Speech just seemed to burst out of him. “Lois, I... I have to tell you this. Before we go in there. It... it just doesn’t seem right that we do this without you knowing.”
Knowing? Knowing what?
He didn’t give her a chance to ask the question. The words tumbled out, like water over rapids. “Lois, I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I met you. Marrying you... if this was under any other circumstances it’d be a dream come true. I... today’s been a nightmare, not just because I hate to see you suffering like this, but because I can’t bear the thought of losing you. You... it’s breaking my heart. If... when you die, it
will break my heart. I love you, Lois. So much that... oh, just so much.” His last words were barely whispered, and he looked away, as if afraid of her response.
He loved her? Clark
loved her?
Liked, yes. Cared for, too. Considered her a very close friend, someone he was fond of... yes, all that. But love?
She’d discounted that. Considered it impossible. He couldn’t love her, not after the way she’d treated him, the way she’d diminished Clark in favour of Superman, overlooked the very real, special qualities of the man while gazing star-struck at the hero.
But he did.
“Mr Kent? Ms Lane? We’re ready for you now.”
The clerk couldn’t have chosen a less opportune moment to call them. Looking both awkward and as if he were relieved that they’d been interrupted, Clark got to his feet, tugging lightly on her hands as he did so. “Ready, Lois?”
No! How could she possibly be ready when...
When Clark had just poured his heart out to her, said words she’d never expected, that actually, even in these circumstances, made her want to cry tears of pure
joy... No, she wasn’t ready.
“Would you... give us a minute, please?” She didn’t turn to the clerk. Getting to her feet, she looked up at Clark, waiting for him to look back at her.
After a moment, he frowned and met her gaze. “What is it?”
“Do you know, out of... everything you did for me today... that - what you just said - probably touched me most of all.” She raised her hand and, even as it shook, managed to bring it to his face so that she could touch him with her fingertips. “And... I asked her to wait in case I don’t get time to tell you this later. I... I love you too. I think... I have for ages. Just too... too stupid and stubborn and blind to see it.”
Her voice gave way on the final word. It didn’t matter, though. She’d said what she needed to. What she’d promised herself she would tell him before it was too late.
With an inarticulate murmur, Clark wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. His chin rested on her head briefly, before he began dropping tiny kisses against her hair, her cheek, her neck.
Then, with a sigh, he said, “We should go in.” Releasing her, he took a step back and held out his hand to her. “Ready to marry me, my love... my - ”
He broke off suddenly and looked away, and her breath caught as she heard him finish, under his breath, “- life.”
**********
...tbc
