Sorry again for the delay. Got handed 3 classes [2 subjects] I haven't taught in several years. Last Friday. Classes started this morning. Have read 27 chapters, 660 pages of US History since then. Have 3 chapters, 68 pages to go... :p
Hope to post again tomorrow or Sat. Then MW next week I think. We'll see...
Thanks to Kathy!
Last time
Those in the elevator with them got off at various floors until, finally, everyone but the two of them exited the floor before the news floor.
Lois launched herself at him as the doors slid shut, kissing him ferociously.
He kissed her back the same way, both of them pulling back just seconds before the door slid open to the news room.
"I've wanted to do that all morning," she muttered under her breath. "But I figured I'd better wait until we didn't have time for anything else because, well, we didn’t have time for anything else, but the shower is one thing and the elevator is another thing entirely."
She set her briefcase down on her desk and smiled demurely at him.
Clark shook his head. She was trying to kill him.
It was going to be a very *very* long day.
*~*13*~*
Lois let the warmth of the setting sun wash over her.
They'd been on the little island for three whole days, doing little but swimming, talking and making love.
She had a *great* tan and hadn't burned at all. She hadn't thought she'd burn over the normally uncovered areas of her body. It was the normally... covered areas of her body she'd been worried about, but liberal applications of sunscreen had done their job and a sunburn hadn't ruined their weekend.
Clark had flown back to Metropolis with their few things and to do a, hopefully quick, patrol so he wouldn't have to after they got back. She was lying on a towel in a swimsuit that barely deserved the name. A T-shirt and shorts were on the sand nearby for the return trip.
She had ended up going to lunch with Ellen Thursday afternoon. It had been... weird though. They'd gone to a little café, eaten sandwiches while chatting then gone across the street to an exclusive bedding store to get a new comforter set for one of the rooms at Nate's house and to do a little 'dream shopping'.
She thought Ellen was just trying to be nice – asking her opinion of this bedding set or that and what did she think of that particular bedroom setup where the bedding was staged; did she like it better or the other one? She didn’t understand why her opinion mattered, though she had seen some things she liked, but it had been nice to spend an hour or so getting to know her new mother-in-law.
The day had been an easy one. Cat had been nowhere in sight. Neither had Sarah.
Perry had noticed the rings almost immediately, congratulating them and assigning them only follow-ups and an exceptionally uninteresting press conference on the rebeautification of Centennial Park which allowed them to leave by six. Lois had managed to leave about half an hour before Clark hitting a couple of stores to get a new swimsuit and a couple other things. Clark's last patrol before leaving gave her a while longer to finish shopping and to pack a few things before they were ready to leave.
But it was nearly time to leave their island paradise.
She still had a gnawing feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach – that another shoe was going to drop at some point. She wasn't entirely certain what the first shoe had been but something else was still lurking out there.
Her eyes were closed but she knew the instant Clark returned because he was hovering between her and the sun.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"No," she told him with a shake of her head. "Can't we just live here?"
Clark chuckled. "I'll make the hut better and store some non-perishables here so we can fly off at a moment's notice, even if it's just for a few hours or an overnight or something like that. Make us a better bed, rig a shower. This is the first time anyone's stayed more than a few hours."
"But not the last, I hope."
He hovered over her, his cape brushing the sand on either side. "Definitely not the last." He floated down a bit and kissed her softly. "We'll come back soon, but right now we need to get home."
"And I need to take that Suit off you," she said with a yawn.
Clark laughed again. "Probably not tonight. You're tired."
"I don't think I'm *that* tired."
"We'll see. I bet you're asleep by the time we get to the apartment." He moved away from her, allowing her to stand up and pull clothes on over her suit.
He scooped her into his arms and she snuggled down into them.
"I think you might be right," she admitted with a yawn.
"Oh. Mom said that they and Gramps' have a wedding present for us and want us to stay out there next weekend. I know you probably don't know this but Mom and Dad don't usually stay out there all the time. They have their own home but we tend to all spend weekends out there."
She nodded against his Spandex-clad shoulder. "Works for me."
She didn't remember much of the flight back to Metropolis or Clark tucking her into bed, but she was well-rested when the alarm went off the next morning.
And she was very glad to feel Clark's solid presence in the bed behind her.
"Good morning," he whispered in her ear.
"Did you set the alarm extra early so we'd have time to..." Her words were cut off by a kiss.
"Would I do that?" he asked when he moved back.
"I know you would."
"Sue me."
"I wouldn't get anything."
Clark grinned at her as she rolled to look at him. "We do need to do that kind of stuff soon though – get you put on my bank accounts and all those things. At least you didn't get too settled in where we'd have to worry about you breaking your lease or closing an account you just opened."
She wiggled a bit, rolling to face him. "Must we talk about the mundane when you set the alarm deliberately early?" She kissed him and they both forgot about things like checking accounts.
An hour and a half later, they exited the elevator, hand in hand. The other elevator arrived a few seconds after they did.
"Clark. Lois."
They turned to see Sarah walking out of it with her arms full of files. "Here's that research you asked for," she told them.
Clark reached to take some of the files from her. "That was fast. I just sent the email late last night."
"I got in early," Sarah said with a smile. "And I work fast."
"What's it about?" Lois asked, taking a sip of her coffee as she set her bag on her desk.
"I caught a whisper of something about the space station last night, when I, uh, went out to get food." He glanced at Sarah and then gave Lois a pointed look.
She rolled her eyes. Like she'd contradict him about Superman cover stories in front of someone who had a big crush on him already. "Well, thank you for the quick work, Sarah. We'll let you know if we need you to help with anything else." She wasn't trying to be rude, but she didn’t see any need for the other woman to hang around.
"Mr. Lane, I, uh, know you're working with Ms. Kent here, but I had an idea and I didn't get a chance to talk to you about it last week and wondered if you might have a few minutes."
Clark turned, leaning against his desk. "Shoot."
Sarah glanced at Lois and then back at Clark. "Well, um, what if you did a series of *good* stories? I mean, so much of the news is bad, what if you wrote some stories about... unsung heroes. The confirmed bachelor who took in his sister's kids when she died or the lady who still lives in the home she grew up in but it's in gang territory now and she's fighting back. Things like that."
Clark nodded slowly. "That's a great idea. Can you get me, oh, a dozen or so potential stories – just brief synopses and we'll go from there?"
Sarah nodded. "I will. Thanks."
Perry exited his office. "Jimmy! Turn that up. They're about to officially christen the space station."
Lois sighed as she sat in her chair and turned it so she could see the television nearest her.
The honeymoon was definitely over.
*****
TBC
