DJ, I liked this very much. Since I remembered who Bad Brain was, I realized partway through the story that this was a DToSC inbetweenie. And I remember some post where there were several people (you and I included), who maintained that Clark's grief in the episode didn't seem as deep as Lois's in TOGoM, but only because we
only saw him as Superman. That's one reason why it was lovely to see this. I thought you portrtayed his grief and feeling of loss very well - it certainly fit with the character of Clark that I have formed in my mind, even though we didn't get the opportunity to see this grief portrayed on the screen in the episode.
I know Adam's stories too, and I thought of them right away when I read this. But those are the only other DToSC rewrites that I can think of. And I'd love to see more too, but not for the reasons that Ann suggests. She writes
His death wouldn't be so dramatic to her, in other words. Clark, on the other hand, would be devastated if Lois died. Well, I'm not so sure that this is true at all. Maybe it's the other way round.
I have never tried to trivialize Lois' grief if Clark were to die before her. I think that she
might find it easier to move on than Clark would in a similar situation. Frankly, though, I think that each of them would struggle on alone, always missing the other.
I would love to see more exploration of Clark's grief over losing Lois, either in-betweenie stories that basically remain in canon or "what-ifs", where Clark is dealing with her death for days before he finds her again. The feelings of guilt that he's probably harboring for leaving her to go to China for the earthquake. Lois played such an instrumental role in the creation and maintenance of the superhero - can he continue being Superman without her? The angst potential is enormous...
Kathy
