Ditto everything Laura said, Barbara! I love all her quotes, too. Aaaahh, I
adore that Clark loves Lois so instinctively and immediately. I remember a comic book story from the relatively romantic nineties, where Clark had lost his memory and Lois tried to give it back to him by kissing him. Well, it didn't work, and although he liked her kiss a lot, he didn't find it earth-shattering - well, he didn't find her kiss earth-shattering in that comic book, that is. I
love that he responded so wonderfully to Lois's kiss here! *happy sigh*
And the other thing that he knew instinctively in this story was that people with scalpels and syringes were dangerous - no, he didn't realize that he was remembering his father's words about people dissecting him like a frog, but subconsciously, he was remembering just that.
The third thing that he knew instinctively was that he couldn't speak openly to Lois:
Clark would have liked to say the three magic words. I love you. But he didn't know if this was a good idea. She hadn't said it either. He couldn't really think of a reason why a woman would kiss a man like this if she wasn't in love with him. But right now he had no idea of the consequences these simple words might have. As long as he didn't know what kind of a man he was, he couldn't risk telling her something that he might regret later. He was pretty sure he wouldn't regret it. He had felt drawn to this woman from the first moment he had seen her. He thought he had fallen in love with her, head over heels. It seemed too soon to him. After all, he had only just met her. And yet he knew her almost his entire life.
It seemed too soon... he can't be honest with her, not yet. Oh, Clark. If you only weren't so scared of opening up to Lois.
I found this reaction from Lois interesting, too:
Strange as it was, she was almost relieved that he didn't look perfectly healthy. Everything about his appearance told her he hadn't run away from her. She had been wrong about this all along. The thought made Lois's heart beat faster, though she also knew that it meant she had been unfair to him once again. But one thing was certain - Clark hadn't left her on purpose. Actually this was all that counted.
Her conscience screamed its protest as she felt glad at the sight of Clark in distress. It wasn't because she wanted him to suffer. She would rather have him smiling and not utterly confused as he seemed to be now. But as long as he wasn't gone, she knew that everything else was easy to handle.
Lois is almost glad that Clark is hurt, and then she is ashamed of herself for thinking so. But the fact that he's hurt proves that he hasn't run away from her. And now that he is back, she feels optimistic about the future and ready to deal with almost anything. I love that.
But there are a couple of things I'm wondering about, apart from the two obvious questions. (What has happened to Clark? Why has the UN declared Superman an international enemy?) Clark seemed to get sicker once again as he went further into that alley. Is there Kryptonite there? Did the injured man in the alley have Kryptonite on him?
And, Barbara, the title of this fic. Hmmmmm. Separate lives. You have just reunited Lois and Clark, haven't you? So what on earth have you got up your sleeve?
Ann
