Okay, I haven't been commenting, but rest assured, I have been reading this wonderful piece of work and am just taken in by it!
This whole idea of Clark being the one to fight his love for Lois and Lois being ready to give into her love for Clark is certainly a new view. I also like the fact that Ellen and Sam are positive in Lois's life. I just loved the talk that Sam had with Lois in the bathroom at the awards banquet-in part 21. Wow, what a wonderful side of Sam. He even went into the ladies' "lounge" to talk to his princess. Wow! What a 360º.
With what is going on with Jory-which by the way is very original-Clark should have told Lois that he was in the hospital. If he was afraid of losing Jory, he should have allowed him the one thing that brings him complete joy, and that is Lois. Jory needed her mothering so badly.
As if sensing her presence, the child turned his head toward the door. His eyes fixed on his forgotten teddy bear and he reached out for it.
Fighting tears, Lois clutched the bear to her chest and walked to the bed. When she was there, she forced a trembling smile and handed the bear to him.
She was surprised when Jory took it and tossed it carelessly to the side. Then he reached out and grabbed her hand instead.
<Pain my arm, Mommy> he awkwardly signed using his free hand.
Lois’s eyes grazed over his little body and all the various materials that were intruding upon his person. It amazed her that the band-aid on his arm was the only thing he could find to complain about.
This just made me cry. I could just see that precious thing just overloading Lois with his most recent experience. And kids are so resilient-to only complain of a small bandage on his arm with everything else going on with him. This is so like a sick child.
Looking up, she saw that Clark was still standing in the doorway and met his angry gaze. She silently challenged him to say something. After a brief stare-off, he looked down; his expression unreadable.
Then he turned and disappeared through the doorway.
Clark is just not sure how to deal with Lois and his feelings for her.
Now, he was trying not to admit that his heart had expanded even more than that.
He didn’t know why he was determined to push her away, but he’d thought he had done an effective job of it. A part of his soul had died with every push, every kick... every shove.
And yet here she was.
This is just so sad. It broke my heart for Clark to feel this way. I just want him to let Lois in so that they can love each other openly the way that they do secretly.
“Everyone who loves me dies.”
So, this about sums it up for Clark. He doesn't think that he deserves to be loved. Poor baby...
“I don’t understand why he’s here, though,” she said. “At Mom’s hospital… or why you’re here, even.”
Sam leaned forward so his elbows were sitting on his knees. “Bernie needed access to more resources and additional hands and Clark felt that he needed people around this situation that he could trust.”
Lois blinked. “This situation… So you know.” She swallowed. “And Mom?”
Her father nodded. “She’s making sure that everything we do is private.”
Lois nodded gratefully. “People he could trust.” She tried not to show how much that stung. “Clark couldn’t tell me, but he recruits my parents? Nice.”
This says a lot about what Clark thinks. He does trust Lois and knows that she would not do anything to hurt him or his family. But he just can't say that right now. He hears Lois but he doesn't always listen to her.
Clark felt the surge of victory. “Not a problem,” he replied to the other man calmly. “I’ll just go back to *my son’s* room now.” He eyed Lois as he started to walk past her, making sure she caught his meaning.
From the fire he saw there, he was sure that she had.
“No you won’t,” another male voice countered.
“Go home, Clark,” Martha advised, also stepping into the hallway and blocking the door with his father. “You haven’t slept in two days.”
“I don’t want to go home,” he ground out. “And if you ban me from the room, I’ll just stay in the waiting room.”
“Go home,” Martha said again. “I need you to go get Jory a new set of clothes for when he’s discharged. Can you do that?”
The words had the desired effect. In one fell swoop, his mother had brought everything back into perspective for him. Clothes for discharge… if he were to ever leave.
“Lois, I want you to drive him there,” Ellen added.
“Mother!”
“Don’t ‘mother’ me,” Ellen said, deftly taking the clipboard that Ian handed her and signing the top sheet. “The fact that you two can’t control your tempers is detrimental to the health of our patients. Until you can rectify that, I don’t want to see you on my floor.”
Clark sighed and exchanged an angry look with Lois. As Ellen had said, they had allowed their tempers to get the best of them and now had to pay the price.
Loved it! I love how everyone ganged up on Lois and Clark.
Now, hurry back with more of this. It's my break from homework. And a wonderful distraction it is!
~Sheila
