More general notes:
This is a story that was originally never going to happen. I was happy with the end of “Door Slams” (DS) and, for my part, only slightly interested in what was going to happen next. There were some open issues at the end of that story. To me, the two interesting questions were:
1. What is Lois thinking and how will she feel in the morning?
2. What will it take for Lois to say the “I love you” declaration to Clark?
One of the original endings of DS has her whisper that when Clark left the second time. However, I just didn’t see her getting there that fast so the parting phrase became “he loves…” instead of “I love…” I did think she was very close. She just needed to see that she still felt that way in the morning.
Just those questions alone would not have been enough to move me to take this (admittedly very lightweight) story any further. The reason that I went forward with this story is, in the simplest terms, because there was interest. I hereby admit that I am a sucker for anyone saying they like my work and asking for more.
So, I had those questions as a starting point. I also have it in my mind that Clark will not share the ‘S’ secret until get gets some sort of personal commitment from Lois. (Those 3 big words!) I visualized doing this in three parts but was having a lot of trouble finding enough story to justify a part 2. (With part 3 being a S-revelation.) I was close to bailing on a part 2 when I got to wondering what might happen if there was a chance meeting between Lois and Superman before she had the chance to talk with Clark. From there, well, you can see what happened.
As I was trying to visualize the Lois/Clark scene in the office, I was amused to realize that the scene that appears in the LL episode could have been dropped in verbatim and would have worked.
Lieta: Thank you. We’ll see about the LL plot.
AnKS: You made my morning with your assessment of the angst factor. I know these are very syrupy stories and I am struggling to learn how to bring in something other than sugar.
Cp33: I’m glad you enjoyed it. This is certainly a B-plot series. I actually considered a complete LL rewrite with an A-plot but for this time around I really wanted to keep tightly focused on the L/C relationship. I actually have another treatment of LL in mind. Before I started DS I basically flipped a coin to see which one I would do first. The other treatment is going to have to wait its turn. As for part 3, I certainly expect it to be ready before Christmas. It’s very dependent on life, work, travel, inspiration and all those other trivialities.
Michael: I had the idea that if they met first thing in the morning, Clark would be so excited to see her that he would drop his guard without realizing it. Then, I figured that it would be reasonable for Lois to be hyper-sensitive to her soul mate this morning and react appropriately even though she doesn’t realize why. And of course, I believe there is ample exiting basis for Clark being clueless while its happening.
So, thanks everyone.
Bob
