I loved this part! Lois and 'Caleb' have already established a delightful rapport. I love their lighthearted banter.

Not much time to comment, but I did want to say that I liked your take on Clark being a church-going guy. I purposely have not yet read any of the earlier FDK for this part, but I am guessing you may have gotten some flak for this. If so, know that there is some evidence that the comic book version of Clark had at least a slightly religious bent -- He has been seen to pray and to seek out advice from a clergyman.

Even within the show, Clark has indicated that he has a belief in some sort of greater power capable of guiding our lives; specifically, in "The Eyes Have It," he said, "I really do believe that we're put on this earth -- or whatever planet we're put on -- to do better than we think we can, to be kind and helpful and generous and forgiving." This is a far cry from indicating a belief in a specific god or gods, but it does seem to indicate that he is not an atheist or even an agnostic.

You've made his beliefs more specific than the show has, but as far as I can tell, you have not gone against anything either stated or implied in the show.

(In fairness to the other side, though, I do have to point out that in his discussion about why he likes Christmas so much, he never mentioned anything about celebrating Jesus' birth. It could easily be argued that that implies that he is at most a nominal Christian.)

On a lighter note, I like how you used the "Do I need to draw you a diagram" spiel in a *completely* different context and with a diametrically opposed subtext than the show did.

BTW, I am curious about Lois' hard sofa. I have seen in a number of fanfics that Lois' sofa is uncomfortable, but I don't recall that ever being mentioned on the show. Did I miss it? Is this canon or just fanon? Either way, I know that it is very firmly established.

I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get back online before Sunday -- I expect relatives will be keeping me very busy until then. To those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, may it be a happy one for you and yours!

Joy,
Lynn