How I Spent My Christmas Vacation: 7/7
by Nan Smith
Previously:
With her help, he made it first to his knees and then to his feet. Together, they stumbled past the figure of Tempus huddled in a ball on the ground, and Lois guided his wavering steps toward the time machine.
"Can you run this thing?" she asked, urgently.
He nodded shakily and she half-pushed him into one of the seats.
With trembling hands, he typed in the time and location. Lois grabbed the lever that protruded from the floorboard. With care, she pulled it slowly back, and reality dissolved around them.
**********
And now, the conclusion:
The greyness of the time stream solidified into the real world again: an unlit alley behind a brick building that Clark belatedly recognized as the one where his apartment was located. When the hum of the time machine had faded into silence, he slid his feet to the ground. Most of the weakness had departed. He released his grip on the time machine cautiously, but his surroundings remained steady.
"Where are we?" Lois asked.
"Metropolis," he said. "December twenty-third, 1997. I've been gone two days. This is my apartment house. We're home."
"You're sure?"
He nodded. "I'm sure. Can I invite you in? Especially since it's pretty late?"
She hesitated. "I'm not sure I should. I ought to get home."
He gave her a hand from the machine. "There are other people living in your place, Lois. All your stuff is stored in your sister's attic, in Texas. If you like, I can take you to Perry's, but I promise you're safe with me for a little longer."
Her hand tightened around his. "I know that. I just didn't want to inconvenience you. All right, why not?"
"Good." He led the way around to the entrance of his apartment and unlocked the door for her.
At his invitation, Lois went in first and stopped, looking around. "Nice place."
"Thank you." He closed the door and turned up the heater. "Let me get you a blanket until this place warms up." He hurried into the bedroom and returned with the top quilt from his bed. "Here you go."
Lois took it and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Brr! Talk about temperature extremes! One minute we're in the tropics and the next we're stepping into winter. What do you suppose happened to Tempus?"
"I guess he's still back on the island," Clark said. "I don't think he'll be able to build himself another time machine, even if he does manage to escape from it. I'd say he's pretty much stuck unless someone goes back for him."
"Well, if you ask me, I think he should stay right where he is," Lois said. "If he's stranded, he won't be able to cause you any more trouble."
"I hate to say it, but I think you're right," Clark said.
"Your friend Mr. Wells is another story," she said. "What are you going to do about him?"
Clark led her to the sofa. "Why don't you sit down and I'll make some fresh coffee," he said. "As soon as my powers come back, I guess I'll have to go back and get him."
"In that case, I'm going with you," she announced in no uncertain terms. "I owe him something, too. If he hadn't brought you along, I'd have been shark food."
He found himself smiling. His Lois had more courage than any three men that he could name. "Why am I not surprised? All right. As soon as my powers come back, we'll go after him, together."
She nodded. "But I don't think you or I should ever tell *anyone* -- even Mr. Wells -- what happened to Tempus."
"Why not?"
"Because," she said, "the more people who know, the more likely it is that the people in the future will find out and decide to go get him. If anyone does, he has a chance of escaping and coming after us again -- and risking the future. I think this is something we should keep just between the two of us."
He nodded. "I agree. It'll be our secret." He extended a hand and she took it. They exchanged grins and a handshake.
"Deal." Lois held out the metal box that she had brought from the island. "You'd better get rid of this. It's the rock he was holding when I hit him."
He took it. "When my super-strength comes back completely, I'll throw this into space. It was smart of you to grab it."
"Reflex," she said. "I don't like to leave dangerous weapons in the hands of bad guys."
"It was still smart," Clark said. He thrust the box into the drawer of the nearest side table. "It'll be safe there until then."
There was a knock on the door.
Clark turned to look through the curtains. "It's Herb!" He opened the door.
The little man stood on the doorstep. Clark almost pulled him inside and shut the panel behind him. Wells took in the sight of Lois and removed his hat. "Miss Lane. I see that Mr. Kent managed to rescue you after all."
She nodded, looking him over critically. "You must be Mr. Wells."
"Herbert George Wells, at your service, Miss Lane."
She smiled suddenly. "I'm glad Clark and I didn't have to go looking for you after all. Thanks for helping him find me, though. I appreciate it."
"The pleasure is all mine," he said.
"What happened to you?" Clark asked. "Lois and I thought we were going to have to rescue you."
"The Brazzaville police," Wells said, "believed me when I told them that I'd just crept into the warehouse for shelter, and was an innocent observer to the events there. When I returned to my time machine, the tracker told me that you were back in Metropolis. Where is Tempus?"
"Lois overpowered him," Clark said. "We took over the time machine and came back here. We figured we'd wait until morning and then go after you."
"We dropped Tempus in the middle of the Amazon jungle," Lois said. "With a little luck, it will be a while before he can get himself another time machine."
Wells nodded. "I'll inform the police of his time," he said. "Unfortunately, Mr. Tempus is hard to track, but at least they'll be on the alert for him." He took Lois's hand. "You must be careful, Miss Lane. Mr. Kent will tell you more about it, but your survival is absolutely critical to the future."
"Clark already explained," she said.
"Excellent," he said. "Well, in that case, my task is done. I must be going, but before I do, may I wish you and Mr. Kent a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year."
"Thanks," Clark said. "The same to you, Herb. You've done more for us than I can tell you."
"I'm very happy to have been of service." The little man set his bowler hat neatly on his head. "Good night Mr. Kent; Miss Lane." A minute later, he was gone.
Clark closed the door. "I guess in the morning, I'd better go get rid of the time machine," he said. "We don't want anyone else taking it and messing with history."
"They won't," Lois said. She held up a small, metal object. "I took the keys."
Clark chuckled. "I never even thought of that." He glanced at his watch. "I guess I need to reset this." He looked at the clock on the mantle. "It's nearly midnight, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve." He smiled suddenly. "Perry and Alice invited me to Christmas dinner tomorrow, and Alice told me I could bring a date. How would you like to go to Christmas dinner at the Mayor's house, tomorrow?"
She looked down at herself. "If I can get hold of some decent clothes."
"I think I can find you some," he said.
"Clark, I don't want to borrow from you."
"Consider it a Christmas gift," he said. "Or maybe an investment in the future."
She hesitated and then nodded. "I guess that would be fair. I'm probably going to have to borrow some money until I can collect on my back salary, anyway."
He laughed. "That's quite a bit of back salary -- on the other hand, you've been gone for several hundred years, if you count the world tour and our side trip to the Caribbean, so I'd say they were getting a bargain."
"I wish I knew what I was going to tell them," she said, "not to mention my family."
"We'll think of something," he told her. "It can wait another day or two, anyway. Maybe you could call them on Christmas." He took her hand. "Lois, we'll work it out. The important thing is, you're back alive. All the rest is just details."
She snorted. "*Some* details! Still, I guess you're right."
"Of course I am," he said. "Let me find you something to wear to sleep in, and you can have first dibs on the shower. You also get the bed tonight. I'll take the couch."
"Clark, I can't take your bed!"
"Sure you can," he said. "You have a big debut to make tomorrow."
"Well ..."
**********
An hour later, Clark was stretching out on his sofa. The piece of furniture had come from his parents' farmhouse in Kansas, and held a great many fond memories, but for once, he wasn't thinking of the past. His mind was on the future and the limitless possibilities that had opened up before him.
He had seen how the other Lois and her Clark worked together as an unbeatable team. Whether or not that happened to them at once wasn't an issue; it was what they had the potential to be. He had the time now to make it happen, and the time to win Lois for his own. Tempus had said that Utopia was intact, and that meant that somehow things would work out.
He would get a full-sized Christmas tree tomorrow, he thought, and maybe -- just maybe -- he would take the china figurines out of their box in the closet and set them up on the windowsill next to the Christmas shrub.
The real future was finally beginning for him -- for both of them. It was going to be the adventure of a lifetime.
He could hardly wait.
The End
