Home: Circle of Fate: 2/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
The details of the dream were fading now, as was the way of dreams, but the sense of menace remained. He put his free arm protectively around her, enclosing her in a circle of security. It was only a dream, he told himself firmly. Nothing more.
**********
And now, Part 2:
Lori slowly awoke and stretched luxuriously. For the first time in a couple of months, her back didn't hurt upon awakening, and the fatigue that had been making her days at work miserable for the same length of time wasn't evident, either. Clark's warm body was curled up next to her and she smiled contentedly. Even asleep, with his hair mussed and a shadow of beard coating his chin and cheeks, she was certain that there wasn't a more attractive man on the planet. She glanced automatically at the wall chronometer and for a moment was puzzled that the face of the device was level with her eyes, then she realized that she and Clark were floating five feet from the surface of their bed. The alarm was due to go off in about four minutes, so there was no point in trying to go back to sleep. She contented herself with observing Clark sleeping, watching the flick of expressions across his face.
A faint frown creased his forehead, and suddenly his eyelids flew open and they dropped nearly two feet before he stopped their fall. Lori gave a faint scream.
"Oops. Sorry," he said. "Are you okay?"
Lori giggled. "Sure. If I hadn't already been awake, though, it would have been a heck of a way to wake up. Did you have a bad dream?"
"Kind of," he said, lowering them to the surface of the bed. He surveyed her anxiously. "How are you this morning?"
"Pretty good," she said. "Your sleep therapy worked fine. My back doesn't even hurt."
"Good. I guess there's nothing like a good night's sleep to make things look better," he said.
Lori's stomach growled and they both laughed.
"I'll make breakfast while you get a shower," Clark said. "How about waffles?"
"Add eggs and bacon to that and you've got a deal," Lori said. "Do we have the ingredients for a chocolate shake?"
"I never run out of chocolate ice cream," Clark said, "even though I can't quite imagine it the first thing in the morning. On the other hand, I'm not a pregnant woman, so I guess I'm not a judge. Go on. I'll have things ready when you get out of the shower."
"Okay." Lori leaned forward and kissed him squarely on the mouth. "I don't know why I was so lucky as to meet you, but I'm not questioning my good luck. Your air mattress really did the trick."
"I only wish I'd thought of it before," Clark said.
"I'll forgive you if I can do the same every night until the baby's born," Lori said with mock-seriousness. "The only thing I can complain about wasn't your fault. I had weird dreams all night long -- or at least it felt like it."
"What do you mean, 'weird dreams'?" Clark asked, sharply.
"Oh, I don't know. I remember being lost, and hunting for you. I could hear you calling me, but I couldn't find you. That's really all," she said. "It didn't make much sense. You know how dreams are. It was probably because I was tired. I've noticed that when I pull an all-nighter and then go to sleep, I usually have very vivid dreams. I'm sure one of Arnie's friends could explain it -- or maybe Ronnie could."
"Probably," Clark said. "Better go get your shower. You want to have the time to sit down and eat."
**********
Even the fact that the day was going to be a scorcher didn't have the power to dampen her mood today, Lori thought, as they entered the newsroom an hour later. It was amazing how fatigue could so thoroughly affect your mood. She sank into her desk chair, kicked her shoulder bag under the desk and ordered her computer to get itself ready to work. There were several messages waiting for her and Lori began to read through them.
"You look like you feel better," Andrea said.
Lori nodded. "Clark got me an air mattress. My back doesn't even hurt this morning. I feel fine."
"You know there's always a burst of energy before you go into labor, don't you?" Andrea said.
"Oh yes, I know. I don't think that's what this is, though," Lori said. "If it is, I won't mind."
"Just don't have the baby in the middle of the newsroom," Andrea said with a grin. "I think it would probably upset Greg."
Lori giggled. "I wouldn't be too happy about it, either. I don't think anyone needs to worry."
**********
Clark shifted uneasily in his chair, trying to shake off the mood that seemed to have claimed him since his uneasy dreams of the night before. Lori obviously wasn't aware of anything unusual. She was smiling as she worked at her computer, putting the finishing touches on the article that she was working on. As he watched, she made a single correction and leaned forward, reading what she had written. He saw her nod in a satisfied manner, and got to his feet to stroll over to her desk.
"How's it going?"
"Fine." She smiled brightly up at him. "Take a look at my article and see if you think it'll do, would you?"
He read over the piece: a sidebar about the history of Councilman Clement who had announced the week before that he was running for the Mayor's position in the approaching elections. "You seem to have covered all the bases. I'm wondering about his connections with the President of Burgess Construction, though. Didn't he vote to approve that redevelopment project for the South Side? We might want to look into it."
"I was thinking about that," Lori said. She glanced ruefully down at her middle. "You're going to have to do most of the legwork for a little while, I'm afraid."
"That's no problem," Clark said. "You do some of your best work on a computer, anyway."
"Carla's lessons didn't hurt," Lori said. She glanced at the intern, who was bent over her own computer, her tongue planted firmly between her teeth as she worked on some research project. "She tells me that Connor is talking about a six-month contract, just to see if they're compatible."
Clark grinned. "They're compatible. How does it feel, being the office matchmaker?"
"Don't be silly," Lori said. "Just because Marcella mistook her for me doesn't make me a matchmaker. I was just a convenient prop."
"Well, we've got an invitation to Barry and Deirdre's wedding two months from now, too," Clark said, showing her the card. "Life contract. I found it on my desk when I got back from meeting that source."
"I didn't have anything to do with that either," Lori said. "But I'm happy for them."
"Maybe not, but I think they decided to follow our example," Clark said. He glanced at the wall chronometer. "It's almost one. Better get that to John. I'm going to go along with you and then come back. All right?"
"Sure. Any special reason?"
He shrugged. "I just like to be with you?"
She batted her eyelashes at him. "How can I object to that? Not every woman gets to take such a handsome guy home with her at lunchtime."
"You make that sound scandalous," Clark said.
"Well, maybe we can follow up on that idea with our 'air mattress', tonight," she said, raising an eyebrow suggestively at him. "I plan on napping part of the afternoon, if I can."
"I'd have to be crazy to turn down an offer like that," he said, but underneath, he was submerging a surge of fear that rose in his chest. This didn't make any sense, he told himself, and Lori was bound to think he was hovering if he allowed her to see it. He didn't understand it, himself. It wasn't as if there was any basis for it. Just to reassure himself, however, he intended to be sure the apartment was secure before he left her there alone.
He waited while she sent the piece to their editor and then shut off her computer. "Ready?" he asked.
She nodded and slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. "Do you suppose we could stop at the Cream Dream on the way?" she asked.
"Actually, I was going to suggest it, myself," he said. "What have you got in mind?"
"A double banana split," Lori said, "And maybe a chocolate shake."
"Your wish is my command, my lady," Clark said, as they headed for the bank of elevators. "How about a sandwich first?"
"Okay," Lori agreed. "I'll sleep much better if I'm not hungry, and maybe after I wake up, I can finish the thank you notes for everyone who came to the baby shower last week. I've been putting it off, but I really shouldn't wait much longer."
**********
Clark glanced at the wall chronometer for the fourth time in an hour. Superman had checked three times on Lori since he had left her at the apartment. She was safe, he told himself, firmly. The door was locked and the inner bolts were in place. He had personally checked every nook and cranny of the apartment. There was no way a mouse could sneak into the place.
It didn't help. The sense of impending danger hovered, and wouldn't let him go. Finally, he stood up, intending to check a fourth time. He got off work in half an hour, and he intended to make a beeline for home as soon as he was free, but a ten second jaunt to the apartment wouldn't hurt, and would make him feel much better.
The door to the editor's office opened as he started toward the elevators, and John's voice said, "Clark, could I see you for a minute?"
In mid-step, he managed to halt his forward progress without tripping, and turned reluctantly toward John's office. John had returned to his desk and was studying his computer screen. He didn't look up as Clark entered the office.
"Close the door," he said, glancing up at last.
Clark obeyed, but didn't sit down. John raised an eyebrow. "Emergency?" he asked. "Don't let me keep you if it is."
"Uh -- not exactly," Clark said. "I was just going to check on Lori."
"Haven't you already checked on her three times since two o'clock?" his boss asked.
"Yeah."
"May I ask why?"
Clark shrugged.
"Come on, Clark, what's going on?"
"I just have this feeling that I should keep an eye on her."
"Why?"
Again Clark shrugged. "I can't explain it, exactly," he said. "Ever since last night, I've had this *feeling*. That's all I can call it: a feeling that something is going to happen to her, and I want to be nearby, just in case."
Oddly enough, John didn't immediately dismiss the very lame explanation out of hand. "What kind of 'feeling'?"
"I don't *know*! That's the problem. I started dreaming about it last night, and it hasn't gone away. It's like someone is watching, just waiting for me to let down my guard. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I can't help it."
"You know," John said, "there's been some speculation that the ones of us with the Kryptonian telepathic talent may have traces of other gifts -- precognition, for instance. You, yourself, have said that when someone you care about is in danger you often know, even if you have no other reason to think there might be something wrong, so maybe it isn't as far-fetched as you think."
Clark glanced at his wrist talker, only half his attention on what John was saying. "I'd like to go check on her, if you don't mind. It will only take a minute."
John nodded. "All right, go ahead."
Clark started to turn toward the door, when the feeling crystallized suddenly in an intense burst of panic.
"Lori!" he screamed.
In an instant, he was out the window, leaving his civilian clothing in shredded rags on the floor of John's office, not even taking the time to dispose neatly of his outer wear. But even as Superman split the air of Metropolis, trailing a sonic boom that literally rocked the city in his wake, he knew that it was too late.
**********
tbc
