~Part 6~
"I swear, if you don't get your filthy paws off me, I'll sue you seven ways from Sunday. Or six ways, or eight -- whatever it is. I'll sue you from Saturday too, if I have to. I'll slap a sexual harassment suit on you before you can even say--"
"Lois…" Clark said, trying to interrupt her tirade.
"That's right, before you can say Lois!" she agreed emphatically, as the prison guard shoved the two reporters into an uncomfortable-looking cell.
"The nerve of some people," Lois continued, still angry. She had griped non-stop since the moment they were arrested. Why should she? She was being treated with no respect, like some criminal.
<You *are* a criminal, Lois. Caught for breaking an entering.> her conscience reminded her snidely. She chose to ignore the little inner voice, and continued ranting at Clark instead.
"I mean, what did that guy think he was doing, manhandling me like that? I am perfectly capable of walking. I've only being doing it for twenty-nine years. I've become quite good at it. A master, in fact!"
"Uh, Lois…" Clark tried again. He backed up a little farther, putting a bit more distance between them.
"What, Clark?" Lois snapped. *He* was the reason they were in such a tight spot in the first place. If he hadn't opened that desk drawer, she wouldn't be pacing frantically in some stink-hole of a cell. It was all Clark's fault.
"Well, I was just going to say that if you hadn't argued and struggled so much, they might have been lenient and let you walk unaided," Clark explained sensibly.
Lois shook her head. "You know it's bad when lenient means letting you walk without a guard hanging on your rear."
"Think about it this way; at lease we're together, Lois. I mean, you're not sharing a cell with a woman named Large Marge who hasn't bathed in a month." Clark walked up to Lois and took her hand in his comfortingly.
"Maybe I'd rather be with Large Marge. *She* didn't get us into this mess, you did," Lois retorted tartly.
"Lois, you can't honestly say that you wouldn't have done the same thing."
"No, of course no-- "
"Lo-is…"
"Okay, I would have, but you should have known there was an alarm in there!"
"How was I supposed to know?" Clark asked seriously.
No matter what situation they were in, Clark was always calm and unafraid. It was so annoying! He didn't seem afraid that they could wind up in jail. No, Lois did that. It was her job. She couldn’t help wondering if he was as afraid of their changing relationship as she was. And if he wasn't, did that mean that it didn't matter as much to him?
"Because you're Super--" His hand covered her mouth, cutting off her last word.
"I told you, Lois," he whispered. "Powers don't solve everything."
"Are you scared, Clark?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue. She didn't really want{ed} to talk to Superman about alarms at the moment, she wanted to talk to Clark. It struck her then that, even when they were arguing, her hand was still tucked safely in his. She smiled.
"Of what?" he asked.
"Spending the rest of your life in jail."
"No," Clark answered honestly. "Because it would mean that I'd be spending the rest of my life with you." Jokingly, he added, "Provided you don't move in with Large Marge."
Lois smiled, and then asked "Aren't you afraid of that, then? Being with me I mean, not Large Marge."
Clark took a step closer to her. "Lois, I'm terrified. I'm afraid of pushing you too hard and making you miserable. On the other hand, I'm scared of losing you. I mean, you're intelligent, attractive, funny, everything a man could dream of, and one day another man will fall for you and I'm afraid that you'll fall for him too."
He took a breath, but before he could openhis mouth to speak again, Lois interrupted. "Clark, you can put that last fear to rest. I'm only in love with one man."
"And who would this lucky man be, so I can beat him over the head with a stick?" Clark questioned.
A smile played around her mouth. "I doubt it would hurt him. You see, he's invulnerable." She took a half-step forward. Any closer and their bodies would be touching.
"Oh yeah?" Clark asked, lowering his head, their mouths mere inches apart.
"Yeah," Lois whispered, tilting up her head to receive his kiss.
His lips descended towards hers, and she could feel his warm breath on her face. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and she felt like begging him to hurry up and kiss her, to end the agony of waiting. His hand left hers, rising to her face. He dipped his head and she could just feel his lips…
"Ahem." Loud throat-clearing interrupted. Lois immediately pulled away from Clark, feeling a scarlet blush rise to her cheeks. They had been so close, but not close enough. Her lips had felt no more than a ghost of a touch when the guard had interrupted them.
<At least it wasn't Jimmy.>
"Mr. Church is not pressing charges. You are free to go," the guard said, opening the cell.
Lois shot the guard a warning look that said, "Touch me, buster, and you will be very sorry," and then followed Clark out of the cell.
Lois and Clark walked quickly down the long hall, passing cell after cell, prisoner after prisoner. All the inmates turned their heads as they passed by, more than one leering at Lois. She shuddered.
"Hey, if it isn't Lois Lane," one of the prisoners drawled. "You're much prettier in person than in your picture in the paper."
Clark placed his hand against the small of Lois' back, urging her with his touch to keep moving forward.
"Found your sister yet?" the inmate queried. Lois stopped dead in her tracks. Nobody knew about Lucy's disappearance except for the police, Clark, Jimmy since he was probably questioned about it, and probably Perry -- since Perry knew everything. How did this man know?
"No? Oh, that's too bad. Wait… No, it's not. She deserves every bit of it, the nasty whore." the man taunted.
Lois lunged at the man's prison cell, but Clark grabbed her arm and dragged her away.
Shouting incoherently at the prisoner, she was hauled away by Clark, until she could no longer see the man's mousy face.
How *dare* he? Lois was furious, angrier than she had been in… well, not very long, because of the whole Clark/Superman thing at New Years. But she was angry, regardless. If that scummy inmate knew Lucy at all, he would have known that she was kind, funny, a little bit weird because she didn't like chocolate, exciting fun to be with, and certainly not a… Lois couldn’t even bring herself to think the word.
"Don't pay any attention to him, Lois. Come on," Clark said softly. He released his grip on her arm and took her hand.
At the front desk, the guard that had reappeared out of nowhere then spoke up. "Do you want us to drive you to your apartment?"
"No thanks," Clark said, "We'll take a taxi."
The man nodded and apologized for "manhandling Ms. Lane" earlier. Reluctantly, Lois accepted his apology and then urged Clark to leave. Together they walked out of the front door to the prison and into the crisp night air. Lois dropped his hand and looked at her watch. It was a little after 4 am. She desperately needed sleep and, glancing sideways at Clark, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn, she knew he did too.
"Clark, can you just…" She made a flying motion with her hand. She had originally disliked the idea of Clark and Superman being the same person. On the other hand, having a man who could fly as a partner could come in handy.
"Not from here, Lois," he responded. "I will as soon as we get past the prison's property. They've got cameras all over the place."
"Oh, right, okay."
They walked in silence for a while, but it was a comfortable silence, unlike the awkwardness she might have expected.
<Especially since you almost kissed.>
<Shut up.>
They had been so close to kissing, and she had wanted it so much. If that guard hadn't had a gun, she would have given him a piece of her mind. Not that it would have done much. At the time, most of her mind had been focused on Clark and how much she wanted to jump his bones.
After They exited the prison's gates, Clark ducked into an alley. Lois wondered briefly what he was up to. He emerged as Superman, wordlessly scooped her up, and took off.
Lois realized that flying with Clark was different that flying with Superman. Oh, she supposed she had always been flying with Clark, but flying with Superman and knowing he was Clark was an entirely new experience. For one thing, he held her closer. Or she held him closer. Lois really couldn't tell the difference any more. Of course, the fact that they held each other closer could be attributed to their changing relationship, but it didn't really matter. Flying with Clark, she felt special, treasured. It reminded her that she was one of a select group that knew his secret.
Lois yawned and rested her head on Clark's shoulder, snuggling closer to him. If he didn't get her home pretty soon, she'd wind up asleep in his arms. That didn't sound like a bad idea at all.
***
He felt her shift in his arms and noticed the half-yawn she let escape from her mouth. The mouth that had almost kissed him twenty minutes ago.
Right after she pointed out that he was invulnerable.
Clark wasn't sure what to make of it. Ever since she had gotten over her anger, Lois had made frequent references to his alter ego, and he didn't think he liked it. Would she still have tried to kiss him in the jail cell if she didn't know his secret? Had she almost kissed Superman or Clark? Was it really Clark she was thinking of dating, or was it just a way to have Superman near her? Had she been disappointed that he was Superman? Plain old Clark actually being the superhero she had lusted after for months? Did the truth disappoint her, lower her opinion of him? Or was it raised far higher than it should have been?
Head spinning, Clark glanced down at the woman he held in his arms. Her eyes were closed and she was snoring softly. He smiled. She looked so peaceful, so innocent. Watching her sleep, Clark's hear swelled with love for her.
He descended to her fire escape and landed, careful not to wake her. Cradling Lois with one arm, Clark opened the door. He carried Lois to the bedroom, gently set her down on the bed, and removed her arms from around his neck.
He kissed her cheek softly. In that moment, Clark knew that Lois loved him for who he was. Yes, he was naïve, but Clark figured naïveté was better than hopelessness. He didn't *really* think that Lois was shallow enough to love him for his powers. But a little corner of his mind reminded him of all the times when she had mooned over Superman, of the day that she had confessed her love for Superman only hours after rejecting Clark.
No matter what she thought of him now, he still had the memory of New Years. She had kissed him that night, passionately and fervently, and she had known full well who she was kissing. Clark smiled. He would always have New Years, regardless of how things turned out for them.
With one last look at Lois sleeping peacefully, he closed the bedroom door and flew out the window.
***
Lois could see her. She shouldn't be able to, but she could. Immediately she called out to her, but Lucy didn't answer her.
Lois peered out from behind the dumpster, trying not to scream as a rat scurried over her feet. She watched as Lucy walked towards her, apparently unharmed. Lois' heart soared; she hadn't imagined she would ever see Lucy again. A grin on her face, Lois stepped out to greet her sister with an enthusiastic hug, but for some reason, she was unable to move.
He stood behind Lucy. Lois saw him as he began to approach and tried to warn her sister. She tried to jump, tried to yell, but neither movement nor sound came to her. Frustration and fear ran through her veins.
"Superman!" she yelled, and finally her voice was heard. Lucy's kidnapper's head snapped around, and he shot a menacing, but not-too-worried, look at Lois.
The man was tall and built, but his facial features were blank. He had no mouth, no hair, and was missing his nose. The only thing visible was a pair of dark eyes. He took another step towards Lucy.
Lucy's eyes were glazed and her body was hunched. She was completely unresponsive to her environment. The dark alley, full of rats, spiders and other frightful things did not seem to register with her. She did not react to the man behind her, slowly pulling out a large knife.
Lois looked to the sky for Superman. He should have appeared by now.
As if in slow motion, the faceless man brought the knife to Lucy's neck. With one clean movement, he ran it across the skin, slitting her throat. Her shrill scream pierced Lois ears and echoed on and on.
***
Lois woke with a start, bathed in her own cold sweat. Lucy's scream still resonated in her head, and her heart pounded like the beat of a hummingbird's wings.
Sitting up in bed, she let the tears fall freely.
***
***~*~*~*~*~*~~*********
Sorry, I know this is a little late. RL has been hectic lately. LOL I'm trying to do two shows at once. Oy! If I ever get another idea like that, somebody slap me. It may be a couple of days before part 7 gets posted as well. Thank you for your patience.
Caroline
