Edit: I tweaked part of Ch. 12 because I realized the edits I'd made hadn't been saved. I also posted it in the FDK thread for this part and the edits only can be found
here . Thanks.
WHAM warning! There is a death in here, though not to either part of our favorite couple. I guess I don't see it as a WHAM because I was expecting it, but I imagine some of you will. If you'd like to know more before continuing this segment, please email me.
Anyway... DD3 is going to start potty training tomorrow and so I need to be in very near proximity to her most of tomorrow so... I'm thinking there won't be much time for posting etc. I think she'll be easy and fast to train but... We'll see...
For the picture of Clark and Mayson where it appears that Clark might be looking... you know... he's not. He's simply glancing at her while she's talking, but the camera angle etc. makes it unclear. Just wanted to make sure everyone was clear on that
.
Okay - now you read the WHAM warning right? Personally... I guess I don't see it as a WHAM but a surprise but... anyway...
Chapter 13
*****
August 1986
*****
Six-year-old Lois Lane sat on her bed with her little sister.
Only a year and a half younger than her, Lucy was by far the quieter of the two girls. Just a week past her fifth birthday, she had yet to speak in complete sentences on more than a couple of occasions. And as those occasions were only with her sister, no one else even knew about them.
Lois set the game of Candy Land between them and began moving the pieces. "Which one do you want to be this time, Lu?"
Lucy pointed to the yellow game piece and Lois handed it to her.
The sky outside was darkening rapidly, and in August, that meant it was getting late. Lois wondered where her parents were, but didn't dare try to do anything about it. Who would she call? The police? They would just take Lucy away from her if they knew her parents left them home alone. She could never let that happen to Lucy.
Once her parents were both gone, Lois had left Lucy in front of Mister Rogers and made sure that the front and back doors were locked and the windows downstairs closed and latched as well. She'd retreated to the kitchen for just a minute to collect herself when Lucy yelled something about Sesame Street. Lucy loved Sesame Street.
Once this game of Candy Land was over, she'd have to make sure that Lucy went to bed. Would she go to sleep too? Would she let Lucy sleep in her bed with her? It made Mom mad when she came home to find them together. 'Why did we make Lucy's room into a princess ballroom if all she's going to do is stay in here? We might as well rent her room out to one of your father's girlfriends.'
Lois wasn't entirely certain if her mother would make good on the threat but she wasn't about to take the risk. She would stay in Lucy's room with her until she'd fallen asleep and then sneak back into her own bed.
How long had her parents been gone this time? Lois wasn't very good at telling time just yet, but she knew it had been a long time. After Mister Rogers was Sesame Street and then Polka Dot Door. Then it was lunch time. Lois had made peanut butter sandwiches and given them both water to drink because she didn't dare run the risk of spilling the gallon of milk again. She'd cleaned it up the best she could the day she tried to pour from a full jug but she'd used the towels Grandma Lincoln had given her mom for her wedding and, apparently, they weren't to be touched. Ever.
She hated naptime, but there was no way Lucy would lay down if she didn't. So once the sandwiches were gone, she'd laid down with Lucy for a while. Lucy had fallen asleep on Lois' bed and Lois had gone to work at her desk, creating a book based on that morning's Electric Company episode. She loved to draw and longed to know the words to put with the pictures, but for now the few words she did know and a lot of scribbles would have to make up for it.
When Lucy woke up, they'd had a couple of cookies out of the cookie jar downstairs. One of the things her parents had been yelling about that morning was those cookies. Her dad had brought them home the night before and her mother had said they were from someone who started with a b. Lois wasn't sure what she meant by that, but they were chocolate and so they were meant to be eaten.
Another round of Sesame Street and Mister Rogers followed. Then Lucy wanted to play Candy Land and they had. Peanut butter sandwiches had followed for dinner with more water. They'd watched The Brady Bunch and Lassie and the Wild Kingdom. Lois had tried to insist that it was bedtime but Lucy refused. Lois had acquiesced to another game of Candy Land, then a second and now a third. After this one, she warned, it was bedtime.
An hour later, Lucy was asleep and Lois curled under her blankets on her own bed. Would they come back this time? They'd always been there in the mornings after a day like this, but would this time be different? They'd never stayed gone this long before. Did her mom have to work today? She thought so but she wasn't sure. On days when her mom went to her part-time job as a nurse at the hospital, their next door neighbor's teenager usually watched them for a couple of hours until her dad came home after dinner. That work schedule, however, varied from week to week and, at least once a week her boss called to say she wasn't needed. Those nights she got drunk and was passed out before Dad got home. Without a confirmation phone call, their babysitter would have thought she wasn't needed. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened. Her mom didn't come home on work nights until well after Lois was asleep, but her dad had never been out this late when her mom wasn't home.
Tears finally flowed down Lois' cheeks. What would she do if they weren't there in the morning? A banging sound, along with muttered curses, immediately reassured her that they were no longer home alone. After a moment of struggling, Lois heard the front door open and her mother stumble inside.
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and reviewed the house in her mind. The dishes had been stacked neatly in the sink – only 2 glasses and a knife as they'd eaten their sandwiches just over the table and Lois had meticulously cleaned up the crumbs – the peanut butter was put away, the television was off. The lights were off and Candy Land was back in her closet. Her latest 'book' was hidden safely in the box under her bed. She sighed quietly. No, there shouldn't be anything for her mother to find out of place.
The best thing to do now was be asleep when she came upstairs. If she didn't pass out on the couch first.~~~~~
Lois sat nearly straight up in bed when she awoke. She was safe. She wasn't alone. She could hear a creak of bedsprings as Lucy rolled over on her bed upstairs. A soft snore reassured her that Clark was at her side. Well, on his side. Way over there on the other side of the big bed they'd shared for a year and a half.
Her breathing slowed down to a more normal rate and she could feel her heart rate decreasing as well.
She glanced at the clock. It was almost 4:30. Clark would be getting up before long and she wanted to be back to sleep before that. It wouldn't do for him to know she was having these nightmares.
She curled around her body pillow, pulling the sheets and comforter tightly around her. Her eyes closed and she waited for sleep to come.
*****
Lois let the water flow over her as she stood in the shower. The temperature was more tepid than she would like, but their water heater was impossibly small. If she took a slightly cooler shower, it would last longer. Lucy didn't need to be up for another hour and usually it had recovered enough by then for her to have a decent shower as well.
She'd already been awake when Clark had gently shaken her by the arm and told her it was time to get up. She was surprised he hadn't realized it – or maybe he had but wanted to make sure she was aware of the time – or maybe he just didn't care to listen to her heartbeat anymore. Maybe it had turned into such an annoying hum that he tuned it out automatically these days. Or maybe that blond floozy had run all thoughts of Lois' heartbeat out of his head.
At least he was home every night. Even if she was already in bed when he got there, she never had to wonder where he was during the overnight hours. Her dad had been gone overnight more times than she could count and Lois was glad that she didn't have to live through that again. Thank heaven for small favors. Or something. And he did still kiss her forehead before he left in the mornings. For whatever that was worth.
It had been almost six months since she first suspected he was having an affair. She'd still managed to avoid meeting Mayson and for the rest of the semester, Clark had asked her almost every day if she was coming to lunch, but she'd had an excuse every time. She was almost glad their lunch breaks wouldn't line up this semester - except for ethnic Mondays. She wondered how much he saw her over the summer. Clark was working full-time for the Star as a researcher – Perry had tried, but just hadn't had any openings – and now had a two year contract with them. That would take them through graduation. Lois could only hope that she'd be able to get on as well. Money worries would lighten up a little bit if she did. He still delivered papers twice a day, taking his lunch break late so that it would coincide with the afternoon delivery routes. He went in an hour early every day so he could take a longer break and actually deliver two routes, taking care of one from a friend who was out of town over the summer. At first, the editor had been reluctant to allow it, but Clark quickly proved himself so adept at getting the research that was requested of him that the small concession had been made as long as his work didn't suffer. He still delivered pizzas three or four nights a week too.
If it hadn't been for his strange powers, would he have been able to do all of that? Lois doubted it.
She filled her hands with water and splashed it on her face. She hadn't slept well that night, dreams of her childhood filling her mind. She was surprised Clark hadn't noticed, because she was sure she wasn't a still sleeper when she had those uncomfortable dreams. She often awoke to find the sheets twisted around her and her pillow gone. Or had he noticed and just didn't care? She still awoke in his arms or curled up next to him once a week or so and still didn't have the dreams the nights – or was it mornings – that she did. She still refused to think about those implications, but the part of her that hated the dreams and the memories that went along with them wished those mornings weren't so few and far between. The first six months of their marriage, she'd woken up like that much more often and the dreams had been much less frequent.
The look on Clark's face when she'd catch him watching her those mornings had been – and was still – priceless. Almost enough to make her believe that he really loved her like she dreamed of, like he said he did. Almost. She'd resolved years ago that she wasn't going to ever get married. If she didn't fall in love, didn't get married, then he – whoever he was – could never leave her. She'd replied flippantly to Clark's mention of marriage in their letters, but she truly believed she'd never have married if there had been any other way to keep Lucy out of the system. She had promised herself and Lucy when she was little that they'd never be split up and she had intended to keep that promise. Would this marriage continue to work once they were out of college? Was it actually working now? Would Clark leave next summer when Lucy was eighteen and old enough to be out of the system? Or would he wait until college was finished with?
Once a month or so, and sometimes more often than that, she found herself dreaming about what it would be like to make love with Clark. Those dreams were, on some levels, even more agitating than the ones about her childhood. In those dreams, she could feel his lips on hers, the muscles of his chest and stomach under her hands and her body responding to his touch. His special powers always made things more interesting in those dreams. She always woke to an almost unbearable ache in the middle of her heart. It was odd that it should ache, because there was also huge hole in the exact same spot. Those dreams, which hadn't really started until their non-fight the summer before, most often occurred the mornings she woke up in his arms, but she refused to think about that either.
She screamed in silent frustration, only the slightest of sounds actually escaping her mouth. She hated that she thought of him like that still. The few dreams she'd had the first six months hadn't been so intense and she had almost convinced herself that maybe, just maybe, this could work and she could trust him with not only her body someday, but her heart. She was glad that she became aware of the truth in time to guard her heart, but her body sometimes screamed for attention.
What would he do if he knew that? Would he want to have sex with her if he knew the kinds of dreams she had sometimes? If she ever told him – or if she ever mumbled in her sleep the things that were going through her head – would he take that as tacit approval to have his way with her? In the early days of their marriage, she would have said no, but now she wasn't so sure.
She forced her thoughts away from the topic as she heard the floor above her head creak. Lucy was up early this morning.
"Lo?" came her sister's still sleepy voice.
"What?"
"I have to go to the bathroom."
"Okay."
Lois was glad Clark had put in a shower curtain even though there were already clear glass doors in place. With only one bathroom, it was sometimes hard to coordinate schedules. Lucy and Clark never shared the space for more than brushing teeth, but Lois and Lucy sometimes found it necessary when they were running late or time was otherwise short. Occasionally, in the early days, she and Clark would have been in here at the same time. Usually Clark in the shower and Lois brushing her teeth or putting on make-up or something of that nature. She had wondered from time to time what would happen if that curtain fell down or if she, in a moment of brazen curiosity or desire, had joined him in there. Nothing good in the long run she was sure.
She turned herself from the thoughts that had once again become dangerous.
Lucy's seventeenth birthday was coming up. Would she be able to do anything for her? Clark had mentioned he'd make a cake like he had last year, but Lois wanted to be able to get her something. Between classes and work – she was back at the restaurant part time over the summer – she hadn't had a chance to find anything.
A stray thought came to mind. Lucy had always loved her books. At first, they'd been recreations of whatever show they'd watched that day, but gradually they'd become more of her own work. She also remembered sitting on her bed at night, wondering when or if her parents would come home, telling Lucy stories about fairy princesses and the princes who swept them off their feet and carried them away and never, ever left.
Lucy had mentioned those last year when they were packing up the house. She said she'd loved them and still tried to remember them from time to time. She didn't think Lucy knew that she'd written many of them down and kept them. She'd dig them out of the box in the secret compartment. They weren't strictly secret, of course, but it was storage space and Lucy didn't know about it. She'd either rewrite them or find some way to put them together and give them to Lucy for her birthday.
*****
"Lois, thank you!" A stray tear slipped down Lucy's face. "I loved these stories."
Lois smiled at her. "Well, I think time may have made them into more than they really were. I reread them and they were better in my head than they were on paper."
"Oh, I'm sure they were, but they were pretty good when you told them to me."
"That's just nostalgia for the good old days, Luce."
Lucy's smile disappeared. "They weren't good old days, and you and I both know it."
"No, they weren't, but they could have been so much worse."
"True." Lucy fingered the pages, now held together by ribbon. "What does Clark think about those days?"
"Clark doesn't know," Lois replied quietly.
Lucy's head jerked up. "What?"
"I've never told him what life was like growing up in the Lane household. Just that our parents were liars and cheats and drunks. He doesn't know that we were left home alone when we were too young to think about taking care of ourselves or that, when we got older, we'd sometimes go a couple of days or longer without knowing where our parents were. I told him the night we got married that I didn't want to be a Lane even though that was the name I wanted on my diploma and for my byline. I wanted to be a Kent. Actually, what I really wanted was to be anything but a Lane and being married to him made me want to be a Kent." Her answer was vehement.
"Do you still dream about them?" Lucy asked quietly.
"Yeah." Her voice had softened. "Much more often than I'd like."
"Me, too. Though," Lucy admitted, "less often these days than I used to."
"Why do you think that is?"
Lucy shrugged. "I think it's because I know Jimmy loves me and isn't going anywhere. And that Clark loves both of us and *he* certainly isn't going leave you, and therefore, me. I mean it's not like he loves me the same way Jimmy loves me or that he loves you, but you know what I mean. What about you?"
Lois nodded, trying to think about how to phrase her answer. "When I knew Clark wasn't going to leave, the dreams were less frequent." There. No implication that she was no longer secure in the knowledge that Clark was here for good.
"That's good."
Lois stared into her coffee cup. "Lucy, I love Jimmy – you know I do – but how can you be sure he's not going to leave?"
Lucy shrugged. "I just do. He's promised me over and over. I *have* told him all about this and he knows my fears of abandonment. I told him some of it at the very beginning – before I even brought him home to meet you guys – that I had issues with that and he promised me that if something ever did happen to end things, he wouldn't just leave. We'd talk about it. No 'Dear Lucy' letters or anything like that. But that was on like our third date. Since then... I love him, Lo, and I know he loves me. How is it different than knowing Clark won't leave you?"
Lois sighed. "Clark married me and promised he wouldn't leave me."
"So did Dad," Lucy pointed out.
Lois sighed again. "Dad's vows weren't... traditional. I mean they were in the sense that they didn't sound weird or anything but if you actually read them, they didn't say much of anything. He never promised Mom he'd be faithful, for one thing."
Lucy looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Wow."
They sat for a few more minutes before Lois spoke again. "Lucy, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"I probably haven't been a very good big sister or guardian by not bringing this up sooner, but... you and Jimmy... are you two..." Her voice trailed off.
Lucy shook her head. "No. I mean, we've talked about it and stuff, but a few months ago, Clark talked to both of us – separately and told us both some stuff that his mom had told him in some of the letters she'd left. He told Jimmy to treat me the way he'd want someone to treat his own daughter someday and me not to let myself be treated any less than that. And that we shouldn't do anything that we wouldn't want to tell our future spouses about – if, for whatever reason, we didn't last forever. He said that, while he knew that we might not want to wait until we got married, it wasn't something to be taken lightly and that he thought it might be a good idea to wait at least until we were out of high school because as much as we believed we might end up together, we might not and we wouldn't want to regret it later." She looked at her sister, puzzled. "He didn't tell you?"
Lois shook her head. "No, but we haven't seen much of each other lately, and to be honest, when we do, you're not always our first topic of conversation." That finances and school and work schedules were their only topics of conversation these days was something Lucy didn't need to know.
"Ah. Well, Alice sat down with me and Perry sat down with Jimmy a while ago, too. I don't know if Mom and Dad ever talked to you about that stuff, but they didn't me."
Lois shook her head. "No, they never did. And to be honest, talking to you about it freaks me out a bit, but I did want to bring it up at some point. I’m glad Clark and the Whites already did." She looked at her watch, hoping Lucy would drop the conversation there. "I gotta get to work. Happy birthday, Luce."
"Thanks, Lo. And thanks for the stories. I love them."
*****
"What's this?" Clark picked up the book sitting on the dining room table. "The Amazing Adventures of Fairy Princesses Lois and Lucy."
Lucy laughed. "That's my birthday present from Lois. When we were kids, she would tell me stories about fairy princesses and the princes who swept them off their feet and lived happily ever after. I mentioned something to her last year about them, but I didn't know that she'd written them down. She bound them all up and gave them to me this morning."
"Very cool. I didn't know Lois wrote fairy princess stories."
"It's not something she's talked about often I think."
"Can I read one?"
Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "I think you better ask Lois about that. I mean, she gave them to me, but she wrote them. I don't know if she'd be comfortable with that. I mean, I'm sure she would, but I don't think that it's my place to let you, you know?"
Clark nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. I guess if it was stuff I'd written as a kid, I wouldn't want it passed around without permission either." Come to think of it, he had written a few short stories in high school where the main character was suspiciously like Lois. Lana hadn't liked that one bit though she had no idea who that character was supposed to be. "How old were you guys when she told you these?"
Lucy shrugged. "Oh, she's told me stories pretty much since she could talk, but these were probably..." She thought for a minute. "...when I was 7 or 8 until I was 10 or 11, something like that." After that Lois' stories had changed from fairy princesses and princes to handsome cowboy strangers on white horses. All along, Lucy'd had a pretty good idea what the change had been based on, but it wasn't her place to tell Clark that. Lois would kill her – if she hadn't told Clark herself, and after that morning's revelation about how much Lois *hadn't* told him, she doubted he knew.
*****
February 1987
*****
"Lois, can you come with me?" Clark asked quietly.
Lois looked up from her desk in shock. Clark shouldn't be here. He should have been at home or, glancing at the clock, on his way to the Star.
She pushed back from the desk and followed him to the conference room. "What is it, Clark?"
He sighed. "Aunt Louise."
Her head jerked up and stared at him. "What about her?" came her strangled reply.
"She's gone, Lois." He spoke quietly.
She staggered backwards until she reached the table. "What?"
"She had a massive stroke this morning and died before help got there."
Lois' hands flew to her face. Over the last two years, Aunt Louise had been a good friend. She'd come to visit several times a year and Lois talked to her on the phone once a week, sometimes more. Despite how she'd originally felt about her great aunt, she'd grown to love her more than she had her own parents. While she never told Aunt Louise everything about her and Clark, she told her more than anyone else – and she'd avoided Alice as much as possible so she wouldn't have those conversations with her. Aunt Louise had always listened and given good advice. Lois hadn't always taken it – especially the advice to actually *talk* to Clark about everything and tell him what growing up had been like – but the advice had always been good.
And she'd always sent birthday cards. With cash. The last couple of years, the dollar amount had gone up considerably, and with it the admonition that the money should be used for something besides bills. Whether it was new clothes or dinner out or whatever, it was not for bills.
Tears flowed down her cheeks and she didn't protest when Clark pulled her into his arms. One abstract part of her mind noticed how nice it felt and how much she missed having him hold her. The rest of her mourned the woman who had become the closest member of her family and her last blood relative besides Lucy.
Professor Paul stuck his head in the door. "This is a newsroom. I don't care if you two *are* married..."
Clark glared at him. "We've had a death in the family, Paul," he said quietly.
"Oh." For just a moment, he seemed almost contrite. "Well, I still don't need PDA in my newsroom. Get out of here."
Clark nodded. "In a few minutes. We'll be leaving for Texas in the next couple of days."
Paul nodded. "Fine," he said curtly. "How long will you be gone?"
Clark shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. Not too long."
Paul shut the door. Clark turned his attention back to Lois and didn't notice the narrowed eyes of their faculty advisor.
*****
Clark and Lucy landed near the hotel where they were going to be staying in Texas. Aunt Louise, with her trademark foresight, had made arrangements to be carried out upon her death. The funeral was arranged as were many other things, including hotel accommodations for the young family. They checked in and Clark took an extra room key informing the desk that he would be leaving to pick up his wife and they would be returning shortly, wanting to know if they would need to see her identification or anything else. Assured that everything was taken care of, he carried all three bags to their respective rooms. Finding a way onto the roof of the hotel, and grateful for the clouds that covered virtually the entire eastern half of the country, he took off for Metropolis.
He landed softly on their balcony. Lois had one test that day that she couldn’t get out of – the professor was notorious for not believing 'death in the family' stories – and should be back soon. He flopped onto the couch and waited for her to arrive.
The ringing phone interrupted his thoughts.
He grabbed the receiver. "Hello?"
"Clark? It's Mayson," came the voice on the other end of the line.
"What can I do for you, Mayson?"
He heard something muttered on the other end of the line that he took great care not to listen to too closely. "You weren't in class and we were supposed to have lunch but you weren't there either. I thought I'd make sure everything was okay."
Clark sighed. He'd forgotten about that. "I'm sorry, Mayson. We've had a death in the family and we're leaving for Texas in a few minutes."
"Oh, Clark. I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?"
"No, thank you though."
"Were you close?"
"Sort of. It's Lois' Great Aunt Louise. She was a wonderful lady and, even though I'd only known her for about two years, I'm going to miss her. When Lois and I got married, the only thing I knew about her was that she didn't like kids," he said nostalgically. "But once I met her and actually had a chance to talk to her... I knew that wasn't strictly accurate, but that wasn't until after Lois' parents' funeral and our wedding several days later. She knew Lois and I didn't have two nickels to rub together, so she sent us to the Lexor for a week for an in town honeymoon. She sent us to the Blue Note one night – complete with a new dress for Lois and a tux for me – and to this great little Italian restaurant another night..." He'd almost forgotten he was still speaking to Mayson as he was caught up in the memories of that wonderful week. "She lost her fiancé in World War I and I got the feeling she was sort of living vicariously through us."
"She sounds wonderful, Clark. I'm sure you're going to miss her."
"I am. Very much." He looked up at the sound of a key in the lock. "Hey, Lois is here so we've got to get going. I probably won't be in class next week, but I'll be back the week after that."
"Okay. I’m truly sorry for your loss, Clark. Have a safe trip."
"Thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone as Lois walked down the steps.
"Who was that?" She sat down in the big chair on one side, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.
"Mayson. I wasn't in class or at lunch so she called to make sure everything was okay."
"Ah." Did that woman have to stick her nose into everything? Couldn't she leave them to grieve in peace? But that wasn't what Clark wanted. Would he stay in Texas with them all night or would he sneak back here for a little while to see her?
They sat for a moment each lost in thought.
"How are you doing, Lois? Really."
She moved just enough to shrug her shoulders. "I miss her already. A little over two years ago, if you'd told me I'd miss Aunt Louise more than my own parents, I never would have believed you. I never would have thought I'd miss any of them, but I do miss her. I didn't sleep hardly at all last night."
"I noticed."
Lois took note of that in her head. She'd spent most of the night sitting in this very chair just staring into space. She'd dozed off a time or two but never for very long.
"How'd you do on your test?"
She shrugged again. "Not as well as I would have if it had been yesterday morning. Professor Carlton actually asked me if everything was okay after he ran the multiple choice part through the scantron and it sounded like machine gun fire. He actually seemed sympathetic when I told him I'd had a death in the family – not at all like his reputation."
"I heard his wife's been sick lately – cancer or something. Maybe that's changing his views."
"Maybe, but you and I both know that lots of students take advantage of the 'death of a relative' thing."
"Yeah."
Clark looked at her. She looked so tired sitting there. He wished he could let her sleep for a few hours, but he couldn't. "Lucy's waiting for us."
Lois nodded. "Is Jimmy coming?"
"I'm picking him up tomorrow afternoon and bringing him back tomorrow night, unless you want me to stay with you. Then I'll take him back the next morning."
She smiled slightly. "Don't want to let Jimmy and Lucy stay together?"
"That's part of it. Call it my 'old man' instincts kicking in, but Lucy's only seventeen and still in our care. But he also has an early day the next day."
"Ah. Speaking of early days..."
"Tom's covering my routes for me," he said anticipating her question.
"That's nice of him."
"I covered his all summer. He owes me." He stood. "Are you ready or did you want to change or something to eat before we go?"
She stood as well. "I'm ready. I don't think I could eat and I have a change of clothes in my suitcase. Are we leaving from the balcony or downstairs?"
Clark pointed towards the balcony and Lois headed that way.
She wrapped her arms around herself against the February chill. She knew she wouldn't get cold while Clark was holding her and it was much warmer in Texas so a coat seemed unnecessary. She felt Clark move behind her and then his arms were around her, holding her gently.
"How do you want to fly?"
She shrugged. "Whatever works best for you."
"It's up to you. It's been a while since we've done this. Do you want me to hold you or do you want to stand on my feet and watch the ground or what?"
She shrugged again. "I don't really care."
Clark sighed and simply wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. "Here we go then."
They lifted into the air and were soon well on their way to Texas.
*****
TBC
