Here goes:
Last time:
Clark
"Listen, I need another cup of coffee," she said. "We'll be in Johnsonville in a few minutes. It's a one horse town, but they do have a restaurant that makes a mean cup of coffee and decent pancakes."
I nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"It's about an hour from there to Bremerton and then we can have all kinds of Fall Fest fun." Her voice dripped with sarcasm again.
"Hey, it could be fun," I told her.
"I'm sure it could."
About an hour and fifteen minutes after we stopped for coffee and breakfast in Johnsonville, we pulled into the Fall Fest in Bremerton.
"Well, Farmboy," she said. "Let's go have some fun."
It sounded like she believed the next few hours would be anything but.
*~*9*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I had no intention of enjoying this. Based on the flyer I'd seen in the Met U newsroom, it was probably going to be suspiciously like the Corn Festival Clark had told me about.
When I'd originally volunteered to cover this, I was going to drive to Daddy's cabin on Friday night, spend the night soaking in the tub and relishing the quiet away from Cruella and Madam Medusa, drive up here for a few hours Saturday and then spend another 36 hours or so relaxing at the cabin again. Unfortunately, Mr. "I'm Senior Editor and Better Than Everyone Else" Paul decided that Clark and I should do this together. I'd told Clark that he didn't need to come and he'd still share the byline, but he insisted that if he was going to get the credit, he was going to come. That way he wouldn't get part of the blame if I screwed it up, he said.
Like I'd screw it up.
We spent the first couple of hours looking at some of the craft booths and we went through the barn to see the prize winning heifers or whatever. As we were walking around, Clark explained to me why one pig was better than another.
"So why aren't there any webs with words like 'Radiant' in them?" I asked.
Clark rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"The literacy rate among common New Troy barn spiders is notoriously low. And spell check just doesn't work very well on webs. If you want to find truly smart, sophisticated spiders who know how to spell *without* using spell check, you have to go to Kansas. You should come see some time." The corners of his mouth were twitching and I glared at him.
Yeah – the Sahara was getting warmer by the minute and the chances of me two stepping at the Smallville Corn Festival were getting slimmer with each breath I took.
We grabbed some hot dogs and sodas as we walked around. I was exceedingly grateful that most of the activities had been moved inside due to the cold weather. The high for the day was something like 35* and that had been at midnight. It was supposed to stay steady for most of the day in the upper-20s and then drop into the low-20s and upper teens as the snow started overnight.
"Ladies and Gentlemen." A voice came over the loudspeakers. "Time to grab your partners as this year's Fall Fest Dance Contest is getting started. If you're not yet registered, you've got ten minutes to sign up at the table. Time to Two-Step and Tush Push your way to the five hundred dollar prize."
Clark looked at me with the big puppy eyes I'd seen him use on Lana a time or two. "Come on. Let's do it."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "And what would Lana say?"
He smiled. "When I bring home $250, she won't care."
"You really think you're good enough to win this thing, Fred?"
"Fred?" he asked.
I sighed. Really. Did he not watch old movies? Ever? Maybe they didn't have VCRs or DVD players in Smallville. "Astaire."
"Well, Ginger. Fred didn't two-step, but if you're good enough, I know I am." Okay, he knew enough to know Fred and Ginger went together.
I resigned myself to dancing with Clark. "Okay. Let's go."
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
Well, I probably wouldn't tell Lana how much fun line dancing with Lois was. Fun, yes. Lots of fun... Probably not.
She was good at this, I noticed as we stomped and twirled our way around the floor. After thirty minutes, it was down to us and three other couples. Ten minutes later, it was us and one other couple. They gave us a five minute break to get a drink before the finals.
We sat at a little table just off the dance floor. "You're good, Ginger."
"You're not bad yourself, Fred."
"Ah," I said. "But I was learning to two step from Nana as soon as I was old enough to walk. I've got quite a head start on you but you're keeping up pretty well."
"I'd say so, Farm Boy." She took a long sip of water. "So what are you going to do with your money when we win?"
I shrugged. "Probably save it for Christmas presents." Actually, I'd stick it in savings for Lana's engagement ring, but Lois didn't need to know that. "You?"
She shrugged. "The same probably."
"Okay. Teams number eight and thirty. Time to dance your tushies off."
I stood up and grabbed her hand. "Let's go."
Ten minutes later, we stood next to the announcer with Team Eight on the other side.
"And the winners of this year's Fall Fest Dance Contest are..." He paused to increase the drama. All hundred people in the building were waiting with bated breath, I was sure. Of course, only ten of them were gathered around the dance floor and I thought all of those were related to Team Eight.
"Lois Lane and Clark Kent!"
I broke into a big grin and Lois squealed and threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist and swung her around. They handed us our trophy and asked us to fill out a couple of forms so they'd know where to send the tax forms come April. A few minutes after that, we each had a check for $250 tucked away.
"What else do we want to look at?" she asked me.
I shrugged. "We haven't looked at the jewelry yet."
"Looking for something for Mary Ann?" she asked.
It took a second but then the Gilligan's Island reference clicked. "Maybe. Or my mom. Or one of my grandmas. Who knows," I said with a wink. "Maybe I'll even find something for you." She'd been more fun to hang out with away from campus than I expected.
She snorted. "Yeah. Right. You'd buy me a piece of jewelry. No matter how innocuous, you'd be in Lana's doghouse until graduation."
She had a point. I probably better stick with something for a relative.
We wandered towards the jewelry and art section of the Fest. My stomach didn't feel quite right which struck me as odd. The last time my stomach had felt off, I was five and I threw up all over my dad. I shook it off. I didn't want to throw up – it hadn't been any fun at all and I was glad I didn’t feel this way often. Surely it was a fluke of some kind and I'd feel better in a few minutes.
Lois had moved on without me and was looking at a piece of artwork with a green stone in the middle of a number of other colors. As soon as I got within about ten feet of her, my whole body began to ache. My head began to spin.
And then everything went black.
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I was staring at something called "Irish Eyes Are Killing". The green stone in the middle was shaped like an eye and had sort of a glowing quality that gave me the creeps. The artist, it turned out, had grown up in Smallville, moving about eight years earlier. This particular green rock she'd found as a teen and had spent a long time trying to decide what to do with it. She wasn't sure what gave her this idea, but she was pretty proud of it. I turned to call to Clark – surely they knew each other if they both came from Smallville – when I heard a thud.
I turned to see my dance partner lying on the ground. "Clark!" I yelled, rushing to his side. "Clark, what's wrong?"
There was no response.
The artist was with me. "Clark Kent?"
I nodded.
"He's my cousin! Clark, wake up!"
Two of the local firefighters happened to be on the scene and rushed over. They decided to move him to the dance floor where they'd have more room to work.
Tears were running down my face as I followed them. I shouldn’t be crying. I didn't care that much. I cared, but not that much.
By the time they laid him on the dance floor, he was starting to groan. A minute later, he opened his eyes. "Lana?" he mumbled.
I sat next to him. "Clark, it's Lois. Can you hear me?"
He nodded. "Lois?" He looked at the artist. "Danielle? Am I seeing things?"
The tears were flowing down her face. "No, Cuz. It's me."
"What happened?"
"I was talking to Lois here and then we heard you collapse."
He pushed himself up to a sitting position, despite the firefighters' protestations.
"I'm fine, really," he told them. "I don't know what happened, but I'm fine."
He spoke with the firefighters – and the paramedics who arrived a minute later – but insisted that nothing was wrong with him.
Finally, he convinced them to let him go and he sat at the table we'd used earlier. He and his cousin chatted for a few minutes when he admitted that his head was throbbing. He turned down some Tylenol, saying it never agreed with him.
"Okay, then. We're going to get in the car and head to the nearest hospital."
He shook his head. "No. Let's just head back to Metropolis. I'll be fine."
Danielle helped me help him to the car and soon we were back on the road. I noticed with some concern that there was already a dusting of snow on the cars in the lot. They'd said flurries were possible this afternoon but the main storm wouldn't hit until late tonight. We had plenty of time to get home before the worst hit.
I kept an eye on Clark. He didn't seem to be getting any worse, but he did appear to be asleep. His color wasn't right, but I figured some rest would fix that.
I had to turn more and more of my attention to the road as the snowflakes came down thicker and harder. I tuned the radio to one of the country stations I'd mentioned to Clark to see if I could find out what the weather was doing.
The storm had come in hours early I finally heard. I thought we could make it to Metropolis before it got too bad so I kept going, but as we neared Johnsonville again conditions deteriorated rapidly.
Then the news came over the radio that I-43 would likely be closed soon. I wanted to cry. Hopefully, we'd make it to Alberton before they closed US-80, too.
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
I couldn't believe it when I opened my eyes and saw Danielle there. She was my Aunt Jenny's oldest daughter and probably ten or twelve years older than me but my head hurt too badly to remember exactly. I hadn't seen her in several years.
My head cleared a bit and I could see the tears still running down her face and Lois'. I must have given them quite a scare but I insisted I was fine. The paramedics who showed up wanted to take me to the hospital, but there was no way that was going to happen.
I finally convinced them that I was going to be fine and they left me alone.
"Are you sure you're okay, Clark?" Danielle looked concerned.
I smiled at her as best I could, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm fine, Elle." I looked at Lois. "Lois, this is my cousin Danielle. Danielle, my roommate, Lois."
Danielle smiled and shook Lois' hand, then turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know Met U had coed rooms."
"They don't," I told her. "There was a mix-up with Lois' paperwork and nowhere else for her to go. Campus is full, so we just didn't tell anyone."
"Not even your folks?" she asked, incredulous.
"No, they know."
"And Lana?"
"She's one of our suitemates. She's not happy about it, but I wouldn't be happy if she had a guy roommate so..." I shrugged, wincing at the pain that shot through my head at that small movement. "What're you doing here?"
"Showing off some of my artwork. Maybe sell some of it. Tom and I live a couple hours from here so..." She shrugged. "Here I am. You?"
"We're coving it for the school paper." I grinned at her – or tried to anyway. "It's a good thing Tom isn't here."
"Why's that?" she asked, still holding my hand.
"Lois and I never would have won the dance contest if you two had been in it." I tried to smile but could tell it wasn't a normal one.
"You two won?" She looked back and forth between us. "Congratulations. I heard the couple that won was really good, but I didn't have a chance to catch any of it."
Lois finally spoke up. "Clark, do you want some Tylenol or something?"
I shook my head. Even though I didn't have any of my special abilities at the moment, I didn't know how medicine would react with my Kryptonian system. "I think I just want to go."
"I'll take you to the closest hospital," Lois said, pulling the keys out of her pocket.
"No!" I said more strongly than I intended. "I mean, if we get back to campus and I still don't feel very good, I'll think about it, okay?"
"That's right – you and your hospital phobia," Danielle said.
"It's not a hospital *phobia*. I don't mind hospitals; I just don't like to be the patient."
Lois sighed. "Fine. Danielle, would you help us to the car?"
I hated it but I had to admit that it was easier to walk with an arm around each of their shoulders.
Finally, I relaxed into the seat and pulled my seatbelt around me, resting my head against the window after Lois shut the door.
I had no idea how long we were on the road when I realized that I was starting to shake a little bit.
"What's wrong?" Apparently, Lois had noticed too.
I shrugged, not bothering to open my eyes. I felt the back of her hand on my forehead.
"Clark! You're burning up!"
Fever and chills. Great combination.
"I don't feel so good," I finally mumbled.
"Really, Hawkeye? Nice to know."
"Who?" I wasn't up to her name games right now.
"Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce. Hawkeye."
"Right. M*A*S*H."
"Yep."
"Just tell me what happened with Joe the other day. I saw you hugging him."
She sighed. "He apologized. We're supposed to be going to the bonfire tonight, but I don't know that we're going to make it in time. I think we're going to be lucky to make it at all."
"What?"
"The snow."
"Huh?"
"Look out the window."
I opened my eyes slightly to see that we were in near white out conditions. "Can you even see the road?"
"Well enough," she said, but I heard her add 'for now' under her breath.
Great. I closed my eyes again; unable to keep them open any longer.
*****
TBC
