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Synopsis of Chapters 1 - 8 Missing Lois - TOC ***
Where we left off in Part 10...“So, he doesn’t think you have a cape fetish, then?” Bruce chuckled.
Her brows came together. What was he talking about? “I didn’t realize you wore a cape, Mr. Wayne.”
Bruce waved off the comment.
Not taking her eyes off him, Penny took hold of Lois’s arm and started to move away from him. “Let’s go, Lois.”
“You’re right, Penny. This conversation has gone on too long.”
Bruce took a few steps to keep up with them and asked Lois point blank, “So, Clark didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Lois wanted to know.
He dodged her question by replying with a vague, “What we talked about when he visited my office, of course. It wasn’t important.”
As she and Penny headed towards the door, Lois heard Bruce comment to himself, “Interesting. Very interesting.”
Lois winced. Clark had found out something about Bruce Wayne and hadn’t told her. What other secrets was he keeping from her?
***
Part 11Pizza, beer and a baseball game. Clark leaned back on the couch and grinned. Heaven. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Jimmy had had a guys night. Definitely before Lara and Lois arrived back from the other dimension. He patted the baby asleep on his shoulder; technically, they did have a girl here. He carried his daughter upstairs and laid her in the crib with a sigh. He couldn’t believe how much pleasure one little being had brought to his life. He jogged back down the stairs for the ninth inning.
“CK, I can’t believe our first game night in months, months man, and we’re friggin’ babysitting.”
Clark grinned. “It could have been worse. We could have been dragged to the seminar on ‘Women in Technical Fields’.”
Jimmy covered his ears. “Num. Num. Num. I cannot hear you,” he said with glee, dropping his hands. “The Gotham Knights are up by two runs.”
“No! I was out of the room for less than two minutes.” Clark shook his head, sitting down. He heard a key in the lock of the outer door. Lois and Penny must be back.
“
Are you going to tell him?” Penny asked Lois.
“
No, I don’t think I will.” Lois sounded annoyed. Great. What now? They were just starting to get back on solid ground.
“
He should know. At least, be warned. That guy knows things. More than I know and I’m here every day.”
Clark’s brows came together. What guy? Knows what things?
“
I’ll suggest that he ask Superman to do another bug sweep, just in case. What did you think about that crack about the cape?” Lois scoffed. “
No, I’ll fill Clark in as soon as I know he’s not keeping any more secrets from me.”
Clark winced. Oh, crap. Which secret had she found out about? Wait a minute. He wasn’t keeping any secrets from his wife.
“
There’s only one other man I know who…” Penny started, but didn’t finish. Who, what?
Lois pushed open the front door. “Hello, boys. Did the Monarchs win?”
“Down by two runs,” said Jimmy, not turning away from the game.
“Did you have fun?” Clark asked, glancing over his shoulder. Lois kissed his cheek.
“It was amazing!” gushed Penny. “So many opportunities. So many fields.”
“That’s great, dear,” Jimmy said, completely focused on the TV.
Penny looked at him with a raised brow and lowered her voice, leaning towards Lois. “I’m surprised he didn’t ask for my phone number.”
“Do you think he has to? He’ll probably know your measurements by morning,” Lois whispered back, heading up the stairs.
“
Do you think he’ll call?” Penny asked as soon as they were upstairs.
“
If he did, I wouldn’t take it,” Lois replied. “
She’s so sweet when she’s asleep.” Ah, they were checking on Lara.
“
I don’t know. I could use his connections to get a scholarship.”
“Oh, man! The Knights just got another run.”
Clark turned to Jimmy. Right, guys night, the game.
“
I wouldn’t use his connections to get a cup of coffee. I don’t care how handsome a man like that is, if he gives you something, he’ll want something in return. You remember that.”
“
Sounds like he already has your measurements,” chuckled Penny.
What?! Clark stood up, his hands in fists.
“
He better not or Clark will bring brass knuckles next time, making sure he broke his jaw. The guy’s just creepy.”
“Wayne.” Clark snarled.
“
I think he’s cute.”
“Huh?” Jimmy said, glancing over at him.
“I said it looks like rain,” Clark said, pretending to cough and tuning out the rest of the women’s conversation.
“Rain. No way, CK. Besides it’s the top of the ninth. They wouldn’t call a game in the ninth inning for a hurricane.”
“You’re right. My mistake.”
What was Bruce Wayne doing at a ‘Women in Technical Fields’ seminar? He walked over to where Lois had set her purse on the little table by the door. He scanned it and found a notebook. He opened her purse and pulled out the notebook.
Wayne Foundation presents Women in Technical Fields. He tucked the notebook back inside her purse and returned to the couch.
Clark couldn’t believe she wasn’t planning on telling him she ran into Bruce Wayne. After all the lies she had told him. He shook his head. But, he realized reluctantly, when she had told him the truth, he had pushed her away, even harder. Clark leaned forward over his knees and rested his head in his hands. He and his wife needed to rebuild their trust and fast. He couldn’t let guys like Wayne start to push them farther apart. Perhaps he would stop by Wayne’s hotel room tonight after lights out and give him another piece of his mind.
***
Lois shut the door with a sigh.
“Everything all right, Lois? You seem far away.”
She glared at him. “I’m still here… in this dimension. Just because I have something on my mind doesn’t mean it’s
him.”
“That’s not…” Clark closed his eyes. They had to find a way out of the vicious circle. He wrapped his arms around her. “A kiss for your thoughts.”
Her anger was so hot, he was glad she didn’t have heat vision. “So, I have to buy your affections now?”
Ouch! Clark stepped back but kept his arms around her. “Of course not.” He needed to change the direction of his inquiry. He cleared his throat. “You and Penny seemed chummy when you came home. Have a good time?”
Lois raised a brow. “Were you eavesdropping?”
He gulped. “I really don’t have control over…”
“Don’t give me that. We both know that’s not true.” She pushed out of his arms and grabbed her purse off the table by the door. “I have an article to write.” She grabbed her laptop off the desk.
What had Wayne told her? Well, if Lois wouldn’t tell him… He spun into his Superman suit. “I should patrol.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “Do that.”
“Fine. I will.” He zipped out the window and floated outside. What was he doing? Running away from the issue. Just as he had when she turned down his first marriage proposal. He looked back at the house with his x-ray vision. She had covered her face with her hands and was crying. She didn’t want to fight any more than he did. He flew back inside and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m sorry,” Clark whispered. “Sometimes, I think we’ve forgotten how to be us. Maybe we need some professional help.”
Lois looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
He pressed his lips together. “We should call Dr. Friskin and see if she takes couples.”
“Dr. Friskin? You mean that psychologist I recommended to you when you were having all that trouble with the Red Kryptonite.”
“That’s the one. She really helped me with my anger over my jealousy of Dan Scardino.”
Lois smiled running her fingers over his ‘S.’ “I don’t know. What would Clark think? Us getting couple’s therapy without him.”
Clark chuckled. He loved it when she teased him like this. “You’re right. Probably best if you two go, instead.”
They stood there a minute, quiet in their embrace. Then he took a step back. “I really should…”
“Clark,” she murmured. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better,” he replied. “But I’ve also been worse.”
“You’ve canceled almost all your public appearances lately. I thought that’s how you recharged your batteries.”
Clark smiled. She noticed that? “I’ve needed to reprioritize a few things since Lara arrived. I’m a father now. I can’t go flitting all over the world cutting red ribbons all the time. I’m needed at home.”
Lois looked at him with such love, another chuck of ice broke off of his frozen heart. She patted his chest. “Just make sure you’re getting enough juice for those batteries. I wouldn’t want you to burn out.”
Clark pulled her into a deep kiss. She pushed him away. “You really shouldn’t kiss me dressed like that. That’s how this whole mess started in the first place.”
He gazed at her with shock, but her smile told him she was only teasing again. “You’re right. The next time I kiss you like that, I should be naked.”
Lois looked at him with such hunger that it shouldn’t have surprised him when she jumped on him, pushing him to the floor.
“Lois. Lois,” Clark said, chuckling between her kisses. “Lois!” She paused and looked down at him. “I was only joking.”
She sat up, but not before he saw the flash of hurt in her eyes. “I knew that.” She stood up and returned to her laptop.
Clark mentally kicked himself. He shouldn’t have said what he said. He had only made things worse. He hated this awkwardness between them. They used to be able to make jokes. He missed that. What would it take for him to get past this feeling of betrayal? “Lois.”
“I’m fine,” she lied. “Don’t you have some rounds to make?”
“Please, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad,” she grumbled.
Right. Not mad. Hurt. Which was worse than mad. “I’m just not ready, Lois. I need more time.”
“More time. Gotcha!” She nodded, pulling her notebook out of her purse.
“I’m not going to feel guilty about needing more time.”
Lois slammed her notebook down on the table. “Of course,
you aren’t. I’m the guilty party here. You’ve made that abundantly clear.”
“I don’t want to fly away with you mad.”
She glared at him. “Then I guess you aren’t going anywhere, are you?” She flipped open her laptop.
He sighed. “We’ll get through this, Lois,” Clark told her then took off through the window. Well, that went badly. Why did he have to open his big mouth?
***
Dr. Friskin opened her office door. “Mr. and Mrs. Kent.”
Lois was still furious at him. How many times did she have to tell him she was sorry? She marched into Dr. Friskin’s office. Clark followed behind her slowly.
“I’m glad you changed your mind, Mr. Kent.”
“Please, call me Clark.”
Lois looked at him. Changed his mind? About what? She sat down in a chair and Clark sat down next to her.
“Where do you think the biggest problem lies? Lois?”
“He doesn’t trust me,” she replied, looking down.
Clark shrugged as if saying that was true. Great. Hit the nail on the head with the first answer.
“Clark?”
“Honesty. I need to know she isn’t keeping anything from me. That she isn’t lying to me anymore.”
The nerve of that man. “
Me? I’m not the only one with secrets in this relationship, Clark.”
Her husband gulped. “There is still so much you haven’t told me… about your trip to visit…” He pretended to cough. “My brother.”
“Did you ever think that maybe I haven’t told you some things because
I need more time?” She raised her eyebrows at him. He wasn’t the only one who needed space. Only she needed it between her and her memories.
Clark closed his eyes. He didn’t believe her. “We can’t move forward until you tell me, Lois.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, clenching her hands together in her lap. How could she tell him that she almost died the day Lara was born? That she needed a pint of Ultra Woman blood just to be alive? That she had gone crazy again and almost shot Lex Luthor and son? That she got so depressed that she became skin and bones and couldn’t return to him, because she had changed so drastically physically? That a small part of her still loved the other Clark when she returned home to him that she had even kissed him the day she returned? How could she ever speak about that newspaper photo and the article about what happened to her and Lara after they died… when Clark hadn’t come home? There were just some things she could never share with him.
“Let’s start with a risk free confession.”
“Excuse me?” Clark asked.
“It’s risk free, because you will not be punished for whatever you tell your spouse. Clark, why don’t you go first?”
Lois looked at him.
Yeah, Clark, you go first. What’s your big secret?Her husband swallowed, looking down. “Lois, I know you’ve been seeing Dr. Friskin for weeks now.”
Lois’s jaw fell open.
No!“I know, because the other day when you said that you had an eye doctor’s appointment, I followed you.”
Lois glared at Dr. Friskin, her blood beginning to boil. “Did you… tell… him….?”
“I did not share any of your confidences, Lois,” Dr. Friskin reassured her.
Lois released a breath. She had told Dr. Friskin about the newspaper article, the funeral notice… of course, she told her it was a dream. Many of the things she told Dr. Friskin had to fall under the guise of dreams or nightmares. Otherwise Dr. Friskin would have her locked away. As it was, Dr. Friskin probably thought she had narcolepsy.
Clark was staring at her. “Oh, so you can’t tell me what happened, but you can tell Dr. Friskin?” Now, he was mad.
“Clark, I don’t judge her for her feelings and actions,” the doctor said calmly. “Can you say the same thing?”
He growled, but did not answer.
“You should be happy that I could talk to someone, get my feelings out in the open. It’s not like you’ve really been there for me lately.” Lois looked at him and then away.
“I am always there for you, Lois, except…” He swallowed, looking at her. She knew his exception.
“I know. I know. Except when you aren’t.” She sighed. “I still feel that you aren’t open to hearing what I have to say because of Kal.”
“You fell in love with him. I can’t get my mind around that.”
“Yes, I did. I fell in love with a man, who looks like you, dresses like you, smells like you, and who shares your DNA. The only thing about him that isn’t you is that he isn’t you.”
Clark flipped up his hands as if to say, well there you have it.
“Except that he is you. He
is you, Clark. If your life was different, if your parents hadn’t survived, and you had bounced around from foster home to foster home, if you didn’t have your self-confidence and your tendency for junk food, wouldn’t you like to know that I still would have fallen in love with you?” She looked at him pleading for him to understand. “Even if I was married to another man who I love with all of my heart.”
Clark stared at her. “Is that how you justify it to yourself?”
Lois gulped, her heart falling to her toes. He still didn’t understand. “Clark, you want me to stop loving him. I understand that. But understand that I can’t… I love you with every fiber of my being. Explain to me how to stop loving just the fraction of you that is him and I will try, but I just can’t stop loving you. I don’t know how.”
Dr. Friskin held up her hands. “Okay. I think we’ve gotten off track here. Lois, it’s your turn to tell Clark something you kept from him, risk-free.”
Lois looked at Dr. Friskin. Hadn’t she just done that? She sighed. “I ran into Bruce Wayne at the lecture the other night.”
“I know,” he replied.
“Really, Clark? Did you follow me again? Did you think I was having another affair? Is that why? Do you think that there is another man out there who I could even look at when I have you?” She snarled.
“Risk-free, Lois,” reminded Dr. Friskin.
“Risk-free? It was my confession!” she snapped.
“That he didn’t trust you enough that he felt the need to follow you was his confession.”
Lois rolled her eyes. Everyone always sided with Clark.
“No, Lois. I did not follow you. I overheard you and Penny the other night and figured out about whom you were speaking.” He leaned closer to her. “What did he say to you?”
“That he knows about us…” she whispered.
Clark seemed perplexed. “Everyone knows about us, Lois.”
Lois resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. “He knows about our marriage problems, that you walked out on me in Memphis, that I kissed…” She swallowed and looked down. “…
Superman.”
“How?” He was stunned.
“He said he liked to keep an eye on his friends.”
“Friends!” Clark scoffed with a shake of his head.
“He was afraid that you blamed me for his little pinball stunt and that the reason you were a little… off… lately... was because of troubles at home.”
Clark shrugged. “He might have a little valid point there.” Then his eyes flashed back to hers. “Do you think he knows?”
“He thinks he does. I refused to confirm his suspicions.”
“Good. What else?”
“He wanted to apologize again for being a jerk. That he only did that because he wanted to prove to you that he wasn’t out to steal your wife away from you.”
“Like he could,” grumbled Clark.
“He says that he wants us to be friends. He likes you, because you’re nice and admirable, despite being insanely jealous. And that he’s essentially one of the good guys.”
Clark rolled his eyes. “That’s still up for debate.”
“Clearly. I don’t trust him.” Lois had this sneaky feeling that Wayne might be the Trask figure from her dream. The one who was out to kill her family, steal her children. In too many ways, he reminded her of Lex Luthor.
“Good. Go with that gut feeling.”
Lois paused, unsure how to broach the last thing Bruce Wayne had said.
Dr. Friskin watched this exchange with curiosity. “What happened with this guy, Lois?”
She looked up, almost having forgotten the psychologist was there. She glanced at Clark. “He hit on me when I went to interview him.”
“He hit on you?” the doctor repeated.
“He was a little touchy-feely and I told him to lay off,” Lois replied. With her elbow and the point of her high heel shoe.
Dr. Friskin turned to Clark. “You knew she would never cheat on you with that guy?”
Clark nodded. “Lois loves me. I have never doubted that for a moment. I trust her.”
Lois’s heart began to sing. He trusted her.
Dr. Frisken raised a brow. “But you agreed with her when she said that you don’t trust her?”
And then the singing stopped. Lois sighed. He doesn’t trust her.
“It’s complicated,” Clark explained.
Lois and Dr. Friskin waited. Lois with her arms crossed.
“All right. I admit I get jealous when some guy pays her too much attention. She’s a beautiful woman, with intelligence and street smarts and a sense of humor. And, yes, there is a little part of me that’s afraid one of these men will take her away from me, because more than one almost did.” Clark sighed, looking down. Lois reached over and took his hand, reassuring him that no one would ever take her away from him again. He looked at her with a smile.
“Lois would never be interested in a man like Wayne,” he continued. “…who treated her like mud. I know this will sound unbelievable, but I know what happened with… my brother… was a fluke, because of extenuating circumstances, and it will never happen again. But it still hurt. What does
he have that I don’t that attracted her to him?” Clark looked down, lowered his voice. “Stole her away. How do I compete with a man who is essentially me for her affections?” He cleared his throat and continued. “She went to him for protection and I feel he betrayed that trust by sleeping with her, by falling in love with her.”
Lois winced, closing her eyes. They had really tried to stay apart, she wanted to tell him. They fought it for months, but after that night, they couldn’t deny their feelings anymore. No matter how hard they tried to do just that.
Clark was still speaking. “I don’t like that she doesn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth about what happened on her trip and that she still keeps things from me even now. I’m unable to trust that she won’t hurt me again.”
“Ah,” said Dr. Friskin, leaning back.
Ah, what? How in the hell was Lois supposed to work past that kind of trust issue? There was no magic pill she could take or button to push.
“Only time will heal that kind of wound,” admitted Dr. Friskin. “And talking.”
Time? Really.
More time? Lois shook her head, letting go of her husband’s hand. “Wait a minute, here, buster. I’m not the only one with secrets. Wayne practically admitted to me that you have something on him. Mind sharing that tidbit with me?”
Clark looked uncomfortable. “Practically admitted, Lois?”
“‘Didn’t Clark tell you?’ he asked me. So, big boy, tell me.” Lois placed a Cheshire Cat grin on her face, feeling like she had him pinned against the wall.
He swallowed and glanced at Dr. Friskin before staring Lois in the eye. “About what?”
Lois pressed her lips together. “Bruce said that it was something you discussed, something in his office which you obviously hadn’t shared with me. But also I think he was lying about that.”
“Something we supposedly discussed which you think he was lying about?” repeated back to her seemingly confused.
“It’s more than that. I heard him talking to himself after we left,” she confessed.
Clark raised an eyebrow in disbelief, before lowering it and getting to the question he seemed to have wanted to ask for a long time. “How?”
Lois glanced at Dr. Friskin and then back to him, swallowing. “I can’t, Clark.”
Then, he looked at the doctor and back to her. “Okay. Later tonight then?”
Lois closed her eyes. “Someday,” she whispered. “When the hurt isn’t so sharp.”
“What happened to you?” Clark asked, sounding both confused and concerned.
She shook her head. “I can’t, Clark. I can’t.”
***
“I can’t, Clark. I just can’t,” Lois repeated.
He couldn’t believe his wife. Standing up, Clark started to pace. “Lois, you got sick, shot, kidnapped, and had an affair with… with my brother. What could possibly be worse than all that?”
“Clark,” said Dr. Friskin.
“What? Did you witness a murder? Did you kill someone? What I’m imagining in my mind can’t be worse than what really happened. So, please, tell me.”
“Clark!”
“What?!” he shouted, turning towards the doctor.
Dr. Friskin raised her hand towards Lois, who appeared to have turned into a statue, staring off into space, not hearing a word he said.
“Clearly, your wife isn’t ready to tell you what happened.”
Clark knelt down beside his wife. “Lois?” He shook her arm. “Lois?” She still didn’t snap out of it. Actually, she seemed to be shivering. Taking off his jacket, he placed it over her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Honey.” He picked her up and placed her on his lap, holding her tight. “I’ll stop pressuring you. I’ll wait until you’re ready to share. Okay, Lois?” He rocked her back and forth. “I’m so sorry, Lois. Come back to me.”
Lois blinked her eyes and smiled at him. “Clark.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
“Ah, Lois. You okay?” he asked, hesitantly.
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” she replied and then glanced around. “How did I get here?” She stood up and moved back to her seat, pulling his jacket tighter. “Did someone shine a bright light in my eyes? Did I get abducted by aliens?”
“Maybe we should keep her overnight for observation,” suggested Dr. Friskin.
“No. Clark, no!” His wife looked at him with genuine fear.
Clark looked the doctor in straight in the eyes. “Dr. Friskin, a couple of years ago, some scientist beamed a light into her eyes, basically freezing her for almost fifteen minutes. Then almost a year later, another guy kidnapped Lois, hypnotized her to make her lose her memory and think she had been abducted by aliens. She’s not crazy.” He turned to Lois. “We were talking and you spaced out, Honey. Where did you go?”
Her wide eyes stared at him and she shook her head. “The future? Another dimension? A memory? I don’t know.”
Another dimension? “Do you remember anything? Anything at all.”
Lois shook her head. “It was cold. Really cold. Then I felt something warm…” She felt her left arm. “There was a baby crying. Then I heard your voice and I was back.” All expression dropped from her face as she stared at him. She reached for his face. “I heard your voice…”
Was she thinking about one of the times when he froze her? He took the hand on his cheek and held it. But there wasn’t a baby crying either of those times, unless… Was there a baby near the alley of the
Daily Planet, when he went to stop the bomb Lex, Jr. set off? He couldn’t remember. Possibly.
Lois put her tear streaked face in her hands. “And you weren’t there. You weren’t there.”
Clark felt a chill down his spine. A baby. “Lara?” he whispered.
She stood up and walked to the window. “Take me home, Clark. Take me home.”
“Lois, it’s the middle…” What was he saying? “Okay, Lois. I’ll take you home.”
Lois glanced over her shoulder at him. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her; she was still shivering.
“Stay, Clark. Don’t leave me again.”
“You left her?” Dr. Friskin asked, her eyebrow raised.
“I went on assignment last summer. I was gone…” He shook his head.
“Ten months,” Lois whispered, still staring out the window.
“Six weeks.”
“Ten months?” Dr. Friskin flipped over the pages of her notepad. “Lois, didn’t you have a dream, where Clark…”
“No! No!” Lois adamantly shook her head, before shooting a glare at the doctor. “No, I didn’t.”
“My mistake.” Dr. Friskin closed her notepad.
He glanced between them. Where he,
what? Was gone ten months? He wasn’t gone ten months. What had Star said? He would have returned almost a year later. What did Lois know about that possible future, the future where Superman never returned? What had Wells told her? Was that what terrified her? Was that what was giving her nightmares of Trask? Not a real boogeyman, but one from another possible future? Clark wished Lois would… could tell him, but he couldn’t push her. Reluctantly, he decided that if she could wait for him, he could wait for her.
*** End of Part 11 *** Comments
