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Synopsis of Chapters 1 - 9 Missing Lois - TOC ***
Where we left off in Part 3...Clark was next to her again, holding her in his arms. “Really?”
“It’s true that I love him, Clark, but I’m
in love with you.”
Grinning, he took Lara from her, tossed her into the air, kissed his wife and then caught their daughter again.
“You’re insane, Clark Kent.” She shook her head.
Lara giggled, raising her arms as if she wanted Daddy to toss her into the air again.
Clark snuggled up against his wife, bouncing Lara on his knee again. “So, what do you want to do for your birthday this year?”
Lois sighed. “If it’s okay with your folks, can we spend the weekend in Smallville?”
She didn’t think it was possible for his smile to get any larger. “I love you, wife.”
“And I love you, husband.” She ran her fingers over his jaw and gently placed a kiss on his lips. “Only you. My one and only husband.”
***
Part 4Clark had spent all week trying to figure out the perfect birthday gift for his wife. He had to make up for blowing it the previous year. And it had to be better than the other Clark’s gift of his Mom’s wedding ring. Lois had also tried to tell him once what the other Clark had gotten the other Lois for Christmas last year, but he hadn’t wanted to listen. Argh. That man must be the best gift giver ever.
He ground his teeth together. How he hated competing against that man for Lois’s affections. Clark knew that was not what he was doing. He had Lois’s love. She had told him so. Over and over and over, again. Even if it was just one percent of her heart that the other Clark claimed, it was still too much. Damn it! It felt like he was competing for his wife’s love. If he hadn’t messed up so badly last year…
Clark called his Mom for advice, under the guise of telling her they were coming out that weekend. “Mom, what can I get the most perfect woman in the world for her birthday, when I screwed up and forgot her birthday last year?”
“Humility.”
“Very funny, Mom,” he groaned.
“Lois is not perfect, Clark. She’s human. All she wants is your love. Give her that and she’ll be happy.”
Thank you, Mom, for the non-specific extremely vague advice. “She’s mad at me,” he admitted.
“Uh-oh. What did you do, now?” his Mom asked. Why was it always his fault when Lois was mad?
“That’s the thing, Mom. I don’t know.” Clark shook his head. “I don’t know.”
It all started after their conversation about Lois’s birthday from the previous year. He thought that they had forgiven each other and moved on. Apparently not.
When they had gone to bed that night, Lois had kissed him goodnight, turned her back to him and went to sleep. He didn’t think that much of it at first. Maybe she was tired. They had spent all day at the park. Maybe she ate too much, although he didn’t think she finished her plate of pasta. Maybe she was coming down with something.
Lois had acted the same as she always did at work the next day. She wasn’t coughing or sneezing. Actually she hadn’t been sick since returning from the other dimension.
But then Monday night, the same thing – a quick kiss goodnight, then directly to sleep. No cuddling. No snuggling. No…
“Clark, have you talked to Lois? Asked her why she’s mad?”
“Mom, I can’t ask Lois why she’s mad. That will only make her angrier,” he explained.
“Oh, I see, Clark. So, she wants you to guess, then?”
Just like his Mom to cut straight through his arguments. “Okay. I’ll talk to her.”
Perry had approved them to take a four day weekend. Actually, he seemed thrilled whenever they asked to use vacation days. No, not thrilled, in shock. And then he would look at Clark like he was some kind of miracle worker and then approve the time off, even at short notice.
At work on Tuesday, Perry announced that Multiworld Communications (it made Perry cringe to say the name) was holding a blood drive. Participation was actively encouraged. Lois raised a brow at this and glanced at Clark. They both wondered if there was ulterior motivation for the “active encouragement.”
“CK, you still scared of needles?” Jimmy asked, curiously. This had been Clark’s excuse for not donating blood in the past.
“Not scared, Jimmy,” Clark corrected. “I have a problem with them though.” Like they broke when people tried to use them on him.
Jimmy nodded. “Right. A problem.” He nodded again, obviously not believing his co-worker. “Lois, what time do you want?”
“I’m not donating blood,” she told him.
“Why not?” Clark asked, intrigued. Lois was usually one of the first to volunteer for the blood drive. She had told him once that because Superman couldn’t donate blood, she would donate for the two of them. Was she angry at Superman?
“I can’t,” Lois simply stated.
“Let me suck your blood,” Jimmy joked with his best vampire impersonation. “If we can’t have CK’s, we must take yours.”
Clark’s wife glared at their friend with an expression that read ‘discussion closed.’ “No.”
“What’s the matter? You sick, honey?” Perry asked, sitting on the edge of her desk and reaching out to her forehead. “Flying and colds don’t go well together, you know.”
Lois was starting to look annoyed by the time Clark stepped in to defend her position. “Hey, if she doesn’t want to donate blood this year, she doesn’t have to. Does she? It’s not mandatory under the new management, is it?”
“No. No, of course not, Clark.” Perry held up his hands. “Sorry, Lois. Maybe next year,” he said and then turned to Jimmy. “Find your next victim, Dracula.”
Jimmy stared at Lois for a moment then with a shake of his head, started to follow the next person to walk by. “Barry, what time can I suck your blood?”
“Buzz off, Olsen,” retorted Barry.
Lois watched Jimmy depart with a shiver and a shake of her head. “That’s just creepy.”
Clark took Perry’s spot against her desk. “Are you feeling okay?”
She swatted him away with a folder. “Never better.”
“Is it because Multiworld Communications is hosting the blood drive?”
“Partially.” She was avoiding eye contact.
“Lois.” Clark lowered his voice. “Or are you angry at Superman?”
His wife rolled her eyes. “Not everything is about
you, Clark, or him.”
“Lois?”
She stopped moving papers around on her desk and said, “I have an
Ultra good reason. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”
Clark took her elbow. “We need to talk.”
Lois sighed and set down her papers, following him into the conference room. He shut the door.
“Now, tell me. What’s the reason?”
“I told you…”
Clark raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
“Right. Complete honesty.” His wife took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes. “I have Ultra Woman’s blood running through my veins.”
“What?” Clark chuckled. “From two years ago? Lois, you’ve donated blood since then.”
Lois bit her lip. “Not since giving birth to Lara, I haven’t.”
“Oh.” He hugged her. “Do you think it changed your genetic make-up? Of course, it did.” He hit his forehead. “That’s why you have super hearing.” He couldn’t believe he didn’t put two and two together sooner. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Lois.” He hadn’t known becoming pregnant would change her so drastically.
His wife stared at him for a moment and then smiled, releasing a breath. “Don’t be. I’m not. So, my hearing is a little better than it used to be. I’m also a little more resilient. I heal faster, now, too. Not as fast as Lara or while I was pregnant, but...”
Clark smiled with merriment, pulling her in for a kiss. “Invulnerability is the only super ability I could ever want for you… but I’ll take super healing over regular healing any day of the week.” He kissed her again.
“Well, I’m also a little stronger and a little faster and I have the best metabolism of my life.”
“That explains why you never pass up desserts now and yet you still look so delicious.” Clark kissed her again.
“Down boy,” Lois teased. “And why it took me over two months to gain enough weight to come home. For a while there, Clark, I ate chocolate bars six times a day. I didn’t want to see another Double Fudge Crunch bar for over a week after I returned home. Ugh. I still can’t look at them like I used to.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly.
Lois sighed. “I thought it was temporary. I didn’t know how long it would last. I still don’t. I could wake up tomorrow and be just plain old Lois again.”
These sounded like excuses to him, but Clark didn’t care. She was more resilient in just the way he wanted her to be. He picked her up and spun her around. “This is great news, Honey. You don’t know how happy I am to hear this.” He kissed her again.
“Clark. Clark. Clark!” Lois pushed out of his arms. “Stop it. People are going to think I’m pregnant.” She bubbled with laughter, resting her hands on his chest.
“So, you aren’t mad at me?” He grinned sheepishly.
The smile was wiped from her face. “No.” She pushed past him and went back to her desk.
Right. Like she wasn’t mad at him for hiding he was Superman from her, either. Clark followed her. “Lois?”
“OK. I’m a little peeved about something. But it’s probably nothing. I’m reading too much into it, I’m sure. But still I can’t stop thinking about it. And it just grates on my nerves.”
“What?”
“Just something you said the other day when we were discussing my birthday,” Lois replied, a bit tersely. “I’m sure it was an innocent remark, possibly even meant as a compliment. And yet…”
Clark waited, reviewing their whole conversation word for word. What had he said that would annoy her? He hadn’t a clue, except for the part that he accused her of lying to him again. But that wasn’t complimentary.
“You know what, Clark. I am mad.” She pointed at him, poking his chest. “I hate that you just assume things about people without any basis in fact and that makes me furious.”
OK, they were getting someplace, only he had no idea where. When had he ever prejudged someone?
“I hate that you might have been wrong, but also that you might be right. And if you were right, what does that mean about you? Can I even trust
you anymore? And the thought that I cannot trust you, that I have to watch you around other women that enrages me and makes me so mad I could scream. I have never – almost never – doubted your feelings towards me, but all this… changes that.”
“What did I say?” Clark stammered. It must have been bad. How come he was blocking it from his memory?
Lois ran her tongue over her teeth with annoyance. “You said and I’m quoting here, ‘of course *he* wanted to’.”
Clark felt pleased. “That’s it? That’s what made you so mad?” He laughed softly to himself. “You are mad at me because I assumed another man wanted to make love to my wife?” His chuckles turned to outright laughter. “You are mad at me because I love you so much, that I cannot fathom another man not wanting you in that way?”
Lois was not laughing. She put her hands on her hips as she glared at him. “No. Just
that man.”
“Just
that man in particular?” he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
His wife nodded. “Because if
that man would consider cheating on the woman he loves more than any other soul in all dimensions combined, what does that say about
you?” Lois crossed her arms, glaring at him.
“Oh.” Clark swallowed, the laughter gone. He hadn’t thought about it in quite that manner before. The other Clark wouldn’t cheat on the other Lois any more than he would cheat on his wife. “But he kissed you.”
“And you kissed her,” Lois explained, flipping up her hands.
“She kissed me,” Clark clarified with a raised index finger.
“Uh-huh, that so, is it?” She flicked her tongue at him. “No possible way for you to have escaped from her kissing you, was there?” Lois tilted her head and gazed at him skeptically.
Clark swallowed; she had him pinned against the proverbial wall. “I’m sorry, Lois. It will never happen again.”
“Damn straight, it won’t. You are my husband and no two-bit trollop is going to fool you into kissing her again because…”
Clark pressed his lips together to stop himself from smiling. It didn’t work. Did Lois just call her other self… the other Lois, a two bit trollop? “Because there is only one woman in the whole universe for me,” he finished. Pulling Lois to him, he kissed her. Then he whispered, “And she has a scar on her right shoulder.”
Lois simply smiled with a nod. “That’s right.” She sat back down in her seat and swatted his butt with her folders. “And don’t you forget it.”
Clark headed back to his desk. Lois didn’t trust Ultra Woman at all. He sat down in his chair and started going through papers when the reason struck him. If his wife was fated to cheat on him with the other Clark, the only thing stopping the other Lois from being tempted to cheat on her boyfriend with Clark was himself.
***
Wednesday morning when Lois arrived at work, she found a small wrapped gift sitting on her desk with a pink rose lying on top. She hesitated before picking up the rose. Didn’t Junior use to leave her roses? Junior was dead. It wasn’t from him. She picked up the rose, smelled it, before opening the card on the gift.
To: LL, From SM. Lois felt happy and surprised he had signed the card that way. He hadn’t signed a card like that since before she knew. Maybe he was trying to make up for missing her birthday last year by giving her an extra gift. Last night had been nice. Very, very nice. Her smile grew into a grin. Spectacularly, exquisitely nice. She slipped the ribbon off the box and opened it up.
Inside was a beautiful red crystal heart pendant at the end of a long gold chain. Not really her style, true, but still very nice. She lifted it up and slipped it over her neck. The chain was so long that the pendant slipped into her shirt. Perhaps her husband wanted her to wear this heart next to her heart. That was a lovely thought, so she would always have him close to her heart.
Clark wandered in a few minutes later. He had been sneaking out early every day this week. Still trying for that perfect birthday gift. She would tell him the heart was enough. He was enough. She grabbed his elbow as he passed and pulled him in for a kiss. “Thank you, handsome.”
“There’s more where that came from.” Her husband replied with a casual smile. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head. Wrapping his arms around her, Clark pulled her in for an even more intense kiss.
Lois laughed. “I meant…” She held up the rose.
“Where did you get that?” He looked at her, accusation in his eyes.
“On my desk this morning. It’s not from you?”
“No! It’s not from me. Maybe your boyfriend sent it.” Clark sneered and stomped off.
Whoa, that was harsh. She didn’t have a… Oh, crap. The blood drained from her face. The other Clark wouldn’t do that to her. Wouldn’t put her in that position, would he? She felt sick to her stomach.
Pulling the little white box out of the trash, she slipped off the necklace and threw it back into the box, dropping it into her top desk drawer. She would get rid of it later.
***
Jimmy wandered up to Clark’s desk, staring at Lois.
“Hi, Jimmy. Do you need something?” Clark asked. He had seen Jimmy staring at Lois, a lot lately. He hoped the kid wasn’t getting crazy ideas into his head about his wife’s mental stability.
His friend shook his head, quickly, more like shaking a thought from his head, than answering his questions. “CK, do you know who Psyche is?”
That was a strange question, but then again, Clark was known for his knowledge of obscure and / or historical facts. “Psyche was a human back in the Greek pantheon, married unknowingly to Cupid, who had forbade her to look upon him. Her sisters told her he must be a ‘horrible monster’, so Psyche snuck a peek at him by oil lamp, discovering his true identity, and accidentally spilling some hot oil on him awoke him. But since he was a god and she was human, they weren’t technically supposed to be married. Also by discovering his secret identity in this way – by disobeying her husband’s wishes – she lost him. Psyche then went to Aphrodite to beg for her husband back, but Aphrodite – Cupid’s mother – refused to grant her wish until Psyche completed some Herculean tasks and also some pleading on Cupid’s part. At which point Psyche was made immortal and they were allowed to live happily ever after. Their story is commonly thought to be the basis for the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale.”
Jimmy pulled his eyes off Lois and focused on Clark. “Cupid? Of course, Cupid. Who else?” He rolled his eyes. “Just like her,” he mumbled. “Thanks, CK.” He patted Clark on the shoulder and wandered back to his desk.
Clark watched his friend, wondering what that had been all about. He was tempted to go ask him, but then he heard an alarm go off. He loosened his tie and jogged to Lois’s desk. “Cover for me?”
She smiled at him as she reached into her desk drawer to pull out a pair of scissors. “Always.”
Clark kissed his wife’s cheek and jogged out of the room. Then he jogged back, picked her up into his arms and gave her a full on, intense pre-honeymoon kiss with a sly grin, before setting her back down and disappearing from the room. Wow, there was something simply irresistible about Lois today.
Clark could still hear her heart racing as he dove out the window, a satisfied grin on his face.
***
Jimmy watched as CK got a deep expression on his face and then left the office, towards the storeroom. Then he watched him return. Wow, CK that was quite a kiss for your wife, he thought with a shake of his head. CK had done the same thing the day before, too. Well, without the kiss. And twice the day before that. CK had always been known for his disappearing acts.
Jimmy walked up to Lois. “Where’s CK? He was here just a minute ago.”
Lois glanced at him with a smile. “He said a meeting with a source.” Then she leaned over to him. “But, between you and me, I think he snuck out to find me a birthday present.” She smiled and returned to typing up her notes.
OK, that was possible, too. CK had asked his advice on her gift that morning. CK had said he felt guilty for missing her birthday the previous year. Jimmy sighed. They all had. Jimmy had suggested a surprise party, but they all knew how horribly that went on CK’s birthday. Anyway, CK said they were flying out… Flying?
Jimmy gulped. He shook his head.
No. It wasn’t possible. Stop thinking that, he told himself for the four hundredth time. He thought about those baby mock-ups he had done on his computer. There had to be another explanation. Another explanation of why the computer spit out the same image for a baby made up from Superman and Lois Lane pictures as it did for CK and Lois Lane pictures. It didn’t make any sense. Anyway, he reminded himself, Lara was adopted. She was left on their doorstep.
Jimmy glanced at Lois again.
Or was she?“Was there something else, Jimmy?” Lois asked him.
He shook his head. The elevators dinged and he automatically glanced up. “Henderson.”
Lois’s head jerked up. “No!” She gasped and then swallowed. “He’s not here about Lara. He’s not here about Lara.” Jimmy could hear her whispering to herself as the Inspector walked up.
“Hi, Lois. Clark around?” Inspector Henderson tried to look pleasant, but the smile fell right off his face. Uh-oh, Lois was right. He had bad news.
Lois shook her head. “He stepped out for a minute. What’s up?”
“Can we talk in private, Lois?” Henderson asked her.
She nodded and slowly walked into the conference room. Jimmy watched them as they talked behind the glass walls. First, she was in shock, then the anger came and then the tears. Jimmy backed up to Lois’s desk and dialed her home number.
After two rings, Penny answered.
“Hi, Penny.”
“
Jimmy!” She was plainly shocked to hear from him. They hadn’t spoken since she called him that week after she dumped him and asked about Bureau 39. “
Is everything okay?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” he replied softly. “How’s Lara?”
“
Fine. Taking her nap. Why?”
“Just checking. Thanks.” He went to hang up the phone when Penny called out to him. “What?”
“
Why did you call, Jimmy?”
Jimmy watched as Lois called out to CK. He could actually read her lips. She was definitely calling ‘Clark’; not loudly enough for Jimmy to hear out by her desk. Surely not loud enough…
“
Jimmy!” Penny yelled into his ear.
“Lois just got some bad news. I just wanted to make sure you guys were all right,” he replied, having forgotten he was still on the phone.
The young reporter heard a roar of wind and glanced over his shoulder to the big windows over the bullpen, seeing a blur of red and blue. Superman paused long enough to glance inside, then was gone again.
“
Bad news?” Penny gasped. “
About what?”
Ten seconds later, CK jogged into the newsroom from the stairwell and looked at Jimmy. “Lois?”
Jimmy pointed at the conference room. CK nodded his thanks, then turned toward Lois and Henderson with a sharp wince, before entering.
“
Jimmy!” His ex-girlfriend snapped at him again.
“Got to go, Penny. Cupid just got here.”
For a moment, Penny didn’t say anything. “
You know.”
“Thanks for telling me,” Jimmy added sarcastically.
“
I did tell you, Jimmy. You just weren’t listening.”
He still didn’t want to hear how his ex-girlfriend told him so and hung up the phone.
CK was holding Lois, comforting her, while talking to Inspector Henderson. Lois’s husband didn’t look like his normal cool calm self. He appeared to be angry at Henderson, not shouting but barely restrained.
CK was holding Lois, just as he had after Jimmy had caught her kissing Superman. That was what Penny had meant when she said Clark knew Lois would do anything for her partner. Like take the blame for kissing her own husband, the superhero.
Jimmy shook his head. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before.
Perry stepped out of his office and over to him. Jimmy was still leaning against Lois’s desk and staring at the couple behind the glass walls. “Son, don’t you have work to do?”
Jimmy nodded at the conference room. “I’m doing it.”
His boss stood next to him and watched. “What’s Henderson doing here?” Then he answered his own question, before Jimmy could. “Someone came forward about a missing baby.”
Jimmy glanced at him. “You think so, Chief?”
“I know so, son.” His boss sighed and patted Jimmy on the shoulder. “Back to work. Give them their privacy.”
Jimmy nodded, heading back to his desk. As he sat down and looked at his screen saver of the
Daily Planet globe rolling across his screen, he wondered how Lois and CK couldn’t be Lara’s natural parents when his mock-up clearly showed they were. Then he wondered how they could be her parents when Lois certainly hadn’t been pregnant in the past year. With Lois and CK anything was possible. The clone who stole their wedding proved that. Lex Luthor coming back from the dead… And so did CK once, as a matter of fact. Of course, since he was the Man of Steel, he had never died in the first place.
*** End of Part 4 *** Comments
