...and that would be the other shoe dropping...

oh my G-d - the other shoe?! that was a bombshell!!

ACK!

I should've guessed that was going too well...this Clark seems to be lacking the massive guilt complex that is often present in Clark. So given the several openings he could've used to tell Lois his secret, he passed. (At least, I read them as openings.)

Now I'm not only nervous for Lois's safety, I'm also nervous for her emotional well-being (as well as Clark's)! I'm considering preparing for my "hoping for a happy last part" dance...

Amber

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

Ack! Clark, if I could only whip some sense into your thick, darling skull. How could you ask Lois to trust you so completely - how could you make yourself appear so totally trustworthy to her - only to put yourself in a position where you had to transform yourself, before her eyes, into what to her would be a completely different person? And thus, into a double-crossing liar? A double-crossing liar who deserted her? How could you?

Ah, well. Rac, you explained so well why he could and would. You painted such a delicate portrait of Clark's incredible love for Lois. Given the circumstances, it is not hard to see why he couldn't resist becoming her lover. Moreover, we know that his lying about his powers and Kryptonian heritage has become second nature to him and so natural that he can't see a way around it. His conscience demands of him that he doesn't lie outright, so his lies aren't literal lies, only "lies of avoidance" or "de facto lies". And because Clark's lies aren't literal, he doesn't see himself as a liar, and therefore he is comfortable about projecting the image of himself to Lois as someone who is totally trustworthy. Lois senses the sincerity in the honest-guy image he projects and believes him. But when they had become lovers the truth about himself was revealed to her so mercilessly. And when a wonderfully trustworthy man has been exposed as a liar about himself, a person who was even lying to himself about his own sincerity, where does the rest of his trustworthiness go?

And yet Clark is so sincere. Which is, of course, why he never worried about having to tell Lois about himself. To him he was telling Lois about himself when he was showing her Clark. Superman is not himself, not in his own eyes, and it honestly didn't occur to him, not right then anyway, that the hero in blue spandex could come between himself and Lois.

Well, the whole thing was beautifully written as always. I loved how you showed us that Lois's desire for Clark that night had been a desire for reaffirming her own life - oh, but she was really lying to herself if she pretended that she didn't honestly want Clark, too! And I loved how you showed us how scared Lois was of Clark's rejection, so that her heart constricted with fear when Clark gave her a yellow rose. She was so scared of his rejection even though she was so ambivalent about wanting his love. Oh, but it was really the other way around, of course - she was so ambivalent about wanting his love because his love increased the risk of him ultimately rejecting her.

Ann

P.S. That was the other shoe dropping, you said? Let's hope the fourth part doesn't bring the dropping of the third shoe!

[img]http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/495355852_e06a17195a.jpg?v=0[/img]

Wow again.

Clark's in real trouble.

Given Lois' past - which Clark knows enough about to know how fragile she would be in a relationship like this one - he should have anticipated this would happen, even if Superman is now Lois' dedicated bodyguard. I can accept Clark not telling her the secret when they were just friends, but not here, not now. There is no way he should have kept on without revealing himself to her (despite the fact that she's already seen him fully revealed, at least in one sense).

The latest possible point to tell her would have been the morning after their first night together, but even that's putting the cart before the horse. I'm on Clark's side in most situations when it comes to "the big secret," but this time he's really stepped over the line. Nearly anything Lois says or does now will be something he's earned. Even if he swoops down and saves her life once again and catches the murderer red-handed, it may not tip the scales back the way they were.

Even so, I'm eager to see how this turns out.

What!!!!!!!! What bombshell try atomic bomb or any other bomb. I love this story more.

WOW! could there be a worse time for the revelation?

Kent, you have some explaining to do.

OMG, Clark is in big trouble. Not 3 seconds to warn her first and say "Lois, I love you but there is a train wreck (sinking boat/freefall airplane/etc)and I have to go save people. Don't kill me until I get back."
Eager for the last part

Artemis

Thanks for reading and commenting, everyone!

Bombshell, indeed, Sarah. I think Clark could probably come up with at least a million ways he would have rather told Lois.

Thanks for your comments, Amber. I agree that Clark doesn't seem too guilt ridden by his secret here. But I throw out as exhibits A and B the fact that (A) Clark probably could have stopped Lois from almost marrying Luthor by telling her the truth and telling her what he suspected about Luthor based on his interactions with the man as Superman; (B) Clark proposed to Lois without first telling her the truth. I would say that he should have probably told her about Superman before asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. On the show, he definitely kept his secret from Lois in situations I found to be rather unethical.

Ann, I'm glad that you found the behavior of the characters to be believable. I agree Clark's behavior wasn't well advised, but I'm hoping it was in character. As to whether there are other shoes...I never specified what sort of creature was wearing said shoes...it might be a millipede.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Terry. I point again to exhibits A and B above. Clark's actions are ill advised, in my opinion, but I hope they're understandable, given the emotion strain these two were under and his instinctive need to protect his secret.

Lovesuper97, thanks for your kind comments. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. I'll post the conclusion soon!

Joy, I actually thought about this, and decided in flagrante was pretty much the worst timing for a revelation that I could come up with that would still fit in this story.

I agree, SJH. More is coming soon!

Michael, I choose to take the expression "worst.revelation.ever" as a compliment.

Artemis, I think you'll see in the next part what it was that dragged Clark away without so much as a reasonable explanation. Thanks for reading!

Thanks again, everyone!

Regards,

Rac

Rac wrote:

Oh, I agree absolutely! From a dramatic standpoint, Clark is behaving consistently and rationally, and they're certainly understandable. I assure you that I was NOT criticizing your story, only this Clark's actions. And his actions are certainly in character for Clark, especially one who is so wrought up over protecting Lois.

Hope this means the final post is on its way!

Thanks for the clarification, Terry. I was concerned as I was writing this about whether Clark would have let things go this far without telling her the truth. I kept coming back to the first and second seasons, and to specific moments when telling her would have been the rational and reasonable thing to do. And yet, Clark never did.

In Churchill's terms, I've "killed the monster" and am preparing to "fling him to the public." In other words, the last part is on the way.

Regards,

Rac

That's what the " " guys where for

Michael