FDK goes here.

Posting schedule [ET]:

Sunday: Chapters 30 and 31, sometime after 3pm [wish I could be more specific ]

Tuesday: Chapters 32 and 33, either by 9am or 4-5pm depending on how the day goes

Thursday: Chapters 34 and 35, either by 9am or 4-5pm depending on how the day goes.

Thanks.
Carol

so here i am waiting at the airport for my flight to board, and voila! new posts! i've been quietly reading for the last few, not sure if i'm happy where this is going...but it is definitely getting interesting. just wondering when clark will reveal himself and realize lois is just perfect for him (NOT a lana fan). sigh. can't wait for the next part!

I like how you kept the tone pretty light in 29 yet still managed to keep the tension between Lois and Clark there. 28 was a little sad with the moving out/in and wow.... that apartment sounds... awesome...

ok - it's a little past midnight, and I couldn't sleep... and my little man is restless (teething).. so what a nice surprise to find these parts sitting there...

I have to admit, despite the need for these parts, I found most of them to be "filler". There's a lot of detail there that I'm not sure adds to the actual story, but does add to the characters... there is tension and yet, the bonding that occurs through the triviality of moving, shopping, working out how to make 'the dump' home... everyday things that these 2 have been pushed together unnaturally to do, but have to find a way to make it work... the complexity that goes from moving from their 'old lives' into a new life together through these menial tasks is what I get from these parts...

But I can't wait to see what happens when Lana gets back... I'm ready for some claws, and screaming, and lots of tears... and maybe the throwing of some froo froo cushions???

These two were the first parts for a long time that didn't knock my socks off. Not that they didn't contain a lot of useful information. Poor Lois and Clark. What a hole they will be living in. Really, Carol, you gave them such a small bed, so small that it's going to be quite an accomplishment not to have a situation where Tab A goes into Slot B! Ah, but something tells me that Lois and Clark are going to be stubbornly chaste in spite of their lack of wiggling room. (Wouldn't it be fun if Lois started having symptoms not only of a pregnancy, but of a super-pregnancy? But I don't really believe that will happen, either.)

I so rarely feel any sympathy at all for Clark's love for Lana, but here you managed to touch even my heart of stone, Carol:

Poor Clark!

Looking forward to more of this fic!

Ann

That were two sweet and light parts, Carol. And now I'm ready for some h(e)art-hitting action.

Lois is back to her fidelity-obsessing. How are you going to play out *this* time? And will they soon buy the book by Lane and Kent, travel reporters, on how *communicating* helped save their marriage?

Ann is so right. Small bed. not much wiggling room. And a very warm body to help keep Lois warm in all the right places.

I almost expected Lois to find the Lana-pictures, including those obviously formerly in his wallet. That would have been an eye-opener, no?

LOL to the whole shopping trip and the hole in the wall apartment.

Lana: Will he pick her up when she lands or will she get home and find that her suite-mates are gone. I just hope froo froo is fire-resistant.

Michael

.

>No children.

What year is this? IIRC you set this in the
> early twenty-first century,

The 1988 amendments to the US Federal Fair Housing Act make this illegal except in housing for those over 55 where 80% of the residents are indeed over 55.

College housing is covered by this law. So...

Yeah, but if they're going to tear down the building anyway, it's kind of a moot point.

Ohhh memories. Reminds me of my first dumpy place! But it was kind of amusing for me, whereas you can just feel how unenthusiastic Lois is about giving a crummy apartment a face-lift with her fake husband. Not exactly every newlywed's dream...

So I'm looking forward to seeing how they deal with living together. And of course I'm just itching for Lana to get back from Europe!

Lana: You moved out, Clark?
Clark: Well you know, they let married couples have their own place.
Lana: You're WHAT?!
Clark: But can you believe there's no room for the baby?!


JD

So Lois thinks it's okay if Clark still sees Lana as long as he's discrete, huh?

Somehow I doubt Clark will agree with that. Whether or he's married for "real" or not, he's still married. And the fact that Clark realizes he'll have to break up with Lana fits with that. Besides, they have Navance's cousin (and possibly Mindy?) watching them to make a mistake. It just isn't a good idea.

Besides, Clark needs to break it off with Lana so he can start falling in love with Lois!

And speaking of being married, when is he going to tell her about his secret? Real marriage or not, they're still married. Besides, what if he floats in his sleep?

I echo everything everyone else has said. This is a well-told story. You've made Clark's sacrifice come alive with the Lana angle, and you've made Lois' pain and disillusionment shimmer and dance in the moonlight for us.

My only problem is that I have a hard time buying Clark marrying Lois for five years (five years?!?!) because of Navance. There must be something else going on that you haven't told us about, or the US government wouldn't care about some nutty dictator who likes to boost his private illusion of his virility and studliness. Dan and Jill were awfully convincing, and I find it hard to believe that the US couldn't bring diplomatic pressure on Navance to make him back off.

Unless, of course, there is even more to this story than meets the eye. Maybe Dan is really working with Navance on some covert espionage thing. Maybe the guns were really for freedom fighters and Sam's girlfriend is an agent, and the reason she was trying to split up Sam and Lois was to protect Lois from the collateral damage if this whatever-it-is went south all of a sudden. Maybe Navance is really a good guy and this was the best cover story they could come up with on such short notice to get Clark and Lois out of the country alive and away from the real bad guys.

Or, maybe it's exactly what Clark and Lois have seen so far. If so, that's a little thin, but it's not unbelievable. Although I suspect that Jonathan, Martha, and Sam will learn the truth before too long. That bit about keeping the real story from their parents set off some red flags for me. I think there's danger from somewhere just around the corner, and Clark is going to have to reveal his powers to Lois, if to no one else.

I am awaiting the next two chapters. Sunday afternoon or evening, you said?

Ugh. There is nothing more depressing than not having a "home" to come home to, especially in college. And as much work as they've done, I'm doubting this apartment will feel much like home for Lois or Clark. But at least they made as many improvements as possible together. I have a feeling they're going to be heavily relying on the friendship they've established. It's basically Lois and Clark against the world.

I'm a little nervous for Clark about the upcoming conversation with Lana. But maybe she'll say or do something that will make it easier for him. It's interesting to see how Lois and Clark at 18 handle a situation that would be nearly business as usual for Lois and Clark at 28.

By the way, I totally agree with your assessment of Trading Spaces. And it's nice to see the return of Lois's nicknames.

Amber

Hey guys! Thank you!

Sarah - glad I could make your airport wait a bit more enjoyable [I hope anyway ].

Lieta - Yeah - the apartment... rocks...

Lisamaree - Aww - teething stinks. How old is your little guy? Mine is nearly 15mo [this week] and has the corner of one bottom tooth in... That's it... They are kind of filler. We'll see Lana and Joe soon though. Tears? Why would Lana cry? Now she can move on with Joe. Right?

Ann - there has to be a reason why there's no waiting list for married housing after all. Clark loving Lana has been hard for me to write, so I'm glad I'm succeeding somewhere...

Michael - LOL! Communication? So overrated! Fire resistant froo froo?! Love it!

Framework - Hmmm... hadn't thought about that... Can it be a more general restriction in the sense that there can be no more than two people given the square footage or something like that? I'm almost positive when I looked into married housing [in the mid-90s] there was one area that allowed kids and one that didn't... Those apartments were bigger than these, too, but... shrug. Either that or in this universe, it doesn't apply to university housing under a certain square footage . hehe

Jen - it is a moot point and I can always just remove that if needed. They're not tearing down, but renovating [not entirely certain what they can do to renovate without just GUTTING and starting over but... Fortunately, we never lived anywhere to dumpy. Love the convo! Is that how it goes? Ah - RAFO

Sara - I'm not sure Lois thinks it's *okay* but she's not willing to... forbid? [is that the right word?] him from seeing her. Who says Clark is going to fall in love with Lois? /looks around confused wondering why people keep thinking that. The secret will come up before too terribly long [time wise at least]...

Terry - thank you. Clark has alluded that Lois didn't see Navance at his worst [and neither did we, btw]. Whether he tells her what Navance said... He will tell us before too terribly long. Something else I don't think I've mentioned, though, plays a role in his decision to stay with Lois/baby. This Clark has one VERY significant difference in his history compared to most non-Alt U [in the Kents died when he was 10 sense]. It has been alluded to several times, though no one has caught it at all [at least not commented on it], but I don't know that I'd expect you guys to pick up on it yet. Once you find out what it is, you'll be able to see the references, but until then... probably not. And the hints have *very* small so far - there's a couple bigger ones coming up. Navance as a closet good guy? Interesting... I guess - at this point at least - I see/saw it as a Taliban/Bin Ladin/Afghanistan v. Soviet Russia thing. We don't like Navance/Latislan but we like him better than Podansk and whoever it is that's there. Or something.

Amber - Lois and Clark v. the world? Isn't that the way it usually goes? Yeah, I used to watch Trading Spaces... then it got weird [and Ty left ].

That reminds me... I need to ask for help with one nickname - I just can't come up with one and the betas couldn't either so...

Carol [who may end up posting this morning as tomorrow looks crazy]

Nice two parts. Loved their shopping trip. Are you posting today?...please please