Epilogue: The Eyes Have It

By Vixen

1/25/95

Summary: A continuation of the episode "The Eyes Have It" in which Lois makes Clark come clean on those missing days.

***

He stood there with the silliest expression on his face. His mind had gone blank and he had no idea what to say. Mayson Drake had really thrown him for a loop this time. In all the confusion, it never dawned on him that he hadn't dealt with her invitation to spend the weekend with her. She had made an assumption that backfired on both of them. Come on, Clark, you should have figured something like this would happen sooner or later, he said to himself.

"Clark, where WERE you for the last three days?" Lois repeated her question. She was ready to explode--but whether she was angry out of concern or jealousy, he couldn't tell.

"Well, Lois, it's bad enough my parents blew up at me. And Perry's probably not too happy either, so you might as well get your licks in too." He looked appropriately contrite, changing his expression so quickly it appeared as if he'd been struck by lightening.

"Clark, how could you? How could you do that to us...your parents...Superman? You're so damn frustrating sometimes." Lois kicked her desk, wincing at the pain, anger spreading across her face like a thundercloud. She turned and headed for the storeroom. Jimmy just stood there grinning.

"Two women mad at you, C.K. Must be a record, huh?" He started laughing and couldn't stop. Clark just glared.

"Jimmy, if anyone's looking for me...well, just tell 'em I'm trying to put out a fire!" Clark took off after Lois. He found her in the storeroom, pacing back and forth, talking to herself, spouting scientific theories and trivia, cursing Mayson Drake, arguing with an unseen opponent...

"Lois! What is the matter with you?" He was concerned-- concerned that her anger would escalate into something that he couldn't handle.

"Clark, do you KNOW what happened...do you KNOW what kind of danger Superman was in? He's supposed to be your friend--how could you abandon him?" She was furious now.

"Lois, calm down." He grabbed her shoulders forcing her to look at him. "Yes, I found out what happened and I am truly sorry. If it would have been possible, I would have been there."

"Then WHY weren't you?" He could see real fire in the depths of those eyes.

"Well, I can't believe this happened to me, I mean I can't understand how we got our signals crossed, but..."

"Spill it, Kent, and make it good because I'm tired of your ridiculous excuses!" She was angry and disgusted.

"Please, let me finish, okay?" He took a deep breath and jumped in with both feet, mentally crossing his fingers. "I had planned to visit with my folks this weekend, but I was supposed to go to Smallville. They weren't supposed to come here. I left a message on their answering machine, but they must not have gotten it. How do you think I felt when I found out what happened? Wayne Irig told me why they weren't home when I got there. Boy, did I feel stupid. Then, to top it off, I had to fly standby coming back, and it was a real mess trying to get here, and..." He could see her expression soften, but she was still angry. "And, I am really and truly sorry." He was upset--but upset because he had to lie to her again, upset because he knew what she went through, upset because his parents were part of that lie.

"Clark, I don't know whether to forgive you or not. You always disappear at the worst possible moments. Just when I...uh, when your friends need you. You can't imagine what it was like. I felt just as helpless as Superman. I didn't know what to do." She looked miserable.

"But, Lois, everything worked out okay, didn't it? My parents told me you were a trooper. I'm just sorry they had to be involved." But, he was really thankful they were there. He was just disturbed they had to find him in Lois' apartment. But where else would he have gone? Who else could he have turned to? There was no one else he could trust. The enormity of the situation hit him while he tried to sleep on Lois' couch. He had hours to think about his predicament, and he had almost told her the truth about himself. But he knew he couldn't win her love based on pity. And the Mayson problem-- he had to make Lois realize there was nothing going on with the Assistant D.A. Yet, it was getting harder to avoid the inevitable. Someday soon he'd have to tell Lois everything. There was no getting around it.

"Yeah, but...but what about Mayson?" The fire rekindled in her eyes.

"Mayson? What about her?" He cringed. Mayson Drake was the last thing he wanted to talk about with Lois.

"Well, here we thought you were off having a good ol' time with her, and...and...oh, I don't know what to think. Besides, why didn't you tell her you couldn't go? You had every opportunity to tell her you'd be out of town." She looked hurt.

"Lois, I have no idea why she had to come to the office to ask me that." Though he had a pretty good idea Lois had something to do with Mayson's brash behavior. "She could have called me at home."

"Oh, so you WOULD have gone with her, huh?" Her face was flushed with anger.

"Lois, I DIDN'T say that! She really put me on the spot. Besides, with all the commotion in the newsroom, I never heard half of what she said. She assumed something that wasn't there. Perry didn't help, either. Besides, why are you getting upset about Mayson?"

Lois glared at Clark, biting her lip in the process. A spot of blood formed. He quickly searched for a paper towel. Finding one, he gently wiped the blood from her lips.

"Clark, I may not like Mayson, but that was a pretty dirty trick leading her on."

"Wait a minute. I didn't lead her on. I never agreed to go anywhere with her. For heaven's sake, she's not worth getting upset over! But you didn't answer my question--why are you letting her bother you?" Clark had a pretty good idea he knew why. Any other time, and he would have laughed out loud. Lois was obviously jealous, and while he relished the thought, he knew this was not a subject to be treated lightly--not under these circumstances.

"She's as bold as brass...I can't believe she kissed you like that. I.." Lois stopped in mid-sentence. She was practically nose-to-nose with him, waving her hands like some wild, uncontrolled conductor. She quickly backed off, grasping her hands behind her back. "Sorry. It's not really any of my business. You can go out with whomever you like, even if it is Mayson Drake."

"Well, thanks. I'm glad I don't have to ask your permission to go on a date." Wrong thing to say. Lois narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it. Turning on her heel, she opened the door, slamming it behind her as she left the storeroom. Men! She would never understand them.

Clark stood all alone in the room. He started talking to himself. "Women! Wonder if Kryptonian females were any less frustrating? Nyah...they were probably just like Earth women. Just my luck I happen to love this one. Damn, I know Mayson's going to be a real problem. If I don't figure out a way to deal with her, I'm going to be dead meat." And I don't want to lose Lois because of her, he thought. His one-sided conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Uh, hey, C.K. You in there?" It was Jimmy.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Clark was clearly annoyed.

"I'll come back later."

"No, Jimmy, it's okay. I was just leaving. Couldn't find what I wanted." He started to walk past Jimmy, but stopped when he noticed the grin on his face. "What? What's so funny?" Clark clearly wasn't in the mood to be teased.

"Sorry, C.K. I wish I had your girl troubles. Personally, I'd go after Mayson. She's not unpredictable like Lois. And lawyers can make big bucks. Think about it!" He ducked, just in time to avoid being hit by a roll of paper towels thrown in his direction by Clark.

Clark shook his head and walked slowly back to his desk, head down, hands jammed into his pockets. He hated fighting with Lois. He'd much rather take her in his arms and kiss away the hurt and the anger. But he knew he was heading toward a showdown with both women. He dreaded the thought of facing Mayson and trying to break off a relationship that existed only in her mind. Facing Lois would be even harder--he could lose her if he didn't play his cards right. But he knew he couldn't wait forever. He realized he'd have to make the first move if he ever wanted to find out if he really had a chance with the one woman in the world who could make his life complete.

NOT THE END, ONLY THE BEGINNING...

THE END

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