When Lovers Become More

by Kathy Brown <kathyb@lcfanfic.com>

Rated PG-13

Completed: July 2002

Submitted: August 2002

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Author's Notes:

This story is a rewrite of the second season episode, "The  Phoenix", and takes place in the universe introduced in  "When Friends Become Lovers". A certain amount of dialogue  and plotting have been borrowed from the episode, which was  written by Tony Blake and Paul Jackson. No infringement of  their copyright is intended.

One minor change worth noting is that, in this story, the  episode "Top Copy" occurs before "The Phoenix" instead of  directly after it. It's a very brief reference, but I saw a  parallel too good to pass up. :)

All standard disclaimers apply; the characters that appear  on "Lois & Clark" do not belong to me, but the ideas in  this story do. No infringement of anyone's copyright is  intended. The story itself, however, is copyright (c) 2002  to the author.

I'd like to extend my most special thanks to my beta- readers, Wendy Richards and Annie M, for their patience and  support over the many months it took to finish this story,  as well as to Bach-us and Sheila Harper, who helped me  brainstorm characterization points late into the night  several times on IRC. You guys are all wonderful, and I  couldn't have done it without you. :)

And to my readers, thank you for spending time with my  story. I hope you enjoy it, and, as always, all comments  are welcome and appreciated.

Kathy

Part 1

Clark Kent sighed contentedly as he kissed his way along  his lover's body. It was wonderful, being with Lois like  this ... skin against skin, mouths tasting each other,  hands stroking and caressing. It was the most incredible  feeling in the world. He gave a quiet moan and lifted his  head to watch Lois's face. Her eyes had fluttered closed as  she lay back against his pillow, the gentlest hint of a  smile playing on her lips. She, too, looked content.

He moved above her slowly, brushing his skin against hers,  enjoying the sensation of being so intimate with her. Some  nights their lovemaking was urgent and passionate, but  tonight there was no rush ... it was a night for making  slow and sensuous love.

Clark lowered his mouth to Lois's shoulder and let his lips  wander a damp path to her neck. He took her ear lobe gently  into his mouth and she murmured encouragingly in his ear.  As the minutes ticked by, he could hear her breath begin to  speed up and he smiled to himself as he felt his heartbeat  begin to do the same. They had already made love once this  evening, and the memory of the sounds she made were still  fresh in his mind. But they never seemed to be able to get  enough of each other, and tonight was no exception. He gave  another pleased groan as he felt her hands on his skin.

Lois opened her eyes and smiled at the sound, then  seductively rolled them over on the bed. As she began to  feather kisses across his chest, Clark dropped his head  back to the pillow. "Oh, yeah," he moaned quietly. "Oh,  that's good."

"You like that, don't you?" she murmured in a throaty  voice.

Without waiting for a response, Lois kissed her way back up  to Clark's neck, her tongue tracing light circles across  his chin before finding his mouth. As their lips met, they  moved together slowly, their bodies intimately familiar  with each other, and it wasn't long before words were no  longer needed to communicate.

As their passion crested, Lois's moans and sighs washed  over Clark, teasing out a deep shudder. Lois was so  wonderful ... so beautiful and smart and caring and  passionate ... and she loved him. She loved *him*. The  realization of that, even after three months, never ceased  to amaze and humble him. His heart welled up with so much  emotion that he thought it might burst, and he wrapped his  arms tightly around her until their heartbeats slowly began  to return to normal.

"Lois," he whispered emotionally. "I love you ... I love  you."

Lois, in turn, wrapped her arms around him and buried her  face in his neck. "Oh, Clark," she gasped. "I love you,  too."

They lay that way for several moments, each recovering  slowly from the pleasure they'd just experienced, simply  basking in their closeness. Eventually, though, Clark  gently rolled them to their sides, facing her on the  pillow.

As he caught her eye, Clark smiled. "Hi."

Lois grinned back. "Hi."

"I really do love you, you know."

She pecked a quick kiss on his lips, then giggled as he  wrapped his hand around the back of her head and drew her  back to him so he could return the favor. "I know you do,"  she responded against his lips. "And you make me very  happy."

Clark's eyes twinkled as he released her. "You did seem  happy."

Lois closed her eyes for a moment and purred, obviously  contented. "Oh, yes ... very, very happy." When she opened  her eyes again, however, Clark was staring at her with a  new seriousness, a new intensity. She reached up and  touched his cheek. "You OK?"  Clark's eyes closed briefly at the contact, his expression  softening. But when he opened them again, the look of  longing was still there. He looked deeply into her eyes.  "Marry me, Lois," he whispered. "I want this to be  forever."

Lois sighed as she let her hand cup his cheek tenderly.  "Oh, Clark ... honey, we've talked about this."

Clark grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. "I  know we have ... but I can't help it. I love you so much  ... and I can't imagine being without you."

Lois smiled softly. "You won't ever be without me. This  *is* forever."

"Then marry me," he pleaded. "Show me it's forever."

The smile started to fade from Lois's eyes, replaced with  something sadder. "Don't do this, Clark ... we've had such  a wonderful night ... let's not spoil it."

Clark withdrew, pulling away from her hand on his cheek. He  rolled over to his back, staring up at the ceiling, hurt  and angry. "So marrying me would spoil everything."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Lois sighed,  exasperated, and sat up in bed. "Why do we have to keep  doing this? Clark, we've only been together for three  months."

"And I've already reminded you we were best friends for  over a year before that," he retorted.

"And I've already reminded *you* that my best friend  wouldn't pressure me like this," she said warningly.

"Oh, yes, the *pressure*," Clark said sarcastically.  "Heaven forbid I pressure you to do something you don't  want to do. What in the world was I thinking? Why would I  even want to get married, when I can just screw around?!  Obviously it's enough for you ... but then again, you  agreed to marry someone you *wouldn't* sleep with so why am  I so surprised?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Clark regretted  them. It was a terribly cheap shot, and they both knew it.  But his bruised ego had committed him to the fight, so he  sat up and turned towards Lois to take his medicine. She  was surely gearing up to verbally tear him to shreds.

His surprise that she hadn't immediately started screaming  at him turned to dismay, however, as he caught sight of the  shocked and devastated look on her face. She had balled up  her fists, and for a moment, Clark was sure she was going  to hit him ... but then her eyes welled up with angry  tears.

"Go to hell, Clark Kent," she whispered through clenched  teeth. "You bastard, you can just go to hell."

Then, with a choking sob, she ran into the bathroom,  slamming the door behind her. A moment later, the water in  the shower turned on full blast.

Clark rubbed his hands over his face, stunned and guilt- stricken. "Oh, you *idiot*," he whispered to himself. "You  stupid, stupid idiot."

With a heavy sigh, he got out of bed and approached his  bathroom door. "Lois?" When there was no answer, he raised  his hand to knock, but then thought better of it. She  obviously didn't want to talk to him, and who could blame  her after what he'd said? Still, he had been wrong,  terribly wrong, and she needed to know ...

Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and opened the  door. The shower was still running and the bathroom was  quickly filling up with steam. Through the glass shower  doors, Clark could see his lover inside. She was facing  away from him, but it was clear she was crying hard.

"Lois, honey ... I'm *so* sorry ..."

"Get out, Clark," she demanded in a tearful gasp. "Just get  out."

Clark paused, uncertain. He had no right to expect her to  forgive him. What he'd said was awful, and what was worse,  he'd known it was awful when he'd said it. It didn't happen  often, but when his temper got the best of him, he tended  to lash out with a sarcastic comment. Usually Lois simply  gave it back to him, plus some, but this time he had gone  much, much too far. The guilt and fear welled up inside  him. What if she never...?

Tears pricking at his eyes, he opened the shower door.  "Lois, please ... listen to me ... what I said, it was  awful and mean and cruel ... and I am *so* sorry. I was  hurt and angry and I lashed out, but that's no excuse and I  know that ... honey, please believe me," he pleaded.

When Lois just started to cry harder, Clark acted on  instinct and stepped into the shower with her. He wrapped  his arms around her from behind, wishing desperately that  he could comfort her. "Oh, honey," he said, now in tears  himself. "Please forgive me. I was such a jerk. I should  have let it drop when you told me to. I didn't mean to pick  a fight."

"We always fight," she wailed, sobs wracking her body.

Clark held her more tightly. "No, we don't," he soothed.  "We almost never fight ... just about this one thing, and  it's all my fault. I have no right to pressure you, and I  promise I won't do it again." Clark gently turned her  around so she was facing him, and was relieved when she  buried her head in his chest. She was still crying, but at  least she was clinging to him instead of pushing him away.  "Oh, Lois," he whispered emotionally. "I love you so much."

When she didn't respond, Clark shut off the faucet and  steered them out of the shower. Sitting cross-legged on the  bathroom rug, Lois in his lap, Clark used his heat vision  and a towel to gently dry the water from her body and hair.  Lois submitted to his ministrations, just staring at the  floor, and remained mostly silent except for the occasional  sob. Her eyes were puffy and red and she had such a  sorrowful expression on her face, it nearly broke his  heart. He had never seen Lois looking so sad, acting so  completely vulnerable. As he cradled her in his arms, the  knowledge that it was he who had caused her this much pain  stabbed at his heart. Recrimination and self-reproach  overwhelmed him, and he found himself wondering if she  would ever forgive him ... or if he even deserved it.

"Have I ruined it?" he finally asked quietly.

Lois sniffled and met his eyes for the first time since  they'd been in the shower. "Ruined what?"

Clark stared at her, nearly despondent. "Us ...  everything?"

Lois wiped at her tears. "It was just a fight, Clark."

His eyes grew wide. "Lois, that was *not* just a fight!  That was awful. I *feel* awful."

Lois bit her lip and dropped her head back to his chest.  "Me too," she answered softly. "But no, you didn't ruin  everything. I know you're sorry."

Clark held her closer. "I am ... I am so sorry."

Lois absently rubbed her finger in a circle over Clark's  bicep. "I know, and I'm sorry that I keep hurting you over  this. Just--" She hesitated, then started again. "Just  don't do that anymore, starting a fight when we're like  this."

"Like this?"

Lois indicated their naked bodies. "After we've just ...  made love. I feel so close to you, and that makes it hurt  even more--"

Clark silenced her by taking a deep gasping breath. "I  know," he whispered, his emotions obviously catching up  with him.

Her lips quivered, and she closed in on herself again.  "Everyone thinks you're so nice, and you are -- most of the  time." The tears trickled down her face. "But when you get  upset, sometimes you can be really ... mean."

Clark swallowed. "I know, and it's wrong. I don't like  myself when I get like that, but sometimes ..." He trailed  off before starting again. "The thing is, I can almost  always control myself with other people. But ever since I  met you ..." He gave her a rueful smile. "No one else has  *ever* brought out such emotion in me, Lois. Unfortunately,  sometimes it's negative emotion like jealousy."

Lois pursed her lips and scowled. "So you're saying I bring  it out in you? Isn't that what the wife-beaters say? That  it's all the woman's fault for provoking them?"

"Hey," Clark reproached her quietly, clearly pained. "You  know that's not what I meant. Now who's being mean?" Lois  looked into his eyes, seeing the hurt expression on his  face. "You're right; I'm sorry, too," she said softly. She  sniffled and tried to smile. "I guess we both need to get  better at fighting, huh?"

Placing a kiss on her forehead, Clark slipped an arm under  her legs to balance the one already around her back, and  levitated to a standing position. Carrying Lois tenderly,  he walked them back into the bedroom. "Or maybe we can just  agree never to fight again." He attempted a little grin.

Lois smiled in return as he lowered her to the bed and  slipped in beside her. "Never say never," she answered  quietly, not contradicting him, but knowing that it wasn't  possible never to fight. She curled onto her side and let  Clark spoon in behind her.

"How about I promise never to pressure you about marriage  again?" he asked.

Lois stared off into the darkness for a long moment.  "Well," she finally answered in a small voice. "A little  bit of pressure is OK ... as long as you don't get mad."  She turned her head towards him.

Clark met her halfway and feathered a soft kiss against her  lips. "I love you, Lois," he whispered emotionally.

She placed her arm over his as it lay draped across her  stomach, and intertwined their fingers. "I love you, too,  Clark. I never stopped. And I never will."

Clark held Lois close as she fell asleep, focusing his  hearing on nothing but the sound of her gentle breathing so  he wouldn't hear any calls for help. It was selfish, a  small part of him whispered, but he didn't care. He wanted  -- no, he needed -- to be here right now.

Their fight had disturbed him even more than he had  admitted to Lois. It had come on so suddenly, his emotions  jumping from intense love to anger so quickly it scared  him. He never wanted to cause her that kind of pain again.  Yet he himself continued to be hurt whenever the  conversation turned to marriage. It wasn't Lois's fault --  Clark knew that, even though sometimes he had a hard time  admitting it. No, it was his own insecurities and jealousy  that caused him pain.

In his head, he understood why Lois wanted to wait. But in  his heart ... sometimes, he couldn't help but feel that  maybe he didn't measure up ... or that she still had  feelings for another man, a man whom she had agreed to  marry less than a year before -- after she had rejected  Clark.

Clark sighed and held Lois more tightly, desperately  needing to feel her body next to his, to reassure himself  that she was still with him. He would get himself under  control, Clark vowed. He wouldn't let this issue come  between them. He would love her ... and trust her ... and  wait for her.

He would try to stop the thoughts that haunted him ...

'Damn you, Lex Luthor. Even from the grave, you continue to  torture me.'

*****

In a dark abandoned subway tunnel under the city, Nigel St.  John paced around a large platform, studying the man-sized  glass box in the middle. "Well, what is his status,  Gretchen?" he asked impatiently.

Dr. Gretchen Kelly checked and rechecked the many monitors  connected to the box. "His vital signs are fluctuating  wildly. It's been a struggle ever since that fiasco in the  crypt."

Nigel barely contained his annoyance. "I do hope I haven't  made this trip for nothing."

"Your concern for Lex is overwhelming," Gretchen shot back.

"Mr. Luthor did not hire me for my congeniality," he  responded, his voice cool. Nigel turned to see Dr. Kelly  fiddling with the monitors. "What are you doing?"

"I have to stabilize his electromagnetic field," she  replied, becoming anxious. "Otherwise we're going to lose  him!"

Just then the lights surrounding the box began to flicker,  and the monitors began to groan in protest. Gretchen  continued to adjust the controls, but it was a losing  battle. The machinery began to lose power, and the heart  rate monitor connected to the box's occupant flatlined. Dr.  Kelly stared at the controls, shocked and horrified. "No!"  she yelled in protest. "Lex?! No!!"

"It's over, Gretchen." Nigel calmly patted her shoulder as  she ran to the platform. "It was a noble experiment."

Suddenly a fist thrust through the glass top of the  chamber, sending broken glass flying in all directions. The  two observers recoiled in shock and amazement as the hand  reached over and unlocked the chamber's top. Pushing the  door open, the man inside struggled to a seated position,  his eyes flashing.

"Lex?" Gretchen gasped.

Nigel stared, amazed. "I don't believe it," he whispered.

Lex Luthor turned to his former assistant and fixed him  with a wild look. "Believe it!" he hissed.

*****

Lois stood in front of the mirror in Clark's bathroom the  next morning, putting the finishing touches on her make-up.  She'd been able to hear him rustling around in his closet a  few minutes ago as she'd fixed her hair, but now it was  silent and she guessed that he had moved into the kitchen  to make their breakfast. Neither of them had mentioned  their fight from the previous night, but she was sure it  was as much on Clark's mind as it was on hers. He'd been  uncharacteristically subdued as they'd shared the bathroom  this morning, even before he'd quietly moved into the  bedroom to get dressed for work.

It had taken some time to mesh their morning routines --  neither of them had been used to having to share the  bathroom, and they certainly hadn't been used to keeping  spare work clothes at the other's apartment. But slowly,  they'd been able to work things out, and now they rarely  encountered any problems. Of course, having a boyfriend who  could fly across town at super-speed to retrieve anything  either of them had forgotten helped a lot.

They now stayed together several nights a week, dividing  their time fairly equally between their two apartments.  Just whose bed they slept in generally depended on who had  what to do that evening -- last night, it had been Clark's  need to do laundry that had decided their location, while  two nights previously, they had been working at Lois's  apartment late into the evening, which had led to Clark  sleeping over. But there were many nights when Superman was  needed somewhere in the city, and on those nights, unless  she was already in Clark's bed, Lois tended to go home. She  always figured that if she had to be alone, she'd rather be  in her own apartment, with her own stuff.

Three months ago, Lois would have never guessed how  different her life would be now. Last November, she had  been completely devastated after watching Clark get shot by  Clyde Barrow during a stake-out at an illegal casino. Then  when Superman brought Clark back to life two days later,  Lois had experienced the most heart-soaring relief she  could possibly imagine. Though she hadn't been planning to  start a relationship with Clark before he'd been shot, they  had each been so mentally and physically exhausted by what  they'd gone through over the previous two days that neither  of them had been able to fight the urgent passion that had  overtaken them when their lips found each other in the  rain. They had ended up making love in Clark's bedroom,  swept away by their emotions and feelings for each other.

The subsequent two weeks had been a roller coaster of  emotion. There had been a wonderfully romantic date, and  they'd each reveled in the incredible yearning for each  other that can only come when two people are falling in  love. But between Lois breaking Clark's heart that first  morning by acting as if their night together had meant  nothing to her, and her own heart breaking the following  week when she'd learned that Clark had lied to her about  being Superman -- and thus, being dead -- it had taken them  several days to find their way back to each other  emotionally. In the end, they had been able to work through  their problems, but it had been a very rocky beginning for  a relationship. Having come through it, however, Lois felt  they were stronger for it, both as individuals and as a  couple. She couldn't imagine what she would do without  Clark in her life. And Clark obviously felt the same way,  since he had begun to talk about marriage almost  immediately.

In the beginning, Lois had found these conversations  flattering, if a bit surprising. She had only just learned  that Clark was Superman, and while overall she couldn't be  more pleased that the man she was in love with was also the  super-hero she'd been infatuated with, it was still a lot  to get used to. It had been while taking a walk together  Thanksgiving morning that Clark had first brought up the  subject. They'd gone to Smallville for the holiday a mere  week after getting back together, figuring that, after all  they'd been through, it would be a great chance to get away  together, to revel in being in love without the pressures  of their daily lives getting in the way.

At first they'd just talked about marriage in generalities  as they walked, but when Clark had asked her if she thought  it would be more romantic to be surprised with a ring or to  go together to pick one out, Lois realized that he wasn't  just asking out of idle curiosity. Keeping the tone light,  she'd let him know that, while she would love to someday  pick out rings with him, it was simply too soon to make  such a formal commitment. To his credit, Clark had accepted  the information gracefully and they had gone on to have a  wonderful holiday.

Lois always grinned when she remembered the night they'd  spent at the farmhouse, with Clark on the sofa and her  alone in his room. After Martha had embarrassed them during  Lois's first trip to Smallville by asking if they'd wanted  to share a room, she apparently hadn't wanted to make the  same mistake again. The couch had already been made up for  Clark when the new couple arrived late Wednesday evening,  and despite his earlier assurances that he would talk to  his parents about the status of their relationship, Clark  had been too embarrassed to tell them that he and Lois were  sleeping together when confronted with the situation. With  a silent look of longing passing between them, they had  politely accepted the separate accommodations.

Of course, it had only been for one night. They had  originally planned to stay through Friday, but by Thursday  evening, Clark -- who had been out all Tuesday night as  Superman -- had pinned Lois up against the bathroom door,  kissed her passionately and informed her that he couldn't  possibly survive a third night without making love to her.  They had made their excuses and were flying back to  Metropolis within the hour, beginning to undress each other  before they'd even reached Lois's apartment. They'd gone on  to spend most of Friday in bed, feeding each other turkey  leftovers and Chinese carryout, and alternately watching  football and "It's A Wonderful Life" on the television. Of  course, their tickling matches over the remote control had  usually just led to more lovemaking, so neither of them had  ended up paying much attention to the screen. All together,  it had certainly been the most fun Thanksgiving weekend  Lois had ever had, and she knew Clark would say the same.

Luckily, by Christmas vacation, Clark had summoned enough  courage to tell his parents that he and Lois only needed  one room. Lois was pretty sure Martha and Jonathan had  figured it out by then anyway, especially considering they  had already started calling Lois's apartment when they  couldn't reach Clark at his. But Lois also liked to think  that telling Clark how she'd fantasized about making love  to him in his high school bedroom had given him a little  extra motivation. Ironically, they'd only gotten to use the  bed once for such purposes, during an afternoon when the  Kents had gone out visiting. During their nighttime  lovemaking, in contrast, they'd discovered that they needed  to float a few inches above the bed, desperately trying to  stifle their laughter over how loudly the springs squeaked.

Like Thanksgiving, this past Christmas Eve with the Kents  had been the most wonderful one Lois had ever experienced.  She and Clark had spent much of the evening at a party  given by an old friend of his, where Clark had been so  proud to show Lois off to all his high school friends, and  she had delighted in hearing funny stories about his  childhood antics. Back home, after his parents had gone to  bed, the two of them had stood together by the Christmas  tree, trading sweet kisses in front of the twinkling  lights. Lois didn't think she'd ever forget the look on  Clark's face when, at the stroke of midnight, he'd taken  her hands in his, told her how much he loved her and how  honored he would be if she would become his wife. It was  the most romantic proposal any woman could ever want. But  in the end, she'd gently explained that they just hadn't  been together long enough and she couldn't say yes.

Clark was understandably disappointed, but at the time had  seemed to accept Lois's reassurances that it wasn't a no --  just a "not yet". Yet he'd strongly hinted about marriage  again a mere week later, during their New Year's Eve dinner  in Metropolis, and had continued to bring up the subject in  the six weeks since. Unfortunately, every time Lois  demurred on the subject, Clark got a little more upset.

Everything had come to a head last night, and it had been  awful. It was by far the worst fight they'd ever had, and  Lois still couldn't quite believe Clark had lashed out the  way he did. A few months ago, she probably would have  stormed out of the apartment in a rage after he'd said  something like that to her and would have held onto her  grudge for days. But things were different now. Even as  angry and hurt as she'd ever been with him, the idea of  walking out had never crossed her mind. Lois wasn't sure  exactly what this attitude change implied, but she did know  that it resulted from a major shift in her relationship  expectations. She no longer wanted to run away from Clark  when she was upset with him; she wanted to stick around,  somehow knowing that they would work things out before the  night was through.

Of course, it had helped to see how devastated Clark was;  he'd actually been in tears in the bathroom when he was  apologizing. But if she were being honest, Lois had to  admit that the largest factor in her quick forgiveness last  night had been her fear that Clark might be right.

Lois knew that Clark was terribly hurt by what he saw as  her refusals to marry him, and despite her best efforts,  this made her feel incredibly guilty. Sometimes she felt  like she was being an awful person for not appreciating  what she had, for continuing to put him off when all he  wanted to do was love her. But at the same time, Lois  couldn't understand why he kept asking. Each time, she  would make her feelings very clear, and each time Clark  would claim to understand ... but then he'd bring up the  subject again. Lois didn't know whether to be moved or  annoyed -- she was thrilled that Clark wasn't giving up on  her, but at the same time, she was finding herself  increasingly frustrated that he wouldn't respect her enough  to give her time. And as a result, the more he pressured,  the more skittish she became.

Lois knew Clark was nothing like Lex Luthor, but she  couldn't help comparing their relationships -- Lex was the  only other man she'd ever considered marrying. His  manipulation still haunted her; she'd been played expertly,  like a puppet on a string. Lex had proposed to her but  instead of waiting patiently for her answer, he'd set into  motion a plan to destroy her world, to throw her so off- balance that she couldn't help but turn to him for some  stability.

Yet Lois hated the fact that her history with Lex was  making her hyper-sensitive to Clark's proposals ... and to  his growing insistence. It wasn't fair to Clark to compare  him in any way to Lex, and she knew that it made him  absolutely crazy. But Lois couldn't deny the feelings  inside her, how spooked she got whenever Clark exerted any  pressure. And it was crucial to her that when she and Clark  finally did get married, it would be because she was ready,  not because he had worn down her defenses. She deserved  better than that, but just as importantly, so did he.

Lois had always though it ironic that while Clark had  worried about her suffering if she'd entered into a public  relationship with Superman, it was now Clark who was  subject to scrutiny as the man Lois Lane was dating. It had  been nearly nine months since Lex had jumped to his death  on what was to be their wedding day, but the tabloids still  insisted on running the occasional story about her. Lois  felt like she had lived a lifetime in those nine months,  and in many ways, was a completely different person. But to  the rags that made their money embellishing -- or outright  inventing -- stories about well-known people, she was still  known as "Lex Luthor's Fiancee".

For the most part, Lois was able to ignore the mentions she  received, especially given that they were usually so  ridiculous that they weren't worth her attention. The story  romantically linking her to a movie star she'd never even  met had almost amused her, while early articles linking her  to Superman in the same romantic way -- while, granted,  potentially putting her in danger -- had just fed into the  romantic crush she'd had on the super-hero. But now that  she was with Clark, things had changed. Now, every so  often, a story would be called to her attention that really  hurt.

The first tabloid mention linking the two Daily Planet  reporters had been the most devastating, not only because  it had been so unexpected, but also because it had been  terribly cruel. Lois still remembered how shocked she'd  felt reading the story late last November. It had been  released the week after Thanksgiving, just as she was  basking in being head over heels in love with the most  wonderful man she had ever known. But then the National  Whisperer had weighed in with its version of Clyde Barrow's  involvement in Clark Kent's death, and it was like she'd  been kicked in the stomach.

Perry had called her and Clark into his office after lunch  to show them a copy of the tabloid. The front cover had a  large photograph of Lois in the Daily Planet lobby,  standing next to Clyde Barrow as he was led away by police.  The headline took up much of the cover -- "Lois Lane's  Latest Lover? From One Gangster To Another." Inset next to  the larger picture were two smaller ones -- one, her  official engagement photograph with Lex Luthor; the other,  a candid shot of her and Clark holding hands as they'd left  the ballroom of Senator Tate's victory party.

The blood had drained from her face as she'd read the  article. It had quoted "unnamed sources" that said she and  Clyde Barrow had become lovers while he was on his crime  spree, and it further suggested that Clark Kent had been  shot at the casino because he'd tried to break up a lovers'  quarrel between them. The story had gone on to describe  Lois and Bonnie Parker's fight in the Daily Planet  newsroom, implying that they were doing battle not over  Parker's attempted escape, but over the man they both  coveted. The most devastating part of all, however, had  been the sidebar report that she was now dating Clark Kent,  her partner at the Daily Planet, complete with the author's  warning -- full of sarcasm thinly veiled as humor -- that  Mr. Kent might do well to watch his back due to "the curse  of Lois Lane's love."

Lois's stunned silence over the article had been countered  by Clark's loud anger. He had been so furious over the lies  in the article that she had felt compelled to brush it off  as a result, if only to calm him down. Perry had quickly  contacted the Daily Planet attorneys, and by the end of the  afternoon, the National Whisperer had been threatened with  a libel suit on Lois Lane's behalf. The so-called newspaper  had quickly backed down and promised to print a retraction,  and Lois had insisted to Clark that they not worry about it  anymore. But that night, she had gone home alone and cried  herself to sleep.

There had only been a handful of tabloid articles about the  two of them since then, but Lois still found herself  feeling vulnerable when she remembered how deeply the first  one had affected her. There was the issue of Superman, of  course -- any coverage linking Clark and Superman made her  nervous, even only a passing mention of both men having  'dated' the same woman. But the worst part was that the  accusations just fed into her own self doubt about her  ability to sustain a real relationship.  Could it be true, she couldn't help but wonder ... could  she really be cursed when it came to love and  relationships? And if so, wouldn't she just be ruining  Clark's life by agreeing to marry him? Yet at the same  time, she couldn't help but worry that if she didn't decide  soon, she might lose him forever.

Lois sighed as she studied her face in the mirror. What was  she going to do?

Part 2

Clark watched Lois carefully over breakfast, his brief  attempts at conversations overshadowed by the long silences  in between. He didn't need to ask what was wrong. She  wasn't acting mad -- distracted would be a better term. But  he was certain that she was still disappointed in his  behavior from the previous evening, and Clark didn't blame  her. They'd disagreed over marriage before, even argued  about it. But they had never, *ever* fought like last  night.

The last three months had been the most wonderful months in  his life. He loved Lois so much it almost scared him. The  intensity that he felt when he was with her, whether they  were working together during the day or hanging out in the  evenings or making love at night ... it both overwhelmed  him and left him craving more. Yet whenever he tried to  give voice to that feeling, he only ended up making Lois  feel pressured.

He knew that Lois had had a difficult childhood and that  the break-up of her parents' marriage had made her afraid  of getting married herself. He knew how her father had  constantly judged her and found her wanting, how her mother  had struggled with depression and an alcohol addiction that  left her emotionally unavailable. Lois had never wanted to  get married growing up, and she freely admitted that, as an  adult, she had run as far away from that lifestyle as she  could, throwing herself into her work.

And Clark knew that Lois's brief relationship with Lex  Luthor had only reaffirmed her belief that marriage was a  disaster waiting to happen ... the fact that she'd been  willing to give Clark a "not yet" so soon after they'd  begun dating should have reassured him that she just needed  time to get used to the idea.

But although he knew Lois had logical reasons for wanting  to wait, Clark couldn't help but feel that her uncertainty  was an indictment of his own worthiness. He didn't normally  lack self-confidence; he wouldn't have made it as far as he  had -- either as Clark Kent or Superman -- without a  healthy ego. Yet when it came to love and marriage, Clark  couldn't help but worry. He had long ago recognized that  Lois's childhood traumas had deeply affected her, but  ironically, his intense need to have her accept his  proposal had finally forced him to confront his own  childhood wounds.

Clark was thankful every day that it was the Kents who had  found him in Shuster's Field so many years ago. There could  have been no better people to raise him than his parents.  They had protected him and nurtured him and loved him,  unconditionally. He was the man he was today because of  them. And intellectually, he knew that the fear they had  instilled in him, the secrets they had insisted he keep,  were essential to keeping him safe.

But emotionally, a child can only keep a secret so big  before he begins to live in fear. And a child can't live in  constant fear -- fear of letting the secret out, of being  taken from his family, of being caged and cut open and  studied ... of never being loved again -- without incurring  scars.

As he quietly cleared the table and placed the breakfast  dishes into the sink, Clark thought back to a day nearly  two years before, soon after he'd moved to Metropolis. He'd  gone back to visit his parents after his first week at the  Daily Planet, and his father had walked him outside when it  was time for Clark to return to the city. "All I want is  the chance to have a normal life ... living, working,  meeting someone, having a family," Clark had told his dad.  He had confessed this, sure that his father would  understand. The response, however, had been devastating.

<< We don't know if that's possible, son. >>

Not possible?

Not possible.

Logically, Clark knew his father wasn't talking  specifically about love and marriage. He was simply  reminding his son to be cautious, not to get his hopes up.  But emotionally, it had hurt. Why shouldn't Clark hope for  these things? Was he that different? Was he so terribly  *wrong* that no one would ever want to be with him? Was it  impossible that anyone could ever love him once they knew  the truth? This was the reality that he had lived with  since he'd been old enough to understand how different he  really was.

But amazingly, Lois *did* love him. He knew she did. Even  when Clark felt afraid for their future, he felt her love  deep down in his soul. Every time she smiled at him or  argued with him or comforted him or kissed him, he knew.

And she deserved better than the way he'd been treating  her.

Clark sighed. "Lois--"

"Clark--"

They each stopped and Clark attempted a little smile. "Go  ahead," he offered. From the look in her eyes, he had a  feeling that she'd been thinking about the same things he  had been.

It was Lois's turn to sigh. "About last night ..." She  trailed off as she looked at him, clearly as uncertain  about where to begin as he was.

"I know," he answered quietly. "I'm so sorry, Lois. I keep  messing up." Unable to face her, he turned and hung his  head. "I'm afraid I'm going to ruin everything."

At the sight of his slumped shoulders, Lois wrapped her  arms around him from behind and rested her head against his  back. "Oh, Clark," she whispered. "I'm scared, too. I don't  want to keep fighting about this."

Clark looked at the floor, ashamed. "I hate the way I'm  acting. I know how unattractive this insecurity is. And I  know that the more insecure I act, the more likely I am to  drive you away." He closed his eyes on the quell of  emotions. "I love you so much ... and I'm just terrified  I'm going to lose you."

"But you're not going to lose me," she implored. "Why can't  you see that?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I know you love me, and I  love you. You make me so totally, completely happy --  happier than I ever thought I'd be. So why do I keep having  these doubts? Why can't I just enjoy what we have?" Clark  ran his hand through his hair. "Why am I so scared?"

Lois was quiet for a long moment before responding.  "Maybe," she finally began in a small voice. "Maybe because  deep down, you can't quite believe you deserve what we  have. Maybe a little voice deep inside keeps telling you  that you're not good enough, and you know it's just a  matter of time before the other person realizes that and--"  She stopped, her voice cracking.

Clark turned around to stare at her, his brow deeply  furrowed. "How did--" He stopped, swallowing hard. "How did  you know that?"

Lois looked up at him with a shimmer of tears in her eyes.  "Because that's how a part of me feels every time I look at  you."

Suddenly unable to trust his voice, Clark pulled her  tightly into his arms. "Lois--"

Her voice was soft and terribly sad when she spoke. "Clark,  you know I didn't agree to marry Lex because I loved him. I  only agreed to marry him because I didn't think anyone else  would ever want me."

"But *I* wanted you," he whispered. "And you rejected me."

Lois closed her eyes as her emotions built. "I know."

"Not even once, but twice, Lois. First for Superman, and  then for L-- *him*." Clark took a deep breath, trying to  get himself under control. He and Lois had talked about her  relationship with Luthor more than once during the three  months they'd been together, but despite Lois's  reassurances that she'd never loved Luthor and had even  been thinking of Clark while she was walking down the  aisle, the fact that Lois had agreed to marry Luthor in the  first place continued to gnaw at him. Clark knew it wasn't  fair, but every time Lois refused to marry him, it just  seemed to bring back the pain of her rejection that day in  the park. Clark shook his head emotionally. "I *know* I  should be over this by now, and I *know* it shouldn't  matter anymore ... but it *does*. It still hurts. I don't  even know *why*, but it still does."

"But don't you see, Clark?" Lois asked desperately, pulling  back to look at him. "That's just it. What I did to you, it  was horrible. I told you I didn't love you, then turned  right around and asked you to contact Superman for me. Even  if you weren't Superman, that would have hurt you. But I  wasn't thinking of you; I was only thinking of *me*." Her  voice cracked, but she forced the words out anyway. "And  then, after all but telling Superman that I would throw Lex  over in a heartbeat if only he'd return my feelings ... I  still went ahead and agreed to marry him." She took a shaky  breath herself. "What kind of person does that make me,  Clark?"

Clark sighed heavily, his own upset finally pushed aside  when he saw the tears on her cheeks. He hadn't meant to  hurt her again, but he had. This was wrong -- no matter  what he was feeling, he couldn't go on doing this to her.  "Honey, I'm sorry. I never should have--"

"It makes me a really, really bad candidate for marriage!"  Lois wailed miserably, cutting him off. "I've failed in  every relationship I've ever had, Clark. My only role  models for marriage were my parents, and you know what a  disaster that was." She sniffled and added woefully, "I  don't know why you would even want to marry me."

At her words, Clark couldn't help but give a little smile.  Leave it to Lois to question the obvious. "Well, that's an  easy one," he responded tenderly. He cupped her cheek,  making her look at him. "I want to marry you because I am  head over heels in love with you. Because I can't imagine  going even one day without being able to see you and talk  to you and hold you. I want to marry you because, for me, a  life without you in it wouldn't be any life at all."

Lois stared up at him for a long moment, her eyes wide and  dark under a shimmer of tears. "That was beautiful," she  finally whispered.

"I meant every word," he assured her, as he wound his  fingers through her hair. "But, Lois, no matter how much I  love you, it doesn't give me the right to pressure you. I  know I've been acting like a jerk every time this comes up,  but I promise you I won't do it again. If you're not ready  to get married, then we won't get married. I love you too  much to risk pushing you away over this."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him  tightly. "I don't want to push you away either."

Clark hugged back. "So are we OK?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah ... I think so." Lois pulled back and gave him a  smile. "Thank you, Clark. For giving me time."

"I love you, Lois," he murmured. "And I will wait for you,  for as long as it takes."

*****

Lex Luthor sat on an overturned box in the abandoned  tunnel, impatiently typing away at a laptop computer. As  the minutes ticked by, his movements became rougher, his  face, more ominous. "It's gone," he called out as he  continued to type. "That weasel Bender swindled me out of  everything!"

Gretchen Kelly hovered nearby, concerned. Lex had made  remarkable progress in the hours since he'd awakened, but  she didn't want him to push himself. She was thrilled  beyond words that her months of hard work had paid off, but  they were clearly in uncharted territory. And Lex getting  upset wasn't going to help him recover. "Lex, you should be  resting," she said soothingly, lifting his wrist to take  his pulse. "This can wait."

Nigel St. John obviously had no such concerns, however, as  he sat across the room cleaning a hand bow. The metal  gleamed as he expertly rubbed it. "What about the Swiss  bank accounts?" he asked.

As soon as Gretchen had taken her readings, Lex returned to  his typing, but a few more keystrokes revealed the same  results -- each account, empty. He sat back, stunned. "I'm  broke." He gave a humorless laugh. "Death I could deal  with, Nigel. But to be *broke* ... no money, no power ...  that's not something I'm prepared for."

The older man just smiled thinly. "Knowing you, sir, it's  just a temporary condition."

Lex nodded. "The money, perhaps. But true power lies in the  possession of Kryptonite. Until I find it, I'm nothing." He  closed the laptop definitively and walked towards Nigel,  his face dark. "But first things first. I want you to  arrange a meeting with Mr. Bender."

"Yes, sir."

"And Nigel." He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Stop  the 'sir'. There's no need for facades." He regarded  himself. "Look at us. We are what we are."

Nigel raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"Ordinary street fighters. Just like the old days."

Gretchen had been absently watching the interplay between  the two men from her work table, but as Lex stood and began  to stalk the room, her eyes followed him appreciatively.  She thanked her good fortune every day that she'd been able  to convince Arianna Carlin to fund her research into  bringing Lex back to life. It had been a project she'd been  working on under Lex's watchful eye for the last two years,  but she hadn't realized how soon the results of her work  would be needed, or by whom. Stealing the body from the  morgue had been the easy part ... more difficult had been  finding the money to put Lex's back-up plan into effect.

Of course, in the beginning, she and Arianna had shared a  common goal, but Gretchen didn't deny being pleased that  the other woman's obsession with getting revenge on Lois  Lane had ultimately been her downfall. Not that Gretchen  bore even a shred of goodwill towards the reporter -- she  had no idea why Lex had wasted his time with her in the  first place -- but with Arianna now serving a life  sentence, there was no one left to compete with Gretchen  for Lex's attention. She was just glad she'd been able to  purchase or steal the equipment she'd needed before  Arianna's money well ran dry.

Gretchen crossed the room and draped her arms around his  neck from behind, very pleased. All of her hard work had  paid off ... Lex was alive and apparently suffering none of  the side-effects she'd been concerned about. He seemed  healthy and fit. Ordinary street fighter, indeed! "I've  never thought there was anything *ordinary* about you,  Lex," she purred, making no doubt as to her appreciation.

With a confident smile, Lex lifted one of her hands to kiss  it. "Quite right, my dear ... you're absolutely right."

Gretchen beamed at his praise. Lex was the most attractive  man she'd ever met ... from his smoldering dark eyes to his  unruly brown curls, he was magnificent. And as soon as they  were able to reestablish his power base, Lex would rule  over this city with Gretchen at his side, loyal to each  other to the end.

Encouraged by the enticing thought, Gretchen ran her  fingers adoringly through Lex's hair. Her confidence  quickly turned to surprise, however, as she felt a clump of  hair come loose in her hand.

Lex quickly took the hair from her hand. "What is this?" he  asked. Walking a few steps to another box, he picked up a  piece of broken mirror and studied his reflection, pulling  at his unruly locks.

Gretchen's eyes opened wide as his inspection yielded the  same result -- a large clump of hair came out in his  fingers, then a second.

"I'm losing my hair." Lex turned to her. "What have you  done to me?" Gretchen opened her mouth to respond, but  before she could, any vestige of control he had snapped.  "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!?" he screamed, shoving the hair  in her face.

Frightened by his outburst, Gretchen blanched as her mind  raced for an explanation. Obviously there were side-effects  she hadn't expected. But considering what he'd gone through  to get here, he certainly couldn't begrudge a few minor  inconveniences. "Lex," she began, trying to placate him,  "your body went through a tremendous ordeal. You're bound  to experience some temporary side effects. You need to  rest."

Lex, however, ignored her pleadings. "All right, shave it  off," he ordered.

She hesitated -- surely there was another way? -- but Lex  quickly narrowed his eyes. "Don't just stand there," he  spat, his voice full of venom. "Shave it *off*!!"

The raw hostility in his voice sent Gretchen scurrying for  a razor and some scissors. Digging what she needed out of  her bag, she stood behind Lex as he seated himself on a  box, and began to cut the hair close to the scalp. She gave  him a nervous smile as he watched her in the mirror  fragment.

Lex ignored her, however, and directed his next comment at  the other person in the room. "Nigel, I want you to do me a  favor. I want you to find out whatever you can about Lois  Lane."

At the mention of Lex's former fiancee, Gretchen froze.  Lois Lane?! What in the world did he want with *her*? There  was no way Lex could possibly still be interested in the  woman who had jilted him at the altar only moments before  his death. She was a traitor! Clearly, he must be after  revenge ... he just wanted to finish the job that Arianna  had left undone. Glancing in the mirror that Lex held,  however, Gretchen was shocked to see a tenderness come into  Lex's eyes at the mention of the reporter's name and she  narrowed her eyes. How dare he?? Gretchen Kelly was the one  who loved him, not Lois Lane! And it was Gretchen Kelly who  would rule by his side over Metropolis! With an angry  grimace, she 'accidentally' jabbed him with the scissors.  The nerve!

"OW!" Lex yelled. He fixed his doctor with an annoyed look,  then went back to examining himself in the broken mirror as  he muttered, "It's a good thing you're not a surgeon."

*****

Lois was halfway through a chicken salad sandwich from the  deli in the lobby when she looked up to see her partner  standing in front of her desk. They'd driven in together  this morning, but Clark had heard a call for Superman  around 10:30 am, and she hadn't seen him since. After their  emotional exchange after breakfast, Lois had been hoping  he'd be back before lunch. They each always felt a little  vulnerable after an argument, but spending time together,  even when they weren't doing anything special, made them  feel better.

Unfortunately, when noon arrived and Clark still hadn't  returned, Lois had been so hungry she'd just gone ahead and  purchased a take-out sandwich from the deli downstairs. It  wasn't nearly as good as the take-out Clark could find, but  it was food. Of course, now that Clark was back, Lois  wished she had waited just a little longer, but from the  grin on his face, it was clear he didn't mind that she'd  decided to eat without him.

"Well, hello, stranger," Lois said with a smile. The rescue  must have gone well because he looked exceedingly pleased  with himself.

"Hello, yourself," he replied brightly, then his gaze  warmed even more as he pulled a colorful bouquet of flowers  from behind his back. "For you."

Lois melted as she took them. "Oh, they're beautiful. Thank  you."

Clark sat down on one corner of her desk and leaned over to  give her a kiss on the cheek. "You're very welcome."

Lois rubbed her hand affectionately over his thigh. "What  did I do to deserve these?"

He captured her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. "Do  I need a reason?" At her pointed look, Clark relented. "OK,  OK," he admitted. "Maybe ... I'm still feeling a little  guilty about last night." He looked at her sincerely as he  intertwined their fingers. "I was a real jerk."

Lois gave a helpless laugh. She'd just known he would  continue to beat himself up over this long after she had  forgiven him. "I accepted your apology," she insisted.  "We're OK."

But Clark only shook his head. "I know, but--."

"Clark!" She squeezed his hand. "Apology accepted." Looking  to change the subject, Lois sat back in her chair and fixed  him with a smile. "So, what kept you busy all morning?"

He looked at her for a moment, then acquiesced. "A few  different things," he answered, helping himself to a few of  the mini pretzels she had next to her sandwich. "There was  an oil spill in the East River that took some time to clean  up, then a bunch of little things. Got a good idea for a  story, though, about out-of-business manufacturing  companies who leave their toxic waste products behind when  they close up shop."

"Sounds like it's worth looking into. You get any lunch?"

He shook his head. "Nah, didn't really have time. I'll just  get something from the machine."

"Here, you can finish this." Lois loosely re-wrapped her  sandwich and pushed it towards him. "I'm done."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Clark, take it ... I can never finish a whole one of  these, you know that."

Just then, Jimmy approached them, waving an envelope. "Hey,  CK, this just came for you. Says it's from the FBI."

Lois wiped the crumbs off her desk into the waste can. "Who  do you know at the FBI?"

Clark studied the envelope for a moment, then nodded in  recognition as he tore it open. "Roger Templeton. We met  when I was in Washington." He removed a file folder  containing a photograph and a series of notes. "Dear  Clark," he read. "Thought you might find this interesting."

Lois looked over his shoulder, then grabbed the picture  with a gasp. "Clark! That's the woman who stole Lex's  body!" Lois would recognize her anywhere -- the woman had  kidnapped Wanda Mae Walldecker in order to steal  Resplendent Man's powers. Lois had followed them to the  Perpetual Pines Cemetery, only to become trapped herself.  It had been the first time she'd run into serious danger  since she was aware of Clark's other identity, and she  still remembered how difficult it had been not to call  Superman "Clark" when the woman had attacked him. Working  together, she and Superman had managed to reverse the power  transfer, but in the confusion, the woman had gotten away.  Yet now here she was in this photo, sharing a restaurant  table with another person Lois would never forget.

Jimmy crowded in for a closer look. "Who's the guy?"

"Nigel St. John," Lois answered. "He used to be Lex's  personal assistant."

Clark flipped through the papers in the folder, reading at  super-speed while Jimmy was busy studying the photograph.  "Get this -- they've identified the woman in the photograph  as Gretchen Kelly. She was Luthor's doctor."

Lois rolled her eyes. "That would explain her fascination  with his body."  "That's not all," Clark continued. "Turns out Nigel was  more than Luthor's Mr. Belvedere. He was an agent in Her  Majesty's Secret Service gone bad."

Lois took the folder from him and thumbed through the  report. "It says this picture was taken recently here in  Metropolis ... and the agent who took the picture has  disappeared." She looked up at Clark and caught his eye. He  looked grim.

As Lois watched, he lowered his glasses slightly so he  could zoom in on the photo. After a moment, he lifted his  head. "Maybe Sheldon Bender knows something."

"Luthor's attorney?" Jimmy asked. "Why him?"

Clark just shrugged. "I don't know ... God knows  everything, and attorneys seem to think they're God."

Lois gave a little laugh. Obviously he saw something in the  photograph that she couldn't see. She re-assembled the  contents of the file folder and handed it to Jimmy. "Show  this to Perry and tell him we're on it, OK?" Then she  handed the wrapped sandwich to Clark. "Hope you don't mind  eating in the car, partner."

*****

Lois had to circle the block twice before she found a legal  parking space, a block away from Bender's law office.  Grabbing her umbrella out of the car in case the cold rain  from earlier in the day decided to start up again, she  joined Clark on the sidewalk and they began to walk.

They had chatted about the note that Clark had been able to  read in the FBI photograph on the way, how it contained  Bender's name and address, and they were already planning  their strategy for how to approach the attorney. Lost in  the conversation, Lois almost missed the fact that Sheldon  Bender had exited his office several buildings ahead of  them, only to be accosted by a homeless man who'd been  rooting through some nearby trash.

Her attention was captured, however, when Bender was  roughly thrown into a blue van. "Clark!" Lois quickly  exclaimed. "That's Bender!"

Clark blinked as he, too, looked to where she was pointing.  "Hold on; I'll be right back." Quickly, he ducked back  around the corner to turn into Superman.

The van was just starting to peel away when Superman  swooped down and grabbed the bumper. The tires spun for a  long moment, then the vehicle stopped. Clark rushed around  to the door and ripped it off its hinges. To his immense  shock, however, the van was completely empty.

*****

Back in the newsroom later that afternoon, Clark found Lois  perched on the edge of his desk, curious to find out what  Superman had learned. "So the van was operated by remote  control, huh?"

"Yeah," Clark replied with a nod. "The police lab is going  over it now. Maybe they'll turn up something else." He  shook his head, perplexed. "Why do you suppose someone  would kidnap Bender?"

"Well, it can't be for the money," Lois replied dryly.  "Who'd pay ransom for a lawyer?"

Clark gave a short laugh, then glanced down as Lois  uncrossed and re-crossed her legs in front of him. His  guilt over their fight from the night before had lasted all  morning, but fortunately, working with her all afternoon  had relieved most of his bad feelings. Lois's easy smiles  and affectionate touches made it clear to him that she was  telling the truth when she said she'd forgiven him, and  that helped him begin to forgive himself. Being with Lois  was the one thing that seemed to always clear his head.

Clark often marveled at how close they'd become these last  few months and how quickly they were able to work through  their arguments now. As inexperienced with relationships as  they each were in the beginning, they'd certainly had their  bumps as they'd forged a new kind of partnership. But  unlike in their early working relationship, they were each  so committed to making their romantic partnership work that  even their most emotional arguments never seemed to hang  over them for more than a day. After hashing everything  out, they'd usually both end up apologizing for their part  in the argument, then they would kiss and make up.

Of course, their making-up frequently led to making love as  they sought to reconnect with each other, so it didn't  surprise Clark that, after working closely with Lois all  day, he now found himself thinking about that kind of  reconnection. Suddenly finding Lois much more interesting  than the story they were working on, he seductively traced  a fingertip over her exposed knee and gave her a slow,  mischievous smile. "So what do you say we go out somewhere  nice for dinner tonight? Then maybe ... back to your place  for dessert?"

Lois nodded absently, still thinking about the story.  "Dinner sounds great. But I don't have anything in the  freezer so we'll have to supply our own dessert."

Clark just grinned, leaning back in his chair and letting  his eyes roam unabashedly over her body. "Oh, I don't think  that will be *any* problem."

When Lois finally noticed the look Clark was giving her and  the enticing path his finger was taking, her eyes widened  in amusement. "Why, Mr. Kent," she responded with a coy  smile, pushing her already short skirt up even further on  her leg, "are you implying that you're going to have *me*  for dessert?"

He lowered his voice to a sexy murmur. "Well, you *are*  good enough to--"

"Am I interrupting anything?" The sound of Jimmy's voice  caused both Lois and Clark to jump.

"No!"

Lois scrambled off the desk and tugged at her skirt. "No!"

The quickness of their replies and the guilty expressions  on their faces led Jimmy to give an amused chuckle. "It's  OK, guys, I'm not the principal," he said wryly. He waved  the folder he was carrying. "I just came over to give you  the lab report on that van. Turns out there's a trap door  in the floor."

Lois quickly took the folder, trying to cover the hint of  pink blush on her cheeks by changing the subject. "So  that's how they got Bender out without anyone seeing."

Clark cleared his throat but couldn't manage to wipe the  smile off his face completely as he watched her. She looked  so adorable; he couldn't wait to get her home where they  could be alone. But first they had an investigation to  continue. "Magic always seems to have an explanation," he  finally agreed.

"Anything else, Jimmy?"

"Yeah ... the van is registered to some guy in Park Ridge.  Cops have him down at the station right now."

Lois perked up as Jimmy relayed this final bit of  information, and she quickly crossed the aisle to her desk.  Seemingly back to all business, she grabbed her purse and  slung her coat over her arm. "Clark, why don't you start on  the story? I'm going to head over to the police station."  But her professional tone was tempered when she gave her  partner a little wink before turning away. "And then we can  discuss that other matter."

Clark smiled as she left the newsroom, but he quickly  realized he wasn't the only one watching her as she hopped  onto the elevator; the younger man next to him was also  following her appreciatively with his eyes. When the  elevator door closed, Jimmy turned to Clark and grinned  knowingly.

Suddenly feeling the need to protect his girlfriend's  honor, Clark narrowed his eyes. "What?" Jimmy just laughed  as he walked away. "Nothin' ... I didn't say nothin'."

Part 3

It was early evening before Lois was able to obtain her  information from the police. There hadn't been any other  reporters on the scene, so Lois was hopeful that, if there  did turn out to be a story here, she and Clark would have  the exclusive.

Lois smiled as she thought of her partner. Never in a  million years would she have guessed that Lois Lane would  come to not only tolerate working so closely with someone  else, but to actually enjoy it. She'd always believed that  workplace romances were a disaster waiting to happen, even  before her horrible first-hand experience. That she'd been  able to ignore her own internal warnings about the  situation several years ago had been a testament to how  smooth her French colleague had been.

But Clark, on the other hand, hadn't set out to seduce her,  or even to compete with her. Certainly, when she'd made it  clear in those early weeks that she would do anything to  beat him to a story, he'd made it equally clear that he  wasn't someone to trifle with. But once cooler heads had  prevailed -- for both of them -- Clark had gone on to not  only be willing to work with her, but to actually seem  eager for the chance.

Knowing what she did now, that Clark had fallen in love  with her (or at least deeply into infatuation) at first  sight, his interest in partnering with her made more sense.  But Lois knew that there was more to it than that. It had  been clear from the results of their very first co-written  story that there was a chemistry between them. Not just a  personal chemistry, though they certainly had plenty of  that, even if Lois had denied it for months. But rather, a  professional chemistry that was unlike anything she'd ever  experienced before. Somehow they seemed to be able to  anticipate each other's moves, to be able to play their  thoughts and actions off each other, which translated well  not only into their interviewing techniques but also into  the final act of writing.

Of course, the idea of having this kind of chemistry with a  man had scared the heck out of Lois at the time. She had  worked too hard to have the evidence of her talents diluted  by having to share a by-line. Too many times, she had  conducted interviews with a male junior reporter, only to  have the person they were interviewing address their  responses to her underling, not to her. It made her  absolutely furious to begin with, but when her prize- winning story was stolen in the middle of the night by a  smooth-talking Lothario, she'd vowed that it would never  happen again. From that point forward, Lois Lane worked  solo, and pity any person who got too close.

Fortunately for all concerned, Clark had been able to break  through those defenses. Confident enough to let his talents  speak for themselves, he hadn't tried to impress her by  showing off in the early weeks. Instead, he'd calmly let  her take the lead, learning what he could in the process.  Certainly there had been times when Lois had felt Clark  overstepped his bounds as a 'junior reporter', but even as  she'd tried to take him down a peg or two back then, she'd  had to grudgingly admit (though never aloud) that he had  gotten the job done. Occasionally he'd hit a sour note and  let his inexperience show (Lois still could work up a head  of steam thinking about the way he'd tossed her out of The  Metro Club early in their working relationship), but he had  learned from his mistakes and had grown into his  profession.

And to Lois's credit, once she'd stopped fighting the  partnership, she'd actually begun to learn from Clark.  While she still didn't particularly like his editing her  copy before she'd had a chance to finish it, she now knew  that he was usually right in his suggestions. And she'd  come to develop the highest respect for Clark's  investigative and interview skills. The fact that he could  also write up his findings in such a lyrical way only  impressed her that much more.

Now that she and Clark were together romantically, however,  Lois realized that, while her concerns about an office  romance had merit, they didn't have to get in the way of a  good working relationship. Indeed, she and Clark had proven  that they could focus on their work and not let their  personal situation distract them. Well, at least, not  distract them to the point where their work suffered.

Lois grinned to herself as she remembered the conversation  they'd been having before Jimmy had interrupted them with  the lab report. Yes, that conversation had been very  distracting. In fact, she couldn't wait to get back to it!

As she began to cross the street to her car, however, Lois  heard a voice call out behind her.

"Excuse me, miss ... would you help an old man across the  street?"

It took a moment for the request to register, as caught up  in her own thoughts as she'd been, but when Lois turned  around, she saw an elderly man in a wheelchair. "Oh." She  looked at him blankly for a moment, trying to clear her  head. "Oh, of course."

Taking the handles of the wheelchair, Lois carefully began  to navigate the curb. It was a little bumpy and she wasn't  as stable as she'd have liked in her high heels on the wet  street, but she managed to get the gentleman out into the  road. Making sure traffic was stopped, she continued on  through the intersection.

"Say," said the man suddenly, looking up at her. "Aren't  you that reporter who almost married Lex Luthor?"

Lois pursed her lips, annoyed. Being recognized from her  tabloid photos was not high on her list of favorite things.  And she especially didn't like having her thoughts of Clark  (and 'dessert') interrupted by the mention of Lex. "Uh ...  yes," she replied finally.

Seemingly unaware of the flatness of her response, the man  persisted. "Lois Lane, right? So tell me, what was that  fella Luthor like?"

They had reached the other side of the street and once  again, Lois struggled to push the heavy wheelchair over the  curb. It was hard to concentrate on his question. "Well,"  she answered, distracted. "He was ... uh ... very magnetic  and very charming." She finally navigated the chair up onto  the sidewalk. "He was also a very dangerous criminal."

As Lois stepped away from the chair, the man used his  wheels to turn around and face her. He looked into her eyes  and smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Ah ... but I hear you  young women like those bad boy types."

Inwardly, Lois rolled her eyes, but she politely gave the  man a little smile, humoring him. "Well, I don't think  that's always true. I mean, I guess sometimes it is. But  not for me." She met his eyes for a moment, and for some  reason she couldn't identify, she suddenly started to feel  very uncomfortable. He almost seemed familiar to her,  though she was certain they'd never met before. Still ...  there was something about his eyes....

Lois blinked nervously as she tried to excuse herself as  quickly as possible without being rude. "Uh ... if you'll  excuse me ... I'm, uh ... I'm late for an appointment." And  with that, she hurried off to her car.

*****

As Lois disappeared down the street, Lex Luthor took off  his hat and held it to his heart, looking after her  adoringly. In a moment, Nigel St. John appeared from the  shadows.

Lex sighed happily from the wheelchair. "She's more  beautiful than ever."

"Oh?" Nigel said pointedly. He had never understood what  Luthor saw in Lois Lane, and was now more convinced than  ever that his former employer's continued obsession with  her would once again be his downfall. A man taking back  what once his was one thing, but to waste precious time and  energy on such a woman was absurd. "And what about  Gretchen?"

Lex scoffed. "What about her? She's my physician; she  doesn't inspire me."

As he took the handles of the wheelchair and began to walk  down the street, Nigel raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it has  occurred to you that Miss Lane may not come quite so easily  this time?"

"If I cannot prove a lover, to entertain these fair well- spoken days," Luthor quoted, "I am determined to play the  villain."

Nigel chuckled, this time genuinely amused. "Ah, Richard  the Third; your favorite!"

"My hero. And like Richard, I will not be denied. I'll give  her the chance to come willingly, but if she won't, I'll  take her by force."

"After you get the Kryptonite," Nigel added, a smile  playing on his lips.

Lex smiled confidently. "Of course."

*****

It was a little after eight o'clock in the evening by the  time Lois and Clark tracked down the source they'd been  looking for. Lois had returned to the newsroom after  finding out what she needed to know from the police, and  had quickly pulled Clark into Perry's office to tell them  both what she'd discovered. An ex-con named Ramin Tarbush  had borrowed the van used to abduct Sheldon Bender, and was  now nowhere to be found. His description was an exact match  for the kidnapper, though, and Lois was sure they had found  the right track to pursue.

Their search for information had brought them to a little  hole-in-the-wall diner on River Avenue -- not because they  thought Tarbush might be there, but because they knew the  one person who seemed to know everything that happened in  Metropolis was. Making their way back to the kitchen, the  reporters spotted their target ... cramming his mouth full  of food off the plates that he was supposed to be filling  for the wait staff.

Lois called out his name from the other side of the  divider. "Bobby?"

Bobby Bigmouth startled, but his face brightened quickly as  he saw who was there. "Hey, if it ain't the two lovebirds!  Congrats on the possible engagement ... it's a big step to  be talking about marriage."

Lois's jaw dropped and she whirled around to face Clark.  "You told him?!"

Clark looked just as shocked. "No!" he fumbled,  embarrassed. He shot Bobby a wide-eyed glare.

Bobby came to the reporter's defense. "Nah, I got it from a  friend ... he works at that jewelry shop over on 34 th  Street. He told me how Clark's been mooning over the  wedding rings in the display case every time he passes by  on his way to work."

Catching Lois's stunned look, Clark flushed. "I wouldn't  say ... *mooning* ... exactly," he defended weakly. He  scrambled to get them back on track. "Look, Bobby, do you  know an ex-con named Ramin Tarbush?"

Their source made a face. "Of course. Last I heard he was  living on the street and getting his meals at the homeless  shelter on Union Street." Bobby picked up a carton of milk  from a server's tray and took a swig. Then, seeing the  expressions on Lois and Clark's faces, he looked  appropriately chagrined. "Aw, where are my manners?" He  wiped off the mouth of the carton with his sleeve and held  it out to them. "Anybody thirsty?"

*****

Clark shook his head as he and Lois exited the restaurant.  "OK, no more meeting Bobby at work ... one look at him in  the kitchen is enough to make me lose my appetite."

"Wish I could say the same," Lois grumbled. "I'm  *starving*. That granola bar I ate this afternoon got  digested hours ago."

"I didn't get a chance to call anywhere for reservations  ... where do you want to go for dinner?"

Lois sighed as she opened the jeep door. She'd been looking  forward to going somewhere special but now.... "You know,  Clark, I don't even feel like going out anymore. I'm too  hungry to spend the time picking a place, then waiting for  our food to be served." She sat in the driver's seat and  inserted the key in the ignition. "Can we just get  something quick?"

"Sure, how about subs from Rancino's?" Clark suggested as  he fastened his seat belt. "There's one a few blocks from  here ... we could get take-out and be home eating in twenty  minutes. Or if you want me to fly somewhere--"

"No, no, Rancino's is fine," she said as she turned the key  with another sigh. "So much for our nice dinner."

The radio came on when the car started, and the two found  themselves listening to the half-hour news report as they  waited for traffic to clear. << And in Northern  California,>> the announcer read, << forest fires continue  to rage. Strong winds have shifted the blaze to the north,  putting numerous homes in jeopardy ... >>

Clark groaned. "And so much for our *dessert*." He gave  Lois an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry, honey. I better get  out there."

Resigned, Lois put the car back into 'park' and gave her  boyfriend a quick kiss before he hopped out. "Be careful."

"Thanks," he answered. "Go get some food. And don't wait  up; this will probably take a while. Love you."

Lois couldn't help but give him a little smile. "Love you,  too."

*****

At the Metropolis State Penitentiary, Sheldon Bender sat  fidgeting at a large conference table. After being abducted  by Lex Luthor and threatened with extinction over a mere  billion dollars in embezzled funds, the only way he'd been  able to save his skin was with the information that he  could find Kryptonite for his former client.

He'd heard through the Intergang grapevine that Rollie Vale  had obtained Kryptonite to power his cyborg several weeks  ago. When Vale had finally been captured last week, the  Kryptonite hadn't been on him and no one seemed to know  exactly what he had done with it. Still, there were rumors  that Vale kept the piece safely hidden away, and Bender  could only hope that this was not only true, but that the  man had his price. Finding Kryptonite for Lex Luthor was  the only thing that would save the attorney's life.

It hadn't been that difficult to funnel Lex's money into  his own personal accounts after his client's demise last  year. As Luthor's attorney, Sheldon was the only one with  direct information about all of the hidden bank accounts --  after all, he was the one who had hidden them in the first  place. At this point, he'd have been willing to give Lex  any cash he could liquidate quickly, but although a billion  dollars had seemed like a lot at the time, it was amazing  how fast it had gotten spoken for. After creating a real  estate development firm as a tool for Intergang to buy up  sections of the city, it wasn't like he had tons of excess  cash flow. OK, sure, he'd been able to buy himself the  largest penthouse apartment currently available in  Metropolis, and he did have his yacht custom built ... and  of course, there was that island in the Caribbean that was  now known as SheldonBenderVille ... but it wasn't like he  lived like a king! He certainly didn't flaunt his money the  way Lex Luthor used to. Which made it all the more  surprising that Luthor had tracked him down.

Sheldon shook his head. What was he thinking? After finding  out that Lex Luthor had come back from the dead, nothing  would ever surprise him again! Now he just needed to find  the Kryptonite. Then he and Lex would be even and he could  go back to living the life his efforts had earned him.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the guard arrived with  the prisoner.

"You Bender?" Vale asked curtly. At the attorney's nod,  Vale looked around the room and noted the two other men  accompanying the lawyer. "Who are these bozos?" he sneered.

Sheldon cringed. Nigel St. John had confidently sat down at  the table when they'd entered the visiting room, but Lex  had chosen to lean against the side wall, disguised in dark  clothing and sunglasses. Vale had no way of knowing who the  men were, but Sheldon saw no reason to antagonize them any  further, at least not until he could manage to extricate  himself from his predicament. "I caution you on your choice  of words, Mr. Vale."

Vale just snorted. "Oh, yeah? In case you haven't noticed,  I'm in prison. What are you going to do? Charge me with  being rude?"

Over his shoulder, Bender heard Lex step forward. "Of  course not, Mr. Vale," Luthor said smoothly. "I'll simply  have you killed." As Sheldon glanced over, he saw that Lex  had removed his hat and glasses, showing himself for the  first time.

"Oh really?" Vale started smugly. "You and what--" Suddenly  he cut off in astonishment as he recognized the man before  him. "Luthor! But how--?"

"There are things in heaven and earth not foreseen in your  philosophy, Mr. Vale."

Rollie Vale stared at the man in shock for a moment, but  quickly composed himself, the arrogant smirk returning to  his face. "Sure. OK. So what happened? Forget to bring your  hair with you when you came back from the dead?"

Sheldon cringed yet again. He only hoped Lex let Vale live  long enough to tell them where the damned rock was hidden  before ripping him apart.

To his surprise, however, Lex simply started to chuckle  over the insult. "That's funny. That's very funny."

Bender blew out a breath and heard St. John do the same. No  sooner had everyone relaxed, however, than Lex reached out  and grabbed Vale by the neck, squeezing tightly. "You're in  no position to be funny, *Mister* Vale."

To Sheldon's amazement, Rollie Vale simply grabbed Lex's  wrist with his left hand and slammed it down on the table,  hard. His eyes registered smug satisfaction at the painful  wince that crossed Luthor's face. "And you're in no  position to put your hands on me, *Mister* Luthor." His  eyes set defiantly, Vale used his right hand to pull up his  left sleeve. Instead of flesh, his arm was metallic.  "Robotic," he explained. "I had to replace the one my  thimble-brained cyborg crushed." He let go of Lex's arm  with a sneer.

Taking a small step back, Luthor cradled his sore arm, but  his demands remained firm. "That cyborg was powered by  Kryptonite. Stolen from LexLabs by your brother. I want it  back."

As the two men stared each other down, Bender quickly  jumped in, trying to diffuse the situation. "Ah ... what my  client is saying ..."

"I know what he's saying," Vale spat. Then he turned back  to Luthor. "Unless you got something I want, skinhead, this  meeting's over."

"What is it that you want?"

Vale pondered briefly, sizing up the three men before him.  "Half a million dollars and my freedom."

Lex didn't ponder long. "So money and your freedom for the  Kryptonite. Do we have a deal?"

Casting Luthor a speculative look, Vale rose and knocked on  the heavy door back to the prison. As he waited for the  guard to open it, he turned his attention back to them.  "Sure. We have a deal." And with that, he was gone.

The silence in the room was deafening and Sheldon found  himself nervously regarding the two men he'd brought with  him. "Lex, whatever it is you're planning," he said  quickly, "I shouldn't hear about it."

Luthor just gave an amused snort. "Hear about it? You're  going to be part of it!" He then turned to Nigel. "But  we're going to need a diversion to get the equipment we  need. And I know the perfect sacrificial lamb."

*****

Perry White walked into his office the next morning,  engrossed in the copy he'd been handed. They had exactly  three hours till the noon deadline for the afternoon  edition, and he still had several inches to fill in the  city section. The capture of Rollie Vale, the man who'd  created the cyborg that had managed to take on Superman  before finally being melted down, had been front page news  yesterday, but today, Perry was hoping for something else  to lead with besides the usual follow-up stories.  Fortunately, the article Tony Boemer had just completed on  two members of the Metropolis School Board coming to blows  at last night's meeting over possible financial impropriety  looked promising.

Lost in the text, Perry didn't notice Jimmy stick his head  in the office door until the young man spoke. "I'm making a  donut run, Chief. Need anything?"

He waved him off. "No, but thanks for asking." As the young  man took off gathering orders, Perry absently dropped  himself into his chair, his eyes searching for a pen. How  many times did he have to tell Tony that the possessive  form of 'its' didn't have an apostrophe?!

Perry let out a yelp, however, as his rear end fell several  inches lower than he was expecting before being stopped by  the bottom of the chair. "Aw, who's been playing with my  chair?!" he huffed as he reached down to raise the lift on  the bottom. He froze, however, as he noticed some wires  coming from the bottom of the chair. Feeling around  cautiously, Perry fingered several odd sized containers and  sat up slowly. Only then did he notice the note sitting on  his computer keyboard.

"Jimmy!!"

Luckily, the young man hadn't gone too far. "Yeah?" he  asked, sticking his head back in the door.

"I do need something."

"What's that, Chief?"

Perry held up the note for Jimmy so he could read it  clearly: ONE SMALL MOVE AND KABOOM.

"Help!"

*****

Down in the lobby of the Daily Planet building, Lois was  busy reading "Making Love Last: Will Your Marriage Stand  the Test of Time?", the featured article on the cover of  "Your Wedding" magazine. Having set her coffee down on the  ledge of the kiosk, she'd only intended to skim the  article, but soon found herself reading intently.

As expected, Superman had been busy all night, and although  she always missed Clark when they couldn't be together,  being alone had given her time to think about their  relationship. Clark's reassurances had finally convinced  Lois that she was being ridiculous to worry about his  leaving her just because she wasn't ready to accept his  proposal. Clark loved her deeply and completely, and  despite his occasional bouts of insecurity, always seemed  ready to forgive her anything. Besides, she reasoned, they  simply had too much fun together for him to have become  truly unhappy about the situation.

What had been especially interesting about last night,  however, was the self-realization that with Clark finally  backing off on the marriage issue, Lois had felt a little  freer to think about the idea herself. Oh, she was by no  means ready to start picking out rings. But missing him  last night, and knowing that even if he had returned home  before morning, he wouldn't have come to her apartment,  only served to remind Lois how much she wanted to spend the  rest of her life with him. She'd been feeling that way for  some time now, but the feeling only seemed to grow stronger  the more time they spent together. Suddenly the idea of  marriage and permanently sharing a home didn't seem quite  so terrifying.

Lois had even decided to test her new-found confidence this  morning by flipping through a wedding magazine on the rack  of the newsstand. Amazingly, she'd found herself sighing  over several wedding gowns that she liked, and once she'd  even had to stop herself from thinking about china  patterns. At that point, she'd decided to stick with the  articles -- the photographs were far too dangerous.

Having finished the article that had originally caught her  eye -- and deciding that it didn't contain any information  that she didn't already know -- Lois had just moved on to  "Seating Arrangements for Divorced Parents" when she heard  a familiar 'ahem' next to her. Eyes wide, she looked up to  find her partner standing there, his eyes twinkling.

Flustered at having been caught reading what she'd been  reading, Lois almost dropped the magazine as she scrambled  to replace it on the rack. "Oh, hi! ... I wasn't-- that is,  I was just-- drinking coffee." She grabbed her coffee cup  and took a quick gulp to illustrate her point.

Grinning at her guilty fumbling, Clark peered inside her  cup. "Hmm, what did they put inside your coffee this  morning?"

Lois hastened to defend herself. "You just startled me,  that's all."

"Mmm-hmm," he murmured, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Well, you did." Lois quickly changed the subject. "Want  some coffee?"

He pulled her close. "No, just some sugar." After pecking a  good morning kiss onto her lips, Clark gave her a sexy  smile. "I missed you last night."

"Forest fires weren't hot enough?" she answered a little  breathlessly. It always sent shivers down her spine when he  smiled at her like that, and when he dropped his voice an  octave at the same time, she could hardly remember to  breathe.

"They've got nothing on you, Lois."

"Mmm, good answer." Relaxing against him, Lois giggled as  Clark began to nuzzle her ear. "You still smell like  smoke."

"I do?" Clark lifted his head in surprise. "I showered."

Lois looked at him through half-lowered lids. "Well, see,  that's your problem ... I wasn't in there with you to soap  you up."

Clark made a low sound in the back of his throat. "God,  Lois, nine in the morning and you make me want to pick you  up and carry you home."

"Whose home?" she teased.

"Our home," he murmured in a husky voice. Quickly, though,  he backpedaled. "I'm sorry. That wasn't a proposal, I  swear." He fixed her with a lopsided grin and stepped back,  lightening the mood.

She returned his smile easily. She hadn't interpreted his  comment that way, and from the relaxed look on his face, he  wasn't really worried that she had. "See, this is why I  don't want to get married, Clark," she teased. When she  noticed the smile leave his eyes, however, it was her turn  to quickly backpedal. "No, no, I just mean ... we have so  much fun together. I love joking around with you like this,  flirting with you."

"Ah." He nodded, then fixed her with an exaggerated look of  understanding, a grin once again playing on the corners of  his mouth. "You thought you were going to get out of that?  See, I fully intend to flirt with you long after we're  married."

"And I suppose you'll expect me to flirt with you?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on hiring a pool boy, so I'll just  have to do."

Lois laughed, but her voice changed as she rested her hands  on his chest. "It's just ... I'm afraid marriage will  change things, Clark."

At the wistful note that had entered her voice, Clark  smoothed one of his hands over her hair. "I'm afraid, too,  Lois," he answered her sincerely. "You're the most  important thing in the world to me, and I don't want to  mess this up." Then his eyes softened. "But I believe in  us, Lois, and I know that being with you can never be  anything but wonderful."

Lois felt herself melting at his declaration, and wrapped  her arms around his waist. "Clark, do you remember what you  told me about when we first started dating, why you didn't  want to tell me about ... you know who ... right away? How  you knew things would change between us while I sorted  things out, and you just wanted a few more days to enjoy  the feeling of us falling in love?"

Clark pulled her a little closer. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, that's what I'm feeling right now. I know you're not  worried that things will change if we get married, but I  am. And I just want to enjoy what we have right now; I  don't want to rush things. Clark, I'm happier than I've  ever been in my whole life, and I just want to enjoy it."  She looked up at him, her eyes hopeful. "Can you do that  with me?"

Lois searched his face anxiously as he mulled over what she  had said. When Clark finally smiled, it was the most  genuine smile Lois had seen on his face in days. "Yeah," he  answered, nodding. "I can do that." He pressed a sweet kiss  onto her lips.

Lois smiled in relief and was about to return his kiss with  one of her own when a loud shout abruptly echoed through  the lobby. Lois and Clark looked up to see several men in  jumpsuits rushing into the building, carrying equipment  cases with MPD BOMB SQUAD written on the sides.

"We've got an emergency in this building!" barked a man  they assumed to be the squad commander. "I need everyone  outside!"

The noise level in the lobby increased dramatically as  people began rushing for the exits. Shouting to be heard  over the din, Lois collared the commander as he rushed  past. "What is it? What's going on?"

"Just step outside, little lady," he ordered before moving  to the elevator.

Clark was already looking around anxiously, hands fiddling  with his tie. "Go on, honey," he said quickly, concern on  his face. "I'll take care of it."

Lois started to protest, but closed her mouth when she saw  his worried look. "Be careful," she said as she watched him  slip away down one of the cleared out hallways.

*****

By the time Superman made his way upstairs to the newsroom,  the bomb squad commander was already selecting a pair of  wire cutters to defuse the bomb. Clark heard Perry White  sigh the super-hero's name in relief.

Kneeling next to the squad commander, Superman peered at  the bomb. He normally let the local law enforcement do  their job unhindered if they had everything under control,  but this was his boss in the hot seat. "Do you need any  help?"

"Nah," the man drawled. "I found what I wanted." As he cut  the appropriate wire, however, a timer promptly began  counting down from sixty. "Uh oh ... I underestimated this  guy. There's a back-up firing mechanism. We've got less  than a minute to clear this whole building!"

Clark didn't waste any time. "Clear a path to the window,"  he ordered. He picked up Perry's chair from underneath,  careful not to set off the pressure bomb before he had to.  "Hang on, Mr. White."

*****

Lex Luthor ground his teeth as he lifted the grate covering  the entrance to the subway tunnel that was his new home. As  far as he knew, everything had gone off without a hitch at  the bomb squad's headquarters, but his morning at the Daily  Planet had left him fuming.

It had all started out nicely enough. He had disguised  himself as a maintenance worker in order to monitor the  building's lobby, and had been delighted when Lois Lane  showed up shortly after he'd positioned himself. From his  vantage point, he could watch her drink her morning coffee.  Her beauty was a sight to behold.

He'd been exceptionally pleased when Lois had decided to  linger in the lobby, not just so he could gaze upon her,  but also because it had given him the opportunity to delay  her from going upstairs. Lex had no compunction about  blowing up the Daily Planet's newsroom -- he'd done it  before, and he'd be happy to do it again. But he'd just as  soon not put Lois in harm's way if it wasn't necessary. The  bomb squad was sure to arrive quickly, and the annoying big  blue boy scout was probably going to put in an appearance  as well. But knowing how irritatingly curious Lois was, it  wouldn't have surprised Lex at all if she had tried to  follow the disarmament team up the stairs.

Lex had been prepared to simply block her path and  personally escort her outside if that were to happen ... he  was confident that his disguise would keep his true  identity a secret until he chose to reveal himself; after  all, Lois hadn't suspected a thing yesterday evening when  she'd helped him across the street. But the point had been  moot. That she had decided to flip through a magazine  before going upstairs for the day -- although which  magazine, he couldn't be certain due to the position of the  newsstand -- had only made his job that much easier.

What he hadn't counted on witnessing, however, was Lois's  partner approaching her with that sappy smile on his face.  Even more outlandish was her response -- she'd actually let  that hack kiss her! Lex hadn't been able to hear any of  their conversation, but it was obvious that Clark Kent felt  entitled to put his hands on her.

Lex growled as he worked his way through the dark tunnel.  He hadn't expected Lois to live as a nun while he'd been  gone -- after all, women had their needs, just as men did - - but he hadn't expected her to dally with her partner. A  senator, maybe, or a doctor, he could understand, but  *Kent*?!

Of course, once someone had been with Lex Luthor, there was  nowhere to go but down. And Lois clearly couldn't be  serious about the man; Kent was a nothing, a nobody. But  Lex really had thought Lois would have had better taste  than to have a fling with her partner. It was quite  unseemly for a woman of her potential. The mere idea left a  bad taste in his mouth and he made a sound of disgust.

Gretchen and Nigel were already in the hideout when Lex  stepped into the light. He looked at Nigel impatiently.  "Well? Did you get it?"

St. John indicated a metal case containing plastic  explosives and a firing mechanism. "Of course."

"Any problems?"

"No." "Good." Lex nodded, then he fixed his assistant with  a hard stare. "Now tell me everything you've found out  about Lois Lane."

Unflappable as always, Nigel simply reached inside his  jacket and pulled out a notebook. For a moment, Lex could  have sworn he'd seen a smirk on the man's face, but when  Nigel lifted his head, it was gone.

"Lois Lane," St. John began, "is currently in a  relationship with Clark Kent, her partner at the Daily  Planet. They've been seeing each other for the last three  months."

Gretchen Kelly walked up behind Lex. "Apparently they're  quite serious," she added, with a sing-song note of triumph  in her voice.

"Impossible," Lex snapped, shooting her a warning look.  "They're co-workers. They're probably just keeping each  other company until something better comes along."

Nigel lifted an eyebrow. "Well, apparently they've been  keeping each other company several nights a week," he said  dryly. "All night."

"They're sleeping together?"

"Indeed."

Lex's eyes opened wide, then he narrowed them dangerously.  "Impossible," he repeated coolly. "Lois doesn't want to  have sex outside marriage ... she had some bad experiences  in her younger days and has decided to wait because of  them. Your sources must be wrong."

Nigel opened his mouth, but closed it again without  responding. Instead, he just sat back in his chair and  watched Lex with a contemplative expression on his face.

Gretchen, however, was outraged by his denial. "Lex! What  more do you need?" She inserted herself between the two  men. "She's obviously having sex with her partner, a man  who pales in comparison to you. She's no longer worth your  time -- she isn't worth a second thought!"

"I'll decide who is and isn't worth my time, Doctor," he  responded sharply, brushing her aside. "Nigel, I want you  to look into Mr. Kent. I want something that I can use ...  a weakness, a secret past, anything that will give me  leverage over him."

"Already done," Nigel replied, his arms folded across his  chest. "Once I discovered that he was seeing Miss Lane, I  took the liberty of updating the background report I had  created on him during your engagement last year."

"And?"

"As then, nothing."

"What do you mean, *nothing*?" Lex stormed, beginning to  pace. "No expunged police records, no exaggerations on his  resume, no disgruntled ex-girlfriends?? No one is that  clean, Nigel!"

In contrast to Lex's agitation, Nigel's demeanor became  even more calm. "Apparently Kent is."

After a moment, Lex stopped pacing. "Well, it doesn't  matter anyway," he stated matter-of-factly. "Your sources  are clearly wrong; they aren't having sex."

Gretchen, for her part, had been fuming in silence after  Lex's brush-off, but this last comment sent her over the  edge. "This is crazy!" she sputtered. "You're letting your  history with this woman blind you to the obvious. What do  you think they are doing all night in each other's  apartments? Knitting socks?!" She whirled on Nigel. "Tell  him!" she demanded. "Tell him this is crazy."

When St. John just sat in silence, however, Gretchen gave  up and tried a different tack. Moving close to Lex, she put  her hands on his chest. "Lex," she cooed, trying to sound  seductive, "she's not good enough for you ... you can do so  much better."

Lex just regarded her coldly. "Is that your *professional*  opinion, Doctor?"

Gretchen stepped back and narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she  spat. "I'll just have to prove it to you." She turned away  from Lex and grabbed her bag before storming out. "I'll be  back. Then you'll see!"

Lex rolled his eyes at her tantrum. The woman really did  not take rejection well. But she was a good doctor and was  unfailingly loyal, so it wouldn't do to let her leash get  too long. "Gretchen," he called after her. "Gretchen!" When  she didn't stop, he turned to Nigel, annoyed. "Now where  the hell is she going?"

St. John just made a sound of exasperation. "Oh, let her go  already ... we don't need her today. She'll come back; she  always does."

Lex gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine ... we have work to  do anyway. Contact Tarbush. We have a prison break to  organize."

Part 4

At a little after five that afternoon, Clark perched  himself on the corner of Lois's desk. "I'm finished," he  pronounced, "and I think you are, too." When Lois simply  raised an eyebrow, he motioned around the room. "Come on,  Lois, no one is getting any work done today. The bomb scare  this morning pretty much ensured that. The police have been  crawling all over the place, and even Perry's been in  meetings all day with building security, trying to find out  who might have done this. Let's get out of here."

Lois tried to look serious. "Now, Clark," she intoned,  "just because everyone else is leaving early, doesn't mean  we have to. If the rest of the newsroom jumped off a cliff,  would you do it, too?"

Clark grinned. "Well, actually, *I* could." He laughed as  she slapped his leg. "Come on, Lois, bug out with me ... "  His voice took on a coaxing, sing-song tone. "I'll take you  to dinner ... anywhere you want to go."

She considered this. "Anywhere?"

"*Any*where," he repeated, eyes twinkling. "What do you  feel like tonight? Italian? French?" He lowered his voice,  glancing around to be sure no one was within earshot. He  needn't have bothered, however, since the small handful of  reporters left in the newsroom were all clustered around  the coffee pot. "I know this great little place in Athens  ..."

"Greece?" Lois looked tempted, then reconsidered. "No, I  think we should stay local tonight. You know what happened  last time we flew overseas ... almost getting arrested for  lewd behavior in a public park is not my idea of a fun  evening." She gave a little roll of her eyes.

"We did *not* almost get arrested," he protested, laughing.  "I got us out of there in plenty of time."

"Yeah, right." She turned her mouth into a pretend pout. "I  didn't even have enough time to grab my doggie bag. And it  was all your fault, too ... how does someone with super- hearing not hear a police patrol?"

"My fault?" Clark sputtered. "And who distracted me? I  wasn't the one wearing the skirt cut up to here and the  blouse cut down to there!" His hands motioned in  conjunction with his words, even as his skin flushed  slightly from the memory. "Honey, you're lucky we made it  to the park. It was all I could do not to attack you in the  restaurant."

Lois's face wore a satisfied smirk as she ran her hand up  his thigh. "I'd say we both got lucky."

Clark gave her a slow grin. "Leave with me now and I'll  promise we'll both get lucky again."

*****

Gretchen Kelly sat outside the Daily Planet in her rented  car, waiting to put her plan into motion. She craned her  neck as a dark-haired couple exited the building across the  street, holding hands. Yes, it was them.

She watched as they made their way down to the parking lot  at the end of the block and got into Lois's silver Jeep  Grand Cherokee. It was a good thing she had taken a look at  Nigel's report ... knowing some details about Lois's life  would make her job that much easier.

As the large SUV pulled out into traffic, Gretchen started  her car and began to tail them, being sure to stay several  car lengths behind. At the first traffic light, she eyed  the equipment on the seat next to her and smiled an evil  smile.

She would have her revenge. And then Lex would see that  Gretchen Kelly was the only woman for him.

*****

Lois and Clark ended up at Oakley's Pub for dinner, a  midtown restaurant which had become popular with the young  professionals of Metropolis. The food was good and  reasonably priced and there was always chocolate on the  dessert menu. They'd run into a few people they knew during  the meal -- a stock broker they'd recently interviewed for  a story, a defense attorney they'd helped by discovering a  witness who could verify his client's alibi, and a nurse at  Metropolis General with whom Lois had gone to college --  but for the most part, they'd been able to enjoy enough  privacy during their meal to generate a little heat that  didn't radiate off the plates of hot food.  The only tense moment had come when Clark had accidentally  overheard a group of attorneys from the prosecutor's office  talking at the bar, some of whom he recognized as friends  of a certain blonde Assistant DA he'd shared a few casual  dates with several months ago. Clark knew that Mayson had  been telling people that Clark had dumped her for his  partner, implying that their "relationship" had been much  more serious than it was. He'd decided at the time not to  get involved, figuring that the less he said about the  subject, the sooner it would die. He just hadn't expected  that her friends would still be making comments about him  (and thus, Lois) three months later.

Uncomfortable over the gossip they were sharing at his  expense, Clark had suggested that he and Lois leave without  ordering dessert, but Lois had found the entire experience  to be extremely humorous and she'd flat out refused to  leave. Clark had found her amusement puzzling until she'd  given him a devilish grin and whispered, "Let's give them  something to talk about," right before launching herself  into his arms.

By the time dessert had been served, Clark was in a much  better mood and ready to leave for a completely different  reason, but Lois had only turned up the teasing. All  thoughts of gossip flew out of his head when they began  feeding each other bites of the chocolate cheesecake they  were sharing, and by the time her hand began caressing his  inner thigh underneath the table, he'd have been willing to  take out a billboard had Lois asked him to. They were both  smiling broadly by the time they paid the check, and Clark  couldn't help but chuckle as Lois made a point of walking  past the bar and giving him another kiss in front of the  attorneys' table.

She'd continued to subject him to more of her sweet torture  on the ride home, so no sooner had Lois parked her SUV in  front of her brownstone than Clark was around the car and  opening the driver's side door. Lois smiled as he helped  her out of the car, but her smile turned into a gasp as he  quickly pulled her into his arms and gave her a soul- shattering kiss.

They traded wet kisses against the car until the strong  glare of headlights from another car being parked down the  street jerked them out of their trance. "Let's take this  upstairs," Lois suggested, smiling against his mouth. "I  want to do things to you I can't do in public."

Clark gave a throaty groan. "I thought you'd never ask."

Locking the car, Lois took Clark's hand as they practically  ran up the steps to the front door, giggling. It took a few  minutes to actually get inside the door since Clark used  her pausing to find the right key as an opportunity to  continue kissing, but eventually, they managed.

Getting into Lois's apartment was a little quicker, and  they laughed as they each tried to turn the inside locks at  the same time. Once that little task was accomplished,  though, Clark turned to her with a predatory look. "Now,  about that dessert you promised me ..."

Lois's eyes sparkled as she grabbed him by the tie and  walked backwards into the living room, pulling him along  with her. "The chocolate cheesecake didn't satisfy you?"  she asked as innocently as she could manage.

Clark stripped off his suit jacket as he spoke. "It wasn't  what I've been craving for the last two days, no."

As he tossed the jacket over a chair, Lois grinned and  began working on the knot in his tie. "I seem to remember,"  she answered in a sultry voice, "you saying something about  me being good enough to--"

The rest of her words were swallowed by Clark's passionate  kiss. "I think that can definitely be arranged," he  responded in a husky rumble.

The next words out of his mouth, however, were a muttered  curse.

Lois pulled back in surprise. "*What* did you just say?"

Clark only continued to mutter under his breath as he  pulled out of her arms. If she hadn't known better, Lois  would have sworn he'd just used the word "Superman" in  conjunction with a few others that would normally make him  blush.

"Duty calls?" she sighed.

Sighing heavily along with her, Clark spun into the suit.  "I'll be *right* back," he promised as he opened her  window. "Oh, and Lois?" he added, fixing her with an  aroused stare. "This time, *definitely* wait up."

*****

Twenty minutes later, Lois had just decided to step out on  her fire escape to get some air when she heard Clark  return. He called her name as he walked through the  apartment and Lois knew that he would find her quickly.

Sure enough, she heard him climb through the window almost  immediately and walk up behind her. "Mmm," Lois purred as  she felt him wrap his arms around her from behind. "Just  what I needed to warm me up." The February evening was  unusually mild, but she was starting to get chilly in her  long-sleeved sweater. She could feel that he had spun back  into his shirt and pants but a glance upwards told her he  had skipped the tie.

Clark smiled against her skin as his lips traced light  kisses down one side of her neck. "Waiting for someone?"

"My boyfriend," she murmured happily. "I thought he might  be flying by."

"He came in from the other direction." Clark ran his hands  up and down her sweater-clad arms, even as his lips  continued to tease her skin. "He had to stop at his place  first to pick up a suit for tomorrow."

"Does that mean he's here for the night?"

"Oh, yeah," he murmured in a throaty voice, kissing his way  up to her ear. "Oh ... yeah." He held her against his body  possessively. "God, you look sexy in this outfit."

Lois gave a throaty laugh as she heard the heat in his  voice. She was more than ready to pick up where they'd left  off, and she was glad the rescue hadn't dampened his  interest either. She rotated her hips against him  seductively to find the evidence she guessed would be there  and grinned. "In the mood you're in, why do I think you'd  find me sexy in anything?"

"Oh, you already know that. In anything ..." The tip of his  tongue barely made contact as it traced the shell of her  ear, causing Lois to shiver. "Or out of anything ..." He  sucked her earlobe into his mouth, as one hand began to  play with the little pearl buttons of her sweater. "But  I've been fantasizing about taking this sweater off you all  day." He ran his other hand down her side and cupped her  hip. "And this skirt? Lois, you should know what an outfit  like this would do to me."

Lois laughed again. Her outfit wasn't blatantly sexy, at  least not in an overstated way. The black leather skirt was  shorter than she used to wear, but she'd found it in the  career-wear section of the department store. Paired with a  prim red button-down knit sweater, it made an outfit that  was certainly appropriate for work. Of course, the pairing  had been no accident ... she didn't deny that the contrast  of the proper knit sweater with the slightly naughty short  black skirt was meant to emphasize her assets in a way that  was still professional. "I'm glad you like it," she said in  a breathy voice, enjoying the amazing touches and kisses he  was giving her. "You know, last year I never would have  worn something like this ... I guess now that I have  someone to show off for, I don't mind doing it."

"You can show off for me anytime," he whispered in her ear.

"Mmm, too bad I can't come to work naked," she teased.

Clark chuckled. "Cat Grant seemed to manage."

Lois rolled her eyes. "And I suppose you found that sexy?"

"Mmm, no way," he murmured as his lower hand traced a path  to her thigh. "Lois, believe me when I say that I spent  many hours fantasizing about what was under those suits of  yours, but I never spent one minute on Cat."

Lois let her head fall to one side as Clark's lips  continued exploring her neck, but couldn't help but smile  at her next thought. "And to think she always said I would  never entice a man dressing the way I did."

Clark was breathless as he responded. "I'm enticed." He  pulled her more closely to him and groaned softly as she  deliberately pressed against him, sharpening his arousal  intensely. He brought a hand up to cup one of her breasts.  "I am so enticed."

Lois's resulting whimper caused his passion to flare even  more, and Clark began to caress her through her sweater.  Her whimper turned into a throaty moan.

He was about to suggest they take things inside when Lois  turned in his arms and began to layer kisses along his  neck, making it his turn to moan. "And just what did you  fantasize about, Clark?" Lois whispered as her mouth  reached his ear. "What did you think I wore under those  boxy business suits?"

His hands cupped her bottom as he captured her lips in a  passionate kiss. He was breathing hard when he finally  responded. "I think I pictured everything at one time or  another ... sometimes black, sometimes white ... sometimes  nothing at all."

"Never a seven-veils costume, though, I bet." She smiled  against his kiss. "God, that seems like a lifetime ago  now."

He couldn't help but smile back, even as he recaptured her  lips. "I thought I was going to die trying to resist you."

"You wanted me," she stated in a husky voice. "I could  tell."

Clark moaned deep in his throat as Lois's fingers began to  tease his nipples through his shirt, and he brought a hand  back up to cup one of her full breasts. "What do you mean?"

A seductive smile spread across his lover's face. "I mean,  I could feel you ... when you finally gave in and pulled me  to you. 'If you want me, I'm yours.' You wanted me, too."

He gave a breathless gasp. "You knew?"

"It was difficult to miss." Her chuckle was throaty and her  eyes sparkled mischievously. "Clark, do you have any idea  how many times I tried to push that memory out of my mind?  I tried to pretend it didn't happen. But even as I tried to  convince myself I didn't have feelings for you, I couldn't  help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn't come  out of it just then." She kissed him erotically, letting  her teeth tug on his lower lip. "Would you have been able  to stop ... if I had done this?" She seductively lowered a  hand between them.

Clark took a sharp breath inwards as he felt his control  slip. Cupping the sides of her face with both hands, he  pulled her mouth to his for a devouring kiss. "Lois," he  hissed against her mouth. "Inside. *Now*."

She didn't need a second request.

*****

Lying on Lois's bed later that evening, Clark groaned  happily as he stretched his muscles. The second round of  their 'dessert' for the evening had started in the living  room, continued in the shower, then finished on the bedroom  ceiling. And it had been so much more satisfying than  chocolate cheesecake, he thought with a contented smile.

This was when he felt closest to her, he'd come to realize  over the last three months. Not during sex itself, but  after, as they basked in the afterglow, sated and drowsy, a  tangle of bare arms and legs on the bed. Completely exposed  ... and completely safe. This was when they had their most  intimate conversations. When they planned their future and  talked about their pasts, and shared their joys and their  worries. Over the last three months, they had talked about  so much, yet they never seemed to run out of conversation.  She truly was his best friend, Clark thought. And his  lover. And someday soon, hopefully more. But they'd agreed  to table the discussion of marriage, and this time, he was  going to honor the agreement. He could wait, he told  himself. He had to. Too much was at stake.

Clark stretched again, then sighed contently as Lois did  the same, the action causing her thigh to brush between  his. "I never knew it was possible to be this happy," he  announced on a yawn.

Lois sighed happily as well. "It's disgusting, isn't it?"

"Well, that's an interesting choice of words."

She just laughed. "No, I mean me. Ten o'clock on a work  night, and I've been naked for the past hour and a half. A  few months ago I would still have been *at* work, making  tracks towards my next big story."

"Not naked I hope."

She smacked him on the arm. "I'm serious. What happened to  me, Clark?"

"You fell in love, sweetie."

"But what if I've lost my edge? What if while I'm lying  here with you, the Pulitzer Prize-winning story I've been  waiting for is lurking right outside my door?"

"Then there'll be other stories." At her frustrated  expression, he started over. "Lois, look, I know how  important your career is to you. You are the best reporter  in this city, and that's not going to change just because  you no longer spend every waking minute at the paper." He  ran his hand up and down her arm. "Priorities change,  honey. That's part of life. A good part, I think. Aren't  you happier now than you were four months ago?"

Lois sighed. "Of course I am, Clark. But that's scary in  itself. I mean, look at this whole marriage thing that's  got us all turned around." At the wary look that crept onto  his face, she gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry,  I'm not going to get into it. It's just that now when I  think about the future, I'm not just thinking about my next  story anymore. I'm thinking about you ... and you and me  ... and making plans based on you and me. I never thought  I'd be planning my life around a man, but I'm doing it ...  and it scares the heck out of me!"

Clark shook his head. "You're not planning your life around  me, Lois ... you're planning your life around *us*."

"But what if I lose *me* in the process?"

Clark intertwined his fingers with hers. "Then I would be  very sad, because I never intend to lose you."

Lois stared at him for a moment. "That was a very good  answer."

He grinned at her. "Thank you."

"So you're saying that you won't let me -- or my career --  get lost in the process." She furrowed her brow, still  concerned.

"Not unless you want it to."

"That shifting priority thing?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh, brother."  Clark leaned forward. "Just kiss me, Lois. I promise it'll  be all right ... we'll work through it."

Giving up, Lois pressed her mouth to his. By the time she  pulled back, she was sighing contently again. "Oh, great,  now I'm back to disgusting."

Clark laughed out loud and pulled her into his arms. "A  fear of happiness! Do you have any other deep-seated  phobias I should know about, Ms. Lane?"

Lois just smiled. "Rats," she answered.

"Rats what?"

"No, *rats*. I hate rats." She gave a little shudder.

"You do? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, since I was a kid. They really give me the creeps.  They're dirty and crawly and--" She shuddered again.

Clark couldn't help but smile. "Always something new to  learn."

Lois looked up at him speculatively. "So what about you?"  she asked. "What silly thing are you afraid of?" She  started to laugh. "Wouldn't it be funny if you were afraid  of heights? Or of flying?"

"Yeah, that's it, Lois ... I'm afraid of flying."

They chuckled together before lapsing into a comfortable  silence. Lois snuggled up against him as Clark pulled her  close, and she sighed again. "So, no silly fears, huh? I'm  the only one?"

This time, however, Clark didn't answer.

"Clark?" She glanced up at him, and was surprised to see  that he looked a little melancholy. "What is it, honey?"

He was silent for another long moment before he responded.  "Knives," he finally admitted. "I don't like knives."

She quirked her head to look at him. "What, like kitchen  knives? We're in trouble if you can't chop vegetables  anymore." She quit teasing, however, when she saw the  subdued expression still on his face. "Seriously?"

"Not kitchen knives. Surgical knives."

"I don't understand."

He sighed as he looked away. "Remember how I told you my  dad always warned that I had to be careful with my powers,  so no one would find out about me?" Lois nodded,  encouraging him to continue. "He used to say that if anyone  found out, they'd put me in a lab and dissect me like a  frog."

"Ah, those kind of knives." Lois nodded sympathetically.  She remembered Clark using that phrase when he had told her  about Superman. Then a little pang of guilt hit her as she  also remembered her reaction to his explanation, how she  had dismissed it as a ridiculous excuse -- no one could  dissect him because he was invulnerable. But it was clear  that she had dismissed something important to him.

"He would say it as a way to impress on me how important it  was to keep what I could do a secret," Clark explained. "It  never bothered me all that much when I was little; I don't  think I really knew what it meant. I used to catch frogs by  the pond all the time and keep them as pets, so I guess I  figured it must be something like that."

Lois lifted her head from his chest and rolled to her side  next to him. She propped herself up on one elbow to watch  him.

Clark rolled towards her, but he kept his eyes lowered as  he continued. "When I was eight, the high school had a  science fair. It was one of those big events where everyone  in town goes. They had exhibits set up in the gym and in  the halls. You'd walk around and see what everyone had  done, and they'd award prizes.

"One of the most popular exhibits with the kids was run by  a high school student who was taking biology. He had a  bucket of dead frogs, and he'd dissect them as the people  watched; he'd talk about what he was doing, that sort of  thing. I was walking around with a couple of my friends  while our parents were visiting and we got to the booth  just as he was pegging down a new frog.

Clark swallowed. "I just stood there, transfixed, watching  him. He pinned the frog to the tray, then he took the knife  and cut open its belly. After he peeled back the skin, he  started taking out the organs, mounting each one on the  tray as he went. I don't remember what anyone around me was  doing; I was completely fixated on that frog." He closed  his eyes. "And all of a sudden, it hit me ... this was what  my dad said they were going to do to me."

Lois put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, my God," she  whispered.

Clark opened his eyes again, but they were unseeing, lost  in the memory. His voice grew hoarse. "I-- I guess I had  some type of panic attack because the next thing I  remember, I was outside, getting sick in the bushes. People  were making jokes; they thought I just couldn't handle the  sight of the frog.

"My dad ran out and wrapped me in his coat and carried me  off to the car, and I remember my mom held me in her lap  all the way home because I couldn't stop crying. I was  absolutely terrified." He took a shaky breath. "That night,  after they'd finally got me calmed down and into bed, my  parents had a huge fight. My mom was furious because my dad  had scared me, but my dad kept insisting that I had to  learn to keep quiet. I just laid there in bed, listening to  them, knowing that if I wasn't the way I was--" His voice  cracked. "They wouldn't have to be ashamed of me and hide  me, and they wouldn't have to fight about me."

Tears spilled down Lois's cheeks as she pulled him to her,  whispering his name.

Clark took a few deep breaths before continuing, taking  comfort in her embrace. "I started having nightmares after  that, but I would never tell my parents what they were  about. Maybe they knew, I don't know. It probably wasn't  too hard to figure out, but I'd always say I couldn't  remember." Clark finally looked up to meet Lois's tear- filled eyes. "I've never told anyone this before ... about  the dreams, what they really were. Don't tell my parents,  OK?"

Lois nodded and tried to wipe some of her tears away. "I  won't," she promised.

"I don't want them to feel guilty."

"I know."

"My dad felt real bad about it after, even if he wouldn't  admit it. He was scared, too; scared someone would find out  about me and take me away. He was just trying to protect  me."

"I know."

Clark was quiet for a long moment. "I got over it ... I  mean, you know how kids are. You just kind of bury it and  get on with your life." He attempted a lopsided grin. "I  even took high school biology."

Lois gave a watery laugh.

"It's just that ... deep down, Lois ... in that little kid  place ... I think a part of me will always wonder if I  should be ashamed of who I am."

Lois pulled back to look him in the eye, her face tender  but serious. "Don't think that."

Clark sighed. "I know, honey ... as an adult, I know--"

"Clark, listen to me ... you have *nothing* to be ashamed  of. You put yourself out there every day -- not just as  Superman but as Clark Kent -- to make the world a better  place." She paused, making sure she had his full attention.  "And you are more *human* than anyone I have ever met. I  just wish you could see how special you really are."

Clark inhaled a shaky breath, his emotions catching up with  him. "Now which one of us knows exactly what to say?" He  swiped at his eyes and attempted a smile. "Thank you."

"You OK?"

"Yeah ... thanks." He gave a little laugh. "I'm sorry, I  didn't mean to be such a downer. We've had such a great  night, too."

"It's still a great night," she reassured him. "You just  reminded me how lucky I am to have you."

"Lois ... " He stared into her eyes for a long moment,  emotions building once more. "For most of my life, there's  been a small part of me that's always wondered whether  anyone could ever really love me once they knew who -- and  what -- I am." He swallowed, gathering his composure. "But  now that I've found you, I finally *know*. You're  everything to me, Lois, and finding you was like finding a  piece of myself that I didn't even know was missing."

"I feel the same way," she whispered emotionally.

"I know," he whispered back, "and I am thankful for that  every day." He smiled softly. "So when I need a little  extra reassurance now and then ... like when I freak out  about the marriage thing ... just know that it's not *you*  I'm doubting, but myself, OK?"

She sniffled. "OK. I can do that."

"Good. 'Cause I love you so much."

Lois closed the small distance between them and pressed a  gentle, lingering kiss against his lips. "And I love you."

Part 5

The next morning, Lois and Clark stood in Perry's office,  watching him crawl around under his chair looking for  another bomb.

"So Superman just dumped you out of the chair without any  warning?" she asked, incredulous. She shot Clark a look of  amazement. "What in the world was he thinking??"

Clark just looked sheepish. "Maybe it was the fastest way?"  he offered weakly.

Perry sat up. "Well, it looks clean. Some yahoo probably  just didn't like what he read in the paper. It's a risk all  editors take."

Lois rolled her eyes at Clark, then turned her doubtful  glance back to Perry. "Don't you think it's awfully  coincidental that Nigel St. John, a former spy, is back in  town and suddenly this happens?"

"Aww, Lois, you're being paranoid."

"I don't know, Chief," Clark interjected. "Guess who else  has magically reappeared? Sheldon Bender. Claims his  abduction was just a prank by some old fraternity buddies."

"I don't buy that either," Lois scoffed. "Perry, my  instincts tell me that all of this is connected with Nigel  and Gretchen Kelly."

Just then, Jimmy walked in the door. "Guess what?" he  asked. "The bomb squad headquarters was robbed while they  were here."

Perry stood up straighter. "You mean I was just a  diversion??"

"Kind of cheapens it somehow, huh?" Jimmy said  sympathetically.

Lois and Clark, however, weren't even paying attention  anymore. They turned to each other in unison.

"You take Bender, I'll take the bomb squad--"

"I'll take Bender, you take the bomb squad--"

Staring at each other for a moment as the words filtered,  they gave each other a quick nod and dashed out of Perry's  office, hot on the trail.

Staring after them, Jimmy's smile was surprised yet amused.  "Notice how they're agreeing on a lot more things these  days?"

"Well, talking about marriage will do that for a couple,"  Perry answered absently.

"Marriage?? How do you know that?"

"Jimmy! I didn't become editor of a major metropolitan  newspaper because I know how to yodel!"

*****

Hours later, Lois found herself trotting down the steps of  Bender's office building to the sidewalk, her attention  only half-focused on her surroundings. Darkness had come  early on this February evening, and the cold rain that had  fallen earlier gave a shine to the street that reflected  the headlights of the cars racing past. It had been a long  and frustrating day, made even more aggravating by the fact  that, despite her best efforts, Lois hadn't obtained a  single piece of information that she could use in her  story.

She'd spent most of the day trying to track down Lex's  former attorney, but all her attempts had failed. Bender's  housekeeper kept insisting that she had no idea where he  was, and Lois's efforts to track the man down at his  various clubs had also proven futile. It was only on this,  Lois's third trip to Bender's office, that his secretary  had finally let it slip that he was in seclusion on his  yacht in an effort to avoid the press -- right before she'd  threatened to have Lois arrested for harassment if she  didn't leave the premises immediately.

Deciding not to push her luck, Lois had quickly retreated,  and was now trying to figure out whether she and Clark  should confront Bender immediately or wait until tomorrow.  She knew it was too late to make tonight's deadline even if  they did manage to get an interview, but the idea of  wasting an entire day's work frustrated Lois to no end.

Distracted by her thoughts as she turned onto the sidewalk,  Lois didn't notice the man in the wheelchair until he  pulled out from the side alley right into her path. The man  quickly apologized when he saw her stop short, but as he  looked up at the person he'd almost collided with, his face  brightened in recognition. "Well, it's Lois Lane. Imagine  my luck, meeting you again so soon. In fact, I have  something for you."

Instead of returning the smile the man was giving her,  however, Lois tensed into a defensive posture. She quickly  recognized him as the same person she'd met outside the  police station the other night, but as it had after that  first encounter, something about the man made her extremely  uneasy. Instinct told her that "luck" had nothing to do his  being here, and her suspicions only intensified when he'd  made his last statement -- if he hadn't intended to see her  tonight, why would he be holding something for her? No,  something was definitely wrong here.

Apparently sensing her reluctance, the man continued,  clearly trying to tempt her. "Information about Lex  Luthor?" He wheeled himself backwards into the dark alley,  beckoning for Lois to join him. "And about the woman who  stole his body."

Lois had been prepared to walk away, but upon hearing his  offer, her ears perked up. She'd spent the entire day  trying to track down Sheldon Bender, and hadn't obtained  one bit of information for her story. But if this man had  information as to Gretchen Kelly's whereabouts -- assuming  he even knew it was Gretchen Kelly who'd stolen Lex's body  -- it could be the big break Lois had been waiting for!  Despite her suspicions, Lois let her curiosity take over  and she cautiously followed him a few yards into the alley.  "Who are you?"

The man in the wheelchair stopped in the shadows. "Do you  know the story of the Phoenix?"

Lois blinked at the seemingly abrupt change of topic. "Of  course. The sacred bird that was reborn, rising from its  own ashes."

The man rose from the wheelchair, removing his hat. "When I  was a little boy," he began, "my mother used to tell me  that story." As he spoke, he started to peel away at his  face, and Lois suddenly realized that he was wearing  artificial features to disguise his identity. "I always  liked the part where he came back from the dead," he  continued. Pulling away the last of the make-up, Lex Luthor  stood before her in the alley. "It's good to see you again,  Lois."

Lois gasped at the sight, her eyes wide. Lex? Alive? But  that was impossible! Nine months before, she had watched  him jump to his death from the balcony of his penthouse.  He'd landed not twenty feet away from her as she'd buried  her face in Clark's chest. She had seen his broken body  lying in the street. Lex couldn't be alive; he just  couldn't!

A dozen possibilities ran through her mind -- the man in  the alley was an imposter ... or this was someone's idea of  a sick joke. Even the possibility that she was seeing a  ghost somehow seemed easier to accept. But even as Lois  searched for another explanation, she knew she wouldn't  find one. The man before her really was Lex Luthor. And as  the realization hit, Lois could only stare, speechless.

If Lex was aware of her inner turmoil, he didn't  acknowledge it. "Did you think I wouldn't come back for  you?" he asked, his voice tender. "We must take the miracle  of my resurrection as a sign that even death can't keep us  apart."

Lois's head spun at his words, and she found herself barely  able to process what he was saying. When she finally found  her voice, all she could manage was a hoarse whisper. "But  how?"

"Don't question a miracle, Lois. We're together now and  that's all that matters."

"Together?" she echoed. As her mind raced to make sense of  the impossible situation, Lois finally began to comprehend  what he was saying. It sounded as if he expected her to  take him back ... "No," she protested, shaking her head. "I  could never--"

Lex stepped closer. "Lois," he implored, "I've lost  everything ... my fortune, my reputation. Everything but my  feelings for you." A soft smile crept over his face. "I  know in your eyes I've fallen from grace," he admitted.  "But surely a creature of such abundant benevolence would  allow me the chance to redeem myself."

At his words, Lois furrowed her brow, confused. Redeem  himself? In *her* eyes? "But ... I don't have those  feelings for you anymore," she stammered.

Lex simply smiled, unconvinced. "Because of Clark?" he  asked smoothly.

The sound of her partner's name jolted Lois from her  confusion. "Yes-- No!" The idea that Clark was the only  reason she wouldn't want to be with Lex sparked a sudden  flash of anger, and she sputtered the rest of her response.  "Even if I wasn't--!"

Lex cut her off by bringing a hand up to cup her cheek.  "Darling, I forgive you ... it's understandable that you'd  turn to someone else in your time of grief."

Her shock at his action was only overshadowed by her  amazement at his words. "My time of--?"

"But I'll make it up to you," he promised. "I may no longer  have my fortune, but your love makes me rich."

Lois jerked away from his touch and took a quick step  backwards. "Lex, I told you," she said firmly. "I don't  feel that way about you."

"I don't believe you." At her outraged look, he simply  smiled charmingly. "Give me a chance to win you back."

Lois was completely astounded. Lex couldn't actually  believe she would still be interested in him?! "After  everything you've done?" she gasped. "How could you  expect??"

"Yes, I did terrible things," he confessed. "But I did them  for you. Provoked by the blinding light of your beauty."  Lex gave a resigned sigh and pulled a cell phone from his  coat pocket. "But if you can't forgive me ... then turn me  in."

His invitation, however, barely registered with Lois as his  words sank in. Lex did those horrible things for *her*?  Blowing up the Daily Planet, putting all those people out  of work, killing and injuring dozens in the explosion ...  all just to win her? Because he *loved* her??

Lois's mind raced as she stood transfixed. It was  impossible ... inconceivable ... true? "No," she gasped.  "It can't be."

Lex smiled at her words of refusal and tucked the phone  back into his pocket. "I knew it." He pressed a tender kiss  onto her cheek, then quickly retreated back into the  shadows. "Till we meet again, my love."

The feel of his lips against her skin woke Lois from her  trance. "No!" she exclaimed angrily, jumping back so  quickly that she almost stumbled. "No! I told you--" But he  was already gone.

*****

"She still has feelings for me, Nigel. She tries to deny  it, but I know they're there!" Lex Luthor stood in the  tunnel hideout, triumphant. His latest encounter with Lois  Lane had told him all he needed to know. Granted, she  seemed more shocked than happy to see him, but he was more  sure than ever that they were meant to be together.

"Well, if she does, she's playing you for a fool, Lex," a  haughty female voice responded.

Lex whipped around to face Gretchen Kelly. "Where the  *hell* have you been??" he ground out sharply.

Gretchen simply waved an envelope. "Getting the proof I  said I would get. Proving to you that Lois Lane is not the  woman you think she is."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, clearly annoyed.  "You disappear for two days and you come back spouting  nonsense."

"Oh, it's not nonsense, Lex. It's-- well, I'll let you be  the judge." With a satisfied smirk, Dr. Kelly opened her  envelope and pulled out a stack of 8x10 inch photographs.

It had gone better than she'd ever imagined, Gretchen  thought as she fanned out the pictures in front of Lex.  She'd left yesterday fully expecting that it would take a  few days to get the goods on Lois Lane. She'd never  expected to get what she needed the very first night. She'd  tailed Lane and Kent yesterday evening as they went to  dinner, then back to Lois's apartment. While Gretchen had  managed to get a few photographs of them behaving like  sloppy teenagers outside the brownstone, her goal for the  evening had simply been to determine the best location to  set up her surveillance equipment. A little digging during  the afternoon had told her which nearby apartments were  vacant, and a bit of advance reconnaissance work had showed  her which ones had views into Lois Lane's bedroom. Her plan  had simply been to set up a video camera in an apartment  across the alley, hoping to catch Lois and her lover on  film at some future date. But things had worked out so much  better than that.

Initially buoyed by the fact that she'd had a clear shot  into the bedroom, Gretchen had become incensed when Lois  pulled closed the draperies covering the window. Cursing  with frustration, she'd been about to give up when she  noticed Lois and Clark getting hot and heavy on the fire  escape. Hardly able to believe her luck, Gretchen had  quickly changed the camera's direction and within minutes,  had exactly what she needed -- visual proof of what a slut  Lois Lane really was.

Unfortunately, the living room draperies had ensured that  the camera couldn't follow them as they'd continued things  inside the apartment, but Gretchen was satisfied with what  she'd been able to get of them on the fire escape. Once Lex  saw the pictures -- she'd taken the liberty of making still  photographs from the video tape this afternoon -- Lois Lane  would be history in his book. And then Lex would come back  crawling back to the woman who had brought him back to  life!

*****

Lois raced through the Daily Planet lobby and punched the  elevator button, her hands shaking. This was big ... this  was huge! Lex Luthor, alive? It was impossible, but she had  seen it with her own eyes. Lois had no idea how it had  happened, but she was going to find out. Was it possible  that Gretchen Kelly had actually done what she'dbeen trying  to do? That she'd brought Lex back to life? They'd  discovered that Kelly was trying to do just that, after the  encounter they'd had with her during the Resplendent Man  incident ... but Lois and Clark had dismissed the doctor as  insane. Except now it seemed like Kelly had actually  succeeded! Stepping into the elevator car, Lois paced  anxiously, willing it to go faster. This could be the  award-winning story she'd been talking about!

The doors slid open on the newsroom and Lois practically  ran down the ramp towards Perry's office. "Perry! Clark!  You're not going to believe this!"

Clark and Jimmy jumped up as she ran past them, and  followed her into their editor's office, confused. "What?  What happened?"

Lois waited till they were assembled, barely able to  contain herself. "He's alive! Lex Luthor! He's alive!"

Jaws around her dropped. "Very funny, Lois," Perry finally  drawled. "I don't have time for jokes tonight."

Lois shook her head. "No joke, Perry. I saw him ... he was  outside Sheldon Bender's office ... in a wheelchair. He  approached me a couple days ago, too, but I didn't realize  it was him until tonight."

The men in the office exchanged looks. "Lois ..." Clark  started carefully. "Honey, maybe you saw someone who  *looked* like Luthor, but--"

Lois whirled on him. "Clark! Don't patronize me! I know  what I saw ... it was Lex. He was wearing a mask, a  disguise. He approached me on the street after I left  Bender's office. He told me he had information about Lex  Luthor ... I followed him into the alley."

"You did *what*? Lois, that's dangerous!"

She shot her boyfriend a warning look. "I've been taking  care of myself for a long time, Clark; save the lecture."  She turned back to Perry. "At first, I wasn't sure what he  was talking about, but when we got into the alley, away  from the street, he started referencing an old myth, about  a magical bird that rose from the ashes."

"The Phoenix?" Clark asked.

"Exactly ... he asked me if I'd ever heard the story,  which, of course, I had. Then he pulled off his mask -- one  of those professional-type ones, Clark, like Mr. Make-Up  used last year? And under the mask, it was Lex!"

Perry was astounded. "Lex Luthor? You're sure?"

Lois rolled her eyes as she looked at her editor. "Perry, I  was engaged to the man. I think I'd know. He must have a  hide-out somewhere ... he said he'd lost everything, all  his money. But he's obviously been back long enough to  check on me because he knew I was dating Clark."

"You *talked* to him?" Clark stared at her, completely  incredulous.

"Of course I talked to him! I couldn't believe it. He kept  saying how he'd come back for me, that even death couldn't  keep us apart. I touched him; he was real. He even kissed  me."

Clark exploded. "He *what*?!?"

Lois faltered, suddenly realizing how bad it sounded. "No,  Clark ... it wasn't like that! It was just on the cheek ...  he was trying to convince me--" She stopped and tried  again. "I didn't kiss him back ... I pushed him away!"

"How could you let him get that close? Lois, what were you  *thinking*?!"

Jimmy looked uncomfortably between Lois and Clark, worried  that things were about to get ugly. He tried distraction.  "So what did Luthor say he wanted ... besides you, that  is?"

Lois glanced at Jimmy. "Uh ... I don't know ... nothing,  really. Just that he wanted me back, he wanted to know if I  could forgive him." She looked back at Clark quickly,  nervously. "I told him no!"

"Why didn't you call for help? He could have done  *anything*!"

"No, Clark ... he wouldn't hurt me. I mean, I don't think  so." Lois swallowed, the enormity of the situation finally  catching up to her. How could she have felt safe around  Lex? After all the things she had learned about him? After  all the terrible things he had done? "He said he'd done all  those things because of me ..." She trailed off, upset at  the memory.

Clark just stared at her. "He wouldn't hurt you?" he  repeated. His anger quickly channeled into controlled fury.  "He wouldn't hurt *you*?!" He was about to continue when he  noticed how closely the other two men in the room were  watching them. With a growl of frustration, Clark took Lois  by the hand. "Conference room!" he barked, striding out of  Perry's office and down the hall to the meeting room. Lois  practically had to run to keep up with him.

"Clark!" Lois protested as he shut the door. "What the hell  is the matter with you?!" She pulled her hand away  indignantly. "Look, I'm sorry if this is stepping on your  insecurities over Lex, but I'm not giving up this story!"

"The story?!" he sputtered. "You think this is about a  story?!"

"Then what is it? What gives you the right to pull me out  of a meeting with Perry?!"

"Why didn't you call me?" he demanded. "If you couldn't  call the police, why didn't you at least call for Superman?  I could have been there in seconds. For God's sake, Lois,  it was Lex Luthor!"

The fear behind his anger finally reached her, and Lois  faltered. "I don't know," she answered, upset. "I was so  shocked. I couldn't believe it was really happening. I  probably should have called the police on his cell phone--"

"You had his cell phone?!?" Clark just gaped at her.

"No! He had it ... he offered it to me ... but it all  happened so fast! I just didn't think--"

"You didn't *think*?! Lois, he's a monster! I thought you  knew that!"

"I do! Clark, I do! But I don't think I was in any danger  ... he didn't try to hurt me."

Instead of comforting him, however, her words had the  opposite effect. Clark's eyes narrowed and his face  darkened with fury. "But he did try to hurt *me*."

"What?" Lois asked, confused. She'd checked in with Clark  several times today and he'd never mentioned seeing Lex. He  couldn't have had a run-in with him tonight, too, could he?  "When?"

Clark was incredulous. "When you were busy getting  *married*! He had me in a cage ... you know this!" Clark  took her by the shoulders, bringing them face to face. "He  locked me up ... and tortured me ... then came to kill me."  His voice was low, horrible. "He took an *ax* from the  *wall* to chop me up ... and the only reason he didn't  succeed is because somehow I was able to crawl into a  corner and hide, even though I was already half-dead from  the Kryptonite!"

Lois felt all the blood drain from her face. She tried to  respond, but couldn't form any words. Lex had tried to kill  Superman on their wedding day; that was why Clark hadn't  come to stop the wedding. Clark had told her this months  ago, yet it hadn't once occurred to her when she'd seen Lex  tonight.

Clark continued, almost over the edge. "Do you think for  one *second* that Luthor will just disappear and never  bother us again? He knows about Kryptonite and he knows how  to get it. And fortune or no fortune, he'll try to get it,  so he can kill me and take you back." Clark's face hardened  even further and the rest of his words hissed out through  clenched teeth. "And you let him *go*!"

"Clark!" Lois gasped, finally finding her voice. "I'm  sorry. I'm so sorry! You have to believe me."

"Are you?" he asked sarcastically, stepping back.

She stared, incredulous. "Of course I am ... what's that  supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, Lois ... that's what I'm trying to figure  out." Clark threw his hands in the air, hurt and  frustration clear on his features. "I can't figure out any  reason you'd let your former fiance go when you know he  tried to kill your boyfriend!"

Lois grabbed the lapels on his jacket. "Clark, don't be  like this!" Under other circumstances, she would have been  angry at his insinuations, but at the moment, she was too  worried to care. She knew how it looked, even though it  wasn't true. "I wasn't thinking clearly; I was so shocked.  I never expected him to--"

"To what?" he cut in angrily. "To come back for you?"

"To come back at all! To even be alive! Clark, we watched  him die!"

"And now he's back." It was an accusation.

Lois was horrified. "How can you even think that?" she  gasped. "After all we've been through? You know I don't  care about him!"

He turned away from her. "I don't know what I know anymore,  Lois."

"Stop talking like that!" Lois was really starting to  panic. His voice was so cold, his body language so angry.  She had made a huge mistake -- she could see that now. But  what if Clark really believed--? No, she couldn't lose him  over this! Not over Lex! "Honey, I love you! What can I say  to convince you?" When he refused to look at her, she  grasped for the first thing that came into her mind.  "Clark, I'll marry you."

Time seemed to stand still as Lois watched Clark's back  stiffen. He turned around slowly, a look of disbelief on  his face ... along with intense pain.

"How could you?" he whispered. "You-- you--" He stopped,  unable to continue for a moment as he stared at her. "You  take the most important thing in the world to me ... and  you offer it up as a sacrifice to ease your guilty  conscience?" The look of complete devastation on his face  took Lois's breath away. "How could you?"

She took a step backwards, stunned. "No ... it wasn't--."

"I need to get out of here," he said, his breath starting  to come in hard pants. He turned towards the door.

"No!" Lois lunged for his arm. "I won't let you go! Not  like this."

Just then, a knock came at the door. Perry opened it, his  face grave and concerned. "Everything OK in here? Clark?"  He fixed his male reporter with an especially serious look.

Clark glared back for a moment, then shook himself loose  from Lois's grip. "No," he replied sharply. "Everything is  *not* OK." He brushed past Perry, refusing to look back at  his partner. "I need some air."

Lois ran to the conference room door in tears. She watched  as Clark wrenched his suit jacket from the back of his desk  chair then gave the chair an angry shove out of the way.  Any staffers unfortunate enough to be in his path took one  look at his face and quickly gave him room as he rushed up  the ramp and disappeared into the stairway.

*****

Lois's hands were shaking as she fumbled with her keys  outside Clark's apartment. A barely stifled sob escaped her  lips and she dragged the back of her hand across her cheeks  in a useless attempt to remove some of her tears. She  didn't know which was worse, the guilt swirling inside her  over what she had done, or the fear that Clark might never  forgive her.

Replaying the past hour in her head, Lois still couldn't  believe how horribly wrong everything had gone. After her  initial shock of seeing Lex alive in the alley, her only  thoughts had been on the investigation into Sheldon Bender  and Gretchen Kelly, and how Lex's resurrection might be  connected to them. It had never occurred to her that Clark  might be upset over her encounter ... and it certainly  hadn't helped that her fumbling explanations had only made  everything sound much worse than it had been.

She'd managed to pull herself together long enough to leave  the newsroom without her tears betraying how upset she was.  It was humiliating enough to have Perry and Jimmy witness  her guilty backtracking in Perry's office; she wasn't about  to let the entire evening staff see how much Clark's  storming out had affected her. Luckily, the conference room  doors were thick, and Clark had lowered his voice every  time he'd said anything that might connect him to Superman,  but even the thickest office walls wouldn't have been able  to hide the fact that they'd been fighting behind the  closed door. That Perry had felt the need to intercede made  it all too clear that their angry voices, if not the words  themselves, had carried into the newsroom.

But even Lois's best attempts at hiding her feelings had  only bought her enough time to leave the building. As soon  as she'd reached the Jeep, her tears had started to fall  again, and it had taken all her concentration to drive to  Clark's apartment. But now that she was finally here, there  was nothing to stop the self-recrimination from taunting  her.

How could she have not understood immediately why Clark was  so upset? She'd been shocked and amazed that Lex was alive,  and it had left her too stunned to think clearly. But was  that any excuse for talking to him, for letting him escape  without even trying to stop him? She had panicked, that was  all there was to it. She had let Lex get away without a  call to either Superman or the police, and now Clark  thought that it meant she still had feelings for her former  fiance.

And then, just when she thought she couldn't dig herself in  any deeper, she had offered to marry Clark as an apology.

Lois took a gasping breath as she remembered the look of  utter devastation on Clark's face after she'd said those  words to him. She hadn't meant to hurt him ... she'd been  grasping for straws, trying desperately to break through  the wall of anger and hurt he'd put around himself and  convince him of her feelings for him. Yet it was all too  clear to her now that she had only made things much, much  worse.

Pushing her way into the apartment, Lois practically ran  down the steps into the dark living room. "Clark?" she  called out, her voice cracking. She had no reason to think  that he'd have come back here immediately after leaving the  newsroom, but she didn't know where else to go. She had to  let him know how sorry she was, how much she regretted  hurting him. Her desperation growing, she ran into the  bedroom, looking for any evidence that he'd even been back  at all tonight. But like the rest of the apartment, it  appeared untouched.

Returning to the living room, Lois felt her eyes fill with  fresh tears. The guilt and fear in her heart built up until  she thought it might smother her. How could Clark ever  forgive her? She'd been unthinking and uncaring -- she'd  put her own excitement over a story above her knowledge of  how dangerous her former fiance had been, and she'd pushed  the memory of what Lex had done to Clark out of her mind.  And far worse, she'd taken the most important thing in the  world to Clark and had tried to use it to manipulate him  out of his anger.

Overwhelmed by her emotions, Lois sank to her knees in the  middle of the living room. "Clark?" she cried, hoping  against hope that he might hear her from wherever he'd  gone. "Clark?!"

With her final shout still echoing through the apartment,  Lois lowered her head to the floor and began to sob.

*****

Clark floated in the darkness high above his apartment, his  head in his hands. He could hear the anguish in Lois's  voice as she called for him, but as much as it hurt him to  hear her cry, he had no comfort to give her ... he couldn't  even comfort himself.

He had exhausted most of his anger as he'd watched Lois  make her way to his apartment -- as upset as he was with  her, he was unable to ignore the fact that Lex Luthor was  still out there somewhere -- but his anger had been  replaced by other equally unsettling emotions now that she  was safely inside: hurt, fear, confusion. "Why, Lois?" he  agonized for the hundredth time. "How could you have done  this?"

He had looked up in surprise when she'd rushed into Perry's  office spouting something about how she'd just seen Lex  Luthor on the street. At first, he'd figured she was  imagining things, that she had simply seen someone outside  who bore a resemblance to the man they'd all seen jump to  his death several months earlier. But as Lois had begun to  tell her story, his doubt had turned first to astonishment,  then to fear -- not for himself but for her. Had Luthor  tried to hurt her? Tried to take her somewhere against her  will? Was her life in danger?

But in contrast to Clark's fear, Lois had seemed fine --  excited, even. It was an impression that he'd found far  more disconcerting than the story she was telling. She'd  quickly told how Luthor had disguised himself and lured her  into the alley, yet it was blatantly obvious to Clark that  he was far more upset about the situation than she was.

Lex Luthor had tried to kill him. He had imprisoned  Superman in a cage and tortured him with Kryptonite. And  then there'd been the ax.... Clark stifled a shudder at  what would have happened had he not escaped from the cage  and hidden himself just as Luthor had flung open the cellar  door. Lois knew all of this -- Clark had told her himself  months ago. So how could Lois have not run the minute she'd  recognized Luthor? How could she have stayed to talk to  him, let alone allowed him to get close enough to kiss her?  And how could she have not called for help -- either from  the police, or from Superman himself? Why hadn't she turned  Luthor in?

Images whirled through Clark's mind, memories that he was  no longer able to suppress. Lois cuddling with Luthor on  the conference room floor when they'd all been held hostage  by the terrorist group. Lois refusing to listen to Clark as  he tried to explain his suspicions about the man. And Lois  accepting Luthor's engagement ring, kissing him deeply as  she did so.

Clark shut his eyes tightly as he began to shake, the knot  in his stomach tightening unbearably. He needed her so  desperately, had given her everything ... and now it looked  like she had betrayed him.

Part 6

Lois jerked out of a nightmare in the middle of the night,  disoriented by the merging of reality and fantasy as she  slowly came awake. Taking note of her surroundings, she  choked back another sob as she realized where she was. She  had cried herself to sleep in Clark's bed ... and now,  hours later, the spot next to her was still empty.

It wasn't unheard of for Clark to stay out most of the  night when Superman was needed, but this had been no  ordinary night, and once again, Lois found herself fighting  tears as she worried that he might never return to her.  Besides the fact that he'd been more upset than she'd ever  seen him when he'd walked out, she couldn't stop thinking  about the fact that Lex was still out there somewhere and  might try to hurt him again. "Oh, Clark," she whispered,  her voice choked with emotion. "Please come home."

From the corner of the room, a sniffle caught her  attention. Lois sat straight up in bed. "Clark?" she  questioned again, unsure. Turning towards the sound in the  dim light of the bedroom, Lois found her lover sitting on  the floor on the far side of the room, his back against the  bench of the window seat. She didn't know how long he'd  been there, but he was wearing his Superman suit, the cape  wrapped around him as he sat, knees to his chest. He looked  so lost that it made her heart ache.

Lois took a shaky breath. "Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry," she  whispered emotionally. "I never wanted to hurt you." When  he didn't respond, she held out a hand in a tentative  invitation. "Please ... come to bed?"

He shook his head, not meeting her eyes. "I can't," he  whispered back.

Lois let her hand drop as his quiet words stabbed into her  heart. "Oh," she answered in a little voice. She swallowed  hard as the tears she thought she'd exhausted began to fall  again. Everything she had feared had come true; she really  had ruined it. She had ruined the best relationship of her  life, with a man who deserved better than she could give  him. She began to cry in earnest and pushed back the  covers. "Then I guess I should go--"

"No," he answered hoarsely, stopping her. "I just--" He  took a gasping breath. "I just need to know--" He finally  looked up at her, his eyes full of unshed tears. "Do you  still love him?"

Lois let out a loud sob. "No! Clark, please, you have to  believe me. I don't ... I never did."

Clark pulled his knees closer to his chest and hung his  head. He wanted to believe her; he was desperate to believe  her. But his heart still felt as if it had been broken into  a thousand pieces and his stomach still ached from the raw  emotion churning inside him. He heard her slide off the bed  and suddenly, she was kneeling in front of him on the  floor, her hands caressing his arms and shoulders. He  squeezed his eyes shut tightly at the flood of emotions her  touch brought out in him. Even when she'd hurt him, even  when he felt as if his world were falling apart, he still  needed her so desperately.

"Clark, I love *you*. I made a mistake, but I never meant  to hurt you." She looked at him, pleading for him to  understand. "Please listen ... let me explain what really  happened."

He dropped his head again, but nodded silently.

Lois spent the next few minutes repeating what had happened  in the alley, how shocked she'd been to see Lex alive and  how confused she'd been by all the things he was saying.  Clark remained silent as she spoke, but she took hope in  the fact that he seemed to be listening to what she was  saying and not dismissing her explanations out of hand.

When she'd finally wound down and Clark still hadn't said a  word, however, Lois's doubts began to resurface. "Clark,  please ... I know I made a mistake, but that's all it was.  I love you." She swallowed hard. "Please say something,"  she begged. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

At last, Clark raised his face to hers and Lois was  relieved to see that, while there was sadness in his face,  there was no longer any anger in his eyes. "I don't want to  lose you, either," he finally said in a quiet voice.

She rested her cheek on his knee, longing to be close to  him. "Does that mean you believe me?" she asked in a little  voice.

Clark averted his gaze, then nodded. "Yeah ... I believe  you. It still hurts but ..." He took a deep breath, clearly  trying to gather himself together. "I believe you."

Lois didn't know whether to be more relieved at his  acceptance of her explanations, or pained by the fact that  he was obviously still hurting inside. Then, suddenly, she  remembered what else she had to apologize for. "Clark? Back  in the conference room, when I said I'd marry you--"

"I don't want to talk about it," he suddenly cut in, his  voice tight.

"But--"

"Lois," he said in a strangled voice. "Please. I listened  to what you said about seeing Luthor, but I don't want to  talk about that."

Lois felt her eyes fill with tears once again. She wanted  so badly to press the issue, to make him understand that  she had never meant to hurt him. But it clearly was too  painful for him to talk about right now.

They sat in silence for a moment longer, until Clark  finally got up and started to remove his suit. "It's late,"  he said quietly. "We have to work in the morning. Let's  just go to sleep, OK?"

Unable to trust her voice, Lois just nodded. She watched as  Clark pulled down the top of his suit and detached the  harness of his cape from his shoulders. His shoulders were  slumped as he went through the motions, clearly emotionally  worn out. With a weary sigh, he picked up a pair of sleep  shorts and a t-shirt and carried them into the bathroom,  quietly shutting the door behind him.

After a moment, Lois crawled back into bed to wait for him,  curling herself into a ball as she lay on her side, facing  his empty side of the bed. The tears that had filled her  eyes earlier still pooled there, only escaping when she  squeezed her eyes shut tightly in an attempt to wish the  entire situation away. She finally wiped them off her  cheeks, knowing that such a wish was impossible.

It was several minutes later when Clark emerged from the  bathroom and silently got into bed. Neither of them spoke,  but in the dim glow of the room, Lois could see that he was  staring up at the ceiling, his eyes sad and unseeing. With  a shaky sigh, she moved closer to him and gently laid her  head against his shoulder. "I love you, Clark," she  whispered. "And I never meant to hurt you."

He swallowed and took a deep, shuddering breath. Then,  after a brief pause, she felt his head tip to the side so  he was resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I  love you, too, Lois," he whispered. "I love you, too."

*****

Lois awoke to silence the next morning. After listening for  a moment for any sounds of movement in the apartment and  hearing none, she tentatively reached out to touch Clark's  pillow. It was cold.

According to the clock, it was a few minutes before 7:00  am. She remembered that it had been around 3:30 when she'd  had awoken to find Clark in the bedroom, and it had been  after 4:00 by the time they'd gone to sleep. For his pillow  to be cold, he couldn't have stayed more than a short time  ... and he hadn't even bothered to wake her up to let her  know he was leaving. With a lump in her throat, Lois sat up  slowly and tightened the sheet around herself. She suddenly  felt very alone.

After feeling sorry for herself for several long moments,  Lois finally sighed and resigned herself to getting ready  for the day. But she went through her morning routine on  automatic pilot; her mind was elsewhere.

Clark had been so sad and subdued last night, even after  Lois had apologized. He claimed to have accepted her  explanations, but he was still clearly hurting deeply  inside. She could only hope that, in the light of day,  things would seem brighter than they had last night, and he  might eventually be ready to forgive her. If he couldn't  ... Lois swallowed hard, unable to complete the thought.  She didn't want to contemplate the alternative.

She was making a small pot of coffee in Clark's kitchen  when he finally returned, stepping in from the balcony in  his red and blue suit. Swallowing, she met his eyes,  searching his face.

He looked tired and very weary, and she suddenly realized  that she probably looked the same way. Even after showering  and doing her hair and make-up, her head still felt thick  from lack of sleep and her eyes were grainy from the crying  she'd been doing. A stray thought entered her mind, telling  her that maybe he'd been hoping she wouldn't still be here.  Her stomach knotted, but she tried to push the feeling  away. Clark knew what time they usually left for work, she  told herself; he shouldn't have been surprised to find that  she hadn't left yet. Still, feeling uncertain, she busied  herself by pulling a second mug down from the cupboard.  "Coffee?" she asked him in a quiet voice.

With a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Clark  nodded. "Sure. Just let me ..." He made a vague gesture  towards the bedroom and she nodded back.

When Clark returned a few moments later, straightening his  tie as he walked into the kitchen, Lois was standing facing  the counter, the two mugs of coffee forgotten as she stared  into space. She felt him hesitate behind her, and she  closed her eyes. It was so hard to be with him like this,  not knowing what more she could say or do to apologize. To  her surprise, however, he spoke first.

"I'm sorry, Lois." His voice was quiet as he slowly reached  up a hand to touch her back. "I shouldn't have run out on  you yesterday."

Lois found herself more grateful for this simple touch than  she could have imagined, and she quickly turned to face  him. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, Clark," she  said sincerely. "I'm the one." She looked up at him, her  eyes sad. "Can you ever forgive me?" He sighed and ran his  hand down her arm. "Of course I can. You just made a  mistake."

"Yeah ... but it was big one."

Clark met her gaze, and Lois was relieved to see the  familiar warmth back in his eyes. "Maybe it was," he said.  "But I've been doing a lot of thinking this morning and I  finally understand some things I was too upset to see last  night." He sighed again. "You just panicked. It all  happened so fast and it didn't seem like a problem at the  time ... but later, when you thought about it--"

"That's exactly it, Clark," she cut in earnestly, putting  her hands on his chest. "At the time, I didn't even think,  I just reacted."

"I know." He gave her a rueful smile. "It finally occurred  to me when I was out flying around this morning that it's a  lot like what I did to you three months ago, when I let you  believe I was dead."

Lois furrowed her brow in confusion as she studied the  comparison. Last fall, she had been furious with Clark when  he'd finally told her his secret, that he and Superman were  one and the same. But the fact that he'd kept her in the  dark over his other identity wasn't what had upset her so  much; she'd been angry, yes, but she had dealt with that  part of his confession quite well. No, the devastation had  come when she'd realized that Clark had never "died" at  all, that he had simply played dead when Clyde Barrow had  shot him. The realizationthat anyone could be so  unthinking, so selfish, as to let his best friend believe  that he had died had caused Lois more pain than she could  have believed possible. Yet Clark had just summarized his  defense in a few sentences -- he had panicked, and in his  panic, had made choices that he might not have had he been  able to think things through more clearly.

"And now I've hurt you in the same way," she said, her eyes  pained. "Oh, Clark ... I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "No, you don't understand. *I'm* sorry."  He ran a hand through his hair, looking guilty. "I was so  upset over the whole thing that I never stopped to think of  it from your perspective. I was scared and hurt and jealous  ... but I never really thought that you still had feelings  for Lex Luthor." He sighed and hung his head. "I shouldn't  have implied that you did."

Lois wiped away the tears of relief that had begun to pool  in her eyes. "Well, I didn't exactly help matters by coming  in the way I did ... I was tripping over myself trying to  explain what happened, but all I did was make it sound like  what *didn't* happen--"  "Yeah, but I wasn't exactly helping you think clearly by  yelling at you--"

"But I accused you of wanting me to give up the story--"

"Hey, wait a minute," Clark interrupted with a smile. "Just  who's supposed to be apologizing here, anyway?"

Lois gave a watery laugh. "I think we both are." She looked  up at him through her lashes and added in a little voice,  "Did we just make up?"

Clark pulled her into his arms, relief clear on his face.  "God, I hope so."

Lois released a deep breath, finally letting go of the  tension she'd been experiencing since she'd woken up. "So  that's where you were this morning?" she asked in relief.  "It was just Superman stuff?"

He gave her a quizzical look. "Yeah, where else--?"  Suddenly, though, he answered his own question. "I'm sorry,  honey, I didn't think how it would seem to you if you woke  up alone this morning." Clark wrapped his arms around her  more tightly, bringing her into his chest. "There was a  shooting in the warehouse district about five o'clock. You  hadn't been asleep that long and I didn't want to wake  you."

"I understand ... it was just-- I wasn't expecting it,  that's all. I mean, last night was kind of ..."

"Emotional?" At her nod, he continued. "And you thought  maybe I'd just left early to avoid you."

"Not avoid me, exactly. Just ... I don't know, you needed  some space, maybe."

Clark shook his head. "Space is the last thing I need right  now, Lois. I need ... you. Sometimes I need you so much it  scares me."

"Oh, Clark, I need you, too. When I thought that I might  have messed everything up--"

He dipped his forehead to hers. "Shh, it's OK. We're OK."

They clung to each other for a long moment, but when  another thought struck Lois, she lifted her head  reluctantly. "Clark ... about what I said about getting  married ... "

Sadness flickered across his face for a moment, but he  quickly shook it off. "I want to forget that ever  happened," he stated. "We're moving on."

"I didn't mean to hurt you--"

"It never happened, Lois."

"*Clark.*"

He gave a deep sigh and looked into her eyes, trying to  make her understand. "Please, honey ... I know you didn't  mean it. I just don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Because it hurt you," she whispered, wondering if she'd  ever stop feeling like she wanted to cry.

Clark looked away for a moment, struggling to put his  thoughts into words. "Because ... because I spent all  morning dealing with different kinds of pain and  destruction, and it made me realize that life's too short  to concentrate on the sad stuff." He cupped her cheek and  gave her a tender smile. "Lois, I know you're sorry and I  forgive you ... not just for what happened in the alley,  but for all of it. That's what love is all about."

Lois placed her hand over his. "Oh, Clark," she whispered.  Before she could finish her thought, however, Lois's pager  began to beep. "Oh, no, not now!" she groaned. She  reluctantly reached into her suit jacket's pocket and  pulled out the small beeper, shutting off the noise. "It's  the paper," she told him.

Clark sighed. "I guess you should find out what they need."  He stepped out of her way so she could reach the phone.

Lois's voice was tired as she reached their young  colleague. "Jimmy, it's Lois; what's going on?" She  furrowed her brow and glanced at Clark. "Can't he get  someone else to do it? We're kind of busy with this Sheldon  Bender thing ... no, no," she sighed. "That's OK. Hold on a  second, let me write this down."

Her eyes darted around Clark's kitchen counter, but her  mounting frustration was cut short when her partner stuck a  pad and pen into her free hand. Shooting him a small smile  of thanks, she quickly tucked the phone under her ear and  began to jot down the information Jimmy was providing. "OK,  got it ... yeah, we'll head out there now. No, you don't  need to page Clark; I'll tell him. He's right here. Yes,  *really*. Why? Do you want to talk--?" Lois's voice  softened. "Oh. No, everything's fine, Jimmy ... we worked  it out last night." She lifted her eyes to Clark's and gave  him a little smile. "Yeah, me, too. OK ... talk to you  later. Bye."

Clark took the phone from her and replaced it in its  cradle. "Jimmy was worried about us?"

"Yeah, I think he was ... he hates to see us fight, you  know."

He pulled her back into his arms, cradling her head as it  rested against his chest. "I hate to see us fight," he said  quietly. "It's the worst feeling in the world." He sighed.  "But I suppose it's too much to hope that concern was the  only reason he was calling?"

She shook her head. "Governor Harding's in town talking up  his new state budget ... Perry wants us down there to  follow up on that story we did last month."

"You mean the one where we pointed out all the  contradictions between his campaign promises and what he's  done so far in office?"

"That's the one ... we're not supposed to take 'no' for an  answer." She gave him a wry grin.

"But that's going to keep us busy all morning," Clark  complained. "When are we supposed to nail Bender?"

Lois turned to dump her coffee into the sink. "Let's finish  up quickly so we can get back to it. I don't want to lose  him by waiting too long. Are you ready to go?"

"I'd rather be alone with you for a little longer," he  pouted.

With a smile, Lois took his hand as they walked to the coat  rack by the door. She handed him her coat, then turned  around so he could help her put it on. "It's only a twenty  minute ride uptown to the Metropolis Convention Center,  which is where he's going to be talking. Thirty if we hit  traffic." She slipped her arms into the sleeves and turned  back around to give him a quick hug. "Come on, if we leave  now, we can grab some breakfast on the way."

Her positive attitude won him over. "OK," he agreed. "Let's  go."

No sooner had they reached for the doorknob, however, than  Clark's head snapped up, a familiar look in his eye.

"Oh, no," Lois almost wailed. "Not again. You were out all  morning."

Clark groaned in frustration. "Why do I think it's going to  be one of those days?"

Lois sighed. "Go ... I'll meet you there, if you can make  it. If not, I'll see you later at the Planet."

Reluctantly, Clark turned and started back into the  apartment, but he'd only taken a few steps when he whirled  back around. "No, wait!" At Lois's look of surprise, he  looked at her plaintively. "Lois ... let's not make any  plans for tonight ... let's stay in, just the two of us. I  need to be with you."

Lois felt her heart melt as she saw his pleading  expression. "I need to be with you, too, Clark," she  answered sincerely. "Last night--

"I know--"

"I was so scared--"

He quickly crossed the short distance between them and  pulled her into his arms once again. "Me, too."

They held each other tightly for a moment, but all too  soon, Clark pulled back and spun into his Superman suit. He  cupped her cheek. "I love you, Lois."

And with that, he was gone.

*****

It was a little after three o'clock that afternoon when  Clark touched down in the alley behind the Daily Planet and  spun back into his work clothes. This was his third trip up  to the newsroom in as many hours, and frankly, he was  getting a little tired of the interruptions. For some  reason, Superman had been a hot commodity today, and while  Clark was certainly glad he could assist in what had turned  out to be some serious situations, he really just wanted to  get back to the newsroom and back to Lois.

The little time they'd spent together today hadn't been  enough to completely lift the depression he often felt  after he and Lois argued. Certainly they had disagreed many  times in their working partnership, but when the arguments  turned personal, it was a lot harder to distance himself  from the resulting emotions. Even after they had worked  everything out, he never felt quite right until they were  able to spend some uninterrupted time together.

Of course, calls for Superman had been making that  difficult since early this morning. He had barely fallen  asleep last night when he'd heard the gunshots and had  quickly made his way down to the warehouse district. He'd  found himself in the middle of a drug bust gone bad, and  had arrived just in time to insert himself in front of a  young rookie police officer who had just taken a bullet in  the arm. His injuries weren't life-threatening, but Clark  had flown him to the hospital as soon as he was certain  that the assailant was secured.

He had spent some time flying around after that, doing some  heavy thinking as he'd watched the sun rise. Last night had  drained him emotionally, but the light of a new day had  helped clear his head and make him look at things a bit  more objectively. And, of course, hashing things out with  Lois in the middle of the night, even if it had cost them  both sleep, had helped push him in that direction. A few  rescues later, and he'd been flying back to his apartment,  determined to make up the rest of the way with Lois.

Their heart-felt apologies from this morning had lifted a  huge weight off his shoulders, and he had seen in Lois's  face that she felt the same way. Still, he was longing for  them to be alone together. No crowded restaurants, no late  breaking assignments ... just the two of them, with no  distractions. Working together helped bring them closer,  but it wasn't the same as being able to concentrate on each  other exclusively, if only for a few hours.

As Clark strode across the Planet building's lobby towards  the elevator, he thought once again how grateful he was  that Lois knew his secret. Aside from solidifying their  personal relationship, it had, he reflected, certainly  become a lot easier to get away for his Superman duties  now. More than a few times, she'd been able to give him the  perfect out when she'd caught the distracted look in his  eye. In fact, often she would already be setting up a cover  story by the time he'd finished listening to the call for  help; she'd become that good at recognizing the signs. He  often teased her afterwards that she was a lot better at it  than he was, even though he'd had more time to practice.

Lois had ended up covering most of Governor Harding's  speech alone this morning, but fortunately, she hadn't been  resentful. Clark hadn't been able to join her until it was  almost over, although in a remarkable turn of good luck,  he'd run into the governor's entourage outside and had been  able to corner the man's press secretary as he waited by  the limo. Clark had eased into the conversation with a few  softball questions, then quickly followed up with some  tougher questions on the state's budget deficit and  Harding's about-face on campaign finance reform. It was his  own personal twist on a technique he'd learned from  watching Lois, and by the time the interview was over, he'd  seen the normally composed press secretary break into a  sweat as he was forced to expand on his normally canned  answers.

Fortunately, Lois had been equally successful inside the  Convention Center with the governor, and between them,  they'd managed to pull together quite an interesting  analysis of the current administration's track record for  tomorrow's morning edition, each contributing more or less  equally to the finished product. It was important to Clark  that he pull his own weight in their partnership, Superman  or no Superman, romantic relationship or not. The last  thing in the world he wanted was for Lois to feel put upon  by his need to sometimes leave at the drop of a hat.

When the elevator door slid open on the newsroom, Clark  headed straight for Lois's desk, glancing around cautiously  to make sure that no one else had missed him. Luckily, he  hadn't been gone very long this time. They were almost  finished with the story and not only did he not want Lois  to have to finalize it herself, but he was also anxious to  get back to their investigation of Sheldon Bender ... and  his link to Lex Luthor.

He slid into his empty chair, still exactly where he'd left  it, next to Lois's. "Sorry about that," he murmured,  smoothing his tie against the front of his shirt. "Let's  hope that's the last one for a while."

Lois just nodded absently and continued typing. "I'm almost  ..." she murmured as her fingers moved swiftly over the  keyboard, transferring her thoughts onto the screen. Clark  knew better than to talk to her during this phase of her  writing; he was the same way when he was composing.  Instead, he watched quietly over her shoulder, reading the  words as they scrolled across the screen. Finally, Lois sat  back. "Done." She turned to him with a smile. "Everything  go OK?"

He nodded and returned her smile, though his was not quite  as chipper as hers. "Yeah, fine. There was an overturned  chemical truck on the Interstate that I had to help turn  upright. Luckily I got to it before the tank ruptured. It  would have been a nasty clean-up job otherwise."

"You going to write it up?" she asked.

Clark shook his head. "I don't think so ... maybe if things  are slow tomorrow. I really got to it before anything  happened."

"I guess it's not really news-worthy," she agreed. "If you  wrote up every little thing you did--"

"--there'd be no room left for the real news," he finished  for her with a smile. "Though sometimes I wish I weren't  quite so busy ... like today." His face softening, he  gently took her hand under the desk, intertwining their  fingers. "I'd much rather be in here than out there."

Lois gently stroked her fingers against his as they held  hands. "I'd rather be with you, too," she said softly,  giving him a tender smile.

Clark enjoyed the contact while letting his eyes flicker  back to her screen. "Did you get the sidebar off my hard  drive?" he asked. "I finished it right before I got called  away."

"Really? No, I didn't know that ... that's great, then ...  I think we're done."

"Sure, I'll go pull it off so you can look at it." He gave  her hand an affectionate squeeze before standing up. "And  as soon as we have it all put together, we should go fill  Perry in on this whole Bender thing ... he asked me earlier  what we had found out and I think it's time we lay it all  out for him so he'll stop giving us other assignments in  the meantime."

Lois nodded as Clark walked to his computer and began  pulling up his story files. "That definitely sounds like a  plan, partner." She couldn't help but smile at him. "The  sooner we can take care of that, the sooner we can head  home for our evening together."

Clark's eyes met hers from across the aisle, as he pressed  the appropriate keys to send his story from his computer to  hers. His face broke into a grin. "I can't wait."

*****

A half-hour later, Perry was listening intently to the  details of what their recent investigation had turned up so  far.

"And there's been no sign of Lex Luthor since last night?"

Clark shook his head. "No, nothing ... and Superman's been  x-raying abandoned buildings all over the city, trying to  figure out where's he's staying, but he hasn't come up with  anything there either." At Perry's curious look, Clark  quickly added, "I, uh, told him what happened with Lois and  asked him to help."

The editor nodded. "Well, it looks like Sheldon Bender is  your only solid lead to finding Luthor, then."

"I agree," Lois interjected. "The trick is getting to him.  I was a little worried about losing him today while we were  busy with the governor's visit, but I made a few phone  calls and he's still 'in seclusion' on his yacht ...  supposedly he wants a break from the press," she added  sardonically.

"Well, he's not going to get it!" Perry boomed. "I want you  two on him like flies on a T-bone ... round-the-clock  surveillance!"

Clark's head rose quickly at his boss's words. "Chief, when  you say 'round the clock', you don't mean--"

"Yes, sir," Perry responded just as quickly. "Right now.  You can set up shop down at Butch Kennebrow's place; he's a  friend of mine. Keeps a little hideaway down at the  marina."

Lois looked at Clark, sighing with disappointment. "And I  suppose you want us to start tonight?" she asked her  editor.

"That's right." Perry looked between them. "You've got  something better to do?" he asked, making it clear there  was only one right answer.

It was Clark's turn to sigh. "I guess not," he said glumly.

*****

"Well, I guess this isn't so bad," Clark finally relented,  looking around Butch Kennebrow's tiny waterfront apartment.  He motioned to the tape recorder and video camera he was  setting up in the window. "And it has a straight view onto  Bender's yacht. We couldn't ask for a better location."

Lois just nodded as she did some more exploring. Perry's  friend had been generous in letting them borrow his  apartment for their stakeout, though considering he was in  Milan on business for the week, it wasn't likely he'd be  needing it. Fortunately, Perry had been able to get a key  from Kennebrow's personal assistant.

The apartment was cozy and tastefully decorated. The  moderate-sized living area included a miniscule  kitchenette, clearly intended for re-heating rather than  cooking, at least according to Clark. There was a tiny  bedroom with an even tinier bathroom, but one look at them  made it clear why Perry had wagged his eyebrows when he'd  deemed it a 'hideaway'. The king-sized bed clearly took  center stage behind the etched glass bedroom door, so large  that it left little room for walking. And the bathroom  sported a luxurious multi-spray shower stall just perfect  for two. Lois could picture her and Clark making good use  of both rooms had they been here on a romantic getaway, but  unfortunately, they had work to do instead.

"No, it's not so bad," Lois finally agreed, completing her  exploration of the apartment. "At least we're alone. And I  guess if we have to pull an all-night stake-out, this is a  lot more comfortable than the Jeep."

"True," Clark replied, "and since I really just wanted to  spend some time alone with you, I don't care where we end  up." He smiled ruefully. "Not exactly a romantic evening,  though. I was going to cook us a nice dinner, open some  wine. I know Valentine's Day isn't until tomorrow, but I  thought we could start celebrating a little early. Guess  that's out of the question now."

"Oh, I don't know," Lois answered with an encouraging  smile. "It's a shame to waste the night completely. Maybe  we could pretend it's a romantic evening when we're not  working."

Clark brightened at her suggestion. "Sure, why not? So what  do you suggest we do first? I can't cook here, but I can  get us some take-out for dinner in a little while."

"Sounds good to me." Lois looked around. "Maybe I can even  find something we can use to make it feel more like a date.  I think there was a bottle of champagne somewhere ... yup,  here it is." She crossed the room to a wine rack resting on  a tiny refrigerator and lifted the bottle triumphantly.  "Just right for an almost romantic evening." She looked at  the bottle. "Too bad it's warm ... probably take forever to  chill in this little fridge, too."

Clark just smiled and held out his hand for the bottle. "I  can take care of that." He held the bottle at arm's length  and slowly blew on it until a slight frost began to form on  the outside. "That shoulddo it."

Lois laughed. "What would I do without you?" She picked out  two champagne glasses from a nearby cupboard and set them  on the end table. "I'm going to get out of these clothes  while you open that," she said, pulling off her high heels  as she walked towards the bedroom. "Are our bags on the  bed?"

"Yeah, I put them there when we got here."

"Great," she called over her shoulder. "Be right out."

Clark went to work uncorking the bottle but did a quick  double-take as he caught sight of Lois's outline on the  etched glass door. It was more shadow than substance,  caused by the bedroom light and the tight quarters, but  Clark found it enticing, nonetheless. He watched  appreciatively as Lois stripped off her top and her skirt  behind the door, then stepped into a pair of pants. It  wasn't as if he hadn't seen her naked a hundred times since  they'd become lovers, but for some reason, catching this  unexpected glimpse touched him. It only served to remind  him how lucky he was to have her in his life, and as Lois  pulled on her shirt, Clark gave a happy sigh and finished  uncorking the champagne.

By the time Lois emerged from the bedroom, the open bottle  was waiting on the end table. Clark, however, had crossed  the room to meet her partway. "Do you have any idea how  beautiful you are?" he asked, gazing into her eyes.

Lois looked down at her gray drawstring pants and casual  tank top with wide eyes. "Me?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes, you," he reassured her. Then he smiled and cupped one  of her bare shoulders, letting his fingertips brush across  her skin. "I'm gonna go change, too. Will you pour?"

"Of course," she answered, taking his hand and giving it a  little squeeze. She wasn't sure what had prompted his  compliment and show of affection, but she liked it, all the  same.

As Clark disappeared into the other room, Lois reached for  the champagne bottle and poured them each a glass. Lifting  her glass to her lips, she took a sip. "Mmm. Temperature's  perfect!" she called out. Turning around, however, she  almost spilled her champagne as she caught sight of Clark's  silhouette on the glass door. He was unbuttoning his shirt  and peeling it off his shoulders, the outline of his strong  pectoral muscles and erect nipples clear in the glass. And  when he dropped his pants, Lois felt her breath catch in  her throat. She had seen him naked countless times over the  last few months, and dressing and undressing together in  the same room now came naturally to them. Yet somehow,  catching this private moment seemed a special treat and  Lois released a contented sigh. He was a beautiful package,  inside and out, and she still sometimes couldn't believe  that he was all hers.

When Clark finally emerged from the bedroom, clad in faded  jeans and tan t-shirt, Lois handed him his glass while  raising hers. "To our almost romantic evening," she offered  with a smile.

He clinked his glass onto hers and smiled warmly. "To our  almost romantic evening."

Part 7

Clark fiddled with the surveillance equipment as he stood  in the window, making sure everything was working. His  empty champagne glass sat on the coffee table. "Well, I  think we're ready to go ... now we just need Mr. Bender to  cooperate."

Lois watched from the couch as Clark lowered his glasses.  "See him?"

"Yeah ... he's eating dinner. Looks like Greek food. The  baklava looks fantastic ... wonder where he got it?"

Lois chuckled and joined him at the window. She peered  through the eye-piece of the video camera, making a few  small adjustments to bring the image into better focus.

"Is it set right?" Clark asked her.

"Yeah, it's pretty good. Your special vision is going to  come in handy, though, since I've got some obstructions. I  can see the outside of the boat, but when he goes inside, I  can tell he's there but not exactly what he's doing."

"Well, it's getting dark and that should help." Clark  stepped back and pulled the draperies in a bit tighter,  partially covering the window. "Which reminds me, we should  probably dim the lights in case anyone looks this way. We  don't need Bender noticing that someone has surveillance  equipment trained on his boat."

"Aw, and I thought you were just being romantic," Lois  teased as she reached for the nearest lamp.

"Double duty," he answered, smiling in response to her  wink. "So what do you want for dinner? Greek food like  Bender?"

"I was thinking Chinese; we haven't had it in a couple of  weeks."

"Ten days," Clark corrected. "I don't think we could go two  weeks ... we'd suffer withdrawal symptoms." He walked into  the tiny kitchenette. "There are some take-out menus by the  phone." He flipped through the pages. "Pizza, pizza, pasta  -- gee, you think Perry's friend likes Italian? -- Mexican  ... oh, here's a Chinese place. Ralph's Pagoda." He handed  the menu to Lois. "Never heard of 'em."

"Me neither," she said, looking through the listed items.  She wrinkled her nose skeptically. "'Eat at Ralph's, So You  Don't' is their slogan?? Clark, that's disgusting!"

"It doesn't say that!"

"It most certainly does!" She thrust it back at him.

Clark's face matched Lois's as he read the menu header.  "How 'bout I fly us in some real Chinese food?"

"Excellent idea."

"Preferences?"

She smiled. "Surprise me."

*****

Clark returned a half-hour later, having made a few quick  rescues while he was out. Luckily, there hadn't been  anything that had required more attention than he'd wanted  to give. Certainly had something major come up, Superman  would have been forced to deal with it, but Clark had  incentive to let the police handle as much as possible  tonight. There was no way he was going to give up a chance  to recapture Lex Luthor if he could help it, and right now,  Sheldon Bender was their only lead.

Lois had suggested they eat their meal out on the coffee  table in order to give Clark an easy view of Bender's  yacht, and they quickly set about unpacking the steaming  items. The only change Lois had reported in their quarry's  location was that he had moved from the kitchen to the  upper deck, and now seemed to be reading a magazine.

It was, in fact, a South American travel catalog, Clark  clarified upon taking a look, and over the course of their  meal, the reporters decided that Bender could well be  planning to leave the country soon. Needless to say, the  idea made them doubly glad they had decided to stake him  out when they did.

They sat on the floor next to each other on the long end of  the table, their food spread out before them. They took  their time eating, talking about everything from their  current assignment to Lois's sister's latest boyfriend to  Clark's most recent tie purchase. Neither of them mentioned  the blow-up from the night before, though there were a few  awkward silences when they got close to the subject. But  they didn't last long and as the evening passed, they  became more and more relaxed, just enjoying the company and  the conversation.

The only excitement came when Bender placed a phone call  during one of Lois's turns with the binoculars. Clark  quickly joined her at the window, arriving just in time to  watch Bender write down the cryptic message, "J.W. tomorrow  7:30 am", on a nearby notepad. Frustrated in his attempt to  listen to the conversation when an ambulance siren screamed  past at just the wrong moment, Clark had to settle for  reading Bender's lips. Unfortunately, the only phrase that  meant anything was "ten thousand dollars", said right  before Bender turned his back to the window. Who was on the  phone and what the money was for remained a mystery,  however, and Lois and Clark could only hope that the  morning appointment was related to their investigation.

It was pushing ten o'clock by the time they cleared the  table, and Clark rolled his eyes as he checked the window  for the dozenth time. "What a way to spend an evening.  Watching a lawyer get ready for bed."

"Oh, it hasn't been that bad," Lois pointed out from her  seat on the couch. "The food was good ... and I was able to  tolerate the company." She shot him a grin as he raised his  eyebrows.

Clark flopped down next to her and pulled Lois into his  arms. "Tolerate, huh?"

"Yeah, well, it's a tough life, what can I say?"  Keeping an arm around her shoulders, Clark propped his feet  up on the now-empty coffee table and relaxed into the  couch. Twisting briefly, he set his glasses on the end  table next to him, allowing him to watch Bender without  having to make any adjustments to the frames. A comfortable  silence filled the dimly lit apartment as they sat, and it  wasn't long before Clark felt his eyelids begin to droop.

Lois noticed his sleepy expression. "What's he doing now?"  she asked quietly.

Clark roused a bit. "He's putting in a movie," he reported.  "There's a VCR in the bedroom." He stared at the apartment  wall for a few more moments, then suddenly jerked his head  away. "Oh, God, it's porn," he exclaimed, cringing. "I did  *not* need to know that."

Lois couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess that answers the  question of whether he's in for the night."

Clark shot her a sideways look, then dropped his head to  the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. "Easy for you to  say; you didn't have to watch him watching it. There are  times when x-ray vision is not a gift."

"Poor Clark," Lois teased, ruffling his hair. "He has it so  hard."

"Yeah, yeah." His lips formed into a brief smile at her  comment, but he didn't open his eyes. "I'm giving notice  right now, though," he murmured in a sleepy voice. "If he  starts doing more than watch, I may have to put my eyes  out."

"I'll keep an eye on him if you want to take a nap. I can't  see what he's doing through the binoculars, but I can make  sure he stays on the boat."

"Mmm ... " He sounded as if he might be drifting off, but  after a moment, he gave himself a little shake. "No, I'll  be OK ... just a little tired."

"You didn't get much sleep last night," she offered  sympathetically.

Clark rubbed his eyes. "Only about forty-five minutes.  Seems I barely fell asleep before that shooting woke me  up."

"I'm sorry," Lois whispered softly.

Clark shrugged. "Not your fault." At her pointed look, he  gave a little smile. "OK, maybe it was, a little. But it  was Superman who made me get out of bed at five in the  morning. That part's not your fault."

"I don't know how you even do it," she said with a little  sigh. "I'd probably be passed out already if I'd only had  forty-five minutes of sleep last night."

"I don't need as much as you do," he offered, "so getting  less than an hour of sleep isn't quite as bad as it sounds.  I can usually get by just fine like that for a day or two,  as long as I keep busy. It's when things get quiet that it  hits me." He forced himself to sit up straighter, rotating  his neck against the kinks his fatigue made him feel. "So  we should keep busy. You wanna play some cards or  something?" He turned to find Lois watching him, a  melancholy look on her face. His voice softened. "Hey ...  what's wrong?"

Lois just shook her head and looked away. "Nothing ... it's  nothing."

Concerned, Clark reached out to cup her cheek, gently  bringing her eyes back to his. "Honey, what is it?"

Lois searched his eyes for a long moment, her face  troubled. "It's silly, really," she finally offered. "It's  just-- Clark, are we OK?"

"You mean about last night? Yeah, Lois, of course we're  OK," he answered sincerely. "I thought we worked all that  out this morning?"

"I thought we did, too, but ..." She glanced away again.

"Lois? Hey, come on, look at me," he said gently. "What's  going on?"

Lois gave a sad little shrug as she met his gaze. "You  haven't kissed me today," she whispered. "Not even once."

Clark's eyes opened wide as her words sunk in. "Oh, honey,  no ... it's just that we've been working all day and  Superman--" He shook his head, cutting off his explanation.  "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"So it doesn't mean that you haven't forgiven me?" she  asked in a little voice.

Clark sighed. "Come here." He cupped her cheek again and  pulled her forward to press a tender kiss to her mouth.  When their lips separated, he lowered his forehead to hers  in an intimate gesture. "I love you, Lois,"he whispered.  "And there's nothing you could do to make me stop loving  you ... or forgiving you."

Lois wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too,  Clark. Nothing could make me stop, either."

Clark gently pulled Lois into his lap and kissed her again,  letting it linger. "How could I possibly have gone a whole  day without kissing you?" he murmured against her lips.

"I thought you were still mad," she whispered.

"No ... just stupid."

They traded sweet kisses for several moments, letting the  worries of the day fade away. It wasn't long, however,  before their hands began wandering, caressing each other  through the thin shirts that they each wore. Clark moaned  softly as Lois began to tease his ear with her tongue.  "God, Lois ... I want to make love to you," he whispered in  a husky voice, turning to capture her mouth with his. He  ran his hand up the inside of her leg to caress her thigh.  "I need you so much."

Lois whimpered against his mouth at his touch. "I want to  make love to you, too, Clark," she whispered back, trying  to catch her breath, "but we can't. We're working,  remember?"

"Hmm, we'll take a break," he murmured, then kissed her  again, flicking the tip of his tongue enticingly against  hers.

She moaned softly, but soon pulled back apologetically. "I  want to, Clark, believe me ... but it wouldn't be right.  Not in a stranger's apartment."

Clark closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself.  "You're right," he finally sighed, his shoulders slumping a  bit. "I just--" He looked deep into her eyes. "I'm not  ready to let you go."

She snuggled up against him. "I didn't say you had to." As  his arms tightened around her in a hug, Lois suddenly  giggled as a new thought struck her. "You realize this is  the problem with our making love so often, don't you?"

Clark raised an amused eyebrow. "The word 'problem' isn't  one that ever comes to my mind when I think about us making  love, Lois."

Grinning, she began to nibble at his ear again, eliciting a  husky groan from him. "Exactly ... and that's just the  problem."

"Lois--"

She laughed. "We missed this stage, Clark ... the way we  got together, the way we started making love right from the  beginning of our relationship." She kissed her way down his  jaw. "I mean, it's been wonderful ... better than wonderful  ... *amazing*, even--".

"Lois!"

"But we skipped this stage."

"What *stage*?"

She pulled back to grin at him. "The make-out stage."

"The make-out stage," he repeated, looking at her like she  was crazy.

"Yes, the make-out stage! Think about it, Clark ... when  was the last time we just kissed and touched each other,  without it leading to the bedroom?"

A sly smile spread over his face. "I seem to remember it  leading to the living room last time." "You know what I  mean."

He chuckled and leaned back against the couch. "You say it  like it's a bad thing, that we always end up in the  bedroom. I say it just shows how compatible we are." He  shot her a saucy grin.

"Oh, we are definitely compatible," she purred, teasing his  lips with her tongue before capturing his mouth in a deep  kiss. "But you have to admit, that's a fun stage ... the  sexual tension so thick you can cut it with a knife, both  being so excited we can barely stand it, but knowing  nothing can come from it."

With a playful growl, Clark flipped them back on the couch,  causing Lois to squeal in delighted surprise. "You have a  twisted definition of 'fun', Ms. Lane," he accused, his  eyes dancing as he pinned her beneath him.

Lois threaded her fingers through his hair and brought him  down for a soul-shattering kiss. "Would you have it any  other way?"

"Absolutely not ..."

*****

Lois sighed contently as she rested in Clark's arms on the  couch. They'd had a great deal of 'fun' together over the  last hour, their kissing and touching interrupted only by  occasional trips to the window to verify that Mr. Bender  was indeed sleeping soundly. But she had to admit it had  almost been a relief when Clark finally insisted they put  on the brakes. She'd had no idea it would be so hard for  them to control themselves, knowing full well that, had  they been at home, they would have already gone much, much  further. But for all his good-natured grumbling, she was  more than certain that Clark had enjoyed himself as much as  she had.

Making love with Clark, whether they completed the act or  not, was everything Lois had ever dreamed of. Before she  had met him, she never would have believed that anyone  could reach her heart like he did. The way he made her feel  -- not just physically, but emotionally as well -- was  deeply satisfying and it only strengthened the bond she  felt with him. Whether they were actively engaged in  foreplay or simply holding each other, he made her feel  more than loved ... he made her feel cherished. She could  hardly imagine how she had survived all those years alone  before him.

Still, sometimes Lois couldn't help but wonder how things  would have been different had their behavior the night of  Clark's 'return from the dead' not forced them to confront  their feelings for each other. How long would it have taken  them to admit that they were interested in being more than  friends had they not fallen into bed that night?

Things had happened so quickly after that ... an all-too- brief few days of dating, then a bitter break-up after  she'd found out that Clark had lied to her about dying in  the casino. And then, after they'd finally reconciled,  things had moved even more quickly, both physically and  emotionally. It had been wonderful, a whirlwind of love and  excitement ... but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder  whether they had rushed into things.

"Do you think we got together too soon?" she asked him  suddenly.

"What?" Clark cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

Lois traced patterns absently on his arm as he held her.  "Oh, I was just thinking ... wondering how things might be  different if we hadn't gotten together the way we did. Like  ... would we have fought so much over Lex being alive if we  weren't in a relationship? Would it have upset you as much  as it did, if we were still just friends?"

Clark considered this. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "I  don't think I would have been happy about you running into  him, even if we weren't dating yet. I mean, the very idea  of you being anywhere near him scares the heck out of me,  Lois! But you're probably right that I wouldn't have been  so outwardly angry." He gave a resigned sigh. "I would have  stewed quietly, I guess."

She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him more  tightly. "You were always worrying about me, even when I  couldn't understand why."

He smiled softly. "I think I fell in love with you the  minute I saw you ... even when I told myself you'd never be  interested in me, I couldn't stop feeling the way I feel."

"Thank you," she murmured, lifting her head. "For not  giving up on me."

"I couldn't have even if I'd wanted to, honey."

As she pressed a soft kiss to his lips, Lois had another  thought. "It does make me wonder, though, if I wouldn't be  so skittish about marriage if we'd waited longer before  getting serious." At his concerned expression, she hastened  to reassure him. "It's not that I didn't want us to get  serious; Clark, you know how much I love you. It's just ...  it seems like we keep getting roadblocks thrown up in front  of us ... misunderstandings, mistakes being made. I just  wonder if we might have had an easier time of it if we  hadn't gotten together when we did."

"So when do you think we should have gotten together?"

"Oh, I don't know." She pulled a day out of the air. "What  if you were just getting up the courage to ask me out now  for the first time?"

Clark smiled at the idea and nudged her. "Hmm, Valentine's  Day as a first date ... pretty bold of me." At her quiet  chuckle, he continued, shrugging. "I don't know, maybe it  would have been easier getting together if we'd waited --  it certainly couldn't have been any harder," he added with  a wry grin. "But, Lois, I wouldn't give up a single moment  of the last few months, even if it meant having things go a  lot more smoothly now."

"Thank you," she whispered, tipping her head to accept his  offered kiss. She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if you'd have  been better off if we'd never met."

Clark gasped, aghast. "Lois, don't you *ever* think that!  You are *everything* to me ... you have to know that."

"I do, honey, I do," she assured him, "and I feel the same  way about you. I just meant ... sometimes, I can complicate  your life. Look at all the stress we're going through over  Lex coming back. Or how you feel torn between spending time  with me and being Superman."

Clark turned her in his arms until they were face to face.  "Lois, listen to me. You do not complicate my life. You  *are* my life." His eyes were troubled and very serious.  "Yes, I could manage to be Superman without you ... but I  would probably lose *me* in the process." He used his  fingers to brush her hair back from her face. "Coming home  to you gives me the strength to go off and do what I have  to do. Even when we were just friends, even when I couldn't  tell you about the other part of my life, I relied on you.  Honey, I see so much pain and destruction in the world ...  but in you, I see beauty and passion and love. And  sometimes, thinking of you, knowing that I have you to come  home to ... is the only thing that gets me through."

Lois had tears in her eyes. "Oh, Clark," she whispered.  "How did I get so lucky to find you?"

He gently kissed her forehead. "In my mind, I'm the lucky  one." Then he gave her a little smile, lightening the mood.  "Besides, for every 'complication' you add to my being  Superman, there are a dozen cases where you've helped me.  Just think of what we've been through in the last several  weeks ... how would I have managed after I'd been blinded  by Dr. Light? Or dealt with the Kryptonite poisoning during  that whole Diana Stride/Top Copy expose nightmare without  you there to help me?"

"You'd have managed."

"Maybe," he answered, "but I can't imagine how much harder  and more stressful it would have been if you hadn't been  there. Or even if you *had* been there, but didn't know  that I was Superman." He searched for an example. "What  would we have done when I was blind? I couldn't have asked  you to take me to my apartment because then I'd invite the  question of why Clark wasn't there. Would you have invited  a blind Superman to stay at your apartment?"

Lois started to grin. "It might have been fun ... you know,  all those Superman fantasies I had."

Clark stared at her for a moment, then began to laugh as a  ridiculous image entered his mind. "I would have slept on  your couch ... probably would have broken all your  furniture, too."

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, laughing with him. "My apartment  would have never been the same!" Then she sighed and ran  her fingertips over his cheek. "And we wouldn't have been  able to make love that night," she finished tenderly.

Clark turned to kiss her palm. "That was so special for  me."

"And for me. You were so scared," she whispered, "but  trying to be brave."

He looked into her eyes. "And you told me that we'd still  have each other, no matter what the future held."

"You will always have me, Clark. No matter what."

"And you, me," he whispered, kissing her softly.

"As long as you don't go kissing any more Intergang  assassins," she added a moment later, her stern gaze  betrayed by the twinkle in her eye.

"Lo-is!" he groaned in protest. "I told you -- I didn't  kiss her; she kissed *me*! After she'd tagged me with that  radioactive stuff, I just thought she was trying to get the  scoop on my identity. I didn't expect her to try to *kiss*  me. I pulled back as soon as I realized what she was  doing."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't too pleased with that radioactive tag  thing either," Lois grumbled. "Especially since we couldn't  even sleep in the same bed that week in case she traced  you. So I think you can see why I could get mad that you  kissed her--"

"I didn't kiss her," he insisted again. "She kissed me."

Lois suddenly raised an eyebrow and gave him a pointed  look. "Kind of like how Lex kissed *me* last night? When  *I* wasn't expecting it?"

Clark stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, then blushed.  "Did you just set me up?" he asked sheepishly.

"Nope!" she replied with a gleeful grin. "Sheer  inspiration!"

He couldn't help but shake his head at his own foolishness.  "Honey, I'm sorry. I never should have doubted you."

She nudged him to let him know it was all right. "Just  don't do it again."

"I promise." He tucked a section of her hair behind her  ear. "And no more talk of you complicating my life?

She looked as if she were going to protest for a moment,  then relented. "I promise, too."

Clark nuzzled her ear affectionately, then began nibbling  on her earlobe. "Good. Promise me something else?"

"Mmm ... anything," she said dreamily.

"Don't you *ever* tease me again for an hour when there's  not a darn thing I can do about it!"

*****

By 7:28 the next morning, Clark had already been at the  window for a nearly an hour, carefully watching Bender's  boat. Neither he nor Lois had gotten much sleep last night,  staying up talking and cuddling into the wee hours of the  morning, but he still felt more rested than he had the day  before. They'd each managed a few catnaps on the couch  while the other took over the surveillance, but he knew  that after two nights in a row with minimal sleep, they'd  probably both be ready for an early bedtime tonight.

Lois emerged from the bathroom, slipping a warm shirt over  her tank top, and retrieved her coffee cup from the kitchen  counter. She came to stand next to him. "Anything?"

He shook his head. "Not yet ... but that note definitely  said 7:30 am."

Lois lifted a pair of binoculars to her eyes and adjusted  the focus. "The 'Sue U'," she read off the side of the  yacht. "Oh, *please*.

Clark scanned the boardwalk leading up to the boat slips  for the countless time. "It's been really quiet this  morning ... too quiet."

"Maybe whatever kind of appointment it is, it isn't on his  boat?"

"Maybe ... but if they kept the same time, he'd have to  have left by now ... it's past 7:30." Suddenly, movement  caught his eye. "Look, down there ..." He pointed for  Lois's benefit. "See that man? In the business suit?"

Lois squinted through the binoculars. "Doesn't exactly look  like he's about to go sailing."

"Yeah, and he's heading straight for Bender's boat."

"I wish he'd turn around ... I can't get a good look at  him. Can you hear anything, Clark?"

Clark tilted his head, his brow furrowing in concentration  as he tried to zone in on the conversation that was now  taking place across the boardwalk. The man, whoever he was,  was climbing aboard Bender's yacht. "'Glad you could make  it,'" Clark echoed, then he shook his head. "They're just  chit-chatting right now."

Just then, the man turned. "Wait, I recognize him," Lois  exclaimed. "That's Judge Winkler."

"J.W.?" Clark asked. "I thought it would be initials, but  the J. could be for Judge if Bender was just jotting a  note."

"Or his first name is John--" Lois cut off abruptly as  Clark shushed her. "What?" she demanded.

Clark quickly began relating the conversation. "Judge  Winkler is getting a new trial for Rollie Vale ... Vale's  being transferred back to the courthouse this afternoon."

Lois watched intently through the binoculars as Bender  handed his guest a black attache case. "What's that? The  payoff?

Clark x-rayed it. "It's filled with twenty dollar bills."  Clark quickly turned to Lois. "Let's get down there ... I'd  like to see what Bender has to say about this."

"What about the judge?" Lois asked as they hurried out of  the apartment. "He's leaving with the money."

"We can track him down later at the courthouse. Right now,  I want to catch Bender while he's still on the deck of his  boat!"

Lois and Clark jogged down the boardwalk, then slowed to a  fast walk as they turned onto Bender's dock. "Hey, Bender!"  Lois shouted as they approached.

Sheldon Bender stood on the upper deck of his boat, and his  jaw dropped when he saw them. "You!" he exclaimed in  outrage. "Don't you people--?" The rest of his words were  cut off, however as his entire body suddenly lurched  violently, then collapsed onto the deck.

Shocked, Lois leapt onto the boat, Clark right on her  heels. They raced up the narrow stairs to the second level  of the boat, skidding to a stop when they saw Bender's  body. Clark quickly knelt down next to the body and felt  for a pulse. "He's dead," he informed Lois. "What  happened?"

Lois furrowed her brow as she noticed a large dart sticking  out of Bender's neck. "I don't know. But this was no  accident."

Part 8

Off in the distance, Lex Luthor and Gretchen Kelly sat in a  large SUV, watching the scene with satisfaction.

"I've always admired Nigel's creativity," Lex offered as he  lowered a pair of binoculars from his eyes, scanning the  water for any movement from St. John's scuba gear.

Gretchen concurred with a pleased smirk. "Too bad he  couldn't get rid of two nosy reporters as well."

"You mean one reporter," Lex answered absently, smiling as  he watched Lois Lane pull a cell phone from her pocket and  begin to push the buttons.

Gretchen followed his eyes, then made a sound of disgust as  she saw the tender expression on his face. Reaching into  her bag, she produced the most explicit of the photographs  she had taken, one of Lois and Clark fondling each other on  the fire escape, and stuck it under his nose. "Actually, I  meant two," she repeated. "Or maybe I need to remind you of  how 'your' Lois has been spending her time while you've  been gone?" she added sarcastically.

Lex narrowed his eyes and set his jaw as he shoved the  photograph back at Gretchen. "*You* don't need to remind  *me* of anything," he said sharply. "In fact, I have a  little job for you. While Nigel and I are procuring Rollie  Vale's freedom this afternoon, I want you to find Lois and  bring her to me. But make sure she's alone when you take  her. I need time to come up with something more ...  appropriate ... for Mr. Kent."

Gretchen smiled evilly as she slipped the photograph back  into her bag. Just the assignment she'd been waiting for.  She gleefully wondered how sadistically Lex would humiliate  his former fiancee before doing away with her. "No problem,  Lex," she purred. "No problem at all."

*****

Back in the newsroom a few hours later, Clark sat back,  exasperated, as he listened to the voice on the other end  of the phone line. "Sure," he retorted sarcastically, "I'll  just wait right here for his call." He hung up the phone  and gave Lois a look from across the aisle. "Judge  Winkler's clerk," he explained. "The judge is 'temporarily  unavailable' for comment."

"Big surprise," Lois responded with a roll of her eyes.  "Well, he'll have to make himself available when the police  catch up to him ... it will be interesting to see how he  explains being the last person to have met with Sheldon  Bender right before he was murdered." She shook her head.  "I don't get it ... why is it so important to Bender that  Rollie Vale get a new trial? And what would be in it for  Lex? As far as I know, they didn't even know each other."

Clark picked up his notebook. "I checked with the prison to  see if Vale has had any visitors recently and, sure enough,  Bender was there the other day, claiming to be his new  lawyer."

"So you think this might be just a case of a lawyer doing  whatever he can to get his new client off?" she asked  doubtfully.

Clark looked equally skeptical. "It's possible, but I don't  think so ... Bender brought two other men with him. They  signed in under fake names, not surprisingly, but the  descriptions were interesting. According to the guard on  duty, one was an older guy with white hair and a white  beard, which makes me think it could have been Nigel St.  John. He didn't get a good look at the other guy, but maybe  it was Lex Luthor?"

"That would explain Lex knowing Vale ... but what were they  after? Why were they visiting?"

"The payoff to Judge Winkler was supposed to be for getting  Vale a new trial," Clark mused out loud. "So maybe Bender  had something up his sleeve ... buying off witnesses,  maybe? To change their testimony?"

"But *we* were witnesses, Clark, and they certainly know  they can't change our testimony. Or Superman's. And why  kill Bender? He hadn't gotten Vale off yet."

Clark blew out a breath, considering this. "Unless Bender  did something to make Luthor mad."

Lois started hunting around her desk, looking for her  notes. "I did some digging on Bender the other day ... he's  been living pretty large since Lex died. Made a lot of big  investments, bought a lot of property, had that yacht of  his custom built ... it all started soon after the reading  of the will."

"Well-paid executor?"

She shook her head. "Just his standard attorney's fees;  expensive but not extreme. And he wasn't mentioned anywhere  else in the will; I checked."

Clark paused, then raised an eyebrow. "Unless he helped  himself."

"Embezzlement?" Lois asked in surprise. Then she nodded,  quickly warming to the idea. "As Lex's lawyer, Bender would  certainly have access to all the accounts, or at least know  what was in them. And the police always suspected that Lex  had money stashed away that they couldn't find ... when his  assets were liquidated, they didn't find nearly as much as  they thought they would."

"And now that Luthor is back, he's looking for his money--"

"Which Bender spent--"

"Which got Luthor mad--"

"Which is motive to have Bender killed!" Lois finished  triumphantly.

Clark sat back in his chair and grinned. "We're good."

She gave a little laugh. "We still have to prove it."

"A minor detail," he replied with an amused wave of his  hand. Getting out of his chair, he crossed the aisle and  perched himself on the corner of Lois's desk. "So we have a  theory on why Bender was killed ... but we still don't know  how Rollie Vale fits into this."

"What if he has something Lex wants?" Lois suggested.

"Scientific knowledge, lab equipment, smart ass attitude,"  Clark rambled off. "Expertise with cybernetics ..."

"He turned Johnny Corbin into a cyborg ... strong enough to  beat up Superman."

Clark winced. "Don't remind me. Using Kryptonite as a power  source--" Suddenly Clark's eyes opened wider.

Lois was right behind him. "Kryptonite!" she exclaimed.  "The police never found it."

"And Luthor wants to know where it is."

"And in return for the information, he gets Vale a new  trial."

Clark rubbed his hand over his chin, thinking hard. "Who  puts up first? Vale with the information, or Luthor with  the trial?"

Lois swallowed. "Clark," she gasped, lowering her voice.  "If it's Vale, Lex could have Kryptonite."

He met her eyes. "I know," he said quietly. "But maybe not  yet. Vale's pretty smart ... and very cocky. I can't see  him rolling over and telling Luthor where the Kryptonite is  until he gets what he's after. So we might have some time  ... the trial won't start till next week."

"But what if we're wrong?" she whispered, putting her hand  on his knee.

Clark exhaled and covered her hand with his own. "Then we  better hope we find Luthor before he finds the Kryptonite."

"And our only lead to him was just murdered," she finished  glumly.

Just then, Jimmy came wandering by, his arms full of files.  "Hi guys ... Oh, CK, I took a call for you while you were  on the phone a few minutes ago. It was the director of that  homeless shelter. You know the guy Ramin you were looking  for? He's eating breakfast down there right now."

Wide-eyed, Lois and Clark stared at each other for a  moment, then bolted for the elevator.

*****

Inside Lois's Jeep, the two reporters waited outside the  Union Street Shelter.

"Do you still see him?" Lois asked, noting that Clark still  had his glasses pulled down.

"Yeah ... he's just finishing up."

"Anyone with him?"

Clark shook his head and pushed his glasses back up on his  nose. "No, he's alone ... and here he comes."

Lois watched as Ramin Tarbush walked out the front door of  the shelter, clad in the same scruffy jacket he'd been  wearing when she'd watched him abduct Sheldon Bender. "Yup,  that's him. Let's go."

The two quickly exited the vehicle and followed Tarbush,  maintaining a safe distance behind him so as not to be  noticed. A few blocks later, they saw him duck into an  alley and they sped up their pace. They got to the corner  just in time to see him lift up a large sewer grate and  disappear below it. As soon as he was out of sight, Lois  and Clark quickly turned into the alley.

Clark peered down into the opening behind the gate. "Well,  that would explain why I came up empty on the abandoned  buildings," he muttered, annoyed with himself. "I didn't  think about looking underground."

"Who would?" Lois asked. "It's not like there's a sign that  says 'Secret Hideout Below'." She nudged him. "Come on,  let's go in."

Clark picked up the grate and motioned for her to enter.  "After you."

*****

Lois climbed down the ladder into the dim, damp tunnel,  then waited for her eyes to adjust. It wasn't completely  dark underground, but it still took her a few moments to  get her bearings. Up ahead, however, she could see a dim  light in what looked like an opening, and as soon as Clark  was down the ladder, she started towards it.

They continued on through the tunnel until they came to the  opening Lois had seen earlier. There were a few bare light  bulbs strung overhead, but the crumbling concrete and  dripping walls of the abandoned sewer lent an ominous  feeling to the place.

"It's a long fall from a penthouse in the sky," Clark  observed quietly, taking it all in.

A rustling sound next to them caused Lois to start. "What's  that noise?" she asked, taking a few steps off to one side  to investigate the sound. As she peered over a low wall  into a deep, round pit, Lois suddenly jumped back, right  into Clark's arms. "Rats," she hissed, shuddering. "I hate  rats!"

Clark kept a reassuring hand on her back as they continued  to explore the hideout. It was evident that someone had  been there recently; several boxes and crates were  overturned for use as tables and chairs, and there were  discarded carry-out food boxes off to one side. Splitting  up, they wandered carefully through the makeshift room,  looking for clues. It wasn't long before Lois called for  Clark's attention.

"Look at this," she called. "It's a map."

Clark quickly joined her, looking over her shoulder at the  open page. "There's a route highlighted." He traced his  finger over it. "It starts at the Metropolis Men's Prison  ... and ends at the courthouse."

Lois stared at it quizzically for a second, then jerked her  head up, eyes wide. "Clark! That's the route they're taking  to transport Rollie Vale!"

"Luthor's going to break Vale out of jail!" Clark  exclaimed, finally putting it all together. "Come on, let's  go."

They jogged quickly back to the ladder at the end of the  tunnel and Clark helped Lois get her footing as she climbed  back up.

"I'm going to try to stop them," Clark said as soon as they  were back in the alley. He was already tugging at his tie.  "You get the Jeep and meet me there."

He turned quickly to leave, but Lois had grabbed onto his  sleeve. "Clark," she warned, "if Rollie Vale knows where to  get Kryptonite--"

Clark's face was grim. "Let's just hope I can get to them  before they get to it." Then his eyes softened and he  pressed a quick kiss onto her mouth. "I love you," he  whispered. And with that, he ducked deeper into the alley  and turned a corner, out of sight.

A brief moment later, Lois heard the boom that indicated  Superman had taken off quickly. She looked up into the sky  from where she stood near the middle of the alley,  squinting up into the brightness to see if she could make  him out in the sky. "Be careful," she whispered.

Deciding it was best not to leave the grate open as a  warning to Lex, Lois struggled to lower the heavy metal  grid back into place. Exhaling from the exertion, Lois  dusted her hands when she was finished, then turned  quickly, intending to head to her Jeep and follow Clark.  But she immediately gasped as she found herself looking  right into the barrel of a gun.

Gretchen Kelly just gave her an evil smile. "Hello, Lois.  Lex wanted me to find you. Thanks for making it so easy."

*****

Clark flew high over the city near the Metropolis Men's  Prison, hunting for any sign of a police transfer vehicle.  Not seeing any unusual activity in the prison yard, he  turned and began to follow the route he'd seen highlighted  on the map in the underground hideout. He had no idea where  along the route they would be by now, assuming they'd even  left yet. But if Vale was on his way to the courthouse,  Superman had to get to him before Lex Luthor did.

His apprehension grew as he scanned the streets along the  route. It was mid-afternoon, and while there were a few  hours to go until rush-hour, the streets were still busy  with people and vehicles. Since it was no secret the  courthouse itself would be teaming with security personnel,  Clark could only assume that Luthor was going to try  something before Vale arrived ... which meant countless  innocent people along the transfer route could be caught in  the crossfire.

A moment later, shouts on the street below caught his  attention. A black and white Sheriff's van sat in the  middle of the street, its side door wide open. Two  additional cars were sprawled perpendicular to the road,  clearly disabled and blocking traffic. And what was worse,  one of the cars was engulfed in flames. Superman  immediately put himself into a steep nose-dive.

Landing between the two cars, Clark quickly summed up the  situation. Now that he was on the ground, he could see that  the second car was a prison escort vehicle and the officer  driving it was injured. Even more pressing, however, was  the fact that gasoline was pooling on the ground near the  burning car -- if it caught fire, the explosion would not  only take out the drivers of both disabled cars, but most  likely several bystanders as well. Taking a deep breath,  Clark quickly blew out the flames, then sighed in relief as  the driver of the car that had been on fire stumbled out of  the door, shaken but apparently unhurt.

Immediately, Clark turned to the prison car's injured  driver. The man was conscious, but moaning and rubbing his  neck. The man clearly needed a doctor but Clark was afraid  to move him in case he had back injuries. "Stay still," he  told the driver as the sound of sirens in the distance  caught his attention. "Help is on the way."

Satisfied that the driver understood, Clark quickly turned  to the police van. As he had seen earlier, its side door  was wide open -- and Vale was gone.

Torn between immediately taking to the sky in order to hunt  for Vale and staying to help the injured, Clark's decision  was made for him when he noticed that both the police van's  driver and the passenger were slumped forward in their  seats. To his dismay, Clark could see a large dart sticking  out of each man's neck, just like the one he had seen used  to kill Sheldon Bender. Quickly checking for vital signs,  Clark sighed in relief when he noted that the guards were  still breathing, but he knew he couldn't leave before  making sure they received medical attention.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before two ambulances came  racing around the corner, sirens blaring. They were  followed almost immediately by three police cars. Rushing  to meet the EMTs as they jumped out, Clark quickly updated  them on the situation, including the fact that the darts  could be poisonous and that the driver of the prison  vehicle could have neck or back injuries.

Once assured that the police and EMTs were in control of  the situation, Clark finally was able to launch into the  sky, ready to hunt for Rollie Vale. He presumed Lex Luthor  was with him ... and if he and Lois were right about Vale  knowing where to find Kryptonite, Clark now had a whole new  set of problems.

As he flew a search pattern in widening circles around the  escape area, however, it suddenly occurred to Clark that he  hadn't seen Lois at the scene. A bad feeling coming over  him, Clark stopped dead in the air and began scanning the  streets below for Lois's Jeep. He'd spent far longer at the  accident scene than he'd intended, which should have given  Lois plenty of time to catch up with him.

But as the minutes ticked by with no sign of her, his panic  began to grow. Where in the world could she be?

*****

Lois struggled against her bonds in vain, glaring at Ramin  Tarbush as he tightened the ropes around her legs. After  being forced at gunpoint to climb down the ladder into  Lex's hideout, she'd been met at the bottom by Tarbush, who  had instantly tried to grab her. Noting that he hadn't been  holding a weapon, Lois had fought back, figuring that she  only had a few seconds before the armed Gretchen Kelly  reached the bottom of the ladder. But although she'd been  able to take down Tarbush with a well-aimed elbow to the  stomach followed by a quick knee to the forehead, Lois  hadn't been fast enough to prevent Kelly from pointing the  gun at her head. Lois had sized her up for a moment,  debating on whether she'd actually use the weapon, but it  only took one look at the woman's face to know that she  would have been happy -- if not downright gleeful -- to  kill Lois on the spot.

Deciding that -- with a gun trained on her, at least --  discretion was the better part of valor, Lois had allowed  herself to be tied to the one intact chair in the  underground hideout. Now firmly secured, she could only  console herself with the hope that, with any luck, Clark  would have already prevented Vale's escape from prison and  Superman would be flying in to rescue her any minute now.

Gretchen Kelly passed Tarbush the gun. "Go watch the  entrance for any more 'uninvited guests'," she ordered.  "Lex should be back soon and I don't want any mistakes."

Fingering the lump on his forehead tenderly, Ramin fixed  Lois with a final glare but did as he was told.

Gretchen took a seat next to Lois and began tossing bits of  a leftover sandwich into the round pit next to her, causing  Lois to shudder as she heard the rats scurrying around  below. Noticing Lois's unease, the doctor fixed her captive  with a sneer. "Well, Lois, how does it feel to know that  you're finally going to get what's coming to you? Lex  should be back any minute and I, for one, can't wait."

Lois shot the woman an incredulous look. Lex Luthor had  been responsible for most of the crime in Metropolis over  the last several years, yet this woman had not only brought  him back to life, but was now acting as if he were the one  who had been wronged. "Don't you realize that Lex is  insane?" she exclaimed.

Gretchen Kelly just looked at Lois coolly. "If anyone is  insane, it's you. You could have married the greatest man  in Metropolis. Instead, you turned your back on him. But  now Lex will have his revenge." The woman made a sound of  disgust as she looked Lois up and down. "For some unknown  reason, Lex actually saw something in you once. But we both  know he won't have anything to do with you now that he's  seen these pictures."

Now thoroughly baffled, Lois looked to where Dr. Kelly was  pointing, at an upturned crate being used as a table. Her  brow furrowed even further as she saw what looked to be  photographs of her and Clark. But Lex already knew that she  and Clark were together; how could photos of them out  together be any surprise to him?

Gretchen smiled cruelly as she saw Lois squinting in  confusion. "Oh, take a good look, Lois. See exactly what  Lex has seen. He knows what you really are now." The doctor  pulled the crate closer to Lois's chair, fanning out the  photographs for inspection.

Finally able to see the detail in the photographs, Lois  gasped as she realized what the woman had done. These  weren't simply photographs of her with Clark; they were  photographs of her kissing Clark passionately. Slowly, she  began to recognize the shots as having been taken a few  nights ago ... she could make out the two them kissing  against the door of her Jeep in one photo, and, in another,  she could see they were on what looked to be her fire  escape. But the last photograph on the table was the most  shocking. In it, Lois was clearly fondling Clark as she  kissed him, while his hand cupped her breast.

Lois looked up in outrage, her face burning.

Dr. Kelly glared right back. "Yes, go ahead and blush. You  *should* be ashamed."

Lois's eyes flashed with self-righteous anger. "Ashamed??"  she exploded. "Ashamed of *what*? Of kissing my boyfriend?"

"You were doing a lot more than kissing, Lois," the blond  woman mocked.

"How *dare* you?" Lois hissed, fighting against her bonds  again, making it clear how much she wanted to wrap her  hands around Gretchen Kelly's throat. "How dare you spy on  us!"

"Don't put this on me, Lois," the doctor sneered. "You're  the one throwing yourself at your partner. I'm just sorry I  couldn't see through the drapes into your apartment; then I  really would have had something to show Lex."

Allowing herself only a moment to be relieved by the  doctor's admission that she hadn't been able to follow them  inside the apartment, Lois's anger quickly flared again at  the mention of her former fiance's name. "What Clark and I  do together is none of your business," she ground out. "Or  Lex's!"

"Trying to convince me, Lois? Or yourself?" Dr. Kelly sat  back in her chair and raised an eyebrow. "Though you  clearly have a screw loose, choosing another man over Lex."  Lois was completely astounded by the accusation. "Lex is a  psychotic criminal! He could kill any one of us!"

"He'd never hurt *me*," Gretchen scoffed with a haughty  laugh. "I gave him life; you drove him to his death!"

"The only one driving Lex to his death was Lex," Lois shot  back. "Though obviously he had a little back-up plan," she  added sarcastically. "It's too bad you didn't leave him as  that puddle of goo I saw in the crypt."

"Be careful, Lois," Gretchen warned in a sing-song voice as  she reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out a flat  plastic container, "Or I'll have to make sure he sees the  videotape."

"Why you little--"

Lois immediately cut off her words, however, as the sound  of Lex's voice filtered over from the entrance of the  tunnel. For a moment, she felt a small surge of hope. If  Clark had already thwarted Lex's plans to break Vale out of  prison, Lex would surely be on the run, with Superman hot  on his trail!

But her heart quickly sank as Lex strode confidently into  the room, flanked by Nigel St. John and Rollie Vale. Ramin  Tarbush trailed closely behind them.

Lex immediately turned his attention to his former fiancee,  ignoring the adoring look the doctor was now giving him.  "Lois, so good of you to join us," he said smoothly.

Lois simply glared at him, her anger flaring over the  arrogant smirk he was giving her. "Not like I had any  choice," she retorted, flexing against the ropes to  emphasize the point.

"Now, now, darling ... don't fight the inevitable. When  will you learn that I always get my way?" Lex reached down  to cup her cheek possessively.

"I'm not your darling," she said through clenched teeth,  jerking her head away from his hand.

Lex narrowed his eyes. "Is that right?" he asked. His gaze  flickered to the box next to him, and he noticed the  display of photographs. "I see Gretchen has been dazzling  you with her skill behind the shutter."

"You had her spy on us," Lois accused angrily.

"No, actually," Lex answered with a breezy shake of his  head, "she came up with that all on her own." But his eyes  went cold as he picked up the top picture and studied it.  "However, I do see that Mr. Kent isn't nearly the gentleman  I am. I was obviously too considerate of your requests  during our engagement." He smiled darkly at her, then  turned away. "Rest assured, I won't make that mistake  again."

As the implication of his words sunk in, Lois swallowed  hard, trying to fight the terror building inside her. She  had no doubt that Lex would try to force himself on her  after his other business was taken care of. The only  question was, now that Vale was free, how long would it  take him to go after the Kryptonite? "Lex, don't do this,"  she begged, trying to stall for time. "You can still give  yourself up. You're only making things worse."

Luthor turned back around at her plea, clearly unmoved.  "The worst? I've already been through the worst," he  sneered. With a final glare, he quickly turned to the other  men in the room and barked an order. "All right, Vale. Give  me the Kryptonite."

To Lois's immense shock, Rollie Vale simply opened a secret  compartment in his cybernetic arm and smugly handed over  the green rock.

Lex, however, was triumphant. "My Excalibur!" he crowed.

Lois gasped at the green glowing rock Lex now held in his  hands, barely able to believe her eyes. All this time,  she'd been trying to convince herself that she could stall  them, that even though Rollie Vale had escaped from prison,  there would still be time for her or Clark to stop them  before they went for the Kryptonite. But she hadn't  expected Vale to have it with him. "What are you going to  do with that?" she asked, though she knew full well what  the answer was.

Lex turned to her, this time with a small smile on his  lips. "I'm going to kill Superman when he comes to rescue  you." He fixed her with an intense gaze. "And then there'll  be no one to take you away from me."

Horrified that she was going to be used as bait to hurt  Clark, Lois struggled against her bonds once more. "You'll  never get away with this!"

Luthor simply laughed. "And just who's going to stop me?"  he asked, genuinely amused. His eyes hardened as he  indicated the photos spread out on the crate. "Kent?" Lex  reached out and grabbed Lois roughly by the jaw, stopping  her struggle and forcing her to look at him. "I can't wait  for him try," he sneered. "He'll be easier to kill than  Superman. And given what's been going on with the two of  you, maybe a lot more fun."

"I wouldn't count on it," Lois said defiantly, jerking her  chin out of his hand. But, as her stomach twisted, she knew  it was only false bravado. Clark had been right all along.  Lex had procured Kryptonite almost immediately after he'd  returned, and had wasted no time in setting a trap for  Superman. And it was all her fault!

Fighting the panic building inside her, Lois renewed her  efforts to fight the ropes that held her arms, and took  hope when she felt them start to loosen. If she could  escape, she couldn't be used as bait to lure Clark to his  death. She had to get out of there. She had to protect  Clark!

Focusing all her attention on escaping her restraints, Lois  lost track of the conversation in the room for a moment,  but when she finally glanced over at the men, she was  confused and startled by the sight. Somehow, Nigel was now  holding the Kryptonite and he and Ramin were pointing their  weapons at Lex, Gretchen Kelly and Rollie Vale. "You've had  your day, Lex," the older man said coolly. "Now it's  Intergang with the deep pockets."

The clear outrage on Lex's face told Lois that this hadn't  been in his plans. And indeed, in the next moment, all hell  broke loose as Lex roughly pushed Vale towards Nigel.

Suddenly realizing that this distraction might be her only  chance to escape, Lois summoned all her strength and  strained against her ropes one final time. When the bonds  finally gave way, Lois tumbled out of her chair and onto  the filthy floor. But as she scrambled to her feet, she  noticed that Nigel and Ramin had disappeared and Rollie  Vale lay dead on the floor, a pool of blood under his  chest.

Lois's first impulse was to follow Nigel, to see if she  could get the Kryptonite, but as much as she hated to admit  it, she doubted she could catch them. They had obviously  orchestrated this double-cross very carefully, and surely  had planned for their escape. They were probably long gone  by now. That left only ...

"Lex!" Gretchen called in concern. "Don't try to move;  you've been hit."

Lois stared at the arrow embedded in Lex's shoulder and  took a step towards the fallen man. She wouldn't let him  get away, not this time. "Is he all right?" she asked.

"Stay away. I'll take care of him!" Gretchen barked,  refusing to let Lois near.

Lex, however, looked past the blond doctor, right into the  eyes of his former fiancee. "It's all right, my love," he  reassured Lois. "It's just a--" He gritted his teeth and  roughly ripped the arrow from his own flesh. "A minor  setback."

Upon hearing Lex's tender endearment, Gretchen Kelly  finally exploded in fury. Whirling around, she roughly  grabbed Lois's shoulders and pushed as hard as she could.  "I said ... STAY AWAY!!"

Lois screamed as she felt herself tumble over the low wall  into the round pit in the middle of the tunnel. Landing  hard on her back at the bottom knocked the wind out of her  and she gasped, stunned. Almost instantly, however, Lois  began to cringe and writhe as she heard creatures scurrying  around her head then felt them crawl over her legs. Rats!

Almost instantly, Lex's face appeared over the edge of the  wall. Anxious and concerned, he extended his arm into the  pit. "Lois! Darling, take my hand!"

Lois's instincts warred. She desperately wanted to get away  from the horrors of the rat pit, yet at the same time, she  couldn't help but recoil from Lex's touch. She tried to  scream for Superman, but she could barely get enough breath  to exhale.

Gretchen's face soon appeared behind Lex's; she was pulling  him away from the edge of the pit. "Lex, leave her ... she  never loved you!" With his injured arm, Lex tried to push  the doctor from him. "Get away from me!"

Gretchen wouldn't be deterred, however. Clearly desperate,  she reached down to pull on the arm he was extending to  Lois. "She never loved you ... she's not good enough for  you. Look at the pictures; she's a tramp, a whore!"

Lois watched as Lex's face turned to rage. "Don't you  EVER!!" he roared over his shoulder.

"I love you, Lex! She doesn't! I love you--"

"I said, get BACK!!" With that, Lex turned and shoved  Gretchen with all his might, sending her tumbling across  the room, propelled by the force of his push. Before he  could react, she fell against the high tension wires in the  corner, causing sparks to fly everywhere. He stared at the  way her body jolted as the electrical current raced through  her, then flinched as she slumped to the floor in a heap.

The drama unfolding above her gave Lois enough time to pull  herself together, and she finally was able to take a deep  breath to call for Superman. But before she could make a  sound, his arms were around her and she could feel herself  being lifted upwards, out of the pit. Trying to stop  herself from shaking, Lois swallowed as she looked into his  eyes, seeing the fear in them. Giving him a crooked smile  to reassure him, Lois tightened her grasp around his neck  and whispered, "Thank you."

The relief in Clark's expression was obvious, but he  continued to search her face as he set her down on the  ground. "Are you OK?" he asked intently. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head and was about to say more when the sight  of Lex watching them caught her attention. Her brow  wrinkled in confusion. Lex was chuckling.

Superman turned so that he was standing protectively in  front of Lois and crossed his arms over his chest. He fixed  Luthor with a terse stare. "Maybe you'd like to let me in  on the joke?"

Lex just shook his head and gave another humorless laugh.  "Me. I'm the joke," he answered. "Twice I've had the chance  to kill you, and twice the game has gone your way."

Lois watched as Clark squared his shoulders and  straightened to his full height. It never ceased to amaze  her how different he looked -- and sounded -- when he was  in super-hero mode. "The game is over, *Luthor*," he spat.

"No," Lex retorted, narrowing his eyes. "I'll never give  you the satisfaction of taking me alive." With that, he  bolted to the same corner where Gretchen Kelly's body lay  and threw himself against the live wires, grabbing hold  with both hands.

Lois gasped when she realized what he was about to do, but  she soon found herself cocking her head in surprise when  nothing happened. The look of shock and outrage on Lex's  face proved that he hadn't expected to be thwarted either,  and Lois followed his gaze upwards to the wires above his  head. The high voltage lines had been severed, no doubt by  Clark's laser vision. Lois found her mouth breaking into a  grin. "Good thinking!" she complimented Superman, giving  him a good-natured clap on the shoulder.

Clark shot her a quick glance of amusement, but it  disappeared the moment he turned back to his nemesis.  "Sorry, Luthor," he said, a touch of cockiness entering his  voice. "Killing yourself is the easy way out. You can't  cheat justice twice."

Lex turned slowly, still defiant as he narrowed his eyes  over Lois and Superman's interplay. "Don't look so smug,"  he shot back. "Tell him, Lois. Tell him that once you  really loved me."

This time it was Lois's turn to square her shoulders and  stand up straighter. "I love *Clark*," she answered, no  trace of doubt in her voice. "I never knew what love was  until I fell in love with him."

"You loved me enough to marry me," Lex retorted. "Deny what  you will in front of your super-hero, but nothing will  change that."

Lois's eyes opened wide at his arrogant response, and  suddenly, all her emotions over the situation boiled over.  "I did not marry you!" she exclaimed, stepping angrily in  front of Superman. "I stopped the wedding, Lex. Not the  police, not Perry -- *me*. I looked you right in the eye  and said 'I can't'." She fixed him a caustic look. "Or did  that little memory not make it back from the dead?"

Lex flicked his wrist, waving off the idea. "Merely a case  of wedding jitters, my dear; you would have come around."

Astounded, Lois actually laughed. "Boy, you just don't get  it, do you?" She rolled her eyes. "All right, let me spell  it out for you. The reason I didn't marry you is because  the entire time I was walking up the aisle, I was thinking  of another man." Lois gave him a smug look as Lex  predictably shifted his gaze to glare at Superman. "Good  guess, but wrong answer!" she almost crowed.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"*Clark*, Lex; it was Clark," she clarified. "The entire  time I was walking up the aisle to marry you, I was  thinking about him. Not you ... and not Superman. And while  I was walking up that aisle, it finally hit me that while I  could easily see my life without you in it, I couldn't  imagine it without Clark."

"You were cheating on me!" Lex hissed, his face quickly  clouding over with fury.

Lois shook her head, not flustered at all by his  accusation. "No ... Clark and I were just friends then,  which I suppose makes it even more ironic." She gave a  little smile. "I felt more for my best friend than I did  for the man I was supposed to marry. That's how I knew I  was marrying the wrong man." Her expression softened. "And  now that I'm with him, I just wish I had seen it sooner;  Clark Kent is the only man for me. And believe me, Lex,  when I walk down the aisle to marry him, Clark Kent will be  the only man on my mind."

Part 9

Standing in the middle of Lois's darkened living room,  Clark held Lois tightly as she buried her head into his  chest. They had finally been able to return home -- Clark,  after escorting Lex Luthor to prison, making certain as  Superman that the man didn't escape, and Lois, after  spending long hours at the police station telling them  everything she knew -- repeatedly -- about Lex's return.

The bodies of Gretchen Kelly and Rollie Vale had been taken  away by the coroner and the area thoroughly searched for  Nigel St. John, not that anyone really expected he'd be  found. The photographs, however, had been destroyed before  the police arrived. Lois had gathered them up as soon as  the wail of the sirens could be heard at the entrance to  the tunnel, and had silently shown them to Superman.  Clark's eyes had widened in shock as he'd flipped through  the pictures, but if Lex Luthor had been hoping for a sign  of jealousy from the super-hero, he'd been disappointed.  Just as silently, Superman had fixed Luthor with a  withering stare ... then had burned up the photographs in a  blaze of heat vision, along with the negatives and the  videotape that Lois had dug out of Gretchen Kelly's bag.

Superman had returned to the police station after ensuring  that Luthor was locked down securely, and had insisted on  escorting Lois home despitethe protests of the detectives  who claimed they still had more questions for her. The look  on Superman's face, however, had quashed all discussion,  and the police finally conceded that they'd obtained all  they needed to for one night.

Clark had flown them directly to Lois's apartment, but she  had barely allowed him the time needed to spin back into  his regular Clark clothes before she'd wrapped her arms  around him and buried her face in chest. Clark closed his  eyes as they held each other, one arm wrapped tightly  around her waist, the other hand gently smoothing itself  over her hair as he murmured words of comfort. Lois,  however, was mostly silent, save the occasional shuddering  breath that shook her already trembling body.

Her change in demeanor was disconcerting to him, to say the  least. When he'd rescued her in the tunnel, she had quickly  reassured him that she was unharmed and her confident  dressing down of Lex Luthor several moments later had  convinced Clark that he'd reached her before anything  horrible had happened. She'd even managed to call in the  story of Luthor's capture to the Daily Planet from the  detective squad, much to the dismay of the police officers  who were trying to interview her. Yet as soon as they'd  taken to the sky this evening, away from the prying eyes of  the detectives, her defenses and bravado had crumbled and  all she'd wanted to do was cling to him, as if reassuring  herself he was there with her.

For his part, Clark had been agonizing all evening over  what had occurred before he'd found Lois in the underground  hide-out. She'd been held captive with Luthor for nearly an  hour before Superman had arrived, and Clark still had to  stifle a shudder as he relived the panic he'd felt as he'd  raced back to the sewer, his heart in his throat. The sense  of relief he'd felt when he'd seen Lois cowering in the rat  pit, shaken but alive, had been almost overwhelming.

Fortunately, once he'd realized that Lois was all right,  he'd been able to cover his emotions fairly well while  dealing with Luthor. He'd actually been thrilled -- albeit  a little confused -- when Lois had firmly told Luthor that  she was in love with Clark. But for whatever reason, Clark  couldn't shake the feeling that he'd entered in the middle  of a conversation, that something that had occurred during  her capture had prompted Lois's declaration. He also was  keenly curious as to how the photographs of him and Lois  were involved, but he knew he could wait until later to ask  her about them. Right now, his mind was spinning all sorts  of horrible ideas over what was making Lois so  incommunicative. "Did he hurt you?" Clark finally asked  quietly. Lois shook her head against his chest, but still  didn't speak. Instead she just seemed to hold him closer.  Unable to help himself any longer, Clark cupped her cheek  and gently forced her to look at him.

"Lois, please," he pleaded. "You're scaring me. I promise  you, whatever it is, we can get through it together.  Whatever he did to you--" Clark's voice cracked.

At his desperate tone reached her ears, Lois met Clark's  eyes for the first time since he'd escorted her out of the  police station. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she  heard the emotion in his voice. "Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry."

Clark took a gasping breath as he saw the wetness, and Lois  noticed that his eyes were now tearing up as well. "Lois,"  he said in a husky whisper, his voice shaking. "Whatever he  did ... it wasn't your fault. If he forced you--"

Realizing that Clark had jumped to a horribly wrong  conclusion about why she was upset, Lois quickly covered  his hand with hers. "Oh, no, Clark ... it isn't anything  like that!" She pressed a kiss to his palm. "He didn't hurt  me; I'm sorry I made you think--" She shook her head. "He  hardly touched me." After a moment's hesitation, she  continued, "He threatened to ... but you got there before  he could."

A muscle in Clark's jaw jumped as Lois mentioned Luthor's  threat, but he was clearly overcome by relief that nothing  horrible had happened to her. "Then what are you sorry  about?"

Lois closed her eyes. "Because he was trying to kill you  again, and it was all my fault," she whispered. "If I  hadn't let him go that first night ... if I had called the  police when he offered me his cell phone ... if I had  thought about you first, instead of myself, I--"

Clark released a deep breath and the tension in his body  visibly lessened as he gently dipped his forehead to hers  for a moment. "No ... no, no, no," he soothed. "Lois...  I've thought about this some more, and I think you were  right not to challenge him that night. If you had used that  phone, who knows what he might have done to you? Do you  honestly believe he would have let you turn him in, despite  what he said?"

Lois swallowed. "I don't know."

"You did the right thing, honey, even if I couldn't see it  right away." Giving her an encouraging smile, he used the  pad of his thumb to lightly brush away a tear that was  threatening to fall. "Besides, we got to him in time,"  Clark added reassuringly. "Without Kryptonite, he had no  way of killing me." He gave her a teasing grin, trying to  lighten the mood. "What was he going to do, throw me to the  rats?"

Instead of smiling at his attempt, however, Lois's eyes  just widened in shock. "You mean you don't know?" It  suddenly hit her ... of course, he didn't! He'd arrived  well after Nigel had escaped and he'd been at the prison  while Lois was giving her statements to the police. "Clark,  Lex *did* have Kryptonite! The piece that Rollie Vale used  last month to make Johnny Corbin into a cyborg -- Vale had  been hiding it in a compartment in his mechanical arm, and  he gave it to Lex to use against you."

"So that was why they were so interested in getting Vale  out of prison," Clark exclaimed. "We were right, then, as  to what the connection was." Then Clark furrowed his brow.  "But Lois, I didn't feel any Kryptonite down there."

Lois shook her head. "That's because Nigel St. John double- crossed Lex. Nigel killed Vale and shot Lex in the  shoulder. He took the Kryptonite, and he and Ramin escaped  before you arrived."

"So there's still a piece out there," Clark murmured, more  to himself than to Lois.

Her eyes filled with fresh tears. "Yes, and it's all my  fault! If the police had gotten to Lex before he could get  break Vale out of prison, Nigel wouldn't have the  Kryptonite."

"Oh, honey," Clark sighed, pulling her close again. "It's  *not* your fault," he insisted. "Even if we had found  Luthor earlier, the piece would still be out there. Rollie  Vale would still have it."

"But it wouldn't be with Intergang," Lois said glumly.

"Intergang?"

"Nigel told Lex that he'd had his day, but now, it was  Intergang's turn. He's working for them."

Clark stilled. "Or planning on selling the rock to the  highest bidder." He shook his head. "No, Nigel's too smart  for that; he'll hold onto it himself. We can keep an eye  out for him; maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be picked up  on some other charge and they'll find it. We may not know  where the Kryptonite is, but at least we know who has it. "

Lois sniffled. "I don't like knowing there's something out  there that can kill you, Clark."

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Clark  insisted. "Lois, this isn't your fault. I'm sorry I made it  seem like it was before, saying you let Luthor go. I was  angry and hurt, and I lashed out. But it was an awful thing  to say, and it wasn't true."

"I still feel responsible--"

"The only one responsible for any of this is Lex Luthor,"  Clark said firmly. "And he's finally where he belongs, in  prison, hopefully for the rest of his miserable life."

"You took him yourself, right?"

"You better believe it ... I wasn't taking any more  chances. And it was just as well that I did." The corners  of Clark's mouth quirked. "You know the term 'spitting  mad'? Well, Luthor was practically foaming at the mouth as  the guards were trying to process him."

Lois couldn't help but smile at the image. "He was really  furious, huh?"

"Enough to get himself put in solitary confinement. They  aren't taking any chances either."

Her voice was firm. "Good."

Clark gave her a tender smile and cupped her cheek. "So  you're really OK?" he asked again.

Lois returned his smile. "I'm fine. Really, I am." She  wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. "I'm  sorry I scared you by getting so emotional. I guess it was  just the stress of everything that happened."

"Honey, you had a pretty rough day."

"We both did." Resting her head against his chest, Lois let  out a quiet sigh. "Some Valentine's Day, huh?"

"Well, we didn't completely miss it," Clark replied  helpfully, glancing at the clock. "We still have an hour  left."

"But it wasn't how I pictured us spending it," she said  softly.

"Me neither," he admitted. "But honestly, Lois, all that  really matters to me is that we're both here, safe and  sound."

Lois lifted her chin and accepted his gentle kiss. "Thank  you," she whispered. "You're right, it's all that matters."  Then she gave him a little smile. "But I do have a card for  you."

"Mine's at my apartment," Clark said apologetically,  glancing towards the window. "You want me to get it?"

"No." Lois wrapped her arms around his neck, making it  clear she didn't want him to leave. "We can exchange them  tomorrow. I just want to hold you right now."

Clark pulled her closer. "That sounds wonderful," he  murmured, pressing a kiss into her hair. After a moment,  though, he smiled. "Can I still give you my present  tonight, though?"

Lois couldn't help but give him an impish grin. "Saving me  from killer rats wasn't enough?"

Clark laughed. "Wow, you're easy to shop for!" He ran a  hand affectionately down her arm. "But I really do have  something ... actually, it's kind of an I.O.U." At her  puzzled look, he continued. "Remember that 'death by  chocolate' thing you had at the Bizou last month, the one  you liked so much? You asked them what kind of chocolate  they used because it was so good."

"Yeah, and they said it was a small private company on the  west coast that didn't sell to the general public." She got  a dreamy look on her face. "That was *great* chocolate."

Clark smiled. "Well, I did some digging and I found out  that they're located in San Francisco. *And* they give  tours of their kitchens, complete with samples." He gently  tucked her hair behind her ear with his fingers. "So I was  thinking that you should pick a day and I would fly us out  there. We could tour the place, see how they make the  chocolate, get some to take home, then maybe see the sights  a bit. We could make a day of it."

"Oh, Clark, that sounds wonderful ... and I know just the  day to do it, too," she answered, getting more animated.  "In two weeks, on your birthday. We can spend it there."

"That's really sweet, honey," he answered, touched that she  would choose that day. "Except my birthday's in the middle  of the week this year. We have to work."

Lois just began to grin. "That's what you think." At his  confused expression, she continued, looking extremely  pleased with herself. "See, my Valentine's present to you  is an I.O.U., too. Actually, it's kind of a combination  Valentine's Day and birthday present, since it was a little  expensive, but I definitely think it will be worth it,  especially now that I see what you've gotten me and how we  can combine them both into--"

"Lois!" Clark exclaimed, laughing. "You're killing me here  ... what did you get me?"

"Oh, didn't I say?" she answered innocently. Then, unable  to hide her eagerness any longer, she spelled it out. "I  asked Perry to give us the day off on the 28th, so we could  celebrate. He agreed to keep it a secret, so I could  surprise you. Then I booked us into the Presidential Suite  at the Metropolis Grand Hotel. I figured we could make a  whole day out of it here in town, but San Francisco sounds  like an even better place to start."

"Oh, honey, that sounds wonderful," he said, amazed. "Thank  you ... what a fantastic present."

"And thank you," she answered, wrapping her arms around his  neck and giving him a warm hug. "I can't wait to go."

Clark held her tightly. "I can't wait either." Then he  pulled back and grinned teasingly. "Though I would have  expected you to try for the Honeymoon Suite instead of the  Presidential." He wagged his eyebrows up and down. "We  could have relived that stake-out."

Lois's laugh was one of pure glee. "Ah, but I did get it!  Wait till you hear! When I called, they told me that the  Honeymoon suites -- they now have two of them -- were both  booked for that entire week. That threw me, since there had  only been one last year when we were there. Turns out that  when the new management took over -- you know, after they  changed the name to the Metropolis Grand from the Lexor? --  they did some remodeling. They tore out some walls and  created two new suites on the top floor, which they now  call the Honeymoon Suites. And the old Honeymoon Suite that  we stayed in was renamed the Presidential. And it was  available!" She grinned broadly over her coup.

Clark grinned with her, his eyes dancing. "So you mean I  *will* be able to get my turn in the bedroom this time?"

She winked at him. "And I get to share that giant bath tub  with you instead of phoning you from it."

"Mmm," Clark sighed. "You have no idea how much I wanted to  suggest we use that tub."

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea," she laughed.

"Boy, talk about looking forward to my birthday this year,"  he laughed back, pressing a kiss to her mouth, quickly  deepening it when she responded in kind. But when they  finally separated, his smile was tender. "Thank you, honey;  it's a wonderful gift. I can't wait."

"Me neither," Lois agreed. "And thank you for my present  ... it's a wonderful Valentine's surprise. I definitely  wasn't expecting it."

Clark gave her a little grin. "Well, don't worry," he  teased. "I wasn't going to continue with my pattern of  proposing on every major romantic holiday. I've learned my  lesson; I promise."

As he spoke, however, the smile slowly left Lois's face,  and she gazed into Clark's eyes with a look of such  tenderness, it nearly took his breath away. "Maybe," she  whispered, "it wasn't such a bad pattern." She caressed his  cheek tenderly. "Unless you want to wait for your  birthday."

Clark stared at her for a long moment, uncertain. "Lois?"  he whispered back. "Do you mean ...?" At her gentle nod,  Clark let out a shaky breath. "But you wanted to wait ...  you wanted to be sure."

"Oh, Clark," she reassured him. "I was *always* sure. I  just needed to be ready."

"And now you are?"

Her smile was completely open ... and completely sincere.  "Yes ... I am."

"But ... why?" At Lois's surprised look, Clark continued  quickly. "I mean, it's not like I'm not thrilled -- I am,  really -- but what made you change your mind?"

"Well," she began slowly. "I've been thinking about it a  lot, even though I know I acted like I wasn't ... ever  since we started dating, really. And the more time we've  spent together, Clark ... the more we've shared ... the  less scary the idea of marriage seemed to be to me. All  those things I thought I'd dread when living with someone - - the compromises, the forced intimacy, never being alone - -" She smiled and tenderly brushed the hair back from his  forehead. "I came to realize that I enjoyed them. Craved  them, even."

Clark captured her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.  "Oh, honey--"

Lois rested her finger against his lips. "Wait, there's  more. Clark, I can't deny to you that seeing Lex this week  really shook me up. I thought I had put that chapter of my  life behind me, but this week, I had to deal with it all  over again." At Clark's worried look, Lois continued,  explaining. "I still had a lot of anger inside over what he  had done to me. So many times last year, I wanted to yell  at him, to scream at him and hit him and make him regret  what he'd done. But when I saw him, none of that seemed  important anymore. Don't get me wrong; I'm still angry over  what he did and I want them to lock him up and take away  the key. But the sense of personal betrayal was just ...  gone. I'm a differentperson now. A person who is finally  ready to put her past behind her, and jump into the future  with the man she loves." Lois looked deeply into his eyes.  "I love you, Clark, and I want to be with you forever. If  you'll still have me?"

Clark gave a little laugh, even as he felt his eyes grow  moist. Taking a step backwards, he slowly dropped to one  knee in front of her, holding her hands in his. "Lois," he  said, his voice choked with emotion. "I have loved you from  the moment I saw you ... and every minute that we spend  together only makes me love you more." He swallowed before  continuing, searching her face. "You're my partner, and my  best friend ... and my lover. Will you also be my wife?"

Not even trying to stop the tears that now flowed down her  face, Lois nodded as she dropped to her knees in front of  Clark. "Yes," she laughed. "Yes!"

"Yes?" he gasped as they came face to face.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes! Oh, Clark. I  love you and I want to marry you. I've never wanted  anything more."

Clark cupped her face with both of his, wiping her tears  away even as his own filled his eyes. "I love you, Lois  Lane," he whispered hoarsely. "And I will love you until  the end of time. This I swear to you."

As their lips met, their bodies melted into each other.  Cradled knee to knee, chest to chest, mouth to mouth ...  their hearts and souls became one.

Partners. Friends. Lovers.

And now more.

Forever.

*****

Epilogue:

Late the next morning, Lois Lane and Clark Kent beamed as  Perry White complimented their work on the story of the  return and arrest of Lex Luthor.

"I'm just so proud of you kids, I could burst!" Perry  exclaimed as Jimmy slapped Clark on the back. "What an  amazing story."

"Thanks, Perry," Lois replied, smiling up at Clark. He  squeezed her hand in reply, his own grin warming his face.  They hadn't told anyone yet of the change in their  relationship. They planned to, as soon as they set a date.  But for now, they were content to bask in the closeness of  their private secret.

"Well, after this, you two deserve some time off. I want  you both to take the rest of the week to relax."

Clark looked at Perry, surprised. "Really, Chief?"

Lois, however, didn't have to be asked twice. "That sounds  like a great idea, Perry," she responded eagerly, walking  around her desk to pick up her purse. She smiled warmly at  Clark, her eyes bright. "We can use the time to shop for  ... you know, that thing."

Clark furrowed his brow for a brief second, then his face  lit up with understanding. "Oh! Yeah ... that sounds like a  great idea. To look at ... those things." The grin nearly  split his face.

Jimmy cocked his head in confusion, but Perry only rolled  his eyes and gave them a little smirk. "You know, you don't  have to talk in code," the older man informed them. "You're  not fooling anyone. If you're going to look at engagement  rings, just say so."

At the stunned look on his favorite reporters' faces, the  Editor-in-Chief just grinned and walked back to his office.  "Yodel-ay, yodel-ay, yodel-ay-hee-hoo."

*****

The End :)

All comments welcome and appreciated!

Kathy Brown kathyb@lcfanfic.com

Table of Contents

When Lovers Become More

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Epilogue: