By Lauren Travis <Sarcosome@aol.com>
Summary: Besotted with Lois, Jimmy goes out in search of a story to prove his worth — but winds up crossing paths with a criminal instead.
[Author's note: This is my first attempt to write… well, anything. But I was suffering so from LCWS (recovering from the non-wedding arc and preparing for the coming doom that the cliffhanger may bring.) And, I couldn't hold my imagination down any longer. So here's my crack at L&C fanfic. It's a cute, little story about being secure with yourself, finding happiness and finally growing up. There are some WAFFs. There is some action. There's even a slightly disturbed bad guy. But everything works out in the end. If it didn't, I'd be an ABC executive. <g>. I hope you enjoy it as much I did writing it. Oh! Lois knows Clark is Superman. After that, any time frame is possible. They could even be married. And comments are always appreciated. Enjoy!] ***
***
*Man, she's beautiful*. He watched Lois as she sat at her desk typing. *So smart, so funny, so beautiful. I'm lucky to be in the same room with her.* He paused and looked down at the manila envelope he held in his hand. They had just spent a very special weekend together on a stake-out. Well, nothing had actually happened, but they did make a connection, sort of. Well, not really. She treated him the way she always did. Not badly; just not the way he dreamed about. Of course Clark was there with them, too. It goes with the name, Lane and Kent. He was just along for his camera. He did get to spend some time alone with Lois though. Clark kept having to go to the bathroom. And then there was the time he got lost…
"Hey, Jimmy!" He loved it when she said his name. Oh wait, she was talking to him.
"Uh… Lois…" She must have noticed him staring at her.
"Well?" Oh God. She did notice. But, he couldn't help but do so; she was so beautiful. "Yoo-hoo! Jimmy!" She whistled. "The folder. In your hand. Can I have it?"
The folder! Oh yeah. He grinned sheepishly. "Here." "Thanks, Jimmy."
A voice from across the news room rang out. "Lois!" "Hey, Clark!" she said without looking up from the computer screen at her best friend and extremely significant other. Clark looked at the beauty engrossed in her work. He rested himself against her desk. "I guess you're ready for another work-filled day at the Planet, I see."
"Well, normally I would have to agree with you, Clark." She still hadn't lifted her eyes from the screen. "But I have other plans for us."
"You? Lois? Not work? My, my. What has my little tornado got planned for us today?"
She finally rested her fingers. An enigmatic smile crept across her face. She turned to Clark. Their eyes met in a flash of passion. "You'll just have to wait and see."
"Oh will I now?" She laughed at Clark's response and he leaned in to kiss her. She met him with resounding enthusiasm. "Mmm…"
"Yes. Exactly. 'Mmm…'." She mimicked Clark's enjoyment. "And there's plenty more where that came from," she teased.
"Oh, really?" Clark sighed. "You know, I might not be able to wait."
"Well, you'll just have to. Now scoot! I have to get this to Perry before we can leave."
"OK. I'll just be sitting over at my desk… alone…lonely… without anyone to enjoy life's little pleasures…" He gave her the cutest, puppy dog eyes look.
Lois was back with her story. "I'm not buying it," she said in an sing-songy, playful tone. Clark just laughed and walked back to his desk, bumping into the Daily Planet's favorite photo journalist.
"Hi, Jimmy!"
"Oh, CK. I was just… I mean…"
"What's up? What do you want?"
Jimmy looked blankly at Clark. *I was staring at them. I can't believe I was staring at them. That whole time*. "Uh… CK. Gotta go." Jimmy turned and ran out of the news room leaving a slightly confused Clark behind. ***
Jimmy breathed in the Metropolis air. It was cold, a bit moist. At least he was out of that news room. Away from Lois and Clark. He looked down at his camera; he had grabbed it on the way out of the building. Time to take some pictures. He started wandering the streets, looking for something newsworthy. He saw some homeless, a two car accident, and a cop arresting some shoplifting kids. But nothing he could show to Lois. He figured he would go down to the docks. Something's always going down at the docks.
It started to rain and he quickened his pace, lowering his head to help shield his face and eyes from the rain. As it began to fall harder, he began to run quicker. He began to breathe heavier. His face felt hot and his eyes were damp. He ran further, and faster and harder, and then stopped. He felt the rain on his face. He was soaked. He felt the water drip down his clothing. Out of habit, he swung around to see if anyone was around. He was alone, like he always was. He wiped the tears from his eyes. What's the point? he thought. I'm already soaked from the rain. And I'm crying… It's raining and I'm crying.
Jimmy looked up at what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse and sprinted over to it. He found a corner behind some shelves and old boxes and checked to see if his camera was still dry in its case. It was and he realized he had nothing else to do. Nothing else to focus his mind on. He sat down with his back against the corner walls. Bringing his knees close to his body, he wrapped his arms around his legs and cried himself to sleep. ***
"I ain't gonna give you nothing if I don't want to," said the grungy man in the slight darkness.
"Not only will you present the object here and now, you will also find enjoyment in doing so."
"But you promised cash. And I don't see no bills. What the hell am I supposed to do with a check? I don't go to no bank." He eyed the tall, clean-shaven man before him. "It's probably not good anyway."
The half-brain was beginning to annoy him. "You do realize that I could so easily kill you right now? So I suggest you do as I say and give me what I want."
The simple thief had enough common sense to realize that the man's threat was real. He turned around, reaching for a medium sized black box, and retrieved the weight. "It's in here," he said disappointedly.
"Excellent." The tall, handsome man pulled out a gun from his Armani suit. "Now open it."
"You don't need to be gettin' all whacked out. I'm gettin' it open. Just hold your horses." He fidgeted with the lock a bit. It clicked. He opened it.
An evil grin spread across the man in the suit's face. "Excellent."
"What is it?"
The man in the suit aimed, shot, and killed the ignoramus. "I wasn't speaking to you, but I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, anyway." His bellowing laughter echoed through the building. ***
He was with Lois, they were flying. Except that now he was Superman. It was a strange feeling, yet comfortable. Jimmy began to like the feel of the suit and Lois seemed to be liking it on him. He pulled her in closer, closer. He looked into her beautiful, sparkling eyes. At her warm, inviting lips. Closer, closer…
He woke up to the sound of a bang. A gunshot?! He instinctively grabbed his camera. From behind the tiny cracks between some boxes on the shelves, he could see a man with a gun. In his other hand, he held what looked like a tiny statuette. He took one picture, then another, and another. He walked along behind the boxes trying to get a better view. Suddenly, his nose felt funny.
"Ah…ah… achoo!" Oh God… He tossed his camera onto the shelves.
"Who's there?"
*Please make me stop… please God, make him go away. Make him not hear me. Make him not see me. I promise I'll go to church every Sunday*. "Achoo!" *Aww. Come on… God, please. I promise to not party so much*. "Achoo!" *Okay… okay… I promise to never undress Lois in my mind ever again.*
Jimmy looked up to see a gun pointed directly at his face. Complete fear overcame him.
The man with the gun stared at the boy. "Who are you?"
"Jim…Jimmy Olsen, sir."
"Olsen? As in James?"
"Yes, sir. He's my father, sir."
"Your father?"
"Yes, sir. My father."
"James Olsen is *your* father?"
"Yes, sir. That's what I said, sir."
"And you work at that Daily Planet?"
"That is correct, sir."
"Interesting." Jimmy's heart was pounding. The man with the gun was calm. "Jimmy… it's Jimmy, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"What are you doing here?"
"Trying to get out of the rain, sir."
"You can cease with the 'sirs', boy."
"Yes, sir. I mean… yes."
The man paused. "How long have you been here?"
"Just a bit. I… I… I didn't see anything. I didn't hear anything. I… I'll be going now."
"Now, wait one minute." As much as I'd like to believe you, I don't. But that's okay because you are coming with me anyway."
Jimmy gulped.
"Now, now. Don't worry, boy. I won't hurt you. We're just going to wait for a special someone to come and get you."
"Special…? Who?"
"Yes, well…" He walked towards Jimmy. "You'll find out soon enough. It's just too bad you had to see this." The man with the gun raised his hand over the boy's head. Jimmy winced and blacked out. ***
"Mmmm. I'm here in the arms of my favorite Superman." She looked at Clark. "I'm so glad you're the real thing." Lois rested her head against Clark's chest.
"Well, I should hope so, Lois. As far as I know, I'm the only one." He smiled. "And I am definitely real. Go ahead, touch me."
She let her hand flutter over his strong, defined chest. "Ooh, yeah. You sure make up for all the 'Supermen' that could be." Lois and Clark both laughed as they snuggled up together on Clark's couch. They had just finished watching 'Keeper of the Flame'. Clark pushed the rewind button on the remote and turned off the TV. A glimmer in her eye sent shivers down his spine. In his best Spencer Tracy accent he whispered, "I don't suppose you wanna hit the town, lady…" to which Lois responded in her best Katherine Hepburn accent, "I think I wanna stay *right* here."
"Well, well, well." Clark laughed. He felt so good inside. The love he felt, the warmth. He shifted a bit so he could give Lois a kiss. It was a simple kiss, light and sweet. He gazed into her eyes and she into his. Their lips met again, only this time harder, deeper, and more passionate.
Clark pulled back suddenly.
"No, no, no. Clark. Please, ignore it."
"It's Jimmy, Lois."
She sat up, now concerned. "Jimmy? Why? What's happening?"
"I don't know. He cried out in pain. And now it's gone. Something's wrong."
"Well, let's go!"
Clark looked at the always adventurous love of his life. "Lo-is."
"Don't you even think for one second that I'm not coming with you, Clark Jerome Kent. Jimmy is my friend too and I have every right to go with you. So do your twirly thing and we're off!"
There was no time for arguing. "Fine, let's go." He spun around, becoming Superman, scooped Lois up into his arms and flew to where Clark thought he heard the sound.
"What would Jimmy be doing here?" Lois asked once they had landed.
"I don't know. But I'll take a look around."
Lois immediately saw a blood stain and a trail leading to a body. "Superman! He's still warm, but definitely dead."
"Jimmy?" Superman misunderstood as he shouted from behind some shelves. "No," she responded. "Someone else. From the looks of it, I'd say a no-good henchman for some crime spree. This was a pretty clean kill, though. I would guess someone who knows what he's doing didn't want this guy's 'help' anymore."
"Lois." Clark interrupted. "I found Jimmy's camera and case. The case is soaked. He must have been out in the rain." Superman paused. "What would he be doing down here, anyway?" He remembered a few hours earlier at the Planet. "He did leave in a hurry this morning. Do you think he could have known something?"
"Maybe." Lois sighed. "But now, he's in trouble." She looked at the small mechanical device that had never left Jimmy's side. "I think we'd better take a look at the pictures in this camera."
"I think you're right." ***
Jimmy Olsen opened his eyes. He was lying on a black leather couch in what appeared to be in an upscale, high-rise office building. As he tried to sit up, a pain rushed through his head.
"Be careful. You were hit pretty hard." The girl sighed. "Oh, I wish he wouldn't do this."
Jimmy looked up at the pretty girl sitting next to him on the floor. Her soft face, flowing hair, gentle voice. He naturally smiled at her. She returned the pleasantry.
"Owww."
"I told you, Jimmy." She chuckled at the invalid. "Just lie back. Here…" She applied a cold wash cloth to his head. The boy stared at the girl. *Who is she? Why is she being so nice to me? Why am I here? Why am I hurt? What happened? You know, she's kinda cute.* She just laughed, as if she could read his thoughts. "Just don't stare too long or you'll get a headache." He cocked his head to the side with the inevitable 'huh?'.
"Owww."
"Silly boy. Lie still."
He did what he was told. For some strange unknown reason, contradicting everything else his mind and body were telling him, he felt he could trust her. "How do you know my name?"
"Daddy told me. He said he ran into you at the docks. What were you doing there?"
"Trying to stay out of the rain." He thought for a moment, "Your WHAT?! Owww."
She laughed outright. "When will you learn, silly boy? I'll answer all your questions. Just give me a moment to fix this." She placed another clean, cold wash cloth on his forehead. Her touch felt good, almost magical, refreshing and oddly clean. "There." She paused and looked at the boy. "My name is Carmen Diaz. You are Jimmy Olsen. I am the daughter of wealthy business man, Rick Diaz. You are the son of one of Daddy's best friends, James Olsen. My father makes replicas of small, priceless trinkets… though I think he would prefer to just collect them and stare at them. It's his favorite thing to do. The only problem with this, besides him having to steal them of course, is that it requires that he do some really, *really* rotten things. Now, your father is a spy, but for which government, no one knows — Daddy thinks Mr. Olsen doesn't even know anymore. And well, he's really a crook as well. I welcome you, Jimmy Olsen, to the Diaz empire!" She paused. "That was a bit dramatic, wasn't it?" Jimmy was in shock. "Oh, don't worry, I don't kill people. I mostly just study a lot with my tutor. I'm hoping that someday I can go to France to study to become a doctor and save lives."
Now Jimmy was really in shock. But at the same time, completely comfortable. He trusted this girl when he knew he shouldn't. She sensed his confusion. "Did I leave something out?"
"Uh… no. Well, what am I doing here? And why don't you run away? It sounds like your dad isn't all that great of a guy."
"Hmmm. I think I'll answer the first question first. Seems only logical since you asked it first." She smiled. Jimmy looked at her, into her eyes. No, she's not stupid, he thought. But he couldn't place the word. "Well, Daddy saw you at the warehouse after picking up the latest piece in his collection of trinkets. He didn't want to kill you… actually he never *wants* to kill anyone. Sometime they annoy him, so he has to. I don't blame him for being annoyed. Some people are so scary sometime. You wonder how they ever managed to live so long. Not to say that I agree with his method. I'm more for the 'walk away' method. Don't you agree?" Carmen looked down at her little invalid. "I was rambling again, wasn't I?"
"No… well, it was nice. I like… I like listening to you." Her face brightened, "Thanks."
"Well, it's true."
"Well, anyway, when he heard about you being the son of Mr. Olsen, well he got all excited. I figure it was for two reasons. One, the thought of finding out how his old partner in crime is doing made him curious. And two, not to be mean or anything… but I think he's going to use you to get to Lois Lane."
"Lo…?"
"And as far as why I stay with Daddy, it's simple. He's always been good to me. He loves me, and tells me so…"
"Lo…?"
"Although I wish he wouldn't do the things he does. I also wish I had more friends… any friends actually, but I guess it's hard to make friends when you're part of the whole crime world."
"Lois…?"
"I mean one time, Daddy tried to set me up with one of the Luthor boys. Oh my goodness, was that a disaster! All crime kids like doing is developing their plans for world domination. And of course I'm already blacklisted from the normal world." She paused. "Were you trying to say something?"
"Lois? Lane?"
"Yeah, Daddy considers her the ultimate trinket. I never could see how anyone could think of another person as a trinket. I think all people should be viewed as people with feelings and hopes and dreams, like wanting to lie in the grass outside of the Sorbonne on a warm summer afternoon with some wine and cheese in a basket… Oh!" She chuckled. "I guess that's why I'll never be a criminal."
Thoughts were racing through Jimmy's mind. And then they stopped. He looked up at the sweet, innocent girl above him. He wanted to laugh, and cry. But, no… wait… Lois. "Carmen?" determination was in his voice. "Yes?" "What do you mean he wants Lois as a trinket?"
"Well I don't know any other way to put it except that he likes to collect things. Different things. Little trinkets. He won't hurt Lois if that's what you're worried about. No, he'll probably just keep her in a cage and stare at her." She scrunched her face. "I don't think she'll like that too much."
"Isn't he worried about Superman?"
"To be quite honest, I don't think he cares about Superman. He's never captured Daddy's eye. Superman just doesn't worry Daddy. Though believe me, if he wanted him, he'd probably get him."
"Aww, come one, we're talking about Superman here!"
"I know, I know. But Daddy can do a lot of things."
"But Superman?"
"I'm not saying I agree with what Daddy does. But if he wanted to, he could do it."
"Do you mean with Kryptonite?"
"If he wanted. But don't worry. Superman bores him, remember?"
"Wow, I can't imagine anyone ever being bored by Superman."
"It happens."
"Do you like him? Superman?"
"Oh I think he's nifty and all, but I don't get giddy around him. I'd much rather be in France. Anyway, how come I get the feeling that you're going to ask me for help with this Lois thing?"
"Cosmic connection?" He laughed and she laughed with him. It was comfortable and the pain in his head was gone. It was strange. This girl was strange. She had a warm heart, but was stuck in a bad situation. He felt for her.
"Isn't laughter wonderful?" "Yes it is, Carmen. It really is." ***
"I don't get it, Clark." Lois and her partner were in the Planet's conference room staring over the pictures trying to find some clue as to where Jimmy was. Neither one were in a good mood; they were too worried about their friend. "Who is this man?" Lois focused on one particular picture. "Clark, is this a doll?"
Clark shook his head. "I am just as lost as you are, Lois." He wrinkled his brow. "This must be related to the fact that Jimmy rushed out of here this morning. And… whoever killed that other guy, why didn't he kill Jimmy? That killing was so heartless. And for Jimmy not to be hurt at all… Lois, I didn't even find one drop of Jimmy's blood. Not one trace. He's alive, somewhere. But where?"
"Well, I sent copies of these pictures to the police station. Hopefully, they'll be able to come up with something. Until then, we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope we figure this out. "
"Hey, you two," Perry was in the doorway. He seemed nervous. He was worried about Jimmy but didn't want to show it. "Any luck?"
The two exchanged worried glances. Clark spoke up. "No Chief, but something's gotta turn up."
"Keep looking. This is Jimmy we're talking about."
"We know." Clark and Lois were more worried than they let Perry to believe. If Superman and his powers couldn't find Jimmy, how were two reporters going to be able to do it?
Perry left to his office only to come back 15 seconds later. "Uh, Lois… Sgt. Davis on the phone."
Lois and Clark both jumped up and raced to the nearest extension. Lois listened as she was informed that the man in the picture was Rick Diaz. Clark's super-hearing allowed him in on the conversation too. She hung up the receiver. Their eyes met. "Let's go," they said in unison. ***
"So you're really going to go to France?"
"Someday, yes. But I don't know when. But then again, when do we ever really know anything about the future? Except that if you stand in the middle of the freeway during rush hour, you're gonna get run over."
Jimmy laughed out loud with Carmen. They had spent the last hour talking, about nothing actually, about everything really. He felt so natural with her. He didn't need to be anyone special. He was Jimmy Olsen. Young, confused, a little scared. And that was okay. She made him feel okay.
Carmen's expression grew serious. Jimmy knew it was time for action. "So most likely, Daddy is planning on Lois finding you here. He thinks she's 'tenacious' and 'wondrously beautiful'. I kinda have to agree."
"That's Lois, all right. Spunky, too. She's really nice, you know."
Carmen realized how Jimmy felt about Lois. "You like her?"
"Yeah, I do." He was amazed at how easy it was for him to say this. "But now things are different. I don't know how to explain it, but I see her differently. I guess… I don't like her now?" He said the words again. They felt odd.
"Of course you still like her. The only difference is that you don't drool over her anymore. You've realized that fantasies can be fun, but they don't get you anywhere."
Jimmy's jaw dropped. He'd never heard anyone so honest before. He knew it was true. "I guess I'm… over… Lois."
"And look, silly boy. You're still in one piece!" She laughed. He smiled back. "And speaking of Lois…"
"Lois, right."
"Daddy most likely expects her to walk in any minute…"
The door of the office closed. They hadn't even realized someone had entered. "Whom do I expect to walk in any minute?"
"Daddy!"
"I see you have been entertaining our guest. How are you feeling Mr. Olsen?"
Jimmy was angry, confused and scared. "Better, sir." He remembered at the warehouse. "Better… period."
"Better period? Is that some new slang?" Mr. Diaz was smiling.
"Daddy, quit teasing Jimmy. You've already done enough damage for one day."
"Quite right, my dear. So, boy. You and Lois Lane. You are close with her, correct?"
"Uh…"
The intercom rang. "Mr. Diaz, Lois Lane and Clark Kent are here to see you." He buzzed back, "Thank you, Doris." He faced Jimmy. "You are worth your weight in gold, boy. You know that?"
Jimmy turned toward Carmen. She looked a bit helpless, but not worried.
"Jimmy!" Clark shouted as the door opened to what looked like an ordinary office. "What are you doing here?"
"Yeah, Jimmy." Lois gave him a look. Everything seemed safe. "We were expecting you to be tied up in some dungeon. And here we find you…well, enjoying yourself. You had us so worried."
"CK, Lois, I'm all right. It's kind of a long story. Lois, CK, this is Carmen. Carmen, Lois and CK, I mean Clark. And this is Mr. Diaz. Mr. Diaz, Lois an Clark. Everyone met everyone?" He looked around. "Good," he looked at the two reporters, "Can we just get out of here?"
"I don't think anyone is going anywhere." Rick Diaz had pulled out his gun. Clark shifted his weight to the other leg and Lois rolled her eyes. "It's 6 o'clock and dinner is about to be served." Lois and Clark exchanged confused glances. Big men with guns entered the room. One picked up Lois and carried her over his shoulder while two other men guided Clark, both groups heading into a passage way through a secret door.
Lois whined, "Uh… excuse me. I didn't asked to be picked up. Uh! Clar-ark!"
"I'm here, Lois. They've got me too."
She couldn't see him. She couldn't see much of anything. "I don't suppose they're carrying you too."
"No, I get to walk."
"You make me so jealous sometimes," she said playfully to which Clark just laughed. But he stopped when he realized that they were being taken to different rooms. "Lois!"
"Clark!"
Clark walked a bit further and then stopped when he knew he was alone and away from anyone immediately seeing him. He turned around much to the surprise of the two men. He wasn't going to let anyone push him around.
"Keep walking."
"No, I don't think so." Clark whammed their heads together knocking them out. He tied them up with some rope he saw on the ground and spun into Superman. Off he went to find Lois. ***
"So if you excuse me you two, I have a dinner date with the lovely Lois Lane."
"Huh?" Jimmy was more confused as ever. "What are you going to do with her?"
"I don't think that is any of your business, boy."
"No. No. I want to know what's going on. Lois is my… friend and I care about her." He stood his ground. He even folded his arms across his chest. Man, it felt good!
Diaz laughed at the boy's earnestness. "Carmen. Take Jimmy downstairs to the factory. Show him around." Carmen reluctantly nodded pulling on Jimmy's arm.
"No, Carmen. I want to know what's going on."
"So do I," said the figure in blue, red and yellow.
Before Jimmy could gasp, "Superman!" the Man of Steel had already tied up Rick Diaz. "Do I need to tie you up too, Miss?"
Jimmy interrupted. "She's okay, Superman."
"Well, okay. In that case," he turned to Diaz, "I'm taking you down to the police." He and Diaz flew off leaving Carmen and Jimmy alone.
"Are you okay?" they asked each other in unison. Sheepish grins. "I'm fine," they responded in unison once again. This time the grins had turned into chuckles. Two voices again spoke, "What are we going to do now?" By then, their smiles had turned into full fledged laughter.
Jimmy calmed and looked at Carmen. "I'm sorry about your dad."
"It's okay. I knew it would happen sooner or later. It comes with the territory. I've been lucky till now. Most kids' dads are in jail all the time. He probably belongs there anyway. I love him, but he *is* the bad guy." She sighed. "No matter. I'll just have to bake lots of cookies for him." Jimmy laughed at that. He looked at Carmen's smile… her eyes… her hair… her lips…
"Silly boy," she said. And then she kissed him. ***
"Oh, Clark. They're kissing. That is so sweet." She felt his arms wrap around her from behind as they stood just outside the doorway, making sure not to be seen by the two young lovers. Clark held her in his arms. Lois leaned into him. Calm, but ever curious, she asked, "Did everything go okay with Superman at the police station?" She felt his warm lips on her temple.
"Yeah, everything went fine. It seems that Mr. Diaz has been 'collecting' things for years. They never caught him because what he was collecting … what he stole, the items, had nothing in common. He also never used them in anyway, for evil, at least against the public. His collection was so strange, no one ever thought the robberies and the murders were connected. I guess he just had a fetish for beautiful pieces of art."
Lois turned her body around to face Clark. "I want to thank you for keeping those men away from me." She gently kissed him.
"By the way, Lois. What *was* Diaz planning to do with you anyway?"
"You know, Clark, it's the strangest thing. The only thing in the room was a candle-lit dinner for two. Roast duck and some wonderful chocolate desert of some kind. I have no idea what it was, but it tasted good."
"You tasted it?"
She blushed. "Well, it was chocolate!" ***
Lois handed Perry the 3.5 disk. "Thanks, Lois. It's a good thing Metropolis' finest pieces of art are finally back where they belong. You know, I don't even think Elvis could have connected all those pieces of the puzzle. How's Jimmy?"
"He's doing okay, Perry. He's with Carmen right now." She folded her arms, sighed and smiled. "I think they're in love."
"Ah, yes, young love. Say, don't you have a young love of your own to attend to? It's getting late, you know. I think I hear him calling."
"Yes, Perry. I'm going." She smiled one last time. "Good night." "Night, Lois." She turned and walked out of his office, meeting up with her love. "Ready, Clark?"
"For you? Always." ***
They had spent the remainder of the time talking, and an occasional kiss. Well, it was more than just occasionally. But man, was she cute!
"Jimmy?"
"Yes, Carmen?"
"I was thinking about going to Paris. Since Daddy won't be up for parole for a while, and I don't have a job or anything — I have no interest in managing a company. I figured I could go to school there…"
Jimmy's eyes lit up and then a sadness came over him. "You'd be going alone."
"Yeah, I would. But we could still write though." She was hopeful and sincere. "And I have enough money that you could come visit me or I could come back to Metropolis every once in a while."
"Oh."
"Jimmy, I don't *want* to leave, but aside from you, I really don't have anything here in Metropolis. You have the Daily Planet, Lois, Clark. I don't. I just need to get away, see something new. You understand, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do." The funny thing was, he really did. For the first time in his life, he actually understood something. She needed to explore the world. She had a lot to think about. And she needed a change. He wondered if this was what love was: being able to let someone you care about go. He gave her a look that let her know everything was all right.
"Oh, thank you!" She hugged him and he could smell her clean, real scent. She was so soft, so pretty.
"You're going to have to write me. All the time."
"As often as I can, silly boy. And you have write me back. I want to hear from you too. And everything that is happening in Metropolis."
He looked at his new… his new… he didn't know what to call her. But that didn't matter. "For you, Carmen? Always."
THE END
(la, la, la…)
(adayin.txt)