By Megan Sullivan (lessa1@geocities.com)
Summary: A continuation of the episode "Big Girls Don't Fly."
Author's Note - I feel that the title of this story needs some explanation. This is the beginning of my favorite quote from Lois and Clark. So I have decided to write 4 fanfics, one for each sentence of the quote. Most likely, the only thing the stories will have in common is the fact that they are all based on our favorite show. They will be in chronological order and will hopefully all be completed by the end of the year. Enjoy!
***
Clark had left for New Krypton not a month earlier, and Lois had missed him desperately for every second since. She had tried to go about her life as normally as she could, but life without Clark just wasn't normal. And never could be. Each evening, Lois's mind wandered back to the days when she and Clark would spend the evenings visiting with the Kents. Or working late on a story. Or snuggled up together on the couch watching an old movie. What ever she did, wherever she was, she always knew that Clark would be with her if she needed him. And now she needed him, and he wasn't there.
Dark circles had rimmed her eyes since the night he had left. The mere mention of Clark's name made her all weepy. And when someone asked her how he was, off visiting his ailing cousin? It was all she could do to keep from breaking into a million pieces. Others had to notice that she wasupset. She couldn't hide her sorrow.
The only people that she could talk to about Clark were the Kents. But sometimes, talking to them made her feel guilty. She would let all her sorrow pour out. But they were missing their son. Their only child. They must be going through the same thing she was. Maybe something worse. She didn't know how it felt to be in a family as close knit as hers. She couldn't imagine how it was to have your child gone, where you couldn't reach him and didn't know where or how he was. For all anyone knew, he could be dead.
No. She couldn't think that. She couldn't even let her mind go near that. Clark was on New Krypton helping Zara to defeat Lord Knorr and his men. And when they had won that battle, Clark would be back, safe at home in her arms. Clark was fine. He was fine. She had to keep repeating to herself that he was fine. She had to reassure herself that he would be back.
In the past month, Lois had been spending a lot of time with the Kents. They came to visit her often, and she had been to Smallville every weekend. They were what kept her going. And she was the reason that they stayed strong.
A whole month. She had survived a whole month without Clark. In the beginning, her work had suffered greatly, but now, she had managed to separate her work from her feelings, a difficult thing, since Clark was part of her work at the Daily Planet. Perry and the rest of the staff had been told that Clark was off visiting his seven year old cousin, Billy, who had a mysterious illness that was baffling the doctors. He didn't know when he could come back, but Billy was an only child, and Clark had been like an older brother to him. He had asked that Clark be with him. This whole story wasn't a total lie. It was true, actually. There was a Billy, and he had a mysterious illness. The only difference was that the real Billy had recovered from his illness almost eight years ago.
***
One night, after a particularly rough day at the Planet, Lois went home and the second she walked in the door, she burst into tears. It had been one of those days that Clark had always helped her through. But he wasn't there. She leaned against the door and sobbed. She couldn't stop crying.
"Lois," she told herself, "You've got to stop crying. Clark wouldn't want you to act like this. He would want you to be happy. So be happy." She paused and a small smile crossed her face. "Great. Now I'm talking to myself."
She realized she was exhausted, so decided to just go take a hot shower and go to bed. She would feel better in the morning.
***
After a long shower, Lois put on a pair of shorts and one of Clark's old flannel shirts and curled up in bed with the teddy bear he had won for her at the carnival. She fell asleep almost immediately.
***
The clock read 1:27 AM. Lois was sound asleep. She stirred momentarily when she felt a gust of wind brush her skin, but soon fell back into a deep sleep.
The gust of wind was Clark! He was back from New Krypton. He stepped in to Lois's apartment through the window. He looked over at her and smiled.
"Lois…" he whispered. "God I wish you were awake. I've missed you so much. You can't imagine… What am I saying? You can't hear me. You're asleep." He shook his head, and began to talk to himself. "I can't wake her up. I've seen her when she hasn't gotten enough sleep." Then he had an idea.
He spun around and came out of the spin dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He took his Superman cape and laid it over Lois like a blanket. He then left her bedroom and walked into the kitchen. "Hmm. I could make breakfast for Lois…"
***
Lois awoke the next morning before her alarm. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 5:33AM. "Oh, man," she mumbled to herself. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She immediately noticed the Superman cape on her bed. "Oh my God!" she said in an exclaimed whisper. Then she noticed the aroma of pancakes and bacon coming from the kitchen. "Clark?" she called. "Clark!" She climbed out of bed.
Clark came hurrying into her room the moment she called his name. He reached the doorway and just stood there and stared at Lois. "Lois." A new passion for her blazed in his eyes.
"Clark." The look in her eyes mirrored Clark's.
They walked toward each other and Clark folded Lois into his arms. "Oh God, Lois. You don't know how long I've waited to see you. I missed you so much."
Lois had tears streaming down her face. "Clark, promise me you'll never leave. I don't think I could live through that again."
"I won't leave you Lois. I promise." Then he tilted his head toward hers and they kissed with a tenderness that neither of them had ever experienced.
They stood there wrapped in each others arms for what seemed like hours, for neither of them wanted to break the embrace. Finally, they separated, tears streaming down both their faces.
"Lois, I have so much to tell you. But first, do you think that you could get the day off? I would love it if we could go to visit my parents together."
"You mean you haven't seen them yet?"
"I came here first thing."
"Oh Clark…"
"Lois, you are my life. The center of my world. You were in my thoughts every second that I was gone. I had to see you first."
Lois was silent. She was so choked up that she couldn't speak. And even if she could, what could she say? He knew her feelings. He knew everything about her.
"Lois?"
"I'm sorry Clark. I'm just so shocked to see you. I feel like I'm dreaming."
"It's real, Lois. It's real."
***
After spending two hours talking, Lois and Clark were ready to leave. They went to the Daily Planet, so Clark could announce his return, and so that Lois could beg for the day off.
Hand in hand, they entered the doors of the Planet, and got in the elevator.
They stood there in silence, until a nagging thought popped into Lois's mind.
"Clark?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"What about Superman?"
"What about Superman?"
"Well, you're back. Is Superman coming back now, too?"
"Actually, I was going to bring that up a little later. But, since, you asked… I was thinking that maybe Superman could come back in about two or three weeks. I mean, Metropolis has survived without him for this long, what's another couple of weeks? And I was also thinking that maybe in those two weeks, we could get married."
Lois was shocked and speechless once more. "Clark! I… I would love it if we could get married as soon as possible. And in two weeks? I can't imagine anything more wonderful! But… why is Superman not coming back yet?"
"Well, I figured that we could have more time together. Uninterrupted time."
"Clark! You'd do that for me? For us?"
"I'd do anything for you."
Before Lois could respond, the doors of the elevator slid open. No one seemed to notice that Clark was back. So Lois and Clark stepped out of the elevator, Lois standing in front of Clark, with both her hands clasped tightly in his. They just stood there, taking in the scene. The normal bustle of the newsroom, a friendly site to Clark. Jennifer was over at her desk in the corner, typing furiously, probably working on her column. David was on the phone. Jimmy was just walking in to the newsroom carrying a stack of papers. He walked over to a desk and set them down. He looked around the room for Anita, the owner of the desk, when he spotted Lois and Clark. Lois could pinpoint the second that Jimmy saw Clark, for his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
"CK!" Jimmy cried, as he rushed over to them. He made it there in a few seconds. "You're back! I can't believe it. Oh, how's your cousin?"
At Jimmy's cry, the whole office looked up. Sounds of people welcoming Clark back to the Planet came from every corner.
"He's doing much better, Jimmy. Thanks."
"So, are you coming back to the Planet now?"
"If Perry'll have me."
"Oh I know he will. He has to."
"Hope you're right."
At that moment, Perry came out of his office. He had heard Jimmy's exclamation, and had come to see if it was true. "Clark!" He joined the trio in front of the elevators. "Well, son, how was Smallville? How is Billy? I hope he's better."
"Yes, Perry, he's doing much better. The doctors think he has a much better chance at life now."
"That's wonderful. Will you be coming back to work at the Planet now?"
"I'd love to, Chief. Will you let me?"
"You're half of one of the world's best reporting teams. Of course I'll let you come back."
"Thanks Perry," he said as he tightened his grip on Lois.
"Perry?" Lois asked.
"What is it, Lois?"
"We were wondering… Could we maybe have the afternoon off. We were hoping to spend some time together."
"Of course. Have a great time. You deserve it. Now go!" he said with a grin. "You're wasting precious time." He pushed them toward the elevator.
"Wow, Perry," said Lois. "I never thought you would be this eager to be rid of me."
"Oh, this isn't the first time…" he said with a laugh. "…And it certainly won't be the last."
"Fine," Lois said sarcastically. "If you're going to treat me like that, I'll leave." She turned and pressed the elevator button. Then she looked back at the group and grinned. "Dramatic exits are always so much better when you can slam a door."
Finally, the elevator door opened, and Lois stepped in, followed by Clark. As the doors slid shut, Clark said "Thanks, Perry. We owe you one."
"Now things can get back to normal," said Perry.
"Chief, things are never normal when Lois and Clark are involved," Jimmy replied.
***
Lois and Clark left the Daily Planet hand in hand. While gazing up at the huge 3D logo above her head, Lois asked, "Where to?"
In response, Clark grabbed her hand and pulled her into a quiet alley.
"Ooh, Clark. Are we gonna neck?"
"I wish. Maybe later." He spun around and came out of the spin in the familiar red, yellow, and blue suit. "We're going to Smallville."
"Don't think I didn't know that, Clark."
"Oh, I'm sure you did know."
He lifted her into his arms, and away they flew. High into the sky, above the trees, the buildings, even higher than the clouds. Somehow, each time they flew, Smallville and Metropolis seemed to get closer together. The trip didn't seem to last as long as it used to. In what seemed like minutes, they had arrived on the Kent Farm in Smallville. And, from what Lois could tell, both Martha and Jonathan were home. Clark would know for sure.
"Clark, honey, are they home?"
"Yes my little tornado, they're home."
"Then let's go! Don't you want to see your parents?"
"Of course I do! I'm just taking my time. I haven't been here in a while remember."
"Well, it looks like your mom is going to spoil your slow entrance. She's out on the front porch, and I think she sees us."
"CLARK!" Martha cried, finally noticing her son and his fiancee in the yard.
She dropped the basket of clean laundry and came racing over to them. The laundry went everywhere. She ran directly into Clark and gave him the biggest, strongest bear hug she could. "Clark! When did you get back? What happened? Is everything okay? Oh, Lois. It's so wonderful to see you again. You look so much happier now, of course. Oh. JONATHAN!" she yelled toward the garden. "Jonathan! It's Clark! He's here! Oh, Clark, I am so happy to see you." She paused and laughed. "I'm rambling again, aren't I."
"Yup," replied Clark.
"I'm sorry." She tightened her grip around him. "I'm just so happy that you're finally home. I've missed you."
"Missed you, too, Mom."
Jonathan Kent came running from the direction of the garden. It was the first time that Lois had ever seen him run.
"Clark! Son!" Jonathan was ecstatic to see Clark. He ran to him and enveloped both Clark and Martha, who still had her arms around Clark. Clark looked over at Lois who was standing off to the side with tears in her eyes, watching the Kent family in a big group hug. Clark wordlessly held out an arm to Lois and she snuggled under it.
"We're finally all back together," said Martha.
"One big happy family," said Lois.
THE END
(or is it?)
(seek.txt)