By Letitia Logan <ll2781@hotmail.com>
Rated PG-13
Submitted December 1998
Summary: After a foolish mistake causes drastic changes in the life of Lois and Clark, a more serious threat enters their lives. Part 3 of a 3-part series, this story is subtitled "Together."
For those who have read my two previous stories, you must be wondering why there were no villains involved. Well, I'm more interested in Lois and Clark's personal lives.
I know my stories would seem unrealistic without villains and all the other details I tend to miss and this story is no exception. I didn't want to talk about all the publicity that their divorce must have brought, all the questions from Perry, their parents, etc., because it would take too long and I wanted to concentrate on their emotions. So my request is to use your wonderful imagination along with my story. You'll need it! :)
***
Clark eyed Lois and DAMIEN surreptitiously. Every time he touched her, made her laugh or kissed her, Clark would wish it was him and not Damien who was doing all those things. They weren't partners anymore and Lois had obviously moved on with her life — with Damien Grant. Right now, they were heading for the elevators. Damien helped her with her coat — the way Clark used to. She smiled at him (the way she used to smile at Clark) and then they were gone.
Clark felt a gnawing ache in his heart. Working with Lois was even harder than he imagined, but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving and not being able to see her every day. Waking up in the morning was a struggle for him, too, knowing that Lois would not be next to him. Coming to work was even harder because he would have to face Damien and Lois (who was acting very cool toward him). At night it was just as painful — dinner alone, watching TV alone, going to bed alone. He missed her more than anyone could have imagined. Perhaps the worst thing was knowing that the whole thing was his fault. Clark would often dream of Lois and the way they used to be. Then he would feel empty and lost because he couldn't have it all back.
***
Tonight, he was flying over Metropolis again. He didn't want to go back to his empty apartment. Ever since the divorce, he had thrown himself into his work, at the Daily Planet and as Superman. It was the only way he knew to distract himself from thinking about Lois. And as on so many nights, he found himself outside Lois's open window. Usually, he remained outside and just drank in her beauty, memorizing every single detail of her face.
Lois rubbed her arm semiconsciously. Clark started. He waited, but she didn't stir again. He floated in, careful not to make a sound. Seeing her curled up in bed, she seemed vulnerable and Clark wanted nothing more than to hold her, but of course, he couldn't. So he gently pulled her blanket up and covered her. She sighed happily. Afraid that she would wake, Clark quickly retreated and flew off in a blur of blue and red.
***
Lois was dreaming. In her dream, she was in a dark place — alone and cold. She hugged herself and prayed for help. She heard footsteps and shrank from the sound, but it was just Clark. He'd come to save her like so many other times.
"Lois?" He looked concerned and relieved. "Everything will be all right now." He wrapped his arms around her.
She could feel his warmth. She wasn't cold anymore. She snuggled deeper into his embrace and sighed. Everything's going to be okay now. Clark's here.
***
Lois awoke feeling nauseated. She rushed to the bathroom and threw up. Damn that restaurant! She'd never go back there again, even if it meant dying from starvation. She cleaned herself up and got ready for work. Oh, how she dreaded it. Clark would be there. He was always earlier. She felt like crying. She hated him.
*No, you don't*, her heart told her. *You want to cry because you love him and you miss him, but you're too proud to forgive him. You're sad because you know you want to hurt him — the way you are hurting. You feel guilty because you're using Damien to get back at Clark.*
It was all true. She cried.
***
Clark noticed how pale Lois was this morning. He wanted to know if she was okay, but he knew that she didn't want to talk to him. *Damien will look after her*, he thought, feeling bitter. It was obvious that Damien cared deeply for Lois and that the feeling was mutual. Clark was jealous and upset. Someday, Lois and Damien would get married, and eventually they would have beautiful children together — something that Lois and he had wanted so desperately, but couldn't have because he wasn't NORMAL.
***
Damien was at Lois's apartment that afternoon. Perry had insisted that she take a break until she felt better. She didn't protest. These days she didn't seem like herself. She'd lost that fire in her eyes and didn't smile as often since the divorce. Lois and Clark needed each other, but neither would let the other see just how much.
Damien was massaging her shoulders. Such a nice, caring and handsome young man. It was no surprise that Lois cared for him so much.
"Lois, you shouldn't work yourself so hard. It can't be good for your health. I know I sound like a mother, but I worry about you."
Lois felt a twinge of guilt. Damien had told her that he loved her, but she had been unable to do the same. He had understood. He was saying something else now, but Lois's mind was elsewhere. Actually, when her mind was elsewhere, it was usually on Clark. She was daydreaming again…
Clark was kissing her neck. She turned around and met his lips. Their kiss was passionate and long. He lowered her onto the sofa. God! He wanted her so much. He began to unbutton her blouse. She held him closer. He kissed her again, this time on her slender shoulder. She moaned and opened her eyes so that she could stare into his.
"DAMIEN!" she gasped and pushed him away.
He looked confused and a little hurt.
"I'm so sorry, Damien. I…I…I'm not ready for this." She met his eyes and knew that he deserved to know the truth. "Damien, will you hear what I have to say and try to understand?" she appealed to him, which only made him even more confused.
"Lois, what's this about?"
She took a deep breath and began. "Damien, I don't want to hurt you, but I think I'll have to. Remember I told you that Clark and I are divorced? Well, I didn't tell you that I still have feelings for him. You see…I was very angry and hurt and I guess I wanted to get back at him so…I used you." Seeing the shock on his face, she quickly continued, "Damien, I feel ashamed about all this. You've been so wonderful and please…please believe me, I do care for you."
"But you love him." It was more like a statement than a question.
"Yes. Yes, I suppose I do." Lois confirmed, quietly. She had been trying to deny her feelings for Clark for so long and now, just when she had acknowledged it, she had to hurt someone she cared about.
"Well, there's really nothing more to say." He sighed. "I'd better be going now. And Lois? I do understand. I guess I've always known you were keeping something from me. I just hope things work out for you." He gave her a crooked grin.
"Thank you, Damien. Will I be hearing from you?"
"I'll keep in touch." She kissed him awkwardly on the cheek and saw him out.
***
Lois waited nervously for her doctor. She had decided to pay a visit after she had thrown up for the third time that day. Dr Paige walked in with a reassuring smile.
"Lois, there's really nothing to worry about."
Lois gave her an *I'm not so convinced* look.
The doctor smiled. "No, really." She paused and her smile grew broader. She knew Lois would be happy about the news.
"You're pregnant, Lois. That's why you've been throwing up."
"PREGNANT?! Me? I'm pregnant?" Lois was incredulous.
"Yes. Two months to be exact. Congratulations, Lois. I know you'll make an excellent mom. Uh, I'm sorry. I have to leave you now — another patient, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call."
Lois only nodded, still in disbelief. Dr Paige disappeared, the smile remaining on her face. She loved her job, especially when she saw how happy she could make others.
Pregnant. Wow! Lois was ecstatic when the message finally sank in at home. Clark would be over the moon. He'd wanted kids so much. Her smile faded. Clark. We're not married anymore. He cheated on me. The reminder hardened her face. He won't find out. I'll bring my baby up on my own if I have to. Just then the doorbell rang. On answering the door, Lois was greeted with a very uncomfortable looking Clark. She raised an eyebrow and gave Clark a what-do-you-want kind of look.
"Umm…Hi. Can I come in?"
Disregarding her manners, she replied coldly, "I'm sure whatever you have to say won't take long."
Clark felt as if Lois had just slapped him.
Lois noticed that he winced, but hardened herself before she regretted being so unfeeling.
"I just wanted to see if you're okay 'cause you seemed a little pale this morning."
It was the perfect time to tell Clark about their baby, but Lois held back. The fact that he still cared should've made her happy, but it angered her instead. How dare he come around pretending to care after what he'd done?!
"Clark, how I'm doing is none of your business. You lost the right to know after you cheated on me. Please leave now and don't come here anymore."
Clark had never felt so hurt by anyone before. He had never been really sure whether Lois had meant what she said — about wanting nothing to do with him again. Now he knew for sure. His eyes stung so he left as quickly as he could, feeling deflated.
Lois leaned against the back of the door. She tried to control her quivering lips. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry over Clark again, but he had seemed so pained, and he didn't even know he was going to be a father. The phone rang, distracting Lois from her thoughts of Clark. It was Perry. He wanted her to come down to the Planet as soon as she was well enough. There was a big story.
***
Okay, reader, here's where you have to use your own imagination. I hate to bore you with talks of stupid villains and their stupid motives for doing stupid things, but this is what has happened: Clark has lost his super powers due to some mysterious rock, he then finds out that Lois is pregnant and now Lois is held captive by one of those stupid villains with a serious grudge against her. Make up your own explanations for why these things happened coz I'd like for this story to end very soon. It's so long! And I've already had 2 "To be continued"s. Bored yet? :) Anyway…
***
Lois awoke to find both her arms tied above her. The ropes were cutting into her wrists and she couldn't remember what had happened. Her mind was still fuzzy, but her vision was clearing. Standing before her was a young man, quite muscular, with blond hair, brown eyes…and a gun, pointed directly at her. Her eyes widened.
"Well, Ms Lane. It's sure been a long time since we last saw each other, hey? What was it…eight, nine years?"
Lois searched her memory, but came up with nothing.
"What's the matter, lady? Can't remember? Well let me refresh your memory. I was fifteen — fifteen! — when the police barged into our house and took my dad! He was innocent. He wasn't a murderer…he wasn't. You lied! You lied so they took him and threw him in prison. He was miserable…so miserable. He died in there! You killed him! You're the murderer. Not him. Not my dad. And now, now I'm gonna do what he would've wanted me to — I'll kill you. A life for a life. I've waited so long for this. You'll pay for killing my dad. You'll pay." He laughed, loud and viciously.
The more time Lois spent listening to him, the more convinced she became that this man was psychotic and had every intention of doing what he threatened. Yes, she remembered now. The boy's father had murdered his own girlfriend in a fit, stabbing her 17 times. Lois had investigated that story and found, with Superman's help, the knife with the man's fingerprints all over it. Shortly after, James Taylor had been arrested and convicted. Just weeks after, he killed himself. It made the front page of the Daily Planet. There had been absolutely no doubt that James Taylor was guilty. This man, his son… William? Yes, William, must have loved him with all his heart to become so disillusioned by his death. Lois would have felt sorry for the man standing before her if she hadn't been so concerned with the safety of her baby…Clark's baby.
Lois tried to stall for time, the way they did in the movies.
"William, I'm sorry about your father. He must have been a good man if he had your love. Tell me more about him."
He saw right through her plan.
"Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do? I won't be tricked! Say goodbye to your life now, Ms. Lane, because I'm gonna take it away from you like you took it away from my father!!!" With that, he raised his gun.
'NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!…,' her mind screamed, but it was echoed by someone else's voice. She opened her eyes and saw Clark. He looked so fierce, so determined and strong that tears coursed down Lois's face in her relief to see him…that is, until she noticed that not only was he not wearing his Superman suit, but he was also unarmed.
Lois's relief quickly turned to fear. How could he be so stupid as to risk his life like this?!
William smirked. "So we have a visitor. This is even better than I'd hoped. Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Dad WOULD be pleased. Stand where I can see you! Get over to her side!" He motioned at Lois with his gun. Clark glared, but he obeyed.
"Lois, are you okay? Has he hurt you?"
Lois was touched that at a time like this, he still worried more about her than himself. However, she was still angry at him, though the anger was fading. "I'm fine. Why did you come? Don't you know that you could get hurt? You're…"
"Cut the crap!" William interrupted. "You two will die together so you might as well just say bye."
Clark met Lois's eyes. Hers shone with fear and…and something else. At that instant, Clark knew that he would have to do something. Anything! He couldn't…wouldn't let Lois and her baby die. He knew how much the baby meant to her. Damien's baby. Clark had been devastated when he had learned that she was pregnant with another man's baby — a baby he had wanted to give her so desperately — but now he would gladly give his life to save her unborn child.
William aimed at Lois's chest, Clark made a silent prayer and lunged at him, like a lion would pounce on its prey. The two men tumbled and rolled a few feet away from Lois, who watched in shock.
*Oh, Clark. Be careful*
Clark managed to knock the gun away from William as they continued to struggle on the ground. Being slightly larger, William was able to pin Clark against the floor. He grinned and punched Clark in the face. The blow connected with Clark's glasses, smashing the glass and wounding his right eye. Lois screamed. The blinding pain momentarily paralyzed Clark, but he recovered quickly enough to get William off his chest. The two stood face to face. The blood from cuts around his eyes was blurring his vision. Clark threw away his broken glasses and impatiently wiped at the blood, but it continued to ooze. It gave him a sickening feeling of pleasure to see that William Taylor was also bleeding — from a broken nose. Rage and fear had changed his way of thinking.
Lois had never thought she'd see Clark lose so much blood and the sight of it filled her with dread. Her heart cried out for him. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be in this mess. And what was worse was that she couldn't even help him — being tied and rendered useless.
They were both breathless, but determined to finish this one way or the other. William was the first to act. He dived for the gun several feet away. Clark reacted instinctively and dived as well. William was faster and his fingers closed around the butt of the gun. He turned just in time to strike out at the lunging figure. The blow connected with Clark's jaw and he went sprawling.
"Clark!!!"
The voice was familiar and even in a daze, Clark could hear the terror. Lois! His mind cleared. Lois was calling for him. She needed him. He couldn't fail her again. Clark opened his blood-caked eyes and saw William approaching Lois, slowly and deliberately. He gathered whatever strength he had left and rammed into William. The gun went off, ricocheting off the wall close to Lois.
Once again, the two men struggled on the floor — grabbing, punching, tearing, cursing. It seemed like an eternity as they fought…until another shot went off.
Lois's heart stopped. She wasn't sure who had been hurt. Then Clark clutched at his chest, staggered backwards and collapsed onto his knees. Lois stared, horrified, as blood invaded his blue shirt, coloring it red in seconds. Her heart pounded.
"CLARK!!!!!!!"
Clark met her tear-filled eyes. His own revealed surprise, pain and, most of all, helplessness.
Lois watched as he fell onto the floor with a thud. She wanted to go to him, to hold him, kiss him and let him know that she loved him — had never stopped, but she couldn't. Nonetheless, she struggled against the ropes, oblivious to the pain she was inflicting on herself as the ropes dug further into her wrists. She was whimpering now. "Clark…? No…no…Clark…get up. Don't die…oh…please, don't."
William laughed. "Now, it's your turn."
Lois wasn't hearing him — she was still crying out for Clark, begging him to hang on. William was annoyed. He wanted to see the fear in her eyes, hear her beg, but she didn't seem to care that she was about to die. Clark remained lifeless on the floor, his blood in a pool around him. Lois stopped struggling. What did it matter now? Clark was dead. She didn't want to go on without him. He had been her world, just as she had been his. They had loved each other wholeheartedly, unconditionally. Lois suddenly remembered their baby. Clark would want her to live and give birth to him/her. She would always have a part of him with her. She didn't want to die now. Her baby needed her to fight.
William smirked. "Don't worry, lady. I'll make sure that you join your husband."
"No!!" Lois screamed.
William hesitated, and in that instant, the door burst open. The sudden brightness was blinding. Men in uniform poured in. "This is the police. We have you surrounded. Put your weapon down and your hands above your head!"
William looked trapped, but then he smiled devilishly and aimed at Lois. She closed her eyes, ready for the pain. The room echoed. Three shots had been fired. Lois winced, but she felt no pain. Her eyes fluttered open and were greeted with William — dead at her feet. She felt no pity, no sorrow for this man. He was a monster.
An officer came and freed her. She ignored his concern and ran to Clark. A river of tears made its way down her face, dripping onto Clark's head as she cradled him.
"Oh, Clark. Don't leave me…I'm sorry — so sorry. Please come back to me. I don't want to have our baby on my own…Clark? Can you hear me?"
The paramedics arrived and began working on him, trying to stem the flow of blood. One of them gently pushed her out of the way. They placed him on a stretcher and carried him to the waiting ambulance. Lois wanted to be with him.
"I'm his wife," she told them — at least, in her heart, she would always be. She saw the pity in their eyes, but pretended she didn't. Clark still had a heartbeat — it didn't matter how weak it was. He would pull through. He had to.
***
Lois, her wrists bandaged, sat on the chair outside Clark's room. She was staring into space and felt as if she were trapped within herself. She was so scared. The doctor had just told her that Clark was in a coma. And when she went to see him, he looked so pale and weak that she couldn't help crying all over again. Martha, Jonathan, Perry and Jimmy could all understand how Lois felt. They loved him, too. Despite her own pain, Martha had tried to comfort Lois, but she had been unresponsive. Perry also had attempted to console her and had suggested that she go home and rest. There was nothing more they could do. Indignant, Lois turned on him and flared — "I'm staying right here. What if he wakes up? He doesn't know where he is. Someone should be here when he wakes. *I* want to be here when that happens."
They knew that she was grasping at straws, but they also knew that she was determined, so they decided to let her have her way for now. So the weeks passed and Clark remained comatose while Lois waited and slept at the hospital. Everyday she would sit by his bed, holding his limp hand in hers, and talk to him, begging him to come back to them. Today was just one of those days.
Lois gently stroked Clark's hand, trying to ignore the tubes running down his arms and nose, the bandages over his eye and chest where the bullet had missed his heart by an inch. The machines around her monitored his condition, reassuring her that Clark was still alive. Their occasional beeps were the only response she got as she talked to him.
"…and Perry's still trying to keep the Daily Planet afloat." She was so tired after spending many sleepless nights here and the worry on top of it all was too much even for someone as strong as she. She cried for the first time since the doctor had told her about Clark's condition, the tears wetting his blanket.
"Oh Clark, I can't do this anymore," she said between sobs. "I need you here with me. Please Clark — just open your eyes. I'll wait as long as it takes…please just…just look at me." Her pleading did nothing. Clark remained lifeless and Lois felt her anger rising despite her sorrow.
"Damn you, Clark! How long are you going to stay lying here? Do you have any idea the grief you're causing Martha, Jonathan, Jimmy and Perry and…and ME? We all want you to get well — we're doing all that we can, but you — you're not even trying to fight back! For God's sake, Clark. You're going to be a FATHER, and I hope you're not going to be still sleeping here when our baby is born! Oh, what am I talking about? You can't even hear me." And with that she stalked out, her face wet with her tears. She didn't know where she was going. She just wanted to get out of there — away from the Clark she didn't want to know because it was too painful.
Lois found herself staring at herself in the mirror and realized why everyone was so worried about her. She was a mess. Her hair was tangled, her clothes were wrinkled, her eyes were dark with shadows and she'd lost some weight. Suddenly she realized that she wasn't going to be of much help to anyone, least of all Clark, if she didn't look after herself better. Besides, there was the baby to think about. The baby was the only light in her life right now. Yes, she would make sure she slept and ate more.
Lois began straightening herself up, then she went home. She took a long, hot shower to relieve some of the tension, made herself a big lunch and fell asleep almost at the instant she lay on her welcoming bed.
***
That night she went back to the hospital and talked to Clark as usual. As she got up to leave, she felt a tightening on her hand. Afraid to get her hopes up, she slowly looked up — and found her gaze returned by Clark's. Nothing could ever describe her happiness, but it showed in her glistening eyes.
"Lois." Clark could only manage a dry whisper, but it was enough. Finally, they could rebuild their lives - TOGETHER.
THE END