All You Have to Do

By Kaytee Shultz (ILive4Dean@aol.com)

Summary: It's been three months since a big breakup sent Clark packing. Now he's back at the Planet, but is either Lois or Clark ready to pick up where they left off?

Author's Note: Despite the title, this story doesn't contain lyrics to a song, nor does it have anything to do with this particular song. This story is set three months after Lois and Clark have a huge fight resulting in him leaving. It may seem like a downer at first, but have no fear, Kaytee's here! No, wait a minute, that's not right… Anyway, this story was written in about two hours without my trusty proofreaders' knowledge, so don't throw too hard. Comments and (uh oh) 'critiques' are welcome at ILive4Dean@aol.com. This little tale is dedicated to my friends who are helping me and putting up with me (I'm ~very~ high-maintenence : ) while I work on a much bigger project. Thank you Meredith, Jeff, and Darryl! Oh, and how can I forget Kevin, my own super man? (Though I still live for Dean!)

***

Lois Lane stepped off the elevator, and walked down the few stairs into the pit of the Daily Planet newsroom. She was drinking her usual coffee with artificial cream and sugar, and reading a folded newspaper as she made her way to her desk to start another day of chasing down boring leads and getting absolutely nowhere on the story she was working on.

About the time she was halfway to her desk she realized that all eyes were on her, and the usually noisy newsroom was strangely quiet.

She raised her head, and looked around. "What?"

When no one answered, she looked down at herself expecting to see that she had two different shoes on, or her skirt didn't match the rest of her outfit, or ~something~. She didn't find anything wrong with her appearance so she looked back up, her lips already forming the word again when the door to Perry White's office opened, and both the editor-and-chief of the newspaper and a tall, broad-shouldered handsome man walked out into the now-silent newsroom.

Perry and the man from her past stopped smiling as their eyes met.

Everyone could feel the electricity crackle as the entire newsroom stopped and watched how Lois was going to react to the man who had left her three months ago show up again, obviously getting his old job back.

"…oh, my God…" Lois barely heard the words she herself had uttered, her mind reeling. *This can't be happening!*

Clark Kent walked toward her slowly, and Lois held her ground, partially because she was still in shock and partially because going to her desk would require her to move toward him.

"H-hi," Clark said softly, hesitantly.

Lois stared up at him with incredulity obvious on her face. She wanted to scream and beat on his chest, but with a calm she didn't feel, she returned the greeting with an icy "Hello."

"Lois, I-" he started out, but she cut him off, pushing past him and sitting down quickly.

"I'm awfully busy right now, so I would appreciate being left alone."

Perry was starting to get frustrated with his staff. They were just standing around, watching what unfolded before them, when they had a newspaper to get out! "Get back to work, people. Lois, I want you in my office, ASAP."

Lois got up numbly, and followed him into his office. Perry shut the door behind her, shut the blinds, and sat down in his chair, gesturing for her to sit in the huge, plaid-covered arm chair across from him.

"Perry, what is he ~doing~ here?" she burst out.

"Honey, he's back because he wants his old job back and I promised him when he left he'd always have a job here."

Lois's expression clearly read TRAITOR! but Perry didn't care. Clark Kent's one of the finest investigative reporters the world's ever seen, and, though he wouldn't admit it, he secretly wanted them back together. His newsroom had gone to hell in a handbasket when Clark left Lois, but more importantly, Lois had been hurt deeply.

He'd never seen the woman so completely shattered before. Clark's leaving had left Lois without her usual spunk and her passion for life. Lois was again the cynical woman she'd been three years back, before the idealistic 'hack from Nowheresville' had walked into his office and into her life.

"Are you going to partner me with him again?" she asked. She was obviously expecting a 'no'.

"I might. Depends on the story."

Lois stood, and looked like she was about to protest when Perry stood and cut her off. "Lois, I don't know what exactly happened between you two, but you two are ~not~ going to let it interfere with your professional lives, not while you both work for this newspaper! Now, if I assign you two to be partners, partners you will be! Do you understand?"

Lois's lower lip trembled oh-so-briefly before she set an angry expression on her face, and nodded.

"Now, get back to work."

Lois turned and opened the door and left, defiance in her step and anger practically ebbing from her. People moved out of her way as she made her way back to her desk.

She tried to keep her mind on her work all day, but found that no matter how hard she tried, her mind strayed back to Clark and ~that night~.

At his desk, Clark was having the same problem. Watching her, he still felt the deep feelings of love that had been with him ever since the first time he'd seen her. It hurt him to see her in such pain, and to know he was the cause.

After a hard day, Lois left as soon as the clock read six, and headed home to a hot bubble bath and some chocolate ice cream.

Weeks passed without event, until one Monday morning Perry called them both into his office.

Lois took the chair, and Clark stood behind it, his hands on the back of it.

"Look, kids, I know you don't want to be partnered up again, but I'm afraid this story is too big for just one of you."

"What story?" they asked simultaneously.

"Oh! I haven't told you!"

Perry went on to tell them that one of the men running for Mayor was going to make a deal with one of Intergang's thugs to permanently put his opponent out of the race.

"Which candidate?" Lois asked.

Perry hadn't gotten that far yet with his made-up story. "I, ah, don't know. He just said one of them."

"So, you want us to…?" Clark asked.

"I want you two to sit in a car at the bottom of Honikel Hill and watch the old warehouse on the corner, all night," Perry said.

Lois looked like she was about to protest, but Perry shot her a warning look that silenced her.

"When do we start?" she asked.

"Right after work."

Lois managed to get through the day, dreading being stuck in a car with her former lover for an entire night.

After work, Lois came over to his desk slowly and said, "I'm going to go home and change and bring some food for us to eat. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Why don't I get the food and I meet you there?" he asked, standing up. "I'm betting you've missed food from that little place in Italy, huh?"

She allowed him a little smile, and said as she turned away, "It's among other things I miss."

She sat in her silver Jeep Cherokee, watching the warehouse for any sign of activity when her passenger side door opened and Clark sat down beside her, steam rising from the containers of food he brought.

"Did you remember the cokes?"

"Right here."

Since it was dark in the car with no streetlights around, when she reached out for the cold can of soda, her hand wrapped around his warm hand that was holding the can. Her fingers lingered over his, then snatched the coke from him and thanked God it was dark so he couldn't see her blush.

Clark didn't need his infrared vision to tell him Lois's cheeks were heated with embarrassment.

"So, has anything happened yet?" he asked.

"No. It doesn't look like it's gonna, either."

After they had eaten all the food, and Clark had thrown away the containers, they sat there in silence, each thinking of the other.

Lois remembered the first night she'd gone home with him after a date. He'd looked so nervous it was sweet! She remembered that night vividly, had played it repeatedly in her mind. That night she'd finally expressed to him how much she loved him, and she had thought that he was doing the same for her.

Clark remembered that night as well, how after dinner, he'd hesitantly asked her if she wanted to go back to his apartment for awhile. Her eyes had sparkled and she had nodded. That night he'd felt so nervous. It wasn't his first time, but it was his first time with Lois, and that's what mattered.

"Why did he leave?" his super-sensitive hearing heard her barely whisper.

"Because you said you couldn't deal with my being Superman anymore, and I was hurt so I ran," he said softly.

Lois closed her eyes, remembering the fight. She'd said she didn't want to come in second to the world with him, that she needed somebody who would be there for her when she needed or wanted him without always being afraid that a disaster would take him from her.

He'd been getting many calls for help lately, and they couldn't have come at a more inconvenient times. He knew she felt neglected, but he didn't know what to do about it.

"So you just up and left? We could have worked it out," she shot out at him.

"I never meant to hurt you, Lois. I thought I was doing the right thing," he said in a humble voice.

Lois was so angry she opened the door and ran up the hill, oblivious to the storm clouds overhead that looked ready to pop at any moment.

Clark followed her. She stood at the top with her back to him.

Clark stood there, waiting for her to turn to him and yell.

She did, marching right up to him and saying, "See, there's a problem right there. 'You thought you were doing the right thing'. How can you, all by yourself, know what is best for us? Clark, ~all~ couples go through something like what happened to us. One feels neglected and ignored and the other makes it up to the first. You don't just run off at the first sign of trouble! That's being a coward!"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say," Clark said, looking at the ground.

Lois looked at him, noticing for the first time that rain had started to fall. She felt sorry for yelling at him, but at the same time she felt like she had released something that'd been pent up inside her for a long time.

She stepped closer to him and reached up and laid her hands on the sides of his face. He looked down into her eyes.

"Clark, I miss you. Do you know how miserable I've been? Not only did I lose my boyfriend and my lover and my partner, I lost my best friend. I need you in my life, Clark. Of course there's going to be roadblocks down the line, but you can't just give up when you come to one."

Clark rested his forehead down against hers, and brought his hands up to her face as well. "I don't deserve you. I know things have changed."

"Clark," she whispered, looking up into his eyes through his rain-sprinkled glasses, "I still love you. That didn't change."

She could see even through his glasses that he had tears in his eyes. "Oh, Lois, I love you so much. How could I have been so stupid?"

"You weren't the only stupid one, Clark. I realize that who you are makes you go to whoever needs your help, that’s one of the reason's why I love you. But you have to take some time out for me. I'm understanding to a certain degree, Clark. I need to be reassured some times that you love me and that I do fit somewhere in your life."

"Lois, I would do anything in the world for you. I'd even give up Superman."

Lois cracked a small smile, and said, "Let's not go to extremes here. I can deal with Superman if Superman doesn't take all of Clark's time. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I promise you, Lois, I'll make it up to you. I realize it will take a long time for you to trust me again, and I can't expect you to want me in your life."

Lois hit him upside his head, and said, "Clark, are you deaf? Have you heard a word I've said? I will take you back. All you have to do is ask me to."

Her hands still on the side's of his face, she pulled his head down to hers and, on the top of Honikel Hill, in the pouring rain, she kissed him. Both were loving the familiar feel of soft lips on firm ones, their tongues entwining intimately together, and the knowledge that they were together again. He asked, and she answered without a word passing between them.

Epilogue:

Lois and Clark came into Perry's office, Lois sat down in the armchair, while Clark stood beside it and rested one hand on her shoulder.

Perry's eyes noted this immediately and silently he gave a cheer. "Did you get the story?"

"Ah, no, Chief. Nothing happened…at the warehouse," she said.

"Oh. Well, the man that gave me the tip wasn't that reliable anyway. Sorry to have wasted your time."

Lois smelled a rat in his story but didn't push it.

As the two lovebirds walked out of his office hand in hand, Perry could have sworn Clark's feet weren't on the ground.

THE END

(allyou.txt)