The Accident

By Tank Wilson <tankw1@aol.com>

Rated: G

Submitted: May, 2011

Summary: In the episode "Green, Green Glow of Home," Clark
temporarily loses his powers to Kryptonite. But what might have
happened if those powers had been slow to recover? Suppose that
the double dose had left him vulnerable just a bit longer ...

I've always felt that the episode Green Green Glow of Home
represented the first real turning point in the relationship of
Lois and Clark. It was where Lois began to see Clark as someone
more than just the hick partner she'd been saddled with. She was
still in denial, but she was able to believe in Clark as not only
her partner, but as a friend, soon to become her best friend.

In this episode we are also introduced to kryptonite. Clark is
exposed and loses his powers for a time. In typical storybook
fashion he recovers them just in time to save his parents. But,
he is exposed a second time and has to fight with Trask as a
normal man. We all know that ultimately his bacon was saved by
the timely appearance of Rachael.

At the end of the episode, we see the reporters back at the Daily
Planet talking about the story. At the end, it is implied that
Clark has once again regained his powers.

... But, supposing he wasn't quite so lucky. Suppose that the
double dose had left him vulnerable just a bit longer ...

***

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Ms. Lane. Please hold still. I'll be finished in a few
moments."

Lois frowned at the nurse who was still working on putting
stitches in her scalp.

"You're a lucky woman, Ms. Lane," said the woman as she pulled
the thread through and tied off the last stitch. "It's a pretty
nasty wound, but it wasn't deep, and I don't think you'll have
to worry about any scarring."

Lois glanced down at the small pile of hair on the floor.
"That's all well and good, but did you have to shave such a
large bald spot?"

The nurse just smiled. "Ms. Lane, I had to use seventeen
stitches to close your wound. It was a pretty long gash. We have
to make sure that it will stay clean. We don't want to run the
risk of infection."

Lois reached up to feel the wound, but the nurse's hand on hers
stopped her. "I will never look right as it grows back," Lois
grumbled. "I'll probably have to shave it all off anyway."

"I can do that for you right now, if you wish." The nurse set
down her needle and reached over and picked the small electric
clipper again.

"What!"

"I'm just saying, if you feel that you'll have to buzz off
your hair anyway. I'll be happy to do it for you ... right
now."

Lois gave the woman a wary look. "No ... that's okay. I'll
deal with it somehow."

The nurse hid her grin from Lois as she applied the large
dressing to the side of her head. "There, you now have a nice
large bandage which covers up your bald spot and will have
everyone feeling sorry for you. By the time the stitches are
ready to come out, your hair will have grown back enough so that
no one will notice."

"Yeah, right. Can I get dressed now?"

The woman smiled at her. "I think that would be okay."

Lois got down off the examination table and reached for her
clothes. It was a little awkward getting dressed. Her left hand
was bandaged where she had broken two of her fingers, and her
left side was very sore to the touch. The doctor had told her
that she had some bruised ribs, but fortunately none of them
where broken.

Just before the nurse left the room, Lois called after her.

"Excuse me. My partner was with me in the car. I was pretty out
of it when we were brought in. Do you know where he might be?"

It seemed as if a dark shadow had quickly passed over the face of
the nurse. She quickly schooled her features into a placid mask.
"Once you are finished dressing, just go out to the waiting
area. The doctor will come to see you shortly. She should be able
to answer any of your questions then." The woman quickly left,
not allowing Lois any further questions.

Lois's brow creased in puzzlement, but she finished dressing and
made her way back out to the waiting lobby.

She and Clark had been back from Smallville barely more than a
day and things had already gotten crazy.

A smile snuck onto her face as she thought back on their trip to
Clark's hometown. She had resisted, at first, when Clark had
pitched the story to Perry, but now she was glad she'd went. Who
would have thought that a nut bag like Trask would really think
it was his patriotic duty to kill Superman? It had been touch and
go for a time there. Trask had threatened her and had actually
tried to kill Clark and his parents. She still wasn't sure what
that had been all about. But if it hadn't been for Clark's old
flame Rachael, who was now the Sheriff, Trask might have
succeeded in killing Clark. She still remembered the fear she had
felt when she saw Trask pull his gun and aim it at Clark. But
they had prevailed and she had gotten a great story out of it.

Lois's smile grew a little wider. As much as she would have
maintained that it couldn't happen, between the being tied up
and being shot at, she'd had fun. There were the quiet times at
the CornFest where she and Clark were just able to relax and have
a good time. She saw her partner in a new light. He was really a
pretty terrific guy. Not that she'd ever admit that to him. Not
yet anyway. He still needed some training if he was going to be
worthy of being her partner ... and her friend.

A frown quickly replaced her smile as the morning's incident
intruded on her musings.

They had been going to meet a source. The meeting had been set up
at a small restaurant on the other side of town, so Lois offered
to drive. They were late, so Lois had to be a little more
aggressive in her driving than normal. Clark never said anything,
but she knew a couple of her manoeuvres unsettled him a bit.

They never made it to the meet.

Impatient with a particularly slow driver in front of her, Lois
had looked for an opportunity to get by the fellow. She saw her
chance as they approached a traffic light. They were nearly at
the intersection when the light turned yellow. The fellow in
front immediately hit his brakes. Not slowing down, Lois spun the
steering wheel to the left, then back to the right and sped past
the slowing vehicle. When she had entered the intersection the
light had still been yellow.

Unfortunately, a driver coming from the other direction had been
speeding. Anticipating the light change he never slowed down. The
other fellow had T-boned them in the passenger side of her jeep.
His vehicle was a larger, heavier, pick-up and so the collision
pushed her jeep all the way across the intersection and into a
parked car. It was when they hit the parked car that Lois was
slammed against her driver's side window, which had caused the
gash in the side of her head. She must have briefly lost
consciousness then because she didn't remember anything after
that until she was being led into the examining room.

She looked around and began to clench and unclench her fists.
Where was that doctor? She was beginning to get worried. She had
fully expected to see Clark out there in the lobby waiting for
her when she came out, but he wasn't there. Had he been hurt
like she had? Was he currently being tended to, as she had been?
Where was that doctor? She needed to know that Clark was okay.

She had begun to chew on her lower lip when she finally noticed a
middle-aged woman, stereotypical stethoscope around her neck,
walking toward her. Lois stood as the doctor came up to her.

"Are you Ms. Lane?"

"Yes, Doctor." Lois took an extra breath. "I was wondering
about my friend Clark Kent. He was in the car with me. I assume
he came with me to the hospital."

The doctor guided Lois back to her chair, then sat down next to
her. "I'm afraid that Mr. Kent wasn't quite as lucky as you
were. He suffered several serious injuries; the most worrisome
are the indications of internal bleeding. He's being prepped for
emergency surgery as we speak."

Lois eyes grew wider as the doctor spoke. Her voice trembled.
"But he's going to be all right ... isn't he?"

The doctor shrugged. "I won't lie to you, Ms. Lane. His
condition is critical. We will do what we can." She reached out
and squeezed Lois's hand. "Keep positive thoughts."

With that, the doctor rose and left Lois sitting there. Tears
began to emerge from the corners of her eyes. Her voice was a
tortured whisper. "Clark?"

***

The waiting was agony. Shortly after the doctor left her, Lois
was assaulted by some staff person who badgered her with several
forms that needed filling out. Lois did the best she could,
giving her what personal information on Clark she could, but when
it came to any medical history she had no clue. Unfortunately,
Lois knew that Jonathan and Martha had just left for a vacation
and were probably on an airplane to Europe as they spoke. She had
no idea as to how they might be contacted.

Once, while she was filling out the forms, an orderly came to
Lois and asked if she was aware of any unusual medications or
conditions that Clark might have been treated for. They'd been
having a bit of trouble typing his blood and wondered if she knew
why that might be. They asked her if he'd been taking any
medication for his obvious anaemia. She just shook her head.

She had called Perry shortly after dealing with the hospital
forms. He'd offered to come down, but she told him that there
was nothing that he could do at the time. She told him that
she'd be there waiting to see how Clark came out and when he
could find the time he could come down and keep her company.

It had been over three hours since Clark had gone into surgery
when Perry walked in. She was so happy to see him she stood up
and rushed into his arms. He caught her and gave her the hug she
so desperately needed. He then guided her back to her chair.

"Lois, are you all right?" He noted the bandage on her head and
hand.

"I'm fine. Better than I have any right to be." Tears began to
flow once again. "Oh, Perry, if Clark dies it will be my fault.
I will have killed my partner ... and best friend."

If Perry was surprised by the turnabout in Lois's attitude
toward Clark he didn't let on. He used his thumb to wipe the
tears from her cheeks. "Now, don't go making it worse than it
is. It was an accident." He glanced up as some sort of alarm
went off down the hall and there were shouts of 'code blue'.
The two of them watched a team of orderlies pushing a crash cart
at a run toward the end of the hall.

Lois looked up at Perry, her eyes wide with fear. "You don't
think ... "

Perry placed his finger on her lip. "Let's not assume anything,
Lois. Let's just wait until they're finished. The doctors will
tell us how it went. No sense imagining the worst. Instead just
hold on to the idea that Clark will pull through. He's a tough
kid."

Lois leaned her head against Perry's shoulder. She knew he was
right. There was no reason to assume that the crash cart had been
for Clark. Nothing would be gained expecting the worse before
actually knowing. But she couldn't help herself. If Clark died
she didn't know what she'd do. Just then she had a, sort of,
epiphany. She realized that not only would she feel a terrible
guilt if Clark died or was permanently injured, but she would
feel incredibly bereft if he was gone. She'd miss him. She'd
miss him more than she probably ever missed anyone, even her
sister. What did that mean? Unbidden, the tears came back.

They sat that way, in silence, for another two hours until the
doctor was seen coming back down the hallway. They both stood up
and waited anxiously for the doctor to arrive. She looked beat.
She gave the two of them a tired smile as she reached them.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lois blurted out before the doctor
could even speak.

She sighed. "It was touch and go for a while there. We thought
we'd lost him a couple of times, but he was a fighter and he
came through in the end."

"So, he will be all right?"

The doctor shook her head. "He's still in critical condition,
but for the moment he's stable. I know they say this on every
hospital drama on television, but the next twenty-four hours are
going to be crucial." Her mouth drew into a hard line. "If he
comes through that, I'd say his chances of a solid recovery are
good."

"Solid recovery?" Lois looked confused. "What the heck does
that mean?"

"It means that we can't be totally sure. He was torn up pretty
bad inside, but we're pretty sure we were able to repair all the
serious damage and with time and rest, he should heal. But there
are no guarantees that he won't have some problems in the
future. We had to make some guesses as we went along, since some
of the blood chemistry seemed a bit off, but we're confident
that eventually he'll be back to as close to 100% as anyone can
be after such serious injuries."

"Can I see him?" Lois practically pleaded.

The doctor shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, he's in ICU and
only family is allowed."

"Well, I'm family ... sort of. We're partners and ... best
friends." Lois could see the doctor beginning to shake her head.
"We're practically engaged!"

Perry's brow rose, but he held any comment. The doctor frowned.

"Ms. Lane, Mr. Kent has been sedated. He needs rest. He
wouldn't even know you are there."

"I don't care; I just have to see him. I have to know that
he's alive."

The doctor's frown deepened, then released. "Okay, but only for
a minute. Come with me."

Lois followed the doctor down the hall to Intensive Care. The
doctor led Lois to a corner bed, sectioned off with heavy
curtains. Lois approached the bed hesitantly. She stopped a few
feet from the edge of the bed. Tears began to flow once again.

There were tubes and needles stuck in his arms and shoved up his
nose. There was even an oxygen mask hung on the corner of his bed
within quick reach. She chewed on her lip. He looked so pale.

"I'm so sorry, Clark. Please get better so you can forgive me.
If you come back to me I promise things will be different. I'll
never take you for granted again. You don't know how important
you are to me." The tears flowed in earnest. "Please give me
the chance to let you know just how much."

The doctor tapped Lois on the shoulder. When she turned the woman
indicated that they should leave.

Walking back toward the waiting area, Lois voiced the question
she knew that she and Perry wanted to know. "How long will Clark
have to be here?"

The doctor shrugged. "That will be up to Mr. Kent and the speed
of his healing. It will be several days before we can begin to
assess that progress."

Lois felt so helpless. "I don't know what to do?"

The doctor gave her a compassionate look. "Go home, Ms. Lane.
There is nothing you can do for Mr. Kent by wearing yourself out
worrying and haunting the hospital waiting room. Go home and tend
to your own injuries. You can come visit, but don't put your own
life on hold. I'm sure Mr. Kent wouldn't want you to do
that."

Lois wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "No, no he
wouldn't."

***

Lois dragged herself out of bed and went immediately to the
medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She pulled down the aspirin
bottle and shook out four tablets. She wished she didn't wake up
with a headache every morning, but she figured that when she
smashed her head into the driver's side window she must have
suffered a mild concussion. Still, compared to Clark, she had
gotten off real easy.

It had been two days since the accident and she had actually gone
back to work yesterday. She wasn't able to type very well.
Broken fingers had a tendency to interfere with her speed. She
also had a hard time focusing. She kept worrying about Clark, and
would visit the hospital several times a day.

She hadn't been able to visit him in person. The family only
rules still applied and she was never able to get past the overly
officious head nurse. Not that it mattered too much. Clark was
rarely conscious. He needed the sleep to heal so they kept him
sedated most of the time. No one knew how to get hold of the
Kents, but Perry had left a message with Rachael Harris. She
promised to get a message to them the first chance she got.

Now that she knew that Clark was going to live she didn't cry
herself to sleep at night, but the first night had been pretty
rough. She still blamed herself for his injuries and she always
would. It was her fault. She just prayed that he'd find it in
his heart to forgive her ... some day.

"Lois, honey, you got anything on Councilman Harris' votes for
sale?" Perry came down the ramp and stopped at her desk.

Lois shook her head. "No, my source backed off so I don't have
any confirmation. I'll have to try a different angle."

"Well, you do what you have to." He paused, then put his hand
on her shoulder. "How are you doing, Lois. You feeling any
better?"

Lois gave Perry a tired smile. "I'm doing okay. The headaches
are annoying, and I really hate that I can't type worth a crap,
but I've got it easy compared to Clark."

He patted her on the back. "They still won't let you see
him?"

Lois bit her lip. "No, and it's driving me crazy. I want to see
him so bad. I need to see him. I need to know that he's getting
better."

"Don't you worry too much, honey. Clark is going to be up and
around before you know it."

"I hope so." Lois sighed. "I think I'm going to go home.
There's nothing more I can do here, and I want to change clothes
before I go over to the hospital."

"Maybe you should just go home and get some rest yourself, Lois.
I'm sure the hospital will call you if there is any major
change."

She shook her head. "I want to be there when they take Clark out
of the ICU. The minute they do, I'm going to go into his room
and tell him how sorry I am, and beg him to forgive me."

She could see Perry frown, but before he could say anything she
grabbed her purse and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow,
Chief." She moved quickly up the ramp and pushed the call button
for the elevator.

***

Lois hadn't been back in her apartment more than ten minutes
when the phone rang. She prayed that it wasn't her mother as she
approached the phone. She considered letting the machine pick up,
but then took a deep breath and reached for the handset. If her
mother wanted to lecture her again about her driving habits, well
it was no worse than she deserved. Her recklessness had nearly
gotten Clark killed.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Lane?" She answered in the affirmative. "This is Doctor
Plouden. We met at the hospital. I was the one who led the
surgical team for Mr. Kent."

A chill washed over Lois. "Yes, Doctor, I remember you. What is
it? Clark is okay isn't he?"

She heard a definite change in the tone of the doctor's voice.
"I take it then that you haven't seen, or had any contact with,
Mr. Kent this evening?"

Lois was confused. "Of course not, Dr. Plouden, I still can't
get anyone to let me in to see him. Also, I haven't had a chance
to get over to the hospital this evening."

"Well don't bother coming over then."

"Why?" Lois was more confused and a little scared.

"Mr. Kent is no longer here."

"What!" Lois felt her heart begin to pound. "What are you
saying?"

"Mr. Kent woke up this afternoon and promptly checked himself
out of the hospital."

Lois's bewilderment was growing, and she was getting another
headache. "I didn't think he would be healed enough to leave
for several days yet?"

She could hear the frustration in the voice of the doctor. "He
isn't. But once he came out of sedation, and was fully cognizant
of his situation and his surroundings, he decided to leave."

"Can he do that? Doesn't he need a doctor's permission?"

"This isn't a prison, Ms. Lane; we can't hold anyone against
their will. As long as he was willing to sign a waiver stating
that he had been fully apprised of his condition and that he was
leaving against his doctor's wishes, there was nothing we could
do."

"That idiot," Lois mumbled under her breath.

"I'm calling to ask you a favour, Ms. Lane," the doctor
continued. "If you should see Mr. Kent, please convince him to
return to the hospital. I'm afraid that without proper
supervised treatment and rest he'll run the risk of undoing all
the work we did to save his life."

Lois gasped. "Do you mean ... he could die?"

"That is one possibility. If the surgery doesn't have time to
properly heal he would be facing the same injuries he had when he
came in. Mr. Kent was badly hurt when he was brought in, and
he's still badly hurt. He needs time to heal properly. I can't
guarantee his recovery if I'm not there to supervise it."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll do what I can."

Lois's head was swimming as she hung up the phone. What was that
lunkhead thinking? She knew that Clark didn't like hospitals and
doctors ... who did? But to leave, while barely out of intensive
care?

"How afraid does someone have to be?"

Since his folks were out of touch, there could only be one place
he could be. Lois grabbed her purse, a coat, and took off out the
door. She'd be furious if she wasn't so scared for him. If
Clark's stupidity caused himself further serious injury, she'd
kill him.

The door slammed behind her.

***

With her jeep being not even remotely drivable, Lois had to call
a cab to get to Clark's place. Still, it only took minutes to
get to his apartment. She threw some bills at the driver and
stormed up the steps to Clark's front door. She didn't bother
to knock, she just tried the door, and finding it unlocked,
pushed it open and stepped into his foyer.

Clark was sitting on his sofa, apparently reading some book.
Seeing him there so complacent caused her fear for his well-being
to change to anger over his foolishness.

"Clark Kent, you are an idiot."

He turned quickly and got up from the sofa. He seemed surprised
to see her. "Lois, what are ... you're hurt!"

He rushed up and brushed his hand near her bandaged head and
hand. "They wouldn't tell me what happened to you. They merely
said you were seen and released that first day."

Lois slapped his hand away. "I'm fine. I've got a couple of
broken fingers and a little gash on my head. Believe me, the
haircut is worse than the wound." He smiled at her comment but
she wouldn't be dissuaded from her righteous anger. "What were
you thinking leaving the hospital like that?"

Clark turned back toward the living room. Lois followed. He
shrugged. "I feel fine. I didn't think I needed to stay there
any longer. I can get better rest at home."

Lois sat next to him after he plopped back down into his
overstuffed couch. "You lunkhead, what are you trying to do? I
got a bump on the head. You nearly died. They had to perform
emergency surgery on you! The doctor told me that you flatlined
on them a couple of times. When I heard that code blue announced
over the intercom I thought my own heart was going to stop."

Clark grabbed Lois's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Well the
surgery must have been successful because I'm fine now, Lois,
really."

She could feel the sting of fresh tears starting to form behind
her eyes. "You are not fine, Clark. The doctor called me; she's
very worried. They need to monitor your healing for a few days
yet. She wants you to go back to the hospital. I want you to go
back to the hospital."

Clark stared at his feet. "I can't go back there, Lois."

"Oh, please, don't tell me this is some stupid male macho crap.
I'm too tough to heed my doctor's orders and stay put and allow
myself to get better."

Clark shook his head slowly. "Please believe me, Lois, I'll be
fine."

Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "Dammit, Clark, I nearly
had a heart attack when Trask pulled his gun to shoot you. If it
weren't for Rachael you'd be dead now." She was crying in
earnest now. "Then, not two days later, I try to kill you myself
by driving like a maniac."

Clark looked shocked. "Lois, it was an accident. You weren't to
blame; the other guy ran a red light."

Lois clenched her hands into fists and shook them. "You still
don't get it do you? If you had died yours would not have been
the only life lost." Lois wiped at her tears with the back of
hand. "I'm not always the sharpest knife in the drawer when it
comes to relationships, but being put into this situation twice
in such a short time has forced me to confront a few inescapable
truths that I'd been ignoring."

Clark reached out and gently touched her cheek. "Lois, what are
you trying to say?"

Lois grabbed his hand with both of hers. "I'm saying that
seeing you almost ripped from my life twice in less than a week
has made me realize that is not something I could deal with.
Clark, you've become so much more than just my sometime partner.
You are my best friend. I like having a best friend. I really
like having you as part of my life. I don't want to have to
imagine what that life would be like without you in it. I've
just gotten used to you being around and want that situation to
continue."

Clark smiled at her. "I'm not going anywhere, Lois."

"Well, you certainly aren't acting like it. You're putting
your life at risk, Clark." He opened his mouth to respond but
she placed her finger over his lips. "Don't say you are fine.
No one who has gone through what you have is fine in a couple of
days."

She reached over and pulled up his T shirt, intent on revealing
his surgical incisions. "Those are not the ... " Lois eyes grew
wide as her voice failed. "Clark, where are your sutures?"

She stared at his exposed stomach; fully expecting to see his
rock hard six-pack marred by an angry incision line and surgical
staples. But they weren't there. She had to look really hard to
even see the faint red line that marked the place where the
doctor had to cut in order to save Clark's life.

Lois looked up, meeting Clark's eyes, her own betraying her
astounded confusion. "How?"

A sigh escaped from Clark as he rose from the couch. "I think
I'd better make us some coffee, Lois. I've got some things I
need to tell you."

THE END