By Tracy Glover <startrek@ellijay.com>
Rated G
Submitted September 1998
Summary: Will curiosity get the best of Clark? Find out in this delightful little vignette.
This story takes place a few months after their wedding. Curiosity gets the best of Clark as he is sent to retrieve something out of his wife's wallet. I came up with the idea after watching the episode, Tempus Anyone? Lois shows the alternate Clark a picture of Superman in her wallet and he begins to look at the next pictures. I started thinking what else might she carry around?
***
Clark Kent strolled into the living room dressed in his favorite faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt. "Honey, I'm going to pick up those lamps you wanted. Where's my credit card?" he called towards the stairs.
"It's in my wallet on the coffee table."
Clark walked over and picked up her wallet. He sat down on the nearest couch and undid the latch that fastened it shut. "This thing has eight hundred pockets," he laughed to himself. He looked in the first pocket and found one of her old press passes. The next contained her driver's license. Much to Clark's surprise, Lois's was much newer than his and he knew she renewed two years ago. Thinking she may have renewed a second time because of their address change, he looked a second time. He was right, and he smiled as he saw Lois Lane Kent standing out at the top. Clark gently rubbed his thumb across the tiny picture of his wife. He replaced her license where he had found it and moved on.
He pulled out several folded, and old-looking papers from the next compartment. One was her birth certificate issued by Metropolis General. There was a receipt of some sort. On closer examation, it was the receipt for the funny t-shirt she had bought him for their first Christmas together. He laughed out loud at the memory of her modeling his "Real Men Wear Blue" t- shirt. Underneath the receipt was her father's business card. This task of treasure hunting was becoming fun. The more he found, the more interested he became.
In the smallest compartment he found something that he would have never known was there, had he not looked. It was a medical card of some kind. Taking a closer look, he found it to be a metal implantation card. He frowned slightly, wondering what it could be. Clark read the brief description. In awe, he spoke aloud, "A metal pin in her ankle? Oh, must have been when she broke it on the company ski trip." After a few seconds of glancing, he put it away.
As he dug his hand in the next compartment, he felt the smoothness of his credit card and pulled it out. Clark quickly placed it in his jeans pocket. He sat motionless for a moment. Should he continue, even though he found what he was looking for? He wanted to, but knew he had his credit card, and it felt a little too much like prying. Clark turned the wallet sideways so he could look at the many pictures Lois carried. The one on top was, of course, one of Superman. He laughed. The next one was of him and her taken by his parents. As he turned the next one over he found a picture of him and his parents. Clark loved that picture. In fact, he carried the same picture in his wallet. The next one was a picture of himself at the office. Jimmy had taken it on a slow news day. He was turned sideways in his desk chair and had feet propped up on his desk, smiling directly at the camera. The next picture was of the two of them in their wedding attire. After that, came the picture of Lois and her sister, Lucy. As Clark looked at the picture, he could tell Lois and Lucy Lane did share certain physical traits. He knew his wife and sister-in-law would never admit it.
"Clark, what are you doing?" He was so startled that he dropped her wallet and gasped. Lois was standing behind him leaning over the back of the couch. Her head was right next to his. Expecting to be scorned severly, he carefully retrieved the wallet from the floor and turned to see her laughing at him.
"What?" he asked shyly.
She continued to laugh at him for a few more seconds, until she finally regained her composure. "I'm sorry. It's that look you had on your face. You looked like a dog that was about to be hit by a car."
Clark chuckled, trying to picture it. "Lois, I'm sorry. I was looking for my credit card, and I started looking at some of the stuff in here… "
"It's o.k., Clark," she cut him off. "It's not like I had anything to hide in there."
Clark stood up and handed Lois her wallet. "Don't we have some lamps to pick up?" she smiled.
As they headed for the door, Clark picked up his jacket and turned to face her. "Now I know why you don't like airports," he said.
"Why?"
"The metal detectors," he laughed.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Mr. Kent. Just because you can't break your ankle."
THE END