John and Lois and Clark and Joan
By Blaise Pascal <pascal256@yahoo.com>
Rated PG-13
Submitted November 2000

------------

Note: This is an alternate beginning story where I took the events of
the pilot and mixed them around.  This story is *not* in the same
continuity as the series, nor is it in the same continuity as my
previous stories ("The Wedding", "The Rehearsal", "The
(Mis)conception", and "The Final Gift").  Thanks to Sarah Wood for her
transcript of the pilot episode, where I took many lines and borrowed
a few of her interpretations.  And thanks especially to Alicia Utowski
for being my beta-reader and my sounding board, even with her busy
schedule.  I owe you big time, Alicia. :)

All comments are appreciated, as always.

Disclaimer: The story is mine, but the characters are not.  I'm merely
borrowing the characters from WB, DC Comics, etc., etc.  No borrowing,
copying, or distributing without my permission, etc., etc.

------------

JOHN AND LOIS AND CLARK AND JOAN


[Prologue: Somewhere in Metropolis]

The woman could not believe her ears.  "Lois Lane and Clark Kent?" she
exclaimed.

The man smiled at her outburst.  "I know, honey, I know.  We're going
to get our hands full with this assignment."

"But, why them, of all people?" she inquired.  She got up and started
to pace around the room.

"I don't know.  But let's not question his choices, shall we?"

"All right, then, all right," she sighed.  "How much time do we have?"

"The usual," he shrugged.  They looked at one another for a moment.
Then he added, "He's confident of our abilities, you know that."

Her face softened.  "I know, honey.  So how are we going to do this?"

"That's why we're here.  To plan.  Shall we get to work?"

"Yes, let's!"

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Hotel Apollo]
[Monday, August 16, 1993, 5:26 P.M.]

Clark was feeling dejected as he made his way back to the Hotel
Apollo.  The biggest job interview that he had ever done, and he blew
it.  It was simple as that.  He had hoped that for once he could stay
in one place and not move on like the way he did the past four years.
He had hoped that he could get a job at the Daily Planet, 'the
greatest newspaper in the whole world,' as Perry White, the Editor-in-
Chief, said with pride.  And it didn't look like either was going to
happen.

Clark walked through the lobby of the Hotel Apollo, clearly lost in
his thoughts.  A shout of "Hey, you!" on his left jarred him back to
reality.  He turned and saw the hotel manager standing by the front
desk, motioning him over.

"You the guy in Room 210?" the hotel manager barked.  Without waiting
for Clark's response, the older man handed him a piece of paper.
"This is for you."

"Thanks..." Clark started, but he saw that the hotel manager was
already walking back to his office.  Clark glanced at the piece of
paper the manager gave him and smiled.  Instead of going up the
stairway to his room, he turned around and went out the front door of
the hotel.

A few moments later Clark was standing in front of Apartment No. 105
of an apartment building across town, and knocked.  He heard a muffled
"Just a minute!" and leaned against the opposite wall of the rather
dark hallway -- a couple of the lights were out, he noted.  The door
opened to reveal an attractive brunette in her mid to late twenties.

"Hi, Clark!  You're just in time for supper..." Joan Duoblys started,
but then she noticed the look on his face.  "Oh, Clark," she said
softly, and stretched her arms out.  "Come here..."  Wordlessly Clark
allowed himself to be enveloped by her embrace.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Joan Duoblys' apartment]
[5:34 P.M.]

It was hard to describe Clark's relationship with Joan, perhaps
because he had not been in many relationships in the past.  They had
met in Paris a month before -- he had been working as a freelance for
a couple of French newspapers, and she was an American high school
French teacher on sabbatical.  They had clicked, and days later, Clark
and Joan were on their first date, a dinner and a movie.  It turned
out that they had a lot in common.  Both hailed from the Midwest, both
had traveled a lot (Joan's father was in the Army), both had a natural
flair for languages (besides English and French Joan was fluent in
Spanish and could get by in Italian), and both were ridiculously
nearsighted.  Okay the last wasn't true, since Clark wasn't
nearsighted, but he had been wearing glasses out of habit since he was
fourteen.

There had been many dates since then, but nothing had gone further
than a perfunctory peck on the lips at the end of each evening out.
Clark had liked Joan a lot, but he didn't want to pressure her into
anything.  Joan had liked Clark too, but she didn't want to go too
fast, fearing that he would get uncomfortable.  When they had voiced
their concerns, Clark had been amazed at how similar their views were.
Both wanted to find that special someone, yet neither was in a hurry
to do so.

Joan was also the first person besides his parents who knew his
'secret', that he had these powers.  She had found out totally by
accident.  The two were preparing dinner one night, and while Joan was
chopping up some vegetables, the knife had somehow flown out her hand
and headed towards Clark.  Before she could even scream, the knife had
bounced harmlessly off his head.  She even had seen that the blade had
hit him first, and yet it had bounced off!  Clark turned around as the
knife fell to the floor.  When Joan looked down at it, she had found
that the knife was bent a little at the tip and was not covered with
blood.

Immediately Clark was very worried about what would happen next.  He
was afraid that Joan would either run away, contact the authorities,
or both.  But Joan's reaction completely surprised him.  She hadn't
been angry at all.  Dinner was forgotten as Joan asked Clark questions
late into the night about his special abilities, and afterwards it
looked as if Joan was looking at him with even more respect, instead
of total fear and disgust.  Joan had continued to treat him the same
way as before, and Clark really appreciated that.  And when she had
sworn that she would not tell anyone, Clark believed her.

Once Joan had found out, Clark had felt himself freer than before.  He
no longer had to pretend or to lie around her.  She had taken the
revelation completely in stride, and once in a while she would accuse
him of being a show-off (in jest, of course).  They found themselves
closer friends than ever before, and their goodnight pecks lately
became longer and more substantial.

About a week ago, Joan's sabbatical had ended, and she had to return
to Metropolis, where she had been teaching French at an all-girl
Catholic school for the past seven years.  She wasn't about to suggest
that Clark follow her to Metropolis, yet he surprised her by saying
that he was going to stop freelancing in Paris and find a job in
Metropolis.  "It's been a dream of mine to work at the 'Daily
Planet'," Clark had said.  This also gave Joan the opportunity to fly
in Clark's arms for the first time, and she had enjoyed it.

When the pair had arrived in Metropolis, Joan had offered the
guestroom of her spacious two-bedroom apartment, but Clark had
declined.  While it was agreed then that they would continue to see
each other and see what would happen, Clark was a little uncomfortable
at this point with the prospect of living with her, even though it
would be in separate bedrooms.  Joan had not questioned his refusal,
which made him feel better about his decision.

So now here he was, in the hustle and bustle that was called
Metropolis, living at a hotel that was in a seedy part of town, and
woefully unemployed.  He accepted the cup of tea that Joan had offered
him and told her about the interview that he had blown.

"I should have known that a resume like mine wouldn't get me a job at
the Daily Planet," he sighed as he took a sip of tea.  "I probably
should never have left Smallville.  Instead, I should have started
there and worked my way up."

"Didn't the editor look at your samples?" Joan asked.

"Not really," Clark reflected.  "I had brought stuff from the French
newspapers of course, the Smallville Press, the Borneo Gazette..."

"The Borneo Gazette!" Joan interrupted, face agape.  "He didn't see
your article on the mating rituals of the knob-tailed gecko, did he?"
She put a hand on her mouth to hide the laughter that was threatening
to escape her lips.

"Actually, he did," Clark replied, somewhat defensively.  "It was a
good piece, you know!"

"I know it is!" Joan shot back, trying not to giggle.  "But it doesn't
sound like the type of piece to impress the Editor-in-Chief of the
Daily Planet with.  Maybe you should have shown him that article you
did for Le Monde right before we left Paris."

Clark shook his head.  "Well it doesn't matter now.  I blew the
interview, no doubt about it."

"That sounds mighty defeatist, Clark," Joan pointed out gently.  "You
are going to try some of the other newspapers, right?"

"I guess..."  Clark didn't sound very convincing.

"... But the Daily Planet is the place you wanted to work for, I
know."  Joan paused to look at him as she thought about the situation.
Then an idea came to her.  "Why don't you write a story, a mood piece,
on anything?  You could try to show it to the editor and see what he
thinks."

Clark looked up at Joan and smiled.  Always resourceful.  That was one
of many things that he liked about her.  "That's a great idea!  And I
know what to write about!"

"Really?  What are you going to do?"

"Mr. White was asking one of the reporters about the razing of some
theater on 42nd Street, and it looked like she didn't want to do it."

"The Bernhardt Theater is going down?" Joan asked, eyebrows raised.
"Interesting.  That place must be at least a hundred years old.  So
what's her name?"

Joan's question caught Clark off guard.  "Name?" he repeated.

"You said 'she'," Joan reminded him, bemused.  "The reporter who
didn't want to write it?  What's her name?"

"Uh, what was it... oh yeah.  It was Lois Lane," he mumbled.  What on
earth was wrong with him?

"Lois Lane?  Oh, I've heard of her.  As a matter of fact, she was
three years behind me at MetroU."  Despite being the same age as
Clark, Joan had entered MetroU two years early.

Clark raised his eyebrows at this new bit of information.  "Did you
know her?"

"Not really.  I was an undergraduate teaching assistant for her French
class.  We barely spoke five words to each other all semester.  She
was a very good student, as I recall," Joan said.  She noticed the
look of interest on Clark's face and rolled her eyes.  "Why do you
ask?  Do you think she's cute?"

"Jo-an!" Clark exclaimed, turning a deep shade of red.

Joan chuckled.  "Just kidding.  Anyway, why don't you do that piece on
the Bernhardt Theater?  In the meantime..." -- she got up, and pulled
Clark towards the kitchen -- "I'm hungry and you're helping me cook."

There was laughter in Clark's eyes as he pulled Joan back to him.  "Oh
really?  I'm in the mood for something different, though.  How about
Italian?"

"And I bet you're going to go to Rome to get it," Joan smirked, her
lips inches away from his.

"Of course," Clark said, and met Joan's lips for a light kiss.

"Okay," Joan consented.  "But be careful.  You don't want to..."

Suddenly there was a whoosh and a sonic boom, as Clark flew out the
door.  In ten seconds another whoosh signaled Clark's return, his
hands full of genuine Italian cuisine.

"... be seen by anyone," Joan finished, shaking her head and smiling.
"I could get used to this," she remarked, as she started to take the
still hot containers of food from Clark's arms.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Lois Lane's apartment]
[6:21 P.M.]

<Click...>
<Click...>
<Click...>
<Click...>
<Squeeeeeak!>

With relative ease and finesse, Lois Lane unlocked all four locks on
her apartment door.  Well, as much ease and finesse as it was possible
with a bag of groceries in one arm and her satchel hanging from her
shoulder.  "Lucy?" she called.  "Are you home?"  Lois was closing the
door with her foot when a pair of hands grabbed the bag of groceries.
She jerked her head around and found herself face to face with a tall,
dark-haired and good-looking man.

"John!" she squeaked, and then found her voice.  "You scared me!"

John Bialzak made his way to the kitchen with the groceries and
methodically began to put them away.  "Sorry about that, Lois," he
said over his shoulder.  "Lucy let me in, and then she had to go out."

"Oh, that's all right."  Lois said, as she unceremoniously dumped her
satchel on the couch.  She then began to take off her shoes, letting
out a groan as she did so.  It had been a long day at the Planet.
There was the routine trading of insults with Cat Grant, the Planet's
Society columnist.  Then a madman had come to her in the newsroom and
proclaimed that the Messenger was going to explode.  Then there was
the routine bursting into Perry's office while he was talking to
somebody.  'Probably an interview with some new, green reporter,' she
had thought.  Of course there had also been the usual tasks of running
around the city all day conducting interviews and meeting with
sources.  All in all, it had been a normal day in the life of Lois
Lane.

As Lois sat down on her couch with a plop, her thoughts returned to
the scene in Perry's office, when she barged in to ask Perry to let
her check out the Messenger story.  She had concluded that Perry was
conducting a job interview with the guy, but there was something about
the guy that she couldn't place a finger on.  Then it came to her: the
man had stood up when she had entered Perry's office!  She couldn't
recall any other man doing that recently.  Instead she was beginning
to recall how devastatingly good-looking the bespectacled man was,
much better-looking than Claude, maybe even better-looking than...
John?

What in the world was she thinking?  Fortunately John was still busy
in the kitchen and didn't notice the blush that was appearing on Lois'
cheeks.  She covered her face with her hands.  Here she was,
daydreaming about some good-looking guy she had just met, and John was
standing no more than 10 feet away from her!  How low could she go?
How could she do that when she has John?

But *did* she have John?  That was a question that Lois couldn't
answer.  They had met in May while she was on a story; it had turned
out that the newly elected DA was accepting bribes.  John was a lawyer
in his own private practice, and he had been visiting the DA's office
when the two of them had literally bumped into each other outside the
office building.  He had then helped her get the evidence she needed,
for he actually believed in justice, unlike most of the other lawyers
that she had met in the past.

After she had broken the story and the DA had resigned, John and Lois
began seeing each other, less on a professional level, and more on a
personal one.  They had become fast friends.  Despite her vow never
again to get involved with men, she couldn't help but to say 'yes'
when John had asked her out to dinner.  She couldn't help but to allow
him to see her again after the first date.  And she couldn't help but
to allow him to kiss her goodnight at the end of each evening out.

John was a rather tall and slim fellow.  He was attractive *and* he
was nice.  Usually the two qualities were mutually exclusive -- Claude
was a prime example of this.  But after three months of seeing him,
nothing went beyond a couple of make-out sessions on the couch.  Why
was that?  Maybe it was because of the fact that all of her previous
relationships were federal disasters, and that she was essentially
afraid.  Maybe it was because John didn't want to push her into
anything.  Whatever the reason, neither one of them had taken the
initiative to do anything further, physically or emotionally.

And yet, Lois did not want to break things off with John now.  She
couldn't imagine herself without him, especially with Lucy currently
undecided as to what she had wanted to do with her life, especially
with her mother nagging her to settle down and get married when Lois
wasn't sure that was what she had wanted, and especially with her
father still ignoring everyone for the sake of his work.  John was the
best thing that has happened to her so far, but once in a while, she
would think if this was the best there is...

Lois' thoughts were interrupted when two strong hands began massaging
her shoulders and neck.  She sighed as the tensions of the day began
to leave her body.

"Rough day at work?" John asked, sympathetic.

"When isn't it?" she quipped back.  "Don't stop.  This feels
wonderful.  I hope that your day wasn't as stressful as mine, though."

"No such luck," John said wryly.  "I've just received five new cases
today.  All for me as defense counsel."

Lois let out a low whistle.  "Ouch.  That's sounds awful."

"Yeah," John agreed, stopping his ministrations on Lois' shoulders so
that he could walk around to sit down next to her.  "An increased
workload is never fun, especially since I haven't had a break in
months," he continued, sighing.  "This will mean, of course, that we
will see each other even less.  And that's not good."  He draped Lois'
shoulders with his right arm and brought her closer to him.

Lois didn't resist the motion, for she was pretty tired.  She rested
her head on John's shoulder.  "I know, the past couple of weeks alone
have been crazy for the both of us, you with the Peretti murder trial
and me with my car theft ring story."  She let out a long breath.  "We
haven't done anything more than visit each other for supper.

John smiled.  "Well, tonight it is going to change," he said, with a
twinkle in his eye.

"What do you mean?"

"The last time we tried to cook dinner, let's just say I'm glad we
didn't have to call the fire department," John said.  Lois chuckled at
the memory.  Each had thought the other could cook when it was
suggested that they cook dinner together last Friday night.  The
result looked as if a tornado swept through John's kitchen.  They had
ended up eating Chinese takeout, and then they had spent the weekend
cleaning up the mess.  "How about we go for some Italian this time?"
John suggested.

Lois was sorely tempted.  "Oh John," she sighed.  "I'd love to, but
today's Monday.  I have a ton of work to do."

"I know, and so do I," John said.  "It's just Luigi's, Lois, right
down the street from my place."  He grinned mischievously.  "Besides,
I know how much you love their Double Chocolate Cheesecake," he added
dramatically.

"Oooooh!" Lois cried.  She pushed John away and pulled a couch pillow
over her head.  "You sure know how to torture me, John Bialzak," she
accused him mockingly, her voice muffled.

"Please, Lois?" John asked gently.  "It'll just be dinner, because
I've got a stack of documents this high..." -- he indicated with his
hands how high the stack was --  "...that I have to read over
tonight."

Lois gave in.  With John, it was impossible to say no.  "Okay, okay,
but you have to massage my feet first."

John rolled his eyes.  "Deal," he said.  Lois swung her legs up and
rested them on John's lap.  "I'm starting to regret telling you that
my sister is a masseuse," he said, pretending to look remorseful.

"I'll make it up to you somehow," Lois promised, as she sighed at the
movements of John's hands on her stocking-covered feet.  "By the way,"
she remarked, "did I tell you that Perry's now hiring?"

"Another reporter?"

"I think so.  I saw a small stack of newspaper clippings on Perry's
desk when I went in."

"You mean when you 'barged' in," John corrected her.

Lois made a face at him but didn't respond to John's comment.
"Anyway, I glanced at the clippings.  Probably samples of this guy's
work."

"Was the guy good-looking?" John asked, his face looking innocent.

Lois was about to counter with a retort when she saw the laughter in
John's eyes.  "Oh, you!" she admonished, swatting him with the couch
pillow she was still holding.

"Sorry," John said, clearly not meaning it.  He looked at his watch.
"Oops!  It's 6:35.  We better get a move on.  I've got reservations at
Luigi's for 7:00."  He pushed Lois' legs off his lap and got up.

"Wait a minute," Lois called.  John turned to look at her.  "You got
reservations *before* asking me to dinner?"

John grinned.  "Yep.  You have a problem with that?" he challenged.

Lois rolled her eyes.  'Some things never change,' she mused.  "Just
give me a couple of minutes to get ready," she replied.

Exactly four minutes later, John and Lois left her apartment, after
she locked the four locks on her apartment door.  This *was*
Metropolis, after all, with one of the worst crime rates in the
country.  As the pair left the apartment building, Lois wondered yet
again if *anything* could be done to reduce the crime in the city.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Daily Planet Building]
[Wednesday, August 18, 1993, 7:02 A.M.]

It was very early Wednesday morning when Lois arrived at the Planet.
Normally she would have arrived at 8:00, but she had wanted to do some
checking on the Messenger story.  Most of Tuesday was spent tying up
loose ends on the car theft ring story and attempting yet again to
secure an interview with Lex Luthor -- this time his personal
assistant had returned her calls -- but Lois was able to do some
background checking on Dr. Samuel Platt.  What she had found wasn't
pretty.  When she talked to Perry about it later that afternoon, she
wasn't surprised when he didn't want to run the story.  How did Dr.
Samuel Platt know that the Messenger was going to explode?  Was he
even in sound mind when he made that proclamation to the entire
newsroom?  Now another question nagged Lois: what if Dr. Platt was
*right*?

With a sigh, Lois turned to the heap of folders and papers that was
sitting on her desk.  Jimmy had brought her some research on the space
program yesterday, and it was going to take a while to go through
everything.  About an hour later, she was still at her desk, the size
of the heap of research not much smaller than when she had started.
Her coffee had also gotten cold, and she was getting a bit sore in
places.  God, she *had* to go back to her Tae Kwon Do class!

She was so engrossed in her work that she almost didn't hear someone
clearing his throat.  She jerked up, annoyed that she was being
interrupted.  "What?"

Jimmy held up his hands, placating her.  "Whoa, Lois, no need to bite
my head off!  The chief wants to see you."  With a grumble she
followed Jimmy towards the Editor-In-Chief's office.  When she
entered, she stopped short.

Seated in Perry's office was Clark Kent, that man, that devastatingly
good-looking man in glasses.  'You've already used those adjectives to
describe him,' she reminded herself.  What was *he* doing back here?
Was this another interview?  But she had heard that the interview
hadn't gone well.  'How can someone get hired based on an article from
the Borneo Gazette?  I mean, really!  What kind of newspaper is that?'

"What's up, Perry?" Lois asked, trying to sound calm.  She tried her
best to avoid looking at Clark, but she did notice that he stood up
again when she came in.

"I wanted you to listen to this," Perry drawled, holding a piece of a
computer printout.  "I'm sure you remember Mr. Clark Kent here.  He's
interested in joining the Planet, and he has just given me this piece
as a sample of his work."  He began to read Clark's article.
"'Beatrice was eighteen when she made her debut.  Warren G. Harding
was President, the Unknown Soldier was interred at Arlington, and Babe
Ruth was sold to the Yankees...'"

Lois' eyes widened.  It was a story on the demolition of the Bernhardt
Theater!  The mood piece that Perry had assigned her Monday morning.
The article that Lois wasn't 'in the mood' to do.  And now, apparently
this Mr. Kent had taken the liberty of writing it.  When she began to
actually listen to Perry as he read (she has to check up on the
potential competition, of course), she was astounded.

Okay, maybe 'astounded' wasn't the word.  She was stunned.  She was
impressed.  She was... moved.  She was touched.  Whoever this
devastatingly good-looking man was, he had a way with words.  Not only
did his appearance disturb her equilibrium, but his words and his
emotions did as well.  She suspected that Clark had felt this
Beatrice's pain, a lady who would soon never see that theater again.

But Clark wasn't the only one who had a way with words.  Lois Lane was
a heck of a writer herself.  After all, had she not won the Kerth
award twice (and for the first two years that she was eligible, no
less)?  She was a brilliant and a passionate journalist who didn't run
away from adversity.  (At least, so she had heard.)  If one had looked
at the list of stories she had written in the four years that she had
worked at the Daily Planet, he or she would notice, however, that
virtually all of them were big news-breaking stories.  Once in a blue
moon she would have a Page 8 mood piece like the one on the Bernhardt
Theater, but only because Perry would force her to do it.

Lois focused her attention back on Perry's reading of Clark's story,
but a bit too late, since Perry was almost finished.  "... She came to
say good-bye -- as we all must -- to the past, and to a life and a
place that soon would exist only in a bittersweet memory."  He smiled
as he set the printout down on his desk.

"Smooth," Jimmy quipped, with admiration.

Clark turned to Lois.  After hearing about Lois Lane from Joan, Clark
had visited the Metropolis Public Library yesterday to look at some
previous issues of the Daily Planet.  If anyone had asked why he was
doing this, he would have said that he had wanted to check on the
quality of the writing of the stories.  Never mind that all the
articles he had looked at were written by Lois Lane, Staff Writer.

Lois saw Clark turn to look at her, probably wanting to hear her
reaction.  Lois had wanted to say something nice, something that would
accurately convey her thoughts on Clark's piece.  But despite her
intentions, and despite her being in a relationship with John for
about three months, where John had taught her to open up and to
express her feelings, she couldn't.  In the most nonchalant voice she
could muster, she said, "Uh, yeah, if you like that sort of thing."

To Clark, however, it sounded like Lois was perhaps bored?
Uninterested?  Unimpressed?  A story which Clark took pride in
writing, and it didn't seem to faze Lois Lane.  He cringed inwardly.
Of course, she was the seasoned reporter, someone who had written big
stories, despite her age.  She could probably write this piece in
seconds if she had wanted to, though Clark didn't know why Lois didn't
want to.  It looked like Clark would have to do more to impress Lois
Lane.

Impress Lois Lane?  Why would he want to do that?  He had Joan, for
goodness sake!  Well, sort of!  Anyway, he figured that Lois wasn't
happy with him.  Maybe he stepped into her territory when he had
written that article.  He didn't know.  Besides, he had heard Jimmy,
the young man in the office, say that Lois had always worked alone,
and that suited Clark just fine.  Perhaps they could be friends.
Perhaps they could be close friends.  But he hoped that they wouldn't
be enemies -- he could infer from what he had learned that Lois was
very competitive, and competition among reporters is a good way to
mess up a friendship, or a romance, or a marriage...

Then Perry spoke up, so Clark turned his attention to the Editor-in-
Chief.  "You know, Kent, there's only one attribute I value more than
experience, and that's initiative."  With that, Perry stood up and
offered his hand.  "Clark Kent, welcome to the Daily Planet!"  They
were about to shake hands when Perry seemed to have remembered
something.  "Whoops!" he exclaimed, and patted Clark's hand instead of
shaking it.

Lois was floored.  This devastatingly good-looking man (God, she's got
to stop using those adjectives to describe him!) was now her
colleague.  A potential friend.  A potential adversary (in her
journalism career, of course).  A potential... don't go there, Lane!
She mentally kicked herself, thinking that she should know better.
There's more to a man than a pretty face.  Look at Claude!

Claude had charmed her, had wooed her, had gotten into her bed, and
had stolen her story.  But then again, there was John, who had also
charmed her and had wooed her.  Of course, he made no attempts to get
into her bed, unlike any of the other men, and he couldn't really
steal her stories, since he wasn't even a reporter.  Okay, he could
give one of Lois' stories to another reporter at the Metropolis Star,
for instance, but he would never do that.  Yes, John Bialzak was one
of a kind, and no man, not even Clark Kent, would make her feel
differently.  For now.

A commotion in the newsroom brought Lois back into the present.

"The Messenger's on fire!"

"Lois!  Get over here!"

Lois scurried out of the office, thankful for the interruption,
thankful for an opportunity to get away from Clark Kent.  A crowd
gathered around one of the monitors, which was showing the Messenger,
on the launch pad, and in trouble.

Lois' heart sank.  This was what she had feared.  The prophetic
ravings of an eccentric had turned out to be true.  And she had done
nothing about it.  Well, she *couldn't* have done anything about it!
As she was barely listening to Carmen Alvarado's report on the
tragedy, Lois noticed Perry next to her watching the report.  "I knew
there was something to Platt's story, I knew it!" she said to him.

Perry sighed, and tried to reason with her.  "Now, Lois, just because
one madman's prediction came true doesn't mean that there's a
conspiracy to sabotage the entire space program," he remarked.

"But with more than a hundred colonists going up on the next launch,
are you willing to take that chance?" she countered.  Perry sighed
again.

Clark was distraught as his gaze alternated between Lois and Mr. White
and the television screen.  This was terrible!  Clark had contemplated
leaving the newsroom and fly to EPRAD, perhaps to try to save the
astronauts, but he knew that was out of the question.  There were a
lot of people in the newsroom, and Mr. White would certainly notice
his absence if Clark left, especially since he had just got the job.
And probably Mr. White would want him to start immediately, now that
there's a lot of things to investigate.

Clark's dream to work at the Daily Planet may not have gone up in
smoke, but his chance to avert a tragedy did.  Upset, he looked at the
monitor again, seeing the Messenger and the launch pad engulfed in
flames.

* * * * * * * *

A few hours later, Lois threw away the remnants of her sandwich, a
pastrami on rye.  What a day it had been, and it was only 12:30 in the
afternoon!  Not long after seeing the report on the Messenger
explosion on television, the newsroom was in a whirlwind of activity.
Perry had issued orders left and right, like a general to his troops.
Lois had asked Jimmy to get more research on Dr. Samuel Platt, the
other scientists, the space program, anything.

Now her stack of files and papers was twice as high, and she had
barely scratched the surface.  She had considered taking everything to
the conference room and working there (the newsroom was rather noisy),
but Perry and Clark were using it right now.  She pulled her chair
back from her desk and stretched, keeping her eyes on Clark... and
Perry.  Clark *and* Perry.  In the conference room.

She took another look at the pile of research and let out a long
breath.  If there *was* a conspiracy to sabotage the space program,
and if she got the story, this could mean a fourth Kerth, assuming
that she gets her third one in the Kerth ceremony this October.  She
already knew that she was nominated for the story on the DA three
months ago -- her story was written just before the end of the
eligibility period.  But the Messenger story, if her gut instincts
were telling her correctly, would be the biggest story yet.
Unfortunately, this story might be so big that Lois might not be able
to handle this alone.

No, Lois Lane wasn't backing down from a challenge.  It was just that
she was realizing what her limits were.  John was always trying to get
her to slow down and not to overwork, which was funny, because he had
a tendency to do the same.  True to form, Lois had not spoken to John
since their dinner at Luigi's Monday night because of all the work
they were now doing.  She simply missed him.  If Lois tried to tackle
the Messenger story alone she might not leave Planet building at all
until it was done.

A movement in the conference room caught her eye.  She saw Clark and
Perry stand up and shake hands... no that's not true.  Perry was
patting Clark's hand again.  Such an odd gesture.  She didn't give
what she had just witnessed a second thought, however, as Perry was
leaving the conference room and was making his way to his office.
Lois bolted up from her chair and walked briskly to Perry's office
before giving anyone else a chance to see him first.

* * * * * * * *

Clark was on cloud nine.  Because he was momentarily out of it he
didn't notice Lois making a beeline towards Mr. White's office.  Clark
was now working for the Daily Planet, and Mr. White was now his boss.
His new boss.

Because the news of the Messenger incident had just broken, Clark was
going to start today.  It was amazing that less than forty-eight hours
ago he was wondering if he could feel lower than he did, when Mr.
White had said at first that he didn't have anything for him.  He
stayed where he was, in the conference room, observing the hurricane
that was called the Daily Planet newsroom.  Everyone seemed to be
either typing, talking on the phone, or moving about.  His eyes
focused on an empty desk with a chair, in fact the only empty desk
that he could see.  His new desk.

As Clark looked in the immediate vicinity of his desk, he noticed that
Lois' desk wasn't far from his.  There it was; her nameplate was
sitting on top of it.  At the moment, she wasn't sitting at her desk -
- she probably was out gathering info on the Messenger, or maybe
meeting one of her sources.  Of course he had no idea what Lois Lane
was *really* like.  After all, today was only their second meeting,
and what he had learned so far came from her stories and from
overheard conversations in the newsroom.  But there was something
about her that... intrigued him.  And no, it wasn't just because Lois
was a very attractive woman.  'Like Joan is,' Clark reminded himself.
Well, it would be nice to work with Lois Lane, and perhaps someday,
they could be... friends.  Lois Lane.  His new colleague.  His new...
friend?

Clark shook his head, reprimanding himself for daydreaming.  Mr. White
had just given him a chance, and there was no way Clark would mess it
up.  Now that he just got the job, it was time to start working.  At
the Daily Planet.  In Metropolis.  His new home.

* * * * * * * *

Lois was pacing in Perry's office, the wheels in her head turning
quickly as she planned for the Messenger story.  "I'll need a task
force.  I can't cover this story alone."

Perry looked up from the papers from his desk.  "You can have Jimmy,"
he suggested.

Jimmy?  Lois almost laughed out loud.  No offense to Jimmy, but he was
only a photographer and a researcher.  What she needed was another
reporter at the very least.  "Chief," she protested, "we're talking
about the space program!"

Perry thought for a moment.  Judas Priest, that girl could be very
difficult to deal with at times.  But she was one heck of a reporter,
so... "Okay, take Kent."

No, Lois didn't hear that correctly, did she?  He wouldn't suggest...
"Kent?" she repeated, in an unusually small voice.

"Kent!" Perry repeated.

Working with Clark Kent?  No, that's impossible.  A bad idea.  Not
Clark Kent, that... man.  There had to be someone else available.
Besides, Kent was just hired today!  What does *he* know about
investigative reporting?  Now let's see, who else could help?  "What
about Myerson?" she asked.

"He's busy."

Busy doing what?  Fine.  All right then, who else?  "Burns?" Lois
tried again.

"Budapest."

Lois sighed.  Everyone else *was* busy with other things.  But there
was still no way that she could work with Clark Kent.  "Forget Kent,"
she said firmly.

Perry was tired of this.  Lois was right; she couldn't possibly tackle
this story by herself.  It was time to play the bad boss...  "Uh-uh,
he's a good man," he said.

What was this?  Was Perry now *ordering* Lois to take Kent?  Uh uh, no
way.  She wasn't going to be intimidated by Perry's change of voice.
"Kent is a hack from Smallville, I couldn't make that name up!" she
said in desperation.

Okay, so Perry wasn't really ordering Lois.  But there *was* no one
else available, so he decided to leave it up to her.  "Kent, or
nobody," he stated.

For a moment Lois contemplated saying, "Nobody."  But then she
remembered John, remembering how she agreed with him when he had said
that they've been seeing too little of each other lately.  Oh... all
right!  How bad could it be?  She was a professional.  She could keep
her feelings to herself.  So she'll take Kent; but of course, Lois
Lane always had the last word.  "Fine.  Don't ever say that I'm not a
team player," she said, and with a huff, she stormed out of Perry's
office.  Perry's face was grim as he watched her leave.

* * * * * * * *

'I can do this,' Lois thought to herself.  Kent is just another
reporter.  'Just treat him as you would treat any other colleague.'
The problem was that she had little interaction with her colleagues,
so she had no frame of reference to use.

Fortunately, Lois had been getting better in getting along with her
co-workers.  When she had started at the Daily Planet four years ago,
she had virtually talked to no one, with the exception of her Editor-
in-Chief and her department head.  After a while, though, while she
moved quickly to become an award-winning reporter, she had become
lonely.  So she had begun to talk to a third person, resulting in one
of the most embarrassing moments in her life.  That person was Claude.
After the events of Claude's seduction and betrayal (yes, he did
seduce her, much to her chagrin), Lois became even more withdrawn.
Perry had tried a few times to partner her with another reporter, but
in all cases, it didn't work out.  It wasn't until after John had come
into Lois' life that she had begun getting to know her colleagues,
exchanging pleasantries, and talking about things besides the weather
and one's health.

Lois shook her head.  What was she doing?  Daydreaming about her
almost boyfriend?  She prided herself in being able to focus and be
businesslike at work.  Well, that won't do!  Time to earn her pay.
She would have another front-page story, no matter what it takes.  She
would get that fourth Kerth.  And she would find a way to completely
ignore Clark Kent.

Yeah, right.

* * * * * * * *

Lois found Clark standing near his desk, looking at some papers.
Okay, show time.  She walked briskly towards him.  "Let's hit it," she
said, swatting his arm and walking past him without looking his way.

Clark was stunned.  Did Mr. White assign him and Lois to work
together?  Great!  This would be a great opportunity to get to know
her... and to watch first hand an investigative reporter at work, of
course.  He dropped the papers on his desk and followed Lois.  "Mind
if I ask where we're going?" he asked.

'Why do I feel nervous?' Lois asked herself.  When she reached her own
desk, she grabbed her bag.  "To interview Samuel Platt," she answered
quickly, "He's convinced the Messenger was sabotaged.  I'll brief you
on the way."

"And let's get something straight," Lois continued, as she made her
way up the ramp.  "I did not work my buns off to become an
investigative reporter for the Daily Planet just to baby-sit some hack
from Nowheresville!"  Oh my God, did she just say that?  What was
wrong with her?  Of course she knew: she was babbling.  And now that
she had started babbling, there was no way for her to stop.  Sometimes
John would tease her about that, and he had said that there was only
one way to stop her babbling... Don't you dare go there, Lane!

Lois stopped at the top of the ramp and finally looked at him, but
continued in her babble mode: "And one other thing, you are not
working with me, you are working *for* me. I call the shots, I ask the
questions."  'Help, somebody shut me up!' she thought, as she walked
towards the elevators.  "You are low man, I am top banana, and that's
the way I like it. Comprende?"  She almost groaned at her words as she
and Clark waited for the elevator.

Clark was intrigued (there's that word again) at what he had just
witnessed.  He had never seen a person talk continuously as long has
Lois just did.  And she did so practically without taking a breath!
God help the boyfriend or husband who has to deal with her babble-
mode...

Jeez, already he was wondering about her dating status!  It looked
like Lois wasn't married -- Clark did not see a wedding band -- but a
woman as attractive as she was, surely she was seeing someone now.  Of
course, that was very stereotypical, Clark realized, but it was
probably a good idea to make that assumption now.

Clark almost forgot that Lois had asked him a question.  He wasn't
going to let her intimidate him.  So he replied, "You like to be on
top, got it."  But immediately he regretted saying that.  'That's a
great way to impress someone, Kent,' he mused.  He willed himself to
look straight ahead at the elevators, maintain a neutral look, and not
see her reaction.

He would hear Lois' reaction, of course.  She obviously did not like
Clark's answer, but at the same time, she was grateful.  She didn't
want to like Clark, and him being a smart aleck was a great reason
not to like him.  Assuming an angry expression, Lois said with
deliberation, "Don't push me, Kent, you are *way* out of your league."
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.  She stalked inside and
Clark followed her.  Once they took their positions Clark allowed
himself to smile.  What he had just said *was* funny, he mused, as the
elevator doors closed.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Daily Planet Building]
[4:07 P.M.]

To the casual observer, Lois Lane looked cool, calm, and collected
when she and Clark returned to the Planet three hours later.  The fact
of the matter was, she was none of these.  Lois was hot (temperature
wise, of course), agitated, and very confused.

Temperatures during the month of August were usually mild for
Metropolis, but this year the largest city in the world was
experiencing its worst heat wave ever.  The highs were consistently in
the upper 90's the last couple of weeks, and in five separate
occasions new records for high temperatures had been set.  The unusual
thing was the fact that the weather in the rest of New Troy was
abnormally cool for this time of year.  Lois had wondered if there was
something else that was causing the heat wave.  'Thank goodness the
Daily Planet building is air-conditioned,' she thought, as she sat at
her desk warily.

The source of her agitation was a certain John Bialzek.  After Lois
and Clark's interview with Dr. Platt, John had paged her.  This was
odd, because John had rarely paged her while she was at work.  And the
fact that he had paged her from his place instead of his office had
puzzled her even further.  Unfortunately, she had figured correctly
that there was a problem.  John had just found out that his
grandmother had died of a stroke.  This meant that he was going out of
town and leaving this evening.  This also meant that he would not be
able to escort her to Lex Luthor's White Orchid Ball Thursday night.
Now what was she going to do?

Being with Clark today left her confused.  Very confused.  While Clark
did make that smart-aleck comment about her liking to 'be on top,' he
was also smart.  Half the time Lois had not understood Dr. Platt's
technical explanations as to why the Messenger exploded.  But Clark
had, asking questions to clarify Dr. Platt's points.  All the while
Clark had been looking around Dr. Platt's 'office.'  Something that
all good reporters did.  Observe.

Clark had also used his charms to soften up Dr. Antoinette Baines
during the second interview at EPRAD.  Baines had originally said that
reporters were not allowed to look at the Messenger wreckage, but
Clark had convinced Dr. Baines to at least consider letting him and
Lois take a look in the future.  Lois was actually glad that Clark had
done this; many times in the past Lois had exploited her femininity to
get a story.  But being physically close to Clark had short-circuited
her brain again and she had ended up reprimanding Clark for his
efforts with Dr. Baines.

Clark was also a gentleman, for on six occasions today he had held the
door for Lois, and four times he had let her enter and exit the
elevator first.  God, had she actually been counting?  John had also
done things like that for her whenever they went out.  Sometimes Lois
had wanted John to cut it out and let her do things herself, but in
reality she loved the way John was treating her.  And she had loved
the way Clark was being a gentleman as well...

Darn it, she was doing it again!  Thinking about Clark!  This had
rarely happened before, her thinking about a guy, any guy, at work.
In the past, the Daily Planet had been sort of a safe haven for her, a
place for her to forget about her lack of a love life, the outside
world, her lack of a love life, her family's problems, her lack of a
love life...  Being with John for three months had changed things, but
now, there seemed no place for her to be where she could forget about
Clark, even while she was with John, and Lois found that very
disturbing.

'Oh, all right, I admit it,' she thought to herself.  'I am attracted
to Clark.  There, I've said it.'  But of course, this did not make her
feel any better.  For the person who occupied her thoughts was sitting
no more than ten feet from her, and now, she was going to have to
figure out a way to summon her courage to ask him to Lex Luthor's
White Orchid Ball.

* * * * * * * *

It was a long day for a first day at work, but Clark of course did not
feel tired.  With a smile on his face he picked up the phone book.
Since he had been in Metropolis for only a couple of weeks, he wasn't
yet familiar with the restaurants in the area.  Of course, the fact
that he had flown to other countries for cuisine hadn't given him the
opportunity to become familiar.  This time, Clark wanted to take Joan
to somewhere nice, here in Metropolis.

He had wanted to have this celebration dinner tonight.  But before he
had left his hotel room this morning, she had called and said that if
he ended up getting the job, then they should wait until tomorrow to
celebrate.  Apparently Joan had an early meeting at her school
tomorrow morning, and after that meeting she wouldn't have to come in
until Monday.  (Her first day of classes wasn't for another two
weeks.)  The plan, then, was for Clark to cook this evening, and
tomorrow evening they would go somewhere ("Surprise me," she had said,
when he had asked if she had any preference).  So now Clark was
sitting at his desk, looking at the phone book looking for the
restaurant listings, so that he could memorize the names, addresses,
and phone numbers of all the restaurants in the area.

Clark almost smiled at what he was about to do: relying on his powers
again.  Having these powers did make things easier.  But he had to
control himself, all the time, never use his powers in public, because
he didn't want to jeopardize his chances to lead a normal life.  So
far there were only two situations when he used his powers freely and
without worry: at his parent's farm, and in front of Joan.

Thinking about his parents and Joan almost caused him to frown.  His
mom and dad had been very worried when he told them that someone else
knew about his powers.  They had not been sure if Joan could be
trusted, because of course the three had never met.  So right after
Clark and Joan had returned to Metropolis from France, he had decided
that it was time for Joan to meet his parents.  This meant that there
had been a second opportunity for Joan to fly in Clark's arms, which
Joan didn't mind at all.  Clark's concerns about the first meeting
were unfounded, as the three of them had gotten along very well.  The
fact that Joan was born at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas probably had
helped.

Without moving his head, Clark glanced upward to see who was still in
the newsroom.  Looking to the right, he noticed that Lois was looking
at him.  Immediately, his eyes returned to the phone book, and he
tried very hard not to blush.  As nonchalantly as he could, he resumed
turning the pages of the phone book until he found the restaurant
listings.  He then heard her stand up and walk away from her desk.

Clark's impressions of Lois Lane did not change in the three hours,
eight minutes, and 28 seconds that they were out on interviews.  He
had found out that she *was* brilliant.  He had found out that she
*did* have passion for her work.  And he had found out that she *was*
seeing someone.  Before they went to see Dr. Baines at EPRAD, Lois had
asked the cab to stop at a payphone because she had been paged.  He
wanted to beat himself up for doing it, but while he was sitting in
the cab waiting, he had used his super-hearing to see whom Lois was
talking to.  When Clark had realized that it had been to a man named
John, he immediately had focused his attention on the radio in the
cab, only to find that the radio was belting out hard rock.  Clark
cringed inwardly.  How could anyone stand that kind of music?  His
tastes leaned towards Jazz, Easy Listening, and Country...

At least Clark hadn't eavesdropped on Lois' entire phone conversation.
But when she had returned to the cab, he had noticed that her mood was
darker.  Clark had tried to ask if everything was okay, but she had
responded by reaching forward, turning off the radio, and ordering the
cab driver to step on it to EPRAD.  Well, at least he *was* right.
Even though he didn't like making assumptions about people, like he
had about Lois before they had left the Planet, he was right in that
she was seeing someone.  Clark should be happy that she was in a
relationship, and that he was in a relationship.

So why didn't he feel that way?

* * * * * * * *

Clark's eyes were still on the phone book when his phone rang.  He
reached for the phone and answered it.  "Clark Kent."

"Clark?" said Joan.  To him it sounded more like a croak.

"Joan?  Is that you?  Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," Joan mumbled.  Clark had to use his super-hearing to
catch what she was saying.  "I think I got the flu."

The flu?  In August?  Clark thought that hardly anyone got the flu
during the dog days of summer, but he decided not to bring it up.
"Well, you might as well forget about the meeting at your school
tomorrow," he said, sighing.  "And probably we should forget about
tomorrow night as well."

"Oh Clark, I'm so sorry," Joan said, sounding very guilty.  "I know
you wanted to celebrate getting the job."

"It's okay.  It happens."

"Not to you.  You know how much I hate you now?" she asked, teasing.

"Sorry," Clark said cheerfully, not meaning it.  "Listen," he
continued, "why don't I stop by anyway?  You haven't experienced a
little TLC from me yet."

"I'd have be crazy to turn you down," Joan remarked.  "See you in half
an hour?"

"Right.  See you later."  Clark hung up, feeling disappointed.  With a
sigh, he stood up and grabbed the jacket that was draped on his chair.
He then heard footsteps approaching his desk.  Clark turned around to
see Lois, looking nervous.  "I don't suppose you own a tuxedo," she
said with trepidation.

For a moment Clark couldn't speak.  Now why would she ask if he had a
tuxedo?  She wasn't going to ask him out, was she?  'I thought she had
a boyfriend!' he thought.  'And what would I need a tuxedo for?'
Confused, he answered, "I could get one.  Why?"

Lois took a deep breath.  'Just get this over with,' she thought.
"Oh, well, the guy that I was going to Lex Luthor's Ball with had to
go out of town unexpectantly," she explained, almost sounding as if
this had happened to her often.

She was!  She was asking him out!  In a very calm voice (although
certainly he didn't feel that way), Clark said, "So you were wondering
if I wanted to..."

At the same time, Lois blurted out, "Do you want to take his place?"

Clark raised his eyebrows.  While he had heard of Lex Luthor (who in
Metropolis hadn't?), he didn't know about any charity ball that he was
hosting.  But something else bothered him.  It was just a weird
coincidence.  Just a second ago, Joan had begged off celebrating
tomorrow evening.  And now, Lois needed a date for the ball.

Interpreting Clark's lack of a response for hesitation, Lois
continued, "You realize, this is *the* social event of the season!
Everyone who is anyone is going to be there!"

"Oh," he managed to say.  Had Joan heard about this ball?  And if so,
why didn't she say anything?  Clark finally addressed Lois.  "It's
just funny that you asked.  I had plans with my, um, girlfriend
tomorrow night, but a minute ago she had called to cancel.  She has
the flu."

"Oh, that's too bad," Lois said, sympathetically.

"Yeah," Clark agreed, lost in his thoughts.  Then he abruptly turned
to his desk.  "Hold that thought," he said, as he picked up the phone.

It was no surprise to Lois that Clark Kent, a guy who essentially
looked like a Greek god, was seeing someone too.  Still feeling tense,
she went back to her desk.  She had a sinking feeling that Clark was
going to say no.  And if Clark said no, who else could she go with to
the White Orchid Ball?  Lois really, didn't like the idea of going to
the ball alone.  Warily, she put some of the research that was still
on her desk into her bag.  It was only about 4:00, but she had been at
the office since 7:00 this morning and she was feeling tired.  As she
was getting her things together, she glanced at Clark, only to find
him signaling her to not leave yet.

Moments later, Clark finally replaced the handset on the receiver and
faced Lois.  "I called Joan.  She said that I could take you."  That
wasn't entirely true.  When Clark had told Joan about the White Orchid
Ball, she had ended up suggesting to him that he take Lois.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Lois exclaimed.  Now she was
starting to feel like she was about to steal Clark from this Joan
person.  '*Steal* him?' Lois wondered.

"It's all right," Clark reassured her.  "Joan is sick, and she didn't
want me staying at home alone on her account.  She's okay with me
taking you."

"Fine," Lois said, and returned to her desk to gather her things.  She
glanced up to see Clark looking at her quizzically.

"This isn't a date, right?" he asked, sounding strange.

Lois blinked.  Where did that come from?  "A date?" she said.  "You
mean like in Kansas, where you meet my parents and then you try and
give me a hickey in the vacant lot behind the Dairy Freeze?"  Oy, she
was doing it again, babbling and insulting him at the same time.  She
shook her head vehemently.  "No this is not a date.  This is business.
I am going to land the first one-on-one Lex Luthor interview
somehow..."

"Okay," he interrupted, feeling a little relieved.

"Good," Lois said, as she walked back to her desk.  "Let's just meet
there, okay?  Nine sounds good?  No, that's too late."  She picked up
her bag.  "Make it 8:30," she continued, forcing herself not to glance
at Clark's way.  Before she made her way up the ramp she stopped and
turned around.  "Oh, you probably don't know where it is, do you?
Well, remind me to give you directions tomorrow."  She turned and
walked up the ramp.  "See you then."

Clark blinked twice, realizing that she had just babbled again, and
that she was leaving.  "What an... interesting woman, this Lois Lane,"
he spoke out loud.  Shaking his head and smiling, he reached for his
jacket and prepared to leave the newsroom.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, White Orchid Ball]
[Thursday, August 19, 1993, 8:27 P.M.]

Clark adjusted his tie for the umpteenth time as he waited outside the
ballroom in Lex Luthor's penthouse.  He knew that Lois had not yet
arrived -- he had seen Perry and Jimmy earlier and neither had seen
her.  What bothered him, though, was the fact that he had butterflies
in his stomach.  He was nervous.  Very nervous.  And he didn't know
why.

After all, this was business, right?  Lois was here to secure an
exclusive personal interview with one of the richest persons in the
world (the third richest, as Clark had found out earlier).  Clark, in
turn, was here as Lois' escort.  And as Joan had pointed out while he
had been on the phone with her this afternoon, he could also take this
opportunity to get to know the other guests, which included most of
the influential and the wealthy in Metropolis.

But deep down, he wanted to impress Lois Lane, probably the best
investigative reporter around.  He wanted to prove to her that he was
more than a 'hack from Nowheresville'   Clark grinned as he recalled
Lois' remark when they had begun working together -- and he wanted to
prove to her that he was a gentleman.  The tuxedo was a rental, which,
fortunately for Clark, he had been able to get it in time for the
ball.  He had realized, after finding out the tuxedo's rental fee,
that it would probably be most wise to buy one of his own.

Adjusting his tie yet again, Clark sighed and leaned against the wall
next to the doorway to the ballroom.  To calm his nerves, he reflected
on his second full day of work at the Daily Planet.  He had been
delighted to find out this morning that his Bernhardt Theater story
was in the Planet's morning edition.  Mr. White had been impressed
with the story, and after congratulating Clark for a job well done, he
had assigned Clark another solo story: 'Adopted Kids Looking for Their
Birth Parents'.  Given Clark's background, the assignment was very
ironic.

He had known since he was ten years old that he was adopted.  His
thoughts turned to his parents.  Jonathan and Martha Kent had not
known where Clark came from, only that they had found him, had took
him in, and had raised him as if he was theirs.  And when Clark
started to develop his powers, when he realized that he was different
from the other kids, when he had to hide his true self to others, his
parents had continued to give their love and support.  Clark was
grateful for the kind of parents that he had.

The adopted kids article shouldn't be hard to do, he mused.  Clark had
thought about writing on his own efforts in searching for his birth
parents, but later had decided against it.  Incredibly, he still
hadn't asked his parents for the full story on how he was found.  (He
should probably ask them soon.)  Anyway, Mr. White had told Clark to
take his time with the story, as he was still working with Lois on the
Messenger story.  Clark figured that with a little super-help he could
have the adopted kids story by tomorrow...

"Clark?"  A woman's voice woke him from his reverie.  He looked
around, not seeing anyone he knew, but then realized that his super-
hearing must have kicked in.  A few seconds later, he saw Lois walking
towards him.  Clark turned to face her, stopped, and stared.

And stared.

And *stared.*

Without realizing it, he grabbed on to the doorframe to keep himself
from floating.  This woman, the most beautiful woman that he had ever
seen, was wearing a midnight blue gown, low cut.  Her hair was pulled
up into a twist with a few stray curls framing her face.  Clark took a
deep breath and exhaled with difficulty.  'Uh oh,' he thought, 'I'm in
big trouble.'

Lois did not even notice what Clark was doing, because she had been
doing some staring on her own.  Standing before her was Clark, wearing
a tuxedo.

A *black* tuxedo.

And he looked really, *really* good in it.

Lois knew that Clark was attractive, and had admitted so to herself.
But seeing Clark in a tuxedo was... wow.  Her mind began to wonder,
imagining Clark in other forms of dress: in jeans and a T-shirt, in a
swimsuit, in nothing at all...  'Uh oh,' she thought, 'I'm in big
trouble.'

Finally Clark felt it was prudent to stop staring and to say
something.  "Hi," he said, choosing something safe.

"Hi," she returned, shyly.

"You look great."

"Thanks.  So do you."

For the next few moments both Lois and Clark alternated between
looking at the each other and looking away.  Clark broke the silence
again.  "Shall we go in?"  He offered her his arm.

Lois automatically hooked her arm into his.  "Yes, we shall."  With
that, the very attractive couple entered the ballroom.

* * * * * * * *

"So how is Joan feeling?"

"Pretty bad."  Clark silently thanked Lois; it would be better to
think about his significant other instead of the woman at his side
right now.  "Every time I saw her she's always in bed," he explained.

"You've seen her while she's sick?"  Lois frowned.  "Good job, Kent!
Now you'll get sick too."

Clark bit back a groan.  He had done it again, saying something that
compromised his secret.  His mind raced to cover his slip.  "Uh, I
doubt it.  I've been, um, getting my flu shots regularly."

Lois said nothing at his explanation.  Clark relaxed, thinking that he
had dodged the bullet.  Anxious to change the subject, he asked, "Have
you heard from John?"

"No."  Lois was now looking around discreetly, as if looking for
someone.  Clark, however, noticed.  "He left me a message saying that
the funeral is tomorrow," she added.  Then, without warning, Lois
exclaimed, "Aha!"  Immediately she marched through the crowd with a
look of determination on her face.

Clark had to subtly use a little of his powers to catch up to Lois.
'I guess she found Luthor,' he deduced.  He had reached her when Lois'
voice rang out, startling him.

"Lex Luthor!  Why haven't you returned my calls?" Lois asked.  She
then noticed that Clark was beside her.  "What are you doing?" she
hissed.

"Meeting Lex Luthor," Clark responded calmly.  "You know I've never
met him, Lois."

"Well, you can meet him another time!"  Lois shot back.  She was about
to tell Clark in the most unladylike terms to go away when Luthor
approached.  Turning to face Luthor, she smiled, offered her hand, and
spoke in the most confident voice that she could muster.  "Lois Lane,
Daily Planet."

Lex, instead of shaking Lois' hand, bent low to kiss it.  "Well, I can
assure you I'll never make that mistake again," he said, smiling.
Clark did not like that smile.

To Lois' annoyance, Clark was still at her side.  Still smiling, she
gestured to him.  "This is Clark Kent, one of my colleagues."

'One of my colleagues?' Clark asked himself, holding back a laugh.

"A pleasure," Lex said, barely giving Clark a second glance.  Lex
extended his hand and Clark shook it.  Then Lex let go, trying to
cover a wince.

Too late, Clark realized that he just did the same thing that he had
done to Mr. White three days ago.  Squeezing the other person's hand
too hard.  He let out a small chuckle.  "Sorry," he muttered.  "Don't
know my own strength."

Lois looked like she wanted to kill Clark.  She was convinced that
Clark had squeezed Lex Luthor's hand on purpose.  Trying to regain
control, she turned to Lex.  "I hope you'll forgive me for being so
bold..."

Clark had seen Lois' expression, and it was now his turn to wince.
True, he shouldn't have done what he did, but it was really an
accident.  Heck, Clark had even done it to his own father a few times!
He hadn't intended to squeeze Luthor's hand in order to prove his
manliness.

Or did he?  He didn't catch the conversation between Lois and Lex, but
instead, Clark was concentrating on Lex's face.  There was something
that bothered Clark about Luthor.  And it wasn't because of the way
Lex looked at Lois.  No, there was something that made Clark feel
distrustful.  But why did he think that?  Clark had always tried to
see the best in people.  Always.  But in this case, Clark's gut
instincts were telling him that Lex Luthor would someday be a
formidable adversary.

An elderly and distinguished-looking man approached Luthor and spoke a
few words in his ear.  Nodding, Lex addressed Lois and Clark, "You'll
have to excuse me.  There's something that requires my attention.  I
will have my assistant contact you to schedule a meeting."  Lex
reached out and touched her arm.  "Till then, Lois."  Turning to
Clark, he merely said, "Kent."  Then he walked away, still favoring
his right hand.

As soon as Lois knew that Lex was out of earshot, she exploded.  "What
the hell were you doing, Clark?  I was trying to get an interview with
Luthor, and you meanwhile decided to show your manliness with your
death grip!"

Looking and feeling contrite, Clark replied, "I *am* sorry, Lois.  It
wasn't intentional.  I sometimes don't know my strength.  I
accidentally did the same thing to Mr. White when he interviewed me
Monday.  You can ask him if you wish."

Clark was relieved to see that Lois was calming down.  He was about to
go on when his ears perked up.  The beginning notes of "Fly Me to the
Moon" were being played by the band.  His favorite song.  Clark
stretched his hand out to Lois.  "Would you like to dance?"

Yes, she would love to, Lois realized, but she knew that she
shouldn't.  Instead, she asked, "You know how to dance?  I would've
thought square dancing was more your style!"  She realized that she
had just insulted him yet again.

Clark just smiled at her remark.  "Actually," he answered, "I learned
from a Nigerian princess who studied ballroom dancing in England."

"Really?  How fascinating," Lois deadpanned, not believing him.
Nevertheless, Lois took Clark's hand, and they made their way to the
dance floor.

After a few moments, Clark was very much aware of what he was doing.
He was dancing with a woman, and she wasn't Joan.  He tried to make
some conversation so that he wouldn't have to dwell on this fact.  "So
I guess what you got what you came here for."  Lois looked at him,
puzzled.  "The interview?" Clark clarified.  "Luthor said his
assistant was going to call you?"

"So?" Lois snorted.  "That doesn't mean anything!  It just means that
he knows who I am and that I'm back to where I was before this
evening.  And it took me a year to get this close!"

"What, this close?" he asked, pulling her body closer to his.  It was
supposed to be a joke, of course, but suddenly, Lois and Clark froze,
realizing the positions that they were in.  It has been said that
there were moments when it seemed that time was slowing down, or even
standing still.  This was becoming one of those moments.  Neither Lois
nor Clark was aware of anything happening around them.  All they
noticed was that they were in each other's arms, and all they were
hearing were their own breathing and heartbeats.

Clark's gaze rested on Lois' eyes, and immediately, he realized that
that was a huge mistake.  Those big, brown eyes, open wide.  He could
swear to anyone who might ask that he could see himself in her eyes.
Lois too began to realize that this man, the most handsome man that
she had seen in her life, was affecting her in ways that no other man
had ever done.  In a slow, deliberate, and synchronous motion, Clark
leaned forward, Lois reached up, and their lips met in a soft kiss.

Clark's conscience was screaming, ordering him to break off the kiss
immediately.  But all he could do was to close his eyes and feel, to
feel Lois in his arms, to feel her arms around his neck, and to feel
her lips on his.  The only thing his brain would tell him right now
was the fact that it felt so *right* to him!  Lois began to run her
hands through Clark's hair.  Eyes closed, and tongues dancing, the two
of them were performing a duet, accentuated by the sighs and moans
that they were making.

An idle thought entered Lois' mind as she moaned again into Clark's
mouth.  'Where did he learn to kiss like this?'  Of course, Lois had
experience with kissing, but most of them were just pecks, with no use
of the tongue.  Claude was an exception.  While Claude could certainly
kiss, she had felt that with him, kissing wasn't always a mutual
activity.  (Lois now realized, much to her chagrin, that the way
Claude had kissed her, with his tongue forcing his way into her mouth,
was a foreshadowing of what was to come, as his bedside manners would
attest.)  No, besides Claude, no one had kissed her like this, not the
boys from high school, not the guys in college, and not even John.

'Oh my God...  *John*!'

With a strangled cry, Lois pulled away from Clark's embrace.  The
spell broken, Clark's eyes flew open.  He took stock on Lois'
appearance, with her chest heaving, her lips smudged from being
thoroughly kissed, her mouth quivering, and her eyes filling with
tears.  Then he finally realized what had just happened.  He raised
his hand slightly, but Lois immediately took a step back, as if in
fear.  Clark tried to say something, but the words refused to come
out.  He was still pretty out of it from the kiss that he and Lois had
shared.

Clark caught Lois' heartbeat with his super-hearing, and found that it
was beating fast.  Very fast.  He was so attuned to her heartbeat that
he didn't notice the guests assembling at the other side of the room
and Lex beginning to speak to them.  Then Lois took another step
backwards, still giving him that look.  For some reason it was hurting
him to see her looking at him that way.  He stood there, feeling as if
he was rooted to the ground, and feeling increasingly miserable, as he
watched Lois do an about face and run towards the gathering of people
at the other side of the room.

* * * * * * * *

[Somewhere over Metropolis]
[Friday, August 20, 1993, 12:14 A.M.]

"*What have I done!?!?!?!?*"

For the millionth time Clark asked himself that question as he floated
among the clouds high above Metropolis late at night.  He was still
wearing his tuxedo -- instead of going back to his hotel room after
the White Orchid Ball he had ducked into the nearest alley and flew
straight up into the sky -- and his glasses were safely tucked away in
his breast pocket.  In the past, Clark would at night fly up into the
sky and just drift.  That way he wouldn't be part of the stars, or
part of the earth.  It was here that Clark had often wondered where
would he fit in, if ever.  But tonight he was asking himself an
entirely different question.

It was obvious what Clark had done.  He had betrayed Joan.  Completely
and undeniably betrayed her.  And in the process, he had destroyed
Lois and John's relationship as well.  For a minute Clark wished he
didn't have any powers, so that he could inflict physical pain on
himself, to punish himself for what he had done.  In his 27-1/2 years
of existence (that is, assuming that his birthday was February 28th --
his parents had to have made a guess not long after they had found
him), he had never done something like this.

Of course, there hadn't been many opportunities to do something like
this, kissing a woman that wasn't his.  Before Joan, Clark had been in
only two relationships, both during high school: Lana Lang, for almost
two years, and Rachel Harris (now *Sheriff* Rachel Harris), for a year
and a half.  At Midwest State, he had been on a few dates, but none of
them progressed into anything serious.  Then followed about five years
of traveling around the globe, where he hadn't dated at all.

It had been almost a month now since Clark started seeing Joan, and
again, he had no idea how to describe the relationship.  While neither
had asked the other that they see each other exclusively, Clark was
sure that Joan hadn't been seeing anyone else.  Of course he hadn't:
he had no reason to.  Until now.

His thoughts returned to the kiss with Lois.  All of his previous
kisses had been simple pecks, until one evening in France, when Joan
had had one drink too many.  She had concluded that Clark was a lousy
kisser and that she would teach him how to kiss properly.  The kisses
from that night were... nice.  Interesting.  Awkward.  Unnatural.  At
least, they were to Clark.  Joan had said later, however, that he had
deserved an A+, with extra credit for the use of his hands.  He never
asked what she had meant by that.

But now he had just kissed Lois tonight, and what a kiss!  Clark felt
that kissing Lois awoke something inside of him.  And much to his
embarrassment, for the first time in his life, a kiss had elicited a
response in other parts of his body as well.  He had felt lightheaded.
He had felt warm.  He had felt... 'Well, let's just hope Lois had not
noticed his reactions after that kiss,' Clark thought, blushing.
'Gosh, a dip in the Arctic Ocean sounds good right about now...'

So yes, the kiss was wonderful.  It was beyond everything Clark had
imagined.  But it was also *wrong*.

What was he going to do?

Well, Clark knew that he had to tell Joan.  Right away.  She of course
had to know.  And she should have the right to decide the future of
their relationship.

Or should she?  And idle thought entered Clark's head.  He recalled
the conversation he had with Lois when she had asked him to the White
Orchid Ball.  "I had plans with my, um, girlfriend," he had said.  He
had hesitated before saying, 'girlfriend.'  Why?  Why did it feel
weird to refer to Joan that way?  At first, Clark had thought that it
was because he had met Joan just a month ago.  It was different than
when he was with Lana or Rachel, for they had been friends long before
he had started dating either of them.  But was this the real reason?

So what did this all mean, then?  Did this mean that there would be
perhaps no future between Joan and himself?  Should Clark also suggest
that they stop seeing each other?  Oh, he wished he knew the answers!
Briefly Clark considered calling his parents, or better yet, flying to
Smallville.  But the last time he checked his watch it was after
midnight in Metropolis, which meant that it was after eleven in
Smallville, which also meant that his parents were in bed now.  (Clark
had always admired his parents for being able to wake up at four in
the morning every day and to begin the work at the farm.)

Well, tomorrow, he would visit his parents for supper, and he would
ask them for advice regarding Joan and Lois.  And he would tell Joan
about the kiss... *after* she got better from the flu.  It would be
heartless to tell her while she was still sick, wouldn't it?  But that
left Lois.  What was he going to do tomorrow morning at work?

On one hand, how could he possibly work with her after the kiss this
evening?  While Clark knew that both he and Lois were professionals,
what had happened was something that neither could ignore.  He would
be a little uncomfortable working with her, and most likely she would
feel the same way.  That is, if she wasn't contemplating killing him
first.   Probably the best thing to do was to ask Mr. White to take
him off the story.  Then he could perhaps concentrate solely on the
adopted kids story.  On the other hand, Mr. White assigned the stories
at the Planet, not the reporters.  The Messenger story was Clark's
*first* assignment, so he would have to do this to the best of his
ability.

Furthermore, he should not be a coward; he *really* should talk to
Lois about the kiss instead.  He should apologize for allowing it to
happen, and he should promise that it would never happen again.
Easier said than done, he realized sadly.  With a heavy sigh, Clark
floated downwards and flew back to his hotel.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Lois Lane's apartment]
[Same Time]

With much difficulty and impatience, Lois unlocked all four locks on
her apartment door.  Slamming the door shut, she stumbled onto one of
her couches and burst into tears.

It had taken all of her will not to break down and cry at the White
Orchid Ball, after what had happened to her about four hours ago.
This was Lois Lane, always in control of her emotions.  It had helped,
of course, that she had two places where she could let everything out
after bottling in her emotions all day.  One place was in her couch
with a gallon-sized container of Rocky Road ice cream, and the other
was in John Bialzek's arms.  Unfortunately, neither were available now
(she had eaten up the Rocky Road last night).

"Oh, John... how could I have done this to you?" she cried.  In
retrospect, it was partially his fault.  After all, hadn't it been he
who, after pulling out of the date at the White Orchid Ball, suggested
that she ask someone else?  But John didn't know that this someone
else would later be kissing her as if there was no tomorrow.  So all
right, it wasn't John's fault.

"No, it was Clark's fault!"  He had a girlfriend, right?  And he knew
that she had a boyfriend, sort of!  How dare he kiss her like that!
How dare he come between her and John!  How dare... *she* come between
*him* and *Joan*... oh God, what had she done?

No, it wasn't Clark's fault, but it was also hers.  True, Lois and
Clark had been working together for only two days, but from what she
could tell, his relationship with Joan was a happy one.  'At least he
referred to Joan as his girlfriend,' Lois thought sardonically.  For
some reason she had problems thinking of John as her boyfriend, even
though she had treated him that way the past couple of weeks.  But
that didn't give her any excuse to lock lips with her coworker.

Lois was very appalled at her behavior.  She had *never* done this
before, kissing a guy that belonged to someone else.  It was just as
bad, if not worse, as stealing a boyfriend from another woman.  And
she knew how it felt to have someone steal a guy from her -- that was
the reason why she was no longer talking to Linda King, her *ex*-best
friend at MetroU.  And now, not only had Lois stepped into Joan's
territory, she had done so while she had someone else!  What would
people think?

'What would people think?  Oh my God!  Perry!  Jimmy!  *Cat!*'  Lois
jerked up from her couch, feeling panicked.  She had no idea who,
among the rich and the affluent in Metropolis had witnessed the scene
between her and Clark.  Oh God, maybe someone from the press saw her!
She could see herself on the front page of the Metropolis Star:
'Planet Reporter Cheating on Lawyer Boyfriend'.  Lois grabbed a couch
pillow and wailed into it.

She had been fortunate that, right after the kiss, Lex Luthor had made
the announcement regarding Space Station Luthor.  'Space Station
Luthor, my foot,' she thought, recalling his plans for a privately
owned space laboratory.  It was way too convenient for Lex to make the
announcement when Space Station Prometheus was in danger of
cancellation.  If the space station was cancelled, and if the Congress
of Nations accepted Luthor's proposal for 'Space Station Luthor', then
he stood to make money out of it.  A lot of it.  Could it be possible
that Luthor had a hand in the destruction of the Messenger, to force
the Congress of Nations to cancel Prometheus?

Oh, that was completely crazy!  Wasn't it?  Lois had a strong
reporter's intuition about things, and in too many instances her
hunches were dead on.  Her last story on the million-dollar car theft
ring was proof of that.  Something about Lex Luthor didn't add up.
She knew that Luthor was ruthless -- a person doesn't become the third
richest man in the world by being a Boy Scout.  But would he resort to
sabotage to get his way?  Could he be involved?

With a moan, Lois sat back in her sofa.  She was doing it again, she
realized.  She was ignoring her personal problems by thinking about
her work.  And this was a problem she couldn't ignore.  Oh Lord, what
was she going to do?

It was no question that Lois would have to tell John.  She owed him
that much.  But John was out of town, at his grandmother's funeral.
It wouldn't be nice for her to give him the 'Dear John' routine over
the phone.  It would be better to wait until John returned to
Metropolis Saturday night.  So that gave her less than 48 hours.  But
was Lois waiting because she felt John deserved better by talking to
him in person, or was she waiting because she wanted to stall for
time?  "Heck if I know!"

And what about Clark?  Tomorrow was Friday, and most definitely they
would have to continue the investigation on the Messenger explosion.
Together.  Suddenly, an idea came to her.  Lois had found out
yesterday that EPRAD was planning to move the wreckage into one of the
hangars tomorrow morning, but she didn't have a chance to tell Clark
yet.  Well, she could 'forget' to tell him, and visit EPRAD tomorrow
morning by herself.  Sounded like a good idea.

Lois realized what she was doing, and sighed.  *Now* she was stalling.
But it was late, and she had an early day tomorrow.  Wobbly, she stood
up, and made her way to the bedroom.  She passed the vanity table on
her way to the bedroom closet, and noticed her reflection on the
mirror.  Her mascara was ruined from the tears, and her lipstick was
smudged from the kiss.  The *incredible* kiss.  Wordlessly she touched
her lips with her fingers.  It was such a powerful kiss, a kiss in
that *both* partners had taken part.  Never had she thought that a
kiss could change anything.  But this one had.

And it scared her.

* * * * * * * *

[Somewhere in Metropolis]

A man and a woman were sitting in the living room of their house,
drinking coffee.

"So what do you think, Darling?" he asked.

"I still think it's unusual, Angel," she answered.  Then she grimaced
at coffee, and, reaching forward, spooned some more sugar into her cup
and started stirring.  "This has got to be the most difficult
assignment he has given us!"

"You're correct as always, heart of my heart," he said as he helped
himself to some more coffee.  "But still, this was what *he* wanted,
so we should do it if we want to stay on his good side."

"Of course," she agreed.  In fact the two of them always agreed.  They
never fought, and they thought exactly alike.  They simply adored each
other.

"Any ideas on how we're going to do this?" he asked.

"Not yet," she admitted.  "But if we make sure to take the initiative
then we'll be fine.  I'm sure of it, my love."  They sat in silence
for a few moments, enjoying each other's company and sipping their
coffee.

"Can you believe that I still remember *that* day?" he asked, giving
her a knowing smile.

There was that smile of his, she noticed.  The smile that always made
her melt.  With a loving smile of her own, she said softly, "I do,
too."  She then set her coffee cup on the table and snuggled closer to
him.  "Have I told you lately that I love you, my pet?"

"Not in the last thirty seconds, light of my life, and that's thirty
seconds too long," he remarked.  He too placed his coffee cup on the
table and took her into his arms.

"Why don't I show you instead, lover man?" she purred, pulling his
face towards hers.  The rest of breakfast was quickly forgotten as
they concentrated on each other.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Daily Planet Building]
[Friday, August 20, 1993, 8:16 A.M.]

Clark was a little angry with himself, and a little shaken, as he
waited for the elevator to take him to the newsroom.  He was angry
because today was only his third day at the Daily Planet, and he was
late to work.  Fifteen minutes and 57 seconds late, to be exact.  The
reason he was late was also the reason why he was feeling shaken.

For the first time in his life, Clark had overslept.  In his distress
over what had happened the previous evening, he had forgotten to set
the alarm.  He also had not slept well, obsessing on what was going to
happen with him and Lois.  Despite oversleeping, he, with his powers,
could have still made it to the Planet with time to spare.  But then
there was that manhole incident.

Clark had been walking to the Planet (he had flown part of the way to
save time) when there was an explosion underground, beneath the
sidewalk, trapping a worker in the manhole in the process.  Slipping
away from the crowd, he had went to another manhole, had checked to
see if anyone else was watching, and had quickly went down.  Within
seconds, he was able to free the trapped worker underground and simply
handed him over to the other worker standing above.

He had then made his way back to the manhole slipped out.  He had
walked away from the crowd, but then his super-hearing had kicked in.
He had heard the man say, "That man... that man saved me, that man..."
Glancing towards the scene, Clark had found to his horror that the
injured man was looking at him and gesturing wildly towards him.
Before everyone else turned to look at Clark, he was gone in a flash.
He had ducked into a nearby alley to calm down.

He had dangerously came close to giving his secret away.  He should
have known better than to pull a stunt like that.  What if someone had
videotaped the incident, for goodness sake?  If the tape became
public, how would he explain himself?  His chance for a normal life
would be completely ruined, and the lives of Joan and his parents
would drastically change.  No longer would they have any privacy.

But what would the alternative have been?  A man would have died,
trapped in a manhole, had Clark not saved him.  Stuffing his hands
into his pockets, he sighed.  It was starting to get real difficult to
hide his true self.  How long would he have to do this, the hiding,
the controlling of his powers?  He was fortunate that he didn't have
to hide in front of his parents or in front of Joan.  There had to be
a way, though, that he could be Clark Kent and still use what he'd
been given to do some good.

He had then looked at his watch, and had found to his dismay that he
was late.  Looking around, he had also found that in his haste, the
'nearest alley' in which he had ducked was in fact twenty blocks away
from the manhole, which was right near the Daily Planet building.
Again he had to combine flying and speed walking to get to his
destination.

The elevator dinged, bringing Clark back to the present.  'Okay, here
goes nothing,' Clark thought, as the elevators opened to the Daily
Planet newsroom.  Hesitantly he walked into the room, feeling as if he
was dragging himself with every step, not knowing how Lois would greet
him when she saw him.  Making his way down the ramp, he passed Lois'
desk, only to stop and stare at it.

Lois wasn't there.

For a split second Clark felt relieved that he didn't have to face
Lois just yet.  But that feeling of elation quickly eroded.  She might
have been somewhere else in the newsroom, or she might be in the
ladies room.  With a start, Clark realized that he was babbling in his
head.  He groaned inwardly.  There was no choice in the matter; he and
Lois *had* to talk about last night.  Before he could go look for
Lois, he saw Jimmy Olsen walking towards him.

"Morning, C.K.," Jimmy greeted Clark cheerfully.

"Hey," Clark said, but then noticed that Jimmy was on his way out.
"Where're you off to?"

"Lois sent me to pick up that report from Platt," Jimmy answered.  "He
called this morning, said he hopes we can read it.  She also told me
to take a copy over to my friends at S.T.A.R. Labs to analyze."

"So Lois is here, then?" Clark asked nervously.

"She was.  You just missed her; she left saying something about going
back to EPRAD.  I don't why she left alone, though.  I thought you
were working with her on this story?"

"I was."  Clark then quickly corrected himself.  "I mean I am.  She
didn't tell me about going back to EPRAD."

"Lois must have 'forgotten'," Jimmy remarked, emphasizing on the last
word.  "That's what the Chief thought, and he's not pleased."  Then he
noticed Clark's appearance and pointed at the dusty jacket.  "What
happened to your suit?"

"Don't ask," Clark replied flatly, not wanting to explain to anyone
what had happened.  Then out of a corner of his eye, he saw that the
elevator doors were opening.  Gesturing towards them, he said to
Jimmy, "See you later."  After watching Jimmy run to the elevators,
Clark turned and walked to the men's room.  He definitely did not want
to explain his disheveled appearance to Mr. White.

For the next hour and a half Clark alternated between working at his
desk and poking around the Research department.  After cleaning
himself up the best he could, Mr. White came up to him and ordered him
to work on the 'Adopted Kids Looking for Their Birth Parents' story
since it was obvious that Lois had abandoned Clark for the moment.
Clark was only too happy to oblige.

Clark had been right from before; it was an easy story to do.  Search
for roots, emotional roller coaster, unrealistic expectations, and
tear-jerking reconciliations.  It was taking him longer than expected
because Clark was making extra sure not to use his powers, now that he
was feeling a little more paranoid after the manhole incident.  He had
just finished a draft of the story, and was about to run the spell
check when he heard the elevator ding once more.

* * * * * * * *

After prolonging it as long as she could, Lois finally returned to the
Planet.  The visit to EPRAD was didn't shed any light on her
investigation.  She had hoped that putting the conversation off would
give her time to think about what she would say, but the only thing
she could think about was remember how wonderful it had felt when
Clark kissed her.  She walked down the ramp towards her desk, and
glancing up, she saw Clark rising from his desk.  Immediately she
tensed, and avoided his eyes, as she reached her desk and turned on
her computer.  Then she finally felt his presence.  Taking a deep
breath, she looked up.

Clark simply stood there, in front of Lois, and for a moment he did
not say anything.  He looked very uncomfortable.  Lois sighed and
looked away.  She knew that this conversation had to take place.  But
someone had to initiate it.

Finally, Clark cleared his throat and said softly, "Good morning,
Lois."

For a split second Lois felt warm.  The way Clark said "Good morning"
sounded so nice.  So caring.  So loving...  She immediately tried to
clear her head.  Unfortunately, just the mere presence of that man
made her do something that she had always felt embarrassed doing.  She
began to babble.

"Maybe for you, I've been at it for hours," Lois started, removing her
jacket.  "I went back to EPRAD to follow the truck with the wreckage
of the Messenger inside.  They brought it into this hangar.  I tried
to get in but your friend, Dr. Baines, threw me out."  Then Lois
reached into her bag and pulled out some folders.  "And so far, I must
have called fifty ex-employees that worked at EPRAD the same time
Platt did.  None of them are talking.  I don't know, maybe there's
nothing to talk about."  She shrugged and sat down at her desk, still
avoiding his eyes.

Clark blinked.  Well, at least he knew why Lois visited EPRAD this
morning: to temporarily avoid him.  He could forgive her for not
letting him tag along, for he probably would have done the same.

It was also obvious that Lois was not ready to talk about last night.
Clark also felt like slapping himself; he should have known better
than to want to talk about this at work.  Talking about personal
matters at work?  Especially for a person who had been working for
only two days?  Bad idea.  Instead he asked, "So what do we do now?"

But Lois started to panic.  What did Clark mean by that question?
What should they do about the story, or what should they do about last
night?  Lois took a deep breath.  Of course he meant the story.  She
scolded herself for even thinking otherwise and forced herself to
relax.

"Well, first we piece together Platt's report, if that's possible,"
Lois answered in a nonchalant manner.  "Then we try and figure out a
way to prove that Dr. Baines got a copy of it.  And if there's any
written evidence that Platt found coolant devices and Baines ignored
it...  Well, I hope you didn't make dinner plans," she finished.
Right away she wanted to cover her mouth.  What on earth made her ask
about *dinner plans*?

At first Clark did not answer.  He tried not to give her a remorseful
look.  As it turned out, he *did* have plans this evening; Clark had
wanted to visit his parents and talk about the problem sitting in
front of him.  But the Messenger investigation was important.  Lois
and Clark had to stop whoever was behind this from further sabotaging
the Prometheus project.  Making his decision, he sat down on the chair
besides Lois' desk and replied, "I am all yours."  He gave her a brief
and sad smile.

Lois smiled sadly at Clark in return, knowing that the talk was to be
postponed again.

* * * * * * * *

[6:44 P.M.]

Torture.  Pure, unadulterated torture.

Clark was starting to wonder if this was how it was like to be
tortured, like a prisoner of war.  He could not remember experiencing
pain in his life, but what he was feeling now was close.  For the past
two hours, he and Lois had been going through the piles of paper that
was called Dr. Platt's report.  This 'report' consisted of scribbled
notes of different shapes and sizes, some of which may had been
originally intended for the recycling bin (for they were crumpled).
Also, the entire 'report' was completely unorganized.  But this mess
explained why the Messenger exploded Wednesday, so he and Lois had
begun going through everything.

He quickly glanced at the woman sitting next to him, and noticed that
she was deep in concentration.  It looked as if Lois was able to set
aside the events of the previous evening and focus on the story.  Of
course, Lois was a veteran in her field, so it probably wasn't hard
for her to focus and to be a professional.  Here was yet another trait
that he admired in Lois Lane.  Clark held back a sigh as he looked at
the notes in front of him.

Little did he know that Lois was in reality a bundle of nerves.  For
now, it seemed that no one from the Planet had witnessed her appalling
behavior last night.  Yes, she was concentrating on the work in front
of her, but what was the alternative?  She could think about how she
had betrayed John, and about the daunting task she had in telling him.
Or she could talk to Clark about what happened Thursday night.  Or
heaven forbid, she and Clark could end up reenacting the events of
last night if they weren't careful.  Lois looked around and realized
that it was getting late, and that there were very few people in the
newsroom.

Yes, Lois was concentrating on the work in front of her, but she would
rather be doing something else instead.  The stuff that Jimmy had
brought from Dr. Platt was really a mess.  And time wasn't a luxury
that she and Clark could afford.  If her memory served, the colonist's
launch was scheduled for early next week.  They had to figure this out
by then.  Why hadn't Dr. Platt kept a copy of the report?  Why was it
up to her and Clark to sort it all out?  And why was her stomach
grumbling?

A quick look at her watch answered her last question.  When was the
last time she had eaten?  Lois blew a loose strand of hair from her
face and stuck her pencil over her ear.  Finally she spoke up.  "This
is impossible," she said with a sigh. "Nothing matches, no dates...
We're never going to get through this.  Ugh, and I'm starving!"  She
dropped the batch of papers she was holding with a 'plop' on her desk.
"Wish I knew some good Chinese take-out..." Lois added wistfully.

Clark had to stop himself from jumping up from his seat.  Here it was,
an opportunity to take a break, an opportunity to put a little
distance between himself and Lois.  He tried to sound casual.  "I know
a place," he said.  He tried to get up slowly and grabbed his jacket.
"I'll be right back."

Lois could tell, however, how eager Clark was to get away for the
moment.  It didn't prevent her throwing a question at him though.
"Don't you want to know what I want?"

"I'll bring an assortment," he said over his shoulder as he left the
newsroom.  Lois said a silent prayer of thanks, and went back to work.

* * * * * * * *

Clark used a bit of speed to run up the stairs to the roof of the
Daily Planet building.  After a quick check to see that no one was
watching, he launched himself into the air.  While flying was a very
efficient means of travel for him, it had also given him chances to
clear his head.  He did know an excellent place to get Chinese food.
And he did need a breather from the newsroom that, even though it was
a large room, was suffocating him.  And he really needed to talk to
Lois.

Clark sighed.  Here he was, possibly the strongest being on earth.  As
far as he knew, he could not get hurt physically.  But it was the
words, the reactions, and the other person's feelings, that could
pierce his heart.  He knew that once he and Lois talked she would end
up hating him.  Of course, he was hating himself at the moment.  He
also knew that once Joan found out that he would be alone again.  And
being alone, after experiencing what it was like to have someone,
would be unbearable.

Clark mentally reviewed what had happened this week.  His reaction to
when he had met Lois four days ago was of awe.  He had looked up old
articles that she had written on Tuesday.  He had tried more than once
to impress her.  He had caught himself daydreaming about her during
work and while in his hotel room.  He had trouble sleeping lately,
which was very unusual for a guy who didn't need more than three hours
of sleep a night.  He almost floated when he had seen her in that
midnight blue gown at the White Orchid Ball.  And of course, he and
Lois had been kissing last night like two people madly in love.

Madly in love...?  Clark stopped in mid-flight and floated in the air.
'Did I just think that?' he asked himself.

Was it possible?  Since Clark had never been in love before, how could
he tell if he was in love now?  He had read books about it, and
according to them, he seemed to be having some of the symptoms.  Oh,
how he wished he was in Smallville now, enjoying Mom's home cooking
and talking to his parents about his dilemma!

The thought of food brought him back to reality, as he almost forgot
why he was flying.  Glancing downwards, he found to his relief that he
didn't pass his destination.  With a burst of speed, he dropped
altitude and landed in a remote field just outside of Shanghai, China.
A few minutes later, he was again airborne, carrying a couple of
bamboo containers.

As he flew eastward, the more Clark thought about it, the more it
seemed plausible that he was in love.  And the more plausible it
seemed, the more upset he became.  Lois already had a boyfriend, and
from what he could tell, she was happy with him.  He had already come
between them last night, and he wouldn't dare do that again.  Besides,
there was no way Lois could feel the same way now, as she probably
hated him.  'You already said that,' he thought grimly.  Glancing
downward again, he noticed that the waters of the Pacific Ocean were
more or less calm.  Where Clark was flying to was anything but that.

* * * * * * * *

Lois didn't get very far with her work after Clark left, for her phone
rang a minute later.  Annoyed, she pounced on the receiver.  "Lois
Lane," she barked.

"Catch you at a bad time, Lois?"

"John!" she yelped.  Yes, she wanted to say.  This would be the worse
possible time to talk to him.  But evidently her mouth had other
ideas.  "I missed you."  She... what?

"Wish I could believe that," John said.

Oh, God!  What did he just say!?!?  Okay, now was the time to panic.
Lois' mind raced!  Did John know what she had done last night?  Taking
a deep breath, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Lois, you're not home, aren't you?  You're at the Planet.  And
it's late, which means you're hard at work on a story.  If you're
thinking about me instead of your story then something's wrong here,"
John chuckled.

Normally Lois would laugh at the joke, too, but that was before last
night.  "Very funny," she deadpanned.

"Seriously, though, did I catch you at a bad time?" John asked.

Lois calmed herself down.  There was no reason to be angry with John
Bialzek at the moment.  On the contrary, it was he who should be angry
with her, once she told him what she had done...  "Yeah," she sighed.
"Clark and I are working on the Messenger story..."  Lois winced,
realizing that she had just mentioned Clark's name.

Unfortunately, John caught on her slip.  "Clark?  Who's he?  The new
reporter?"

"Who, Clark?" Lois squeaked.  "I told you about Clark, remember?  He
was the guy Perry interviewed earlier this week.  Perry assigned Clark
to me for the Messenger story."

"Your boss 'assigned' him to you?" John inquired.  "I guess you
weren't thrilled with the idea."

"Definitely not," Lois replied.  "But there was no one else, and I
couldn't possibly do this story alone."

"Yeah, that would certainly put a cramp on our relationship," John
agreed.  In a teasing voice, he asked, "Should I be jealous?"

Lois gulped.  For a moment she contemplated telling him right now,
telling him the truth and asking for his forgiveness.  But that wasn't
the way she wanted to tell him, on the phone, with him thousands of
miles away.  No, it would be cowardly.  Face to face was better.  So
Lois decided to do the more cowardly thing: lie.  "Err, no.  He's just
working for me."

"Working for you, huh?" John quipped, with laughter in his voice.
Anticipating some kind of retort from Lois, he continued.  "Oh, the
reason I was calling you.  I'm taking an earlier flight.  Instead of
tomorrow night, I'm coming in tomorrow afternoon.  Estimated arrival
time from Dallas: 3:40 P.M., your time."

"That's great," Lois said, though not enthusiastically.  What was
wrong with her?  "I'm planning on coming in tomorrow, so I'll get off
early to pick you up."

"No, no, no," John argued.  "I had a feeling you would be working,
being on the Messenger story and all.  You have to get to the bottom
of this, Lois.  I know you want to.  I'll get a cab."

"All right," Lois relented.  "But let's go somewhere for dinner,
okay?"

"Deal," John said.  After they said their good-byes, Lois' stomach
grumbled again, reminding her of the necessity of getting fed tonight.
Oh well, it should take Clark a while, so she'll just have to wait.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) for Lois, she didn't have to wait
long.  She barely picked up one of the scribbled notes of paper that
she was looking at when Clark set down a couple of bamboo containers
of Chinese food.  "That was quick," Lois remarked.

"I took a short cut," Clark offered.

"And still hot!" Lois said approvingly.  She took off the lid on one
of the containers and helped herself.  "Oh!" she cried, after taking a
bite.  "This is out of this world!"  Where *did* he get this?  How was
it possible for a guy who's been in Metropolis for only a short while
(only a couple of weeks, she now recalled) to find good Chinese
takeout?  She didn't recall any of the other places nearby the Planet
that served food this good.  Lois made a mental note to ask him about
it later.

After finishing their meal, both Lois and Clark took upon the task of
opening their fortune cookies.  Lois opened hers first and frowned.
"It's in Chinese!" she said, puzzled.

Clark tried not to groan.  Of course it was in Chinese.  'Really,
Kent, you've got to do better hiding yourself,' he thought.  He took
Lois' fortune and glanced at it.

Lois' eyes widened.  "Oh, don't tell me that you read..." she started,
with disbelief in her voice.

"'A good horse is like a member of the family'," he translated, and
handed the fortune back.

"I hate that!  That is not a fortune!" Lois complained.  Clark could
only chuckle as he tried discreetly to put his fortune in his pocket.

Lois, however, noticed, and was about to comment, when her eyes met
his.  Again, their eyes locked, and again, time stood still around
them.  'No!' she mentally screamed.  'Not again!'  She jerked her eyes
away from Clark's and stumbled out of her chair.  Clark reached over,
ready to steady her, but Lois swatted his arm away and took a step
backwards, away from him.  "We have to talk," she said, shakily.

"You're right," Clark sighed.

Lois began pacing back and forth. "What happened last night... I mean,
what we did... it was a mistake.  It was unforgivable."

Clark's heart sank.  She was completely right.  It was all his fault,
and she hated him now. "I'm so sorry," he said earnestly.

Not really listening, Lois continued her tirade.  "Just shameful," she
declared.

"I'm really sorry," he repeated.

Clark's word's finally registered into Lois' consciousness.  What was
*he* apologizing for?  "What?  No, not you, me!  I kissed you last
night.  How could I kiss you?"

Now it was Clark's turn to be confused.  "No Lois, *I* kissed *you*."

Lois stopped pacing.  "No, *I* kissed *you*," she insisted.

"No, believe me," Clark assured her, "I..."

"Okay, fine," Lois cut him off.  "We kissed each other.  Look, Clark,
you're a darned nice guy, and attractive to boot.  But I'm seeing
someone right now, and so are you, and what we did was so wrong, and
you have to understand that."

"Yes, understood completely.  I think you're attractive too, and
there's this weird chemistry between you and I that I don't really
understand.  But I promise it'll never, ever, ever, *ever* happen
again," Clark said, feeling very much relieved.  So Lois didn't hate
him; instead, she was as remorseful as he was.  A prospect for the two
of them becoming friends would be very nice, indeed.  There was,
however, one issue left to be discussed...  "Do you think we can
continue working together?" he asked.

"We have to," Lois said firmly.  "We're in too deep with the Messenger
story.  And as much as I hate to admit it..." she let out a dry
chuckle.  "... we do work well together.  And something tells me you
want to get to the bottom of this as much as I do."

"Yeah, I do," Clark admitted.  "I guess you never had a partner
before, huh?"

"No, I'd always worked alone.  Except once."  There was no way Lois
was going to tell Clark about her embarrassing encounter with Claude.
"It was easier."

Clark nodded in understanding, and extended his hand.  "Friends?"

Lois smiled, feeling that the situation was now under control.  She
was about to take his hand when she remembered something.  Reaching
out with both hands, she took his hand into her right and used her
left to pat Clark's hand, just like Perry did.  "Don't want to get my
hand crushed," she explained.  Clark could only blush in
embarrassment.  He really needed to watch his grip.

"Okay, serious talk over," Lois announced.  "Come on, let's go find
Platt.  Maybe he can help us decipher this."  She indicated the mess
of papers on her desk.  Quickly Clark grabbed his jacket and followed
her out of the newsroom.  Neither of them noticed a man and a woman,
hiding in a darkened area of the newsroom, watching them intently.

* * * * * * * *

[Somewhere in the streets of Metropolis]

It was a dark and stormy night.  Clark was walking towards his hotel
room, and he paid no attention to the fact that the rain was soaking
his clothes.  He guessed it was one of the advantages of being
different, that he could never catch a cold.  Clark had been walking
for hours, not really caring where he was going.  All he knew was that
he was sad, and he needed some time alone to think.

His wondering around had taken him to various places in the city,
whether it was the through the industrial areas, the suburbs, or the
red-light district.  (He had ended up at the latter completely by
accident.)  It was the walks through the residential areas, however,
that proved most interesting.  He had walked thought those areas
earlier in the evening, when people were still awake, yet relaxing
after a long day at work.

On one such street was a row of townhouses, each with steps to the
front door.  Every house Clark had passed, he had glanced through a
lit window on the ground floor.  He had always seen people through the
windows.  The people had been doing different things, but there was
something similar about all of them.  He had seen a man and a woman
sharing a candlelight dinner.  He had seen a man and a woman sitting
on a sofa in the living room, watching TV.  He had seen a man and a
woman playing Mozart on the piano together.  He had even seen a man
and a woman making out on a couch -- Clark had to walk more quickly
than usual to pass that house.

By now Clark reached the street where his hotel was, and he stopped.
Did he really see what he had seen, or was it a series of
hallucinations?  Regardless of whether or not the images were real,
Clark knew that they were pictures of what he wanted in life.  He
wanted to find a woman with whom he could share a romantic candlelight
dinner.  He wanted to find a woman with whom he could cuddle while
they watched the evening news.  He wanted to find a woman with whom he
could play musical duets -- he could get by on the piano.  He also
wanted to find a woman with whom he could make love all night... with
the window curtains drawn, of course.

The vignettes that had been presented to Clark while he had been
walking by the townhouses had saddened him greatly.  Would he ever
find a woman to share everything with?  *Could* he ever find such a
woman?  Those scenes portrayed people doing normal things, and it was
especially important for Clark, who always wanted to be normal,
despite his powers.  Usually he tried not to let these scenes affect
him, but there was something about them on this night, these scenes of
love, which touched him to the core.

Clark resumed walking, and within a few seconds he reached the
entrance to the hotel.  Passing through the small corridor, he noticed
that someone was in the lobby.  He looked closer, and found that it
was Lois.

Lois?  What was she doing here?  Especially at this time of night?  He
noticed the wet hair, the clothes that were soaked.  This must have
meant that she had come in not too long ago.  Then she began to speak,
with determination and animation.  Clark wasn't really paying
attention to what she was saying, because her facial expressions were
telling him the same thing.  The raindrops that had sprinkled her face
moments ago were now replaced by her tears.  She was pleading for him
not to leave her, giving reasons why he couldn't, and showing him how
it would affect her.  Then she stopped talking, and in one, two, and
three steps, Lois came up to him, threw her arms around his neck, and
kissed him with such intensity that it left Clark momentarily
breathless.

The kisses were full of love, full of promise, and Clark could do
nothing but kiss her back with such passion that he had never known
existed.  Lightening painted the sky, and thunder played on like
kettledrums in Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony, but inside the lobby
of Hotel Apollo was a storm of a different nature, a storm that was
finally out in the open after so long.  Steam arose from their bodies
as they continued kissing, again oblivious to everything around them.
Lightening struck, the thunder roared again, and...

... the alarm clock went off.  Disoriented, Clark reached out to hit
the snooze button.  Too late, his hand slammed down and smashed the
alarm clock into small pieces.  He let out a loud groan.  That was the
third time already that he had broken his alarm clock.  Perhaps he
should consider moving it to the other side of the room where he
wouldn't be able to reach it.

He sat up, and then floated a couple of feet above the bed.  He now
knew that he was dreaming before.  And what a dream!  Never had he had
a dream that was so vivid, so real.  He could remember everything, the
endless walking down the city streets, the rain pattering on his back,
the kiss...

The kiss... the most wonderful and the most disturbing part of Clark's
dream.  Was this dream telling him something?  Or was this a fantasy
of his, something that he had never really had before?  He glanced
downwards, realizing that the kiss was still affecting him physically.
Blushing furiously, he floated to the floor and walked towards the
bathroom.  A very cold shower would be a good idea right now.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Hotel Apollo]
[Saturday, August 21, 1993, 8:35 A.M.]

It wasn't until Clark finished his shower that the events of the
previous evening came roaring back.  After the 'talk,' Lois had
decided to visit Dr. Platt again.  What they had not expected to find
was water all over the floor and Dr. Platt electrocuted.  Clark had
been totally despondent and had been riddled with guilt while the
police had come and gone.  Dr. Platt's death had been ruled a suicide,
much to his and Lois' disbelief.  And when one of the police officers
had the gall to make a joke about the situation, it was just too much.

Clark glanced at his watch on the table.  Lois would be coming to pick
him up in less than half an hour.  There was enough time for a quick
phone call.  He really didn't want to call Joan in the morning, even
though it was almost nine, when most of Metropolis was up and about.
She was still sick with the flu, and she needed her rest.  But he
hadn't spoken to her since Thursday night, before the ball, and he
knew very well why.  He grabbed a quarter from the pile of change on
the table and fed it into the phone's coin slot.

"Hello?" said a groggy sounding Joan.

"Joan, it's me."

"Hey stranger," she greeted him softly.  "Long time no hear."

"Yeah, I've been busy," Clark said.  Well, that much was true.
"Something happened last night..."  Right then Joan knew that
something was wrong.  She listened as Clark told her about the manhole
incident and the death of Dr. Samuel Platt.

"Why do you think it's your fault?" Joan asked, when Clark had
finished.

"I should've known. I should have protected him," he insisted.

"How?"

"I don't know, but I should have done something," he said helplessly.

"Sometimes there's nothing that you can do," Joan said gently.  "If
you could've helped him, you would have.  You are only one man, Clark,
and you can't be everywhere at once to use your powers."

Clark sighed.  Of course Joan was right, but it did not make Dr.
Platt's death any easier to deal with.

"Speaking of powers," she continued, "saving that worker trapped in
the manhole was very risky.  What would have happened if anyone saw
you?"

"I don't think anyone did, but you're right.  I was yards away when he
pointed to me.  I'm sure nobody believed him, but..."

"I know, Clark, you couldn't let the man die," Joan finished, and then
sneezed.  "You know, Clark, I think something needs to be done here.
It's obvious you want to help people, but you don't want them to know
that it was Clark Kent making the rescues."  Suddenly a thought came
to her.  "That's it!  I have an idea.  Maybe it's crazy, but anyway,
how about you wearing an outfit?"

Clark wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.  "Outfit?" he repeated.

"Yeah, you know, like a disguise!  You could wear it when things like
that explosion happen," Joan explained.  "Oh, this sounds really good!
Ask your mom; see if her sewing machine's still working.  She could
probably make you a good outfit.  I would, but I'm afraid I'm not good
at that sort of thing."  She laughed quietly, and then let out a loud
cough.

Clark smiled into the phone.  Joan was *really* resourceful.  He was
lucky that she had came into his life.  But then he thought about Lois
and felt total despair.  He should tell Joan now, tell her everything.
"Joan," he started, "I have to tell you something..."

"What is it, Clark?" she asked expectantly.

But of course Clark couldn't do tell her about what he had done.  Not
on the phone -- it would be very cowardly.  And not while she was
still sick -- that would be like rubbing salt into her wounds.  "I...
I, um, think you're brilliant.  Your idea sounds brilliant."
'*Coward.*'

There was a short pause, but then Joan responded, "Thank you, Clark.
I try."  She paused to cough again.  "Listen," she said softly, "why
don't you come over tonight?  I haven't seen you since Wednesday you
know."

Clark grimaced.  Yes, he hadn't seen her since Wednesday.  And yes,
that was an excellent idea.  He would go see her tonight, and tell
her.  He really shouldn't let the fact that Joan was sick affect his
decision -- to delay telling her would only hurt her more.  "That's a
great idea, Joan.  I..."

Clark was interrupted by a knock on his door.  "Oh, Joan, I gotta go,
Lois is here."

"Lois?" Joan asked, sounding very curious.

"Yeah, she wants me to work with her on the Messenger story today,
even though it's Saturday," Clark explained, hoping that Joan wouldn't
at the moment read anything more into it.

"Oh," Joan said simply.  "Go get the people responsible, okay?  I'll
see you later."

"Right, see you."  As Clark hung up, there was another knock on his
door.  Hurriedly, Clark went to the door, grabbing his glasses along
the way.  He opened the door quickly, forgetting about his appearance.

Lois took one look at Clark and gulped.

* * * * * * * *

[9:00 A.M.]

Lois was anxious in getting on with the Messenger investigation today.
By now it had been three days since the Messenger had exploded, and
she was beginning to worry.  Each passing day meant that the chance
the Daily Planet was going to get scooped would increase.  And there
was no way that she was going let that happen!

She had little trouble in finding the Hotel Apollo.  Lois was
surprised, however, that Clark had been staying there the past couple
of weeks.  She knew that she wouldn't consider living in this area, as
it wasn't in the safest part of town.  But was Joan staying with him?
No, Lois concluded, she couldn't be; if Lois wouldn't, why would Joan?
But if she was Clark's girlfriend, wouldn't they be living together?

Lois jerked her head upwards when she realized what she was thinking.
Why was she so curious about Clark and Joan's relationship?  It was
certainly none of her business!  With a sigh, she knocked on the door
to Clark's room and tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.  After a
few moments, the door opened.

'Oh my!'

There stood a man wearing nothing but a towel... check that, he was
wearing glasses too.  But Lois wasn't paying attention.  Her eyes were
glued to Clark's bare chest.  The story was forgotten, the concern for
her safety was forgotten, and the curiosity about Clark and Joan's
relationship was forgotten.  All she could think about was the fact
that the Greek god Apollo was standing before her, naked for her to
see.  Well, almost naked.

'*Oh my!*'

Clark was very, um, well, just darn gorgeous!  She definitely had to
revise her opinion on country hacks like him.  Were there others where
Clark came from?  Where was it, Kansas, right?  'Darn it, I'm babbling
in my head again!' she thought.  A sigh escaped Lois' lips as she
continued to stare unabashed at Clark's chest.  Obviously Clark had
just come out of the shower.  She watched with interest as droplets of
water ran down his chest to the towel below.  Right now she would like
nothing more than to feel the smoothness of Clark's chest, to feel the
taut muscles everywhere, to feel his arms around her as he kissed her
passionately...

Lois then realized what she was thinking and right away she looked up.
She was doing it again, treading into dangerous territory.  She tried
to hide her blush as she concentrated on Clark's face.  Then she
noticed a couple of things that were interesting.  First off was the
glasses.  They really looked out of place with the rest of the package
that was called Clark Kent, especially with a body like his.  Second
was Clark's expression.  He was now looking like a deer frozen in the
headlights of an oncoming car.

It finally occurred to her that staring at him was making him
uncomfortable.  She felt it was prudent to say something.  "I said
nine, I thought you'd be naked," she said.  Oh no, what did she just
say?  Quickly she corrected herself.  "Err, ready."  She tried to look
unaffected by Clark's appearance.

She failed, but Clark didn't notice.  He meanwhile wanted to run to
the nearest rock and hide under it for all eternity.  He had forgotten
that he had been in the shower, and he had just answered the door
looking like this.  What had he been thinking?  He felt so embarrassed
that he didn't even hear what Lois had said.  Finally, he took a step
backwards.  In a clear and even voice he said, "I was on the phone.
I'll be out in a jiff."  Then he all but ran to the bathroom and
closed the door.

Lois, on her part, quickly entered Clark's room to watch his
retreating back.  Closing the door behind her, she let out another
sigh.  Such a beautiful body...  If she wasn't careful, she was going
to swoon.  Then she let out a soft groan and restrained herself from
hitting her head against the wall.  'Clark Kent is *taken*, Lane.  T,
A, K, E, N, taken.'  Lois glanced at the bathroom door.  'So what if
Clark has a body to die for?  There's more to a man than his looks,
you know!'  Again she glanced at the bathroom door.  Behind that door
was a man who was getting dressed.  A man who would have to remove his
towel before putting on his clothes.  A man.  Who looked like the
Greek god Apollo.  With *no* clothes on.

Suddenly the room felt very warm.  Of course, it was mid-August, and
the heat wave was still in full force, even at nine in the morning,
but Lois felt like she was getting a temperature.  A drink, that's
what she needed.  Suddenly Lois' mouth felt dry.  'Yes, that's a good
idea.  Let's look for something to drink, something to do to keep my
mind off him and his muscular body...'

Armed now with a sense of purpose, Lois made a beeline for the
kitchenette.  She opened one of the cupboard doors, intending to find
a glass, but what she saw stopped her short.

"What the...?"

The cupboard was full of food.  Junk food.  What were they doing
*here*?  Quickly Lois considered the possibilities.  Clark wasn't
staying with Joan, for there was nothing in this dingy room that
suggested that a woman was staying here.  Was Clark staying with a
friend?  She looked around the room.  She could only find one single
bed.  No, Clark was staying in this hotel room alone.  So if all this
stuff were his, how could he be eating it and still look so good?  How
was it possible?  Briefly Lois recalled the towel-clad body, with the
muscular chest and the *flat* stomach.  Yes, her memory wasn't
deceiving her.  Clark's stomach was flat.  This didn't make any sense!

Lois' gaze rested on the kitchen counter.  Next to the sink was a
draining board, and on the draining board was a glass.  She picked it
up and examined it critically, making sure that Clark had in fact
washed it.  Then she went to the refrigerator and opened it.  Her jaw
dropped to the floor.  The refrigerator was full of... no, overflowing
with more junk food.  'How is this possible?' she asked herself again.
'This is so unfair!'

A sound of a door opening behind her interrupted her thoughts.  Lois
turned around to find herself looking at a completely dressed Clark
with his usual suit and tie.  How did he get dressed so fast?  Lois
had always wanted to know everything when she was investigating, and
now, she knew little about Clark Kent, and that was annoying her.

Clark could see Lois looking at him questioningly and wanted to groan.
He had thought that he took longer than usual to dress, because he
first had to calm down after Lois had found him in a towel, and he had
tried on three different suits before deciding on the one he had
wanted to wear.  But evidently, he had still changed too fast, and it
looked as if Lois noticed.  'Good job, Kent, why don't you just tell
her how different you are while you're at it?' he thought.

Even in a suit, Clark still looked very handsome, Lois thought.  But
there was no chance for her to get a drink to cool her off or to calm
her nerves, especially since the man of her dreams, er, the man of her
current distractions, was standing before her.  "We'd, um, better be
going," she faltered.  She tore her eyes away from him and made her
way to the door.

But wait, there was something that she had to know.  Chalk it up again
to her insatiable curiosity.  Before they exited Clark's room, Lois
turned to him and asked abruptly, "So, explain something to me.
You... you... eat like an eight year-old, and you look like Mr.
Hardbody.  What's your secret, and can I have it?"

Oh God!  Did she just call him Mr. Hardbody?  Did she not know the
meaning of the word 'subtle'?  Trying to cover her embarrassment, Lois
gave Clark only milliseconds to respond before shrugging her shoulders
as if to say, 'Never mind.'  Lois stalked out his room, and Clark had
little choice but to follow her.

* * * * * * * *

[Metropolis, Daily Planet Building]
[9:48 A.M.]

Lois let out a frustrated sigh as she spoke to Inspector Bill
Henderson on the speakerphone.  "But Henderson," she said, "if there
were contusions on Dr. Platt's head, then he could've..."

Henderson cut her off.  "Inconclusive.  He could've gotten them last
week.  I'm sorry, but the autopsy result is gonna read, 'suicide'."

"This isn't over," Lois promised.  "I'll call you back."  She broke
their connection and sat back in her chair.

Things were not starting on the right foot this morning.  Lex Luthor
had promised to contact her regarding the interview, but she had
called his office again anyway.  Luthor was extremely busy, one of the
assistants had said.  Someone in the office will call you when he has
something free, the man had said.  Have a nice day.  Ugh, what an
annoying voice!

On the Messenger story, Lois had sent Jimmy yesterday to give a copy
of Dr. Platt's report to S.T.A.R. Labs, and they had said that they
would let her know the results of their findings first thing in the
morning.  Well, it was past 'first thing in the morning' right now and
she had heard nothing yet.  Add to the fact the Henderson wasn't
budging in his finding that Dr. Platt's death was a suicide, and you
have an irritable Lois Lane.

Deciding to take a break, Lois let her thoughts wander to John.  She
didn't know why she was thinking about men at work all of the sudden,
but given her current dilemma, she couldn't help herself.  John had
excused her from meeting him at the airport this afternoon, but there
were plans for dinner tonight.  Plans to ask him how his family was.
Plans to ask him how the funeral went.  Or plans to tell him about her
betrayal.

Lois sighed for the umpteenth time.  How could have she done that to
John, an attractive and a nice man?  He deserved much better than
that, she told herself once again.  It was obvious that he liked her a
lot, and she knew that once he found out that he would be hurt.

But did she love John?  Wait a minute.  Where did that question come
from?  To be quite honest, it was a question that Lois had never asked
herself in the three months that she and John had been dating.

'Well, I like him a lot, and he's a really nice guy.  I respect him
very much for the work he does...'  But that didn't answer the
question.  Did she love him?

'I care for him a lot...'  Come on, Lois, that's not an answer.  '*Do
you love him?*'

'No,' she finally realized.  'I don't love him...'

But could she *learn* to love him?  Lois didn't know the answer.
Maybe it would be possible if Clark hadn't entered the picture.  Why
then, was she hesitating in breaking things off with John?  Maybe it
was because they were good friends as well, and a break-up would end
their friendship.  Maybe it was because Lois would miss John's
company.  Maybe it was because John was safe...

'Safe????  Oh, Lois, what are you doing?'  Lois had always wanted to
find true love, but she wasn't sure if it existed.  If it had existed,
her parents would never have been divorced.  If it had existed, Claude
would never have betrayed her and had stolen her story.  If it had
existed, kissing John wouldn't feel only 'okay'.  But Lois wanted so
much to believe that somewhere out there she would find true love and
happiness.  She didn't want to end up like her heroine in her romance
novel, where the heroine died without ever finding her true love.

The sound of Clark's voice brought Lois back to the present.  "Lois?"
He motioned towards the elevators.  Lois turned, and saw a woman and a
girl in a wheelchair.

"Who's that?" Lois asked.

"It's Mrs. Platt and her daughter, Amy," Clark replied.  Lois got up
and followed Clark to meet the visitors.  She was now back into
reporter mode, but there was one question that she didn't ask herself
when she was thinking about her problems.

Was she falling in love with Clark?

* * * * * * * *

Mrs. Platt and her daughter's visit had left Clark more determined
than ever.  He had promised them that he and Lois would do whatever
they could to get to the bottom of this.  The thought that Mrs. Platt
would live the rest of her life without her husband, and Amy without
her father, saddened him greatly.  He sighed as he sat down at his
desk.

Clark had also been relieved to find out that Mrs. Platt had not left
her husband, that Dr. Platt in fact had sent them away for their
protection.  To be truthful, Clark could not understand why married
couples could fall out of love, get separated, or get divorced.  How
was it that 50% of all marriages ended in divorce?  Marriage was a
lifetime commitment of two people, in good times *and* in bad, in
sickness *and* in health, as long as they *both* should live.  In this
regard Clark agreed with the Catholic Church, which did not recognize
divorce.

Clark's thoughts wondered to his adoptive parents.  They had been
through a lot in over 31 years of marriage.  Whether it was their own
parents' reluctance for them to get married (because of his father's
profession), the years of excellent crops, the years of bad crops, his
mom's infertility, or his growing up with unusual powers, Jonathan and
Martha Kent had endured it all.  In Clark's eyes, *this* was the
perfect marriage, with all the problems, with all the arguments, and
with all the misunderstandings.  Clark above all else wanted to have a
relationship like his parents'.  He knew that marriage takes work on
both sides, and if he should get married, he would do what it took to
keep the love s