Only You: Fantasy
by Margaret Brignell  <brignell@sympatico.ca>
Rated PG
Submitted September 2000
_____________

This is the fifth in a series of fanfics that came out of an idea
by Laurie F.  She liked my Pre-Metropolis Clark stories (The
Rules, The Long Road, and The One) and thought this set would also
make a good story.

In order to fully understand this story, you need to read "Only
You:  If Only", "Only You:  Promise", "Only You: Recall" and "Only
You: Reality" if you have not already done so:)  It might also
help to have seen the episode "Tempus, Anyone?"

I acknowledge that I am just borrowing the characters created for
the television show "Lois and Clark:  The New Adventures of
Superman."  However, the story and additional characters came from
the brain of myself and the people who are kind enough to proof my
work:)  It should be noted that in this story too, the British
spelling prevails:)

I would like to thank my proofers, Laurie F., Lynda L., Lauren W.,
APP, Hazel and Peace for their input and support.

Special thanks to REB in Kansas for local colour, and to Debby S.
for providing a copy of the relevant scripts:) Both helped me make
the story believable:)

Words surrounded by * are emphasized.

*****************************************************************
Previously in "Only You" Clark lost his parents at age ten and
bounced around a variety of foster homes.  Lana Lang is not the
only one who knows the secret of his origins.  Clark recently
discovered his love for Lois Lane who has now confessed she isn't
as good at relationships as he had thought.

The saga continues:

*****************************************************************
Only You: Fantasy
by Margaret Brignell     June 1998 brignell@sympatico.ca
*****************************************************************

Metropolis, New Troy -- June 14, 1997
*************************************

Lois felt dazed and confused.  The last thing she remembered was
being hit on the head.  Now there was a bright light shining into
her closed eyes.  Her body throbbed with pain, and the sound of
someone's maniacal laugh only made the pain worse.

Fingers gripped her jaw. She opened her eyes and glared at the
laughing dentist.  Between clenched teeth she declared, "You're
not going to get away with this."

The dentist laughed again.  "Sure... but it's fun."  He finished
filling her tooth and stepped back away from her, a satisfied grin
on his face.  Leaning forward so that his nose almost touched
hers, he whispered, "Now, my assistants will help you die!"

Lois struggled as a burly guy dressed in camouflage fatigues
pulled her up and out of the chair.  He pushed her in the
direction of the hut door.  The demented dentist laughed
uproariously. "Lois! If I were you I'd run!  Boris here is known
to rip people's arms out if he isn't careful!"

Gulping back a sob, Lois pulled away from Boris and tried to get
to the doorway to make her escape, but she got tangled in the
chair, and then in the hem of her pants and then some loose army
fatigues lying on the dirt floor and just as she finally made it
to the door and freedom, she felt Boris grab her by the throat....

"...It's the Metro Radio Morning Show!  Ladies and gentlemen,
'King of the Airwaves'--Harold Stein!"

Lois jerked to a sitting position and swallowed a scream.

"All right! Very good, very good and at my side is my queen,
Rowena...!"

It was her clock radio.  She was home.  She was in bed.  It was
morning and the sun was struggling to get in between the drawn
curtains.  She breathed in and out, in and out, until the
trembling stopped.  It had only been a dream, a horrible dream.
She took a very deep breath, then swinging her feet over the edge
of the bed, slipped them into her slippers and stood up.  She
crossed the room and shut off the radio on her way to the
bathroom.  The excruciatingly energetic voice was no match for her
mood.

She brushed her hair away from her face, held it in place with a
hair band and started to wash.  Dr. Friskin would be here in less
than an hour for their appointment.  She needed to focus on
getting ready for the interview and then going to work. Pushing
the memory of that ghastly dream into the back corner of her mind,
she concentrated on the task at hand.  As she went through her
morning routine, memories of last night filtered through, blocking
out her uneasiness.

Last night Clark had come and brought her Chinese food...authentic
Chinese food...and they'd talked, and they had kissed.  Lois
smiled at the memory of that kiss.  It had been beautiful.  It had
been the perfect ending to a great evening.  Well, if you ignored
the fact that she'd spilled the beans on her lack of experience.
But all in all, it had been a truly memorable evening.  She'd
opened her childhood memory box and then she had remembered!  It
felt good to not to have those gaping holes in her mind.  She
could hardly wait to let Dr. Friskin know that good news.

She tried calling Clark at home and then at the office, but all
she got was his voice mail.  She wasn't exactly sure what to say,
so she didn't leave a message.  She could talk to him when she got
to work.  Hopefully, by then he would be finished with whatever he
was doing right now.

                          *****

"So what you're telling me, Professor Daitch, is that within six
weeks this asteroid will collide with Earth?"  Clark removed his
eye from the telescope eyepiece.

Professor Daitch was wringing his hands, "Yes, and you're our only
hope for diverting it."

"Pardon me, Professor, but I beg to differ.  There's always the
tactical nuclear option," General Zeitlin interrupted.  "I still
maintain it's our most reliable solution."

The professor and the general had gone through this argument
several times already.  The general wanted to blow up the asteroid
before anyone knew it was coming.  The professor and the
President's secretary wanted Clark to deal with it, with the full
knowledge of the public.

Clark thought that the general wasn't being very realistic about
no-one ever finding out about the danger. Clark knew there were
enough amateur astronomers to discover the asteroid before the
general could 'take care' of the problem, and that would create
world-wide panic.  He turned to the general and said,  "You can't
keep this a secret."

Secretary Cosgrove intervened, "The President *will* tell the
people, but he wants to avoid panic, too. He simply wants to get
you on board before making an announcement."

"I see.  So we're agreed that the nuclear option isn't viable at
this time?"

"Yes.  With something this size, I think there is no military
option."  Cosgrove frowned at the general.  "We've looked into
modifying a rocket, but the President's scientific advisors
believe, at best, it would be a fifty-fifty proposition."

General Zeitlin sputtered.  "I beg to differ!  The military option
is the *only* viable solution!"

Secretary Cosgrove was getting agitated and snatched at Clark's
arm.  "Please say 'yes'!  The country needs your help, Superman.
So does the world."

Clark could also see the general's blood pressure rising.
"General, how much lead time do you need for your solution?"

"Two weeks, maybe as little as ten days."

In an effort to maximize the possible solutions, Clark said, "So,
if I try to resolve the problem in the next four weeks, and fail,
that would still leave you time for the tactical nuclear option?"

The general pursed his lips, as if considering the matter.  "Yes,
that would be so."

Secretary Cosgrove slapped Clark on the shoulder and said, "I'm
sure you can do it!  I've never really liked the possibility of
nuclear rain falling down on our heads."

"Of course," Clark sincerely agreed.  "However, I will be flying a
million miles into space to stop this piece of rock the size of
Metropolis.  I know that it's travelling faster than any
spacecraft we've ever made; but if I stop it out there, then there
won't be any question of nuclear fallout."

General Zeitlin asked, "Can you?"

Clark shrugged, "I don't know.  I guess we're about to find out
what I can do."

                          *****

Promptly at 9:00 a.m. Dr. Friskin arrived at Lois' apartment for
their first weekly appointment away from Dr. Friskin's office.
Lois had barely let Dr. Friskin get seated when she blurted out
her news.

"Dr. Friskin, I remember!  Finally, I remember!"

"That's wonderful, Lois.  What triggered your remembering?"  Dr.
Friskin asked as she recorded Lois' remarks.

"Clark came over last night and helped me unpack.  We found the
keepsake box I created when I was little, and as I went through it
I suddenly remembered everything!  I remember the great things,
like winning my first Kerth and starting at the Daily Planet," she
paused for a second, her tone turning wry, "and some of the not so
great things... but, I remember!" She ended on a happy note.

"Very good, Lois." Dr. Friskin continued taking notes.  "It's good
that you remember both the good and the bad things.  You've
mentioned a couple of the good things.  What kind of not so great
things do you remember?"

"Well, there's my parents and why they are like they are, and
Steve and...."  Lois stopped, the image of the laughing dentist
sprang to the front of her mind.

"What is it, Lois?"

"I... I had this nightmare....  Clark and I had this wonderful
time last night and I remembered so much, and it was great... and
then I had this horrible nightmare and it spoiled everything."
Lois clenched her fist, and then deliberately relaxed her hands,
trying to remain calm.

"Can you describe the nightmare?"  Dr. Friskin asked, pen poised
over her notebook.

Lois nodded. "There was this mad dentist....  He danced around me,
gloating and threatening me.  He was enjoying torturing me.... He
was filling a tooth, I think."  Lois paused, trembling.

Dr. Friskin made some notes.  "Do you have any idea why you would
be dreaming about a dentist?"

Lois shook her head, and glumly said, "No."

"Dreams usually combine things you thought about that day.  Did
you think about a dentist yesterday, make an appointment with your
dentist?"

Lois shook her head.

"What you describe sounds a bit like the dentist in 'Little Shop
of Horrors', did you watch that recently?"

Lois shook her head, again.  "I've never seen it."

Dr. Friskin made more notes.  "Someone did actually put a
mechanism for mind control in your back molar.  Are you sure it
was really a dream?"

"You think it was a memory?"  Lois wanted to deny the possibility,
but....  She got up and started pacing.  "You're right!   It was a
memory of what Tempus did to me!  I can't get it out of my head.
His laugh.  I can still hear his laugh."  Lois covered her ears.
She visualized the scene in the hut.  Suddenly it was as if she
were *in* the hut:

                            **

"This...Superman...What are you going to do to him?"

"That's on a need to know basis, Lois...and you won't need to
know--because you'll be *dead*!"

Lois blanched.  The last thing she saw was the man giving a
chopping hand signal.  She felt a sudden dull pain at the back of
her head, the room swayed and she fell into darkness.

Then she was back in the hut tied into a chair with a bright light
shining into her face.  She had closed her eyes to get away from
the brightness and clenched her teeth to prevent herself from
whimpering from the pain she was feeling.  She felt like she had
been dragged across rough ground.

The bright light flickered away for a moment. She opened her eyes
and quickly closed them again--shutting out the sight of Tempus,
laughing as he danced around her.  "Now, Lois, open wide.  I have
to give you a filling.  It won't hurt, at least not yet!"  Then
there was another bout of laughter.

She felt fingers grip her jaw. She opened her eyes and glared at
the him.  Between clenched teeth she declared, "You're not going
to get away this."

"With what, Lois?"  His grip on her tightened.

Lois struggled helplessly.  "This....  It's sadistic."

Tempus laughed again.  "Sure... but it's fun."  Not so gently
prying her jaw apart he whispered, "Now, Lois, it doesn't pay to
try to avoid the pain.  The more you try to avoid it the better it
is.  I want to torture you, terrify you... send you into spasms of
sheer horror."  He grinned at her.  "It's all part of the plan."

"Plan?"  Lois stared in horror as his left hand approached with
some kind of sharp dental implement.  What kind of madman was
this?

"I'm a villain, Lois, we always have a plan."  He laughed again.
"But, not just one plan, Lois. *Plans*! A horde of plans! I have
the power to hold the world in my fist.  If by some miracle you
survive, and this...," he waved the instrument about, "...doesn't
prevent you from meeting a big, brawny guy in blue, then I have
other plans.  Plans that will ultimately succeed in changing the
future.  Someone must destroy Superman--before his descendants
create Utopia."

Trying to stall the inevitable, Lois asked, "Why?"

"Utopia!"  Tempus grimaced and continued, "Because, Lois, Utopia
is a terrible place.  A world of peace.  A world without greed or
crime."   There was a definite sneer in his tone of voice, as if
lack of such things was somehow immoral and decadent.  "A world so
boring you'd blow your brains out but there are no guns."  He
moved her jaw so that she was forced to look into his eyes.  "You
want to know the future, Miss Lane?  No one works, no one argues,
there are nine thousand channels and nothing on! Well, I'm going
to do something about that."  He let go of her jaw to hit his
chest for emphasis.  "One man is ready to lay down his life to
save this world from Utopia!  And that man is me!"

This guy was definitely a taco short of a combo plate.  However,
before she could try to divert him so she might be able to get
away, he once again grasped her chin so there was no possible
means for her to escape.  He then manoeuvred the instrument into
her mouth, ignoring her struggles.  He squinted into her open jaw
and continued in a whisper,  "And if all else fails, I will go
back to the nether reaches of time and destroy everyone in *every*
dimension in order to make sure that all the versions of Superman
in all of the dimensions are destroyed."  His voice became
intense.  "Of course, it will mean my own end too, but by
redirecting an asteroid to be on a collision course with Earth, I
will truly save humanity from a fate worse than death!"  He
finished whatever he was doing and stepped back away from her, a
satisfied grin on his face.

Appalled, Lois cried out, "You're insane!"

Tempus cackled again.  "I knew you would say that!  I knew it!  I
love predictable behaviour!  Now, my assistants will help you to
leave."  Leaning forward so that his nose almost touched hers he
whispered.  "They will make sure that you die!  However, Lois, if
by some chance you *are* able to get that big guy dressed in blue
to come and rescue you, then you'll know what *real* suffering
is!"

A burly guy dressed in camouflage fatigues pulled her up and out
of the chair.  He pushed her in the direction of the hut door.
The demented Tempus laughed uproariously. "Lois! If I were you I'd
run!  Boris here is a throwback to more primitive times, he's not
as gentle as I am."

Gulping back a sob, Lois pulled away from Boris and dove for the
doorway to make her escape.  Just outside the hut, Boris caught
her and started to beat her into submission.  Somewhere deep down
within herself she called on her martial arts skills and kicked
out, catching him off guard.  In the moments that she had gained
for herself, she scrambled to her feet and ran in a last hopeless
plunge through the trees, stumbling and grasping at branches as
she desperately tried to get away.

                            **

Dr. Friskin was holding her by the arm, asking her something, but
she didn't know what.  "And, the pain.  I remember the pain, and
the beating and the gunshot, and... and... r-r-running for my
life."  She remembered running, and running, and running, and the
pain, and the sound like thunder, and the sudden increase in
pain...and.... She remembered!  She remembered everything!  She
remembered every terrible moment!  Lois' knees no longer supported
her.  She slowly slid to the floor -- as Dr. Friskin and her
living-room receded into the distance.

                          *****

Lois opened her eyes, and found herself lying on the love-seat in
her living-room.   She looked up into Dr. Friskin's concerned
face.

Lois felt disoriented.  "What happened?"

"You fainted.  Whatever you remembered was too much for you to
endure."

"I thought I was going to die...and I did.  Only Clark came, and
now I'm not dead.  And Clark loves me.  I have a second chance at
life!  And...and, I don't know what to do."  She knew she was
sounding hysterical, but she didn't care.

Dr. Friskin helped Lois to a sitting position.  "Lois, it's only
natural that you feel overwhelmed right now.  You're remembering a
very critical part of your life.  You say you don't know what you
are going to do now that you remember this event.  What would you
like to do?"

"I don't know.  I'm confused."  Lois pushed her hair away from her
face with her fingers.  "I want to be well and last night I
thought I was finally through with my problems.  Now I not only
remember, I remember too much!  I can't think about what to do
next because all those memories keep crowding out everything
else."  Lois grabbed a Kleenex from the box on the end table and
blew her nose.

Dr. Friskin moved back to the chair she had been sitting in before
Lois' collapse.  "Lois, you need to understand that this period in
your recovery, when you first have your full memory, will be
harder to deal with than when you only had partial memory.  You
need time to deal with these newfound issues and memories.  I
think it would be a good idea if you didn't go into the office for
a few days."

"But... I can't just take time off work.  It's impossible!"

Dr. Friskin leaned forward and with a reassuring tone in her voice
explained, "Lois, you need time to deal with your memories.  Right
now, you aren't able to control what you remember, and how you
will react to the memories.  Do you really want to go through what
you just did in the middle of the newsroom with half the Planet
watching?"

Lois shook her head.  "Not really, and I don't want to go back to
the way I was at Suttcliffe."  Lois paused and took a deep breath.
"But, I can't just sit here and stare at four walls.  That *would*
drive me insane!"

"No, I agree.  You should not be alone at this juncture.  Is there
someone who could come and stay with you?"

Lois shook her head.  "No."

"Could you go and stay with your parents for a few days?"

"No!"

"Well, you could go somewhere else.  Is there anyone you can feel
comfortable visiting?"

Lois nodded, slowly.  "Yes, I have a friend in Kansas City.  When
I talked to him last week, he said that he and his wife would love
to have me come and visit."

"That sounds wonderful!"  Dr. Friskin closed her notebook.  "I
think you should do that as soon as possible. Now let me call Mrs.
DeVries to emphasize that you need some time off.  Dealing with
your newly found memories *will* take time."

"No, I'll call her."

"Good.  Do that today.  You shouldn't be alone for long periods of
time, until you get your memories under control.  Please call me
if you have another relapse."

Lois nodded her agreement and saw Dr. Friskin to the door, and
then called Timmy.

Timmy and Lori were wonderful.  They didn't even mention that it
was only 8:00 in the morning in Kansas, and had no problem with
her last-minute visit. They even made it sound almost as if it
were *their* idea and *not* an imposition.

                          *****

Clark stepped off the elevator into the Planet newsroom, just
after 10:00 a.m. and immediately scanned the room for Lois.  She
wasn't anywhere in sight.  Disappointed, Clark walked down the
ramp and across the newsroom floor to his desk.

He was about to sit down and flip on his computer when the newest
office boy, Tony, told him that Mrs. DeVries wanted to see him.

Mrs. DeVries rose as he entered her office.  She asked him to sit
and then got down to the reason for his being there, "Clark, I
wanted to ask you to take on some of Lois Lane's work while she
takes a few days off work."

"Lois!  Is she all right?"

"I think she's basically fine.  Her doctor has recommended she
take a few days off to recover from an experience she had last
night."

Clark felt the blood drain from his face.  Last night they'd
kissed.  Was that the 'experience' that she needed to recover
from?  "She...she seemed fine when I last saw her.  What
happened?"

"I didn't ask for details.  I just know that Dr. Friskin strongly
recommends some time off while Lois copes with this latest
development, and I've granted it."  Mrs. DeVries let this sink in,
then continued, "Now, I know you and Lois have finished with the
Reagan/Bush assassination case, could you make sure Lois' and your
own files are sent to the morgue?"

Clark nodded.  He was having trouble keeping his mind focussed on
the here and now.

"There's an amateur astronomer out in the Midwest who thinks the
sky is falling, I'd like for you to check that out."

Before he could stop himself, Clark blurted out, "That won't be
necessary."

Mrs. DeVries looked up from her notes.  "Why not?"

Clark now remembered he'd promised not to say anything until the
President had made his announcement.  He opened his mouth,
wondering how he could get around his gaffe.

"Never mind.  I assume that Superman knows what it means."  Mrs.
DeVries sat in her chair.  "Should I be preparing for some kind of
announcement?"

Clark nodded.

"A big announcement?"  Mrs. DeVries must have read the answer in
his eyes.  "But, Superman is sworn to secrecy, right?"

Clark nodded again.

She exhaled.  "Okay, Clark.  But when the Superman story hits,
just make sure we get the exclusive, huh?"

"The Daily Planet always gets Superman exclusives."  Clark
wondered why she had even asked.  Was he missing something here?

Mrs. DeVries gave an exasperated sigh.  She ran through the rest
of the potential stories on her list, finally dismissing Clark to
get started on two of the less time critical ones.  Clark knew
from past experience that this was her way of telling him to get
on with whatever Superman had to do, but try to get some kind of
copy to her as best he could.

Clark left Mrs. DeVries' office and went back to his desk.  He was
in a quandary about whether or not to phone Lois to find out what
was wrong.   He really wanted to talk to her, but he was afraid.
If Lois really was having trouble dealing with their kiss, he
wasn't sure he really wanted to know.  But then, Lois had made it
clear that he should be helping her to help himself.

He had promised Lois to make an appointment with Timmy Neer for
help with his emotional struggles.  He definitely needed help now,
so he dialled Tim while he waited for his computer to boot up.

"Dr. Neer's office."

"Tim?  Is that you?"  Clark was surprised to hear Tim's voice, he
had expected voice mail, or a receptionist to answer.

"Clark!  How are you doing?  Why are you calling my business
line?"

Clark coughed quietly and waited for the new office boy to get out
of eavesdropping distance.  Nervously, he said, "I wanted to make
an appointment to see you, professionally."

"Let me see.  If you can wait until 2:30 Kansas time, I have a
free opening then."

"This afternoon?"  Clark had thought he would have to wait several
weeks for an appointment.

"Normally, Saturday is my day off.  However, today I have someone
else coming in if she can get a flight, so I can fit you in then."

"Thanks, Tim.  Two-thirty it is!"

Clark hung up the phone, relieved to have done something positive
towards resolving his problems.  Lois was right, he did need help.
Clark picked up the phone again and dialled the number from
memory.

                          *****

Lois was puttering around her kitchen, making coffee and putting
last night's dishes away when the phone rang.  "Hello?"  She heard
the person on the other end breathe in and instantly knew it was,
"Clark?"

"Hi, Lois."  She heard him swallow.  "Mrs. DeVries said you were
taking some time off.  I wanted to be sure you were okay."

"I'm fine, mostly.  Dr. Friskin thinks this transition is going to
be hard for me.  She insists I take some time off.  Can you come
over?  I'd like to talk in person."

She didn't hear an immediate response.  She thought she heard a
click at the other end of the line.  Then behind her, she heard a
whoosh, and when she turned around Clark was standing in front of
her.

"I'm here.  What did you want to talk about?"

Lois' heart leaped as Clark entered the room.  Without thinking,
without hesitation she ran up to him and threw her arms around his
neck.  "Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry! I phoned and you didn't answer
and I didn't know how to reach you and then Dr. Friskin insisted I
not go into work, and there was the nightmare, only it wasn't and
then you called, and...."

She looked up into his eyes.  She saw something in his face.  It
was almost as if he were afraid of what she might say.  Suddenly,
she didn't know how, but she knew that his insecurity had gone
into high gear and his fear of rejection was foremost right now.
She exclaimed, "Clark, I am *so* glad to see you!"

She saw his apprehension melt into a blush as he said, "I'm so
glad you're glad."

Suddenly nervous about throwing herself at him, she walked back to
the end of the love-seat and hung up the phone.  By way of
explanation she answered his unasked question. "I had this
nightmare, Clark.  Only it wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory."

"A memory?"  She saw his concern.  "What kind of memory?"

Lois swallowed.  As a delaying tactic, she said,  "Look, let's sit
down.  I have coffee made.  This might take a while."  She walked
into the kitchen, pulled two mugs out of the cupboard and poured
coffee.  She fixed his the way he liked it, carried the coffee to
him and sat beside him on the love-seat.

Lois wondered how to tell Clark about her experience and feelings.
Taking a deep breath she said, "I'm not sure where to begin."

                          *****

Clark took the mug Lois handed to him, and took a sip.  He was
glad to see his hand wasn't shaking.  This was the moment when he
would learn exactly what was upsetting Lois so much that she had
to take time away from work.  After the way she had greeted him,
he was pretty sure it wasn't about their kiss, but you never knew.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Begin with last night."

She nodded and sipped her coffee.  "You know how I found my memory
box, and remembered everything?"

Clark nodded.  This wasn't exactly going in the direction he'd
expected, which might be good, but he still wasn't sure.

Lois took a deep breath.  "Well, I had this nightmare about
Tempus.  Only it wasn't a nightmare, really.  It was a memory
which surfaced while I was asleep.  When I was telling Dr. Friskin
about it, I... I remembered everything--and I fainted."

Fear clutched Clark's heart.  He put the mug on the coffee table
and put his arm around her.  "You fainted!  Are you okay?
Shouldn't you be resting?"

Lois grinned wryly.  "Clark, I'm fine. Really.  Yes, I fainted.
It was a silly thing to do, but now I'm fine."  She stroked the
frown on his forehead, trying to erase it.  "Stop fussing!"

"What did you remember that had that much effect on you?"  Clark
was still anxious, but valiantly trying to hide his concern.

"I remembered everything that happened to me in the Congo.  I
remember Tempus acting like a demented dentist and putting that
thing in my back molar."

Clark held her closer.

"I remember the beating his henchman gave me, and kicking back,
and running through the woods, and running, and being shot, and
then...nothing.  The next thing I remember I was in Sutcliffe."

Clark held Lois, hugging her, rocking her comfortingly, and
stroking her hair.  He did this partly to help her while she told
him her story, but also partly to help himself cope with the
realization that Lois had remembered the details of the events
which had created that bloody mess he had found in the Congo.

Trying to keep his emotions in check, Clark whispered.  "Oh, Lois.
I'm so sorry.  I had no idea you would ever remember that!   I
hoped that the trauma would make you forget it all."

In a tiny voice, Lois said, "Me too."

Clark continued to hold her until she stopped trembling.

Lois drew back and taking a deep breath, brushed the tears from
her cheeks.  "Thank you, Clark.  I needed that."

He kissed her hair, lightly.  "I'm glad to help."

Lois smiled up at him.  "Did anyone ever tell you how great you
are?"

Clark gave her a wry smile.  "Not recently, no."

"Ah, then you obviously need me to tell you these things."

Choked up, and unable to utter a word, Clark just nodded.

"I think Dr. Friskin is right, Clark.  I do need time to sort
through all this."

"Yeah.  Mrs. DeVries gave me all of your assignments, so hurry
back, huh?"

"She did not!"  Lois stood, arms akimbo, in an exaggerated
attitude of indignation.

"Sure, she did.  Okay, only one or two, but she *did* give them to
me."

Clark saw a glimmer of laughter in Lois' eyes.  "Ah, you think
that just because you're invulnerable you can get away with this
sort of thing without retaliation, don't you?"

Clark felt a bubble of laughter trying to break through his
anxiety.  "Me?  No, never!  I *can* be hurt you know."

The laughter faded and Lois looked at him seriously.  "I know.  I
see it in your eyes, sometimes."

Clark blinked.  "You do?"

"Uh, huh.  Like when you first came in here.  I could see you were
waiting for me to tell you that I couldn't see you anymore."

Awed, he said, "Lois, you always amaze me.  How could you possibly
know that?"

"It's obvious.  At least to me."

Clark didn't know what to say.  He let his gaze wander around the
apartment and through the bedroom door noticed her suitcase open
on her bed.

"Are you going away?"

"Yes.  Tim and Lori asked me to stay with them for a few days.  I
just have to pack and book a flight.  I told them I'd let them
know what time I'd get there.

Playfully, he suggested, "Three o'clock."

"Huh?"  Lois looked up at him puzzled.

Clark grinned slowly.  "Okay, maybe 3:30.  I have a 2:30
appointment with Tim.  When I go to Kansas, I usually fly out and
get the local bus from the Greyhound bus terminal so it looks like
I came into town by bus to the casual observer."  He took a deep
breath and asked, "Can I give you a lift?"

Lois blinked.  "That would be great, Clark.  But, I think it might
be too obvious if we arrived together.  I was going to rent a car
at the airport, can you drop me off there instead?"

"Sure!"  Relieved, Clark breathed out again.  "I can do that."

Lois said, "Great!  You can do your usual thing and by the time I
find Tim and Lori's house you should be finished with your
appointment."

Clark smiled and asked, "What time did you want me to pick you
up?"

"You're not leaving, are you?"

"Well, I do have those assignments from Mrs. DeVries.  Plus, Mrs.
DeVries said there's an amateur astronomer out in the Midwest who
thinks the sky is falling.  The President needs to know that, so I
have to go see him."

"You're going to meet the President now?"  Lois sounded surprised.

Clark winced mentally at letting this much slip, he made a quick
attempt to fix things and temporized, "Yes, he's going to be
giving a press conference soon and he needs to know about the
astronomer."

"The sky is falling?"  Lois shook her head, obviously puzzled, and
moved closer.  "Clark, what's going on here?"

Clark swallowed and clearing his throat said, "I...I promised not
to tell anyone until the President makes his announcement.  I'm
sorry."

In an exasperated tone of voice, Lois said, "You haven't told me
*anything* yet!  But if I guess, will you tell me that I got it
right?"

Since it was extremely unlikely that she could possibly guess
right, he nodded.  "Yes, if you guess right I'll tell you."

Lois sat very still for a few moments, an endearing frown between
her eyes.  He wanted to remove that frown but, before he could
figure out how, her brow cleared.

"Clark, is there an asteroid on a collision course with Earth?"

Open-mouthed, Clark nodded.  "How did you know?"

"Tempus told me."

Clark was feeling bewildered.  How could Tempus have told her
about the asteroid?  "Tempus?"

Lois nodded.  "In my dream...memory...he said that he would go
back into the nether reaches of time and send an asteroid on a
collision course with Earth so that he would destroy all of the
Supermen in all the different dimensions.  He said it would be his
last plan to truly save humanity from Utopia.  He said he was
ready to lay down his life to save this world from a 'fate worse
than death,' as he called it!"

Horrified, Clark gasped, "Oh, God!  Billions of people are going
to die because Tempus has a problem with me!"

"Had, Clark.  I think Tempus is probably dead now."

"How can you be sure?"

"Well, if the asteroid is bearing down on Earth, and Tempus wasn't
just blowing smoke, then all of Tempus' other plans must have
failed and this is his final suicidal plan in action."

"But, the asteroid hasn't hit yet."

"No, Clark, and with you on the case it isn't going to!"

Clark saw the utter faith and trust in Lois' eyes.  She couldn't
see him failing--ever.  It felt wonderful to have someone believe
in him that way.  "Thank you, Lois."

He winced as a scream pierced his ears.

"What is it, Clark?"

Distracted at trying to listen to Lois and the woman calling for
help, Clark said hurriedly, "Someone needs me.  I've got to go."
He turned towards the window and then suddenly remembering that
they hadn't discussed the flight to Tim's, turned back to face
Lois.  "I'll be back later, in time for us to get to Kansas City.
I'm not sure exactly when.  It depends on how things go.  Dress
warmly, you'll need to be protected from the cold high altitude.
See you later!"  He whirled around and into the Suit and flew out
through her balcony door.  Behind him he heard her gasp, and then
a whisper, "Fly safe, Clark."  It made him feel good.

                          *****

Lois' jaw dropped.  The view from Clark's arms was amazing.  They
were flying... or was it floating?... high above the landscape
below.  She'd had no idea how breathtaking this would be!  Just a
few moments before, Clark had picked her up on her balcony and
Lois found herself at his eye level, gazing into his brown eyes
and wishing that this moment would last forever.  When she finally
broke contact with his eyes, she discovered they were floating
high above the skyline of Metropolis.

Clark had come for her a few minutes ago and, making sure she was
dressed warmly, had picked her and her suitcase up and whisked
them off the balcony.  She had been about to say that she hadn't
closed the balcony door when she had seen it close, apparently on
its own.  Looking up at Clark she was just in time to see his lips
relax from a pucker.

Awed, she said, "How did you do that?"

"I just blew it shut.  I was gentle, it'll be fine."

Lois nodded and then looked around. It was then that her jaw had
dropped.  The scenery was amazing, not to mention breathtaking.
She looked up at Clark again and smiled.   His face was solemn, as
if he were concentrating on three things at once.  She looked
down, and for a moment her heart lurched.  They must be at least
30,000 feet up!   Then her heart and breathing returned to normal.
Somehow, with Clark holding her it didn't seem dangerous at all.

"How long will it take to get to Kansas City?"

"About ten minutes.  I could be there sooner, but I'm afraid that
more speed would mean more friction and you could be hurt."

"Oh."  Lois didn't know what to say.

"Besides, this way you get to see the scenery."  Clark smiled down
at her as he cradled her closer to his body.  Lois wanted this
trip to go on, and on.

However, before she had time to even wonder how soon it would be
before they arrived, Clark stopped in mid-air and said, "We're
right over the Kansas City airport.  The only way for us to get in
unseen, is for me to move really quickly.  Here, hold this corner
of my cape and I'll wrap it around you.  It's going to seem kind
of fast.  But don't worry, I haven't lost a passenger yet."  He
grinned at her.

The next thing Lois knew she was enclosed in his cape and then she
felt the bottom fall out.  It was as if the cable had broken on an
elevator and they were plummeting to the basement.  However,
before she could even think of screaming, he came to a standstill
and when the cape was removed from around her, she saw they were
standing in an alcove of a multi-level parking lot.

Pointing off to the left, to the opposite side of the parking
garage, Clark said, "The car rental booths are in the main
terminal over there, near the taxi stand.  I'd better leave before
anyone notices me."

Lois nodded, in a blink of an eye, Clark was gone!

                          *****

Kansas City, Kansas  - June 14, 1997
************************************

With some trepidation, Lois found her way to the shuttle bus to
the main terminal. Once there, she used the rest rooms to change
out of her heavy winter outfit and then packed it into her
suitcase.  She located the car rental booths where she was given
the keys to a white sub-compact, a one-page map of Kansas City
(Missouri on one side, Kansas on the other) and directions to the
pick-up shuttle bus stop.

It took only a couple of minutes for the shuttle to get her to the
car pick-up lot where she had no problem finding her rental car.
After putting her luggage into the trunk of the car and adjusting
the driver's seat, Lois noted the location of Mission Hills on the
Kansas side of the map the rental car company had given her, and
slowly eased her way into the Saturday afternoon traffic heading
in that direction.

Lois drove through Kansas City, Missouri, crossed the Missouri
River and turned south towards Mission Hills.  Within minutes she
was driving through the community towards Tim and Lori's address.
As she drove, she passed elegant homes along curving, tree-lined
streets.  When she pulled into the Neer driveway she noticed that
their entrance was not immediately visible from any of the
neighbours; everyone in the neighbourhood seemed to be strong on
privacy and had either tall hedges or decorative fences to ward
off casual glances from nosy neighbours.

A woman about her own age, dressed in jeans and a tie-dyed T-
shirt, came out of the front door and met Lois as she got out of
the car.

"Hi!  I'm Lori.  You must be Lois, come on in."  Lois pulled her
bag out of the car's trunk and followed Lori into the house.  As
she closed the front door, Lori said, "How was your trip?"

"It was fine.  Smoothest flight I've ever taken."  Lois grinned.

Lori patted her on the back and guided her in the direction of the
kitchen.  "So, Lois, what's up?  Tim said there was some kind of
trouble?"

"Well, not 'trouble,' exactly.  I've been having nightmares and
Dr. Friskin thinks I need some time away from my job and
Metropolis."

"Wouldn't have anything to do with that Lana woman, would it?
She's enough to give anyone nightmares."  Lori plugged in the
coffee maker.  "One of these days I swear I'm going to throttle
that b.... "

Tim entered the kitchen just in time to save his wife from
uttering death threats.  "Lois?"

Lois stepped into his path, and said, "Here Tim," and flung her
arms around his neck.

Tim hugged her back, and pushing her away stage-whispered,  "Did I
remember to tell you I'm married now?"

Both Lori and Lois said, simultaneously, "Tim!"  Then, both broke
up laughing.

"Oh, no!  I'm doomed!  Now there are two of you to gang up me."
Tim clutched his temples and sat down on the bench seating on two
sides of the kitchen table.  "I could use some help here...
Clark!"

Lois' heart leaped as Clark entered the room.  It had been less
than an hour since they last parted, and yet it seemed like they
hadn't seen each other in days.  She ran up to him and threw her
arms around his neck.

Clark hugged her to him and whispered, "I'm glad you made it
okay."

Lois sensed Lori and Tim leave the room to give them some privacy.

Lois hugged Clark tighter.  "Well, Clark, I only had to drive here
from the airport.  Of course I made it okay."

Clark's lips brushed her hairline.  "Well, with your track record,
you never know."

Lois batted his chest with the back of her hand, moved towards the
centre of the kitchen and leaned against the island counter.  She
needed some distance to allow her breathing to return to normal.
"So now that we're both here, what do you intend to do?"

Clark was gazing at her with adoration in his eyes.  "Well, I'm
finished with my appointment with Tim.  I've got a few hours free.
If you're not too tired, what say we go out on a date?"

"Date?"  Lois' heart revved up again.  "You mean like two people
spending time alone together, talking, and stuff?"

Clark grinned, "Especially, 'and stuff.'"

Lois smiled back.  "I would be glad to go on a date with you.  But
how?  It seems like the tabloids have spies everywhere."

"Well, where I'd planned to take you would be isolated, so no-one
would know we were together.  But, if it would make you nervous to
be somewhere remote without any way out, except through me, we can
try a more conventional type of date."

"I trust you, Clark.  I trust you more than anyone I've ever
known.  Why don't we go on a date--Clark-style?"

Clark's smiled broadened until she was almost blinded by the joy
on his face.


                          *****

A mountain-top meadow  - June 14, 1997
***************************************

Clark had brought her here because it would afford them some
privacy.  For once, there was no chance of prying television
cameras or paparazzi lurking behind any of the trees.  The only
way to get to this meadow was to fly.  Since anyone else would
have a very noisy entrance, he could be sure to have Lois out of
there before any potential spies could even get close enough to
see the two of them.

He had flown her here, and then flitted back and forth bringing
the picnic items--a blanket, hamper of food, wine and glasses.
They had talked about everything under the sun, and then some.
Lois had told him about her life before the Congo.  He had told
Lois about growing up in Smallville. It seemed to him that they
were both trying to find out as much as possible about the other
because they both knew this might conceivably be the only time
they had the opportunity.

Finally they finished the food and took time to recover from their
orgy of conversation.  Lois lay on her back and stared at the
evening sky as if she had never seen it before.

"You know, Clark.  I don't think I've ever been this close to the
stars.  They seem so much brighter than in Metropolis."

Clark rolled over onto his stomach, so that he could see Lois'
face as she lay beside him.  "That's because we are closer, and
there aren't all those lights getting between us and the heavens."

Lois' gaze moved from the sky to his face, but her expression of
wonder didn't change.  "We *are* closer, aren't we?"

He knew she was no longer talking about stars.  "Yes, we are.  And
all those things that keep getting between us aren't in a place
like this."

Lois ran her fingers along the side of his face. "Thank you,
Clark.  Thank you for bringing me here.  It's been the best date I
ever had.  I really liked it."

Happier than he could ever remember being, Clark put his arms
around her and before he knew it they were kissing. He was
completely absorbed in the kiss, oblivious to the world around
him.  There was no past, no future-- only *now*.  It almost felt
like their souls were combining and floating like gossamer.  Then
Lois drew away and gasped.

"Clark!"

His attention snapped into place.  He had floated up so high that
they had a view of most of the western half of the North American
continent. Panic-stricken, he implored, "Lois!  Are you okay?  Can
you breathe?  Are you cold?"  Clark was frantic that he had put
Lois in this kind of danger.

Lois patted him on the shoulder and then spoke to him clearly and
gently.  "Clark, look at me!  I'm fine!  I can breathe just fine.
I am not cold.  I was just startled at the view, that's all."

"But... but.... " This was so weird, because she was right.  She
looked perfectly fine.  Clark made an effort to get his own
breathing back to normal.

"It's like I said last night, Clark.  When I'm close to you, I'm
protected by what you are.  You're lifting me, so I become an
extension of you.  I breathe normally.  I don't get cold.  Just
like you."

"But you're not strong like me, or invulnerable.  So I'm not
projecting my abilities onto you--it doesn't make sense."

"Clark, you're not projecting your abilities on to me.  It's
something else."  She paused for a moment, her forehead wrinkled
in thought.  "I think it's like this:  I can't fly on my own.  If
you were to let go right now, I would plummet like a stone back to
earth.  I think it would also mean that I would no longer be able
to breathe in this atmosphere and I would feel the cold.  However,
right now you *are* flying and holding on to me.  So, I don't
plummet to the earth, I can breathe just fine and I don't feel the
cold.  It's all part of the package, Clark.  You don't want me to
fall, so you hold onto me, somehow you also extend your,
whatsitsname..." Lois waved her hands in frustration "...aura,
around me and that protects me from the atmosphere up here.  I
don't think it's a conscious thing you do...you just do it."

Clark was torn between scepticism and belief.  "Because I'm such a
darn nice guy?"

"Well, Clark, that goes without saying, but no, I don't think it's
because you're nice.  I think it's because that's just how it
works for you."

Hesitantly, Clark asked, "So, you think this is going to happen
every time we kiss?"

"Well, I kind of hope it does."  Lois smiled.

Clark felt so emotionally touched he was barely able to say, "Me
too!"

He slowly floated down to their picnic site, amazed that not only
did Lois seem to accept him as he was, but that she also was able
to explain many of the things about him that he hadn't really
figured out himself.

                          *****

Kansas City, Kansas  - June 15, 1997
************************************

After a morning call to Clark, and then breakfast, Lois made every
effort to relax.  She was beginning to realize how driven her life
had been before she went to the Congo.  Work had been her entire
life.  Then there had been that four year hiatus from the only
life she had known, while she was at the hospital in London, and
now... now she had to re-learn how to work and live.  Right now
she desperately wanted to get the first flight back to Metropolis
and dive into her work so she didn't have to deal with all of
this.  Dr. Friskin had emphasized the need for her to learn to
balance her life.  Lois stared pensively at the wall in front of
her.  What did normal people do to relax?

Just then, Lori and Tim came back from church, and Lois helped
Lori fix lunch.  After lunch, she and Lori played a friendly game
of badminton until Lois was overcome by a sudden memory of the
beating in the Congo and had to rest.

While she lay on the sofa in Lori and Tim's Rec Room, once again
trying to figure out what she needed to do to relax, Lois watched
television. She wasn't in the mood for sports and the only other
things on were infommercials for cookware she would never use, and
old reruns of Gilligan's Island.  She stopped flipping channels
when she came across Lana giving a sales pitch for her book.  Lois
turned off the TV and went in search of Lori and Tim.  She didn't
need this kind of aggravation.

                         *****

Kansas City, Kansas  - June 20, 1997
************************************

Lois was lounging on a lawn chair in the shade of a tall tree.  It
was Friday morning and Lois had been at the Neers' for almost a
week.  She lay back thinking about the past week, remembering her
dates with Clark and revelling in the fresh air and sunshine.  At
the beginning of her stay, she'd had a few relapses with memories
overwhelming her, but now she was feeling fine.  She hadn't
realized how stressed out she had been until she came here.  At
first she'd had difficulty coping with the relaxed pace of life
here. Now, just having the time to sit back and relax and think
about things was heaven.

Each afternoon, Clark had come to visit.  Some days, like today,
he had an appointment with Tim.  Others he came just to be with
her.  Every day they had gone to a different place for a date.

After that first picnic in the mountain meadow, there had been
others in a variety of the faraway and exotic places of the world:
  Thai food beside a waterfall on the side of a mountain in the
Malay Peninsula; Balti beside a fast-rushing stream somewhere in
the Outer Himalayas; and fresh baguette, cheese and grapes in some
woods in the Loire region of France.  Yesterday, they had eaten a
marvellous meal at a crowded cafe on the Left Bank.  It had taken
Lois a long time to convince Clark that being surrounded by crowds
could be just as private as isolated geography.  And, she had been
right.  No-one had noticed yet another couple holding hands in
romantic Paris.  However, Clark had been so edgy throughout that
lunch, she wasn't sure she'd be able to convince him to do it
again.  It hadn't helped that right after their visit to Paris,
Lana had been on the Larry Kidsign Show promoting her book and
being poisonous about herself and Clark.

Lois felt a presence and opened her eyes to see Lori standing over
her, holding a tray.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't wake you, did I?  I've just finished
making iced tea and wondered if you'd like some?"

Lois sat up.  "Sure, that would be perfect."  Somehow Lori always
seemed to know what Lois really needed. She had even rearranged
her shift schedule at the library to accommodate Lois' visit.

Lori placed the tray on a small table between the two lounge
chairs and poured two glasses of tea.  She handed one to Lois and
sat down on the other chair before picking up one for herself.

Lois wanted to let her feelings be known.  "Lori, I want to thank
you so much for everything you and Tim have done for me...and for
Clark.  You've both been so great."

"You're more than welcome.  I see the kind of life Clark has to
lead, and Tim and I would do anything in our power to help."

Lois was once again impressed at the way people went out of their
way to help Clark lead a normal life.  There was that innate
something in Clark that seemed to reach out to people and inspire
their cooperation.  Well, it seemed to work with most people,
anyway.

Curious about how Lori had come to know Tim, she asked, "How did
you all meet?  At college?"

"Uh huh.  I was playing a fortune teller at a fund-raiser and
Clark and Tim came in for a fortune.  After telling Clark his
fortune, I fainted and Tim took over as fortune teller while Clark
escorted me back to my room."

Lois spluttered. The coincidence was unbelievable.  "Not you,
too!"

"Me, too?"  Lori tilted her head to one side.

"Five seconds after I met Clark I fainted too."

"You have *got* to be kidding me!  The poor guy...does every
female he meets swoon at his feet?"

They both giggled together.  Lois felt even closer to Lori.  It
was good to have found a friend like her.

"Hey, wait a minute!"  Lori stopped giggling.  "When I told Clark
his fortune I said he would become one *and* find someone for whom
he had waited a long time.  I thought it was the other Lois--it
must have been *you*!"

"You're kidding me!"  Lois stared at Lori.  Was Lori able to give
accurate predictions of the future?  She seemed so *normal*!

"Nope, that's exactly what I predicted.  I'm glad he's finally
found you.  He deserves to be happy."  Lori poured Lois another
iced tea.  "So how is Clark handling this whole thing with Lana?"

Lois felt herself withdraw from the question.  She thought about
some of the conversations she and Clark had during his daily
visits since she had arrived in Kansas City.  "I dunno.  He's been
kind of moody.  Just about the time I think he's getting some
distance from her, boom she's on TV again spouting her latest
grievance and he's right back where he was...feeling guilty for
just existing."

"Clark always did feel responsible for the entire world.  Even
before I knew what he could do, it seemed like he was feeling
guilty for just being.  It makes me so mad.  He could be such a
wonderful person, if she'd just let go."

Lois countered, "I think it's Clark who has to let go.  He can't
control Lana, but he should be able to control how he feels.  He
just doesn't seem to be able to do that.  I'm hoping Timmy can
help."

"Tim will do what he can.  But, like you say, it's really up to
Clark."

                          *****

"How do I feel?  I don't know, really.  In some ways it's like I'm
two people.  There's Superman who seems to be able to handle just
about anything and deals with world crises without so much as a
twinge, and then there's Clark who is afraid to tell his ex-
girlfriend to 'get a life.'"  Clark turned from staring out of Tim
Neer's office window at Lois and Lori chatting on the far side of
the garden.  "Mostly, I feel confused."

Tim marked some notes, in Braille, on a pad in front of him.  "But
you recognize that both of them are *you*?"

"That's the odd part.  I'm Clark.  I've always been Clark.
Superman is just a costume.  But when I'm dressed as Superman I
seem to be more in control.  I just wish that Clark had more of
Superman's confidence and that Superman was more...I dunno...real,
I guess."

"You want to become a blend of the two?"

Clark threw up his hands in an effort to indicate his ambivalence,
then realizing that this was a waste on Tim, said, "Part of me
does, and part of me wants to remain Clark.  Sometimes I think I
should just be Superman all the time.  It would be a lot simpler."
He began to pace.  "Tim, what's the point of my life?  Why do I
keep messing up?"

"Well, for one thing, people mess up.  It's part of being human."

"But, that's just *it*.  I'm *not* human!"

Tim reached out and touched Clark, causing him to stop pacing.
"Clark, you arrived on this planet as a baby, you were raised by
humans, all your socialization skills and emotional development
*are* human.  You have to recognize that before you can progress
any further."

"Then why do I feel more confident when I'm Superman?  Why does
*he* not mess up?"

"Superman has never messed up?"

Clark shrugged, "Well, maybe once or twice early on, but the more
I become him, the less mistakes I make.  It's kind of weird,
really."

"So, you've accepted the alien part of you, but not the human
part?"

"I guess...maybe. I don't know.  I'm still confused."

"Look, Clark, I think we should finish this session for today.
You may not believe it, but you *are* progressing."  Tim stood up.
"You think about what we've discussed and we'll explore this
further in your next session.  Okay?"

Clark sighed.  "Okay."

They went out into the garden to meet up with Lois and Lori.

                          *****

When Clark and Timmy came out into the garden, Lois drew in her
breath.  No matter how often she saw Clark, the sight of him made
her heart go pit-a-pat.

Clark waved in her direction and guided Timmy past a chair that
had been left in his path.  When they were within conversation
distance, Clark smiled and said, "Hi.  How's it going?"

Lois flushed at the caring look on his face.  "Fine.  I was just
thinking how wonderful it is just to be able to sit back and
ponder without interruption."

"That's the nice thing about Kansas.  You can always count on
having time to think."  He grinned down at her.

She got up to stand next to Clark.  "Yes, but you grew up here.
It's not a novelty for you."

"Maybe not, but since my parents died, peace and quiet have become
a rare event in my life."  He took her hand in his.

She intertwined her fingers between his.  She really wanted to get
to know him so much better. "So, when are you planning on taking
me over to Smallville?  You've taken me to all kinds of other
places, but I really want to see where you grew up."

She saw him grimace.  "I don't think we'll be able to do that.
I'm known there, and the media is always looking for a story."

"Well, I wasn't thinking of you going as *you*, I thought you
might want to wear a disguise.  I want you to show me around, and
I have no intention of being hounded by the paparazzi."

"What kind of disguise?"

"Something simple, so that if you need to change into Superman,
you can.  I was thinking sunglasses and a baseball cap."

"Huh?  What kind of disguise is that?"

"Well, if you wear a t-shirt, jeans, sunglasses and a backwards
baseball cap you'll look like any regular tourist.  Who's going to
be looking for Superman as a tourist, huh?"

"I dunno.  It sounds kind of a stretch to me.  Besides, you're
pretty recognizable too."

"I'll be wearing a kerchief and sunglasses.  No one will ever know
it's me."  She grinned at him.  Then seeing the scepticism in his
face, said, "Look, just try it.  If it doesn't work, just get us
both out of there as fast as you can."

"Did I mention that you are very pushy?"  Clark was looking at her
over his glasses.  By now she knew this meant she was in *deep*
trouble.

She felt he needed a push in the right direction.  "Oh, I'm sure
you've mentioned it once or twice.  Now, can we get moving here?"
She flapped her hands at him, shooing him towards the house.

Clark threw up his hands.  "Why do I even bother opening my
mouth?"

"Well, you might actually persuade me to do something different
one of these days."  She grinned at him mischievously.  "It's been
known to happen."

"Not in this lifetime, I'm sure."  He sighed dramatically.  "So
what exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking of driving over to Smallville and seeing the
sights.  You can tell me what to look for, we'll make like real
tourists.  It'll be fun, you'll see."

Clark rolled his eyes.  "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.
This could be the worst plan you've ever come up with."

                          *****

After lunch, Lois took special delight in choosing a t-shirt for
Clark from some Lori and Timmy had collected over the years.  It
took her several minutes to persuade him to wear the "SMALLVILLE:
Home of Superman" T-shirt.  Especially since it had the S logo all
over the front.

"Look, Clark, we're going to Smallville as tourists, we're
obviously interested in his life story.  What else would we be
wearing, if not souvenir T-shirts?"  She pointed to herself
wearing a matching t-shirt.  "We'll be Joe and Judy Regular on a
sightseeing trip of Superman sites.  It'll work, you'll see."

She got behind the wheel of her rental car and waved Clark to get
into the passenger seat.  "Okay, Clark, let's get this show on the
road!"

Clark sighed. "Okay.  I give up.  Just remember when I have to
airlift us out of there--this was your idea."  He got into the car
and fastened his seat-belt.

Lois grinned and said, "Sure, Clark.  Whatever you say."

She drove through Kansas City and took I-35 south.  Fifty miles
down the highway she took the turnoff for Smallville.  It wasn't
difficult to find.  There were numerous signs telling the world
this was the "Home of Superman" and proclaiming things like,
"Superman's first home on Earth," "Home of the Super Child," and
so on.  The road into Smallville was lined with souvenir shops and
"Super" attractions, like the crib he first used, and roadside
stands offering tours of the places he had frequented as a child--
from his first landing place on Earth to his last home in
Smallville.

Lois was appalled and wondered what Clark thought of all this.
"Is any of the town the same as when you were a child?"

Clark shook his head.  "Not really.  When I was a kid, Smallville
was your typical Midwest town.  Since no-one knew about me being
Superman, there wasn't any of this here then."

"Okay, so you give me the inside tour of Smallville.  Then, since
we have a cassette player in this car, we'll rent an audio tape,
go on one of those 'authentic' tours, and see how far off base
they are."

Clark told her to turn right at the main intersection, just past
the Smallville Press.  "I used to work part-time and summers at
the Press, with Mr. Kratz."

She took the right he indicated and slowly drove past a white
sandstone church with stained glass windows and a steeple on the
right hand side of the street.  "That's the church where I told
Lana about me."  He took a deep breath.  "You know, one of the
first things she was concerned about at the time was that I would
tell someone who would go to the tabloids...ironic, huh?"

Lois reached over and squeezed his hand, sympathetically.  She was
starting to realize how much Clark needed her help and support to
free himself from his past.

At the next side road he told her to turn left.  A few hundred
yards down the road was a parking lot with an entrance fee.  Clark
told her to keep driving.  "That's Shuster's field, where my
spaceship landed.  There's nothing to see.  I don't know why
people would pay to park there."

He told her to turn right at the next side road, then left along
the Topeka access road.  On the right hand side, Lois could see a
charming farmhouse with a few trucks and pieces of farm equipment
in front of the out-buildings.  What spoiled the effect was the
eight-foot high security fence, with electrified wire on top,
surrounding the entire property.

"That's my parents' farm.  There's a couple caring for the farm
right now.  They're really good.  I only visit on the spur of the
moment, because they don't want to know I'm coming in advance.
Even then, somehow the news always leaks out and they're inundated
with the media for days afterwards."

Lois wondered if going there would help Clark deal with his past.
"Do you want to visit them while you're here?"

He shook his head and told her to turn around in the next
available road and come back this way.  She did that.  They drove
back past the Kent farm and as they approached the next main
intersection, she could see another farmhouse in the distance.

"That's the Irig place where my Mom and Dad left me while they
went to Seattle for the funeral.  The Irigs were really nice
people.  Mrs. Irig died of cancer a few years later.  Mr. Irig
passed away last year."

Lois murmured a sympathetic response.  Clark continued the tour.
He told her to turn the corner back towards Smallville and then
pull off to the side of the road.

"Back there is where my parents died.  The truck was coming down
the road from Topeka.  Mom and Dad were coming over Siegel Knoll,
the truck didn't stop--they were killed instantly."

Lois saw the bleak expression on Clark's face and prompted, "And,
you saw it happen?"

He nodded.  "I was pretty fast, even then, but I wasn't fast
enough."

She had heard about the accident before, but being here had more
impact.  Lois stared at the scenery.  It was so *pretty* and yet
this was the place where Clark's life had been shattered.  This
was where his feelings of inferiority had started.  He'd been
blaming himself for this accident since he was ten years old.  "If
I ever get my hands on Tempus, I'll *kill* the b...!"

Clark interjected, "Calm down, Lois, it all happened a long time
ago."

"Yeah, right!  Then why are you still suffering?"  Clark needed to
feel angry at this.  It didn't seem right that he take it so
calmly.

Clark shrugged.  He told her to drive slowly back to Smallville.
They passed the entrance to the Irig farm.  Again there was a
security fence and electrified wires.  Near the next intersection
was an old broken down barn.

"That's where Lana and I used to meet and talk when we were kids."

Lois wondered if that was the only thing they did there, but kept
quiet.  They drove past the church again.  He told her to turn
left on the main street.  They drove past Adnyl Rexall Drugs,
which Clark pointed out as the place where he and his school
friends hung out.  Towards the outskirts of town, he told her to
slow down and stop in front of a white frame house with a white
picket fence.

"This is Lana's parents' house.  They don't live here anymore.
The media just about drove them crazy.  They can't sell the house
and yet they can't live in it.  It's not a good situation."

"Why can't they sell? I would think the souvenir hunters would
snap it right up to get a piece of your past."

"It's zoned residential, and people buying homes for their
families don't want to move into a tourist magnet."

Lois nodded, unsure what, if anything, she could say in response.
Clark told her to do a u-turn and she drove down the main street,
past the drug store and the newspaper office.  On the other end of
town, he had her pause in front of another nice looking frame
house.

"This is the Kratz house.  They were my first temporary family.
Mr. Kratz let me help him at the newspaper.  That's how I started
in journalism."

Lois took in the house and yard, happy that Clark had found this
family to push him into a career that matched her own.  Clark
didn't tell her to go to another location, so she asked, "Is there
any more to this tour?"

"No ma'am.  That's just about it.  Those 'official' tours probably
cover anything I might have missed."

Lois drove out to the roadside stands with the official tours and
rented a taped "Super Auto Tour of Smallville."  The tour seemed
to have missed the whole point of Clark's life in Smallville.  It
concentrated on his arrival in Shuster's field and his habitats
while in the town, without any background, or rationale as to why
he would have moved so much.  There was no mention of the Kents or
their role in Clark's life, other than to briefly mention that
Superman owned the old Kent farm on the Topeka access road.  Lois
was disgusted.

"You'd think they would at least acknowledge your adopted name!
What a farce."  She returned the tape to the stand and got her
deposit back.

When she got back in the car she rested her hands on top of the
steering wheel and, turning to Clark, asked, "Okay, now what?"  So
far all she had seen were static buildings.  She wasn't sure what
else he could have showed her, but it didn't seem enough somehow.

"Drive out of town, and over Siegel Knoll.  I want you to see
something on the farm."  Lois nodded, hoping it wasn't just
another building, and followed his instructions.  He had her drive
into a copse of trees and park the car so it wasn't immediately
obvious to passing traffic.  From the protective group of trees he
took off with her in his arms.  He landed at the base of a tree
which contained a child's fort.

As Lois removed her scarf and sunglasses, Clark explained, "This
is the tree-house I made with my Dad when I was five or six.  At
the time I wanted to live here, so my parents wouldn't have to be
afraid for me."

Lois turned to look at Clark, but again he wasn't showing any
emotion.  "You mean to tell me that at *that* age, you were
already concerned about how your life affected others?"  He
nodded.

"God, Clark, how did you survive?  You must have been in a
constant state of anguish."

"No, not all the time, but knowing I could be taken away for what
I was--that was always there."

Sympathy grabbed at Lois' heart.  "And, it got worse after your
parents died, didn't it?"

He nodded, again.  "Yeah.  I had no-one to turn to for advice.
That's why I confided in Lana.  She seemed to understand."

Lois took his hand and squeezed it.  At least now he was getting
to the crux of his childhood.  "So what did you want me to see?"
He let go of her hand, spun into the ground and pulled up a tiny
space ship.

Awed, she said, "That's the one you came in?"

Clark nodded.  He reached into the centre of the ship and pulled
out a small bag containing a round ball.  "Here, let's go up into
the tree-house.  No one will find us there.  There aren't any
children on the farm and we can't be seen from the house or
road...that's why Dad chose this particular tree, so I could play
without being seen."

With anticipation, Lois climbed up to the tree-house door and
entered.  She looked out at the countryside through the openings
that constituted windows.  "This is really nice, Clark.  It must
have been great fun playing here."

Clark took his glasses off.  "It was also the one place I could be
myself, without having to be too careful."

He held the ball while still in the bag, and rolling the bag down
away from the ball so that he didn't touch it directly, he
balanced the ball on one of the window sills.  It looked like a
globe of the Earth. Then he touched the globe with his forefinger.

To Lois' astonishment the globe changed from the blue marble Earth
to a vibrant red world.

She heard the word "Krypton" uttered somewhere inside her head.
This was followed by a series of speeches by a man explaining
Clark's Kryptonian background, his real name "Kal-El," why he and
his wife had chosen Earth as the destination for their child.

At the end of the recitation, Lois looked at Clark and swallowed.
This seem all so familiar!  "Clark!  Tempus told me this story
just before he almost killed me.  It was almost *exactly* this
story.  How could he *know* this?"

"I understand Tempus is from a future where one version of
Superman and Lois Lane created a Utopia.  Mr. Wells told me Tempus
loathed that lifestyle and vowed to destroy the Superman who had
created it.  He told me that, in Utopia, people studied Superman's
life like we would Shakespeare, or Washington.  The story of
Superman's origins was probably told beginning in kindergarten."

Lois stared at the globe as she absorbed Clark's words.   "Thank
you, Clark.  Thanks for letting me see this."  She tore her gaze
away from the amazing piece of alien technology and looked into
Clark's eyes.

He blushed and lowered his gaze to the globe.  "You're welcome.  I
want you to know *everything* there is to know about me.  Tim has
helped me understand that I tend to hold back essential
information, even from people who are close to me.  It's not good
for me to do that.  It only makes my relationships superficial and
detached."  He raised his head and looked into her eyes, again.
"I don't want *us* to have that kind of relationship."

Lois leaned forward and cupped his jaw in her hand, stroking his
cheek with her thumb.  "Me either.  I really *do* want to know
you...all of you.  I can understand why you hold back.  After all,
you had to spend so much of your life hiding and pretending, it
must come as second nature by now."  She wished she could explain
better.

He turned his face so that he was kissing the palm of her hand.
Lois felt a surge of desire.  Clark gently pulled her hand away
from his jaw and intertwined his fingers in hers.  "I want the
hiding and pretending to end, but I'm not sure how to do that."

Lois could feel the blood pounding in her ears.  She swallowed,
trying to keep focussed on what Clark was saying.  He was trying
his best to be open and she could see he was waiting for her to
comment, so she said,  "We'll think of something, Clark.  It's not
something that can be solved overnight."

"We..."  He leaned forward and softly kissed her lips.  When he
drew away, he continued, "I like that...I like that a *lot*."

Breathless, she said, "You're not alone anymore, Clark."

Lois was astonished to see the depth of his emotions on his face.
So often Clark hid his feelings and now she saw them raw and
exposed.  He was manfully holding back tears, she was sure of it.
She wished he would just let go and allow himself to feel the
pain.

Softly, she asked, "Clark!  What's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing.  I'm happy, really.  It's just that...I've always
felt so--so *alone*, and now...."

Lois was in his arms, shushing him, caressing him, and kissing
away the frown on his face.

"You'll never be alone again...I promise."  Lois felt certain of
this.  More certain than she had ever felt about anything before
in her life.

"Thank you, Lois.  You have no idea what that means to me."

Lois pulled away from him slightly and felt herself blushing.
"You're welcome.  I want you to know how special you are to me."

Clark stroked her hair.  "And you're so special to me.  That's why
I wanted you to know everything before... before I go tackle that
asteroid...just in case."

Lois put her hand over his to feel closer to him.  She wished he
hadn't mentioned the asteroid.  Knowing about it, and his role in
preventing a tragedy, was making her anxious.  "I'm kind of
worried about this asteroid thing, Clark.  I know you're preparing
for what you have to do, but it still has me scared."

Clark shrugged.  "I'm a little scared too.  But Dr. Klein is
putting me through every conceivable problem that I might come up
against.  I know that getting to it shouldn't be a problem.  But,
with the amount of momentum it will have, I'm not sure if I have
the strength to push it out of its current path."

Lois recognized Clark's insecurity as another thing that Clark
needed to talk through.  He needed her help in understanding this
problem and she would try her best to give him that help.  "What's
the biggest thing you've moved up until now?"

"I've stopped planes from crashing by holding them aloft, and I've
held up falling buildings, but that's it.  I've pretty much stuck
to the theory that the item becomes a part of me.  But this
asteroid is so *big*, as big as Metropolis, that its momentum will
make it really hard to turn aside.  It's got me kind of nervous."

Continuing her role as prime advocate, Lois emphatically stated,
"You'll do it, Clark.  You can do anything."

"Not quite *anything*."  Clark slowly stood up and picked up the
globe.

"Clark, you're always saying those kind of things."  Lois hoped he
would see how his negative self talk was hurting his chances of
success.

"No I don't!  What kind of things?"  Clark looked genuinely
puzzled.

"All those 'I can't', 'not quite anything', and 'I'm sorry'
statements.  You're always negating yourself.  I wish you'd just
be more positive."  Lois felt exasperated.  Why couldn't Clark see
that being negative only bred more negativity?

"Oh, I'm s...  Er, thank you for letting me know.  Tim has been
dancing around that very thing, I think, but I guess he was
waiting for me to figure it out for myself."  Clark gave her a wry
smile.

Lois walked over and hugged him.  "Clark, if I get too pushy, just
tell me to go fly a kite, okay?"

"Would that work?"  She was glad to see a twinkle in his eyes.

"Probably not, but at least it would be a change from 'I'm
sorry.'" Lois grinned up at him impishly.  Then, as she watched
him place the globe back in its bag, asked, "What are you going to
do now, Clark?  Bury them again?"

"I was going to, but I think I'll take them back to Metropolis.  I
buried them here because I didn't have any other safe place to
hide them.  Now that my apartment is about as secure as any place
can be, I can store them there."

Lois watched as he quickly put the bagged globe into the ship and,
putting the ship on his shoulder, took off in the general
direction of Metropolis.  She still found his take-offs and
landings breathtaking.

                          *****

Lois paced up and down, swatting away mosquitoes, wondering why
they'd suddenly descended the second Clark left.  She tried to
visualize what this place must have been like when Clark was
small.

In a matter of minutes he was back.

Clasping his hand, Lois turned in what she figured was the general
direction of the farmhouse.  "How much is the farm and house like
what you knew when you were a kid?"

"Not much.  The house is your typical farmhouse.  We could visit
it if you want, but the special things my parents had there have
been slowly removed or replaced.  I've got a trunk back in
Metropolis with the parts that still mean something to me.  The
farm is pretty much the same, except for the security fence."  He
stared off into the distance.  Lois figured he was looking at the
farmhouse which was beyond her line of sight.

"You're right, Clark.   Let's not visit the house and just head
back."  She replaced her scarf and sunglasses in readiness to
leave.

Clark picked her up and flew back to the concealed car.  Lois got
behind the wheel.   Clark put on his sunglasses and ball cap.  She
drove back through Smallville and stopped in front of the drug
store.

"You wait here, Clark.  I have *got* to get something for these
bites.  The itch is driving me crazy."

Lois shut off the engine and got out of the car.  She scratched at
one of her bites as she gazed along the street trying to visualize
what it must have been like before all the 'Supermania' stuff had
arrived.

She stepped through the door of the drug store, and a tiny bell
tinkled.  She moved towards the pharmacist's counter hoping to
find some calamine lotion that would take this itch away.

A nice-looking man, about Clark's age, was behind the counter.

"Excuse me."  She continued once she had his attention, "I'm
looking for something to stop this itch."  She raised the arm with
the swollen mosquito bite.

"Oh, yes, right over here."  He reached over the counter and
pulled a pink bottle of medicated calamine lotion off the shelf.
"This should help."

"Great.  I'll take it."  Lois reached into her purse to pull out
the required amount.  Over at the soda fountain the TV was blaring
the latest sports event out of Metropolis.  The Monarchs vs. the
Washington Senators or some such thing.  Lois wasn't terribly
interested.  Why was it she could never find small bills when she
wanted to?   She was sure she'd had a five dollar bill when she
started out this morning.  She was scrounging in the bottom of her
purse, then her head snapped up when she heard Lana Lang's name
linked to Clark.

"You'd think she would have given up by now, wouldn't you?"  The
pharmacist was looking at the TV screen with a troubled look on
his face.

"I guess you knew them back when they both lived here, didn't
you?"  Lois almost held her breath waiting for his answer.

"Yeah, we hung around together when we were in high school."  He
rung up the sale on the cash register.

"What was he like?  Clark Kent, I mean?"   She might as well get
an opinion from someone who actually knew Clark as a child.  While
she waited for him to reply, she took the brown bag containing her
medication from him.

"Nice guy, quiet, unassuming.  Lana only had eyes for him...the
rest of us didn't stand a chance."  He handed her the change from
her payment.

"You wanted to date Lana Lang?"

"Yeah, but don't tell any of those reporters.  I'd be surrounded
if they ever found out."

"You can count on me."  Lois grinned at him and left the drug
store.

She got back into the car, opened the bottle and slathered the
lotion on her bite.  "Nice pharmacist, wanted to date Lana back
when you guys were in high school."

"Lois!  You were in there for less than two minutes, how the
*heck* did you find out that Pete Ross was interested in Lana in
that short space of time?

"I'm a reporter, Clark.  Remember?"  She grinned at him as she
started the engine.

Clark rolled his eyes.  "So what else did he tell you?"

Surprised, Lois asked, "You mean to say you didn't hear?"

"I don't listen unless I really think I'll need to know the
information.  So I didn't."

"Okay.  He said you were a nice quiet guy and Lana only had eyes
for you...that the rest of the guys never had a chance with her."

"Oh."

"I guess once you've dated Superman, no-one else is good enough."

"I wasn't Superman back then."

Lois paused for a moment, thinking.  "Maybe not, Clark, but it's
possible that Lana has trouble with other guys because you're so
perfect.  It must be quite a letdown to date the average shmo
after dating you."

Clark looked perplexed.  "Perfect?  If I'm so *perfect* how come
I'm in therapy?"

Lois patted his arm.  "Trust me, Clark, you're darn close to
perfect... you just have these one or two minor foibles to work
through."

Clark looked at her over his sunglasses.  "Did I mention how
maddening you can be sometimes?"

Lois grinned at him, trying to brazen it out.  "Hey, Clark, it's
part of the package."

Clark threw up his hands in mock disgust.  Lois pulled away from
the curb and headed back in the direction of Kansas City.  They
rode in relative silence.

Lori met them in the Neers' driveway.  Clark scooted around the
car to open Lois' door and putting his arm around her waist,
guided her into the Neers' front foyer.  Lori followed them into
the house asking, "So, Lois, how did you find Smallville?"

Not knowing how to describe the experience, Lois said,
"Interesting."

                          *****

Lois and Clark were under the stars in Tim and Lori's garden
saying goodnight.  Or, at least, *trying* to say goodnight.  They
weren't making much progress.

"Clark?  When exactly are you going to be dealing with the
asteroid?"

"EPRAD is still working on the optimal date.  Meanwhile, I'll
continue preparing at the EPRAD facility to make sure I have the
moves down before I attempt it live."

"Practice makes perfect.  You *will* come back, won't you?"

He could tell that she was talking out of sheer nervousness.
"I'll do my best."

"You always do." Lois smiled up at him, turning his heart to mush.

"Lois...."

"Yes, Clark?"  She was looking up at him, love in her eyes.

"I've been meaning to ask you something.  I know you've only known
me for a few weeks, and we're only just really getting to know
each other.  But there's this whole thing with the asteroid coming
and I would really like to know...."  He paused, trying to get up
the courage to finish his sentence.

Lois stroked a lock of hair away from his face.  "Know what,
Clark?"

"I..."  Clark paused again.  "I'm not sure this is a good time."
He started to pull away from her, about to give up what he had
started.

Lois gently pulled him closer.  "Clark, you're reverting back to
that nervous 'I'm sorry' mode again.  What did you want to know?"

Clark swallowed.  "Lois...."  Then in a rush he said it.  "Will
you marry me?"

Clark stood trembling, waiting the eternity between breaths for
her answer.  Lois gazed up at him, her eyes wide.

"Yes, Clark.  Yes, I *will* marry you."  She slid her arms around
his neck and whispered.  "I've been waiting for you to ask."

Clark fumbled in his pocket for the ring he'd recovered from its
special place when he had gone home this afternoon.  Taking her
left hand in his, he slid the ring on the third finger.  "I want
you to wear this. It was my mother's."

"It's wonderful, Clark.  I'll wear it as a symbol of our pledge."
She moved closer and they kissed.

A few minutes later they drew apart.  They were floating high
above the Grand Canyon.  "Clark, I really love the way we end up
in the most gorgeous places when we kiss.  You are *amazing*."

Clark felt himself blushing, then realizing that they were too
close to the flight path into Las Vegas he gently drifted back
towards the Neer garden.  He set them both down back in the exact
same place they had been before their small diversion.

"I know it's going to sound kind of crazy, but to me it feels like
our souls join when we kiss.  It's almost as if we become one
being in that moment."  She brushed her fingers across his lips.
"I kind of like having a soul mate."  Lois smiled and said, "So
how soon do you want to get married?  Before or after your
encounter with the asteroid."

"After?"  Clark wasn't sure what the right response should be.  He
wished he could just say what he felt.

"Why not before?"

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea.  I know I want to be with
you."  Clark kissed the end of her nose, causing her to giggle.
"But, there *are* a few obstacles we have to overcome."

"Obstacles?  Oh, right."  Lois ticked them off on her fingers,
"The tabloids, your ex-fiancee, my anxiety about inexperience, the
hoopla that's going to descend the second we tell anyone we want
to get married...."

"Not to mention my emotional hang-ups, my lack of initiative in
dealing with most of these obstacles up to now, and the total lack
of any idea on how to tackle them in the future."  Clark made a
face.

"Clark!  You're getting negative on me again...now *stop* that."

"Again?"

"Yes, like I said before, you need to stop that negative self-
talk.  We'll find a way...we *have* to."

"I know, but I hate the thought of the media crawling through
every little part of our lives when they find out we're engaged."

"Why do they have to find out?"  Lois had her plotting expression
on her face.  "Can you stay clear of me publicly for a while?"

"It's gonna be tough, but I guess I can do that."  Clark grinned
at her.  For some strange reason this made him feel happy.  "You
did say 'publicly', didn't you?"

Lois nodded.  "Yes."  She paused for a moment and looked down at
her left hand.  "I guess I should hide this, otherwise people are
going to ask questions."

Clark hugged her close.  "I'm sorry, Lois, I guess it's going to
be much harder to get married than either of us ever thought."

"Maybe not."  Lois stepped back, unfastened the gold chain from
around her neck and slipped the ring from her finger onto the
chain.  Once the chain was around her neck again, the ring was
hidden inside her top.  "There, now no-one will see it."

"I wish you didn't have to do that!"  Clark felt miserable that
Lois wouldn't wear his ring where everyone could see.

"Clark, it's okay.  I mean, why do people wear their rings on the
third finger?  It's just tradition, right?"

Clark nodded glumly.  "Partly.  I think it has something to do
with an ancient belief that the veins from that finger had a
direct route to the heart.  So people wear their loved one's ring
on that finger."

"Well, if it's because I want the ring close to my heart, this,"
Lois touched the ring under her blouse, "is as close to my heart
as it can get."

Warmed by her thoughtfulness, Clark drew her close and hugged her.
"Thank you, Lois.  I needed to hear that.  Now if we could only
deal with the actual wedding plans as easily."

                          *****

The next morning, Lois phoned a frazzled sounding Mrs. DeVries to
let her know she would be back to work on Monday morning.

"Good, Lois.  Sorry to be so abrupt about everything.  It's been
crazy.  We could really use you around here right now.  The
President is making a big announcement tomorrow.  Clark tells me
it is truly a big announcement."

"Yes, I think it will be.  Since you need me a day early, I'll be
in tomorrow. I really am better."  Lois reassured her.

"Great!"  Relief tinged Mrs. DeVries' voice.  "See you first
thing."

"Yes, first thing."

                          *****

Metropolis, New Troy  - June 22, 1997
*************************************

Clark watched Lois sitting on the far side of the press gathering
as she fiddled with her notebook, waiting for the Presidential
entrance.  She looked up in Clark's direction and smiled as she
made that small gesture he knew meant she was touching the ring
next to her heart.  He was about to move over to be near her when
the assistant asked for everyone to rise for the President.

President Jackson walked slowly and calmly to the lectern set in
the exact centre of the podium.  He drew a small breath and
glancing down at his notes, gestured for everyone to be seated,
and began his speech.

"My fellow Americans, and our friends and neighbours throughout
the world, I am here to tell you about a very serious issue.  You
have already heard rumours of an asteroid on a direct path with
Earth. You have also heard rumours of summit conferences and talks
with EPRAD and Superman. I am here today to confirm all of those
rumours and to put to rest others."  The President paused and then
continued.  "The asteroid is indeed on a direct path to Earth."
The crowd of reporters gasped.  President Jackson continued,
"Superman will be flying into space to divert this asteroid before
it can harm us."

The lead reporter from a rival paper waved her hand and as the
President acknowledged her presence said, "Linda King,
Metropolitan Star.  Can we be sure that Superman has the strength
to do that?"

"My advisers have every confidence in Mr. Kent.  If you like, you
can ask him yourself, he's right behind you."

Linda King whirled around and glared at Clark.  "Well?!!"

Clark felt exposed.  This person was interviewing Superman. He was
Clark!  Should he change into the Suit?

Then he saw other reporters bearing down on him, all of them
demanding answers.  They wanted Superman to tell them the answer.
They wanted Superman.  He should be Superman.  Clark felt afraid.
The noise made by the mass of reporters sounded so much like the
crowd clamouring for the Beast in the play he had seen the day he
found the globe.  Cameras were aimed in his direction.  Larry
Kidsign was smirking from behind the mass of people who were
pressing forward and straining to hear his response.  This was his
worst nightmare come true!

He was Clark!  Didn't anyone understand?  Clark!  He began to feel
panicky inside and then he heard a calm voice say, "Clark?"   He
focussed on the source of the voice.  It was Lois, standing at the
far side of the room--away from the crowd who had knocked over
chairs in the surge to surround him.  Lois, who knew he was Clark.
Lois, who would always know he was Clark.

In that split second he realized that he didn't have to be dressed
as Superman to answer the questions.  Clark could give the
answers.  Clark could be the mouthpiece for Superman.  Clark could
handle this!

Clark stood up, looked at Linda King and then up into the closest
camera lens now aimed at him.  "This will work."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it *has* to!"  Clark stared at her, daring her to call
his bluff.  Clark felt proud of himself for being able to sound so
positive after feeling so panic-stricken just moments ago.  The
nightmare was gone and wouldn't return.  He was sure of that.
When Superman got back from space, he would ask... no demand...
that Clark be treated as Clark and Superman as Superman.  He
needed that.  If Lois and he were going to have any kind of life,
they both needed that.

The crowd of reporters turned back to face the podium. President
Jackson recognized the anchor for LNN's evening news program.
"Ken Maltais, LNN. How big is the asteroid and when is the
expected collision date?"

President Jackson replied, "The 'Nightfall' asteroid is close to
seventeen miles across.  It is travelling close to 30-thousand
miles an hour.  EPRAD scientists estimate impact on July 22, 1997,
if nothing is done to intervene.  However, as I have said,
Superman will be flying into space to divert this asteroid before
it can harm us."

The President recognized another waving hand.  "Basil Bryce,
Zenith News. What if Superman fails?"

"General Zeitlin has offered a tactical nuclear option.  However,
we are reserving that as the final alternative, since the fallout
could be extremely hazardous to all of us."

The President recognized the next hand.  "Larry Kidsign, CBA
Studio. So what you're saying is that we're totally dependent on
the word of some alien?  He can't even keep his marital promises.
How can we believe he'll follow through on this commitment?"

President Jackson looked Kidsign in the eye, and said, "Mr.
Kidsign, Superman is risking his life to save all of us.  We have
an alternative plan if he should be unable to move the asteroid.
It is not a question of following through on a commitment.  It is
a matter of life and death."

"Yeah, right."  Larry Kidsign grinned knowingly at the people
around him.  "And why should I believe anything a politician tells
me, huh?"

The Press Secretary interjected, "That's enough. Your aspersion on
the President's initiative...."  President Jackson turned to the
Press Secretary and said, "No, I'll answer the question."

He turned back to face the assembled press.  "Mr. Kidsign,
Superman is the only person standing between this planet and total
devastation. I can ask the Attorney General but I believe that
statements such as yours might, in this particular instance, be
considered sedition and a threat to national security."

The camera closed in on Larry Kidsign's face.  Larry's expression
had changed from smug to smoldering anger.  He stood up and
stalked out of the room.

President Jackson ignored the departure and recognized the
representative from CBC Newsworld.

Clark overheard someone say, "Looks like Larry's met his match."

The correspondent from CBA Studio NewsLive, who was standing to
Clark's right, muttered, "I don't know about that.  Larry
Kidsign's ego is pretty indestructible."

                         *****

When Lois got home from the Planet that evening, there was a
message from Tim asking for either she or Clark call.  He said he
had been trying to contact Clark ever since the President's press
conference, without success.

She dialled and Tim answered.  After the initial greetings, he
said, "I'm worried, Lois.  In the middle of that press conference,
Clark was dealing with issues he's spent a lifetime avoiding.
Have you talked to him?"

Lois said, "Not since before going to the President's press
conference.  I got caught up in a story at the office and Clark
was on the far side of the room when I got there.  Clark seemed to
handle it pretty well, I was proud that he was so positive about
everything."

"Yes, it *was* good that he was able to handle it.  Let him know I
want to talk to him the next time you see him."  It sounded as if
Timmy were about to hang up, and then he said, "Just a second,
Lois, Lori wants to talk to you.  Don't forget to tell Clark to
call me."

"I won't forget.  Thanks for being concerned, Timmy."

"No problem.  Here's Lori."

Lois heard fumbling sounds and then Lori came on the line.

"Hi Lois!  Can you believe the hysteria about the asteroid?  It's
on every single channel!"

"I believe it." Lois responded. "It's no different than if you
knew a hurricane was going to hit your house.  People want to be
prepared."

"Yes, I know, but *Clark's* on the job.  Nothing is going to
happen with him in charge.  It won't even come near the Earth."

"I hope not."

"Now who's getting negative?  Clark can do it.  I know it and you
know it."

Lois rallied.  "Yes, I know.  It's just that this is the biggest
thing he's ever tackled.  Nothing is for sure."

"True, but I have every confidence in Clark, unlike that excuse
for a television host, Larry Kidsign."

"I'm trying to avoid thinking about Larry Kidsign and his ilk. I'm
trying to stay positive.  Clark is concentrating on getting the
job done."

"Well, that's good.  But, if I were Clark, after that scene at the
President's conference, I wouldn't want to be in the same room as
Larry and any knives.  You'd probably find one in your back."

Lois murmured her agreement. "Fortunately, Clark's invulnerable to
knives."

                          *****

Later that evening, Clark came over to unwind.  There had been a
flood in Bangladesh and between that and dealing with a population
gone mad over the news of the asteroid, he was exhausted.

Lois had him to call Tim first thing, and then they watched TV.
Mostly what was on was hysterical coverage over the asteroid
announcement.  This got boring pretty fast, so they lowered the
sound and left the television on in the background while they
talked, just in case some real news was announced.  Lois had just
finished serving coffee when a promotional ad came on:

"The Larry Kidsign Show -- whose eyes and ears in every corner of
the globe have first and foremost brought you the news about
celebrities and their vices -- have done it again!   Superman is
not as squeaky clean as you have been led to believe!  We at the
Larry Kidsign Show have found the love nest where Superman and
Lois Lane hoped to escape notice!  But no-one is beyond the reach
of Larry Kidsign! For the complete story, watch Larry Kidsign's
Weekly Special Event!  Thursday, June 26th, 10:30 p.m., 9:30
Central!"

"Oh, *boy*!"  Clark looked over at Lois.  "I was sure we were safe
in Kansas.  How did they find us?"

Seething, Lois said through gritted teeth,  "I don't know, but if
I ever get my hands on the person that told them where we were
I'll personally *strangle* them!"

"We've been back two days?  Why wait until now to tell the world
where we were?"

"Ratings?  The asteroid has pretty much wiped everything else off
the air.  Not to mention he looked pretty steamed at the press
conference today."

"You're probably right.  Larry Kidsign probably can't stand the
idea that a real news story is stealing his thunder."  Clark
paused for a couple of seconds, and then asked, "What do you think
we should do about that?"  He indicated the TV and its unwelcome
announcement.

Lois shrugged.  "I have a friend from the old days, before I went
to the Congo.  I found her new phone number when I was researching
that oil baron recluse story earlier today."  When Clark looked
puzzled, she explained, "You know, the guy who built an entire
house deep underground to use in this kind of emergency.  Anyway,
she used to be pretty good at getting into people's private lives.
I'm hoping she can help teach me how to deal with the Larry
Kidsign's of this world."

Clark nodded.  "I hope she can!"

                          *****

Metropolis, New Troy  - June 23, 1997
*************************************

"EARTH DOOMED!!"  "ARMAGEDDON!!!"   "SKY IS FALLING!!!!"

Newspaper headlines screamed from the newspaper stand as Lois
passed on her way to the Daily Planet.  Only the Planet's headline
wasn't in 200 point caps.  It said simply, "Superman to the
rescue!"

Lois spent the rest of the day covering the panic over the
impending asteroid.  In the few free moments she gained between
interviews she left a message on her friend's answering machine. A
return message on her voice mail had suggested they meet Thursday
evening at 7:00 p.m. at the roof-top dining room at the Lexor
hotel.  Lois wished there had been a chance to talk.  It would
have been nice to get re-acquainted before they met face-to-face.

However, before she could even think about trying to make another
phone call, Mrs. DeVries announced yet another meeting to follow
up on the latest events.

Clark had made only one brief appearances at the Planet since the
Press Conference on Sunday.   In between fighting crime and
helping people who seemed set on killing themselves to get away
from the asteroid, he was spending long hours at EPRAD preparing
for his trip into space and even longer hours at S.T.A.R. Labs for
physical tests and measurements of speed and dexterity.

After this latest meeting Lois completed her latest summary of the
asteroid situation as it was being exhibited by the population of
Metropolis.  People seemed to be divided into two camps: those who
had complete faith in Superman's ability to save them vs. the
people who were sure the world was coming to an end.  The monitors
in the newsroom were on all the time, displaying the varied
reactions to this latest crisis.

The more reliable networks, like LNN, were running a series of
interviews with experts in everything from astronomy to religion.
The less substantial networks were showing summaries of what the
main networks were showing. Others were just giving themselves as
a platform for public opinion or a place for people to vent. Some
channels were even trying to carry on with their normal
programming.  Lois wasn't sure if she were pleased about that or
not.  Did it mean that they had so much faith in Clark that they
thought the asteroid was non-news?  Or, did they think there was
no hope and so you might as well carry on as usual until the rock
fell on you?

Occasionally, everything would come to a halt for a live press
conference by officials of EPRAD, S.T.A.R. Labs or the government
whose messages could be summed up as, "Everything is going
according to plan.  Don't worry.  Be happy."

In one of her many trips to the coffee machine, Lois heard one
scruffy, young, know-it-all on a CBA Studio public forum
declaring, "No way could Superman stop the asteroid!"  Lois
muttered to herself as she poured coffee into her mug, "He's
*diverting* it, you idiot. Diverting it!  Don't you understand
anything about inertia?  They've explained it every hour on every
channel, since Sunday!"  Throwing caution to the wind, Lois dumped
sugar and cream into her coffee cup and stalked back to her desk.
On the way back she noticed the guy had left and now Lana was
being interviewed, yet again, about her now defunct relationship
with Clark.  Didn't the woman ever give up?  Lois slammed her mug
down on her desk to the detriment of the paperwork nearby.
Fortunately, nothing got too soaked before she grabbed some
napkins to clean up the mess.

Lois took a deep breath.  She had to learn to relax.  Getting mad
at the Lana's of this world did no-one any good.  Besides she had
more important things to worry about.

                          *****

Metropolis, New Troy  - June 26, 1997
*************************************

The waiter finished pouring the wine and removed himself from the
table.  Lois was glad, she really wanted to be able to talk openly
and was getting paranoid about who, or what, might be listening
in.  The media had been in a frenzy during the past few days, rife
with rumours and innuendo about Larry's story and how it impacted
on the asteroid development.

Cat Grant dragged her eyes from the rear view of the waiter and
gave Lois the wicked look that Lois remembered she always used to
worm information out of her current target.

"So, Lois, what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Being intimate with Superman?"

Lois clenched her jaw.  If *this* was the line Cat was going to
take, she'd better cut the conversation right now.  She folded her
napkin and put it beside her plate in readiness to get up and
leave.  She pushed her chair back to do just that, when she saw
Cat pull a small ornamental box out of her bag, place it in the
centre of the table and slide a switch on one side.

"Forget the question, Lois.  I'm not here to pry.  I just want to
frustrate those dimwits over there from the National Whisper.
This little technological marvel will defeat their listening
devices."

"I did wonder.  After all, *you* were the one who taught me to
keep the interview subject as calm as possible, and keep the
really controversial questions to the end just in case the
interviewee decided to stalk out."

Cat looked repentant.  "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry I upset you.
It's just that I love using this gizmo to get at those dimwits and
I forgot that you might feel hurt.  Sorry about that."

"That's okay," Lois stared at the small device, recognizing it as
a more sophisticated version of one the FBI had shown her when she
had gone to them for security advice earlier in the month.  "That
must have cost a *fortune*!"

"It did, sweetie, but it was worth every penny.  I love asking
some really juicy question right before I turn it on, just to get
their knickers in a knot."  Cat flicked her hair in the general
direction of the group of National Whisper reporters currently
scrambling to figure out what had gone wrong with their bug.  "Now
we can talk without them listening in.  What did you want to see
me about?"

"I wanted some advice, Cat.  You were so great to me when I first
started out in the newspaper business.  You were *the* person who
taught me how to do an interview and get results.  You always knew
how to get the smallest detail out of people, without them even
realizing they'd spilled the beans.  I was kind of hoping you
could teach me...um..."

"Teach you how to deal with people like me?"

Lois nodded, relieved at Cat's astuteness, and stared at the
tablecloth while the busboy put a roll on each of their side
plates.  After the boy had left, Cat continued.  "I'd be happy to,
Lois.  I won't even charge my usual fee."

"Fee?"  Lois said, in surprise.

"I now give personal image advice to the rich and powerful.  I got
tired of trying to worm information out of people.  I was starting
to have difficulty distinguishing myself from those Whisper types
over there."  Cat flicked her hair in their direction again.  "I
decided to use my expertise and help the people I'd been quizzing
all those years to defend themselves against the kind of people
their mothers hadn't even realized existed, let alone warned them
about."

"Cat, I had no idea!  How long have you been doing your consulting
thing?"

"About three years.  Actually, it was your 'death' that kind of
initiated the change.  I suddenly realized how short life is, and
I wanted to make a difference.  Back then, things were getting
really grim and I needed a switch in careers.  I decided to visit
Europe and get some perspective, so I quit my job at the Planet
and travelled for a while."  She paused for a moment to sip at her
wine.  "A year ago, I came back to Metropolis to find that the shy
guy I'd hit on in the photocopier room before I left was as close
to a living god as anyone could imagine.  I knew that in the old
days I would have made the most out of that brief encounter and
realized that I didn't want to do that to *him*.  I decided to
form my own company to protect famous people from the likes of the
person I used to be...and I've been in business ever since."

"You're doing well?"  Lois wondered why she had felt surprised,
she should have figured this out when she first came across Cat's
name in relation to that recluse story.

"Yes."  Cat paused as the waiter placed her soup plate in front of
her.  "*Very* well."

"What was Clark's reaction?"  Lois asked, after the waiter had
left earshot, and then added a clarification, "to your hitting on
him in the photocopier room."

"He turned me down--quietly, politely, but definitely.  He said he
already had a girlfriend.  I thought about doing a snatch and grab
from the girlfriend, who obviously didn't appreciate him, but I
didn't."   Cat sighed and started on her soup.

"You realize the girlfriend was Lana Lang, don't you?"

Cat paused, her spoon mid-air between the bowl and her mouth.
"Then I *definitely* should have done the snatch and grab.  I
should always go with my gut instinct.  When I try to do the
decent thing, I always mess up."

Lois didn't know how to respond, so she just continued eating.

                          *****

By the end of the meal, Lois was still no closer to explaining her
current problem to Cat.  She was wondering how she could steer the
conversation in that direction when suddenly Cat told her, "Keep
quiet, don't say *anything* no matter what and for heaven's sake
keep your temper in check."

"What?!"

"Just *do* it!  Larry Kidsign is heading this way and *this* won't
protect us from a personal encounter with him."  Cat snatched up
the counter-spy gizmo and stuffed it in her purse.

As the man Lois recognized from all those interviews with Lana
Lang walked up to the table, Cat went into one of her instant
friendship acts.  Lois recognized the ploy from the days when she
and Cat had worked together.  She almost felt sorry for Larry
Kidsign because when Cat did this act the more she hated the
person the more she appeared to be their friend.

"Why *Larry*, darling, whatever brings you *here*?"  Cat stood up
and gave him a two cheek European style greeting.

"Cut the act, Cat, I'm on to you.  I see you're wining and dining
Ms. Lane to get her to tell you what I already know."

Lois did *not* like the way this man was looking at her.  His
expression was of a cat looking at a mouse-hole, knowing that
there was a mouse inside.

"So, what do you know?"  Cat cut the ooze in her voice to zero.

He waggled his finger at her.  "Tut, tut, Cat.  Why don't you ask
Ms. Lane?"

Lois couldn't help demanding, "Ask me what?"

"You're *good* Ms. Lane, I will say that."  His smug smile
broadened.  "I almost believe you don't know what I'm talking
about."

Cat stepped in, "Okay, Larry cut the hype, what are you trying to
say?"

Larry patted Cat's cheek and turned to go.  He briefly turned
around again, "Just ask her where she was last week."  He turned
to go again, and then turned back.  "On the other hand, don't
bother.  I'll tell *you*.  She was with Superman in his love nest
in the Antarctic and I have it on good authority she's pregnant
with his child.  You'll find out *all* about it on tonight's Larry
Kidsign show.  Bye-bye, sweet cheeks."  He pinched Cat's cheek and
swaggered off towards the restaurant exit.

Lois sat in her chair stunned, the blood pounding in her ears.
She had thought she was finished with reliving her nightmares.
This was the knife that Lori had spoken of.  Clark wasn't
vulnerable to real knives, but this...this would really hurt him.
She was having a hard time believing this was happening, not to
mention she was having difficulty breathing.

"Lois, are you all right?"  Cat was beside her.

Lois swallowed, but couldn't speak.  How could you fight lies like
this?

"Come on, girl.  Where's that Lois Lane spunk I remember so well?"

The waiter approached.  "Is everything all right, ma'am?"

Cat replied.  "My friend isn't feeling well.  We'll be leaving
now.  Could you bring the bill, please?"

"Yes, ma'am."

In what seemed no time at all, Cat had paid the bill, and bullied
Lois into the elevator heading down to the main lobby of the Lexor
hotel.  They were alone in the elevator and Cat turned on her
gizmo again.

"God, Lois, I thought you were going to faint. *Are* you
pregnant?"

Lois shook her head and whispered, "No!"  She was still in shock
that Larry Kidsign had found the perfect way to hurt Clark even
more.

"Look, Lois, when we get off this elevator every rag in town will
be on our trail.  We need to talk, but how?"  Cat chewed on the
end of one of her elegant finger nails.

"I can arrange that."  With the need to resolve this immediate
problem, Lois felt her lost bounce recovering.

She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and speed-dialled Metro
Cab giving them the code words to get Henry or Joe to the rear
entrance of the hotel and prepared to lose "sleazebuckets."  She
punched the mezzanine button on the elevator panel and they got
off and headed to the rear entrance of the hotel.  Lois slipped
through a maintenance door, pulling Cat through and shutting the
door behind her.

"Lois, what the heck do you think you're doing?  My car's in the
parking garage.  We should head there!"

"No, Cat, Larry and his cohorts will be waiting for us there.
Just follow me."  She ducked out the exterior door, just as Henry
pulled up to the doorway.

Lois pushed Cat into the back of the cab and jumped in after her.
She barely had time to click in her own seat belt and tell Cat,
"Fasten your seat belt--this is going to be a bumpy ride," before
Henry peeled away from the rear of the hotel.

"What you been up to now, Lois?"  Henry looked at her in the rear
view mirror as he dodged through traffic with reckless abandon.

"Nothing, Henry.  Absolutely nothing."

"Well, that ain't what I'm hearing.  There's been umpteen ads for
tonight's Larry Kidsign show with all kinds of hints and innuendo
about you, and what you done...and they don't make it sound very
nice.  What's *that* all about?"

"He's going to tell people I was at Superman's love retreat in the
Antarctic last week, and that as a result I'm going to have his
child."

"Last week?  You told me you was with your friends out there in
the west last week.  You just tell *them* that.  That'll fix 'em!"

"Henry, if I tell them *that* they'll be down on my friends like a
pack of wolves!  They don't deserve that.  I have *got* to find
another solution.  I've got to!"

In the rearview mirror, Henry looked nonplussed.  "It does make it
hard, don't it?  If you was to prove you weren't with Superman,
the people you *were* with get 'sleezebuckets' up their nose."

By this time Henry was parked in a quiet residential street, his
motor running but the lights out.  He turned around.  "I think we
lost 'em.  Where do you want me to take you now?"

Lois looked at Cat.  She was very pale.  "God, Lois, how often do
you go through *this*?"

"Not often.  It's been what, Henry, two...three times?"  Henry
nodded.

"You wanted my help.  If it's not because you wanted a positive
spin put on you having a wild time with Superman, with the obvious
result, what *did* you want me to help you with?"

Lois looked at Henry, and figured he would keep her secret.  He'd
been great up until now.

"Clark has asked me to marry him."

"Well, congratulations!!"

"Thank you, Henry."  Lois smiled and turned back to Cat.  "I
wanted your help in showing me how to keep those jackals at bay so
we could have a nice quiet wedding.  I guess that's out of the
question, now!"

"And, it's not because you're...?"  Cat looked her up and down.

"No!  We're in love and want to get married, and for some reason
that seems to be a big crime in this world!  I want to be with
Clark, and he wants to be with me and...and I *love* him."

Henry looked over his shoulder and said comfortingly, "Now, don't
go on so, Lois.  You and Clark is real special.  You deserve to be
happy.  Don't let them sleezebuckets get you down."

She'd known that it was going to be rough keeping their wedding
small and intimate, but now it looked like it was going to be
impossible!  They might not even be able to marry at all, without
some 'sleazebucket' dogging their every move.  And forget about
children, what kind of environment was *that* for bringing up
kids?

"I love Clark and I want to marry him.   What's so wrong about
that?"  Lois could feel the tears of frustration running down her
cheeks.

Cat wrapped her arms around her and hugging her, said, "Nothing,
Lois.  Nothing's wrong with that!   If you love him, you *should*
marry him."

"But, how?  Now they're manufacturing things that never happened
and I can't do a *thing* to say otherwise!  If I just deny it, I'm
'obviously' lying.  If I say where I really was, I can never see
my friends again.  God, I may never even be able to see *Clark*
again."  Lois knew she was beginning to sound hysterical but she
couldn't help it, she felt so *trapped*.  "It's like fighting
Jell-O!"

"Look, Lois, this isn't something you can solve in two minutes in
the back of a cab.  Why not come back to my place and we can talk
this through...and watch Larry Kidsign to find out *exactly* what
kind of 'evidence' he has."

Lois sniffed back her tears and said, "Okay."

Henry asked for an address and slowly moved through the city in
that direction.  Once on the right block, he looked in the
rearview window.

"Ms. Grant, I'll drop you both at the side entrance.  Is that
okay?"

Cat nodded.  Henry waited for them to enter the building before he
drove off.

                          *****

Lois and Cat stared at the TV screen.  The Larry Kidsign show was
in full swing.

"And, so you have the proof that Ms. Lane and Superman are going
to become parents?"

The man nodded.  Larry Kidsign gave the signal to roll tape and
added his voice over to the video.

"Well, as you can see, folks, Lois Lane and Superman were having a
hot time in the cold Antarctic.  I spoke to Ms. Lane this evening
and she denies all knowledge of this incident."  Larry laughed
uproariously.

The video showed Lois and Clark (mainly dressed as Superman--when
he was dressed) in a *very* compromising situation.  Despite the
deft editing of any actual details, there would be no doubt in the
audience's mind as to what would be the result of such implied
impropriety.

"So, it's your choice, folks, is Lois Lane pregnant by Superman or
does she, as she claims, only have a working relationship?  You
decide!"

The program broke for commercial.

"Lois, you look so pale.  Don't take this so to heart.  Most
people know all this 'true gossip' stuff is faked.  Don't worry
about it."

"I don't know if people *do* know it's faked.  I mean, if *I*
didn't know that scene never happened, I'd believe it.  If I heard
her deny it, I'd think Lois Lane was covering up for something."
Lois was trying to concentrate on breathing in and out.  She had
to stay focussed!

"What you need, Lois, is a *lawyer*.  I have just the person for
you."  Cat pulled her Rolodex towards her and leafed through it.
She dialled a number and spoke to the person answering.  When she
hung up she told Lois she had an appointment with Constance Hunter
at 10 a.m. the next morning.

                          *****

Metropolis, New Troy  - June 30, 1997
*************************************

Constance Hunter had obtained the medical records from the
Sutcliffe Hospital for Post-Traumatic Stress to prove Lois was
there and directed her to get a medical assessment, immediately,
of her lack of gravid condition.  She seemed overjoyed when the
doctor's report not only confirmed that Lois was not now pregnant,
had never been pregnant, and was in fact a virgin.

When Lois talked to Cat about this, Cat explained, "Honey, if
you're a virgin that tape is a *fake*.  It proves they made it
up!"

"But, they'll just say my doctor is lying."  Lois was puzzled.

"Yes, but it's not just *you* that *knows* the tape is faked.
Your doctor knows it, your lawyer knows it, *I* know it.  Soon the
whole world will know it!"

"I don't know, Cat."  Lois grimaced.  "I'm not sure I'm all that
keen on the entire world knowing I've never been with a man.  It's
not exactly high on my wish list for the basis of my fifteen
minutes of fame...if you know what I mean."

"Do you want to be married to Clark, or not?"

"Of course, but what's that got to do with it?"

"Well, if we work this right, not only will you be married to
Clark, but everyone will be ecstatic at the idea, and trust me no-
one has to know the details."

"Could you explain this to me...slowly...in words of less than two
syllables.  I don't understand what you're trying to say."

Cat sighed.  "Lois!  The world is looking for a super-hero that is
above us, better than us, more... ethical than us.  If he's having
fun and games with girls in a love nest in the Antarctic he's not
'above us,' if you get my drift.  If we can prove he *is* above
us, then you'll have the support of everyone in your forthcoming
nuptials."

"But, I don't want *everyone* at my wedding, just me and Clark and
maybe a few friends."

"Why not have both?"

"Huh?"  Lois felt like she had lost complete understanding of this
entire conversation.

"Lois, many cultures hold two weddings to make the marriage
complete...mostly to distinguish between the legal and religious
reasons for marrying."  Lois was about to interrupt but Cat held
up her hand to stop her.  "Why can't you and Clark have two
weddings?  One between you and Clark that is *your* wedding and
one between you and Superman that is the wedding the world wants
to see?"

"I dunno, Cat.  It seems kind of bizarre...*two* weddings?  Why go
to all that expense?"

"Lois, you're not getting the picture here.  The first wedding is
when you and Clark say your 'I do's' and go on your honeymoon, at
your expense.  The second wedding is the one where the world sees
Superman marry the love of his life and live happily ever after,
at public expense, okay make that corporate expense... it'd be
like a fairy tale ending to a magical existence."

"Fairy tale?  I'm no Cinderella."

"Actually, I was thinking 'Sleeping Beauty', the animated
version... leave it to me."  Cat said cryptically and then walked
over to her computer and started typing.

                         *****

"She wants us to do *what*?"  Clark was wondering if he'd heard
Lois right.  Two weddings?  It seemed a little excessive.

"She thinks if we have a personal wedding and a public wedding
that everyone will be happy--that the world needs to see Superman
get married, but *we* need to get married ourselves, first.  It
sort of makes sense."

Clark looked into Lois' eyes and saw the hope there.  How could he
possibly say no?

"You want this?"  Clark stroked her hair.

"No--but I can see the sense of it.  I want *us* to be married,
quietly with our friends, and have a honeymoon without *any* Super
interruptions.  But, I can see that the world at large will feel
ripped off if we don't have a wedding in front of them.  Having
two seems like a solution...our *real* wedding and a storybook
wedding for public consumption."

Clark suddenly started to see the positive side of this idea.
"You're right, she does have a point.  A wedding in private would
allow Superman to disappear for a few days without anyone being
the wiser.  I'm sure that after the public wedding the lowlifes in
society will be making hay while they think Superman is off being
otherwise occupied."  Clark grinned at Lois and was gratified to
see the return glint in her eye.

"Clark, you're sure you're not just saying this because it's
something I've expressed an interest in?  You know how you tend to
just go with whatever your beloved wants."  She grinned at him,
wickedly.

"Oh, right, blame me for feeling I should follow through on my
promises... I always thought of it as a *good* thing."  He
entwined his fingers in hers.

Lois moved a tad closer, and said, "Oh, it *is* a good thing, on
the whole, but sometimes you take the principle too far."  She
looked up at him, her lips slightly apart, her eyes laughing.

Clark could never figure out how she did it.  One minute they'd be
having a perfectly reasonable conversation and then, the next
thing he knew, he would find himself kissing her and any thought
of conversation would be impossible.

He slowly lifted his lips from hers.  "Lois, you're a witch.  I
swear I've never lost track of reality as much as when I'm around
you."

Lois stroked his hair as they gently drifted downward.  "No,
Clark, you have it backwards.  This *is* the reality.  All that
other stuff is just an illusion, a bad dream, an ordeal to get
through until reality returns."

Clark was about to tease her about her twist on reality, but the
expression on her face gave him pause.  "You're not kidding about
this, are you?"

Lois shook her head.  "Clark, I was *dead*, yet I wasn't dead.
The tabloids claim to have actual video footage of us copulating,
and yet we've never been intimate.  None of that is *real*."

Puzzled, Clark said, "If this isn't reality, what is?"

Lois took a deep breath.  "To me, reality is our love and
expressing that love with a kiss.  Eventually, we *will* express
our love more intimately, but that is *not* the reality right now.
No amount of video footage or tabloid 'truth' to the contrary is
going to change my reality, that I love you and we're still
progressing towards the full expression of our love.  All the rest
of the *stuff* that's happening to us is just a bad dream that one
day will go away and we'll live happily ever after."

Clark gently kissed her temple.  "Lois, that sounds like a fairy
tale."

She pulled back and gave him one of her best give-me-a-break
looks.

"Clark!  The man I am going to marry can *fly*, how can I believe
our life is anything *but* a fairy tale?"  She started waving her
hands, so he backed off.  "You know--wicked witches, evil
sorcerers, fairy godmothers--we have them all, just look around
you."

Clark thought about it for a second and could see her point.
There was Lana and the tabloids in the first category; Tempus in
the second; H.G. Wells, Tim and Cat in the third.  "I never
thought of it that way before."

"Well, Clark, that's because you didn't have me to tell you these
things."  She grinned impishly. "*Now* you do."

Clark grinned.  Lois always knew how to keep his perspective. "So
does that mean you're the beautiful princess and I'm the frog
prince?"

Lois laughed, and then stopped.  "You know, Cat said she was
thinking of using 'Sleeping Beauty' as the motif for the storybook
wedding.  I thought she was nuts at the time, but maybe the whole
fairytale feel to our lives *should* be emphasized.  It seems like
a much better take on our lives than the 'Superman cavorts with
co-worker in his sleazy hideaway' fantasy that the tabloids have
dreamed up."

Clark stroked her cheek.  "You know, what always bothered me about
those storybook endings was that the rest of their life was always
summed up in 'and they lived happily ever after.'  I always wanted
to know the details, like what they did every day that kept them
happy.  Did they fight and make up?  Did they never fight at all?
I could never figure that out."

Lois looked at him thoughtfully, "Clark, guys don't usually worry
about that kind of stuff."

Clark shrugged.  "Well, through most of my childhood I was looking
for some hope, and...."

"And, for the fairy tale ending of 'happily ever after?"

"Well, yes.  But, the rational side of me figured it might not
have been so uniformly 'happy' as it seemed."

Lois exhaled.  "Clark, you *think* too much.  Of course they
fought, and the making up was the best part."  She looked directly
into his eyes.  "If everything is always perfect, you start
finding problems with the way things are.  It's human nature.  You
need *real* problems to solve in order to be happy.  Maybe that's
why we're so happy now.  We have a real problem that we *have* to
solve, if we're ever going to get to that fairytale wedding."

Clark, torn between hope and foreboding asked, "Any idea how?"

                         *****

Metropolis, New Troy  - July 10, 1997
*************************************

Clark came to say goodbye to Lois just prior to leaving for his
rendezvous with the people at EPRAD for his final pre-launch
instructions.

They had tried to stay out of the public eye as much as possible
in the last two weeks.  Clark worked at EPRAD while Lois worked at
the Daily Planet. Lois was still wearing her engagement ring on a
gold chain around her neck.

Right now, they were both having a lot of trouble with a simple
farewell because they both knew this might be their final one.

"Lois, I wish you could be there to see me off.  I'd feel so much
better if you were there."

Lois stroked Clark's slicked back hair, getting grease on her
hands, but not caring about it overly much except to wonder if she
should wash her hands or wait until he came back.  This might be
the last part of Clark she had to keep.

"I know, Clark, but the way the gossip is right now, I don't think
I'm all that popular.  There seems to be a movement to blame me
for our 'indiscretion' and I'd rather not add fuel to the fire."

Clark stroked the side of her face and then lifted the chain that
bore his ring so he could see it.  "Lois, when I get back we're
going to put an end to these lies, once and for all.  I'm tired of
hiding and pretending.  I want the world to know I love you and am
going to marry you!"  He gently lowered the chain so that the ring
rested above her heart.

"Yes, Clark, I think that's a good idea."  She gave him a quick
kiss.  "Now *go*, before I tie you down here so I can't possibly
lose you."

"Okay, Lois, but you know that no matter what we'll always have
each other."

Lois nodded.  "And, Clark, I'll be listening to all the
broadcasts, just so you know."

"I know."  He took her hand in his and squeezed it, reassuringly.
"Cat said to tell you to watch Larry Kidsign tonight, she and
Constance have some kind of plan.  She said something about the
timing being 'perfect.'"

"Yes, Clark.  I'll watch and let you know what she meant.  Now
*go*, before I change my mind and chain you to my kitchen
counter!"

Clark did a swift pass with his lips against hers and was gone
with a whoosh.

                          *****

Lois stared at the television screen, she couldn't believe what
was happening in front of her eyes.  Constance had just served
Larry Kidsign with a subpoena for libel.

"Mr. Kidsign, you have deliberately and maliciously concocted a
video purporting to be the true actions of my client.  The video
is a phony.  My client has *not* performed the actions you have
displayed as 'true' events...and *I* have the proof right here."
Constance waved a report in Larry Kidsign's face.

"How can you deny what everyone sees to be true?"  Larry looked
smug.

"Well, for beginners, the actor playing Superman is known to be a
porn film star by the name of Barry Lieberschmidt... the woman
playing Lois Lane is also a known X-rated film 'star', and I have
a doctor's report stating that my client is not now, and never has
been, pregnant."

Constance waved off to the right and a man dressed as Superman,
who looked incredibly like Clark, walked into view.

"Barry, tell Mr. Kidsign what you know.  I'm sure his audience
would be thrilled to know the details."

"Sure, Ms. Hunter, I was hired by Mr. Kidsign's agency to make a
video.  Me dressed as Superman and Lulu made up like Lois Lane.
He said he wuz gonna make me famous."

"And, what else did he say would happen?"  Constance Hunter asked
him, her arms folded across her chest.

"He said Lois Lane would be made to suffer for what she done to
Lana Lang."

"And, why was that?"

"'Cause Lana Lang had Superman first and this woman, Lois Lane,
come and stole him from her."

Larry Kidsign was frantically signalling for a commercial break
but his production team seemed to be more interested in the drama
on stage than a commercial break because the scene continued.

"You believed that?"

"Nah, but the $50,000 for a few hours work was all right.  For
that kind of money I'll say I believe anything."

Larry Kidsign decided to interrupt this takeover of his air time.
"Well, isn't *that* special?  I suppose now you're going to say
you are *not* Superman pretending to be a fly-by-night actor?"

Before either Constance or Barry could respond, the screen blanked
and refocused on a man standing in front of the Metropolis
Observatory.

"We interrupt this program to announce that Superman is just now
taking off for his mission to save our planet.  We're here live at
the Metropolis Observatory to watch Superman lift off for his
attempt to divert the asteroid."

Lois watched the live feed as Clark, dressed as Superman, stepped
into the centre of the open space behind the reporter.  Clark
fiddled with the tiny oxygen tanks around his neck.  There were
some people in uniform behind him.  Lois recognized Dr. Daitc