Cause and Effect
By ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
Rated PG-13
Submitted January 2001
__________________

This story provides an alternate beginning for Lois and Clark.

No copyright infringement is intended. I recognize that the
characters are not mine. I am just borrowing them for a little fun
and not for any profit. Special thanks to the writers of the Pilot
and Strange Visitor episodes. I use some of their ideas and dialogue
in my story. However, I take liberties. So if you think you know
what's going to happen, don't be so sure.

Sir Isaac Newton's third law of motion is: 'For every action, there
is an equal and opposite reaction.'

* * * * * * * * *
CAUSE AND EFFECT
By: ML Thompson
* * * * * * * * *

Clark licked his lips as he stepped up to the doors of the post
office. He hadn't had his mom's cooking for more then three weeks and
was looking forward to the prospect tonight. While traveling, Clark
always tried to call before going home. He maintained he was calling
to ensure that he wouldn't show up when his folks had company and
part of him really believed that, but when he was brutally honest
with himself, Clark knew his mom went all out with her cooking when
she had advance notice that he was coming home for supper. So here he
was at the post office in Eilat, Israel, planning to make a phone
call that was guaranteed to give him a good home-cooked meal.

He pulled open the door and stepped inside. There were about a dozen
phones, but only one was currently being used. He ignored the dark
haired woman with her back to him and stepped up to one of the free
phones.

He had just picked up a phone when he heard the woman mutter, "What's
wrong with this stupid phone?"

Clark glanced over and saw the woman fumbling with various coins,
attempting to use one after another in an effort to place a call. He
fished in his pocket for a moment before stepping up beside her.

"I think you need these," Clark said. He held an open hand towards
the woman, revealing a half dozen or so circular tokens with holes in
the middle.

The woman pushed her hair over one shoulder, turning slightly towards
him. She studied the contents of his hand as he continued to explain.

"These are telephone tokens. Money doesn't work in these phones."

"So where do I get one of those?" the woman asked, finally looking
him in the eyes.

Clark swallowed hard. He was suddenly, inexplicably, at a loss for
words. In front of him was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
There was something about her eyes. He couldn't seem to pull himself
away. She cocked her head to the side when he failed to answer,
studying him. He suddenly realized he was staring and felt a blush
begin creeping up his neck. Fortunately, most of it was hidden behind
the soft beard that covered his face. He quickly diverted his eyes,
and cleared his throat. Now that he was no longer looking at her, he
found that speech came back to him - albeit, only marginally.

"Take... umm... mine," he stuttered.

She watched him for a moment before shrugging, taking one of the
tokens from his hand and, muttering a quick thank you, turned back to
the phone. Realizing that she would probably need more than one, he
dropped the remaining tokens on the counter beside her. She looked as
if she was about to object, but when he walked away, she didn't.

Clark quickly made his way to another phone and picked it up. He
didn't dial. He needed a moment to compose himself. What had just
happened there? He never had a problem expressing himself before.
Although only in his early twenties, Clark had mastered the art of
effective communication. Yet one small woman had turned his mind to
mush by simply looking in his direction.

Clark felt strange, as if his stomach was turning over. What were the
strange sensations just looking into this woman's eyes seemed to
evoke in him? He had never felt anything like... Wait a minute. He
had too. When? He thought about that for a moment. Suddenly, he had
the answer. It was the same feeling he'd had the first time he'd
flown.

It was a mixture of excitement and fear. He had been completely
overwhelmed by the experience, just as he was by this one. But why?
He couldn't figure out what had made his heart skip a beat and had
sent butterflies into his stomach when their eyes met. He drew in a
deep breath and tried to calm his pounding heart.

He heard the woman who had thrown him so badly say, "American
Embassy." He was tempted to listen in. He rebuked himself for that
urge. He never used his special abilities to invade another person's
privacy. He had made that decision when he first realized he had
x-ray vision and, for years, had followed that rule without
exception. So why was he finding it so difficult today?

The sound of a phone that had been left off the hook too long brought
Clark abruptly back to his surroundings. He hung up and picked it up
again. He had come in here to call his folks. Okay, so that's what he
would do. When he was done, hopefully the woman would be gone. He
caught his breath. The last thing he wanted was for the woman to be
gone, but it was the prudent course of action. He raised his hand to
punch in the number. Suddenly, he hesitated, unable to remember his
parent's phone number.

"So what do you suggest I do?"

Clark looked over again at the woman as she raised her voice with the
last question.

"But that's the problem. I can't get the money without my passport.
And since my passport was stolen..." There was a pause. "And how soon
will that be?" Again a pause. "So just how do you suggest I get to
Tel Aviv?" she demanded. She was obviously not happy with the answer
because a moment later, she slammed down the phone.

"I could take you," Clark said, before he could stop himself.

The woman turned towards him. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Clark felt a blush begin creeping up his neck again. "I couldn't help
overhearing. If you need to get to Tel Aviv, I could take you. I have
to go back there tonight anyway." He wondered why he had just done
that. He had decided to let the woman leave. It was just too
dangerous to let anyone get close. For some unknown reason, he
suspected this woman had that ability. And if his secret ever got
out...

"I really don't mind," Clark continued, when she hesitated. He
assured himself that it was the right thing to do. After all, her
conversation with the American Embassy had made it clear that she
didn't have any money or a passport. Not to help would run contrary
to everything he'd been brought up to believe. He pushed away any
thoughts that he was doing this because he wanted to spend time with
this woman - in order to explore these new feelings. He was just
doing the right thing by volunteering to give her a ride.

Lois Lane slowly sized up the man offering assistance. He was not
dressed like a tourist. However, his American English was flawless.
His beard was slightly scruffy and his hair needed a trim, but he had
the clearest eyes she'd ever seen. Of course, there was his initial
reaction to her. She had originally written him off, due to his
apparent inability to communicate simple ideas, but he had sounded
intelligent enough when he made the offer of help.

Of course, this was Israel and Lois was well aware of the warnings
given to Americans about taking rides with strangers. Still, she made
her living sizing people up. Okay, so she'd only been working at the
Daily Planet a little while. Still... He had such honest eyes.
Besides, what choice did she have? All her identification and money
had been stolen. She had contacted her mother who had wired her
money. However, without identification, she had been unable to
collect it. And the American Embassy was in Tel Aviv. She could
hardly walk through the Negev desert that separated Eilat from Tel
Aviv. She needed someone to help her, but could she trust him? Yes.
For Lois, that was a bizarre realization. She didn't naturally trust
people, but there was something about this man that seemed to
cultivate trust.

"Are you sure you have room for me?" she asked.

Clark shrugged. "All I have is a bike, so..."

"A bicycle?"

Clark laughed. "No. A motorbike. But if you don't mind riding on the back..."

"No. I mean, I don't mind."

"Should we get your things and head out?"

Lois gestured around her. There was nothing. "All my things were
stolen yesterday, so..."

"Then where did you spend the night?" Clark asked.

"I had already paid for my hostel for the night, so that wasn't a problem."

"But then you haven't had any breakfast?" Clark asked.

Lois didn't have to answer. The sudden grumbling in her stomach
answered for her. She didn't mention that she hadn't had money for
lunch or supper yesterday either. All she had to her name at the
moment was some loose change in her pocket. If he hadn't had
telephone tokens for her to use, she probably wouldn't even have that.

"Come on," said Clark, leading her out of the post office. "I know
the perfect place to get some breakfast. My treat."

Suddenly, she stopped and looked at him. Was he expecting something
in return for his kindness?

Clark turned and looked when she didn't follow. He seemed to read her
mind because the next words out of his mouth were, "No strings. I
promise. I'm Clark Kent, by the way." He offered her his hand.

Lois took his hand. "Lois... umm... Lind," she responded. Now, why
had she given him a phoney name? She didn't exactly know, but for
some reason, she liked the anonymity that not giving him her real
name brought. She wasn't sure why.

"It's nice to meet you, Lois Lind," Clark responded, holding her hand
in his a little longer than strictly necessary to effect the
introduction. Then, realizing he was going to make her even more
nervous about going to Tel Aviv with a strange man if she thought he
had an ulterior motive, he released her hand.

* * * * * * * * *

The bus driver, Oren, yawned. He wished he could turn on some music,
but the tour guide was talking again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be stopping up ahead to go swimming in
the Dead Sea. Please be careful and wear shoes to protect yourselves
from the sharp stones on the beach and shore," said Shoshana Stein,
the petite tour guide. Her English was perfect even if it was colored
by a heavy Israeli accent.

"You mean you want us to wear our shoes into the water," objected a
large man who'd had problems with every suggestion today. The entire
company on the bus groaned in unison.

"Yes, Mr. Jamison. If you have a pair of thongs or something like
that, you can wear those."

"I don't wear thongs," scoffed William Jamison.

"Just wear your running shoes, honey," said his wife, Beth, in her
most reassuring voice.

"Also, folks," continued Shoshana. "Please don't let the water get in
your eyes or touch your sunburns because the salt will sting. Also,
be cautious if you have any scrapes, insect bites or recently shaved
areas. Expect them to tingle in the salty water."

"That would include all of us," said William. "Does anyone here not
have areas like that?" he then asked, looking around at the other
passengers. No one responded.

"All of you might have places that will tingle," Shoshana conceded.
"But just remember that the water is healing rather than harmful. For
thousands of years, people have come to the Dead Sea for its healing
properties. Even today, mud from the Dead Sea is sold all over the
world for that reason."

Oren rolled his eyes as he pulled the bus into the parking lot. He
opened the door to let his passengers off and breathed a sigh of
relief when everyone was gone. He really hated his job.

* * * * * * * * *

Roger Hoffman pulled up the zipper on his jacket, hiding his gun from
casual sight. He was a big muscular man. Years of working as a
professional mercenary in Central America had taught him the
importance of keeping himself in shape. He had led these men on
specialized assignments all over the world. He didn't care which side
he was on, as long as the pay was right.

In this case, he didn't care who won the war. He just wanted to
fulfill his assignment and collect his fee. If this one went well,
there were guaranteed to be others. Just a little demonstration, his
employers had requested, to show that he and his men were well worth
the price. He took a final look around the cave. Everything was ready
as long as one nosey wannabe reporter didn't become a problem.

"Let's go over the plan one last time," he said, addressing his men.
They all nodded before gathering around the small table to be given
their final instructions before the big event.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark watched, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth, as
Lois finish off the eggs on her plate. When they had entered the
restaurant, she had just ordered some toast and Turkish coffee. Clark
had suddenly wondered when she'd had her last meal. So, even though
he'd already eaten, he ordered a big breakfast. When he changed his
mind after the food arrived and offered her his breakfast, she took
it. Of course, she had made it sound as if she was just doing him a
favor, but the way she had devoured his breakfast informed Clark just
how hungry she had been.

Lois finished up Clark's breakfast. Her things had been stolen
yesterday morning. So she had definitely been hungry. She suspected
Clark realized it and had ordered accordingly. Still, it had given
her the chance to retain her pride and made it impossible for him to
claim he had spent enough money on her to entitle him to something.
She was grateful for that.

She glanced up at the man sitting across from her - sizing him up. He
was certainly good looking enough - actually, more than enough. Lois
couldn't help but appreciate the way his muscles moved under his
shirt or the easy grace with which he moved. In that respect he
reminded her of a panther. His black jeans and shirt accentuated that
impression. She felt a thrill of excitement shudder through her
stomach. For some reason, she suddenly felt almost giddy. Lois Lane
had a feeling that Lois Lind was the type who lived her life on the
edge. She had no I.D. and no money, and she was about to head out on
an adventure with a great looking guy. She stuffed a final fork full
of food into her mouth, trying to ignore her unexpected lascivious
thoughts.

Lois didn't practice casual sex. So, why was she suddenly having
these unfamiliar desires to have a one night stand with this handsome
stranger? After all, that's all it could be. She was leaving to go
back to Metropolis as soon as she got this passport and money problem
sorted out. She concluded the reason she was having all these crazy
notions was because of Lois Lind. Lois Lane would never consider such
a reckless course of action. Lois Lind, on the other hand, didn't
seem to have the same compunctions.

"So," began Clark, as she set down her fork and picked up her coffee.
"Where are you from?"

"Metropolis."

"Really?"

"Born and raised there."

"You know, I've never been to Metropolis myself. I've heard that it's
a little... umm... rough though."

Lois rolled her eyes. It was a common belief among those who were not
from the city. "No more so than any other big city."

Clark nodded. "I suppose. So, what do you do there?"

"I..." Suddenly Lois hesitated. Lois Lane might be a workaholic,
whose main goal in life was to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism,
but who was Lois Lind? "I'm a student at Metropolis U."

"What are you studying?" Clark asked.

"I'm studying journalism," Lois said, remembering that when telling a
lie, one should stick as close as possible to the truth in order to
remember it.

"Really? I studied journalism myself at the University of Kansas for a year."

Lois studied him for a minute. "For a year?"

Clark nodded. "I never finished," he explained.

"Why not? Didn't you enjoy it?" asked Lois, unable to believe that
anyone would want out of journalism.

"No, it wasn't that. I..." Suddenly, Clark hesitated. He had left
because people were beginning to ask questions about the number of
'miracles' that seemed to be taking place in the area. It was then
that he realized he couldn't have a normal life. Unless he wanted to
settle down on the farm, he would have to accept that the day would
always come when he would have to move on. But what should he tell
Lois? He cleared his throat and continued, "I guess I'm just not the
type to keep doing any one thing for very long." He knew how
irresponsible that made him sound, but what else could he say?

"So what have you done since then?" Lois asked.

Clark shrugged. "Lived all over the world, working long enough to
make some money before moving on to the next place."

"So where are you from?"

"It's a little town you've probably never heard of. It's called,
Smallville. It's in Kansas."

"Smallville?" Lois asked in disbelief.

Clark laughed. "I know, but if you think about it, it's sort of
equivalent to naming a city Metropolis."

Lois grinned. "I suppose so. So what are you doing here, Clark Kent
from Smallville, Kansas? Or do you just show up wherever a damsel in
distress needs your help?"

"For some reason, I don't quite see you as the 'damsel in distress'
type. If I hadn't come along, I suspect you would have found another
way to get to Tel Aviv. I guess it's just my good luck that I
happened to be in the post office this morning."

It was obviously the right thing to say. Lois positively beamed.
Clark immediately looked down. What was he doing? He was flirting
with this woman. He had no right to do that. He was only giving her a
lift to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Given his need to
constantly move on, he couldn't afford to form emotional attachments.
If he wasn't careful, he would definitely fall for this woman. Even
worse, what if he got her to fall for him?

"Well, I suppose we should get going," Clark said, pulling a twenty
shekel note from his pocket and handing it to the waitress.

Once they were outside, Clark removed the motorcycle helmet on the
back of his bike and handed it to her.

"Umm... What about you?" Lois asked.

Clark shrugged. "I don't usually wear it," he fibbed. He didn't need
it, that was true, but he usually wore it to give the appearance of
vulnerability.

Lois studied the helmet for a moment before saying, "I don't need
it." After all, she was looking forward to the feeling of the wind
blowing through her hair as they sped down the highway. Either way,
her hair would be a mess. So she might as well enjoy herself.
Besides, it seemed like something Lois Lind would do.

"Lois, you really should..."

"If you aren't, why should I?" she challenge.

He studied her for a moment. His reflexes were quick enough that he
could keep her safe. Besides, if she was determined not to wear it,
he could hardly force her. He re-fastened the helmet to the bike and
got on. She watched as he kicked up the stand. He looked over at her.

"Coming?" he asked.

She swallowed hard, climbing onto the back. Suddenly, her mouth was
inexplicably dry. She tried to tell herself that she was only being
careful not to fall off as she slipped her hands around his waist and
leaned into his back. Her breathing became shallow at the feel and
smell of the man in front of her.

What was happening to her? She knew she had a reckless streak -
that's what had brought her to Israel in the first place. She was
still being assigned obituaries and the occasional story about dog
shows or library hours. So when Bobby Bigmouth told her about weapons
being smuggled into Israel from Metropolis, she had kept it to
herself. She knew she should tell Perry and let him assign someone to
look into it, but it was her tip, ergo her story. So instead, she had
taken her holidays and come to Israel to check it out, but here it
was at the end of her holidays and she still hadn't found anything
worth reporting. Then to top it off, her things had been stolen.

But Lois' recklessness had never extended into the area of
relationships. Still, she couldn't seem to control these unique
feelings, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to. She closed her eyes
and gave into the fantasies - they were only fantasies after all.
What could they hurt? It wasn't as if she was actually going to do
anything.

Clark noticed an increase in Lois' heart rate. She was obviously
nervous about being this close to a strange man. He would have to
make a point of being as unthreatening as possible. Still... it was
hard not noticing the feel of her touching him. He felt as if his
entire body was on fire. He took a deep breath and started the bike.

* * * * * * * * *

The tourists all reboarded the tour bus. Oren sighed, laying down his
latest novel and climbing back into the driver's seat. His time in
the army had been easier than having to put up with these foreigners,
coming over here and talking about how to solve all of his country's
problems.

"Our next stop will be Masada," Shoshana informed the passengers.

"Hey, didn't I see a movie about that?" asked William.

"There was a Hollywood production about it, yes. Masada was built by
King Herod to be an impregnable fortress, but Masada is most famous
for the last stand of its Jewish defenders in 73 CE during the Jewish
Revolt against Roman rule. They died by their own hands rather than
submit to the Romans."

"So we're going to another dead city?" complained William.

A studious looking man sitting nearby mumbled something.

"What was that, Eric?" demanded William.

"I just wondered why you came on this trip if you don't want to do
anything on the itinerary," Eric said. There was a murmur of
agreement in the bus. William sank down into his seat looking angry,
but said nothing more.

* * * * * * * * *

The men were just about to head out when they had an unexpected
visitor. The young man had unruly blond hair that fell into his eyes.
He got out of his car and stood, nervously pulling at the untucked
edge of his shirt while intently studying his shoes.

"What are you doing here, Simon?" demanded Roger Hoffman. "I thought
you were keeping an eye on that reporter."

Simon swallowed hard. "I'm afraid I lost her, Dad," Simon replied
nervously. This was the first time his father had ever allowed him to
come on a mission - and he had already blown it. He felt miserable.
After all, since his parents had separated and he'd lived with his
mother, his father hadn't shown much interest in him - that is until
he asked to come on this assignment.

"Lost her!"

"I managed to steal her stuff yesterday, but this morning she left
the hostel earlier than usual. I don't know what happened, but
somehow she got past me." He didn't mention that he had fallen
asleep. He figured he was in enough trouble as it was.

Roger let out a short breath. That's what he got for sending a boy to
do a man's job. "So what did you find out?"

Simon pulled a pack out of his car and opened it. He handed a
passport, a press pass and a small notebook to his dad. "Her name is
Lois Lane. She works for the Daily Planet."

Roger was silent for a moment. "Never heard of her."

"Well, she's young so I doubt she's been working there long. I sort
of figure if they would send someone as inexperienced as her, they
aren't taking this very seriously."

Roger nodded. It did make sense. Maybe his kid was more of an idea
man. He would have to consider that once this assignment was
completed. "Does she know anything?" he asked.

"Well, she's been asking questions. But I don't think she knows much.
She seems to think she's looking for guns or something. She doesn't
know that mercenaries..."

"Freedom fighters," Roger corrected.

"Right. Freedom fighters are being smuggled into the country. I got
her notebook. It's hard to read her shorthand, but I don't think she
has anything solid. Besides, stealing her things should keep her busy
long enough for us to get the rest of our men into the country
undetected."

Roger studied the notebook for a moment before nodding. "Were you
able to tell who gave her the tip?" he asked.

Simon shook his head. "It was someone with the initial 'B'. Other
than that, there's no indication of who it could be."

Roger paced silently as he thought about this development. He wished
Ms. Lane were still under surveillance, but losing her shouldn't
affect today's operation. Afterwards, he would find and deal with
Lois Lane.

Finally, he turned back to his son. "Get back to Eilat and find Ms.
Lane. We don't want her stumbling across something." Roger didn't
think his inexperienced son had much chance of finding the woman, but
at least this would keep him out of the way during the operation.

"Yes, sir," Simon said, before throwing the pack back into the car
and climbing in himself to do as instructed.

* * * * * * * * *

"Why are we stopping here?" Lois asked, as Clark pulled the bike to
the shoulder at a fork in the road. Clark turned on the bike so that
he was partly facing her.

"We have to make a decision," Clark informed her.

"What's that?" Lois asked.

"Well, if we take this road," he said, gesturing to the road veering
to the left. "It will take us through Beer Sheva and on to Tel Aviv.
However, if we take this road," he continued, gesturing to his right.
"We'll go north along the Dead Sea, through Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
It's a little bit farther, but I was just thinking... Well, it's
still early and... Have you been to the Dead Sea yet?"

"No," Lois informed him. After all, she had been working, trying to
get the big scoop that would launch her career.

"Well," Clark cleared his throat. "It really is quite an experience
swimming in the Dead Sea. We might even have a little time for you to
see En Gedi."

"What's that?"

"It's an oasis. It's quite remarkable. I mean, if you're interested.
Of course, I'll understand if you don't want..."

"I'd love to," Lois informed him. She really wasn't sure how
interesting either of those things would be, but if it gave her a
little more time with Clark...

Clark smiled and nodded, before turning back around. He was thrilled
about showing Lois a couple of the places he loved in this remarkable
country. Actually, he suspected he would be pleased cleaning toilets
if he was doing it with Lois. Wait a minute. What did he think he was
doing? He shouldn't even be thinking about starting something with
this woman.

But then, it was only an afternoon. Lois would probably be on a plane
back to the States tomorrow anyway. He sighed. He might as well enjoy
the day. He closed his eyes momentarily as Lois' arms tightened
around him again. Then he pulled the bike back out onto the road and
headed north.

* * * * * * * * *

"Ben Zona," cursed Oren, as he looked at the road ahead. They had
left Masada and were part way to En Gedi when he first spotted the
cars. There appeared to be an accident ahead. He hoped this wouldn't
delay them. He slowed down, looking for some room to pass. He sighed
when he realized there wasn't any. He reluctantly brought the bus to
a stop. It looked as if he was going to have to spend some extra time
with these people.

"What's going on?" asked William, getting out of his seat to approach
the driver.

"There is some sort of accident up ahead,' Oren said.

Oren and William watched in silence as men approached the bus. Oren
opened the door, hoping they could provide him with some news about
how long it would be. One of the men stepped inside the door. The
passengers gasped when he withdrew a submachine gun.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as long as everyone does as they're told, no
one has to get hurt."

"What do you think this is?" William demanded. "We're Americans. You
can't do this to..."

His speech was cut off as the man used the butt of his gun on
William's mouth. William collapsed to the floor.

"Get him back to his seat," the man with the gun, also known as Roger
Hoffman, demanded.

William's wife and Eric immediately moved to drag William back to his seat.

"Now, does anyone else wish to register an objection or are we all
now in agreement?" Hoffman looked around at the passengers, but no
one else seemed to have any complaints. "Good," he continued at the
silence. With that other men boarded the bus. He ordered Oren to get
into a back seat and one of his men slid behind the steering wheel.
The cars blocking the road suddenly vanished and the bus started up
again, heading for a different destination.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark pulled the bike onto the shoulder. When he had seen the
congestion on the road ahead, he had listened in. So he knew a bus
load of American tourists had just been hijacked.

"What?" asked Lois into his ear.

Clark jumped slightly. He had momentarily forgotten about his
passenger. If he were by himself, he could probably intervene before
anyone knew what was happening and then get out of there, but he did
have a passenger. Maybe he could keep her from realizing that there
was a problem and then help without her ever knowing.

"They've got guns," Lois whispered into his ear. "Clark, there's
something fishy going on up there."

Clark let out a short breath. He was too late.

"I think we should go back to Masada and alert the authorities," he said.

"Are you crazy, Clark?" Lois asked. "If we do that, we'll never find
them again. I think we should follow them and see where they're
going."

"It could be dangerous, Lois," Clark said. If only he could get back
to Masada, he could leave her for a moment to go to the washroom.
Then he could slip away, help out and get back before she ever knew
the difference.

"It'll be a lot more dangerous for those people if we don't follow,"
Lois pointed out.

Clark sighed. Lois was right. If they did take the time necessary to
return to Masada, the bus could have disappeared into any one of a
number of nearby canyons or caves before he had time to get back. The
only thing to do was to follow the bus and hope an opportunity
presented itself to intervene without Lois, or anyone else for that
matter, knowing what he'd done.

* * * * * * * * *

The bus pulled into a dark cave. The small cavern was lit only by a
couple of lanterns sitting on a table on the far side of the cave,
leaving it mostly in shadows.

"All right," said Hoffman. "Everyone - get off the bus. And I'm
warning you that if anyone..." He paused, looking at William's blood-
caked face. "And I mean anyone, tries something, one of you will die.
It may be the person causing the problem or it may be someone else.
So I would advise you to keep an eye on your fellow passengers if you
want to survive this experience."

Satisfied he'd made his point, he looked at the driver, who opened
the bus door in response. It was a very subdued group that
disembarked. They were led away from the bus and told to take a seat
on the cold ground. No one complained.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark let the bike drift into a ditch just out of sight of the cave's
entrance. He got off before turning to look at Lois.

"Do you know how to operate a motorcycle?" he asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Then take the bike and head back to Masada. There's always an army
presence there. If you find someone before..."

"And what will you be doing?"

"I'm going to sneak into the cave and see if there's some way I can help."

"I'm going with you," Lois insisted.

Clark let out a short breath. She really wasn't going to make this
easy for him. "Lois, one of us needs to go for help. Otherwise..."

"Then you go," Lois maintained, raising an eyebrow at him.

Clark gave her the sternest look he could muster. She merely folded
her arms across her chest and cocked her head to the side, all the
while maintaining eye contact. Clark immediately recognized defeat.
This woman was obviously high maintenance. Even so, he couldn't help
but admire her spirit. He would just have to find another way to do
this.

He took a moment to fish in his saddle bags before pulling out a
small can of gasoline. It was the only thing he had he thought might
be useful - although, how he wasn't sure. What he needed to do was
create a diversion - not only to keep everyone else busy, but also to
keep the woman beside him from noticing while he did his thing -
whatever that was.

"What are you taking that for?" asked Lois.

Clark shrugged. "It might prove useful. Come on."

With that, the two of them began making their way towards the cave.
Clark checked out the area carefully. There was no security outside.
They must have decided that their main security precaution was not
letting anyone know where they were. And they must have resolved that
outside security would only attract attention to this spot. He
quickly x-rayed the cave. There was security in there, but they
seemed fairly relaxed so he hoped it wouldn't be hard getting past
them. They were obviously fairly confident no one knew where they
were or what they'd done.

Lois and Clark cautiously snuck up to the cave. They quickly scurried
into a dark place near the entrance, while each silently thought of a
way to get inside without being detected. There were two guards
stationed just inside the front entrance. Clark aimed a couple of
quick blasts of heat vision at their machine guns, melting the pins.
That way they would be unable to fire their guns, should they try.

Then, as Clark was wondering what to do next, Lois suddenly picked up
a rock and threw it to the far side of the cave.

"What's that?" asked one of the guards. The two men got up from their
posts and cautiously approached the spot where the rock had landed.

"Come on," Lois whispered urgently, grabbing Clark's hand and dashing
for the entrance.

"I guess it's just rocks falling again," said one of the security guards.

"Yeah. I guess we should be used to it by now. But every time I hear one..."

"Tell me about it. But I guess if we take all of them seriously, when
it isn't a rock, we'll be ready."

Lois and Clark had already disappeared into the cave by the time the
guards made it back to their posts.

Lois and Clark snuck around the side of the bus so they couldn't be
seen by the people in the cave. Clark stuck his head through the open
door of the bus and looked inside. He smiled.

"I have an idea," he whispered to Lois. When she turned to look at
him, he continued, "I'm going to sneak around to the other side of
the cave. I'll create a diversion. When I do, get the hostages back
into the bus and have the driver back out of here as fast as he can.
The keys are still in the ignition."

"But what about you?" asked Lois.

"I'll be fine."

"And the guards at the front entrance?"

Clark wasn't worried about the guards. After all, if they tried to
fire, their guns wouldn't work, but what should he tell Lois. "If he
backs up quickly enough, it shouldn't be a problem. It'll take the
guards a little while to figure out what's going on."

Lois evaluated the plan for a moment. It was risky, but the only
other option was to sneak back out of the cave and find help. Then,
what would help do? They would probably surround the cave, creating a
stand off. She nodded at Clark - approving his plan. He was about to
sneak away when she grabbed him, pulled him into her arms and kissed
him.

"For luck," she said when she released him.

It took Clark a moment to recover. When he finally had, he headed off
into the darkness. Lois turned her attention back to the crowd. She
wasn't sure what she would do if Clark got caught, but she'd think of
something.

The hostages sat in silence for a few minutes, while the kidnappers
talked quietly nearby.

"What exactly do you want from us?" demanded Eric, the studious
looking man who had put William in his place earlier.

One of the kidnappers began making his way quickly toward the
insolent hostage to teach him a lesson, but he backed off at a bark
from Hoffman.

Hoffman approached the group slowly, never taking his eyes off Eric,
who was looking at him defiantly.

"Well, since you ask, I guess you might as well know that we intend
to trade your lives for the lives of ten Palestinian freedom fighters
being held in Israeli prisons," Hoffman informed them.

"But we're Americans," objected Beth, William's wife. "The Israeli
authorities aren't going to release prisoners in exchange for a bunch
of Americans."

Hoffman smiled. "They will if they get enough pressure from the
American President."

"Why would the President intervene?" asked Oren. "I mean, maybe these
people are Americans, but..."

Hoffman turned his attention back to Eric. "What?" he asked. "Don't
they know who their distinguished traveling companion is?" He closed
the remaining distance between him and Eric before pulling the man to
his feet by the front of his shirt. "This is Eric Markham - the old
childhood friend of the President. I think for Mr. Markham here, the
President will ensure that the Israeli authorities cooperate. In
fact..." He turned to one of his men, gesturing to the table. "I
think it might be nice to have a souvenir of the event.

The man Hoffman had turned towards, went to the table and picked up a
Polaroid camera. He took a picture of their distinguished guest,
being careful not to capture their leader in the picture. Next he
took pictures of the other hostages. Once he was finished, Hoffman
dropped Eric Markham back to the floor and stepped away from the
hostages.

"Now," he continued. "All we need is someone to carry the message
back to the authorities." He carefully looked over the crowd, as if
debating who the best candidate would be. He smiled when he saw the
female tour guide sitting amongst the other hostages. "You," he said,
pointing at her. "Come here."

The woman known to the hostages as Shoshana slowly rose to her feet
and approached Hoffman. The other hostages gasped when she walked
right up to him and, grabbing his shirt, pulled him in for a
passionate kiss.

"God, I missed you," she purred when she broke the kiss. There was
now no trace of an Israeli accent in her voice.

He brought a hand up to her cheek for a moment as he responded, "Good
job, baby." Then he stepped back from her, and the crowd gasped again
as the back his hand suddenly landed across her cheek, sending her
flying to the floor of the cave.

Lois glanced around, looking for Clark. Even though she knew he had
to be there somewhere, she couldn't see him. She moved a little
further around the bus, looking for any sign of him. She still had no
luck. She supposed that was a good sign - even if it was frustrating
for her. After all, if she, who knew he was there somewhere, couldn't
see him, no one else was likely to either.

Clark watched the scene unfold below him with horror. He was floating
in the darkness along the roof of the cave. He knew that people
seldom look up. Between that and the darkness, he was confident he
wouldn't be seen - as long as he continued to move slowly so that he
wouldn't attract attention. It was obvious that the woman, now
sprawled across the floor of the cave, was working with the
kidnappers. Nonetheless it was hard for Clark not to react to a man
hitting a woman. He took a moment to steady himself, concentrating on
getting across the room without being seen.

Clark had considered moving to the other side of the cavern at
superspeed, but decided against it because of the wind it would
cause. In the static environment of the cave, it would be hard not to
notice a sudden and unexplainable gust of air. Also, for him to move
fast enough not to be seen, he would have to pass the speed of sound.
If he did that in close confines like these, he would probably
rupture the ear drums of everyone present. Thus, he had chosen to
sneak slowly across the ceiling of the cave, being sure to always
stay in the shadows.

"What did you do that for?" demanded the woman while putting a hand
up to her mouth and looking at the blood on it.

"We can't have you going back without a few bruises, baby," Hoffman
replied evenly.

Lois crept a bit further around the bus so that she could see the woman.

"Well, what have we here?" asked a voice behind her.

Lois tried to spin around, but two hands held her firmly in place.

"What is it?" asked Hoffman, recognizing from the man's voice that
his second in command, Jack Spencer, had found something.

Clark glanced back and saw, to his horror, that Lois was now being
held prisoner. His body tensed as he prepared to come to her rescue,
but then he forced himself to relax. She was fine for now. Once he
had diverted the captor's attention, he could come to her rescue. If
he did it now, he would give himself away. And while he was prepared
to do so if necessary, he would prefer to find a way that wouldn't
expose him. So, since she wasn't in any immediate danger, he
continued on his course across the room.

"We seem to have a stowaway," commented Jack, dragging a struggling
Lois Lane out from behind the bus. He dumped her unceremoniously at
Hoffman's feet.

Hoffman reached out and grabbed Lois' chin, forcing her to her feet.
She immediately swung at him, causing Jack to capture her hands,
pulling them firmly behind her back. While she continued to kick
against the man behind her, Hoffman stepped up, grabbing her chin
again.

"Now why do you look familiar?" Hoffman asked, studying the woman.

"Is that the best pick-up line you've got?" asked Lois. "Because if
it is, you need some new material."

"I know," said Hoffman, ignoring the insult. He walked over to the
table, picking up a small book. He opened it and made his way back to
the woman. He compared the woman whose picture was in the passport
with the woman in front of him.

Lois suddenly quit struggling as it sunk in what he held in his hand.
"That's mine," she said. "What right did you have to steal my
passport?"

"What right did you have snooping around in matters that don't
concern you? Well, this is a stroke of luck. I was thinking I'd have
to take care of you after this was all over anyway. You've just saved
me the trouble of tracking you down."

"She wasn't with the tour group," the woman who had been leading the
tour group informed Hoffman.

"So then," demanded Hoffman, "How did you get here?"

"You left bread crumbs. I followed them."

Clark saw Hoffman pull back his hand and prepared to fly in to stop
it. He would not let Lois be hit, but then Hoffman seemed to change
his mind. He let his hand drop back to his side. Clark breathed a
sigh of relief and landed quietly on the other side of the cave near
some crates. He quickly x-rayed one. Just as he suspected, they held
weapons. There was no way they would let their weapons be destroyed.
He carefully moved the box of guns away from the ammunition. He might
want a diversion; he didn't want a catastrophe. He opened the
gasoline and poured it over the box. He quietly slipped the box over
by the table upon which were sitting two lanterns. He looked around.
No one had noticed. He retreated again back into the shadows.

Hoffman studied the woman for a moment. "No, I have a feeling beating
it out of you won't work. So, I have a better idea. Maybe you'll
respond to a little pleasure." With that he stepped up to Lois,
roughly took her chin in his hand and leaned in to claim her mouth.
He jumped back again when she spat. He raised his hand to his cheek,
wiping off the spittle.

Clark drew in a small, well-aimed super breath, causing the lantern
sitting on the table to tumble onto the crate. When that was slow in
starting a fire, he added a little heat vision. The wooden crate
quickly caught on fire.

Hoffman spun around at the sound of the lantern falling.

"Quick," he said to his men, as he rushed for the crate.

The man holding Lois, dropped her to the floor. She scrambled towards
the hostages. "Follow me," she whispered and the entire crowd quickly
followed her back to the bus. "The keys are in it," Lois whispered to
Oren who had situated himself in the driver's seat. He needed no
instructions. He started the engine and without even closing the
door, shifted into reverse.

Lois quickly jumped from the bus as it started to back up. She would
not leave Clark here. She turned around to see what was happening.
She shook her head in disbelief at the sight that greeted her. The
fire seemed to be out and the men were all lying unconscious on the
floor of the cave - including the guards who had been at the entrance
to the cave. Only one lantern was lighting the cave now. In the light
from it, she could see Clark kneeling over a man. She quickly closed
the distance separating them.

"What happened?" she asked.

Clark looked up at her in shock. She was supposed to be on the bus.
"What are you still doing here, Lois?"

"I wasn't going to leave you behind. What happened?"

Clark looked around at the men. "Umm... Well, it was the strangest
thing. When they were rushing to put out the fire they all seemed to
trip or fall and..." He gestured around helplessly, as if saying that
her guess was as good as his. "At least they're still alive. Umm...
well, at least the ones I've checked are. They're just unconscious."
Then, to divert her attention, he said, "I saw some rope over there."
He gestured towards the crates. "Help me get them tied up before they
come to."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark opened the saddlebag on his motorcycle and pulled out a jacket.
Lois was still talking to Lieutenant Ben Kenaani. Clark had let her
give most of the explanations. He'd been uncomfortable accepting
thanks from the rescued tourists. What he really wanted was to get
out of here as quickly as possible. Although no one was putting much
effort into finding out exactly what had happened to the kidnappers,
Clark felt incredibly vulnerable. He knew all it would take was one
person saying, 'I don't buy it,' and his entire story about the
kidnappers tripping and falling in their rush for the fire would fall
apart. He wanted to be long gone before that happened. So far, he'd
managed to keep people from knowing his real last name, but he was
very conscious that Lois knew who he was. As a result, he'd made sure
she wasn't nearby when he'd had to give his name. Even so, with Lois
knowing, it was entirely possible that others knew or could easily
find out.

The good news was that the Israeli authorities seemed to want to keep
this quiet too, at least while they finished their investigation.
Clark was grateful for that. It would probably be best if he was
moving on so that if they did get his real name, they couldn't track
him down to ask additional questions. Crete. He'd always liked Crete.
Now if he could only get Lois to quit asking everyone questions about
what they had seen and heard. She was even demanding to know what the
army was going to do about it and what would happen to the men who
were now in custody. She was definitely the most curious person he'd
ever met.

She had recovered her passport, a notepad and some other piece of
identification, but all her clothes and money were still missing. It
was for that reason that Clark had pulled his jacket out and was now
walking towards Lois.

He just caught the final part of Lois' conversation with the lieutenant.

"I have your word then, nothing until we finish our investigation?"
the lieutenant was saying.

"You have my word. As long as I have yours that I get everything when
you finish - exclusively."

"You have it," Ben Kenaani replied, giving her his hand to seal the deal.

Lois took his hand, giving him her most charming smile in return. She
turned when she felt a jacket being slipped onto her shoulders.

"Hi, Clark," she said. "What's this for?"

He gestured to her shirt, turning slightly red as he did so. Lois
looked down, for the first time noticing that her shirt got ripped in
the scuffle - she had been too intent on getting the story. "Thanks,"
she said, slipping the jacket on and doing it up. "I only wish we had
found all my stuff."

"Well, if it turns up, I promise we'll contact you," said Kenaani.

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Lois replied before turning and accompanying
Clark back to his bike.

"So what did the lieutenant have to say?" Clark asked, glancing back
at the dark good looking man who was still watching Lois.

The tone in Clark's voice caught Lois' attention. She glanced at him
and had to smother a smile at the look of jealousy on his face. "He
was just..." She hesitated. For the past couple of hours, she had
been Lois Lane, investigative reporter, but she was suddenly aware
that the man beside her thought she was Lois Lind, university
student. "Well, I really can't talk about it."

Clark gave her a curious look. "Why not?"

"Well, I sort of got a bit more information than I should have. I
promised the lieutenant I wouldn't say anything until they'd had time
to finish their investigation," she replied.

"Humph," Clark grunted. He didn't like the idea of this woman keeping
secrets with the good looking lieutenant, but there wasn't much he
could do about it. Besides, it wasn't as if she was his girlfriend or
something. She was just a person he was helping out. He sighed, as he
moved the bike back onto the road and got on.

Lois climbed on behind Clark, snuggling even closer than before. She
laid her head on his back and tightened her arms around him. For the
past few hours, she had been Lois Lane. And even she had to admit
that Lois Lane was good. She had gotten the story - and it would be
an exclusive for the Daily Planet. Others might give their stories to
the press, but the Daily Planet's story was guaranteed to have all
the gritty details. She was on a serious adrenaline rush..

But now she was looking forward to being Lois Lind, carefree
university student, for a few hours. And who better to do that with
than the man her arms were wrapped around. She had to admit that he
had been great. She was certain she had ruined everything when she'd
been caught, but he had still managed to make it all work out in the
end. Maybe he was just a drifter, but he was a great drifter.

She glanced over his shoulder when the bike began to slow. He pulled
into a parking lot and came to a stop.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around at the empty parking lot.

"Well... After our excitement, I thought it might be nice to calm
down a bit before beginning our trip back to Tel Aviv. Do you mind?"

She shook her head. She didn't mind, but that didn't answer her
question. "Where are we?"

"En Gedi," Clark informed her, stepping off the bike and then giving
her his hand as he helped her off. "This is the oasis I told you
about this morning. Since it's starting to get late, I would imagine
there won't be many people around."

Lois looked around at the desert. "This is an oasis," she said,
feeling slightly disappointed.

Clark laughed. "No. We have to walk a little bit. Do you think you're
up for it?"

Lois smiled. "I think I'm up for just about anything right now," she replied.

"That's the adrenaline," Clark informed her. "In a little while you'll
be ready to crash." With that he released her hand and turned his
attention to his saddlebags again. He pulled out a couple of brown
paper bags.

"What's that?" Lois asked.

"While you were running around asking questions, I made good use of
the time. The people at the kibbutz we were taken to made up some
lunches." He held up the bags to emphasize his words.

Lois smiled. She was feeling hungry. "Good thinking," she said.

He gave her a quick smile before starting to walk toward a well
marked trail. She took a couple of quick steps until she was at his
side again.

"Well if I'm going to crash after this adrenaline high, we'll just
have to make the most of the time we have before I do," she replied,
boldly slipping her hand into his. She was definitely feeling
invincible at the moment.

Clark felt his heart suddenly skip a beat. He could swear she'd just
made a pass at him. He looked down at their joined hands, confirming
that hers was really in his. He took a deep breath. He really should
let go of her hand. After all, she was probably high on adrenaline at
the moment and he already knew he couldn't let anything happen
between them anyway. However, in spite of that knowledge, he was
unable to make himself release her hand.

They hadn't walked very far when suddenly they emerged from around a
sandstone ledge and were standing in a green oasis with a magnificent
waterfall. Lois pulled in a sharp breath.

"It's beautiful, Clark," she whispered in awe.

Clark smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Lois took a quick look around. There was no one else here. Suddenly
feeling a little reckless, she sat down on a nearby bolder and pulled
off her shoes and socks. When they were off, she paused for a moment,
struggling to come to a decision. Then she turned to Clark.

"Let's go swimming," she said. "I feel grimy after the day we've had."

"If we go in in our clothes, well... with the sun going down, we
won't be able to get dried off before we have to drive back. And the
temperature really does drop at night in the desert. I just don't
think it's a good idea."

Lois studied him for a moment, a slow smile lighting up her face.
"I'm wearing underwear," she finally said. "Are you?"

"Umm... Well, yeah. What..." Suddenly he understood what she was
suggesting. "We can't, Lois. This is a public place." But even as he
objected, he couldn't help but react to the idea of seeing this woman
in her underwear.

She gave a snort. "There's no one else around, Clark. Besides, my
underwear covers me as well as my swimsuit does." Having made her
point and assuming she'd won the argument, Lois began stripping off
her jeans.

Clark watched in disbelief for a moment. Then he diverted his eyes to
gaze at the waterfall, trying not to notice what Lois was doing. It
was only a few moments more before he heard her jump into the water.

"Come on, Clark," she said. "It feels wonderful."

He took a look at her in the fading light before letting out a short
breath. He already knew she was going to win this argument anyway. He
finally nodded and removed his shirt, before undoing his belt to slip
off his pants.

  From the water, Lois watched as Clark's chest was revealed. She was
right, the man was incredibly well proportioned. His chest looked
like an ad for a muscle building infomercial. Washboard was
definitely a word that had been invented specifically to describe
him. She swallowed hard, but was unable to look away as he divested
himself of his pants and jumped in beside her.

They wrestled and played in the water for a while, trying to work off
the tension of the last several hours, when suddenly they heard
voices. Clark moved quickly, grabbing their clothes from the shore
and taking them into some shrubs a little ways away. Just then a
family of orthodox Jews came into view. Lois had to stifle a laugh as
she pulled her pants back on her wet body. Clark gave her a
disapproving stare.

As soon as they were decent, they made their way back over to where
they had left their lunches. They sat down and opened the bags as
they watched the two kids enter the water fully dressed.

"Didn't you say we couldn't do that?" Lois whispered to Clark.

"They probably have dry clothes nearby," Clark responded.

"Are you sure you weren't just trying to get me out of my clothes,
Mr. Kent?" Lois responded. When he turned red, Lois laughed. She
turned back to her sandwich and took a bite. "These are great," she
said.

"I imagine the fact that you haven't eaten since breakfast has
something to do with it."

"As does the company," Lois added.

Clark felt his heart skip a beat. This was definitely becoming a
familiar sensation. She was once again flirting with him. He quickly
took another bite of his sandwich, reminding himself that nothing
could happen between them - not that she was even suggesting that
something would. Still... It was hard not imagining what it would
feel like to, just once, allow himself to get lost in the moment.

In order to divert his train of thought, Clark called over, in
flawless Hebrew, to the kids in the water. After making some light
small talk with them, he turned his attention back to Lois, who was
watching him.

"Are you Jewish, Clark?" she asked.

"No. Why?"

She shrugged. "I imagine that was Hebrew. Why would you learn Hebrew
if you aren't Jewish?"

"I've just always found languages easy to learn."

"How many languages do you speak?"

"A few," Clark said obscurely, taking a final bite of his sandwich.
He didn't want to tell Lois that he actually spoke over a hundred.
How could he possibly explain that? "If you're ready, we probably
should get going. It's still a couple of hours to Tel Aviv."

Lois quickly stuffed the last bite of sandwich into her mouth, before
rising to follow.

* * * * * * * * *

"So this is the infamous Roger Hoffman," said Lieutenant Ben Kenaani,
coming into the interrogation room.

Hoffman's eyes narrowed. He had made sure no one used his name during
the operation. It was a precaution he always took. He also knew his
fingerprints weren't on file anywhere. So how did this man know who
he was? He had to be with the Israeli intelligence agency - the
Mossad. He had heard they were good, but this was remarkable.

Kenaani settled himself on the other side of the table from his
prisoner. "We have a lot of questions for you," Kenaani began.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois followed Clark into his small flat. She looked around. It wasn't
much more than a large room. It was sparsely furnished, but
comfortable enough. Around were a number of distinct items which Lois
assumed he had picked up on his travels. There were a couple of
comfortable chairs in an area he had obviously designated as a
living room.

Along one wall were cupboards and an old fridge. Along another wall
was a large bed. Lois swallowed hard. She diverted her gaze from the
bed to take in a door, that she assumed led to a washroom, and some
large doors that led... Where did they lead?

"This will just take a minute," Clark assured her, making his way
over to a dresser. He rifled through it for a moment, withdrawing a
t-shirt. Since her shirt had been ripped and she didn't have any
other clothes, he had offered to get her a t-shirt before taking her
to a hostel for the night. Since she didn't have any money, he'd
assured her that he'd pay for it. Then, in the morning, he'd come by
to take her to the embassy to sort everything out for her trip home.
She had agreed to his plan.

Clark inspected the shirt for a moment. It was one of his University
of Kansas shirts, but it was the smallest one he had. Although it
would certainly still be big on her, it would be better than what she
was currently wearing. He turned around to hand it to her. She wasn't
there. He looked around in confusion for a moment before noticing
that the doors that led onto the roof were open. The view from here
was the reason he had rented the flat. He walked outside into the
warm night air. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Lois,
looking out over the city. She looked positively beautiful in the
soft light. He quietly walked up beside her.

"That's Tel Aviv," he said softly. "I just love the way the lights
reflect on the water at night."

"I thought we were in Tel Aviv."

Clark shook his head. "This is Jaffa. The two cities are situated
next to each other, but they are still regarded as two different
cities."

They stood in silence for a moment before Lois said, "It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is," Clark responded softly, almost reverently.

Lois glanced over at him. He wasn't looking at the city - he was watching her.

Afterwards, Lois couldn't say who moved first, but suddenly she found
herself in Clark's arms as each explored the other's mouth with an
urgency that took Lois completely by surprise. Was it because of the
excitement of the day or this undeniable sense of connection she had
with Clark? She didn't know, but at this moment, she didn't care. All
she knew was that in less than twenty-four hours she would be on a
airplane that would take her away from this man for good.

After a few minutes of frantic activity on the part of both Lois and
Clark, both suddenly pulled back. They stood staring into each
others' eyes for a moment, both fighting to catch their breath.
Neither knew quite knew what had happened and, as a result, neither
knew quite how to break the silence. Finally, Clark seemed to find
his voice.

"I found you a t-shirt," he said.

One side of Lois' mouth crept up. If he wanted to talk about the
t-shirt right now, their kiss had obviously affected him as much as
it had her - if not more. She slowly closed the distance separating
them. When she was within a foot of him, she gently reached up and
placed her hand on the soft fir covering his face. She slowly
explored his face with her hand while staring into his eyes.

Clark knew the instant that she touched his face that he was in
trouble. Years of carefully avoiding any and all emotional
attachments went up in smoke. No matter what he did now, he belonged
to the woman standing in front of him.

"God, Lois," he whispered. "You have no idea how much I want to make
love to you."

"Yes," she whispered back, before leaning in and finding his mouth.

As frantic as their previous activity had been, their current
exploration was slow and deliberate. Their lips softly caressed each
other as hands began exploring each other's arms and backs.

Clark's mind was having problems stringing together a coherent
thought. She had said 'yes'. But yes to what? Suddenly, he pulled
back.

"I said that out loud, didn't I," he said in horror.

Lois looked at him in confusion for a moment. She thought back over
the last thing he'd said. Suddenly, she smiled and nodded.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I know that you have
to go back to Metropolis tomorrow. I didn't mean to imply that you
would want to..." Suddenly his voice trailed off. He was silent for a
moment.

Lois could tell the moment it sunk in. She could tell by the look of
wonder in his eyes.

"You said yes," he finally breathed.

"I said yes," she confirmed.

Clark let out a breath before stepping up closer to her. He gently
took her face between his hands before leaning in to kiss her. The
kiss was deliberate - filled with the promise of things to come.
After a moment he broke the kiss.

"Are you sure, Lois?" Clark asked. "Because we don't have to..."

"I'm sure, Clark," Lois interrupted.

Clark hesitated for only a moment, before sweeping her up in his arms
and carrying her back into his flat.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark felt absolutely content as he slowly began to wake up. He
didn't open his eyes, knowing that would bring another day and some
painful good-byes. Instead, he let the memories of last night wash
over him - what it felt like having Lois Lind in his arms, what it
felt like having Lois Lind in his bed. It had been irresponsible and
foolhardy - and absolutely incredible.

He smiled when he thought back to the way she had melted in his arms
as he whispered that he loved her just before they drifted off to
sleep. He wasn't the only one who had felt something remarkable
happen when they made love - he was sure of that. Made love. His
smile widened at the thought. After believing for so long that he was
destined to spend his life alone, the idea that he had spent most of
last night making love to the most remarkable woman he'd ever met
caused him to reconsider. There was something about her that
completed him.

Metropolis, huh? Well, he had always wanted to see Metropolis.
Maybe... What was he thinking? He already knew that it was time to
leave Israel because of the stunt he'd pulled yesterday. He wasn't
prepared to answer any more questions about how the men had been
incapacitated. What would happen if he went to Metropolis and started
a relationship with this woman? What would happen when he had to
leave? It wasn't fair to her. It wasn't fair to him.

If he knew why he had these powers, maybe things would be different,
but he didn't even know that much. For all he knew, these powers were
symptoms of some dangerous disease. He couldn't risk establishing a
life here. There was always the fear of discovery, but having a
family would also include the fear of passing some horrible illness
on to offspring - that was assuming he could even have children.
Without knowing why he was different, he could hardly take that
chance. No. Settling down was not an option for Clark Kent. For that
reason, Clark had avoided any and all emotional attachments. It just
wouldn't be fair to even think about starting something he knew he
could never finish.

Suddenly, he wanted her to know everything. It was a startling
realization for Clark. For as long as he could remember, his dad had
drilled into him the idea that no one could ever know. Even so, if he
didn't tell her, he knew he would lose her. She would go back to
Metropolis and that would be the end. He pulled in a sharp breath at
the thought. Okay, so what if he told her? Maybe she would tell the
world and ruin his life - but how was that any different from having
her walk out of his life right now? He would still be devastated.

There was only one option. He had to tell her. In fact, he would tell
her now. After all, if she knew everything, he wouldn't have to live
in Metropolis for them to continue seeing each other. Given how
quickly he could travel around the world, he could always fly in and
take her out to dinner even if he was living in Tibet. After that...
Well, maybe something more permanent wasn't completely out of the
question.

Telling her might not change anything - she might still walk out of
his life - but at least he would have done everything in his power to
keep her. At least he wouldn't look back on this one moment for the
rest of his life and wonder what might have been. And just maybe, if
he told her everything, she'd be willing to continue seeing him.

Clark suddenly smiled. All his life he'd seen his abilities as a
hindrance to forming attachments. Maybe it was time he considered the
flip side of the coin. Maybe it was time to consider the benefits his
abilities could have in a relationship. He could, after all, fly her
from Metropolis to Paris for supper. He almost chuckled when he
considered doing that. Of course, flying with him might be scary for
her. He thought about that possibility for a moment. Nah. Not her.
Nothing could possibly scare this woman if yesterday was any
indication.

He opened his eyes and looked at the bed next to him. A frown creased
his forehead when he discovered it was empty. Had it all been a
dream? No. It had been real. He looked around his apartment, she
wasn't here. He took a quick look into the washroom. Still no sign of
her. She must be out on the roof.

Clark got out of bed and threw on his pants before making his way out
to the roof. He opened the door and looked around. Suddenly, the air
around him seemed almost stifling. No. She wouldn't have. He quickly
looked around the apartment and noticed that his wallet was lying
open on his dresser. Beside it was a piece of paper, probably torn
from the notebook Lois had recovered during their adventure. He made
his way over and picked up the wallet. His remaining money was gone.
He picked up the paper lying beside it and read.

'I owe you 40 shekels. L.'

Clark dropped his wallet and the note back onto the table, before
taking a couple of steps backwards until he felt the edge of the bed
behind him. He slowly sank down on it. It was over. She was gone.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she sat on the airplane
that would take her back to Metropolis. She had left before he woke
rather than have to endure the inevitable awkwardness of the morning
after. Besides, it wasn't as if they had a future. He was a drifter.
An incredibly sexy drifter, but a drifter nonetheless.

Before last night, Lois had only had two sexual relationships in her
life. Well, relationships was probably an overstatement. Her first
encounter was more of a... research assignment, than anything else.

At the age of seventeen, Lois had asked her mother about sex. She had
certainly heard enough about the subject from her friends - all of
whom were virgins. She had even participated in some heavy petting in
the back seat of the odd car. Still, she wanted the real story. Her
mother had dropped her drink when Lois brought up the subject. Then,
as Ellen scrambled to clean up the mess, she cleared her throat and
informed her daughter that it was a subject she'd learn about when
she got married.

Since Lois had no plans to get married, at least until she had
established herself in her career, the answer was far from
satisfactory. In fact, given Lois' innate sense of curiosity, it was
exactly the wrong answer. Lois had immediately set out to discover
what all the fuss was about. She had found a man - or more
accurately, a high school senior - that she liked enough. But mainly,
he was chosen for his reputation. If he was experienced, surely he
could give her the best introduction to a subject that was quickly
becoming a matter of great interest. Getting him to take her to bed
had not been difficult. Afterwards, she had concluded that sex was
nothing to get excited about and had attempted to avoid any repeat
performances.

The second man was a college boyfriend. They had been dating for
about a year before she slept with him. The experience itself wasn't
much more satisfying - still, Lois had to concede that sex was
expected in a long term relationship. When he finished university a
couple of months later, he informed her he had a job in Florida. He
promised his move wouldn't effect their relationship, but in his
second letter, he advised her he had met someone else and was getting
married. Lois had almost been relieved - or would have been if she
hadn't been so angry.

So what had happened last night? She had been completely swept away
by the experience. The need to get as close as possible to this man
had taken her totally by surprise. Lois had no frame of reference for
what had happened, but did that mean she was prepared to give up her
life and career to go vagabonding around the world with him. No. Of
course not. Still... For the first time in her life, Lois understood
what all the fuss was about. Sex. It had been... magical, was the
only word she could find for it. Even so, life was not based on sex,
no matter how incredible. It was based on having a common outlook and
common goals.

She let out a jagged breath, forcing herself to think about what
awaited her in Metropolis. She had a great story that was guaranteed
to advance her career. And then there was her social life. Before
going to Israel, Lois had accepted a date from a fellow reporter. He
was a bit older than her and, even though the chemistry they shared
wasn't anything compared to the undeniable pull she felt for her
drifter, this reporter was much better suited for her. They at least
shared a common interest - the news. When she got back to Metropolis,
she would put Clark out of her mind and see what possibilities might
exist with Claude.

* * * * * * * * *
FOUR YEARS LATER
* * * * * * * * *

Lois flicked on the little light in the display case and looked at
the three Kerth awards housed there. She smiled slightly before
frowning. She opened the glass door and removed the first one. She
looked at her name and the date as she used the edge of her shirt to
wipe some dust off. Then she made her way over to the couch and sat
down, looking at the award and remembering the story that had won her
her first Kerth - the hijacking of a bus in Israel and the follow up
about a mercenary ring that had been busted.

The story had been a big hit with Perry - well, once he finished
bawling her out for not telling him what she was up to. He had even
insisted on having the Planet pay her back for her expenses. But that
wasn't what she was thinking about at the moment. She was thinking
about her drifter. As she had written the story, she had thought
about that day a lot. In the end, she had not included Clark's name
in the story. For some reason, she couldn't say exactly why, she
didn't think he'd want it in there. Besides, there was something too
personal about mentioning him by name. She hadn't even told her
sister his name. Lucy knew the man simply as Lois' drifter.

But not mentioning his name didn't mean she hadn't thought about him
during the past four years. In fact, she thought about him every day.
Of course, there was a reason for that. But even if that reason had
not existed, she suspected he would still one of her last thoughts as
she drifted off to sleep at night and one of her first thoughts as
she woke up in the morning.

Leaving him to come back to Metropolis had been the right thing to
do. She knew he was a drifter. Everything about him, from the way he
had lived before they met to the lack of permanence in his apartment,
had told her that. Staying wouldn't have resulted in anything
permanent with Clark. He would have eventually left anyway. He just
wasn't the type to stay around for the long haul. She had chosen her
career over him - and it was the right decision.

She tried dating Claude after returning to Metropolis, but after a
few dates, she knew it wasn't going to work out, mainly because every
time he kissed or touched her, she found herself thinking about her
drifter.

So when Claude had finally ended their relationship, Lois was
relieved. It was just easier being alone than it was to have a man
touch her when she so desperately wanted it to be someone else. She
was glad now that the relationship had ended before they'd been
intimate, especially when she considered what happened next. After
their relationship ended, Claude had immediately become involved with
another female reporter at the Planet. There was a resulting scandal.
  From what Lois heard, Claude had actually stolen a story from his new
girlfriend. Lois didn't know if that was true, but she had no doubt
Claude was capable of that type of deception. As a result, Claude was
eventually asked to leave the Daily Planet. Lois was so glad she
hadn't been taken in that way.

Lois tried writing a number of letters to her drifter during the
first few months after returning to Metropolis; however, she ended up
destroying each and every letter. After all, what was there to say?
There was no possibility for a permanent relationship and so she had
decided it was best to leave things the way they were - as the
perfect memory.

There was the little matter of returning the money she'd taken from
his wallet the morning after. Finally, having no idea what exactly
she should tell him, she simply took the money, put it in an envelope
with a note that read, 'Here's the money I owe you. L.' and sent it
to his address in Israel, but the letter had been returned. On the
front was a stamp that read, 'Moved. No forwarding address.' She
hadn't even bothered opening it again. She simply threw it in a
drawer where it still sat to this day.

There certainly were times when she had considered trying to track
him down. He was from a town in Kansas called Smallville - she
couldn't forget that name if she tried. She figured he probably had
family there. Even if he didn't, someone was likely to know where he
was. On one occasion a couple of years ago, she had actually flown to
Kansas, rented a car in Kansas City and driven through Smallville.
However, she lost her nerve and headed back without as much as
stopping for coffee. After all, what would she say? Even if she did
track him down, would he want to see her after what she'd done? Worse
yet, what if he didn't remember her?

Lois dated very little in the past four years. She tried telling her
sister she was simply too busy, but she knew it had more to do with
the feeling that she was cheating on Clark when she went out with
someone else. It was crazy, but it was still the way she felt.

She knew turning down almost every man who asked her out had given
her the reputation in the newsroom of being frigid. She even knew
some people speculated that she was gay. Of course, most of them only
did it behind her back - not daring a direct confrontation. Only Cat
dared taunt her in person, but what could Lois do about it? Apart
from admitting that her heart belonged to a man she'd known for less
than twenty-four hours, nothing.

Lois set the Kerth award on the coffee table and looked at it from a
distance. For some reason she always felt as if it should read, 'Lois
Lane and Clark Kent,' instead of just, 'Lois Lane.' After all,
without him, she wouldn't have lived to get the story.

She sighed. How was it possible that after all this time, she could
still feel his hands on her body, could still hear the way he
whispered he loved her as they fell asleep in each other's arms? If
he had told her he loved her before they made love, she would have
seen it as a technique to get her into bed. If he had said it while
they were making love, it would have seemed like an excited
utterance. It was because he said it afterwards that it meant so much
to her. There was nothing more he could want from her. There was
nothing to provoke the words, except some genuine feelings.

She had wanted to say the words back. So why hadn't she? She hadn't
because she hadn't been sure of her feelings. Now, after four years,
she knew without a doubt that she did love him. There was no way he
could possibly still be this real to her if she didn't.

Even so, she still believed that leaving had been the right thing to
do. If he was able to affect her so deeply after only one night
together, what would have happened to her if they had begun a
relationship just to have him move on again when the spirit moved
him? He was a drifter and the last thing Lois Lane needed in her life
was a drifter.

"Not again," moaned Lucy coming into the living room.

"What?" asked Lois guiltily.

"The Kerth award - your first one, right? The t-shirt. Lois, it doesn't
take an award winning investigative reporter to know what's on your
mind tonight."

Lois looked down at the University of Kansas t-shirt she was wearing.
"It's comfortable, Luc," she informed her sister. "And I was just
cleaning some dust off the Kerth," Lois concluded, not sounding very
convincing even to her own ears.

"Yeah, right," snorted Lucy. "You know what you need?"

"Chocolate ice-cream?"

"No. You need to get laid."

"Lucy!"

"I'm serious. You've been pinning away over this guy for four years.
Don't you think it's time to get on with your life?"

"What does that have to do with..."

"The best way to forget about one man is by being with another. It
was a one night stand, Lois. No matter how good he was, it's over.
Sleeping with someone else will help you get over him. I guarantee it
- well, if he's good enough."

"Lucy, I don't think..."

"I'm not suggesting that you forget your drifter. I'm just suggesting
that you relegate him to the place of a great memory. Now, let me
think," Lucy paused, trying to come up with the perfect guy to sleep
with her sister.

"No! Lucy, I'm not going to sleep with some guy just to..."

"Get over your drifter?"

"Right."

"Lois, it was a one night stand. Nothing more," Lucy said for what
felt like the millionth time.

"It was more than that, Luc."

Lucy snorted. "Yeah, it was so good that you left in the middle of the night."

"It was morning, Lucy," Lois objected.

"He was still asleep," Lucy pointed out.

"Okay, so technically... Look, I'm not saying it could have worked
out. It couldn't have. I know that. That's why I left. It's just...
something happened..." Lois' voice trailed off. She had tried putting
this into words so many times during the past four years and was
still completely unable to do so.

Lucy sighed. "Okay, so what brought on this episode?" she finally
asked in resignation. "Did someone ask you out again?"

"No. It's just... Well, for some reason he feels so close this
evening. I don't know. I probably am going crazy. And maybe I am
romanticizing what happened between us. He probably wouldn't even
remember me if I ran into him on the street." Lois gave her sister a
sad smile before getting up and putting her Kerth award away.
"Good-night, Luc," she said, heading for her bedroom.

"Night, sis," Lucy responded. Then as an afterthought added, "Pleasant dreams."

Lucy sighed at the somewhat mischievous, slightly dreamy look her
sister gave her in response. She really had to find Lois a man.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood across the street from the Daily Planet looking up at the
large globe that hung above its entrance. It had always been his
dream to work for a world renowned paper like the Planet. Now, thanks
to Professor Carlton, a teacher he'd had when he'd attended the
University of Kansas, he might have that chance. He'd taken a trip
back there about a month ago and had run into his old professor. The
man still remembered him. When he found out Clark was 'between jobs'
he stepped in, informing Clark that he knew the editor of the Daily
Planet.

Clark wasn't sure which had him more excited: the idea of working at
the Daily Planet or the idea of living in Metropolis - her city. It
had been four years, and still he dreamt about her. After such
dreams, he would wake up expecting see her lying beside him. When
he'd realize she wasn't there, a dull ache would settle in his belly.

He knew that just because he was hoping to live in Metropolis didn't
mean he would even run into her. After all, it was a big city, but
just the idea that he could was exciting. Of course, he wondered if
she would be less than thrilled to see him. She was the one, after
all, who had disappeared while he was asleep, leaving nothing behind
but an I.O.U. and his broken heart.

That broken heart prevented Clark from trying to find her when he'd
woken up that fateful morning. He had tried to convince himself it
was for the best. At least she'd saved him from making himself
vulnerable by telling her all about his powers.

Still, when he arrived in Metropolis last night, Clark had found himself
glued to a phone, calling every Lind in the phone book looking for
Lois. He had been making calls long into the night, waking people up.
It was completely out of character for him to be so inconsiderate,
but he couldn't seem to stop. Even so, he'd had no luck. None of the
people he'd spoken to knew a Lois Lind. Of course, there were a few
numbers he'd tried where no one was home. So he already knew what
he'd be doing this evening.

He figured she could have an unlisted phone number, but surely
another Lind would know who she was. She had said she was born and
raised in Metropolis. Of course, if that didn't work, he would
probably go down to Metropolis University and see what he could dig
up there. Surely someone in the journalism department would remember
her. After all, Clark didn't think she was particularly forgettable.
Years ago, he'd drawn her picture. He figured he could always use
that to jog people's memory. Of course, his memory didn't need any
aids. He didn't think he'd ever forget one detail of either her face
or body.

It was possible that she was married and that's why he had been
unable to find her under the name Lind. He felt almost sick at the
prospect - especially since he considered it a very real likelihood.
For all he knew, she even had a couple of kids.

Of course, even if he found her, even if she was available and
interested, he still had a problem. He was still different. The last
four years had only managed to emphasize that point. And he knew he
couldn't stand by and watch people die if he could prevent it. So
what chance did that give him for a permanent life here? He sighed.
Maybe it would be enough just to have coffee with her. Maybe if he
knew that she was happily married with a couple of kids - his insides
revolted at the thought - he'd be able to get over her easier.
Maybe... Who did he think he was kidding? He'd never get over Lois
Lind. Even if it killed both of them, he had to see her. He had to
feel the spark that ignited in his belly every time he looked into
her eyes.

He took a deep breath, pushing those thoughts to the back of his
mind. The first thing he had to do was get a job. He had to
concentrate on convincing Perry White that the Daily Planet couldn't
get along without him. He fortified his resolve before walking across
the street to enter the Daily Planet.

* * * * * * * * *

The explosion was followed by confusion as men rushed away from the
collapsing wall. Then one of the prisoners yelled, "Yallah, yallah,"
before running towards the resulting hole in the wall. It only took a
moment before the inmates, suddenly seeing a possibility of escape,
made a dash almost in mass for the wall. A number of shouts echoed
through the area followed by gunshots. Men rushed in various
directions in their effort to be free while guards rushed to stop
them.

When the shooting stopped, men were lying around. The injured mixed
in with the dead. Some were wearing uniforms, others were in prison
clothes. Both sides had taken a hit. It would take some time to
figure out who, if anyone, had escaped.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark sat in the editor-in-chief's office as Perry White looked for
his resume. It took Perry a moment to find it among all the various
papers on his desk. He began reviewing it as well as some articles
Clark had written for other papers. It didn't take him long to get to
the heart of the matter.

"Kent, I'm sure that these are fascinating stories," Perry White
began, "but you see, son, this is the Daily Planet. We're the
greatest newspaper in the whole world. Now, our people are dedicated
servants of the fourth estate who routinely cover matters of
international significance..."

Just then Perry was interrupted by Jimmy Olsen storming into his
office to give him an update about the horn on Perry's golf cart.
Perry instantly and roughly dismissed him, turning back to Clark when
he had done so.

"Now, as I was saying," continued Perry, "you just can't walk in here with..."

Once again, the door swung open and a woman entered. She was in full
steam the moment she entered, not looking at anyone or anything but
Perry White as she spoke.

"Chief," began Lois, "I think there's a story here and we should have
this guy checked out. You know, the crazy one from this morning."

Clark recognized her immediately. Without saying a word, he
automatically rose to his feet.

"He was an engineer at EPRAD for ten years and..." Lois continued.

"Lois, can't you see I'm in the middle of something here," Perry interrupted.

Lois fell silent, glancing quickly at the man standing on the other
side of Perry's desk. She immediately drew in a sharp breath. What
was meant to be a quick glance changed. The beard might be gone, but
she'd recognize his eyes anywhere. It was her drifter. Their eyes
locked.

Perry let out a short breath before saying, "Lois Lane, Clark Kent,"
introducing the two people in his office.

"Lois Lane," said Clark, emphasizing the last name.

"Do you two know each other?" Perry asked, seeing that they were
continuing to stare at each other.

"No," Lois responded immediately, glancing over at Perry for a moment
before looking back at Clark - her eyes begging that he go along with
her lie.

Clark's eyes hadn't left Lois since the moment she'd stormed into the
office. Then, when Perry had introduced her as Lois Lane instead of
Lois Lind, he'd repeated the name to be sure he'd heard right. When
she denied knowing him, his first impulse was to believe she didn't
remember, but the look in her eyes when she looked back informed him
otherwise. She knew who he was, but for some reason she didn't want
her boss to know. He felt an ache in his heart at the indirect
rejection.

"It's nice to meet you, Lois Lane," he said, extending her a hand, in
order to reassure her that he wouldn't say anything about them if she
didn't want him to.

She took his hand and immediately was swept up in memories of their
night together. She quickly withdrew her hand and looked down in an
effort to keep from throwing herself into his arms and taking him
right then and there.

"Lois Lane," he repeated. "I've admired your work for years," he said
softly. "Although, I don't remember ever seeing a picture."

She glanced up at him then, immediately realizing what he was telling
her. He had obviously never made the connection between the woman
he'd known as Lois Lind and the reporter, Lois Lane, whose work he'd
read.

"That's Lois' idea," Perry responded. "She doesn't want the bad guys
being able to put a name with a face."

Clark's eyebrows rose at that. Is that why she hadn't given him her
real name? Did she consider him one of the 'bad guys'?

"Really," he said.

"Yeah. She thinks it will prevent her from getting the best stories,"
Perry concluded.

Lois looked down, realizing what Clark thought from Perry's comments,
but being unable to correct his impression without giving herself
away. However, unaware that Perry was studying them curiously, she
couldn't help but look at him so it was only a moment more before she
looked back up. Their eyes locked again.

Finally, deciding the silence was going on too long, Perry cleared
his throat. The noise caused both Lois and Clark to jump, break eye
contact and look at Perry.

"Anyway," said Perry, turning to Lois, "What happened to that mood
piece I gave you about the razing of that old theater on Forty-Second
street?"

"I wasn't in the mood," Lois responded absently.

"You weren't in the mood?" Perry asked in disbelief. "Now, Lois, you
can't come in here and tell me you're not in the mood to..."

A knocking at the window of Perry's office by Jimmy and a subsequent
indication by the young man that Lois had a phone call sent Lois
scampering from the room without as much as a final look at Clark.

After she'd left, Perry raised a hand to his throat to take his pulse
rate. As he did, he spoke, "I tell you, if that woman wasn't the best
damn investigative reporter I've ever seen, I'd..." He paused,
getting his temper under control before turning his attention back to
Clark. "Look, Kent, I'm sure that you're an intelligent guy, but you
just can't walk in here with this kind of resume and expect to get a
job."

"Mr. White," began Clark, trying to get his mind back on the reason
he was here. "I know I lack experience. But I'm a good writer and a
hard worker, and I..."

"Kent. Kent," Perry interrupted. "I just don't have anything for you, son."

Realizing he'd lost, Kent gave up in his efforts to convince Perry
White to hire him. "Well, thank you, sir. I appreciate you taking the
time to see me," Clark said. Then, with a final handshake, he turned
and left.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois didn't take her phone call after leaving Perry's office.
Instead, she went directly to the conference room in an effort to
compose herself. He was here. The man she had been fantasizing about
for the past four years was at this moment sitting in Perry's office.
And that same confusing, irresistible attraction she had experienced
four years ago was still as overwhelming now as it was then.

What was he doing here? She hadn't even ascertained that much - she'd
been so distracted by his mere presence. Was he here looking for her?
That was unlikely. After all, his comments made it clear that until
their introduction he hadn't even known her real name. So how could
he have tracked her here? But if it wasn't because of her, what was
he doing talking to Perry?

She stuck her head out of the conference room. "Jimmy," she whispered
loud enough to attract his attention when she saw him walking by.

Jimmy came over immediately. Lois grabbed his arm, dragging him into
the conference room.

"Jimmy, the man in Perry's office..." she began.

"What about him?" Jimmy asked when Lois didn't continue.

"Umm..." Lois hesitated. Why would she care about some stranger
sitting in Perry's office? Then curiosity won out over the need for
privacy. "What's he doing here?"

Jimmy glanced out the door at the Chief's office.

"I think he's looking for a job."

"What?" exclaimed Lois, a mixture of fear and excitement tearing her
stomach apart.

Jimmy shrugged. "When I busted in I got the impression that I had
interrupted the old 'We're the greatest newspaper in the world'
speech."

"You mean, Perry wasn't going to hire him?"

"I doubt it. Why?"

Lois turned slightly away from Jimmy so that he couldn't see the
blush rising in her cheeks. "No reason. Just curious, that's all."

"Oh. Well, I better get going. Perry has me working on..."

"Jimmy!" bellowed Perry.

"Gotta go," said Jimmy rushing to obey the Chief's summons.

Lois glanced cautiously around the corner of the conference room
door. If Perry was looking for Jimmy, it meant he had concluded his
meeting with Clark. Unless, of course, Jimmy was wrong and Perry had
hired Clark. In that case, Perry might want Jimmy to show Clark
around. She glanced around the newsroom, but saw no sign of Clark.
She felt her heart plunge into her stomach. Had he just left without
saying hello? He would have every right to, of course. After all, she
had left his bed while he was sleeping. She had given him a phony
name. And in Perry's office right now, she had refused to acknowledge
him. If she had told Perry who he was, would that have changed
Perry's decision not to hire him? Maybe. Why would he want to talk to
her after that?

She sighed and made her way back to her desk. He was gone. It was
probably for the best. After all, he was a drifter - and a leopard
doesn't change its spots. Besides, Lois didn't think she could
survive starting something with Clark only to have him disappear in a
few months when he tired of his new job or his new city or, worse
yet, of her. She couldn't risk it - especially now.

Just as she was sitting down at her desk a messenger came by. She was
still lost in thought when he handed her a note. She absently opened
it.

'Sorry I missed you. Hoping we can talk. I see that your number's
listed. I'll call tonight. CK.'

She drew in a sharp breath.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark steadied himself as he stepped through the doors of the Daily
Planet onto the street outside. When he'd emerged from Mr. White's
office, he'd almost breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn't there.
That's what had prevented him from doing a more complete search. The
meeting had been so unexpected and so overwhelming that he wanted to
compose himself and evaluate the information he now had before they
talked.

He snorted. Well, at least that explained how one Lois Lane had
written such a detailed story about the kidnapping of some American
tourists in Israel four years ago. He wondered why he'd never made
the connection between Lois Lane and Lois Lind. Probably because his
name hadn't appeared in the story. He'd been relieved about that. At
the time, he'd thought it was because the only one who'd known his
name was the woman he'd spent the night with. But why hadn't she used
it in her story? He figured she hadn't included his name because she
had been embarrassed about sleeping with a complete stranger - still
was, if her behavior today was any indication.

He shook his head. He had just been turned down for his dream job and
all he could think about was a woman.

* * * * * * * * *

The telephone was ringing when Lois undid the locks and stepped
through the door to her apartment. She looked at it for a moment,
holding her breath. After a second ring, the answering machine picked
up.

"Damn," said Lucy coming into the room and heading for the phone.

"Wait," said Lois, grabbing Lucy's arm.

Lucy looked at her in confusion. "What's going on? Lois, you look as
if you've seen a ghost."

Lois snorted. "I suppose I have," she responded.

Before Lucy had a chance to question her, a man's voice came through
over the answering machine. Both women turned toward the phone to
listen.

"Hi. It's Clark. I guess you aren't home yet. I just..."

"Who's Clark?" asked Lucy glancing over at Lois. Lois ignored her, as
if completely mesmerized by the voice on the phone. Lucy gasped. It
couldn't be. Either Lois had met a man or... No way! She scrambled
for the phone before Lois could stop her.

"Hi," said Lucy, picking up the phone.

"Umm... Hi," said a confused voice on the other end of the line. "I
thought... Umm... Lois?" he asked. It didn't sound like Lois, but
then he'd never heard Lois' voice over the phone before.

"No, it's her sister, Lucy. Who's this?"

"My name's Clark Kent. Is Lois there?"

Lucy glanced over at Lois who was gesturing wildly that she wasn't there.

"I'm afraid she's not," Lucy said, after silently trying to convince
Lois to take the phone. "Can I ask how you know my sister? Are you
one of her sources?" Lucy could hear an audible sigh of
disappointment at her admission that she didn't recognize the name.

"We met a few years ago in Israel. I just thought... Could you take a
phone number and give her a message?"

"Sure," said Lucy, grabbing a pen. "Go ahead." She then wrote while
he recited a number for her.

"Tell her I'll be here all night. She can call anytime."

"I'll let her know," Lucy promised before they exchanged good-byes.
Then Lucy turned back to her sister. "It's him, isn't it?"

Lois let out a short breath before nodding.

"Lois! Why wouldn't you talk to him? I mean, you've been dreaming
about this guy for the past four years. Now, here he is. What are you
thinking?"

"I'm thinking that he's a drifter."

"Even drifters have to find a place to land eventually."

"But what if he's not ready to settle down? How can I take that risk?"

"How can you not take that risk?" Lucy countered.

Just then a little girl ran into the room. "Mommy," she exclaimed
excitedly, rushing at Lois. Lois squatted down so that she would be
at the girl's height as the child threw herself into Lois' arms. Lois
wrapped her arms around her daughter before rising, settling her
daughter on her hip and turning back to Lucy.

"And her? Can I really take the risk for her too?" Lois asked her sister.

* * * * * * * * *

Major Ben Kenaani made his way into the prison warden's office.

"Warden," said Kenaani, taking the man's hand. "Can you tell me why I'm here?"

The warden gestured Kenaani to a chair. "As you know, there was a
breakout at the prison yesterday."

Kenaani nodded. He had heard about it.

"Well, we've been looking at the security tapes and trying to figure
out who, if anyone, escaped."

"So what does any of that have to do with me?"

The warden gestured to his assistant who placed a tape into a video
machine. He turned it on. The warden and Kenaani both got out of
their chairs and approached the monitor.

"We started by trying to figure out how the explosion occurred. As
you can see from this tape... See, here," he said, pointing to the
screen. On the screen was a prisoner obviously doing something by the
prison wall. It would have looked harmless enough if the explosion
hadn't taken place, but with the events of yesterday, it was clear
that he was planting explosives.

Suddenly, the man turned around, his face being captured by the
camera. Kenaani gasped. He knew that man.

"Hoffman," he breathed.

The warden nodded in agreement. He gestured to his assistant again
who turned off the video they were currently watching. He then
slipped in a second video and turned it on.

"This is the video that was taken immediately following the explosion."

Kenaani watched as a number of men who were obviously prisoners
rushed for the hole in the wall. He tried to glimpse faces in an
effort to see if Hoffman was among them, but was unable to find him.
He watched as a guard rushed out after the prisoners. The guard fired
off a number of shots. The prisoners scattered in response, heading
in different directions. The guard took off at full speed, chasing
the men. Kenaani watched as other guards joined the chase. Finally,
the warden gestured to his assistant who turned off and rewound the
tape.

"Did you see him?" asked the warden.

"No," said Kenaani.

"That's what caught our attention. Why would a man set an explosive,
apparently in an attempt to escape from prison, and then not bother
trying to escape?"

Kenaani looked at the Warden with new appreciation. "Can I speak to Hoffman?"

The warden shook his head. Then to Kenaani's look of confusion, he
said, "He's not here."

"What?" Kenaani asked. "But we watched..."

The warden gestured to the young man again who restarted the tape.
"It might help if I tell you that we found one of the guards about an
hour later. He was dead and his uniform was missing. He was about the
same size as Hoffman." They turned their attention back to the tape
again. This time Kenaani watched the guards. He gasped when he
discovered that the trigger happy guard was actually Hoffman.

"There's one other thing you should know," said the warden. "One of
the men he shot was his second in command, Jack Spenser."

"Is Spenser dead?"

"That's the only break we caught. Spenser is in critical condition,
but he's still alive."

"I need to talk to Spenser," Kenaani said.

"I figured that. My assistant will take you to the prison hospital,
but you'll have to get permission from the prison doctor to question
him."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark hadn't slept well. He kept hoping Lois would call, but she
hadn't. The later it got, the harder it was to stay positive. It was
the early hours of the morning when he finally went to bed. However,
he woke whenever a phone rang within a half mile radius. And since
his hotel was in the heart of Metropolis, it had happened a lot.

He glanced over at the clock. It was almost nine a.m. He supposed she
might have worked late or not understood that she could call whenever
- no matter the time. He hoped that was the case. He feared it
wasn't. He wondered what to do now.

He recalled Mr. White saying Lois had been assigned a story about an
old theater on Forty-Second street that was being torn down. He knew
from last night's paper that was happening today. Maybe if he took a
trip down there, he would have a chance to speak to her - even if it
was just to have her tell him she never wanted to see him again. He
at least had to hear it from her own lips. With a new plan in place,
he had a shower, threw on a pair jeans and a shirt, grabbed his
jacket and headed out.

Clark arrived at the old theater a short time later. It was not hard
recognizing it. There were picketers out front chanting a slogan
about keeping the theater. It was obviously a losing battle since the
construction workers were getting ready to bring down the building.

Clark looked around at the crowds. He sighed when he couldn't see
Lois. Still, she had to be here soon. Otherwise the theater was going
to come down without press coverage by the Daily Planet. He would
just wait. He commenced wandering through the crowds, keeping his
superhearing sensitive to Lois' arrival.

The construction worker started up the machine that would swing the
wrecking ball at a command from the boss. Suddenly, Clark's hearing
picked up what sounded like a soliloquy coming from the theater. With
a quick glance at the wrecking ball, he focused on the theater,
pulling his glasses down his nose enough to see over them. Inside the
building was an older woman dressed in some sort of period costume.
If he didn't do something, the building was going to come crashing
down around her. Clark turned his attention to the wrecking ball. He
looked over his glasses again and sent a shot of heat vision at the
belt on the machine operating the wrecking ball. The belt snapped.
Satisfied this would slow down the workers for a little while, he
ducked under the barrier and slipped quietly into the theater.

Clark was entranced by the woman standing on the stage, reciting
lines as if she were giving a performance before a packed theater.
She stopped as he approached.

"I'm not ready to leave yet," she said to him.

"We've got a little time," Clark responded.

With this simple introduction, they began to talk about the theater
and what it meant to the woman. Throughout the talk, Clark kept his
ears open for Lois. When he and the woman finally left the theater
just as the wrecking ball was getting ready to fulfill its task, Lois
had still not arrived. As the theater came down, Clark asked around
to see if someone else from the Daily Planet was covering the
destruction of theater, but was unable to find anyone.

It was then that an idea first hit him. Perry White wanted the story,
yet no one had shown up from the Daily Planet. Perhaps if he wrote
the story, he could sell it to the Planet. He was desperately short
of money at the moment. And although, not needing to eat meant he
didn't need much money, he did need some. He headed back to his room
at the Hotel Apollo.

The story almost seemed to write itself. When Clark was finished, he
knew it was good. Surely Mr. White would want the story. After
putting on a suit and tie, he walked the short distance from his
hotel to the Daily Planet.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois was positively fuming when she left Perry's office. It wasn't so
much that she was angry. She was scared - terrified actually. Clark
had come here with the story she was supposed to write, but she had
never made it down to the old theater. Even if she had been there,
she knew she couldn't have done it the justice Clark had. He had
offered to sell the story to the Daily Planet. She had been
completely bowled over when Perry hired him on the spot.

Even so, that wasn't why she was fuming. Perry had just forced her to
work with Clark. She was terrified at the prospect. What would happen
the first time she was alone with him? Would she be able to maintain
her decision to avoid any sort of relationship if they were working
together?

This morning when she'd arrived at work, she'd taken a look at
Clark's resume. She hadn't set out to find it - at least that's what
she told herself. Was it her fault that Perry hadn't been in his
office? Was it her fault that Clark's resume had been lying on
Perry's desk? Okay, so she'd found it under a number of other papers,
but... Anyway, Clark's resume confirmed what she already knew. He'd
worked for a number of different papers, both before and after they'd
met. Of course, there were large gaps in his resume - Lois assumed
indicating periods when he hadn't worked for any paper. But it
definitely confirmed her opinion that he was a drifter. Clark hadn't
worked for any paper for more then a couple of months. It was no
surprise to Lois that Perry hadn't hired him. On the other hand, it
was as obvious to Lois as it had been to Perry that Clark was a great
writer. The story he had written today had even touched her - and she
wasn't into the touchy feely stuff.

She forced her mind back to the reason she had to keep her distance
from Clark Kent. He was a drifter. He might be here at the moment,
but he could just as easily be gone tomorrow. It would be hard enough
on her to start a relationship with him only to have him leave, but
what if she introduced Jenny to Clark and then he decided to move on?
Lois had no intention of doing that to Jenny. No matter how she felt
about Clark, she wouldn't let that happen to Jenny.

Lois walked past Clark. She hit him on the shoulder. She instantly
recognized her mistake. She felt her heart skip a beat at the
contact. In spite of her heart's reaction to their touch, she didn't
miss a step.

"Let's hit it," she said as briskly as she could, heading for the elevators.

"Mind if I ask where we're going?" asked Clark, grabbing his jacket
and quickly following her.

She abruptly filled him in on the story they were going to
investigate. The construction of a permanent space station was almost
complete. However, in the past few weeks there had been an increasing
number of accidents at EPRAD - the agency responsible for this world
wide effort. So when Samuel Platt stormed into the Daily Planet
yesterday claiming that the space program was being sabotaged, Lois
had been interested. Then today, when the Messenger, a shuttle being
commanded by Commander Latimer, had blown up during launch, Lois had
managed to convince Perry to put her on the story. The only problem
was he had insisted she look into it with Clark.

After she'd explained the basic details of the story to Clark, she
proceeded to make it abundantly clear just how unhappy she was about
working with him. She hoped that if she could make him think she
wasn't at all interested, he wouldn't do anything to make this more
difficult for her - like asking her out or, for that matter, looking
at her. They stood silently waiting for the elevator. When it opened,
Lois pulled in a short breath. It was empty. She had a moment of
panic. Maybe they should take the stairs.

Lois raised her head and boldly stepped into the elevator. She could
do this. She had to do this. It would take less than a minute to get
to the lobby. Then they would be back with people. And she knew she
had to face being alone with him sometime. It was probably best the
first time be short. She swallowed hard as the doors closed.

Lois gasped as Clark reached over and pulled out the stop button on
the elevator.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, reaching for the button.

Clark moved between her and the button. Lois immediately backed off.
The only way she could get to the button was to touch Clark. And that
was something she knew she couldn't do. She had to avoid physical
contact with him at all costs.

"We need to talk," Clark said softly.

"What we need to do is get the story," Lois argued.

"Lois..." started Clark.

Lois was in a panic. The last thing she wanted right now was to be
alone with Clark and if the only way out of here was to convince
Clark she wasn't interested, that's what she was going to do. "Look,
Clark, I don't know what you expect from me. The night we spent
together was..." Suddenly she hesitated as the memories of that night
came flooding back to her.

"Incredible, amazing, unforgettable, astounding, fantastic,
phenomenal..." Clark said in an effort to assist her in finding a
word.

"I was going to say, a long time ago," said Lois abruptly, swallowing
any feelings he'd raised by his description of that night.

"Not quite the answer I'd hoped for," muttered Clark.

"So let's just leave it at that," she concluded. "Now, if you don't
mind, I'd like to get back to work."

Clark looked as if he was about to say something, but changed his
mind. He stepped out of the way.

Lois forced herself not to leap for the button. She calmly stepped up
to the panel, pushing the stop button back in. Once that was
completed, she quickly withdrew her hand in an effort to keep Clark
from noticing just how badly it was trembling. The elevator began
moving again and a moment later the doors opened to the lobby.

* * * * * * * * *

Roger Hoffman breathed a sigh of relief as the freighter pulled out
of Israeli waters. There was no sign of anyone following. It would
take some time, but he was looking forward to getting back home. He
settled into a chair and thought about what he was going to do when
he returned to Metropolis. It might have taken him four years to
escape, but now that it was done, he had some plans for the future.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois hung up the phone. She had called everyone she knew who was a
friend of a friend of someone who worked at EPRAD and she was still
no closer to knowing if anyone was trying to sabotage the space
program. Dr. Samuel Platt had certainly been passionate in his
arguments that there was a conspiracy to destroy the space program,
but he had not provided any proof. She was still awaiting his report
on coolant devices. Dr. Antoinette Baines' conduct during her
interview with Lois and Clark this morning had made Lois suspicious,
but to be honest she didn't know if it was because there was
something to be suspicious about or if it was the way Dr. Baines
flirted with Clark.

She growled in frustration. Now Clark was causing her to doubt her
reporter's instincts. She needed a cup of coffee. She made her way to
the coffee machine. At least there was a fresh pot. As she was
pouring herself a cup, Cat approached.

"Who's the new tight end?" asked Cat.

Lois glanced where Cat was looking and saw Jimmy showing Clark around.

"Why don't you throw you're usual forward pass and find out?" Lois
asked, expecting Cat to be insulted - after all, that was how Lois
intended it. Lois was horrified when Cat took her advice. Lois walked
back to her desk, trying to tell herself that it didn't matter what
Cat did. Lois wasn't interested in Clark anyway. Let Cat get her
heart broken when Clark disappeared in a couple of months - not that
Cat would want him after a couple of months, if she even wanted him
that long.

As Clark approached to get a cup of coffee, Cat removed her jacket
and placed herself between Clark and the coffee machine.

Clark was surprised when a woman with auburn hair was suddenly all
over him. He wasn't interested in Cat Grant. Still, after Lois'
rejection earlier today, it was a nice little ego boost. He had no
intention of accepting Cat's invitation to show him Metropolis, since
it was quite obvious she wasn't interested in just being friendly.
Even so, Clark always tried not to hurt anyone. He did what he
normally did when a woman came on to him - he put her off, saying
maybe when he'd settled in he'd take her up on her offer. He hoped by
the time that happened, she would have lost interest.

"It's a date," said Cat, walking away.

Clark shook his head slightly as he watched her leave. How had she
gotten a date out of what he'd said? His attention shifted when Lois
slammed the drawer on her desk closed. Their eyes met for a moment.
She was furious. Clark blinked. Why would she care whether or not he
went out with Cat? She wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship
with him - she'd made that perfectly clear in the elevator. So why
was she angry?

Clark watched Lois turn away from him. Regardless of what she'd said,
she obviously still had some feelings for him - whether they were
love or hate, he didn't know. They really needed to talk. If nothing
else, he'd like them to be friends. It was going to be extremely
difficult to work together otherwise. He took a deep breath before
approaching Lois.

"Lois," he began tentatively.

"What?" she snapped.

Realizing the direct approach wasn't going to work, he made an
impulsive decision. "I've got an idea. About the story," he hastened
to add.

"What is it?"

Clark glanced around. He couldn't do this here. There were too many
people around. He spotted the conference room. He took Lois' arm and
directed her towards the conference room.

Lois' breath caught at the feel of Clark's hand on her arm. She felt completely
helpless to do anything but go with him. Besides, the last thing she
wanted was a confrontation in the middle of the bullpen.

When they walked into the conference room, Clark closed the door.

"Do you want to tell me what I've done?" Clark asked.

The question caught Lois off guard. She had expected him to... Well,
she wasn't exactly sure what she anticipated, but it wasn't that.
She'd been prepared to cut him off if this wasn't about work - but it
took her a moment to digest this unexpected question.

"Look, Lois," Clark continued at her silence. "I swear when I applied
for a job, I didn't know you worked here. I'm not trying to cause you
problems, but I do need this job. I'm broke. Now, if you want me to
tell Perry White we can't work together..."

"No!" Lois exclaimed. The last thing she wanted was for Perry to
think there was something going on between her and Clark.

Clark ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He turned with his
back to her for a moment. He took a deep breath before turning back
around, "Then what do you want from me?"

Lois swallowed hard. Clark's face clearly showed that he was confused
and hurt. If she had ever thought he'd forget about her or their
night together, that idea was completely gone now. And with that, all
ideas of being mean to him in order to put him off, also fled.

"Clark, are you in Metropolis to stay?" she finally asked.

Clark immediately looked down. He had already used his powers on a
couple of occasions since coming to Metropolis. If he kept this up,
it was only a matter of time before he'd have to leave again.

"That's what I thought," Lois said sadly. "So then, maybe the better
question is what do you want from me?"

Clark looked up at that. No wonder she had been so cold to him. She
somehow knew he never stayed long in any one place - even if she
didn't know the reasons. She was too smart for his own good. His
shoulders drooped slightly.

"What do I want?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued, "I guess I
was sort of thinking of having dinner together. Maybe going to a
movie. Maybe seeing if there is something..."

"Why, Clark? If you're planning to leave in a couple of months. Why
would I want to get involved with you?"

Clark couldn't answer that question.

"So why don't we just pretend there was never anything between us?"
Lois suggested. "It was just a one night stand, after all. It was a
mistake. It didn't mean anything," she concluded, reciting the words
she had heard so often come out of Lucy's mouth.

"Didn't mean..." Clark gasped, unable to even repeat what she had
said. It was one thing for her to refuse involvement with him, but to
suggest that what had happened between them meant nothing was
something else. "God, Lois, how could you even say that?" He stared
at her in disbelief for a moment, expecting her to back down. When
she didn't, he headed straight for the door to the conference room -
his pain quickly being replaced by anger. He opened the door and
stepped out. Cat happened to be passing by.

Without thinking about the consequences, Clark called to her.

"Yes," Cat purred, coming over to him and taking his tie in her hands.

"Would you like to have supper tonight?" he asked.

"Well... tonight is Lex Luthor's ball. I was planning on going stag
so that I could find some interesting man to take me home afterwards.
But if you'd like to take me..."

"I'd love to. What time should I pick you up?"

Inside the conference room, Lois heard every word. She walked to the
window and stared out of the building at the street below so no one
could see the tears slipping quietly down her cheeks.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark borrowed a car from an old friend who was now living in
Metropolis to pick up Cat for the ball. As he made his way to her
apartment, he thought over the events of the day.

He was supposed to fly home for supper tonight, but had called and
canceled. He told his parents it was because he had a date, but the
real reason was that he was feeling so guilty about asking Cat out
and didn't want to face his parents as a result. He knew he had only
asked Cat out in an effort to prove to Lois that even if she didn't
want him, other women did, but he also knew he had been deliberately
trying to hurt Lois the way she'd hurt him. He had never before
intentionally hurt anyone. The fact that Lois was the one he had
deliberately hurt made the guilt that much worse.

He snorted. Now, to top it all off, he had a date with Cat Grant.
Talk about a case of biting off his nose to spite his face. He was
tempted to call her and back out, but wasn't sure that was fair to
Cat. After all, he was the one who'd asked her out. So, here he was
on his way to escort Cat to a ball he really had no interest in going
to. After all, he didn't know anyone in Metropolis and spending an
evening hobnobbing with Metropolis' rich and powerful was not his
idea of a good time. What he really wanted to be doing this evening
was whatever Lois was planning to do.

Clark could certainly understand Lois not wanting to get involved
with him. What he didn't understand was why they couldn't be friends.
She had been hostile to him since he had shown up at the Daily Planet
yesterday. If she wasn't interested, why didn't she simply say so and
leave it at that. It would still hurt, but he would understand. But
that wasn't all there was to it. She had almost acted as if he'd done
something wrong. Then, to top it off, she'd told him that their night
together - a memory which he held very close to his heart - meant
nothing. It was a one night stand. It was a mistake.

Maybe she resented him for taking a job at the Daily Planet. He
hadn't known she worked for the Daily Planet when he applied for a
job there. If he had known, he would have asked her about it first.
Then, when he returned today with his story, he had just wanted to
make a little money to tide him over until he could make other
arrangements. He hadn't expected to be offered a job. Maybe he should
have asked Lois for her opinion before accepting - but it had all
happened so fast. Perry hadn't even asked him if he still wanted the
job. He'd simply assumed he did.

Clark pulled up in front of Cat's building. He took a deep breath
before getting out. He put his questions to the back of his mind as
he prepared himself to get through this date with Cat unscathed.

* * * * * * * * *

"You look beautiful, dear," said Olive as she opened the door to find
Lois and Jenny standing on the other side.

Olive was an older woman who lived down the hall from Lois. Since
Lucy had plans for the evening, Lois had made arrangements for Jenny
to stay with Olive. Lois was grateful to Olive and Lucy for the
amount of time they spent babysitting when Lois had to work in the
evenings. During the day, Jenny went to daycare. It was the evenings
Lois often needed help with.

Jenny started into the apartment, heading at full steam towards the
room containing the toys. She was stopped by Lois' hand. "Say hi to
Aunt Olly," Lois said.

"Hi, Aunt Olly," Jenny said, squirming out of her mother's grasp and
heading into the apartment.

Lois gave Olive an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about that," said Lois.

Olive laughed. "I remember what it was like to be young too, dear.
Don't worry about it. You just have a nice time tonight."

"This is work, Olive," Lois objected.

"That's your problem, Lois. So when are you going to get serious
about finding a daddy for that little girl?"

Lois actually managed a smile. Olive often asked her that question.
"Soon, Olive. Soon," Lois replied, as she always did.

However, tonight the words were accompanied by an incredible amount
of pain. She was on her way to a ball where she would have to watch
Clark with Cat - and it was her own fault. If she hadn't tried to
claim that their night together meant nothing, he never would have
asked Cat out. So now, due to her own stupidity, she was on her way
to the same ball that Clark and Cat were attending. She briefly
considered not going. However, she was determined to get the first
one on one interview with Lex Luthor if it killed her. And given the
fact that she would have to see Clark with Cat, she suspected there
was a very good possibility it would.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark walked into the grand ballroom with Cat on his arm.  As he
looked around, he reminded himself that it was his own fault he was
in this position, not Cat's. He steeled his resolve. He was
determined to be a good escort for Cat tonight. Still, it was hard
not resenting her for this. Every time she touched him, the
resentment increased.

Suddenly, Clark came to an abrupt halt, causing Cat to crash into
him. Lois was here. Clark hadn't expected that. And she looked
absolutely breath-taking. He swallowed hard, trying to convince his
heart to continue beating. Without realizing it, Clark began floating
off the floor. Fortunately, before he'd risen more than an inch, he
realized his feet were no longer touching the floor. He quickly
lowered himself - before Cat, or anyone else, could notice. He forced
his eyes away from Lois in order to regain his composure.

On the other side of the room, Lois didn't notice Clark's entrance.
She was talking to Perry and Jimmy.

"Great shades of Elvis," said Perry.

Both Lois and Jimmy turned to see what had provoked Perry's comment.

"Cat's here with C.K.?" Jimmy asked in surprise. "Way to go, C.K."

"I don't know, Jimmy. He seems awfully uncomfortable about having her
hanging onto him as tight as rusted lugnuts on a fifty-nine Chevy.
Now I'm not suggesting Clark just fell off the turnip truck, but I'm
not sure he's quite sophisticated enough to handle Cat."

"Come on, Chief," said Jimmy. "It's not like one needs a degree from
Harvard to give Cat what she wants."

"Jimmy!" responded Perry, although he silently agreed with the kid's
observation. "I'm a little concerned about my reporter's instincts
though," said Perry quietly. "Clark seems to me like a straight
arrow. I don't quite see Cat as his type. What do you think, Lois?"

Lois didn't respond. Instead she gave him a sad smile before excusing
herself to leave the men to their analysis of Cat's intentions for
Clark.

Perry watched her go.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Jimmy.

"I don't know, Jimmy," Perry responded, although he suspected he did.
In all the years he'd known her, Lois had never been distracted by a
man when she was occupied with a story. Yet she had certainly been
distracted by Clark yesterday in his office. What Perry couldn't
figure out was why Clark was here with Cat. He would have sworn the
attraction was mutual.

Lois fought back tears as she walked away from Perry and Jimmy. She
couldn't stomach the thought of Cat getting her claws into Clark. And
Lois had no doubt about Cat's intentions. Lois also believed men
never turned down a sure thing. She doubted Clark could resist Cat
and the full court press she would undoubtedly give him tonight. And
why should he? After all, she had made it painfully clear today just
how uninterested she was - at least, that's what he was bound to
conclude.

She forced her mind off of Clark. She was here to get to Lex Luthor.
The sooner she did that, the sooner she could leave and... And what?
Probably go home and cry herself to sleep. No. She wouldn't think
about that now. She squared her shoulders, looking around the room
for Lex Luthor. She spotted him on the stairs, which descended into
the ballroom. He was talking to someone she didn't recognize. She
placed herself at the bottom of the steps and, using her best jilted
woman's voice, spoke above the general noise of the crowd.

"Lex Luthor, why haven't you returned my calls?"

Luthor turned towards her in confusion. He didn't return a lot of
women's phone calls, but who was this woman? He didn't recognize her.
Even so, he couldn't help but notice that she was beautiful. He
excused himself from his conversation with the Kenyan Ambassador
before turning his attention back to the woman.

"And you are?" Luthor asked, approaching Lois.

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet," Lois replied.

Luthor smiled. He certainly recognized the name. She was a reporter.
This woman had tenacity as well as beauty. Without asking her
permission, he led her onto the dance floor, sweeping her up in his
arms.

Lois kept her smile firmly in place as his arms went around her. She
really didn't want to be doing this, but this was probably her only
chance to convince him to give her the interview. They began a verbal
sparing, during which Lois shamelessly flirted with him. She was so
intent on getting the interview that she was momentarily distracted
when she spotted Clark watching her.

He was here with Cat, but the look on his face at the moment made it
very clear who he wanted to be with. She forced herself to look back
at Luthor. She smiled at him. However, she couldn't seem to get
Clark's eyes out of her mind. She felt as if she was kicking a puppy.
She glanced back at Clark.

Luthor watched as Lois suddenly became distracted. Recognizing that
something over his shoulder had her attention, he spun them around.
By doing so, he could see where Lois had been looking. There was man
on the edge of the dance floor. He was watching them dance.

Lois was frustrated. She couldn't see Clark anymore - at least not
without making it obvious what she was doing. She hated that she
couldn't turn them around again. After all, tradition dictated that
the man lead. She let out a breath, doing her best to concentrate on
her goal here - getting the Luthor interview.

When the dance ended, Luthor promised to contact her. She gave him
her most charming smile in response. He then excused himself, kissing
her hand before he left. She watched him for a moment. When she was
satisfied he was far enough away, she looked around for Clark. She
frowned slightly when she couldn't see him. Then her heart jumped
into her throat. He was dancing with Cat! She felt tears come to her
eyes. She quickly turned and headed out of the room. She had done
what she came here to do. Now all she wanted was to leave.

* * * * * * * * *

Lex Luthor made his way over to his assistant, Nigel St. John. He
smiled and nodded at the mayor of Metropolis before speaking to
Nigel. He didn't look directly at Nigel as he did so.

"Over my shoulder," he said softly. "The dark haired man dancing with
Cat Grant."

Nigel looked over his boss's shoulder. He saw the man Luthor was
referring to. When he nodded, Luthor continued to speak.

"Find out everything you can about him," Luthor instructed before
walking away, heading for a nearby woman.

"Dr. Baines," he said pleasantly, taking Antoinette's hand in his own
and kissing it. "I'm glad you could make it."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark made his way towards Luthor. Cat had told him who Luthor was -
one of the richest men in the world and Metropolis' most eligible
bachelor. For some reason, Clark didn't trust him - particularly when
he saw him talking to Dr. Baines. Of course, he couldn't say if his
suspicions were due to the way Lois had been looking at Luthor when
they danced.

He made his way near the couple and stretched out with his enhanced
hearing to listen in on Luthor's conversation with Baines. It didn't
even occur to him that he was using his powers to invade someone's
privacy. This was Lois and... He shook his head. This was the space
program and he was determined to ensure it not be jeopardize. If that
meant invading this man's privacy, that's what he would do.

"I don't like it, Lex," said Dr. Baines.

"Don't worry, Antoinette," responded Luthor. "We'll get there first
and we'll seize the high ground."

"But she's..."

"What are you doing over here, Clark?" asked Cat.

Clark automatically grabbed his ears. Having her speak to him when he
was trying to superhear was like stabbing daggers into his ears.
"Nothing," responded Clark, leading her away from Luthor and Baines.

* * * * * * * * *

Major Kenaani was finally allowed into Jack Spenser's room. It was
now early in the morning. Spenser was not expected to live. Kenaani
had only been allowed in because the doctors couldn't do anything
more to save Spenser's life. Kena