WHEN LOVERS BECOME MORE 
by Kathy Brown <kathyb@lcfanfic.com> 
Rated PG-13 
Completed: July 2002 
Submitted: August 2002
____________

Author's Notes:

This story is a rewrite of the second season episode, "The 
Phoenix", and takes place in the universe introduced in 
"When Friends Become Lovers". A certain amount of dialogue 
and plotting have been borrowed from the episode, which was 
written by Tony Blake and Paul Jackson. No infringement of 
their copyright is intended.

One minor change worth noting is that, in this story, the 
episode "Top Copy" occurs before "The Phoenix" instead of 
directly after it. It's a very brief reference, but I saw a 
parallel too good to pass up. :)

All standard disclaimers apply; the characters that appear 
on "Lois & Clark" do not belong to me, but the ideas in 
this story do. No infringement of anyone's copyright is 
intended. The story itself, however, is copyright (c) 2002 
to the author.

I'd like to extend my most special thanks to my beta-
readers, Wendy Richards and Annie M, for their patience and 
support over the many months it took to finish this story, 
as well as to Bach-us and Sheila Harper, who helped me 
brainstorm characterization points late into the night 
several times on IRC. You guys are all wonderful, and I 
couldn't have done it without you. :)

And to my readers, thank you for spending time with my 
story. I hope you enjoy it, and, as always, all comments 
are welcome and appreciated.

Kathy

Clark Kent sighed contentedly as he kissed his way along 
his lover's body. It was wonderful, being with Lois like 
this ... skin against skin, mouths tasting each other, 
hands stroking and caressing. It was the most incredible 
feeling in the world. He gave a quiet moan and lifted his 
head to watch Lois's face. Her eyes had fluttered closed as 
she lay back against his pillow, the gentlest hint of a 
smile playing on her lips. She, too, looked content.

He moved above her slowly, brushing his skin against hers, 
enjoying the sensation of being so intimate with her. Some 
nights their lovemaking was urgent and passionate, but 
tonight there was no rush ... it was a night for making 
slow and sensuous love.

Clark lowered his mouth to Lois's shoulder and let his lips 
wander a damp path to her neck. He took her ear lobe gently 
into his mouth and she murmured encouragingly in his ear. 
As the minutes ticked by, he could hear her breath begin to 
speed up and he smiled to himself as he felt his heartbeat 
begin to do the same. They had already made love once this 
evening, and the memory of the sounds she made were still 
fresh in his mind. But they never seemed to be able to get 
enough of each other, and tonight was no exception. He gave 
another pleased groan as he felt her hands on his skin.

Lois opened her eyes and smiled at the sound, then 
seductively rolled them over on the bed. As she began to 
feather kisses across his chest, Clark dropped his head 
back to the pillow. "Oh, yeah," he moaned quietly. "Oh, 
that's good."

"You like that, don't you?" she murmured in a throaty 
voice.

Without waiting for a response, Lois kissed her way back up 
to Clark's neck, her tongue tracing light circles across 
his chin before finding his mouth. As their lips met, they 
moved together slowly, their bodies intimately familiar 
with each other, and it wasn't long before words were no 
longer needed to communicate.

As their passion crested, Lois's moans and sighs washed 
over Clark, teasing out a deep shudder. Lois was so 
wonderful ... so beautiful and smart and caring and 
passionate ... and she loved him. She loved *him*. The 
realization of that, even after three months, never ceased 
to amaze and humble him. His heart welled up with so much 
emotion that he thought it might burst, and he wrapped his 
arms tightly around her until their heartbeats slowly began 
to return to normal.

"Lois," he whispered emotionally. "I love you ... I love 
you."

Lois, in turn, wrapped her arms around him and buried her 
face in his neck. "Oh, Clark," she gasped. "I love you, 
too."

They lay that way for several moments, each recovering 
slowly from the pleasure they'd just experienced, simply 
basking in their closeness. Eventually, though, Clark 
gently rolled them to their sides, facing her on the 
pillow.

As he caught her eye, Clark smiled. "Hi."

Lois grinned back. "Hi."

"I really do love you, you know."

She pecked a quick kiss on his lips, then giggled as he 
wrapped his hand around the back of her head and drew her 
back to him so he could return the favor. "I know you do," 
she responded against his lips. "And you make me very 
happy."

Clark's eyes twinkled as he released her. "You did seem 
happy."

Lois closed her eyes for a moment and purred, obviously 
contented. "Oh, yes ... very, very happy." When she opened 
her eyes again, however, Clark was staring at her with a 
new seriousness, a new intensity. She reached up and 
touched his cheek. "You OK?"

Clark's eyes closed briefly at the contact, his expression 
softening. But when he opened them again, the look of 
longing was still there. He looked deeply into her eyes. 
"Marry me, Lois," he whispered. "I want this to be 
forever."

Lois sighed as she let her hand cup his cheek tenderly. 
"Oh, Clark ... honey, we've talked about this."

Clark grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. "I 
know we have ... but I can't help it. I love you so much 
... and I can't imagine being without you."

Lois smiled softly. "You won't ever be without me. This 
*is* forever."

"Then marry me," he pleaded. "Show me it's forever."

The smile started to fade from Lois's eyes, replaced with 
something sadder. "Don't do this, Clark ... we've had such 
a wonderful night ... let's not spoil it."

Clark withdrew, pulling away from her hand on his cheek. He 
rolled over to his back, staring up at the ceiling, hurt 
and angry. "So marrying me would spoil everything."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Lois sighed, 
exasperated, and sat up in bed. "Why do we have to keep 
doing this? Clark, we've only been together for three 
months."

"And I've already reminded you we were best friends for 
over a year before that," he retorted.

"And I've already reminded *you* that my best friend 
wouldn't pressure me like this," she said warningly.

"Oh, yes, the *pressure*," Clark said sarcastically. 
"Heaven forbid I pressure you to do something you don't 
want to do. What in the world was I thinking? Why would I 
even want to get married, when I can just screw around?! 
Obviously it's enough for you ... but then again, you 
agreed to marry someone you *wouldn't* sleep with so why am 
I so surprised?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Clark regretted 
them. It was a terribly cheap shot, and they both knew it. 
But his bruised ego had committed him to the fight, so he 
sat up and turned towards Lois to take his medicine. She 
was surely gearing up to verbally tear him to shreds.

His surprise that she hadn't immediately started screaming 
at him turned to dismay, however, as he caught sight of the 
shocked and devastated look on her face. She had balled up 
her fists, and for a moment, Clark was sure she was going 
to hit him ... but then her eyes welled up with angry 
tears.

"Go to hell, Clark Kent," she whispered through clenched 
teeth. "You bastard, you can just go to hell."

Then, with a choking sob, she ran into the bathroom, 
slamming the door behind her. A moment later, the water in 
the shower turned on full blast.

Clark rubbed his hands over his face, stunned and guilt-
stricken. "Oh, you *idiot*," he whispered to himself. "You 
stupid, stupid idiot."

With a heavy sigh, he got out of bed and approached his 
bathroom door. "Lois?" When there was no answer, he raised 
his hand to knock, but then thought better of it. She 
obviously didn't want to talk to him, and who could blame 
her after what he'd said? Still, he had been wrong, 
terribly wrong, and she needed to know ...

Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and opened the 
door. The shower was still running and the bathroom was 
quickly filling up with steam. Through the glass shower 
doors, Clark could see his lover inside. She was facing 
away from him, but it was clear she was crying hard.

"Lois, honey ... I'm *so* sorry ..."

"Get out, Clark," she demanded in a tearful gasp. "Just get 
out."

Clark paused, uncertain. He had no right to expect her to 
forgive him. What he'd said was awful, and what was worse, 
he'd known it was awful when he'd said it. It didn't happen 
often, but when his temper got the best of him, he tended 
to lash out with a sarcastic comment. Usually Lois simply 
gave it back to him, plus some, but this time he had gone 
much, much too far. The guilt and fear welled up inside 
him. What if she never...?

Tears pricking at his eyes, he opened the shower door. 
"Lois, please ... listen to me ... what I said, it was 
awful and mean and cruel ... and I am *so* sorry. I was 
hurt and angry and I lashed out, but that's no excuse and I 
know that ... honey, please believe me," he pleaded.

When Lois just started to cry harder, Clark acted on 
instinct and stepped into the shower with her. He wrapped 
his arms around her from behind, wishing desperately that 
he could comfort her. "Oh, honey," he said, now in tears 
himself. "Please forgive me. I was such a jerk. I should 
have let it drop when you told me to. I didn't mean to pick 
a fight."

"We always fight," she wailed, sobs wracking her body.

Clark held her more tightly. "No, we don't," he soothed. 
"We almost never fight ... just about this one thing, and 
it's all my fault. I have no right to pressure you, and I 
promise I won't do it again." Clark gently turned her 
around so she was facing him, and was relieved when she 
buried her head in his chest. She was still crying, but at 
least she was clinging to him instead of pushing him away. 
"Oh, Lois," he whispered emotionally. "I love you so much."

When she didn't respond, Clark shut off the faucet and 
steered them out of the shower. Sitting cross-legged on the 
bathroom rug, Lois in his lap, Clark used his heat vision 
and a towel to gently dry the water from her body and hair. 
Lois submitted to his ministrations, just staring at the 
floor, and remained mostly silent except for the occasional 
sob. Her eyes were puffy and red and she had such a 
sorrowful expression on her face, it nearly broke his 
heart. He had never seen Lois looking so sad, acting so 
completely vulnerable. As he cradled her in his arms, the 
knowledge that it was he who had caused her this much pain 
stabbed at his heart. Recrimination and self-reproach 
overwhelmed him, and he found himself wondering if she 
would ever forgive him ... or if he even deserved it.

"Have I ruined it?" he finally asked quietly.

Lois sniffled and met his eyes for the first time since 
they'd been in the shower. "Ruined what?"

Clark stared at her, nearly despondent. "Us ... 
everything?"

Lois wiped at her tears. "It was just a fight, Clark."

His eyes grew wide. "Lois, that was *not* just a fight! 
That was awful. I *feel* awful."

Lois bit her lip and dropped her head back to his chest. 
"Me too," she answered softly. "But no, you didn't ruin 
everything. I know you're sorry."

Clark held her closer. "I am ... I am so sorry."

Lois absently rubbed her finger in a circle over Clark's 
bicep. "I know, and I'm sorry that I keep hurting you over 
this. Just--" She hesitated, then started again. "Just 
don't do that anymore, starting a fight when we're like 
this."

"Like this?"

Lois indicated their naked bodies. "After we've just ... 
made love. I feel so close to you, and that makes it hurt 
even more--"

Clark silenced her by taking a deep gasping breath. "I 
know," he whispered, his emotions obviously catching up 
with him.

Her lips quivered, and she closed in on herself again. 
"Everyone thinks you're so nice, and you are -- most of the 
time." The tears trickled down her face. "But when you get 
upset, sometimes you can be really ... mean."

Clark swallowed. "I know, and it's wrong. I don't like 
myself when I get like that, but sometimes ..." He trailed 
off before starting again. "The thing is, I can almost 
always control myself with other people. But ever since I 
met you ..." He gave her a rueful smile. "No one else has 
*ever* brought out such emotion in me, Lois. Unfortunately, 
sometimes it's negative emotion like jealousy."

Lois pursed her lips and scowled. "So you're saying I bring 
it out in you? Isn't that what the wife-beaters say? That 
it's all the woman's fault for provoking them?"

"Hey," Clark reproached her quietly, clearly pained. "You 
know that's not what I meant. Now who's being mean?" Lois 
looked into his eyes, seeing the hurt expression on his 
face. "You're right; I'm sorry, too," she said softly. She 
sniffled and tried to smile. "I guess we both need to get 
better at fighting, huh?"

Placing a kiss on her forehead, Clark slipped an arm under 
her legs to balance the one already around her back, and 
levitated to a standing position. Carrying Lois tenderly, 
he walked them back into the bedroom. "Or maybe we can just 
agree never to fight again." He attempted a little grin.

Lois smiled in return as he lowered her to the bed and 
slipped in beside her. "Never say never," she answered 
quietly, not contradicting him, but knowing that it wasn't 
possible never to fight. She curled onto her side and let 
Clark spoon in behind her.

"How about I promise never to pressure you about marriage 
again?" he asked.

Lois stared off into the darkness for a long moment. 
"Well," she finally answered in a small voice. "A little 
bit of pressure is OK ... as long as you don't get mad." 
She turned her head towards him.

Clark met her halfway and feathered a soft kiss against her 
lips. "I love you, Lois," he whispered emotionally.

She placed her arm over his as it lay draped across her 
stomach, and intertwined their fingers. "I love you, too, 
Clark. I never stopped. And I never will."

Clark held Lois close as she fell asleep, focusing his 
hearing on nothing but the sound of her gentle breathing so 
he wouldn't hear any calls for help. It was selfish, a 
small part of him whispered, but he didn't care. He wanted 
-- no, he needed -- to be here right now.

Their fight had disturbed him even more than he had 
admitted to Lois. It had come on so suddenly, his emotions 
jumping from intense love to anger so quickly it scared 
him. He never wanted to cause her that kind of pain again. 
Yet he himself continued to be hurt whenever the 
conversation turned to marriage. It wasn't Lois's fault -- 
Clark knew that, even though sometimes he had a hard time 
admitting it. No, it was his own insecurities and jealousy 
that caused him pain.

In his head, he understood why Lois wanted to wait. But in 
his heart ... sometimes, he couldn't help but feel that 
maybe he didn't measure up ... or that she still had 
feelings for another man, a man whom she had agreed to 
marry less than a year before -- after she had rejected 
Clark.

Clark sighed and held Lois more tightly, desperately 
needing to feel her body next to his, to reassure himself 
that she was still with him. He would get himself under 
control, Clark vowed. He wouldn't let this issue come 
between them. He would love her ... and trust her ... and 
wait for her.

He would try to stop the thoughts that haunted him ...

'Damn you, Lex Luthor. Even from the grave, you continue to 
torture me.'

*****

In a dark abandoned subway tunnel under the city, Nigel St. 
John paced around a large platform, studying the man-sized 
glass box in the middle. "Well, what is his status, 
Gretchen?" he asked impatiently.

Dr. Gretchen Kelly checked and rechecked the many monitors 
connected to the box. "His vital signs are fluctuating 
wildly. It's been a struggle ever since that fiasco in the 
crypt."

Nigel barely contained his annoyance. "I do hope I haven't 
made this trip for nothing."

"Your concern for Lex is overwhelming," Gretchen shot back.

"Mr. Luthor did not hire me for my congeniality," he 
responded, his voice cool. Nigel turned to see Dr. Kelly 
fiddling with the monitors. "What are you doing?"

"I have to stabilize his electromagnetic field," she 
replied, becoming anxious. "Otherwise we're going to lose 
him!"

Just then the lights surrounding the box began to flicker, 
and the monitors began to groan in protest. Gretchen 
continued to adjust the controls, but it was a losing 
battle. The machinery began to lose power, and the heart 
rate monitor connected to the box's occupant flatlined. Dr. 
Kelly stared at the controls, shocked and horrified. "No!" 
she yelled in protest. "Lex?! No!!"

"It's over, Gretchen." Nigel calmly patted her shoulder as 
she ran to the platform. "It was a noble experiment."

Suddenly a fist thrust through the glass top of the 
chamber, sending broken glass flying in all directions. The 
two observers recoiled in shock and amazement as the hand 
reached over and unlocked the chamber's top. Pushing the 
door open, the man inside struggled to a seated position, 
his eyes flashing.

"Lex?" Gretchen gasped.

Nigel stared, amazed. "I don't believe it," he whispered.

Lex Luthor turned to his former assistant and fixed him 
with a wild look. "Believe it!" he hissed.

*****

Lois stood in front of the mirror in Clark's bathroom the 
next morning, putting the finishing touches on her make-up. 
She'd been able to hear him rustling around in his closet a 
few minutes ago as she'd fixed her hair, but now it was 
silent and she guessed that he had moved into the kitchen 
to make their breakfast. Neither of them had mentioned 
their fight from the previous night, but she was sure it 
was as much on Clark's mind as it was on hers. He'd been 
uncharacteristically subdued as they'd shared the bathroom 
this morning, even before he'd quietly moved into the 
bedroom to get dressed for work.

It had taken some time to mesh their morning routines -- 
neither of them had been used to having to share the 
bathroom, and they certainly hadn't been used to keeping 
spare work clothes at the other's apartment. But slowly, 
they'd been able to work things out, and now they rarely 
encountered any problems. Of course, having a boyfriend who 
could fly across town at super-speed to retrieve anything 
either of them had forgotten helped a lot.

They now stayed together several nights a week, dividing 
their time fairly equally between their two apartments. 
Just whose bed they slept in generally depended on who had 
what to do that evening -- last night, it had been Clark's 
need to do laundry that had decided their location, while 
two nights previously, they had been working at Lois's 
apartment late into the evening, which had led to Clark 
sleeping over. But there were many nights when Superman was 
needed somewhere in the city, and on those nights, unless 
she was already in Clark's bed, Lois tended to go home. She 
always figured that if she had to be alone, she'd rather be 
in her own apartment, with her own stuff.

Three months ago, Lois would have never guessed how 
different her life would be now. Last November, she had 
been completely devastated after watching Clark get shot by 
Clyde Barrow during a stake-out at an illegal casino. Then 
when Superman brought Clark back to life two days later, 
Lois had experienced the most heart-soaring relief she 
could possibly imagine. Though she hadn't been planning to 
start a relationship with Clark before he'd been shot, they 
had each been so mentally and physically exhausted by what 
they'd gone through over the previous two days that neither 
of them had been able to fight the urgent passion that had 
overtaken them when their lips found each other in the 
rain. They had ended up making love in Clark's bedroom, 
swept away by their emotions and feelings for each other.

The subsequent two weeks had been a roller coaster of 
emotion. There had been a wonderfully romantic date, and 
they'd each reveled in the incredible yearning for each 
other that can only come when two people are falling in 
love. But between Lois breaking Clark's heart that first 
morning by acting as if their night together had meant 
nothing to her, and her own heart breaking the following 
week when she'd learned that Clark had lied to her about 
being Superman -- and thus, being dead -- it had taken them 
several days to find their way back to each other 
emotionally. In the end, they had been able to work through 
their problems, but it had been a very rocky beginning for 
a relationship. Having come through it, however, Lois felt 
they were stronger for it, both as individuals and as a 
couple. She couldn't imagine what she would do without 
Clark in her life. And Clark obviously felt the same way, 
since he had begun to talk about marriage almost 
immediately.

In the beginning, Lois had found these conversations 
flattering, if a bit surprising. She had only just learned 
that Clark was Superman, and while overall she couldn't be 
more pleased that the man she was in love with was also the 
super-hero she'd been infatuated with, it was still a lot 
to get used to. It had been while taking a walk together 
Thanksgiving morning that Clark had first brought up the 
subject. They'd gone to Smallville for the holiday a mere 
week after getting back together, figuring that, after all 
they'd been through, it would be a great chance to get away 
together, to revel in being in love without the pressures 
of their daily lives getting in the way.

At first they'd just talked about marriage in generalities 
as they walked, but when Clark had asked her if she thought 
it would be more romantic to be surprised with a ring or to 
go together to pick one out, Lois realized that he wasn't 
just asking out of idle curiosity. Keeping the tone light, 
she'd let him know that, while she would love to someday 
pick out rings with him, it was simply too soon to make 
such a formal commitment. To his credit, Clark had accepted 
the information gracefully and they had gone on to have a 
wonderful holiday.

Lois always grinned when she remembered the night they'd 
spent at the farmhouse, with Clark on the sofa and her 
alone in his room. After Martha had embarrassed them during 
Lois's first trip to Smallville by asking if they'd wanted 
to share a room, she apparently hadn't wanted to make the 
same mistake again. The couch had already been made up for 
Clark when the new couple arrived late Wednesday evening, 
and despite his earlier assurances that he would talk to 
his parents about the status of their relationship, Clark 
had been too embarrassed to tell them that he and Lois were 
sleeping together when confronted with the situation. With 
a silent look of longing passing between them, they had 
politely accepted the separate accommodations.

Of course, it had only been for one night. They had 
originally planned to stay through Friday, but by Thursday 
evening, Clark -- who had been out all Tuesday night as 
Superman -- had pinned Lois up against the bathroom door, 
kissed her passionately and informed her that he couldn't 
possibly survive a third night without making love to her. 
They had made their excuses and were flying back to 
Metropolis within the hour, beginning to undress each other 
before they'd even reached Lois's apartment. They'd gone on 
to spend most of Friday in bed, feeding each other turkey 
leftovers and Chinese carryout, and alternately watching 
football and "It's A Wonderful Life" on the television. Of 
course, their tickling matches over the remote control had 
usually just led to more lovemaking, so neither of them had 
ended up paying much attention to the screen. All together, 
it had certainly been the most fun Thanksgiving weekend 
Lois had ever had, and she knew Clark would say the same.

Luckily, by Christmas vacation, Clark had summoned enough 
courage to tell his parents that he and Lois only needed 
one room. Lois was pretty sure Martha and Jonathan had 
figured it out by then anyway, especially considering they 
had already started calling Lois's apartment when they 
couldn't reach Clark at his. But Lois also liked to think 
that telling Clark how she'd fantasized about making love 
to him in his high school bedroom had given him a little 
extra motivation. Ironically, they'd only gotten to use the 
bed once for such purposes, during an afternoon when the 
Kents had gone out visiting. During their nighttime 
lovemaking, in contrast, they'd discovered that they needed 
to float a few inches above the bed, desperately trying to 
stifle their laughter over how loudly the springs squeaked.

Like Thanksgiving, this past Christmas Eve with the Kents 
had been the most wonderful one Lois had ever experienced. 
She and Clark had spent much of the evening at a party 
given by an old friend of his, where Clark had been so 
proud to show Lois off to all his high school friends, and 
she had delighted in hearing funny stories about his 
childhood antics. Back home, after his parents had gone to 
bed, the two of them had stood together by the Christmas 
tree, trading sweet kisses in front of the twinkling 
lights. Lois didn't think she'd ever forget the look on 
Clark's face when, at the stroke of midnight, he'd taken 
her hands in his, told her how much he loved her and how 
honored he would be if she would become his wife. It was 
the most romantic proposal any woman could ever want. But 
in the end, she'd gently explained that they just hadn't 
been together long enough and she couldn't say yes.

Clark was understandably disappointed, but at the time had 
seemed to accept Lois's reassurances that it wasn't a no -- 
just a "not yet". Yet he'd strongly hinted about marriage 
again a mere week later, during their New Year's Eve dinner 
in Metropolis, and had continued to bring up the subject in 
the six weeks since. Unfortunately, every time Lois 
demurred on the subject, Clark got a little more upset.

Everything had come to a head last night, and it had been 
awful. It was by far the worst fight they'd ever had, and 
Lois still couldn't quite believe Clark had lashed out the 
way he did. A few months ago, she probably would have 
stormed out of the apartment in a rage after he'd said 
something like that to her and would have held onto her 
grudge for days. But things were different now. Even as 
angry and hurt as she'd ever been with him, the idea of 
walking out had never crossed her mind. Lois wasn't sure 
exactly what this attitude change implied, but she did know 
that it resulted from a major shift in her relationship 
expectations. She no longer wanted to run away from Clark 
when she was upset with him; she wanted to stick around, 
somehow knowing that they would work things out before the 
night was through.

Of course, it had helped to see how devastated Clark was; 
he'd actually been in tears in the bathroom when he was 
apologizing. But if she were being honest, Lois had to 
admit that the largest factor in her quick forgiveness last 
night had been her fear that Clark might be right.

Lois knew that Clark was terribly hurt by what he saw as 
her refusals to marry him, and despite her best efforts, 
this made her feel incredibly guilty. Sometimes she felt 
like she was being an awful person for not appreciating 
what she had, for continuing to put him off when all he 
wanted to do was love her. But at the same time, Lois 
couldn't understand why he kept asking. Each time, she 
would make her feelings very clear, and each time Clark 
would claim to understand ... but then he'd bring up the 
subject again. Lois didn't know whether to be moved or 
annoyed -- she was thrilled that Clark wasn't giving up on 
her, but at the same time, she was finding herself 
increasingly frustrated that he wouldn't respect her enough 
to give her time. And as a result, the more he pressured, 
the more skittish she became.

Lois knew Clark was nothing like Lex Luthor, but she 
couldn't help comparing their relationships -- Lex was the 
only other man she'd ever considered marrying. His 
manipulation still haunted her; she'd been played expertly, 
like a puppet on a string. Lex had proposed to her but 
instead of waiting patiently for her answer, he'd set into 
motion a plan to destroy her world, to throw her so off-
balance that she couldn't help but turn to him for some 
stability.

Yet Lois hated the fact that her history with Lex was 
making her hyper-sensitive to Clark's proposals ... and to 
his growing insistence. It wasn't fair to Clark to compare 
him in any way to Lex, and she knew that it made him 
absolutely crazy. But Lois couldn't deny the feelings 
inside her, how spooked she got whenever Clark exerted any 
pressure. And it was crucial to her that when she and Clark 
finally did get married, it would be because she was ready, 
not because he had worn down her defenses. She deserved 
better than that, but just as importantly, so did he.

Lois had always though it ironic that while Clark had 
worried about her suffering if she'd entered into a public 
relationship with Superman, it was now Clark who was 
subject to scrutiny as the man Lois Lane was dating. It had 
been nearly nine months since Lex had jumped to his death 
on what was to be their wedding day, but the tabloids still 
insisted on running the occasional story about her. Lois 
felt like she had lived a lifetime in those nine months, 
and in many ways, was a completely different person. But to 
the rags that made their money embellishing -- or outright 
inventing -- stories about well-known people, she was still 
known as "Lex Luthor's Fiancee".

For the most part, Lois was able to ignore the mentions she 
received, especially given that they were usually so 
ridiculous that they weren't worth her attention. The story 
romantically linking her to a movie star she'd never even 
met had almost amused her, while early articles linking her 
to Superman in the same romantic way -- while, granted, 
potentially putting her in danger -- had just fed into the 
romantic crush she'd had on the super-hero. But now that 
she was with Clark, things had changed. Now, every so 
often, a story would be called to her attention that really 
hurt.

The first tabloid mention linking the two Daily Planet 
reporters had been the most devastating, not only because 
it had been so unexpected, but also because it had been 
terribly cruel. Lois still remembered how shocked she'd 
felt reading the story late last November. It had been 
released the week after Thanksgiving, just as she was 
basking in being head over heels in love with the most 
wonderful man she had ever known. But then the National 
Whisperer had weighed in with its version of Clyde Barrow's 
involvement in Clark Kent's death, and it was like she'd 
been kicked in the stomach.

Perry had called her and Clark into his office after lunch 
to show them a copy of the tabloid. The front cover had a 
large photograph of Lois in the Daily Planet lobby, 
standing next to Clyde Barrow as he was led away by police. 
The headline took up much of the cover -- "Lois Lane's 
Latest Lover? From One Gangster To Another." Inset next to 
the larger picture were two smaller ones -- one, her 
official engagement photograph with Lex Luthor; the other, 
a candid shot of her and Clark holding hands as they'd left 
the ballroom of Senator Tate's victory party.

The blood had drained from her face as she'd read the 
article. It had quoted "unnamed sources" that said she and 
Clyde Barrow had become lovers while he was on his crime 
spree, and it further suggested that Clark Kent had been 
shot at the casino because he'd tried to break up a lovers' 
quarrel between them. The story had gone on to describe 
Lois and Bonnie Parker's fight in the Daily Planet 
newsroom, implying that they were doing battle not over 
Parker's attempted escape, but over the man they both 
coveted. The most devastating part of all, however, had 
been the sidebar report that she was now dating Clark Kent, 
her partner at the Daily Planet, complete with the author's 
warning -- full of sarcasm thinly veiled as humor -- that 
Mr. Kent might do well to watch his back due to "the curse 
of Lois Lane's love."

Lois's stunned silence over the article had been countered 
by Clark's loud anger. He had been so furious over the lies 
in the article that she had felt compelled to brush it off 
as a result, if only to calm him down. Perry had quickly 
contacted the Daily Planet attorneys, and by the end of the 
afternoon, the National Whisperer had been threatened with 
a libel suit on Lois Lane's behalf. The so-called newspaper 
had quickly backed down and promised to print a retraction, 
and Lois had insisted to Clark that they not worry about it 
anymore. But that night, she had gone home alone and cried 
herself to sleep.

There had only been a handful of tabloid articles about the 
two of them since then, but Lois still found herself 
feeling vulnerable when she remembered how deeply the first 
one had affected her. There was the issue of Superman, of 
course -- any coverage linking Clark and Superman made her 
nervous, even only a passing mention of both men having 
'dated' the same woman. But the worst part was that the 
accusations just fed into her own self doubt about her 
ability to sustain a real relationship.

Could it be true, she couldn't help but wonder ... could 
she really be cursed when it came to love and 
relationships? And if so, wouldn't she just be ruining 
Clark's life by agreeing to marry him? Yet at the same 
time, she couldn't help but worry that if she didn't decide 
soon, she might lose him forever.

Lois sighed as she studied her face in the mirror. What was 
she going to do?

*****

Clark watched Lois carefully over breakfast, his brief 
attempts at conversations overshadowed by the long silences 
in between. He didn't need to ask what was wrong. She 
wasn't acting mad -- distracted would be a better term. But 
he was certain that she was still disappointed in his 
behavior from the previous evening, and Clark didn't blame 
her. They'd disagreed over marriage before, even argued 
about it. But they had never, *ever* fought like last 
night.

The last three months had been the most wonderful months in 
his life. He loved Lois so much it almost scared him. The 
intensity that he felt when he was with her, whether they 
were working together during the day or hanging out in the 
evenings or making love at night ... it both overwhelmed 
him and left him craving more. Yet whenever he tried to 
give voice to that feeling, he only ended up making Lois 
feel pressured.

He knew that Lois had had a difficult childhood and that 
the break-up of her parents' marriage had made her afraid 
of getting married herself. He knew how her father had 
constantly judged her and found her wanting, how her mother 
had struggled with depression and an alcohol addiction that 
left her emotionally unavailable. Lois had never wanted to 
get married growing up, and she freely admitted that, as an 
adult, she had run as far away from that lifestyle as she 
could, throwing herself into her work.

And Clark knew that Lois's brief relationship with Lex 
Luthor had only reaffirmed her belief that marriage was a 
disaster waiting to happen ... the fact that she'd been 
willing to give Clark a "not yet" so soon after they'd 
begun dating should have reassured him that she just needed 
time to get used to the idea.

But although he knew Lois had logical reasons for wanting 
to wait, Clark couldn't help but feel that her uncertainty 
was an indictment of his own worthiness. He didn't normally 
lack self-confidence; he wouldn't have made it as far as he 
had -- either as Clark Kent or Superman -- without a 
healthy ego. Yet when it came to love and marriage, Clark 
couldn't help but worry. He had long ago recognized that 
Lois's childhood traumas had deeply affected her, but 
ironically, his intense need to have her accept his 
proposal had finally forced him to confront his own 
childhood wounds.

Clark was thankful every day that it was the Kents who had 
found him in Shuster's Field so many years ago. There could 
have been no better people to raise him than his parents. 
They had protected him and nurtured him and loved him, 
unconditionally. He was the man he was today because of 
them. And intellectually, he knew that the fear they had 
instilled in him, the secrets they had insisted he keep, 
were essential to keeping him safe.

But emotionally, a child can only keep a secret so big 
before he begins to live in fear. And a child can't live in 
constant fear -- fear of letting the secret out, of being 
taken from his family, of being caged and cut open and 
studied ... of never being loved again -- without incurring 
scars.

As he quietly cleared the table and placed the breakfast 
dishes into the sink, Clark thought back to a day nearly 
two years before, soon after he'd moved to Metropolis. He'd 
gone back to visit his parents after his first week at the 
Daily Planet, and his father had walked him outside when it 
was time for Clark to return to the city. "All I want is 
the chance to have a normal life ... living, working, 
meeting someone, having a family," Clark had told his dad. 
He had confessed this, sure that his father would 
understand. The response, however, had been devastating.

<< We don't know if that's possible, son. >>

Not possible?

Not possible.

Logically, Clark knew his father wasn't talking 
specifically about love and marriage. He was simply 
reminding his son to be cautious, not to get his hopes up. 
But emotionally, it had hurt. Why shouldn't Clark hope for 
these things? Was he that different? Was he so terribly 
*wrong* that no one would ever want to be with him? Was it 
impossible that anyone could ever love him once they knew 
the truth? This was the reality that he had lived with 
since he'd been old enough to understand how different he 
really was.

But amazingly, Lois *did* love him. He knew she did. Even 
when Clark felt afraid for their future, he felt her love 
deep down in his soul. Every time she smiled at him or 
argued with him or comforted him or kissed him, he knew.

And she deserved better than the way he'd been treating 
her.

Clark sighed. "Lois--"

"Clark--"

They each stopped and Clark attempted a little smile. "Go 
ahead," he offered. From the look in her eyes, he had a 
feeling that she'd been thinking about the same things he 
had been.

It was Lois's turn to sigh. "About last night ..." She 
trailed off as she looked at him, clearly as uncertain 
about where to begin as he was.

"I know," he answered quietly. "I'm so sorry, Lois. I keep 
messing up." Unable to face her, he turned and hung his 
head. "I'm afraid I'm going to ruin everything."

At the sight of his slumped shoulders, Lois wrapped her 
arms around him from behind and rested her head against his 
back. "Oh, Clark," she whispered. "I'm scared, too. I don't 
want to keep fighting about this."

Clark looked at the floor, ashamed. "I hate the way I'm 
acting. I know how unattractive this insecurity is. And I 
know that the more insecure I act, the more likely I am to 
drive you away." He closed his eyes on the quell of 
emotions. "I love you so much ... and I'm just terrified 
I'm going to lose you."

"But you're not going to lose me," she implored. "Why can't 
you see that?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I know you love me, and I 
love you. You make me so totally, completely happy -- 
happier than I ever thought I'd be. So why do I keep having 
these doubts? Why can't I just enjoy what we have?" Clark 
ran his hand through his hair. "Why am I so scared?"

Lois was quiet for a long moment before responding. 
"Maybe," she finally began in a small voice. "Maybe because 
deep down, you can't quite believe you deserve what we 
have. Maybe a little voice deep inside keeps telling you 
that you're not good enough, and you know it's just a 
matter of time before the other person realizes that and--" 
She stopped, her voice cracking.

Clark turned around to stare at her, his brow deeply 
furrowed. "How did--" He stopped, swallowing hard. "How did 
you know that?"

Lois looked up at him with a shimmer of tears in her eyes. 
"Because that's how a part of me feels every time I look at 
you."

Suddenly unable to trust his voice, Clark pulled her 
tightly into his arms. "Lois--"

Her voice was soft and terribly sad when she spoke. "Clark, 
you know I didn't agree to marry Lex because I loved him. I 
only agreed to marry him because I didn't think anyone else 
would ever want me."

"But *I* wanted you," he whispered. "And you rejected me."

Lois closed her eyes as her emotions built. "I know."

"Not even once, but twice, Lois. First for Superman, and 
then for L-- *him*." Clark took a deep breath, trying to 
get himself under control. He and Lois had talked about her 
relationship with Luthor more than once during the three 
months they'd been together, but despite Lois's 
reassurances that she'd never loved Luthor and had even 
been thinking of Clark while she was walking down the 
aisle, the fact that Lois had agreed to marry Luthor in the 
first place continued to gnaw at him. Clark knew it wasn't 
fair, but every time Lois refused to marry him, it just 
seemed to bring back the pain of her rejection that day in 
the park. Clark shook his head emotionally. "I *know* I 
should be over this by now, and I *know* it shouldn't 
matter anymore ... but it *does*. It still hurts. I don't 
even know *why*, but it still does."

"But don't you see, Clark?" Lois asked desperately, pulling 
back to look at him. "That's just it. What I did to you, it 
was horrible. I told you I didn't love you, then turned 
right around and asked you to contact Superman for me. Even 
if you weren't Superman, that would have hurt you. But I 
wasn't thinking of you; I was only thinking of *me*." Her 
voice cracked, but she forced the words out anyway. "And 
then, after all but telling Superman that I would throw Lex 
over in a heartbeat if only he'd return my feelings ... I 
still went ahead and agreed to marry him." She took a shaky 
breath herself. "What kind of person does that make me, 
Clark?"

Clark sighed heavily, his own upset finally pushed aside 
when he saw the tears on her cheeks. He hadn't meant to 
hurt her again, but he had. This was wrong -- no matter 
what he was feeling, he couldn't go on doing this to her. 
"Honey, I'm sorry. I never should have--"

"It makes me a really, really bad candidate for marriage!" 
Lois wailed miserably, cutting him off. "I've failed in 
every relationship I've ever had, Clark. My only role 
models for marriage were my parents, and you know what a 
disaster that was." She sniffled and added woefully, "I 
don't know why you would even want to marry me."

At her words, Clark couldn't help but give a little smile. 
Leave it to Lois to question the obvious. "Well, that's an 
easy one," he responded tenderly. He cupped her cheek, 
making her look at him. "I want to marry you because I am 
head over heels in love with you. Because I can't imagine 
going even one day without being able to see you and talk 
to you and hold you. I want to marry you because, for me, a 
life without you in it wouldn't be any life at all."

Lois stared up at him for a long moment, her eyes wide and 
dark under a shimmer of tears. "That was beautiful," she 
finally whispered.

"I meant every word," he assured her, as he wound his 
fingers through her hair. "But, Lois, no matter how much I 
love you, it doesn't give me the right to pressure you. I 
know I've been acting like a jerk every time this comes up, 
but I promise you I won't do it again. If you're not ready 
to get married, then we won't get married. I love you too 
much to risk pushing you away over this."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him 
tightly. "I don't want to push you away either."

Clark hugged back. "So are we OK?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah ... I think so." Lois pulled back and gave him a 
smile. "Thank you, Clark. For giving me time."

"I love you, Lois," he murmured. "And I will wait for you, 
for as long as it takes."

*****

Lex Luthor sat on an overturned box in the abandoned 
tunnel, impatiently typing away at a laptop computer. As 
the minutes ticked by, his movements became rougher, his 
face, more ominous. "It's gone," he called out as he 
continued to type. "That weasel Bender swindled me out of 
everything!"

Gretchen Kelly hovered nearby, concerned. Lex had made 
remarkable progress in the hours since he'd awakened, but 
she didn't want him to push himself. She was thrilled 
beyond words that her months of hard work had paid off, but 
they were clearly in uncharted territory. And Lex getting 
upset wasn't going to help him recover. "Lex, you should be 
resting," she said soothingly, lifting his wrist to take 
his pulse. "This can wait."

Nigel St. John obviously had no such concerns, however, as 
he sat across the room cleaning a hand bow. The metal 
gleamed as he expertly rubbed it. "What about the Swiss 
bank accounts?" he asked.

As soon as Gretchen had taken her readings, Lex returned to 
his typing, but a few more keystrokes revealed the same 
results -- each account, empty. He sat back, stunned. "I'm 
broke." He gave a humorless laugh. "Death I could deal 
with, Nigel. But to be *broke* ... no money, no power ... 
that's not something I'm prepared for."

The older man just smiled thinly. "Knowing you, sir, it's 
just a temporary condition."

Lex nodded. "The money, perhaps. But true power lies in the 
possession of Kryptonite. Until I find it, I'm nothing." He 
closed the laptop definitively and walked towards Nigel, 
his face dark. "But first things first. I want you to 
arrange a meeting with Mr. Bender."

"Yes, sir."

"And Nigel." He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Stop 
the 'sir'. There's no need for facades." He regarded 
himself. "Look at us. We are what we are."

Nigel raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"Ordinary street fighters. Just like the old days."

Gretchen had been absently watching the interplay between 
the two men from her work table, but as Lex stood and began 
to stalk the room, her eyes followed him appreciatively. 
She thanked her good fortune every day that she'd been able 
to convince Arianna Carlin to fund her research into 
bringing Lex back to life. It had been a project she'd been 
working on under Lex's watchful eye for the last two years, 
but she hadn't realized how soon the results of her work 
would be needed, or by whom. Stealing the body from the 
morgue had been the easy part ... more difficult had been 
finding the money to put Lex's back-up plan into effect.

Of course, in the beginning, she and Arianna had shared a 
common goal, but Gretchen didn't deny being pleased that 
the other woman's obsession with getting revenge on Lois 
Lane had ultimately been her downfall. Not that Gretchen 
bore even a shred of goodwill towards the reporter -- she 
had no idea why Lex had wasted his time with her in the 
first place -- but with Arianna now serving a life 
sentence, there was no one left to compete with Gretchen 
for Lex's attention. She was just glad she'd been able to 
purchase or steal the equipment she'd needed before 
Arianna's money well ran dry.

Gretchen crossed the room and draped her arms around his 
neck from behind, very pleased. All of her hard work had 
paid off ... Lex was alive and apparently suffering none of 
the side-effects she'd been concerned about. He seemed 
healthy and fit. Ordinary street fighter, indeed! "I've 
never thought there was anything *ordinary* about you, 
Lex," she purred, making no doubt as to her appreciation.

With a confident smile, Lex lifted one of her hands to kiss 
it. "Quite right, my dear ... you're absolutely right."

Gretchen beamed at his praise. Lex was the most attractive 
man she'd ever met ... from his smoldering dark eyes to his 
unruly brown curls, he was magnificent. And as soon as they 
were able to reestablish his power base, Lex would rule 
over this city with Gretchen at his side, loyal to each 
other to the end.

Encouraged by the enticing thought, Gretchen ran her 
fingers adoringly through Lex's hair. Her confidence 
quickly turned to surprise, however, as she felt a clump of 
hair come loose in her hand.

Lex quickly took the hair from her hand. "What is this?" he 
asked. Walking a few steps to another box, he picked up a 
piece of broken mirror and studied his reflection, pulling 
at his unruly locks.

Gretchen's eyes opened wide as his inspection yielded the 
same result -- a large clump of hair came out in his 
fingers, then a second.

"I'm losing my hair." Lex turned to her. "What have you 
done to me?" Gretchen opened her mouth to respond, but 
before she could, any vestige of control he had snapped. 
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!?" he screamed, shoving the hair 
in her face.

Frightened by his outburst, Gretchen blanched as her mind 
raced for an explanation. Obviously there were side-effects 
she hadn't expected. But considering what he'd gone through 
to get here, he certainly couldn't begrudge a few minor 
inconveniences. "Lex," she began, trying to placate him, 
"your body went through a tremendous ordeal. You're bound 
to experience some temporary side effects. You need to 
rest."

Lex, however, ignored her pleadings. "All right, shave it 
off," he ordered.

She hesitated -- surely there was another way? -- but Lex 
quickly narrowed his eyes. "Don't just stand there," he 
spat, his voice full of venom. "Shave it *off*!!"

The raw hostility in his voice sent Gretchen scurrying for 
a razor and some scissors. Digging what she needed out of 
her bag, she stood behind Lex as he seated himself on a 
box, and began to cut the hair close to the scalp. She gave 
him a nervous smile as he watched her in the mirror 
fragment.

Lex ignored her, however, and directed his next comment at 
the other person in the room. "Nigel, I want you to do me a 
favor. I want you to find out whatever you can about Lois 
Lane."

At the mention of Lex's former fiancee, Gretchen froze. 
Lois Lane?! What in the world did he want with *her*? There 
was no way Lex could possibly still be interested in the 
woman who had jilted him at the altar only moments before 
his death. She was a traitor! Clearly, he must be after 
revenge ... he just wanted to finish the job that Arianna 
had left undone. Glancing in the mirror that Lex held, 
however, Gretchen was shocked to see a tenderness come into 
Lex's eyes at the mention of the reporter's name and she 
narrowed her eyes. How dare he?? Gretchen Kelly was the one 
who loved him, not Lois Lane! And it was Gretchen Kelly who 
would rule by his side over Metropolis! With an angry 
grimace, she 'accidentally' jabbed him with the scissors. 
The nerve!

"OW!" Lex yelled. He fixed his doctor with an annoyed look, 
then went back to examining himself in the broken mirror as 
he muttered, "It's a good thing you're not a surgeon."

*****

Lois was halfway through a chicken salad sandwich from the 
deli in the lobby when she looked up to see her partner 
standing in front of her desk. They'd driven in together 
this morning, but Clark had heard a call for Superman 
around 10:30 am, and she hadn't seen him since. After their 
emotional exchange after breakfast, Lois had been hoping 
he'd be back before lunch. They each always felt a little 
vulnerable after an argument, but spending time together, 
even when they weren't doing anything special, made them 
feel better.

Unfortunately, when noon arrived and Clark still hadn't 
returned, Lois had been so hungry she'd just gone ahead and 
purchased a take-out sandwich from the deli downstairs. It 
wasn't nearly as good as the take-out Clark could find, but 
it was food. Of course, now that Clark was back, Lois 
wished she had waited just a little longer, but from the 
grin on his face, it was clear he didn't mind that she'd 
decided to eat without him.

"Well, hello, stranger," Lois said with a smile. The rescue 
must have gone well because he looked exceedingly pleased 
with himself.

"Hello, yourself," he replied brightly, then his gaze 
warmed even more as he pulled a colorful bouquet of flowers 
from behind his back. "For you."

Lois melted as she took them. "Oh, they're beautiful. Thank 
you."

Clark sat down on one corner of her desk and leaned over to 
give her a kiss on the cheek. "You're very welcome."

Lois rubbed her hand affectionately over his thigh. "What 
did I do to deserve these?"

He captured her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. "Do 
I need a reason?" At her pointed look, Clark relented. "OK, 
OK," he admitted. "Maybe ... I'm still feeling a little 
guilty about last night." He looked at her sincerely as he 
intertwined their fingers. "I was a real jerk."

Lois gave a helpless laugh. She'd just known he would 
continue to beat himself up over this long after she had 
forgiven him. "I accepted your apology," she insisted. 
"We're OK."

But Clark only shook his head. "I know, but--."

"Clark!" She squeezed his hand. "Apology accepted." Looking 
to change the subject, Lois sat back in her chair and fixed 
him with a smile. "So, what kept you busy all morning?"

He looked at her for a moment, then acquiesced. "A few 
different things," he answered, helping himself to a few of 
the mini pretzels she had next to her sandwich. "There was 
an oil spill in the East River that took some time to clean 
up, then a bunch of little things. Got a good idea for a 
story, though, about out-of-business manufacturing 
companies who leave their toxic waste products behind when 
they close up shop."

"Sounds like it's worth looking into. You get any lunch?"

He shook his head. "Nah, didn't really have time. I'll just 
get something from the machine."

"Here, you can finish this." Lois loosely re-wrapped her 
sandwich and pushed it towards him. "I'm done."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Clark, take it ... I can never finish a whole one of 
these, you know that."

Just then, Jimmy approached them, waving an envelope. "Hey, 
CK, this just came for you. Says it's from the FBI."

Lois wiped the crumbs off her desk into the waste can. "Who 
do you know at the FBI?"

Clark studied the envelope for a moment, then nodded in 
recognition as he tore it open. "Roger Templeton. We met 
when I was in Washington." He removed a file folder 
containing a photograph and a series of notes. "Dear 
Clark," he read. "Thought you might find this interesting."

Lois looked over his shoulder, then grabbed the picture 
with a gasp. "Clark! That's the woman who stole Lex's 
body!" Lois would recognize her anywhere -- the woman had 
kidnapped Wanda Mae Walldecker in order to steal 
Resplendent Man's powers. Lois had followed them to the 
Perpetual Pines Cemetery, only to become trapped herself. 
It had been the first time she'd run into serious danger 
since she was aware of Clark's other identity, and she 
still remembered how difficult it had been not to call 
Superman "Clark" when the woman had attacked him. Working 
together, she and Superman had managed to reverse the power 
transfer, but in the confusion, the woman had gotten away. 
Yet now here she was in this photo, sharing a restaurant 
table with another person Lois would never forget.

Jimmy crowded in for a closer look. "Who's the guy?"

"Nigel St. John," Lois answered. "He used to be Lex's 
personal assistant."

Clark flipped through the papers in the folder, reading at 
super-speed while Jimmy was busy studying the photograph. 
"Get this -- they've identified the woman in the photograph 
as Gretchen Kelly. She was Luthor's doctor."

Lois rolled her eyes. "That would explain her fascination 
with his body."

"That's not all," Clark continued. "Turns out Nigel was 
more than Luthor's Mr. Belvedere. He was an agent in Her 
Majesty's Secret Service gone bad."

Lois took the folder from him and thumbed through the 
report. "It says this picture was taken recently here in 
Metropolis ... and the agent who took the picture has 
disappeared." She looked up at Clark and caught his eye. He 
looked grim.

As Lois watched, he lowered his glasses slightly so he 
could zoom in on the photo. After a moment, he lifted his 
head. "Maybe Sheldon Bender knows something."

"Luthor's attorney?" Jimmy asked. "Why him?"

Clark just shrugged. "I don't know ... God knows 
everything, and attorneys seem to think they're God."

Lois gave a little laugh. Obviously he saw something in the 
photograph that she couldn't see. She re-assembled the 
contents of the file folder and handed it to Jimmy. "Show 
this to Perry and tell him we're on it, OK?" Then she 
handed the wrapped sandwich to Clark. "Hope you don't mind 
eating in the car, partner."

*****

Lois had to circle the block twice before she found a legal 
parking space, a block away from Bender's law office. 
Grabbing her umbrella out of the car in case the cold rain 
from earlier in the day decided to start up again, she 
joined Clark on the sidewalk and they began to walk.

They had chatted about the note that Clark had been able to 
read in the FBI photograph on the way, how it contained 
Bender's name and address, and they were already planning 
their strategy for how to approach the attorney. Lost in 
the conversation, Lois almost missed the fact that Sheldon 
Bender had exited his office several buildings ahead of 
them, only to be accosted by a homeless man who'd been 
rooting through some nearby trash.

Her attention was captured, however, when Bender was 
roughly thrown into a blue van. "Clark!" Lois quickly 
exclaimed. "That's Bender!"

Clark blinked as he, too, looked to where she was pointing. 
"Hold on; I'll be right back." Quickly, he ducked back 
around the corner to turn into Superman.

The van was just starting to peel away when Superman 
swooped down and grabbed the bumper. The tires spun for a 
long moment, then the vehicle stopped. Clark rushed around 
to the door and ripped it off its hinges. To his immense 
shock, however, the van was completely empty.

*****

Back in the newsroom later that afternoon, Clark found Lois 
perched on the edge of his desk, curious to find out what 
Superman had learned. "So the van was operated by remote 
control, huh?"

"Yeah," Clark replied with a nod. "The police lab is going 
over it now. Maybe they'll turn up something else." He 
shook his head, perplexed. "Why do you suppose someone 
would kidnap Bender?"

"Well, it can't be for the money," Lois replied dryly. 
"Who'd pay ransom for a lawyer?"

Clark gave a short laugh, then glanced down as Lois 
uncrossed and re-crossed her legs in front of him. His 
guilt over their fight from the night before had lasted all 
morning, but fortunately, working with her all afternoon 
had relieved most of his bad feelings. Lois's easy smiles 
and affectionate touches made it clear to him that she was 
telling the truth when she said she'd forgiven him, and 
that helped him begin to forgive himself. Being with Lois 
was the one thing that seemed to always clear his head.

Clark often marveled at how close they'd become these last 
few months and how quickly they were able to work through 
their arguments now. As inexperienced with relationships as 
they each were in the beginning, they'd certainly had their 
bumps as they'd forged a new kind of partnership. But 
unlike in their early working relationship, they were each 
so committed to making their romantic partnership work that 
even their most emotional arguments never seemed to hang 
over them for more than a day. After hashing everything 
out, they'd usually both end up apologizing for their part 
in the argument, then they would kiss and make up.

Of course, their making-up frequently led to making love as 
they sought to reconnect with each other, so it didn't 
surprise Clark that, after working closely with Lois all 
day, he now found himself thinking about that kind of 
reconnection. Suddenly finding Lois much more interesting 
than the story they were working on, he seductively traced 
a fingertip over her exposed knee and gave her a slow, 
mischievous smile. "So what do you say we go out somewhere 
nice for dinner tonight? Then maybe ... back to your place 
for dessert?"

Lois nodded absently, still thinking about the story. 
"Dinner sounds great. But I don't have anything in the 
freezer so we'll have to supply our own dessert."

Clark just grinned, leaning back in his chair and letting 
his eyes roam unabashedly over her body. "Oh, I don't think 
that will be *any* problem."

When Lois finally noticed the look Clark was giving her and 
the enticing path his finger was taking, her eyes widened 
in amusement. "Why, Mr. Kent," she responded with a coy 
smile, pushing her already short skirt up even further on 
her leg, "are you implying that you're going to have *me* 
for dessert?"

He lowered his voice to a sexy murmur. "Well, you *are* 
good enough to--"

"Am I interrupting anything?" The sound of Jimmy's voice 
caused both Lois and Clark to jump.

"No!"

Lois scrambled off the desk and tugged at her skirt. "No!"

The quickness of their replies and the guilty expressions 
on their faces led Jimmy to give an amused chuckle. "It's 
OK, guys, I'm not the principal," he said wryly. He waved 
the folder he was carrying. "I just came over to give you 
the lab report on that van. Turns out there's a trap door 
in the floor."

Lois quickly took the folder, trying to cover the hint of 
pink blush on her cheeks by changing the subject. "So 
that's how they got Bender out without anyone seeing."

Clark cleared his throat but couldn't manage to wipe the 
smile off his face completely as he watched her. She looked 
so adorable; he couldn't wait to get her home where they 
could be alone. But first they had an investigation to 
continue. "Magic always seems to have an explanation," he 
finally agreed.

"Anything else, Jimmy?"

"Yeah ... the van is registered to some guy in Park Ridge. 
Cops have him down at the station right now."

Lois perked up as Jimmy relayed this final bit of 
information, and she quickly crossed the aisle to her desk. 
Seemingly back to all business, she grabbed her purse and 
slung her coat over her arm. "Clark, why don't you start on 
the story? I'm going to head over to the police station." 
But her professional tone was tempered when she gave her 
partner a little wink before turning away. "And then we can 
discuss that other matter."

Clark smiled as she left the newsroom, but he quickly 
realized he wasn't the only one watching her as she hopped 
onto the elevator; the younger man next to him was also 
following her appreciatively with his eyes. When the 
elevator door closed, Jimmy turned to Clark and grinned 
knowingly.

Suddenly feeling the need to protect his girlfriend's 
honor, Clark narrowed his eyes. "What?" Jimmy just laughed 
as he walked away. "Nothin' ... I didn't say nothin'."

*****

It was early evening before Lois was able to obtain her 
information from the police. There hadn't been any other 
reporters on the scene, so Lois was hopeful that, if there 
did turn out to be a story here, she and Clark would have 
the exclusive.

Lois smiled as she thought of her partner. Never in a 
million years would she have guessed that Lois Lane would 
come to not only tolerate working so closely with someone 
else, but to actually enjoy it. She'd always believed that 
workplace romances were a disaster waiting to happen, even 
before her horrible first-hand experience. That she'd been 
able to ignore her own internal warnings about the 
situation several years ago had been a testament to how 
smooth her French colleague had been.

But Clark, on the other hand, hadn't set out to seduce her, 
or even to compete with her. Certainly, when she'd made it 
clear in those early weeks that she would do anything to 
beat him to a story, he'd made it equally clear that he 
wasn't someone to trifle with. But once cooler heads had 
prevailed -- for both of them -- Clark had gone on to not 
only be willing to work with her, but to actually seem 
eager for the chance.

Knowing what she did now, that Clark had fallen in love 
with her (or at least deeply into infatuation) at first 
sight, his interest in partnering with her made more sense. 
But Lois knew that there was more to it than that. It had 
been clear from the results of their very first co-written 
story that there was a chemistry between them. Not just a 
personal chemistry, though they certainly had plenty of 
that, even if Lois had denied it for months. But rather, a 
professional chemistry that was unlike anything she'd ever 
experienced before. Somehow they seemed to be able to 
anticipate each other's moves, to be able to play their 
thoughts and actions off each other, which translated well 
not only into their interviewing techniques but also into 
the final act of writing.

Of course, the idea of having this kind of chemistry with a 
man had scared the heck out of Lois at the time. She had 
worked too hard to have the evidence of her talents diluted 
by having to share a by-line. Too many times, she had 
conducted interviews with a male junior reporter, only to 
have the person they were interviewing address their 
responses to her underling, not to her. It made her 
absolutely furious to begin with, but when her prize-
winning story was stolen in the middle of the night by a 
smooth-talking Lothario, she'd vowed that it would never 
happen again. From that point forward, Lois Lane worked 
solo, and pity any person who got too close.

Fortunately for all concerned, Clark had been able to break 
through those defenses. Confident enough to let his talents 
speak for themselves, he hadn't tried to impress her by 
showing off in the early weeks. Instead, he'd calmly let 
her take the lead, learning what he could in the process. 
Certainly there had been times when Lois had felt Clark 
overstepped his bounds as a 'junior reporter', but even as 
she'd tried to take him down a peg or two back then, she'd 
had to grudgingly admit (though never aloud) that he had 
gotten the job done. Occasionally he'd hit a sour note and 
let his inexperience show (Lois still could work up a head 
of steam thinking about the way he'd tossed her out of The 
Metro Club early in their working relationship), but he had 
learned from his mistakes and had grown into his 
profession.

And to Lois's credit, once she'd stopped fighting the 
partnership, she'd actually begun to learn from Clark. 
While she still didn't particularly like his editing her 
copy before she'd had a chance to finish it, she now knew 
that he was usually right in his suggestions. And she'd 
come to develop the highest respect for Clark's 
investigative and interview skills. The fact that he could 
also write up his findings in such a lyrical way only 
impressed her that much more.

Now that she and Clark were together romantically, however, 
Lois realized that, while her concerns about an office 
romance had merit, they didn't have to get in the way of a 
good working relationship. Indeed, she and Clark had proven 
that they could focus on their work and not let their 
personal situation distract them. Well, at least, not 
distract them to the point where their work suffered.

Lois grinned to herself as she remembered the conversation 
they'd been having before Jimmy had interrupted them with 
the lab report. Yes, that conversation had been very 
distracting. In fact, she couldn't wait to get back to it!

As she began to cross the street to her car, however, Lois 
heard a voice call out behind her.

"Excuse me, miss ... would you help an old man across the 
street?"

It took a moment for the request to register, as caught up 
in her own thoughts as she'd been, but when Lois turned 
around, she saw an elderly man in a wheelchair. "Oh." She 
looked at him blankly for a moment, trying to clear her 
head. "Oh, of course."

Taking the handles of the wheelchair, Lois carefully began 
to navigate the curb. It was a little bumpy and she wasn't 
as stable as she'd have liked in her high heels on the wet 
street, but she managed to get the gentleman out into the 
road. Making sure traffic was stopped, she continued on 
through the intersection.

"Say," said the man suddenly, looking up at her. "Aren't 
you that reporter who almost married Lex Luthor?"

Lois pursed her lips, annoyed. Being recognized from her 
tabloid photos was not high on her list of favorite things. 
And she especially didn't like having her thoughts of Clark 
(and 'dessert') interrupted by the mention of Lex. "Uh ... 
yes," she replied finally.

Seemingly unaware of the flatness of her response, the man 
persisted. "Lois Lane, right? So tell me, what was that 
fella Luthor like?"

They had reached the other side of the street and once 
again, Lois struggled to push the heavy wheelchair over the 
curb. It was hard to concentrate on his question. "Well," 
she answered, distracted. "He was ... uh ... very magnetic 
and very charming." She finally navigated the chair up onto 
the sidewalk. "He was also a very dangerous criminal."

As Lois stepped away from the chair, the man used his 
wheels to turn around and face her. He looked into her eyes 
and smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Ah ... but I hear you 
young women like those bad boy types."

Inwardly, Lois rolled her eyes, but she politely gave the 
man a little smile, humoring him. "Well, I don't think 
that's always true. I mean, I guess sometimes it is. But 
not for me." She met his eyes for a moment, and for some 
reason she couldn't identify, she suddenly started to feel 
very uncomfortable. He almost seemed familiar to her, 
though she was certain they'd never met before. Still ... 
there was something about his eyes....

Lois blinked nervously as she tried to excuse herself as 
quickly as possible without being rude. "Uh ... if you'll 
excuse me ... I'm, uh ... I'm late for an appointment." And 
with that, she hurried off to her car.

*****

As Lois disappeared down the street, Lex Luthor took off 
his hat and held it to his heart, looking after her 
adoringly. In a moment, Nigel St. John appeared from the 
shadows.

Lex sighed happily from the wheelchair. "She's more 
beautiful than ever."

"Oh?" Nigel said pointedly. He had never understood what 
Luthor saw in Lois Lane, and was now more convinced than 
ever that his former employer's continued obsession with 
her would once again be his downfall. A man taking back 
what once his was one thing, but to waste precious time and 
energy on such a woman was absurd. "And what about 
Gretchen?"

Lex scoffed. "What about her? She's my physician; she 
doesn't inspire me."

As he took the handles of the wheelchair and began to walk 
down the street, Nigel raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it has 
occurred to you that Miss Lane may not come quite so easily 
this time?"

"If I cannot prove a lover, to entertain these fair well-
spoken days," Luthor quoted, "I am determined to play the 
villain."

Nigel chuckled, this time genuinely amused. "Ah, Richard 
the Third; your favorite!"

"My hero. And like Richard, I will not be denied. I'll give 
her the chance to come willingly, but if she won't, I'll 
take her by force."

"After you get the Kryptonite," Nigel added, a smile 
playing on his lips.

Lex smiled confidently. "Of course."

*****

It was a little after eight o'clock in the evening by the 
time Lois and Clark tracked down the source they'd been 
looking for. Lois had returned to the newsroom after 
finding out what she needed to know from the police, and 
had quickly pulled Clark into Perry's office to tell them 
both what she'd discovered. An ex-con named Ramin Tarbush 
had borrowed the van used to abduct Sheldon Bender, and was 
now nowhere to be found. His description was an exact match 
for the kidnapper, though, and Lois was sure they had found 
the right track to pursue.

Their search for information had brought them to a little 
hole-in-the-wall diner on River Avenue -- not because they 
thought Tarbush might be there, but because they knew the 
one person who seemed to know everything that happened in 
Metropolis was. Making their way back to the kitchen, the 
reporters spotted their target ... cramming his mouth full 
of food off the plates that he was supposed to be filling 
for the wait staff.

Lois called out his name from the other side of the 
divider. "Bobby?"

Bobby Bigmouth startled, but his face brightened quickly as 
he saw who was there. "Hey, if it ain't the two lovebirds! 
Congrats on the possible engagement ... it's a big step to 
be talking about marriage."

Lois's jaw dropped and she whirled around to face Clark. 
"You told him?!"

Clark looked just as shocked. "No!" he fumbled, 
embarrassed. He shot Bobby a wide-eyed glare.

Bobby came to the reporter's defense. "Nah, I got it from a 
friend ... he works at that jewelry shop over on 34 th 
Street. He told me how Clark's been mooning over the 
wedding rings in the display case every time he passes by 
on his way to work."

Catching Lois's stunned look, Clark flushed. "I wouldn't 
say ... *mooning* ... exactly," he defended weakly. He 
scrambled to get them back on track. "Look, Bobby, do you 
know an ex-con named Ramin Tarbush?"

Their source made a face. "Of course. Last I heard he was 
living on the street and getting his meals at the homeless 
shelter on Union Street." Bobby picked up a carton of milk 
from a server's tray and took a swig. Then, seeing the 
expressions on Lois and Clark's faces, he looked 
appropriately chagrined. "Aw, where are my manners?" He 
wiped off the mouth of the carton with his sleeve and held 
it out to them. "Anybody thirsty?"

*****

Clark shook his head as he and Lois exited the restaurant. 
"OK, no more meeting Bobby at work ... one look at him in 
the kitchen is enough to make me lose my appetite."

"Wish I could say the same," Lois grumbled. "I'm 
*starving*. That granola bar I ate this afternoon got 
digested hours ago."

"I didn't get a chance to call anywhere for reservations 
... where do you want to go for dinner?"

Lois sighed as she opened the jeep door. She'd been looking 
forward to going somewhere special but now.... "You know, 
Clark, I don't even feel like going out anymore. I'm too 
hungry to spend the time picking a place, then waiting for 
our food to be served." She sat in the driver's seat and 
inserted the key in the ignition. "Can we just get 
something quick?"

"Sure, how about subs from Rancino's?" Clark suggested as 
he fastened his seat belt. "There's one a few blocks from 
here ... we could get take-out and be home eating in twenty 
minutes. Or if you want me to fly somewhere--"

"No, no, Rancino's is fine," she said as she turned the key 
with another sigh. "So much for our nice dinner."

The radio came on when the car started, and the two found 
themselves listening to the half-hour news report as they 
waited for traffic to clear. << And in Northern 
California,>> the announcer read, << forest fires continue 
to rage. Strong winds have shifted the blaze to the north, 
putting numerous homes in jeopardy ... >>

Clark groaned. "And so much for our *dessert*." He gave 
Lois an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry, honey. I better get 
out there."

Resigned, Lois put the car back into 'park' and gave her 
boyfriend a quick kiss before he hopped out. "Be careful."

"Thanks," he answered. "Go get some food. And don't wait 
up; this will probably take a while. Love you."

Lois couldn't help but give him a little smile. "Love you, 
too."

*****

At the Metropolis State Penitentiary, Sheldon Bender sat 
fidgeting at a large conference table. After being abducted 
by Lex Luthor and threatened with extinction over a mere 
billion dollars in embezzled funds, the only way he'd been 
able to save his skin was with the information that he 
could find Kryptonite for his former client.

He'd heard through the Intergang grapevine that Rollie Vale 
had obtained Kryptonite to power his cyborg several weeks 
ago. When Vale had finally been captured last week, the 
Kryptonite hadn't been on him and no one seemed to know 
exactly what he had done with it. Still, there were rumors 
that Vale kept the piece safely hidden away, and Bender 
could only hope that this was not only true, but that the 
man had his price. Finding Kryptonite for Lex Luthor was 
the only thing that would save the attorney's life.

It hadn't been that difficult to funnel Lex's money into 
his own personal accounts after his client's demise last 
year. As Luthor's attorney, Sheldon was the only one with 
direct information about all of the hidden bank accounts -- 
after all, he was the one who had hidden them in the first 
place. At this point, he'd have been willing to give Lex 
any cash he could liquidate quickly, but although a billion 
dollars had seemed like a lot at the time, it was amazing 
how fast it had gotten spoken for. After creating a real 
estate development firm as a tool for Intergang to buy up 
sections of the city, it wasn't like he had tons of excess 
cash flow. OK, sure, he'd been able to buy himself the 
largest penthouse apartment currently available in 
Metropolis, and he did have his yacht custom built ... and 
of course, there was that island in the Caribbean that was 
now known as SheldonBenderVille ... but it wasn't like he 
lived like a king! He certainly didn't flaunt his money the 
way Lex Luthor used to. Which made it all the more 
surprising that Luthor had tracked him down.

Sheldon shook his head. What was he thinking? After finding 
out that Lex Luthor had come back from the dead, nothing 
would ever surprise him again! Now he just needed to find 
the Kryptonite. Then he and Lex would be even and he could 
go back to living the life his efforts had earned him.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the guard arrived with 
the prisoner.

"You Bender?" Vale asked curtly. At the attorney's nod, 
Vale looked around the room and noted the two other men 
accompanying the lawyer. "Who are these bozos?" he sneered.

Sheldon cringed. Nigel St. John had confidently sat down at 
the table when they'd entered the visiting room, but Lex 
had chosen to lean against the side wall, disguised in dark 
clothing and sunglasses. Vale had no way of knowing who the 
men were, but Sheldon saw no reason to antagonize them any 
further, at least not until he could manage to extricate 
himself from his predicament. "I caution you on your choice 
of words, Mr. Vale."

Vale just snorted. "Oh, yeah? In case you haven't noticed, 
I'm in prison. What are you going to do? Charge me with 
being rude?"

Over his shoulder, Bender heard Lex step forward. "Of 
course not, Mr. Vale," Luthor said smoothly. "I'll simply 
have you killed." As Sheldon glanced over, he saw that Lex 
had removed his hat and glasses, showing himself for the 
first time.

"Oh really?" Vale started smugly. "You and what--" Suddenly 
he cut off in astonishment as he recognized the man before 
him. "Luthor! But how--?"

"There are things in heaven and earth not foreseen in your 
philosophy, Mr. Vale."

Rollie Vale stared at the man in shock for a moment, but 
quickly composed himself, the arrogant smirk returning to 
his face. "Sure. OK. So what happened? Forget to bring your 
hair with you when you came back from the dead?"

Sheldon cringed yet again. He only hoped Lex let Vale live 
long enough to tell them where the damned rock was hidden 
before ripping him apart.

To his surprise, however, Lex simply started to chuckle 
over the insult. "That's funny. That's very funny."

Bender blew out a breath and heard St. John do the same. No 
sooner had everyone relaxed, however, than Lex reached out 
and grabbed Vale by the neck, squeezing tightly. "You're in 
no position to be funny, *Mister* Vale."

To Sheldon's amazement, Rollie Vale simply grabbed Lex's 
wrist with his left hand and slammed it down on the table, 
hard. His eyes registered smug satisfaction at the painful 
wince that crossed Luthor's face. "And you're in no 
position to put your hands on me, *Mister* Luthor." His 
eyes set defiantly, Vale used his right hand to pull up his 
left sleeve. Instead of flesh, his arm was metallic. 
"Robotic," he explained. "I had to replace the one my 
thimble-brained cyborg crushed." He let go of Lex's arm 
with a sneer.

Taking a small step back, Luthor cradled his sore arm, but 
his demands remained firm. "That cyborg was powered by 
Kryptonite. Stolen from LexLabs by your brother. I want it 
back."

As the two men stared each other down, Bender quickly 
jumped in, trying to diffuse the situation. "Ah ... what my 
client is saying ..."

"I know what he's saying," Vale spat. Then he turned back 
to Luthor. "Unless you got something I want, skinhead, this 
meeting's over."

"What is it that you want?"

Vale pondered briefly, sizing up the three men before him. 
"Half a million dollars and my freedom."

Lex didn't ponder long. "So money and your freedom for the 
Kryptonite. Do we have a deal?"

Casting Luthor a speculative look, Vale rose and knocked on 
the heavy door back to the prison. As he waited for the 
guard to open it, he turned his attention back to them. 
"Sure. We have a deal." And with that, he was gone.

The silence in the room was deafening and Sheldon found 
himself nervously regarding the two men he'd brought with 
him. "Lex, whatever it is you're planning," he said 
quickly, "I shouldn't hear about it."

Luthor just gave an amused snort. "Hear about it? You're 
going to be part of it!" He then turned to Nigel. "But 
we're going to need a diversion to get the equipment we 
need. And I know the perfect sacrificial lamb."

*****

Perry White walked into his office the next morning, 
engrossed in the copy he'd been handed. They had exactly 
three hours till the noon deadline for the afternoon 
edition, and he still had several inches to fill in the 
city section. The capture of Rollie Vale, the man who'd 
created the cyborg that had managed to take on Superman 
before finally being melted down, had been front page news 
yesterday, but today, Perry was hoping for something else 
to lead with besides the usual follow-up stories. 
Fortunately, the article Tony Boemer had just completed on 
two members of the Metropolis School Board coming to blows 
at last night's meeting over possible financial impropriety 
looked promising.

Lost in the text, Perry didn't notice Jimmy stick his head 
in the office door until the young man spoke. "I'm making a 
donut run, Chief. Need anything?"

He waved him off. "No, but thanks for asking." As the young 
man took off gathering orders, Perry absently dropped 
himself into his chair, his eyes searching for a pen. How 
many times did he have to tell Tony that the possessive 
form of 'its' didn't have an apostrophe?!

Perry let out a yelp, however, as his rear end fell several 
inches lower than he was expecting before being stopped by 
the bottom of the chair. "Aw, who's been playing with my 
chair?!" he huffed as he reached down to raise the lift on 
the bottom. He froze, however, as he noticed some wires 
coming from the bottom of the chair. Feeling around 
cautiously, Perry fingered several odd sized containers and 
sat up slowly. Only then did he notice the note sitting on 
his computer keyboard.

"Jimmy!!"

Luckily, the young man hadn't gone too far. "Yeah?" he 
asked, sticking his head back in the door.

"I do need something."

"What's that, Chief?"

Perry held up the note for Jimmy so he could read it 
clearly: ONE SMALL MOVE AND KABOOM.

"Help!"

*****

Down in the lobby of the Daily Planet building, Lois was 
busy reading "Making Love Last: Will Your Marriage Stand 
the Test of Time?", the featured article on the cover of 
"Your Wedding" magazine. Having set her coffee down on the 
ledge of the kiosk, she'd only intended to skim the 
article, but soon found herself reading intently.

As expected, Superman had been busy all night, and although 
she always missed Clark when they couldn't be together, 
being alone had given her time to think about their 
relationship. Clark's reassurances had finally convinced 
Lois that she was being ridiculous to worry about his 
leaving her just because she wasn't ready to accept his 
proposal. Clark loved her deeply and completely, and 
despite his occasional bouts of insecurity, always seemed 
ready to forgive her anything. Besides, she reasoned, they 
simply had too much fun together for him to have become 
truly unhappy about the situation.

What had been especially interesting about last night, 
however, was the self-realization that with Clark finally 
backing off on the marriage issue, Lois had felt a little 
freer to think about the idea herself. Oh, she was by no 
means ready to start picking out rings. But missing him 
last night, and knowing that even if he had returned home 
before morning, he wouldn't have come to her apartment, 
only served to remind Lois how much she wanted to spend the 
rest of her life with him. She'd been feeling that way for 
some time now, but the feeling only seemed to grow stronger 
the more time they spent together. Suddenly the idea of 
marriage and permanently sharing a home didn't seem quite 
so terrifying.

Lois had even decided to test her new-found confidence this 
morning by flipping through a wedding magazine on the rack 
of the newsstand. Amazingly, she'd found herself sighing 
over several wedding gowns that she liked, and once she'd 
even had to stop herself from thinking about china 
patterns. At that point, she'd decided to stick with the 
articles -- the photographs were far too dangerous.

Having finished the article that had originally caught her 
eye -- and deciding that it didn't contain any information 
that she didn't already know -- Lois had just moved on to 
"Seating Arrangements for Divorced Parents" when she heard 
a familiar 'ahem' next to her. Eyes wide, she looked up to 
find her partner standing there, his eyes twinkling.

Flustered at having been caught reading what she'd been 
reading, Lois almost dropped the magazine as she scrambled 
to replace it on the rack. "Oh, hi! ... I wasn't-- that is, 
I was just-- drinking coffee." She grabbed her coffee cup 
and took a quick gulp to illustrate her point.

Grinning at her guilty fumbling, Clark peered inside her 
cup. "Hmm, what did they put inside your coffee this 
morning?"

Lois hastened to defend herself. "You just startled me, 
that's all."

"Mmm-hmm," he murmured, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Well, you did." Lois quickly changed the subject. "Want 
some coffee?"

He pulled her close. "No, just some sugar." After pecking a 
good morning kiss onto her lips, Clark gave her a sexy 
smile. "I missed you last night."

"Forest fires weren't hot enough?" she answered a little 
breathlessly. It always sent shivers down her spine when he 
smiled at her like that, and when he dropped his voice an 
octave at the same time, she could hardly remember to 
breathe.

"They've got nothing on you, Lois."

"Mmm, good answer." Relaxing against him, Lois giggled as 
Clark began to nuzzle her ear. "You still smell like 
smoke."

"I do?" Clark lifted his head in surprise. "I showered."

Lois looked at him through half-lowered lids. "Well, see, 
that's your problem ... I wasn't in there with you to soap 
you up."

Clark made a low sound in the back of his throat. "God, 
Lois, nine in the morning and you make me want to pick you 
up and carry you home."

"Whose home?" she teased.

"Our home," he murmured in a husky voice. Quickly, though, 
he backpedaled. "I'm sorry. That wasn't a proposal, I 
swear." He fixed her with a lopsided grin and stepped back, 
lightening the mood.

She returned his smile easily. She hadn't interpreted his 
comment that way, and from the relaxed look on his face, he 
wasn't really worried that she had. "See, this is why I 
don't want to get married, Clark," she teased. When she 
noticed the smile leave his eyes, however, it was her turn 
to quickly backpedal. "No, no, I just mean ... we have so 
much fun together. I love joking around with you like this, 
flirting with you."

"Ah." He nodded, then fixed her with an exaggerated look of 
understanding, a grin once again playing on the corners of 
his mouth. "You thought you were going to get out of that? 
See, I fully intend to flirt with you long after we're 
married."

"And I suppose you'll expect me to flirt with you?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on hiring a pool boy, so I'll just 
have to do."

Lois laughed, but her voice changed as she rested her hands 
on his chest. "It's just ... I'm afraid marriage will 
change things, Clark."

At the wistful note that had entered her voice, Clark 
smoothed one of his hands over her hair. "I'm afraid, too, 
Lois," he answered her sincerely. "You're the most 
important thing in the world to me, and I don't want to 
mess this up." Then his eyes softened. "But I believe in 
us, Lois, and I know that being with you can never be 
anything but wonderful."

Lois felt herself melting at his declaration, and wrapped 
her arms around his waist. "Clark, do you remember what you 
told me about when we first started dating, why you didn't 
want to tell me about ... you know who ... right away? How 
you knew things would change between us while I sorted 
things out, and you just wanted a few more days to enjoy 
the feeling of us falling in love?"

Clark pulled her a little closer. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, that's what I'm feeling right now. I know you're not 
worried that things will change if we get married, but I 
am. And I just want to enjoy what we have right now; I 
don't want to rush things. Clark, I'm happier than I've 
ever been in my whole life, and I just want to enjoy it." 
She looked up at him, her eyes hopeful. "Can you do that 
with me?"

Lois searched his face anxiously as he mulled over what she 
had said. When Clark finally smiled, it was the most 
genuine smile Lois had seen on his face in days. "Yeah," he 
answered, nodding. "I can do that." He pressed a sweet kiss 
onto her lips.

Lois smiled in relief and was about to return his kiss with 
one of her own when a loud shout abruptly echoed through 
the lobby. Lois and Clark looked up to see several men in 
jumpsuits rushing into the building, carrying equipment 
cases with MPD BOMB SQUAD written on the sides.

"We've got an emergency in this building!" barked a man 
they assumed to be the squad commander. "I need everyone 
outside!"

The noise level in the lobby increased dramatically as 
people began rushing for the exits. Shouting to be heard 
over the din, Lois collared the commander as he rushed 
past. "What is it? What's going on?"

"Just step outside, little lady," he ordered before moving 
to the elevator.

Clark was already looking around anxiously, hands fiddling 
with his tie. "Go on, honey," he said quickly, concern on 
his face. "I'll take care of it."

Lois started to protest, but closed her mouth when she saw 
his worried look. "Be careful," she said as she watched him 
slip away down one of the cleared out hallways.

*****

By the time Superman made his way upstairs to the newsroom, 
the bomb squad commander was already selecting a pair of 
wire cutters to defuse the bomb. Clark heard Perry White 
sigh the super-hero's name in relief.

Kneeling next to the squad commander, Superman peered at 
the bomb. He normally let the local law enforcement do 
their job unhindered if they had everything under control, 
but this was his boss in the hot seat. "Do you need any 
help?"

"Nah," the man drawled. "I found what I wanted." As he cut 
the appropriate wire, however, a timer promptly began 
counting down from sixty. "Uh oh ... I underestimated this 
guy. There's a back-up firing mechanism. We've got less 
than a minute to clear this whole building!"

Clark didn't waste any time. "Clear a path to the window," 
he ordered. He picked up Perry's chair from underneath, 
careful not to set off the pressure bomb before he had to. 
"Hang on, Mr. White."

*****

Lex Luthor ground his teeth as he lifted the grate covering 
the entrance to the subway tunnel that was his new home. As 
far as he knew, everything had gone off without a hitch at 
the bomb squad's headquarters, but his morning at the Daily 
Planet had left him fuming.

It had all started out nicely enough. He had disguised 
himself as a maintenance worker in order to monitor the 
building's lobby, and had been delighted when Lois Lane 
showed up shortly after he'd positioned himself. From his 
vantage point, he could watch her drink her morning coffee. 
Her beauty was a sight to behold.

He'd been exceptionally pleased when Lois had decided to 
linger in the lobby, not just so he could gaze upon her, 
but also because it had given him the opportunity to delay 
her from going upstairs. Lex had no compunction about 
blowing up the Daily Planet's newsroom -- he'd done it 
before, and he'd be happy to do it again. But he'd just as 
soon not put Lois in harm's way if it wasn't necessary. The 
bomb squad was sure to arrive quickly, and the annoying big 
blue boy scout was probably going to put in an appearance 
as well. But knowing how irritatingly curious Lois was, it 
wouldn't have surprised Lex at all if she had tried to 
follow the disarmament team up the stairs.

Lex had been prepared to simply block her path and 
personally escort her outside if that were to happen ... he 
was confident that his disguise would keep his true 
identity a secret until he chose to reveal himself; after 
all, Lois hadn't suspected a thing yesterday evening when 
she'd helped him across the street. But the point had been 
moot. That she had decided to flip through a magazine 
before going upstairs for the day -- although which 
magazine, he couldn't be certain due to the position of the 
newsstand -- had only made his job that much easier.

What he hadn't counted on witnessing, however, was Lois's 
partner approaching her with that sappy smile on his face. 
Even more outlandish was her response -- she'd actually let 
that hack kiss her! Lex hadn't been able to hear any of 
their conversation, but it was obvious that Clark Kent felt 
entitled to put his hands on her.

Lex growled as he worked his way through the dark tunnel. 
He hadn't expected Lois to live as a nun while he'd been 
gone -- after all, women had their needs, just as men did -
- but he hadn't expected her to dally with her partner. A 
senator, maybe, or a doctor, he could understand, but 
*Kent*?!

Of course, once someone had been with Lex Luthor, there was 
nowhere to go but down. And Lois clearly couldn't be 
serious about the man; Kent was a nothing, a nobody. But 
Lex really had thought Lois would have had better taste 
than to have a fling with her partner. It was quite 
unseemly for a woman of her potential. The mere idea left a 
bad taste in his mouth and he made a sound of disgust.

Gretchen and Nigel were already in the hideout when Lex 
stepped into the light. He looked at Nigel impatiently. 
"Well? Did you get it?"

St. John indicated a metal case containing plastic 
explosives and a firing mechanism. "Of course."

"Any problems?"

"No." "Good." Lex nodded, then he fixed his assistant with 
a hard stare. "Now tell me everything you've found out 
about Lois Lane."

Unflappable as always, Nigel simply reached inside his 
jacket and pulled out a notebook. For a moment, Lex could 
have sworn he'd seen a smirk on the man's face, but when 
Nigel lifted his head, it was gone.

"Lois Lane," St. John began, "is currently in a 
relationship with Clark Kent, her partner at the Daily 
Planet. They've been seeing each other for the last three 
months."

Gretchen Kelly walked up behind Lex. "Apparently they're 
quite serious," she added, with a sing-song note of triumph 
in her voice.

"Impossible," Lex snapped, shooting her a warning look. 
"They're co-workers. They're probably just keeping each 
other company until something better comes along."

Nigel lifted an eyebrow. "Well, apparently they've been 
keeping each other company several nights a week," he said 
dryly. "All night."

"They're sleeping together?"

"Indeed."

Lex's eyes opened wide, then he narrowed them dangerously. 
"Impossible," he repeated coolly. "Lois doesn't want to 
have sex outside marriage ... she had some bad experiences 
in her younger days and has decided to wait because of 
them. Your sources must be wrong."

Nigel opened his mouth, but closed it again without 
responding. Instead, he just sat back in his chair and 
watched Lex with a contemplative expression on his face.

Gretchen, however, was outraged by his denial. "Lex! What 
more do you need?" She inserted herself between the two 
men. "She's obviously having sex with her partner, a man 
who pales in comparison to you. She's no longer worth your 
time -- she isn't worth a second thought!"

"I'll decide who is and isn't worth my time, Doctor," he 
responded sharply, brushing her aside. "Nigel, I want you 
to look into Mr. Kent. I want something that I can use ... 
a weakness, a secret past, anything that will give me 
leverage over him."

"Already done," Nigel replied, his arms folded across his 
chest. "Once I discovered that he was seeing Miss Lane, I 
took the liberty of updating the background report I had 
created on him during your engagement last year."

"And?"

"As then, nothing."

"What do you mean, *nothing*?" Lex stormed, beginning to 
pace. "No expunged police records, no exaggerations on his 
resume, no disgruntled ex-girlfriends?? No one is that 
clean, Nigel!"

In contrast to Lex's agitation, Nigel's demeanor became 
even more calm. "Apparently Kent is."

After a moment, Lex stopped pacing. "Well, it doesn't 
matter anyway," he stated matter-of-factly. "Your sources 
are clearly wrong; they aren't having sex."

Gretchen, for her part, had been fuming in silence after 
Lex's brush-off, but this last comment sent her over the 
edge. "This is crazy!" she sputtered. "You're letting your 
history with this woman blind you to the obvious. What do 
you think they are doing all night in each other's 
apartments? Knitting socks?!" She whirled on Nigel. "Tell 
him!" she demanded. "Tell him this is crazy."

When St. John just sat in silence, however, Gretchen gave 
up and tried a different tack. Moving close to Lex, she put 
her hands on his chest. "Lex," she cooed, trying to sound 
seductive, "she's not good enough for you ... you can do so 
much better."

Lex just regarded her coldly. "Is that your *professional* 
opinion, Doctor?"

Gretchen stepped back and narrowed her eyes. "Fine," she 
spat. "I'll just have to prove it to you." She turned away 
from Lex and grabbed her bag before storming out. "I'll be 
back. Then you'll see!"

Lex rolled his eyes at her tantrum. The woman really did 
not take rejection well. But she was a good doctor and was 
unfailingly loyal, so it wouldn't do to let her leash get 
too long. "Gretchen," he called after her. "Gretchen!" When 
she didn't stop, he turned to Nigel, annoyed. "Now where 
the hell is she going?"

St. John just made a sound of exasperation. "Oh, let her go 
already ... we don't need her today. She'll come back; she 
always does."

Lex gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine ... we have work to 
do anyway. Contact Tarbush. We have a prison break to 
organize."

*****

At a little after five that afternoon, Clark perched 
himself on the corner of Lois's desk. "I'm finished," he 
pronounced, "and I think you are, too." When Lois simply 
raised an eyebrow, he motioned around the room. "Come on, 
Lois, no one is getting any work done today. The bomb scare 
this morning pretty much ensured that. The police have been 
crawling all over the place, and even Perry's been in 
meetings all day with building security, trying to find out 
who might have done this. Let's get out of here."

Lois tried to look serious. "Now, Clark," she intoned, 
"just because everyone else is leaving early, doesn't mean 
we have to. If the rest of the newsroom jumped off a cliff, 
would you do it, too?"

Clark grinned. "Well, actually, *I* could." He laughed as 
she slapped his leg. "Come on, Lois, bug out with me ... " 
His voice took on a coaxing, sing-song tone. "I'll take you 
to dinner ... anywhere you want to go."

She considered this. "Anywhere?"

"*Any*where," he repeated, eyes twinkling. "What do you 
feel like tonight? Italian? French?" He lowered his voice, 
glancing around to be sure no one was within earshot. He 
needn't have bothered, however, since the small handful of 
reporters left in the newsroom were all clustered around 
the coffee pot. "I know this great little place in Athens 
..."

"Greece?" Lois looked tempted, then reconsidered. "No, I 
think we should stay local tonight. You know what happened 
last time we flew overseas ... almost getting arrested for 
lewd behavior in a public park is not my idea of a fun 
evening." She gave a little roll of her eyes.

"We did *not* almost get arrested," he protested, laughing. 
"I got us out of there in plenty of time."

"Yeah, right." She turned her mouth into a pretend pout. "I 
didn't even have enough time to grab my doggie bag. And it 
was all your fault, too ... how does someone with super-
hearing not hear a police patrol?"

"My fault?" Clark sputtered. "And who distracted me? I 
wasn't the one wearing the skirt cut up to here and the 
blouse cut down to there!" His hands motioned in 
conjunction with his words, even as his skin flushed 
slightly from the memory. "Honey, you're lucky we made it 
to the park. It was all I could do not to attack you in the 
restaurant."

Lois's face wore a satisfied smirk as she ran her hand up 
his thigh. "I'd say we both got lucky."

Clark gave her a slow grin. "Leave with me now and I'll 
promise we'll both get lucky again."

*****

Gretchen Kelly sat outside the Daily Planet in her rented 
car, waiting to put her plan into motion. She craned her 
neck as a dark-haired couple exited the building across the 
street, holding hands. Yes, it was them.

She watched as they made their way down to the parking lot 
at the end of the block and got into Lois's silver Jeep 
Grand Cherokee. It was a good thing she had taken a look at 
Nigel's report ... knowing some details about Lois's life 
would make her job that much easier.

As the large SUV pulled out into traffic, Gretchen started 
her car and began to tail them, being sure to stay several 
car lengths behind. At the first traffic light, she eyed 
the equipment on the seat next to her and smiled an evil 
smile.

She would have her revenge. And then Lex would see that 
Gretchen Kelly was the only woman for him.

*****

Lois and Clark ended up at Oakley's Pub for dinner, a 
midtown restaurant which had become popular with the young 
professionals of Metropolis. The food was good and 
reasonably priced and there was always chocolate on the 
dessert menu. They'd run into a few people they knew during 
the meal -- a stock broker they'd recently interviewed for 
a story, a defense attorney they'd helped by discovering a 
witness who could verify his client's alibi, and a nurse at 
Metropolis General with whom Lois had gone to college -- 
but for the most part, they'd been able to enjoy enough 
privacy during their meal to generate a little heat that 
didn't radiate off the plates of hot food.

The only tense moment had come when Clark had accidentally 
overheard a group of attorneys from the prosecutor's office 
talking at the bar, some of whom he recognized as friends 
of a certain blonde Assistant DA he'd shared a few casual 
dates with several months ago. Clark knew that Mayson had 
been telling people that Clark had dumped her for his 
partner, implying that their "relationship" had been much 
more serious than it was. He'd decided at the time not to 
get involved, figuring that the less he said about the 
subject, the sooner it would die. He just hadn't expected 
that her friends would still be making comments about him 
(and thus, Lois) three months later.

Uncomfortable over the gossip they were sharing at his 
expense, Clark had suggested that he and Lois leave without 
ordering dessert, but Lois had found the entire experience 
to be extremely humorous and she'd flat out refused to 
leave. Clark had found her amusement puzzling until she'd 
given him a devilish grin and whispered, "Let's give them 
something to talk about," right before launching herself 
into his arms.

By the time dessert had been served, Clark was in a much 
better mood and ready to leave for a completely different 
reason, but Lois had only turned up the teasing. All 
thoughts of gossip flew out of his head when they began 
feeding each other bites of the chocolate cheesecake they 
were sharing, and by the time her hand began caressing his 
inner thigh underneath the table, he'd have been willing to 
take out a billboard had Lois asked him to. They were both 
smiling broadly by the time they paid the check, and Clark 
couldn't help but chuckle as Lois made a point of walking 
past the bar and giving him another kiss in front of the 
attorneys' table.

She'd continued to subject him to more of her sweet torture 
on the ride home, so no sooner had Lois parked her SUV in 
front of her brownstone than Clark was around the car and 
opening the driver's side door. Lois smiled as he helped 
her out of the car, but her smile turned into a gasp as he 
quickly pulled her into his arms and gave her a soul-
shattering kiss.

They traded wet kisses against the car until the strong 
glare of headlights from another car being parked down the 
street jerked them out of their trance. "Let's take this 
upstairs," Lois suggested, smiling against his mouth. "I 
want to do things to you I can't do in public."

Clark gave a throaty groan. "I thought you'd never ask."

Locking the car, Lois took Clark's hand as they practically 
ran up the steps to the front door, giggling. It took a few 
minutes to actually get inside the door since Clark used 
her pausing to find the right key as an opportunity to 
continue kissing, but eventually, they managed.

Getting into Lois's apartment was a little quicker, and 
they laughed as they each tried to turn the inside locks at 
the same time. Once that little task was accomplished, 
though, Clark turned to her with a predatory look. "Now, 
about that dessert you promised me ..."

Lois's eyes sparkled as she grabbed him by the tie and 
walked backwards into the living room, pulling him along 
with her. "The chocolate cheesecake didn't satisfy you?" 
she asked as innocently as she could manage.

Clark stripped off his suit jacket as he spoke. "It wasn't 
what I've been craving for the last two days, no."

As he tossed the jacket over a chair, Lois grinned and 
began working on the knot in his tie. "I seem to remember," 
she answered in a sultry voice, "you saying something about 
me being good enough to--"

The rest of her words were swallowed by Clark's passionate 
kiss. "I think that can definitely be arranged," he 
responded in a husky rumble.

The next words out of his mouth, however, were a muttered 
curse.

Lois pulled back in surprise. "*What* did you just say?"

Clark only continued to mutter under his breath as he 
pulled out of her arms. If she hadn't known better, Lois 
would have sworn he'd just used the word "Superman" in 
conjunction with a few others that would normally make him 
blush.

"Duty calls?" she sighed.

Sighing heavily along with her, Clark spun into the suit. 
"I'll be *right* back," he promised as he opened her 
window. "Oh, and Lois?" he added, fixing her with an 
aroused stare. "This time, *definitely* wait up."

*****

Twenty minutes later, Lois had just decided to step out on 
her fire escape to get some air when she heard Clark 
return. He called her name as he walked through the 
apartment and Lois knew that he would find her quickly.

Sure enough, she heard him climb through the window almost 
immediately and walk up behind her. "Mmm," Lois purred as 
she felt him wrap his arms around her from behind. "Just 
what I needed to warm me up." The February evening was 
unusually mild, but she was starting to get chilly in her 
long-sleeved sweater. She could feel that he had spun back 
into his shirt and pants but a glance upwards told her he 
had skipped the tie.

Clark smiled against her skin as his lips traced light 
kisses down one side of her neck. "Waiting for someone?"

"My boyfriend," she murmured happily. "I thought he might 
be flying by."

"He came in from the other direction." Clark ran his hands 
up and down her sweater-clad arms, even as his lips 
continued to tease her skin. "He had to stop at his place 
first to pick up a suit for tomorrow."

"Does that mean he's here for the night?"

"Oh, yeah," he murmured in a throaty voice, kissing his way 
up to her ear. "Oh ... yeah." He held her against his body 
possessively. "God, you look sexy in this outfit."

Lois gave a throaty laugh as she heard the heat in his 
voice. She was more than ready to pick up where they'd left 
off, and she was glad the rescue hadn't dampened his 
interest either. She rotated her hips against him 
seductively to find the evidence she guessed would be there 
and grinned. "In the mood you're in, why do I think you'd 
find me sexy in anything?"

"Oh, you already know that. In anything ..." The tip of his 
tongue barely made contact as it traced the shell of her 
ear, causing Lois to shiver. "Or out of anything ..." He 
sucked her earlobe into his mouth, as one hand began to 
play with the little pearl buttons of her sweater. "But 
I've been fantasizing about taking this sweater off you all 
day." He ran his other hand down her side and cupped her 
hip. "And this skirt? Lois, you should know what an outfit 
like this would do to me."

Lois laughed again. Her outfit wasn't blatantly sexy, at 
least not in an overstated way. The black leather skirt was 
shorter than she used to wear, but she'd found it in the 
career-wear section of the department store. Paired with a 
prim red button-down knit sweater, it made an outfit that 
was certainly appropriate for work. Of course, the pairing 
had been no accident ... she didn't deny that the contrast 
of the proper knit sweater with the slightly naughty short 
black skirt was meant to emphasize her assets in a way that 
was still professional. "I'm glad you like it," she said in 
a breathy voice, enjoying the amazing touches and kisses he 
was giving her. "You know, last year I never would have 
worn something like this ... I guess now that I have 
someone to show off for, I don't mind doing it."

"You can show off for me anytime," he whispered in her ear.

"Mmm, too bad I can't come to work naked," she teased.

Clark chuckled. "Cat Grant seemed to manage."

Lois rolled her eyes. "And I suppose you found that sexy?"

"Mmm, no way," he murmured as his lower hand traced a path 
to her thigh. "Lois, believe me when I say that I spent 
many hours fantasizing about what was under those suits of 
yours, but I never spent one minute on Cat."

Lois let her head fall to one side as Clark's lips 
continued exploring her neck, but couldn't help but smile 
at her next thought. "And to think she always said I would 
never entice a man dressing the way I did."

Clark was breathless as he responded. "I'm enticed." He 
pulled her more closely to him and groaned softly as she 
deliberately pressed against him, sharpening his arousal 
intensely. He brought a hand up to cup one of her breasts. 
"I am so enticed."

Lois's resulting whimper caused his passion to flare even 
more, and Clark began to caress her through her sweater. 
Her whimper turned into a throaty moan.

He was about to suggest they take things inside when Lois 
turned in his arms and began to layer kisses along his 
neck, making it his turn to moan. "And just what did you 
fantasize about, Clark?" Lois whispered as her mouth 
reached his ear. "What did you think I wore under those 
boxy business suits?"

His hands cupped her bottom as he captured her lips in a 
passionate kiss. He was breathing hard when he finally 
responded. "I think I pictured everything at one time or 
another ... sometimes black, sometimes white ... sometimes 
nothing at all."

"Never a seven-veils costume, though, I bet." She smiled 
against his kiss. "God, that seems like a lifetime ago 
now."

He couldn't help but smile back, even as he recaptured her 
lips. "I thought I was going to die trying to resist you."

"You wanted me," she stated in a husky voice. "I could 
tell."

Clark moaned deep in his throat as Lois's fingers began to 
tease his nipples through his shirt, and he brought a hand 
back up to cup one of her full breasts. "What do you mean?"

A seductive smile spread across his lover's face. "I mean, 
I could feel you ... when you finally gave in and pulled me 
to you. 'If you want me, I'm yours.' You wanted me, too."

He gave a breathless gasp. "You knew?"

"It was difficult to miss." Her chuckle was throaty and her 
eyes sparkled mischievously. "Clark, do you have any idea 
how many times I tried to push that memory out of my mind? 
I tried to pretend it didn't happen. But even as I tried to 
convince myself I didn't have feelings for you, I couldn't 
help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn't come 
out of it just then." She kissed him erotically, letting 
her teeth tug on his lower lip. "Would you have been able 
to stop ... if I had done this?" She seductively lowered a 
hand between them.

Clark took a sharp breath inwards as he felt his control 
slip. Cupping the sides of her face with both hands, he 
pulled her mouth to his for a devouring kiss. "Lois," he 
hissed against her mouth. "Inside. *Now*."

She didn't need a second request.

*****

Lying on Lois's bed later that evening, Clark groaned 
happily as he stretched his muscles. The second round of 
their 'dessert' for the evening had started in the living 
room, continued in the shower, then finished on the bedroom 
ceiling. And it had been so much more satisfying than 
chocolate cheesecake, he thought with a contented smile.

This was when he felt closest to her, he'd come to realize 
over the last three months. Not during sex itself, but 
after, as they basked in the afterglow, sated and drowsy, a 
tangle of bare arms and legs on the bed. Completely exposed 
... and completely safe. This was when they had their most 
intimate conversations. When they planned their future and 
talked about their pasts, and shared their joys and their 
worries. Over the last three months, they had talked about 
so much, yet they never seemed to run out of conversation. 
She truly was his best friend, Clark thought. And his 
lover. And someday soon, hopefully more. But they'd agreed 
to table the discussion of marriage, and this time, he was 
going to honor the agreement. He could wait, he told 
himself. He had to. Too much was at stake.

Clark stretched again, then sighed contently as Lois did 
the same, the action causing her thigh to brush between 
his. "I never knew it was possible to be this happy," he 
announced on a yawn.

Lois sighed happily as well. "It's disgusting, isn't it?"

"Well, that's an interesting choice of words."

She just laughed. "No, I mean me. Ten o'clock on a work 
night, and I've been naked for the past hour and a half. A 
few months ago I would still have been *at* work, making 
tracks towards my next big story."

"Not naked I hope."

She smacked him on the arm. "I'm serious. What happened to 
me, Clark?"

"You fell in love, sweetie."

"But what if I've lost my edge? What if while I'm lying 
here with you, the Pulitzer Prize-winning story I've been 
waiting for is lurking right outside my door?"

"Then there'll be other stories." At her frustrated 
expression, he started over. "Lois, look, I know how 
important your career is to you. You are the best reporter 
in this city, and that's not going to change just because 
you no longer spend every waking minute at the paper." He 
ran his hand up and down her arm. "Priorities change, 
honey. That's part of life. A good part, I think. Aren't 
you happier now than you were four months ago?"

Lois sighed. "Of course I am, Clark. But that's scary in 
itself. I mean, look at this whole marriage thing that's 
got us all turned around." At the wary look that crept onto 
his face, she gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, 
I'm not going to get into it. It's just that now when I 
think about the future, I'm not just thinking about my next 
story anymore. I'm thinking about you ... and you and me 
... and making plans based on you and me. I never thought 
I'd be planning my life around a man, but I'm doing it ... 
and it scares the heck out of me!"

Clark shook his head. "You're not planning your life around 
me, Lois ... you're planning your life around *us*."

"But what if I lose *me* in the process?"

Clark intertwined his fingers with hers. "Then I would be 
very sad, because I never intend to lose you."

Lois stared at him for a moment. "That was a very good 
answer."

He grinned at her. "Thank you."

"So you're saying that you won't let me -- or my career -- 
get lost in the process." She furrowed her brow, still 
concerned.

"Not unless you want it to."

"That shifting priority thing?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh, brother."

Clark leaned forward. "Just kiss me, Lois. I promise it'll 
be all right ... we'll work through it."

Giving up, Lois pressed her mouth to his. By the time she 
pulled back, she was sighing contently again. "Oh, great, 
now I'm back to disgusting."

Clark laughed out loud and pulled her into his arms. "A 
fear of happiness! Do you have any other deep-seated 
phobias I should know about, Ms. Lane?"

Lois just smiled. "Rats," she answered.

"Rats what?"

"No, *rats*. I hate rats." She gave a little shudder.

"You do? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, since I was a kid. They really give me the creeps. 
They're dirty and crawly and--" She shuddered again.

Clark couldn't help but smile. "Always something new to 
learn."

Lois looked up at him speculatively. "So what about you?" 
she asked. "What silly thing are you afraid of?" She 
started to laugh. "Wouldn't it be funny if you were afraid 
of heights? Or of flying?"

"Yeah, that's it, Lois ... I'm afraid of flying."

They chuckled together before lapsing into a comfortable 
silence. Lois snuggled up against him as Clark pulled her 
close, and she sighed again. "So, no silly fears, huh? I'm 
the only one?"

This time, however, Clark didn't answer.

"Clark?" She glanced up at him, and was surprised to see 
that he looked a little melancholy. "What is it, honey?"

He was silent for another long moment before he responded. 
"Knives," he finally admitted. "I don't like knives."

She quirked her head to look at him. "What, like kitchen 
knives? We're in trouble if you can't chop vegetables 
anymore." She quit teasing, however, when she saw the 
subdued expression still on his face. "Seriously?"

"Not kitchen knives. Surgical knives."

"I don't understand."

He sighed as he looked away. "Remember how I told you my 
dad always warned that I had to be careful with my powers, 
so no one would find out about me?" Lois nodded, 
encouraging him to continue. "He used to say that if anyone 
found out, they'd put me in a lab and dissect me like a 
frog."

"Ah, those kind of knives." Lois nodded sympathetically. 
She remembered Clark using that phrase when he had told her 
about Superman. Then a little pang of guilt hit her as she 
also remembered her reaction to his explanation, how she 
had dismissed it as a ridiculous excuse -- no one could 
dissect him because he was invulnerable. But it was clear 
that she had dismissed something important to him.

"He would say it as a way to impress on me how important it 
was to keep what I could do a secret," Clark explained. "It 
never bothered me all that much when I was little; I don't 
think I really knew what it meant. I used to catch frogs by 
the pond all the time and keep them as pets, so I guess I 
figured it must be something like that."

Lois lifted her head from his chest and rolled to her side 
next to him. She propped herself up on one elbow to watch 
him.

Clark rolled towards her, but he kept his eyes lowered as 
he continued. "When I was eight, the high school had a 
science fair. It was one of those big events where everyone 
in town goes. They had exhibits set up in the gym and in 
the halls. You'd walk around and see what everyone had 
done, and they'd award prizes.

"One of the most popular exhibits with the kids was run by 
a high school student who was taking biology. He had a 
bucket of dead frogs, and he'd dissect them as the people 
watched; he'd talk about what he was doing, that sort of 
thing. I was walking around with a couple of my friends 
while our parents were visiting and we got to the booth 
just as he was pegging down a new frog.

Clark swallowed. "I just stood there, transfixed, watching 
him. He pinned the frog to the tray, then he took the knife 
and cut open its belly. After he peeled back the skin, he 
started taking out the organs, mounting each one on the 
tray as he went. I don't remember what anyone around me was 
doing; I was completely fixated on that frog." He closed 
his eyes. "And all of a sudden, it hit me ... this was what 
my dad said they were going to do to me."

Lois put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, my God," she 
whispered.

Clark opened his eyes again, but they were unseeing, lost 
in the memory. His voice grew hoarse. "I-- I guess I had 
some type of panic attack because the next thing I 
remember, I was outside, getting sick in the bushes. People 
were making jokes; they thought I just couldn't handle the 
sight of the frog.

"My dad ran out and wrapped me in his coat and carried me 
off to the car, and I remember my mom held me in her lap 
all the way home because I couldn't stop crying. I was 
absolutely terrified." He took a shaky breath. "That night, 
after they'd finally got me calmed down and into bed, my 
parents had a huge fight. My mom was furious because my dad 
had scared me, but my dad kept insisting that I had to 
learn to keep quiet. I just laid there in bed, listening to 
them, knowing that if I wasn't the way I was--" His voice 
cracked. "They wouldn't have to be ashamed of me and hide 
me, and they wouldn't have to fight about me."

Tears spilled down Lois's cheeks as she pulled him to her, 
whispering his name.

Clark took a few deep breaths before continuing, taking 
comfort in her embrace. "I started having nightmares after 
that, but I would never tell my parents what they were 
about. Maybe they knew, I don't know. It probably wasn't 
too hard to figure out, but I'd always say I couldn't 
remember." Clark finally looked up to meet Lois's tear-
filled eyes. "I've never told anyone this before ... about 
the dreams, what they really were. Don't tell my parents, 
OK?"

Lois nodded and tried to wipe some of her tears away. "I 
won't," she promised.

"I don't want them to feel guilty."

"I know."

"My dad felt real bad about it after, even if he wouldn't 
admit it. He was scared, too; scared someone would find out 
about me and take me away. He was just trying to protect 
me."

"I know."

Clark was quiet for a long moment. "I got over it ... I 
mean, you know how kids are. You just kind of bury it and 
get on with your life." He attempted a lopsided grin. "I 
even took high school biology."

Lois gave a watery laugh.

"It's just that ... deep down, Lois ... in that little kid 
place ... I think a part of me will always wonder if I 
should be ashamed of who I am."

Lois pulled back to look him in the eye, her face tender 
but serious. "Don't think that."

Clark sighed. "I know, honey ... as an adult, I know--"

"Clark, listen to me ... you have *nothing* to be ashamed 
of. You put yourself out there every day -- not just as 
Superman but as Clark Kent -- to make the world a better 
place." She paused, making sure she had his full attention. 
"And you are more *human* than anyone I have ever met. I 
just wish you could see how special you really are."

Clark inhaled a shaky breath, his emotions catching up with 
him. "Now which one of us knows exactly what to say?" He 
swiped at his eyes and attempted a smile. "Thank you."

"You OK?"

"Yeah ... thanks." He gave a little laugh. "I'm sorry, I 
didn't mean to be such a downer. We've had such a great 
night, too."

"It's still a great night," she reassured him. "You just 
reminded me how lucky I am to have you."

"Lois ... " He stared into her eyes for a long moment, 
emotions building once more. "For most of my life, there's 
been a small part of me that's always wondered whether 
anyone could ever really love me once they knew who -- and 
what -- I am." He swallowed, gathering his composure. "But 
now that I've found you, I finally *know*. You're 
everything to me, Lois, and finding you was like finding a 
piece of myself that I didn't even know was missing."

"I feel the same way," she whispered emotionally.

"I know," he whispered back, "and I am thankful for that 
every day." He smiled softly. "So when I need a little 
extra reassurance now and then ... like when I freak out 
about the marriage thing ... just know that it's not *you* 
I'm doubting, but myself, OK?"

She sniffled. "OK. I can do that."

"Good. 'Cause I love you so much."

Lois closed the small distance between them and pressed a 
gentle, lingering kiss against his lips. "And I love you."

*****

The next morning, Lois and Clark stood in Perry's office, 
watching him crawl around under his chair looking for 
another bomb.

"So Superman just dumped you out of the chair without any 
warning?" she asked, incredulous. She shot Clark a look of 
amazement. "What in the world was he thinking??"

Clark just looked sheepish. "Maybe it was the fastest way?" 
he offered weakly.

Perry sat up. "Well, it looks clean. Some yahoo probably 
just didn't like what he read in the paper. It's a risk all 
editors take."

Lois rolled her eyes at Clark, then turned her doubtful 
glance back to Perry. "Don't you think it's awfully 
coincidental that Nigel St. John, a former spy, is back in 
town and suddenly this happens?"

"Aww, Lois, you're being paranoid."

"I don't know, Chief," Clark interjected. "Guess who else 
has magically reappeared? Sheldon Bender. Claims his 
abduction was just a prank by some old fraternity buddies."

"I don't buy that either," Lois scoffed. "Perry, my 
instincts tell me that all of this is connected with Nigel 
and Gretchen Kelly."

Just then, Jimmy walked in the door. "Guess what?" he 
asked. "The bomb squad headquarters was robbed while they 
were here."

Perry stood up straighter. "You mean I was just a 
diversion??"

"Kind of cheapens it somehow, huh?" Jimmy said 
sympathetically.

Lois and Clark, however, weren't even paying attention 
anymore. They turned to each other in unison.

"You take Bender, I'll take the bomb squad--"

"I'll take Bender, you take the bomb squad--"

Staring at each other for a moment as the words filtered, 
they gave each other a quick nod and dashed out of Perry's 
office, hot on the trail.

Staring after them, Jimmy's smile was surprised yet amused. 
"Notice h