Love and Secrets
By NiteMar <nitemar@att.net>
Rated: PG-13
Submitted: December 2002
---------------------------------------

Disclaimers and Acknowledgements: These characters aren't 
mine; I'm just playing with them.  This is a rewrite of 
portions of the 'Lucky Leon' episode, so there is some 
dialogue and recognizable things from the show with a bit 
of a twist.  No copyright infringement is intended. 

I want to thank my beta readers: Amac, BrightFeather, Wanda 
and Carrie for all their help and encouragement!  If it 
weren't for their and others help on IRC to bounce things 
off, I never would have completed this L&C fanfic.  

For all those who wondered what may have happened if Lois 
hadn't slammed that door in Clark's face on their first 
date.  This story is one possibility...

Feedback welcome at nitemar@att.net.

I hope you enjoy reading...


Love and Secrets
-------------------------

Lois absently toyed with the strand of pearls around her 
neck as she considered Clark's question.  She looked across 
the table into his eyes and answered candidly.  "No, I 
didn't see my dad very much.  He was always away.  And I 
saw my mother more than I wanted to.  She was..."  Lois 
started to explain as dessert was brought to the table.  
The server quietly set a sumptuous chocolate creation in 
front of Clark with his coffee and put a glass of burgundy 
wine in front of Lois.

"Thank you," Clark said in acknowledgment to the server.  
He looked back to Lois and smiled at her expression.  Lois' 
mouth suddenly watered and her eyes widened at the luscious 
dessert.  "Are you sure you don't want a dessert, Lois?"

Lois quickly relaxed her gawking stare.  "Oh no, Clark," 
she insisted, bringing her wine glass to her lips for a 
sip.  "I couldn't eat a whole dessert after that meal.  
That does look good though.  Maybe I'll have a bite before 
you finish."

"Of course," Clark agreed, sliding the fork into the 
decadent dessert and taking his first bite.  "Mmmm," his 
brows raised in approval as he savored the rich, chocolate 
taste.  "And talking about desserts, did I ever tell about 
the time I was in..."

Lois watched Clark as he spoke, observing a side of him she 
rarely let herself see.  Why was that?  Because Clark Kent 
was her partner--the man who had become her best friend.  
Why mess with a good thing, right?  How could she have not 
seen how wonderful he was?  Not as a partner or friend, but 
as a man.  Oh sure, he had faults.  What man didn't?  But 
she couldn't think of a single one right now.  Maybe they 
would come to her later, she thought as she smiled 
inwardly.  Much later.

Sitting across from him now, completely at ease and 
enjoying his company, Lois wondered why she had been so 
hesitant to go out with him.  She'd kept making excuses for 
postponing the event, using her busy schedule as the 
reason.  But when Mayson had shown up at the Planet and 
invited Clark to go to a play with her, Lois had surprised 
herself as much as him by informing Mayson that she and 
Clark had plans together that evening.  Technically, Clark 
had only asked her out, and they certainly weren't 
exclusive, but when Mayson tried to push into *her* 
territory, it irked her.  She had quickly claimed Clark for 
the evening--and every other evening if she had anything to 
say about it, at least as far as Mayson was concerned.

When Clark first picked her up at the apartment, there was 
an element of nervousness between them.  She had wondered 
if they would make it past that awkwardness due to their 
evolving relationship.  But now, well over three hours into 
their first real date, she realized her fears had been 
totally groundless.  The evening had been fantastic; her 
time with Clark had been wonderful.  It was as if the past 
two years of getting to know one another had been leading 
to this exact event in their lives.  She had been so afraid 
that any romantic involvement with Clark would be 
disastrous, as it had been with Claude.  But she had 
forgotten how different the two men were--even at work.  
She couldn't burden Clark with that reputation.  He hadn't 
done anything to deserve that.

Clark Kent was always the gentleman, always considerate.  
He did not involve himself in the degrading, sexist joking 
around that some of the men at the Planet took part in and 
sometimes directed towards the women that worked there.  
Clark respected her and considered her an equal partner.  
Oh, he sometimes got too protective of her.  But in a way, 
it was flattering that he cared what happened to her.  She 
understood that was why he was so protective--because he 
cared, not because he thought her an incapable woman.  Of 
course she couldn't let him ever know what she thought as 
she rolled her eyes.  But he trusted her, as she trusted 
him and they had learned that they could count on one 
another.  They had become the Planet's prize-winning 
investigative team--because their styles complemented each 
other, and they depended on their differences to turn out 
the best stories possible.  It was their respect for each 
other combined with their abilities that made them a 
success.  Could success carry over into other areas, as 
well?

She had sensed early in their relationship that Clark had 
feelings for her, but she had not been ready for anything 
more than what they had in a working relationship.  Now 
tonight, she was so hopeful that much more was possible.  
Clark had been so attentive, the love and longing evident 
in his eyes, yet he had been the perfect gentleman.  It had 
been a pleasure to listen to him tonight as he relayed 
tales from his youth and world travels.  She had learned so 
much about him as he spoke of things he was passionate 
about.  And she had opened up to him, revealing so much 
more of herself than she ever had before.  

"What happened between you and your dad?" Clark asked as he 
took a sip of coffee, drawing her back from her thoughts.  
Clark knew that she had resented her father's absence, but 
he wondered if there had been some specific incident that 
had occurred between them that Lois had never confided 
before.

"Oh, we had a huge fight when I was a senior in high school 
and I moved out," Lois explained, trying to keep the pain 
out of her voice.  She hated that something which happened 
so many years ago still affected her so deeply.  Taking a 
sip of her wine, she added, "He was always disappointed 
that he never had any sons."

Clark listened sympathetically as she shared the painful 
memory.  "So, you went out and became a world famous 
reporter just to prove him wrong?" Clark ventured as he 
took another sip of his coffee.

Lois smiled at Clark's appraisal.  "Maybe," she said 
softly.  Her eyes drifted to the many-layered chocolate 
confection before Clark, and her mouth watered.  Perhaps 
she'd have just a small bite.  "Are you going to finish 
that?" she asked, pushing the rose vase aside to clear the 
space between them.

Focused on this new tidbit of information into what made 
Lois Lane tick, he prompted her, "So why don't you quit?  I 
mean, now you could do anything you want."  Clark wondered 
if she continued as a reporter today only because of her 
father.

Lois smiled.  "I guess I found out I like it."  She learned 
forward, her eyes on his dessert, and abandoned any 
pretense at disinterest.  "Did they give you two forks with 
that?" she asked.

Clark chuckled, "I'm sorry."  He scooped a bite-sized 
portion of his dessert with his fork and offered it to her.  
He watched as she smiled coyly and leaned toward him, her 
lips parting to accept the morsel.  His mouth unconsciously 
opened and closed as she wrapped her lips around the fork.  
He watched her savor the morsel, her tongue slipping out to 
lick away any lingering taste.

She closed her eyes in ecstasy, blocking all other 
sensations save for the rich chocolate taste.  "Mmmm," she 
finally moaned rapturously before opening her eyes and 
meeting Clark's attentive gaze.  "I hate myself," she said 
softly, with an embarrassed smile.

"Are you ready for another round?" he asked huskily.

"I think I need a moment to recover," she laughed, and 
rolled her eyes dramatically.  Relishing the taste like 
this seemed almost like... Lois blushed at where her 
thoughts were headed.  Yet, she wondered what Clark would 
be like as a lover.  Would he be slow and considerate like 
he was in his treatment of people?  Or would he be like all 
the other men she had met--selfish and simply taking what 
they wanted?  But Clark was so... different.

"So what about you?"  Lois asked after a few moments.  She 
really needed to steer her thoughts in another direction 
before she embarrassed herself.

"I'm fine.  It's all yours," he said, pushing the dessert 
plate over to her.

"No, I mean you and your parents.  Did you ever have any 
big fights with them?"

Clark thought for a few seconds.  "Little ones, nothing 
really big.  I guess you could say I was your basic goody-
two-shoes," he commented.

Lois replied, "The perfect son."  

"You know, it's not easy being perfect," Clark joked.  He 
reached and pulled at his earlobe, saying with a frown, 
"Actually, Jimmy still thinks I should wear an earring."  

"Clark Kent--the rebel without a flaw," Lois teased as she 
took another sip of her wine.

Lois observed him as he sipped from his coffee and realized 
that she had already fallen in love with Clark Kent a long 
time ago.  Tonight she had allowed herself to recognize 
what her heart already knew; no barriers were needed 
because he had nothing to hide.  They had grown to know 
each other so well over the past two years.  

After a quiet moment, Clark added, "You know, when you 
think about it, the only time that people ever really seem 
to express themselves is when they're passionate, when the 
polite veneer of society drops off, you know, like when 
they're fighting..."

Lois chimed in, "Or make love."  Lois held Clark's gaze for 
several moments, both of them held captive by her words.  
Suddenly, she covered her mouth in embarrassment, realizing 
what she had said to Clark.  "Oh, my God," she said behind 
a laugh.  Why did she say that?  Because she had been 
thinking of it, that's why.  Lois suddenly recalled the 
vivid image Clark had burned in her mind the day he had 
answered his door in nothing but a towel.  She blushed as 
she thought of what it must be like to touch that hard body 
and feel that body against her own.  

Oh God, did Clark realize she was thinking about having sex 
with him now?  No, no he wouldn't.  He's too much a 
gentleman to expect anything like that on a first date.  
Damn, Lois mentally slapped herself.  Get hold of yourself!  
Nervously, Lois looked down at Clark's watch and commented 
on the time.  "Oh Clark," she said, trying to control the 
anxiousness in her voice.  "It's almost midnight.  We'd 
better be going."

Clark smiled, laying his napkin down.  "You're right.  We 
have a busy day tomorrow."  

----------

Clark had to concentrate to keep from floating as they 
walked the short distance to Lois' apartment.  Since the 
moment he had met Lois he had wanted to take her out.  He 
wanted to have a chance to get to know her--not as just a 
friend, but a woman he could potentially spend a lifetime 
with.  Despite their initial nervousness, it hadn't taken 
them long to start talking and sharing things they had 
never before revealed to each other.  They had spent hours 
talking and enjoying each other's company, revealing 
childhood hopes and dreams.

Lois walked close at his side, commenting in awe, "Clark, 
it is such a beautiful clear night.  Look at the moon and 
stars."

He glanced upward briefly, following her gaze.  It was 
indeed a clear night for the city, and had he been alone, 
he might have enjoyed stargazing for a time.  But all he 
could see tonight was the amazing woman who walked by his 
side.  "So beautiful, Lois," he murmured, taking her hand 
in his.

Lois blushed at his obvious meaning.  "Did you ever just 
wonder about things in the universe, the beauty of it?  
Wonder what's out there?" she asked, trying to turn his 
attention back to the sky.

"All the time, Lois, especially as a child.  Growing up in 
Smallville, I saw a lot of nights like this, nights with so 
many more stars," he said as he gazed upward, lost in 
thought.  He thought of all those nights as a teen when he 
wondered who he really was, why he was so different, and if 
he would ever find out the answers to his questions.  

Lois chuckled.  "Of course, I almost forgot.  I remember 
when we were there investigating Trask.  It was amazing to 
me how many stars you could see when you're away from the 
city lights.  It was so beautiful there in the country."  
Lois squeezed his hand in hers.

Clark looked at her in surprise.  "I thought you hated it 
there."  Clark recalled how much she had complained and 
teased him.  Although she did seem to enjoy herself 
eventually, once she gave it a chance, he thought with a 
smile.  

Lois smiled.  "It was different.  But in a good way," she 
replied.  She glanced down shyly.  "I loved it a lot more 
than I let on," she said softly, leaning into him.

Clark chuckled as he slid his arm around her waist.  "Will 
wonders never cease?  I learn new things about you every 
day." 

They walked in silence for a few moments, and Clark 
relished the closeness he was sharing with her tonight.  He 
committed everything about the evening to memory: the 
things they talked about, the animated looks that had 
graced her face as they spoke, her ecstatic reaction to 
tasting the chocolate.  He concentrated on the feel of his 
arm around her waist and the light floral scent of her 
perfume, not wanting to forget anything about tonight.  
Most of all, he did not want this feeling to end. 
Hopefully, there would be many more such evenings.    

Clark took a deep breath as they approached her building.  
He hesitated, unsure of the next step.  Would she ask him 
in?  Should he kiss her goodnight by the door?  He had 
never felt so awkward on a first date before--not even as a 
teenager.  But then, no date had ever mattered as much to 
him as this one did.

Clark held the door open for her as he escorted Lois inside 
the building.  After exiting the elevator, he walked with 
her down the hallway, still holding her hand in his.  Lois 
was very quiet as they approached her apartment, giving him 
little clue as to what she was thinking.  But he noticed 
that she had drawn physically closer to him as they walked.  
That was a good sign, wasn't it?  

Clark released her hand as they reached her door.  His 
heart beat loudly as she unlocked her door and he stood 
close behind her.  The lock clicked open and she turned to 
face Clark with a smile.  He gazed at her, hesitantly, 
waiting for her to make the next move.  

"Okay, look, Clark.  I had a really nice time," she 
started.

"So did I."  Clark's heart stopped as he anticipated the 
next words from her lips.

"No, I mean I really had a wonderful time.  One of the best 
times I ever had," Lois said, hoping Clark understood she 
wasn't just saying this to be nice.  "It just seemed to 
work," she added.  She looked into Clark's expectant face, 
realizing he was waiting for a cue from her.  "Really 
nice," she repeated as she mentally made a decision.  
"That's why... I mean," she said timidly, peeking at Clark 
through her eyelashes.  "Would you like to come inside for 
some coffee?"  Oh God, that sounded so lame.  Clark had 
been in for coffee many times and he usually made it.  And 
he had just had coffee with his dessert.  It sounded so 
dumb now.

Surprised at the question, it took a moment for Clark to 
respond.  It was not what he had been expecting from her 
nervous words summing up their date; she had seemed ready 
to end their evening.  But then he smiled and said, "I'd 
love that, Lois."  

Clark sensed Lois' nervousness as he followed her into the 
apartment.  He knew that Lois was cautious about expanding 
their relationship and that was partly due to her parents' 
experience, as well as the negative experiences she'd had 
with men in her past--jerks like Claude.  He realized she 
was probably uncertain about what was going to happen next.  
He had been to her apartment many times before, but that 
had been as a partner working on a project, or as a friend 
spending some down time watching a movie.  This was the 
first time he was here as her date.  Yet she had invited 
him inside, extending the evening.  Discarding his jacket 
he waited just inside the door as Lois walked into the 
kitchen to make the coffee.  "Do you want me to do that, 
Lois?"

She turned back with a smile.  "No, I can handle it, Clark.  
Why don't you just sit down, and I'll be right there."  
Just because he often made the coffee or tea when he was 
over didn't mean that she couldn't.  She turned back, 
determined to prove her worthiness in the kitchen--at least 
with coffee.  

"Do you want cream?  Sugar?" she asked as she opened 
cabinet doors, looking for the coffee and filters.  She 
looked over at Clark as he stood there, hands in his 
pockets, still watching.  Had she just asked Clark how he 
wanted his coffee?  She saw a smile creep over Clark's 
face.  "Oh," she said, catching herself.  "I know how you 
like your coffee."  She turned back to the cabinets, 
embarrassed by her blunder.

Calm down, Lois told herself.  Why was she acting so 
nervous now?  She'd just spent the most wonderful four 
hours with Clark getting to know him better than she 
thought possible, affirming how deeply she had felt for him 
all along.  This was the man she shared almost everything 
with, was the most comfortable with--the man she could 
trust more than any other.  Then why was she so flustered?

Because she couldn't get that image of him with nothing but 
a towel wrapped loosely about his hips out of her head.  
Her heart had stopped for a beat that morning when he had 
opened his door, standing there after having just gotten 
out of the shower.  She had been mesmerized by the droplets 
of water trickling in rivulets down his chest, and had 
breathlessly watched their descent as they were absorbed by 
the towel.  Never had she been so affected by the sight of 
a man's body.  Not unless she counted their 'almost first 
date' when she had seen him undressing behind the frosted 
glass.  But that hadn't really counted, she reasoned, 
because she had never really seen any skin.  He had been 
behind the door.  Yet even the knowledge that he had been 
naked behind that door had had an unsettling effect on her.  

And then she had to mention 'making love' at the restaurant 
tonight.  Now she couldn't get the possibility out of her 
mind.  She knew Clark was not the type of man to expect 
anything like that on a first date, but that didn't keep 
her from speculating on the notion.  What type of lover 
would Clark be?  Slow and gentle?  Rough and passionate?  
Caring and considerate?

Clark watched Lois' frustration grow as she fumbled around 
in the kitchen.  Then he remembered that the last time he 
had been to her apartment he had helped her put away 
groceries.  Walking up behind her, he noticed she had the 
coffee out on the counter but was still searching for the 
filters.  "Here, Lois," Clark said as he reached around her 
into the cabinet where he had placed the filters.

Unaware that Clark had come up behind her, Lois gasped at 
his words.  Clark lightly placed a hand on her shoulder to 
calm her, reassuring her of his presence.

"Sorry.  I didn't mean to..." Clark started to apologize.

Lois turned to face Clark, gazing into his eyes, her back 
against the counter.  She felt the heat from his closeness, 
and her breath caught in her throat as his eyes held her 
captive.

Clark paused, uncertain what it was he had been saying.  
Her dark eyes captured his full attention, and he heard her 
heartbeat accelerate.  He slowly raised his hand to cup the 
side of her face, caressing her skin lightly with his 
thumb.  His other hand moved from her shoulder to cup her 
other cheek as she gazed expectantly into his eyes.  Clark 
slowly closed the distance between them, his heart pounding 
in his chest with anticipation.  He lightly touched his 
lips to hers, testing her response.

The heat rose swiftly in her body as his lips set fire to 
hers.  She had never felt anything like this in her entire 
life.  She hungrily pressed her lips to his and slid her 
arms around his waist, leaning more fully into him.  
Clark's fingers slipped through her hair as he deepened the 
kiss, and her lips parted willingly to the gentle thrust of 
his tongue.  The sound of their lips clasping and parting 
was punctuated with soft moans of pleasure as they explored 
each other's mouths.

Lois' head was spinning.  Never before had a man's kisses 
affected her in this way.  All rational thought was gone.  
All she wanted was more--more kissing, more touching--just 
more.  Oh God, this was too fast!  Lois pulled her arms 
back, resting her hands on his chest.  She gently pushed 
him back and gasped against his lips, "Wait."

Clark pulled back as he became aware of her apprehension, 
and his hands slid down to her waist.  "I'm sorry, Lois," 
Clark apologized as he took a step back.  He hadn't meant 
for things to escalate so quickly, but the innocent kiss he 
had intended had flared out of control the moment their 
lips touched.  "I didn't mean to..."  How stupid could he 
have been, losing control like that?  He knew he needed to 
move slowly; he had no intention of pressuring her into 
something she wasn't ready for.  

Lois smiled, realizing Clark was as nervous as she was.  
She had panicked for a moment, but she could see that it 
was okay.  "No, Clark," she said, reaching for him again.  
"I just...that was so..."  She closed the distance between 
them and captured his lips again in a brief kiss.

After parting, Clark looked at her questioningly, seeing 
the passion in her eyes.  He knew that if he let things go 
any further tonight, he might live to regret it.  Besides, 
he had so much to tell her yet about himself.  He sighed 
and summoned all his strength.  He gently cupped her face 
in his hands.  "Lois," he began.

Lois smiled.  Clark was stirring feelings in her that she 
didn't know she possessed.  This was way more than two 
friends who happened to be attracted to each other.  She 
loved Clark.  She had known Clark as a partner and a friend 
for two years now, and she realized that she had been 
falling in love with him all along.  

"Lois, you're right, it's too fast," Clark reasoned with 
her.  "Remember, we were afraid of ruining our friendship?  
I want to take things slow, sweetheart.  I don't want to 
lose you."  As Clark spoke the words he hoped his own body 
would listen, yet part of him wanted nothing more than to 
make wild passionate love with Lois.

Lois listened to his words, thinking through what she was 
feeling.  She thought of what they had talked about, their 
hesitation in dating, their fear of losing their 
friendship.  Was Clark uncertain now about moving forward 
in this relationship?   Maybe the date wasn't what he had 
expected.  Tears welled in her eyes, and she grew 
embarrassed.  Perhaps Clark didn't feel what she was 
feeling.

Clark saw her blush as she turned her eyes from his, and he 
knew immediately what she was thinking.  He guided her face 
back to his again and smiled gently.  "Lois, look at me.  I 
love you.  That's why I want to do this right.  Come on, 
let's sit," Clark said, steering her towards the couch.

Lois let him lead her to the couch, still feeling 
embarrassed at her confusion.  Thoughts of how Claude had 
used her crept into her mind and threatened to confuse her 
even more.  Why was she thinking of that now?  Clark wasn't 
trying to use her.  He was trying to slow things down.  For 
a moment she hesitated to sit close, but Clark made no 
advances.  She had been so caught up in the moment that he 
could have easily taken advantage of her and she would have 
let it happen, but he hadn't.  Why was she having these 
mixed emotions?  What was wrong with her?

"Lois..."

Lois looked at him as he searched her face with such 
caring.  "Clark," she choked.  This man was really 
different from any other she had ever met.  He hadn't 
changed just because they went on a date.  He was the same 
man she had come to know as her friend.  The only man she 
could confide in and trust.  

Clark drew her into an embrace, comforting her with softly 
murmured endearments and Lois calmed in his arms.  Her 
thoughts collided as she snuggled into his warmth.  It had 
been so long since she had been held and loved by a man.  
She trusted Clark--knew intuitively that she was safe with 
him.  She heard him groan and realized that she had been 
unconsciously stroking his chest through his shirt.  The 
sound drew her eyes back to his and she saw they were dark 
with desire.

Clark drew her closer and tentatively lowered his lips to 
hers.  As she responded to his kiss, his tongue explored 
her mouth, and he moaned when she sucked on it gently.

Lois was lost in the sensations he was creating in her, and 
she wrapped her arms more tightly around Clark.  Lois 
finally broke the kiss, and pushed back a little to look 
into his eyes.  

Panting slightly, he asked cautiously, "You ok?"

Lois nodded as she wiped her eyes.  "Yeah.  You know, I was 
thinking, Clark," she started.

Clark reached out to push a strand of hair away from her 
face, and then rested his fingers against her cheek in a 
soft caress, waiting for her to continue.

"Maybe it makes sense that things are moving so fast for 
us, faster than we expected they would," she reasoned, 
leaning into his hand.

Clark listened, wondering at her logic.  He had dreamed of 
Lois for so long and now she was here in his arms.  It was 
a true test of his will to rein in his emotions.

"You're my best friend, Clark," she said with a shy smile.

Clark smiled.  "And you're mine, Lois," he said huskily.

"I mean, we know each other so well, we already care a lot 
about each other, and trust each other.  We already have a 
great relationship as friends," she continued, trying to 
explain her inner turmoil.

Clark nodded with a smile, his conscience prodding him that 
he still hadn't revealed his secret identity to her.  His 
intention to tell her as soon as possible weighed heavily 
in his thoughts.  He had always known that one day he would 
confide his secret to the woman he would spend the rest of 
his life with, and he knew now that Lois was that woman.

"And now we're starting to explore another kind of 
relationship," she offered.

Clark caressed her cheek as she spoke.  "I knew I loved you 
when I met you.  And as I've grown to know you better, I 
love you even more."

Lois blushed at his heartfelt words, and her eyes dropped 
to her lap.  She knew he had been attracted to her from the 
beginning, but hadn't realized that he had continued to 
love her during their rocky beginning as partners.  She had 
been so rude and, occasionally, downright cruel.

Realizing he was making her uncomfortable, he rushed to 
assure her.  "It's okay, Lois.  I've loved you a long time 
already.  I know you don't feel that strongly about me yet.  
I can wait."  

Looking back into his intense gaze, Lois explained, "That's 
not it, Clark.  I do love you.  I think I have been in love 
with you for a long time."  She watched the uncertainty in 
his expression as he digested her words.  "Looking back 
now, I see how I fought my feelings for you for so long.  
Maybe it just makes sense that this new relationship for us 
falls into place faster than usual.  I mean, we already 
love each other as friends.  Falling in love just seems so 
natural."

Clark searched her questioning gaze and thought about what 
she was saying.  "Are you sure?  It seems too fast, and yet 
I feel like I've been waiting to hear those words forever."

"I'm sure, Clark.  I mean, doesn't it make sense--that 
being close friends makes falling in love so easy?"

"Maybe," he said thoughtfully.  "But there are things we 
may not have talked about before that we should discuss as 
a couple."

It all made perfect sense--falling in love with Clark this 
fast.  Lois leaned into him and kissed him again.  "Like 
what?" she murmured against his lips.  "Would you like to 
hear what I'm feeling right now?"  She kissed a trail from 
his lips to his ear.  "Would you like to hear about how I 
sometimes lie in bed at night, dreaming of you?" she 
whispered teasingly in his ear and she heard him groan in 
response.

The sensations of her warm lips against his skin as she 
breathed the confessions into his ear sent shivers through 
his entire body.  He wanted so much to touch her, to 
pleasure her, to make love to her.  Could she really have 
thought of him in that way--the same way he had thought of 
her as he lay dreaming of the impossible?  Heat rushed 
through him so fast he became lightheaded, making it that 
much more difficult to think.  "Oh God, Lois..."

Lois continued feathering kisses down his neck and she 
loosened his tie.  Clark quickly grabbed the tie and pulled 
it the rest of the way from his shirt collar as Lois' 
fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, exposing 
more skin to her lips.  She slid her hands gently under the 
opened shirt, caressing the firm, silken flesh.

Clark tried to focus on what Lois had said.  Maybe she was 
right; maybe they had held back so long that this was meant 
to happen.  Oh God, this felt so good.  Clark suddenly 
pulled away and yanked his shirt from his pants, tossing 
the garment to the floor.  He pulled Lois to him again and 
pressed his lips to hers gently at first, then with a 
building passion that almost surprised Lois.

Lois melted into Clark's embrace.  With a need she had 
never known before, she whimpered into his mouth as he 
deepened his kiss.  Lois pushed her tongue forward to 
explore his mouth as Clark's fingers threaded through her 
hair.
 
Clark broke their heated kiss and looked at her with eyes 
grown dark with passion.  The soft cry she emitted brought 
a slight smile to his face.  His hands moved to her slim 
shoulders and he slid his fingers under the thin straps of 
her dress.  His eyes followed the movement of his hands 
where they rested near her breasts.  Breathing rapidly, he 
looked into her eyes, silently asking for permission.

For a moment Lois was afraid he would stop them again, even 
after what she had said.  But when she saw the desire in 
his eyes, she knew he felt the same.  He wanted more, and 
his hands and eyes were seeking her consent.  She smiled 
slowly in answer.

Clark reached behind her back and slowly unzipped her 
dress.  His other hand slid a strap off her shoulder and 
the dress bodice gaped forward, unveiling newly exposed 
skin to his hungry gaze.  His hand moved to caress her, 
gliding his fingers gently over her soft skin.

A moan escaped Lois's lips at his intimate caress and her 
head fell back as she arched against him.  "God, Clark, 
that feels so good."  When her eyes opened again, she saw 
that he was watching her intently, gauging her response.

"I'm glad."  He pulled her to sit astride his lap as he 
continued his intimate caress.  He held her firmly against 
him as his hands moved over her body.  

Her eyes drifted closed as she submitted to his sensuous 
caresses and her hands grasped his thick hair, holding him.  
He was driving her wild.  "Oh God, Clark."

He pulled back to look at the pleasure on her face and to 
be sure she was still okay with this.  

Without the distracting strokes of his hands, she was able 
to regain some of her composure.  She slid her hands from 
his head, down the back of his neck, and gently caressed 
his firm chest.  Her lips sought the smooth skin of his 
chest as his hands slid over her back.  

"L-o-i-s..." Clark moaned.  His hand moved beneath the edge 
of her dress and slid along her inner thigh.  He watched as 
her tongue flicked out to wet her lips.  He captured her 
lips in a passionate assault, his hands roaming over her 
flesh in intimate exploration.  His heart pounded in his 
chest, all reasonable thought pushed to the back of his 
mind.  

"Oh God," Lois gasped as his erotic touch ignited a fire 
deep inside her.  Her eyes closed as she forgot all else, 
his exquisite strokes nearly driving her mad.  All 
sensations were centered on his touch.  After a moment, she 
gazed back into the dark eyes penetrating into her soul.  
Then, as she gave in again to his sweet caresses, her eyes 
fluttered shut.    

"Lois, look at me," he said huskily.

She instantly opened her eyes and looked at him, his face 
heavy with passion.  She focused on his eyes as he 
continued massaging her sensitive flesh, taking great 
pleasure in the expressions flashing over her face. 

Clark centered all his concentration on Lois' enjoyment.  
He never knew he could have such satisfaction in her 
pleasure.  He hungrily captured her lips in the last 
moments of her greatest delight, thrusting his tongue into 
her greedy mouth.

She collapsed against his chest as her breathing returned 
to normal.  As her body quieted, Clark gently caressed her 
back in circular patterns.  After a few minutes, she pushed 
up to look at him, smiling mischievously.  She trailed her 
fingers sensuously over his chest to his abdomen. 

Clark stilled her hand.  "Lois, I don't have any...  I 
never expected anything like this..." he started to 
explain, embarrassed.

A smile crept over her face as she realized the reason for 
Clark's hesitation.  She leaned forward to plant a gentle 
kiss on his lips.  "It's okay, Clark.  I'm on the Pill."  

Clark pulled her to his lips again, thrusting his tongue 
into the warm recesses of her mouth, and his hands explored 
the bare skin of her back.  

Lois' caresses elicited a moan from Clark as his kisses 
left her mouth and trailed a line of fire down her neck.  
Her fingers slid through his thick black hair as the 
sensations he was creating in her threatened to overtake 
her sanity.

Reluctantly, Clark pulled back and gazed into her passion-
filled eyes.  "Lois, I want to take this into the bedroom 
if that's okay.  If that's what you..."

She looked back at Clark with a smile.  "Yes, let's go to 
the bedroom."  Rising from his lap, her dress slipped to 
her waist and she stood in front of him almost shyly.  
Clark grasped the loose garment and helped push it the rest 
of the way down her slim legs.  Clothed only in her 
panties, pantyhose and pumps, she raised her arms around 
his neck and he crushed her to his chest.

"God, you are so beautiful," he gasped.

Lois blushed at his open admiration of her body, and then 
gasped in surprise when his arm came around her back and 
knees and he lifted her in his arms.  "Clark!" she cried 
out in surprise.

Clark swiftly carried her into the bedroom and gently set 
her onto her feet next to the bed.  Throwing back the 
comforter as Lois kicked off her shoes, he turned back to 
face her.

Lois reached for Clark's trousers, undoing the button and 
unzipping them.  "I think you've had these on long enough," 
she said huskily.  She heard Clark exhale as she carefully 
slid the pants over his hips.  As she pushed them down his 
legs, Clark quickly toed off his shoes, stepping out of the 
trousers and pushing them aside.  

"Lois," he said before capturing her lips as he pushed her 
gently down onto the bed.  She inched backwards towards the 
pillows, and Clark followed her, smiling.  He positioned 
his body between her legs, and cradled her in his arms.  "I 
love you," he told her, all he felt for her reflected in 
his eyes.  He lowered himself to her mouth and hungrily 
kissed her lips.  He moved down Lois' body, kissing a trail 
down to her abdomen.  

What was it about the way Clark was kissing her and 
touching her that made her feel he was worshipping her?  
She hadn't had much experience with men, but none of them 
had ever made her feel quite like this.  "Clark," she 
breathed.  Her hands grabbed at the bedding, twisting it in 
her fists as his devotion to her pleasure drove her wild.  
His gentle ministrations soon had her crying out his name.

Clark crawled back over her body, kissing a sweet trail 
along her skin.  Leaning on his elbows, he cupped the sides 
of her face and stared into her eyes.  Imparting his love 
to her without a word passing between them, he met her lips 
in a blaze of mutual need.  Their bodies shifted together 
on the bed as Clark strove for the ultimate pleasure 
awaiting him. 

He collapsed over her, weak and gasping, supporting himself 
on his arms to keep from crushing her.  Incredulous and 
stunned, he lay there unmoving as his breathing and 
heartbeat returned to normal.  

"God, Clark," she whispered between breaths.  "That was... 
incredible."  She lay boneless underneath him, euphoric 
from their lovemaking.

Clark smiled against her hair, and kissed her cheek.  "I 
love you, Lois."  After several minutes of holding her, he 
finally lifted his head and gazed into her eyes, and then 
kissed her, imparting all the love and passion he felt for 
this amazing woman.  The woman of his dreams.  

----------

Clark tightened his arm around Lois, pulling her closer as 
she lay curled at his side.  He had dreamed of this moment 
for nearly two years, to hold Lois in his arms intimately 
as he was now, lazily basking in the afterglow of their 
lovemaking.  He smiled as he gazed down at Lois as she 
traced lazy circles across his chest, the images of their 
lovemaking replaying in his mind.  

Lois looked up at Clark, sensing his gaze upon her.  Seeing 
the love in his incredible, chocolate brown eyes, she 
couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face.  
How did she find this wonderful man?  Actually he had found 
her, she realized.  It was more than the fact that he had 
come to the Planet looking for a job, but he had continued 
to seek her affections, despite how she had treated him at 
first.  She had been cruel--all because of what men in her 
past had done to her.

"Tell me what this man did to you that made you hide from 
me for so long," Clark asked softly, almost as if he had 
been reading her mind.

"Claude," Lois said, not breaking eye contact with Clark.  
"Are you sure you want to talk about him?"

"Yeah," Clark said as he shifted to hold her closer.  "I 
know he hurt you.  You told me a long time ago that he 
betrayed you by stealing your story.  But what really 
happened?"

Lois cuddled closer, enveloped in Clark's love.  "I thought 
I loved him," she started, tears cresting in her eyes.  She 
choked back on her emotion, surprised that it still had 
such an effect on her after so long.

Clark soothed her with soft caresses and a gentle kiss to 
her forehead, encouraging her to continue.

"He came to the Planet from a paper in France for a summer 
stint here in the States.  He was good-looking, charming, 
and... I was young."  Lois glanced at Clark to make sure he 
wanted her to continue.

"I was just a fresh new reporter then; Perry had just 
promoted me from research.  Claude didn't seem to want to 
give me the time of day.  But when stories I was working on 
started to pan out, he asked me to dinner.  We became 
lovers and I fell hard.  I never connected it with my 
growing success as a reporter.  I kept getting more and 
more challenging stories to work on.  One night while I was 
sleeping, he took off with this really big story I had just 
broken.  The next day the story was in the newspaper with 
his byline."

"When I arrived at the Planet, there were hushed whispers 
whenever I approached.  From what I found out later, he had 
started ugly rumors about me, telling intimate things about 
me.  Not very nice things either.  He wanted to deflect 
anything I might bring up about stealing my story, to ruin 
any credibility I had."

"When I confronted him, he acted like I was nothing to him, 
just another girl fawning after him.  Not only did he take 
the story for himself, but he treated me as if..."  Lois 
wiped at her eyes.  "Sometimes I thought the only thing I 
could do was quit... or crawl under a rock.  Sometimes 
that's all I wanted to do--to run away."

"But Lois Lane doesn't run away."  Clark smiled at her as 
he comfortingly caressed her back.

"No," Lois continued.  "I lived through it, but it was hard 
to get through those first weeks.  He left shortly 
afterwards for another paper, but it affected my confidence 
in myself as a reporter, as a woman.  Perry was great about 
it all.  He believed in my reporting skills, and he pushed 
me to prove it to myself."  

Clark understood the history behind her special 
relationship with Perry.  "That didn't help with the damage 
he did to you as a woman though, or your confidence in men.  
And I guess your relationship with your father didn't make 
it any easier--feeling that nothing was ever good enough 
for him."

"I cut people out of my life, didn't let anyone close.  I 
think I just decided that if I couldn't please the men in 
my life, why should I even try?  Perry noticed the change 
in me, but he never said anything about it.  I think he 
knew what had happened; I never told him though."

"Perry is a good judge of people," Clark offered.  "He 
probably knew the type of man Claude was."

"Yeah, he does size up people pretty good."  Lois looked 
back at Clark with a smile.  "He hired you; he liked you 
from the start."

"Yeah, it was that article on the knob-tailed gecko," Clark 
teased at his own expense.

Lois playfully slapped his chest, but her hand quickly 
soothed the sting, moving in soft caresses across his upper 
torso.  "What was it like, Clark," she asked reflectively, 
"to travel the world like that?"

Staring at the ceiling, Clark replied, "It was an amazing 
experience, seeing people in different cultures, learning 
about their differences... their similarities."  He paused 
as he reflected on his traveling years, running from one 
locale to the next, and never able to stay in one place for 
fear that someone would figure him out.   That's when it 
dawned on him what he hadn't told Lois tonight.  How could 
he have forgotten something as important as that?  He had 
to tell her... but not now.  He couldn't ruin everything 
yet.  The time wasn't right.  Would it hurt to wait just a 
little longer?  Maybe he would tell her later tomorrow.  

"But you've stayed here in Metropolis," Lois pointed out, 
curious about his change in habit.

"My life here in Metropolis has been fulfilling a dream of 
mine," he added as he gazed back at her.  "This is where I 
want to build a life."

"You mean working at the Planet," Lois said.

"No... I mean, yes," Clark faltered as he tried to explain.  
"I've always wanted to work at the Planet.  But more than 
that, I've wanted a place I could call home, having 
friends, a woman to love, to feel connected.  Moving around 
the way I did, I could never really get close to anyone 
before I was moving on again."  But now, he reflected 
silently, he could hopefully stay.  Thanks to Lois, he had 
Superman to give him a private life and still be able to 
help people.

Lois watched Clark as he described what it had been like 
moving around.  As exciting as the prospect was to her, she 
saw the loneliness in Clark's features as he spoke of it.  
"But you had relationships, didn't you?  Like that Nigerian 
princess who taught you dancing?" Lois questioned, 
remembering what Clark had told her at the ball.

Clark chuckled.  "No, she just taught me to dance," he 
said, as he recalled the memories.  "There was no real 
relationship."

"Ohh," Lois uttered, her fingers tracing patterns on his 
bare chest again, deep in thought.  "Well, you had to 
have... I mean, you learned about making love like that 
somewhere, and..."

Lois looked up at him, unable to make out his mumblings.  
"What did you say, Clark?"  He was obviously blushing.

"I said I learned from books," Clark repeated, almost too 
embarrassed to look at her.  He took a deep breath.  
"You're the first woman I have ever made love to."  

Not sure she had heard him right, Lois asked, "You were a 
vir... virgin?"

Clark added quickly, "Yeah... I mean, I wasn't totally 
inexperienced, but I never crossed that final threshold."  
The reason he was a virgin, he recalled, was a little thing 
called Superman--not that 'Superman' had existed as a 
persona before he came to Metropolis.  He had just never 
felt it right to cross that threshold without the woman 
knowing everything about him, so he had held back in that 
regard--until tonight.

"Clark!" Lois said in surprise.  "Inexperienced you are 
not!  My God, if all men made love like you did... not that 
I've had all that much experience myself," she added 
quickly in embarrassment.  Her hand reached up to caress 
his cheek.  "You were wonderful, Clark.  No man has ever 
taken the time to bring me such pleasure," she said 
lovingly.  

"Lois, it was the greatest pleasure for me to watch you, to 
see the satisfaction in your face and your body, that I had 
that kind of effect on you," Clark explained softly.  

Waiting until tomorrow didn't seem right now.  Should he 
tell her?  Should he tell her she just made love with 
someone from another planet, an alien?  How could he 
confess now?  She would surely track down the nearest 
kryptonite fragments.

The silent explorations of their hands while they talked 
had slowly brought their passions back to the surface, 
until the need to talk became secondary.  

He covered her lips with his own, his healthy male ego 
having been properly fed.  He rolled to lay halfway on top 
of her, pressing her into the bed as their hands roamed in 
their exploration of flesh.  He would deal with Superman 
tomorrow, once they were away from bed.  He couldn't think 
straight with her touching him, her warm skin pressed 
against him.

"I can't believe you are a virgin," Lois mumbled between 
kisses.  "And that I am your first."

"I'm not a virgin anymore, Lois.  And you're not just my 
first, but my only," he said seriously before kissing her 
lips again.  Would she ever let him hold her like this 
again once she knew everything?  He had to hope that she 
would.

----------

Clark awoke as he heard the distant screams and cries.  
Sensing unfamiliar surroundings as wakefulness returned, he 
opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the darkness of 
night.  His arms moved along the body curled at his side, 
his memory of the previous night returning.  He glanced 
down at the pressure he felt against his chest and in the 
shadows, observed Lois resting her head there.  He 
carefully smoothed his hand along her hair as he quietly 
listened to the distant sounds, trying to determine if he 
was really needed.  He did not want to leave, but in the 
next few moments he made out that there was a major 
disaster involving a lot of people.  The rescue workers 
were unable to handle the magnitude of the injuries.  

Clark took a deep breath and, lightly kissing Lois' hair, 
he quietly slid out from under her body.  Last night he had 
forgotten to tell Lois about Superman, lost in the heat of 
the moment.  Funny how that slipped his mind when she had 
kissed him with such abandon.  How was he going to handle 
things now?  He was Superman and he had made love to Lois 
Lane last night and she had no idea. 

He stepped out into the kitchen and living area to spin 
into his clothes to avoid possibly waking her.  A quick 
stop at his apartment and another spin into the suit and he 
would be ready.  He hated having to leave her like this.  
He knew it would look bad for him when she woke up alone, 
especially with what she had told him about Claude.  How 
could he have let last night happen without telling her who 
he was?  He could very well lose everything.  

He glanced around the room and spotted a pad and pen.  With 
super-speed, he jotted a quick note and slipped back into 
the bedroom, positioning the note on the nightstand so Lois 
would see it.  Maybe the note would show her that his 
absence was not what it appeared to be.  Laying it on the 
small table, he sighed, hoping he wasn't ruining everything 
by his early morning departure.  But it couldn't be helped.  
Superman was needed.  

As he was about to turn to leave, Lois stretched in her 
sleep.  Clark froze in his tracks.  If she saw him now it 
would complicate his leaving.  But Lois quietly settled on 
the pillow, mumbling to herself.

Clark quickly left for his apartment before any other close 
calls could threaten and he sped to the disaster which had 
awoken him moments ago.

----------

Awareness slowly came to Lois as she stretched lazily in 
bed.  She felt cocooned in a wonderful feeling as she 
awoke.  All of a sudden the memories of what happened last 
night came crashing down on her mind.  Oh God, did she 
really make love with Clark on their first date?  She 
reached over to the spot where he had been laying to find 
it empty and cold.  She listened to the absolute silence in 
the apartment, unbroken except by the muffled hum of the 
refrigerator.  She sat up with a bolt and rubbed her eyes 
of sleep.  Sobs bubbled from her mouth as she realized all 
her fears were coming true.  Why did all the men in her 
life hurt her like this?  

She reluctantly pushed herself up and strode into the 
bathroom to shower and get ready for work.  She knew she 
was going to have to face Clark at the Planet and she 
wasn't looking forward to it.  As she went through the 
motions of her morning routine, images of what had happened 
with Claude flooded into her thoughts.  The snickering she 
would walk in on, the quiet stares, the lewd comments from 
other men were too much to bear.  Claude told stories 
behind her back, spreading rumors about how easy she was.  
God, it was happening all over again, she thought in a 
panic as she rushed to get ready for work.

As she reached for her shoes in her closet and slipped them 
on her feet, she spotted the notepad on the nightstand for 
the first time.  Why hadn't she noticed it before?  She 
walked over to the nightstand and sat on the bed's edge.  
Tearing the note from the pad, she held it to read:

Sweet Lois,

I am terribly sorry for having to leave so early this 
morning.  I had an emergency that I couldn't ignore.  
I'll see you when you get to the Planet and explain then.

All my love,
Clark

Tears welled in her eyes as she read the words.  She hoped 
the note was true, that he hadn't meant to avoid her the 
morning after, and that he would explain later.  Maybe he 
wasn't pulling a Claude.  She wiped her eyes and rose to 
leave, stuffing the note into her jacket pocket.

Just before she was about to leave she looked in the 
mirror, totally panicked.  "Calm down," she told herself 
aloud.  She took a deep breath as she again thought over 
the events of last night.  "This is stupid.  Clark is not 
Claude," she repeated to herself.  "He left a note because 
he is not the type of man to disappear like this."  She 
adjusted a stray hair and stepped towards the door.

As she drove the Jeep to the office, she tried to analyze 
why she was so panicked.  Maybe she was afraid of herself 
more than the men.  She had fallen for Claude hook, line 
and sinker.  And he had used her, lied to her, put up a 
pretense of loving her to get what he wanted.  It certainly 
hadn't been beneath him to stir things up by chatting about 
her to deflect any accusations she might make later.  

But Clark wasn't like that, was he?  He was what he 
appeared to be... most of the time, anyway.  Except when he 
disappeared the way he did sometimes.  Overall, he was a 
good man, honest and always bending backwards to do the 
right thing.  He almost had standards as high as Superman.  
And last night was.... Last night was... There must be an 
explanation.  There just has to be.

No, it was falling for the men in her life and believing in 
them.  It was her own judgment she didn't trust.  Could she 
trust her judgment regarding Clark?  Was Clark really the 
man he appeared to be?  Would dating change him, change the 
way he treated her?  What would he be like at the Planet 
today?  She looked in the rear view mirror as she parked.  
She continued to stare at herself in the mirror after 
turning off the engine, judging herself critically.  She 
frowned.  "Oh God, what have I done?" she whimpered.

----------

The rescue workers at the scene were evaluating the injured 
that had been extracted from the collapse.  Superman 
scanned the building rubble one last time to make sure 
everyone was out of danger.  Everything seemed under 
control and the need for his special help unnecessary.  
Hours had passed since he first arrived on the scene.  Now 
he only needed to come up with that explanation for Lois 
that he promised.  What emergency would explain why he had 
to leave her bed in the middle of the night? 

Superman crossed his arms in his usual superhero stance as 
he approached the supervisor directing the disaster site.  
"No one else is trapped inside.  Can you handle it from 
here?"

The busy man looked up at the superhero and took a moment 
to extend his hand.  "Yes, Superman.  Thank you for 
everything," he said in gratitude as Superman grasped his 
hand with a firm shake.  The supervisor choked back the 
emotion he was dealing with.  "Without your help, we would 
have had deaths here instead of injuries.  Now that 
everyone is away from the falling debris, we can do our 
job.  Thanks again."

"I'm glad to be of help," Superman stated before turning 
and reaching into the sky and zipping away from the site.
 
Clark knew he had to tell Lois the truth of who he was, but 
did he really want to tell her the truth as an explanation 
for his absence this morning?  He had to think of some 
other excuse for why he had to leave so early.  He wanted 
to tell her about his alter-ego in his own way, not because 
the situation dictated it.  What was he thinking?  Of 
course the situation dictated it--he made love with Lois 
last night and she deserved to know who she made love with.

If only Superman hadn't been needed, he could have wakened 
along with her.  They could have had breakfast together and 
gone into work together. Wait!  He paused in the sky as it 
came to him.  Superman--that was the answer.  The emergency 
was the building collapse.  And Clark got a Superman 
exclusive.  Yeah, that was it.  With renewed energy, he 
sped off towards home so he could super-shower and get that 
exclusive turned in.

----------

As Lois rode the elevator up to the office, she braced 
herself to see Clark.  According to his note, he would be 
here by the time she arrived.  With the case they were 
working on, he would already be at his desk, probably going 
over some last bit of information on Lucky Leon before they 
went out again.  Would he look at her differently?  Would 
he treat her with the respect he had always in the past, as 
an equal partner?  Did last night change everything?

The doors dinged open and she made her way to her desk, 
glancing over at Clark's desk.  Umm, he wasn't sitting 
there.  Maybe he was getting coffee, she thought, as her 
eyes glanced over to the coffee table only to see Ralph 
annoying the new research assistant.  Lois rolled her eyes, 
looking away.  She set her briefcase at her desk and 
glanced around, not seeing Clark anywhere.  She walked over 
to his desk and, after taking a closer look, noticed his 
computer wasn't even turned on.

A panic swelled inside her.  He hadn't been in yet.  Was he 
out on his own, taking over the case?  She snapped her head 
up at hearing Perry's voice.  

"Uh, Lois, hon..." Perry called from his office doorway.  
"I saw you looking for Clark there.  He called just a few 
minutes ago and wanted me to tell you he would be later 
than planned."  He started to turn back to his office, but 
remembered something else.  "Oh, and he said he got a 
Superman exclusive," Perry added with a smile.

Lois stared at her editor as his words sank in.  Clark 
really hadn't been in at all, yet he had the time for an 
exclusive without her.  Lois threw up her arms 
expressively.  "Oh great, he goes out and gets a Superman 
exclusive and leaves me with the message he'll be late.  I 
guess I'm supposed to do all the work on this other case 
and then have to share a byline." 

Perry watched his top reporter's outburst and started to 
open his mouth in response.  "Lois..." Perry started, but 
changing his mind, he added, "Never mind," as he turned and 
walked back to his office.  He figured letting her rant 
would let off some steam.  Besides, she'd best work it out 
with Kent, not himself.

Lois was steamed. She stomped back to her desk and, roughly 
picking up her briefcase, she pulled out her notes to 
organize.  She plopped into her chair and turned on her 
computer.  "So that's what you snuck out for so early," she 
mumbled to herself.  "What are you doing now?  Off 
somewhere to steal the Lucky Leon story too?  This really 
stinks, Clark."  She opened the file and started to sort 
through the notes, but the tears welling in her eyes kept 
her from seeing anything clearly.
 
Would Clark really do this to her?  She kept trying to 
fight the feeling that he was pulling a Claude on her.  
Maybe he really did just get an emergency that turned into 
a Superman exclusive.  He's had them before.  That didn't 
mean he was out trying to steal their Lucky Leon story.  
She reached for the note in her pocket and looked at it.  
The tone of it was filled with love.  The fact that he even 
left a note instead of just disappearing meant something, 
didn't it?  An emergency had come up and he had to leave.

Wait!  How did he even know there was an emergency?  He had 
been with her all evening and even spent the night in her 
bed.  That scumbag!  He had intercepted a call on her 
phone, probably from one of her sources, and slipped out 
while she slept to get the exclusive.  It was a tip from 
her source; he stole her story!

She crumpled the note in her hand and tossed it into the 
wastebasket.  How could she have let a man do this to her 
again?  Closing and pushing aside her folder, she rose and 
walked purposefully to Perry's office.  She opened his door 
and quickly closed it behind her, prompting Perry to look 
up from his desk at her abrupt entry.  She intended to nip 
this one in the bud, before Clark had a chance to turn it 
against her.

Without waiting for his question, Lois demanded, "I need a 
new partner."  She paced quickly back and forth in front of 
Perry, trying to organize her thoughts.  She was going to 
stop this; Clark was not going to get the upper-hand on the 
story.  No way!  Next thing you know, he'll be spreading 
stories about her bedroom performance.  She was dumping him 
right here and now.  She stopped in front of Perry's desk.  
"I can't work with Clark anymore," she stated firmly, her 
arms crossed in front of her.

Perry looked up at his best reporter, her jaw set in its 
determination.  Perry's face showed his frustration.  He 
threw down the papers in his hand and stood, leaning 
against his desk.  "I knew it. One bad date and there goes 
my whole newsroom. Why don't you just shoot me now and send 
me up to Elvis?"  
 
"Perry..."  Lois tried to interrupt his rant.

But Perry was worked up and continued his tirade as he 
walked around the desk.  "No, no, no, Lois, don't say it. 
You know, I have stood on the sidelines, hoping against 
hope that Mother Nature would smile on you two, that the 
bluebird of happiness would come down light on your 
shoulder, that four-leaf clovers would sprout up wherever 
you walked, and all the time my gut is singing a different 
aria."

"Perry..." Lois repeated again louder.

Perry didn't hear her as he continued.  "Lois, anybody with 
half a hemisphere for a brain can see that you two are 
gasoline and fire, TNT and matches, two trains headed 
toward..."

Lois firmly called her boss' name again.  "Perry!"  

Perry stopped and looked at her, Lois finally having gotten 
his attention.

"Thank you. The problem is we didn't have a bad date," she 
explained.  "It was a really great date and... and," Lois 
paused, not willing to tell Perry how Clark spent the 
night, "I think it was great and now I'm completely 
panicked, and I have no idea what to do next."  For the 
first time this morning since she woke up, she realized 
that they really did have a great date.  It was the morning 
after that was the problem.  Perry had an uncanny ability 
to get her to be honest with herself.  He had always been 
like a father to her and right now she was feeling very 
vulnerable.

Perry, recognizing Lois' real fear, only wanted to comfort 
her.  "Oh, oh, darlin'.  Come here, honey."   Perry 
enveloped her in a fatherly hug, rocking her back and 
forth, calming her.  

Perry released her from his embrace and looked at her, 
confused by her statement.  "Lois, what do you mean you 
think you had a great date?  Don't you know, honey?"

"Oh Perry, I had a great time.  We just... it was just 
perfect," she said as she started to cry again, unable to 
put her fears into words.

Perry watched her, knowing there was something on her mind.  
"But..." he prompted her.

"I'm not sure how Clark feels, what he thinks of me now, if 
he feels different.  He was gone this morning and..." and 
realizing what she had said, quickly rephrased her words, 
"I mean, he's not here this morning and I have no way to 
gauge how he is feeling or... if he'll be like... you 
know... and tell lies...and other things."  She thought 
about the Superman exclusive, but didn't mention it.  In a 
way, it sounded paranoid, especially since they both had 
had Superman exclusives before.  It was only her fear that 
he would cut her out of the Lucky Leon story.  He hadn't 
given her any reason to think he would do that.

Perry carefully watched Lois as she poured out her fears.  
Then it dawned on Perry what she was talking about.  
Claude.  Perry pulled her into his arms again.  "Oh honey, 
you know Clark is not anything like that French scum-
suckin' pig."  He reached to grab some tissues for her.  
"Here, wipe your eyes."

Lois took the tissues and wiped her eyes as Perry continued 
to tell her how he wished he could gut that poor excuse for 
a man for what he did to her.  

"He didn't have a moral bone in his body.  Now take Clark 
here.  He's got strong morals and a fine character, always 
trying to do what's right.  The man has real integrity.  He 
would never purposely hurt you."

Lois sniffled at Perry's words about Clark.  That was the 
Clark she thought she knew.  Perry was right.

"And if he ever did, he'd have me to answer to.  You can 
bet on that, hon," Perry promised.

Lois smiled at Perry's promise.  She quickly hugged him.  
"Thanks, Perry."  And she turned to leave.

"You okay, now?" he asked, still concerned.

Lois nodded as she turned the doorknob and left.

Perry watched out his office door as Lois walked towards 
her desk where Clark was already waiting.  Clark must've 
arrived while Lois and he were talking.  Perry was somewhat 
concerned over Lois' slip in describing that Clark was gone 
this morning.  Was it just her words coming out wrong, or 
did things really go that far last night?  He hoped his 
estimation of Clark's character was correct.  He couldn't 
stand if his judgment of Clark was wrong, and Lois was hurt 
again.  As he watched, he saw loving concern etched in 
Clark's face, probably due to Lois' obviously reddened 
eyes.  Yes, Clark was a man that would be good for his 
Lois.

----------

As Clark walked through the bullpen to his desk, he passed 
Lois' desk and noticed the computer on and files on her 
desk regarding the story they were working on.  Just as he 
sat at his desk wondering where Lois was, two large bulky 
packages arrived--something called 'Desk Friend' for him 
and 'Bath Friend' for Lois.  While he fiddled with the 
gaudy desk organizer, he heard the voices coming from 
Perry's office with his super-hearing.  He couldn't help 
but overhear some of the conversation.  

Lois was panicked, worried about another Claude incident.  
That was the creep Lois had confided to him about last 
night.  And he had left her alone to wonder about his own 
intentions.  God, he never meant to do this to her.  He 
never meant for things to go so fast either.  Did she 
really think he had left this morning to avoid her?  Did 
she see his note?

He had to show her how much he loved her, show her he would 
always be there for her.  He would never betray her.  But 
hadn't he done that already by not telling her who he 
really was?  He never intended things to get so intimate 
between them without her knowing everything.  Clark looked 
up guiltily as Lois was making her way across the floor 
from Perry's office.  "Lois, that came for you when you 
were in there with Perry," he pointed out.

Seeing Clark there as she approached her desk just scared 
her more.  She couldn't let him know how she was feeling, 
that he had affected her this way.  Despite Perry's 
encouraging words, she was having her doubts still.  She 
needed time to sort things out.  Avoiding direct eye 
contact with Clark, she made her way straight to her desk.  

She picked up the note on the Bath Friend sitting on her 
desk.  "I thought I'd save you the trouble of ordering.  
Lucky Leon," she read aloud.  She picked up the item, 
looking over its features, feigning intense interest.

Clark rose from his chair and walked over to Lois, not 
wanting their conversation to filter throughout the office.  
"Lois, about last night..." he started.

She couldn't talk about last night now, not here.  She 
pushed the images of last night to the back of her mind.  
"These things are kind of attractive in a hideous sorta 
way," she said, not looking up at Clark.

"I thought last night was very special, Lois.  I'm so sorry 
I had to leave like I did.  I'm just a bit confused," Clark 
continued in a low voice.

Lois couldn't allow herself to think about how she felt 
when she woke up to find him gone.  She couldn't start 
crying here in the open, she couldn't let Clark see how he 
had hurt her.  Lois walked over to Clark's desk, eyeing the 
Desk Friend product he left sitting there.  "Oh, look.  
Yours has a stapler and a radio, pencil sharpener...  
That's pretty convenient."

"I thought you wanted last night to happen too," Clark 
whispered, conscious where they were and keeping his voice 
low.  He looked side to side to make sure no one was 
snooping.  "Was I wrong about that?  Or was it that I had 
to leave so early?  I left you a note and hoped we'd have a 
chance to talk more today," Clark said, noticing Lois still 
was not looking at him.  "Or did I do something else to 
offend you?  Because if I did, I apologize."

"Oh my goodness, imitation wood paneling!  Must be the 
Deluxe model," Lois said excitedly, as if she hadn't heard 
a word he had said.
 
Clark took a step closer to Lois and lowering his voice, 
said, "Lois, I know that last night things went faster than 
either of us expected.  We need to talk about this, please.  
You have to know what you mean to me."

Maybe I mean nothing at all to you, she thought.  You 
slipped a story in behind my back.  You stole a tip while I 
was sleeping after a night in your arms. How can I trust 
you?  But accusations would have to wait for another place.  
She couldn't trust herself to contain her voice or her 
tears here.  "Oh, batteries are included," Lois said, again 
changing the subject.

Frustrated with her interruptions, Clark turned and grabbed 
the Desk Friend from his desk.  Turning back to Lois, he 
thrust the bulky item towards her and offered, "Here, you 
wanna trade?"

"No.  No, no, I love mine," she replied, hugging hers 
possessively.   

"Believe me.  I've been looking for something like this for 
a long time."  Clark took the Bath Friend from her.

"Clark, I don't..." Lois started saying as he placed the 
Desk Friend into her hands.  She stopped speaking as she 
finally looked into his eyes.  Oh God!  What she saw in his 
dark brown eyes was confusion and pain.  And love.  But 
that didn't explain this morning.  Maybe she at least owed 
him a chance to explain.

"Oh, Clark..." she said softly.  "About last night--"

"Yeah," Clark acknowledged.  It was the exact place he had 
started the conversation when she began interrupting.  
"About last night... I wanted to say that..."

"Stop the presses!"  The loud shout interrupted them.

Both Lois and Clark turned to the source of the shout to 
see Mayson, the District Attorney, approaching as she 
chuckled at herself.  "I've always wanted to say that in a 
newsroom."

Lois stared at her as if she had grown horns.  "No one ever 
says that, you know.  It's just on TV."

Slightly embarrassed, Mayson replied, "Well, sure, but it 
still felt good."

Lois stepped to her desk, setting the Desk Friend down.  
"So what's the deal with Jimmy?" she asked, turning back to 
Mayson.  It had been Jimmy's arrest on a murder charge that 
had started the whole Lucky Leon investigation.

"The judge wants to revoke bail and bring him in," Mayson 
said, addressing Lois.  "He thinks he's a flight risk after 
his car escapade."

"That was an accident," Clark chimed in.

"I got him 24 hours more, but that's it," Mayson replied, 
turning to Clark.  "Meanwhile, I've been doing some 
digging.  I called a friend of mine in D.C.  He's going to 
call me back after he finishes his background check on 
Borges and Lucky Leon."

"And you came all the way down to tell us that in person?" 
Lois asked sarcastically.

"Actually, I came to ask Clark to lunch," Mayson said 
hurriedly.  "One of my New Year's resolutions is to be more 
decisive.  Plus, it's much harder to reject somebody in 
person."  She looked at Clark, waiting for his response.

"That's nice, Mayson, but..." Clark started, feeling very 
uncomfortable.

"Go, I'll hold down the fort," Lois snapped.  She couldn't 
help but wonder if he would go out with her.  Did last 
night really mean something to him as he said it did?

Stunned, Clark looked back at Lois.  What was she doing?  
"Lois?"  

"No, look it's okay.  If anything breaks, I'll call you.  
Have a good time," Lois insisted, subconsciously making 
sure Clark would disappoint her.

Mayson grabbed Clark by the arm with a look of victory 
flashing on her face.  "Look," she explained to Lois, "I 
told my office I'd be here or at Mara's Caf‚, so if they 
call..."

"Absolutely," Lois responded quickly to hide her jealousy.

As an afterthought, Mayson added, "Oh, by the way, Borges 
was poisoned.  Someone killed him with synthetic curare."

"What?" Lois exclaimed in surprise, as she watched the two 
walk away.  Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone 
rang.  She turned back to her desk and picked up the 
receiver.  "Lois Lane."

The phone rang at Clark's desk and Jimmy quickly reached 
over to answer.  "Clark Kent's desk...Who?...No, I'm sorry.  
Ms. Drake just left."

Lois looked up at the mention of Mayson's name and wildly 
signaled Jimmy.  This might be the break she had been 
looking for.  She pressed the hold button on her phone.

Jimmy asked the caller, "Can you hold on a moment?" and 
covered the mouthpiece before looking back at Lois.

"Who is it?"  Lois asked.

"Some guy from Washington," Jimmy replied.

"Tell him you just found her, she'll be with him in a 
second.  Line 2 is for you."  Lois scrambled out of her 
chair and mentally prepared to play her part.

"You know what?" Jimmy said cheerfully into the receiver.  
"I just found her.  Here you go."

Lois took the phone, sitting in Clark's chair.  She cleared 
her voice and coughed, hoping to disguise her voice.  "Hi, 
excuse me.  I'm having some sorta weird allergy attack.  My 
voice sounds like a bullfrog.  So what did you find out?"  
Her eyes widened at the information.  "That's incredible... 
Oh, well. Thanks.  And your voice sounds sexy, too."  She 
quickly hung up the phone just as Jimmy approached, having 
just finished his own phone call.

"Lois, that was Gregor," Jimmy relayed as he stood by Lois.  
"He said he just overheard Lucky Leon say there's a big 
shipment coming in today... only there's nothing officially 
scheduled."  Jimmy grinned.

"Bingo."  This was it; they had him.

----------

As Mayson and Clark neared the elevator, Clark steered her 
off to the side and around the corner.

"Clark, what are you doing?  I thought we were..."

Clark took a deep breath and apprehensively gathered the 
strength he needed to do what he had to do.  He led Mayson 
to the bench against the wall.  "We need to talk, Mayson."    

Mayson smiled at Clark.  "That's why I asked you to lunch, 
Clark.  We can talk there," she said as she started to rise 
again.  She grasped Clark's hand to pull him along with 
her.

Clark didn't budge as she urged him to stand with her.  
"No, Mayson," he said firmly.

Puzzled, she sat back down next to Clark.  That's when she 
noticed the hardened set to his jaw and lack of his usual 
smile.

After an obvious sigh, he forced himself to look at Mayson.  
"I'm not going to lunch with you.  I realize that you have 
feelings for me, Mayson.  And I care about you..." he tried 
to explain.

"Then what's the problem, Clark?" Mayson prompted as Clark 
looked down.

"How do I say this?"  Clark knew this would be difficult.  
He never liked having to hurt anyone and he knew she was 
going to be hurt no matter what.

Mayson grasped Clark's hands.  "Just tell me.  Look, Clark, 
I'm a lawyer.  I know you're hiding something.  Something's 
keeping us apart."

Clark looked into Mayson's eyes, determined to end her 
affections for him now.  "I like you, Mayson, but not in 
that way.  I am involved with Lois; I love Lois," he stated 
firmly.

"But she practically pushed you to go out with me.  I don't 
understand," Mayson pointed out.

Clark looked away, breaking contact with her, and brushed a 
hand through his hair in frustration.  "I know she did," he 
mumbled.  Looking back at Mayson, his features somewhat 
softened, he added, "But that's between Lois and I.  Trust 
me, I am not available."

Mayson looked away and stared at her hands sitting on her 
lap, any hopes of involvement with Clark ripped from her.  
"Why didn't you tell me before now, Clark?"

"I'm sorry, Mayson.  You're a beautiful woman, a nice 
person.  I never meant to hurt you," Clark offered, yet 
knowing he just had.  But he also knew he had to stop 
stringing her along like he had been by not saying 
anything.  His relationship with Lois may not have been as 
certain when he first met Mayson, but he was always certain 
of his feelings for Lois.

"I think I'll be going then," Mayson said as she stood, 
flustered.  The conversation with Clark wasn't bearable any 
longer.

Clark rose with her.  "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

Mayson nodded, as she strode off to the elevator and 
pressed the button.

Clark watched in helpless sympathy.  Another woman in his 
life was hurting because of him.  Then he glanced back 
towards the bullpen and saw Lois talking with Jimmy.  He 
started down the ramp towards them to see what plans they 
were making.

----------

Curious about the information Lois had extracted from her 
phone call, Jimmy asked, "What did the guy from D.C. have 
to say?"

Lois rose from Clark's chair, the notes from her call in 
hand.  Walking back towards her desk, she chanted with a 
smile, "Surprise, surprise.  Raul Borges used to be a drug 
smuggler, got caught and was given a choice--either go to 
jail or start work for the CIA."

Jimmy frowned with a gleam in his eyes.  "Ewww, I hate 
career decisions."

"He's an expert in the clandestine shipment of men and 
material.  He's been working for the CIA for over three 
years," Lois read from her notes as she sat back in her 
chair.

"Lucky Leon?" Jimmy asked, wondering about the colorful 
personality.

"Real name--Vasili Savchenko," Lois read from the paper in 
her hand.  "Former Chief of the Technical Department, 
Executive Action Section, First Chief Directorate, KGB."  
She looked up at Jimmy with a smile.

"Like 'Q' in the James Bond movies?" said Jimmy with a 
smirk.

"Exactly," Lois said, leaning forward on her desk, the 
investigative thrill evident in her eyes.  "Everything from 
toy planes that are really remote controlled bombs to 
poison tipped umbrellas.  Umbrellas, I might add, that are 
tipped in the same poison that killed Borges."

With the new information revealed about Leon, Jimmy 
remembered something.  He excitedly ran back to his desk.  
"Lois, this morning I was checking out my car, trying to 
see why it went crazy," he explained as he grabbed 
something.  "I found this attached to my carburetor," Jimmy 
said, returning with a small electromechanical gadget for 
her to see.  "It's some kind of remote control thing--which 
means my accident was no accident.  It must've been Lucky 
Leon."

Silently, the camera and microphone inside the Desk Friend 
monitored Jimmy and Lois as they made their plans.  Lucky 
Leon chuckled along with Gregor at his trickery as he 
watched the pair walk into his trap.

Lois looked at her watch.  "It's 12:30.  We have a date on 
Route 128.  If I'm right, we're going to get Lucky Leon."

"Want me to call Clark?" Jimmy asked.

"Did someone say my name?" Clark asked, surprising the two 
schemers as he walked up behind Lois.  He wore a guarded 
smile as he gazed at Lois when she spun in her chair to 
face him.

"I thought..." Lois started to question Clark, but saw a 
curious thing as she looked past him.  Mayson Drake stood 
at the elevator, furiously pressing the button as if doing 
so would bring the car to the floor faster.  Lois glanced 
back at Clark, noticing his guarded expression.  She heard 
the elevator doors ding open and she looked back to see 
Mayson rush into the car, averting her gaze and staring at 
the elevator panel until the doors closed.

"Why didn't you go?"  Lois asked coolly, disregarding what 
seemed apparent.  "Just because we had one date, doesn't 
mean..."

Clark met Lois' eyes, his face showing the hurt he felt at 
her implication.  "You are the only woman I want to date," 
Clark stated without hesitation.  "I thought that was 
obvious last night."  

The passion in his eyes seared through her soul, his words 
flustering her resolve.  She looked away unable to 
withstand his gaze, bashfully realizing that maybe Perry 
was right.  This was Clark Kent, the same man she had known 
for almost two years--her partner, best friend, and now 
maybe more. 

"C.K.," Jimmy interrupted.  "We have new information about 
Lucky Leon and we're going to catch him this time," Jimmy 
said excitedly as he placed his arm around Clark's 
shoulder.  "Come on, let's go.  We'll tell you what we've 
got on the way."

----------

Lois had the Jeep running by the time Clark and Jimmy 
reached for the doors.  As soon as they jumped into the 
Jeep, Lois pulled the vehicle from the curb and sped down 
the street and on their way through Metropolis.

Clark didn't doubt that she would have left them behind if 
it had taken them a moment longer to get into the Jeep.  He 
already knew they were after Lucky Leon.  Jimmy had babbled 
on their way down the elevator that thanks to some new 
tips, they knew Lucky Leon had an unscheduled shipment 
arriving.

"So, where exactly is this shipment supposed to be 
transferred?" Clark asked, trying to get the final details 
of this tip.  He glanced from Jimmy to Lois.

Jimmy fell against his door with a groan as Lois maneuvered 
a sudden left turn.  "Route 128.  North," he gasped, trying 
to regain his balance.  

"Where did you get the tip?" Clark asked.

"Well first Lois took a call..." Jimmy started to explain, 
but stopped abruptly as Lois swerved and turned to Jimmy, 
leveling a glare at him that would burn Antarctica to a 
puddle in seconds.

"Uh..." Jimmy stumbled.  "I got a call from my man, Gregor, 
at Lucky Leon's.  He overheard about a shipment coming 
today.  An unofficial one."

Clark noticed the exchange between Lois and Jimmy; it was 
hard not to.  It was just one more thing that had made him 
annoyed about the way she had been acting today.  She had 
been treating him like he meant nothing, pushing him into 
the arms of a woman he didn't want to be with, and now she 
was keeping things from him.  "What don't you want Jimmy to 
tell me, Lois?" he taunted her, knowing he would regret it.  
"Because you better tell me if it has to do with this 
story.  You are my partner."

Irritated, Lois careened through the streets of Metropolis 
towards the city limits.  Lois finally replied matter-of-
factly, "I just intercepted a call that came for Mayson, 
pretended to be her, and got some information about the 
case.  No big deal.  I'm sure Mayson will call for the 
information when she wonders why she didn't receive the 
call."

"No big deal?  Lois!  You shouldn't do stuff like that.  
She's the DA!"  Clark was furious now.  "You know, I didn't 
appreciate you throwing me at her when she asked me to 
lunch.  I can choose my own dates.  In fact, I told her 
that I was unavailable; she is just a friend."  Clark 
glanced briefly back at Jimmy listening to this all rather 
intently.  "Especially after our date last night," he said 
in a lowered voice.  "Didn't our date mean anything to 
you?" Clark asked, still upset at what she had done.

"Me?" she accused angrily, quickly glancing over at him.  
"And just how did you get that tip for the Superman story 
you turned in this morning?"  There she had said it.  "You 
stole my story, you... just like..."  She knew he had to 
have intercepted a tip that came to her home and then used 
it for himself, but she could only say so much in front of 
Jimmy.

"Lois!" Clark started.  She thought he stole a story from 
her.  He closed his eyes in frustration.  Of course she 
did!  How else did he get a tip for the story when he was 
in her bed?  He could be so dumb sometimes.  What could he 
say with Jimmy present without revealing they had slept 
together?  Turning to Lois on the seat, he insisted, "I did 
not steal the tip from you, I would *never* do that!"

Lois didn't dare respond to Clark for fear of crying.  She 
just couldn't carry on this argument now.  Could there 
really be a reasonable explanation?  Would Clark steal a 
story?  Thinking back over the past two years with Clark, 
the prospect seemed impossible.  There were times he had 
even added her name to a story when she didn't deserve it.  
When she had asked him later why he had done that, 
expecting some ulterior motive, he had simply replied that 
they were partners.  

Clark had asked if last night meant anything to her.  Of 
course, it did; she was in love with Clark Kent.  But she 
wasn't sure Clark was in love with her.  He did just admit 
having broken things off with Mayson, telling her he was 
not available any longer.  She was so frustrated; she 
didn't know whether to trust herself.  

Clark studied Lois as she battled with her emotions, trying 
to keep them buried for the time being.  He knew she was 
struggling because of her past experiences with men, but it 
was so maddening.  Sometimes she just acted like she 
couldn't care less about him and, no matter how hard he 
tried, it hurt him deeply.  

He closed his eyes, contemplating his situation as he 
leaned back on the headrest.  If he hadn't let his hormones 
dictate to him last night, she probably wouldn't be 
struggling with this so much.  Opening his eyes, he tilted 
his head and looked over at Lois as she concentrated on the 
road.  

God, how he loved her, how he wanted to assure her of his 
love.  He cautiously reached his hand out and lightly 
touched her thigh in an unspoken gesture.  He didn't know 
if she would jerk away, slap him or wreck the Jeep.  
Surprisingly, she did none of them.  The tenseness in her 
leg seemed to relax and she glanced over at Clark as he 
watched her with his soft brown eyes and a smile.  Her hand 
briefly covered his hand on her thigh before returning it 
to the wheel and her attention to the road again.

When Clark had first touched her leg, she felt the 
electricity and warmth.  How could his touch melt through 
her like it did, even as she fought to deny her feelings?  
As she glanced at him, her heart softened even more.  Was 
she a na‹ve fool?  Or was Clark Kent her knight in shining 
armor?  He warmed her heart and made her want to trust 
again, gave her reason to believe again.  Was he truly the 
gentleman Perry said he was?  But first things first; she 
had to concentrate on this story.  She could deal with 
Clark later.

Lois reached the turn onto Route 128 and, with renewed 
energy, sped down the road and pushed all other thoughts 
from her mind.  She rushed to find the secret shipment and 
their story.  The Jeep flew down the road, her two 
passengers not daring to question her about her driving 
skills or anything else at this moment. 

Jimmy groaned nervously from the backseat.  Clark just 
braced his hand on the dash board as they approached the 
turn up ahead.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Lois instructed, speeding around a 
curving section of road at the speed of 90 miles per hour.  
The Jeep not going fast enough, Lois coaxed the vehicle, 
"Come on, come on."

Clark might normally make a comment or urge caution at this 
point, but with the volatile nature of her changing moods 
today, he felt it better to bite down on his lip and deal 
with the remainder of the drive in silence.

"Hey, what's that up ahead, Lois?" Jimmy said upon seeing 
someone in the middle of the road, waving them down.

Suddenly Lois slammed on the brakes as they approached the 
man that was blocking the road.  Just beyond him there was 
a van wrecked in the ditch.  They came to a stop mere 
inches from the man, a soldier dressed in army fatigues and 
with one arm in a make-shift sling.  

Lois jumped out of the Jeep with Jimmy and Clark right 
behind her.  "What happened?" Lois asked, in full reporter-
mode.  

"I can't tell you, ma'am, but by any chance, would you have 
a phone?" he asked calmly.  

Peering beyond the soldier, Lois scrutinized the wreck more 
closely.  A van marked as 'Moby Rick's Fresh Seafood' was 
crashed into the ditch while several soldiers with varying 
injuries were sitting or lying beside it.  

"Sure.  It's in the car," Lois said.  

"I'll get it," Jimmy said, already on his way to retrieve 
it.

Gregor, disguised as a soldier with sunglasses and fake 
moustache, strode up to the reporters, pushing the younger 
soldier aside.  "Lois Lane?  Clark Kent?"

"Yes?"

"Yes?"

They both briefly glanced at each other as they realized 
they had spoken simultaneously, and then they turned their 
attention back on the soldier addressing them.

"I'm Colonel MacNeill.  Is there anyway you can get in 
touch with Superman?  We're in the middle of a national 
emergency.  Some terrorists have just hijacked a van load 
of nuclear warheads."

"Nuclear warheads!"  Lois questioned with concern.

"Lois, I'll be right back.  I forgot something in the 
Jeep," Clark said and disappeared before she could respond.

She looked to her side where Clark had been standing.  
"Clark, where are you..."

"Ms. Lane?  About Superman," the Colonel prompted.

Lois turned back to the Colonel.  "Right.  You mean, can I 
call him?  No," Lois answered.  "Sometimes I just scream 
and he comes."

Jimmy finally arrived back with the phone.  "Here you go."

Gregor took the phone and handed it to the soldier standing 
behind him.  "See if you can reach the base," he told the 
soldier.  Turning back to Lois, he strongly suggested, 
"Scream loud then, ma'am.  We need his help desperately."

Lois replied, "It may not work, Colonel. But..."  She 
shrugged and taking a deep breath, yelled, "Help, 
Superman!" at the loudest pitch she could manage.

"Superman!" Jimmy exclaimed as the blue-and-red-clad 
superhero landed beside Lois and Jimmy.

"Wow, it worked," Lois said excitedly.  "Superman," she 
said addressing the superhero, "we didn't know how else to 
reach you.  Thank God you're here."

"I'm always nearby, Lois."  Clark remarked with almost a 
flirty tone in his voice.  Clark smacked himself mentally 
for his comment.  She was going to find out who he was 
before he had a chance to tell her privately.  What a mess 
he would be in then!  

He shifted to his solemn Superman expression and faced the 
Colonel.  "What happened here, Colonel?"

"Terrorists have just hijacked a load of nuclear warheads, 
Superman," the Colonel explained.  "They weren't ours.  
They just arrived from one of the former Soviet Republics.  
They were brought here to be dismantled... and to keep them 
from being sold to terrorists."

Superman interrupted.  "Where are they now, Colonel?"

"The terrorists are headed north on Route 128," the Colonel 
said, looking northward down the road.  He turned back to 
Superman.  "And they're dressed like American soldiers and 
driving a van just like ours that says 'Moby Rick's Fresh 
Seafood'."

"Holy Mackerel," muttered Jimmy as Superman streaked 
through the air after the terrorists.  They watched in the 
direction where Superman had flown, continuing to stare 
long after he had disappeared.

----------

Anger radiated from Lois as she drove back to the city.  
"National Security," she repeated in disgust.  They had 
tracked down one of the best stories of the year and the 
Colonel had told them they couldn't print a word of the 
events that took place.  She sped through the sharp turn, 
throwing Clark and Jimmy against their doors.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive, Lois?" Clark 
offered sweetly as he strained against the door.

Lois shot Clark an evil glare.  "And with all this going 
on, where did you have to go so suddenly, uh Clark?"

Clark stared at her.  "I told you, I had to get something 
from..."

"From the Jeep.  I know," she finished sharply.  "But you 
weren't at the Jeep.  We found you around the bend in the 
road past the Jeep.  Where did you go?"

Clark opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out, 
blushing at his loss of words.  He didn't have an answer 
she would buy.  Return a video?  Cheese of the Month Club?  
Those wouldn't work this time.  He closed his eyes in 
defeat and sank back into his seat, relieved that Lois had 
at least slowed down a bit.

Jimmy leaned forward and whispered into Lois' ear and then 
sat back in his seat.

Lois looked over at Clark and grew beet red.  "Oh, I'm 
sorry, Clark.  I didn't even think..."

Clark opened his eyes at her apology and noticed her 
embarrassment.  He glanced back at Jimmy for some 
indication of what he had said to her.  

Jimmy mouthed the words 'take a leak' and shrugged with a 
smile.  

Clark turned back abruptly and stared straight ahead, 
realizing the reason Jimmy gave for his disappearance down 
the road.  At first, he felt slightly embarrassed, yet as 
he mulled it over, he realized it was a good excuse.  He 
found it hard to keep the smile off his face.

After a few moments, Lois added, "Well, you missed 
Superman.  He was able to go after the terrorists and 
return the warheads safely to the military.  But now they 
won't let us print a thing about it."

"What's important is that the warheads are out of the 
terrorists' hands," Clark said.  "We'll still get Lucky 
Leon, Lois."  He reached over and squeezed her arm, smiling 
at her.

"And Jimmy is as good as cleared," she added, glancing back 
at her friend, accused of murder.  She looked back at 
Clark, recognizing that he was right.  Even if they 
couldn't write about the hijacking attempt, there would be 
a story to tell.  More importantly, the terrorists had been 
stopped.  Clark had a way of calming her and helping her to 
see what was really important.

----------

Lois and Jimmy exited the elevator with Clark right behind 
them.  "All men do the same thing, Jimmy.  They play stupid 
games in relationships.  Men can't be direct about their 
feelings," Lois reasoned.

Jimmy shook his head excitedly.  "Not necessarily, Lois.  
Guys want to be happy just like anybody.  We don't want to 
be alone the rest of our lives.  The right woman--and 
direct is our middle name," Jimmy said as he walked up to 
the vending machine and got a soda.  

"Oh, come on, Jimmy.  I see you after a new intern every 
time I turn around," Lois accused, her hand on her hip.

"Hey, a guy has to meet lots of women to find the right 
one," Jimmy reasoned playfully as he rushed ahead of her 
towards the ramp.

Clark had listened to the two battling it out all the way 
up the elevator and so far, had remained quiet.  Clark had 
a feeling Lois intended all this for his benefit and he 
finally needed to speak up.  "Men can be direct with their 
feelings, but sometimes people mislead others and can't be 
open out of necessity.  Maybe they need to hide something 
important.  The question is--why are they hiding that 
something?  The reason can explain an awful lot, Lois."

Lois looked at Clark for a moment wondering what he was 
talking about, but as they walked into the bullpen, they 
noticed that everyone seemed to be congregated around the 
monitor.  They walked to the back of the gathering and 
stood by Perry to watch.

As Clark looked over the heads watching the newscast, he 
was startled to notice Mayson standing in the front, right 
under the monitor.  He briefly wondered what she was doing 
back here.  He was pretty sure she wouldn't have returned 
for any personal reason.  Maybe she was here regarding the 
murder charges against Jimmy.

Any further consideration of her presence was interrupted 
by the activity on the screen.  The monitor displayed the 
name 'General Jason Jackson' across the bottom of the 
screen as the General stepped up to the podium with the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff Seal on it.  The TV newscaster 
announced, "...and we now will be going live to the 
Pentagon."

The General looked solemnly at the cameras.  "I will read a 
brief statement."  Then looking down at the paper on the 
podium he read, "At one-seventeen this afternoon, a secret 
shipment of nuclear warheads destined for dismantling was 
hijacked by Superman and turned over to terrorists 
masquerading as U. S. soldiers."  The General looked up 
again at the cameras and paused before reading the next 
part of the statement.

Lois and Clark gasped in shock at the announcement, causing 
several reporters to turn around.  What those reporters 
didn't know was the fact that Lois, Clark and Jimmy had 
been the cause of the now grave situation.

"No!" Clark shouted as the pain was evident on his face.  
"It's not true."  How could this have happened?  He 
recalled the words of the Colonel on Route 128.  'Nuclear 
warheads scheduled for dismantling were hijacked by 
terrorists.'  They were using a van just like the van the 
military had used.

"By command of the President," the General continued, "and 
Executive Action Order number Thirty-Seven-Oh-Eight, the 
combined forces of the United States are ordered, and will 
be solely dedicated to, ending this threat and bringing 
Superman to justice."

Lois guiltily looked at Clark as the announcement ended and 
most people dispersed, returning to their desks.  Clark was 
stunned and in shock.  They had all been tricked, but she 
was the one who had screamed for Superman.  Superman had 
taken her presence at the scene as confirmation of the 
legitimacy of the situation and now nuclear weapons were in 
the hands of terrorists.

Perry was dazed and saddened as he turned away from the 
monitor, facing his two top reporters with his arms folded 
across his chest.  "I never thought I'd see the day that 
Superman turned to crime," he said, obviously disappointed 
with the superhero.

Mayson approached just in time to hear Perry's remark.  
"I've said all along he was a menace.  Now, he's proved 
it," she added uninvited with a smug I-told-you-so 
expression gracing her face.

Ignoring Mayson's callous remark, Clark faced his boss and 
insisted, "He's been tricked, I'm positive, Chief!"  

Lois crossed her arms as she eyed Mayson. "Superman would 
never help terrorists," said Lois sharply, the very idea 
disgusting that Superman would even consider such an act.  
How could anyone even think Superman capable of such a 
thing?

"Yeah, well, why isn't he out trying to make good?" Perry 
asked angrily.

"Because he's a criminal, that's why," Mayson said matter-
of-factly, "which brings me to the reason why I'm here."

They all finally looked at Mayson and replied together, 
"Why?"

"Can we talk somewhere more private?" she asked.

----------

Mayson crossed her arms and paced in front of them.  "I 
have been in contact with the Pentagon, or rather, they 
have been in contact with me.  They have requested my help 
in this case, since the offense occurred in my district."  
She stopped and faced Lois and Clark, resting her hands on 
her hips.  "It is not that difficult to figure out that you 
two have the ability to reach Superman at times, or at 
least have some sort of relationship with him," she 
accused.

Lois and Clark exchanged wary glances.

Determined that she was in for a fight, Mayson continued, 
"This isn't some stupid little thing about protecting 
sources.  There are terrorists out there with nuclear 
weapons.  Doesn't that mean anything to you?  Superman has 
turned against justice, or in my opinion, is showing his 
true colors at last."  She took a few steps pacing in front 
of Lois and Clark, keeping her eyes on both reporters.  

"He may not be the frontrunner of an alien race planning to 
conquer the earth as some extremists believe," she said 
sarcastically, "but no being with the capability of that 
much power is going to be the goody-two-shoes you two claim 
he is and merely 'help' people.  He is a vigilante, pure 
and simple, acting above the law."

Mayson stopped in front of them again, anger flaring in her 
eyes.  "I don't care what he has done for you in the past.  
I need to bring him in and you are going to help me."  
Mayson halted as she faced the reporters, pointing 
accusingly at them.

Lois was steamed and ready to explode as she took a step 
forward.  When Clark reached for her shoulder in silent 
communication to stay calm, she turned to him, her hands up 
and palms out.  "No, Clark, don't."

Clark bit his lip, almost pitying Mayson who was totally 
unaware of the coming eruption.  He could feel it emanating 
from his partner's pores.  Of all days for anyone to cross 
Lois!

"First of all, Mayson," she started as she turned back to 
the object of her disdain, saying her name as if it were 
poison.  "Protecting sources is not some stupid little 
thing!  We depend on being able to protect sources in the 
news business.  Our paper would be blank pages without it.  
We have a right and obligation to protect them.  I have sat 
in jail to protect sources--people who tell us their 
stories only because they trust us to keep their identity 
protected," Lois said expressively as she paced.  "Tell me, 
have you ever heard of people being protected for 
information before?  Let's see--ah, Witness Protection 
Services, maybe?" Lois asked mockingly.  "So don't tell me 
that protecting sources is silly," she spat at her.  Lois 
took a step closer, her fire just getting stoked.  "And I 
know exactly who is out there," she said, pointing briefly 
at the outside wall, "with nuclear weapons.  I watched the 
same broadcast that you did.  Don't you dare act like the 
situation means nothing to me... or Clark.  Or that we are 
being petty in our protection of sources.  The 
circumstances that exist mean we are *all* in a lot of 
trouble if something isn't done soon," Lois said, pressing 
forward angrily.  

Mayson realized she had never seen Lois this explosive 
before and cautiously retreated a step.  In the background, 
Clark and Perry watched with arms crossed, slightly amused.  

"Next," Lois continued.  "Superman did *not* do what that 
General said he did, I mean, he was tricked or something," 
she said with a wave of her hand.  "I can't prove it yet 
and I haven't figured out how, but Superman would never do 
anything like that," she spewed out venomously.  "Your 
opinion of Superman and what he stands for is duly noted.  
It's a shame you can't see the good in him without thinking 
there is some ulterior motive in what he does.  You have 
always hated him despite all that he has done for the city 
and the entire world," she said with a wave of her hands.  
"What would have happened with the Nightfall asteroid if it 
hadn't been for Superman?  You would be dead, that's what--
along with the rest of the world.  I would have died a long 
time ago if he hadn't been around to rescue me countless 
times.  I know how to appreciate someone who is there for 
me.  And he *always* follows and respects the law.  He 
could stand in judgment of all the criminals he stops and 
summarily destroy them if he wanted to.  But he doesn't.  
He turns them over to the authorities to deal with.  Just 
the other day he..." she said, but realizing she was 
getting too far off the subject, she added harshly, 
"Anyway, he has never asked for anything in return, but we 
owe him our lives.  I pity you for your mistrust."

"And most importantly, talking to us in here," she said as 
she pointed towards the floor, "is keeping us from tracking 
down the real criminals and bringing *them* to justice!"  
Placing her hands on her hips, Lois faced down Mayson.  "I, 
for one, have had enough of your accusations about Superman 
and about how we do our job here at the Planet.  I intend 
to track down the real culprits and make sure they are 
brought to justice."  Lois turned and strode to the door to 
exit Perry's office, her rant now complete.

Mayson was shaken, but not incapacitated.  She grabbed Lois 
by the shoulder before she was out of reach.  "Don't get 
too comfortable with your high and mighty opinions, Lois.  
I may not be able to make you talk right now, but I can get 
that court order before you can shout 'SUPERMAN!'"  With 
her threat issued, Mayson pushed Lois aside and exited the 
office.

Clark was so proud of his Lois, standing up for what she 
believed, standing up for Superman, for him.  On the other 
hand, she had every reason to do so since she was present 
when the superhero was duped.  He was starting to wonder 
what was so wrong about Lois' affections for Superman.  It 
was certainly better than hatred and suspicion.

"Clark!" Lois said again, finally getting his attention.  
"We need to get on this, figure out how this happened."

Clark knew what he needed to do was get away as Superman.  
Perry had said it himself.  'Why isn't he out trying to 
make good?'  Clark rushed for the door and muttered in 
excuse, "You know, I just remembered that I have something 
really important I have to do." 

Perry bellowed, "More important than a bunch of terrorists 
trying to blow us all from here to Elvis and back?!  Get 
your butt in your chair and start typing."  

Clark stopped in place, crestfallen at how his behavior 
must appear.  He would have to stop the terrorists and 
vindicate Superman without the superhero for now.

Perry turned to Lois and pointed out his door.  "You, too, 
Lois.  I want everything you've got on this mess and I want 
it in half an hour!" he commanded and he turned back to his 
desk.

Lois replied in agreement, "Right, Chief!" and followed 
Clark back to their desks where Jimmy waited.

Clark was extremely humiliated over being fooled by the 
fake military setup.  How could he have been so stupid?  
Superman was now being hunted as a criminal because of 
Leon's deception and he wanted to know how it had happened.  
Clark looked at Jimmy and asked, "Your source at Lucky 
Leon's was the one who tipped you off about the shipment, 
wasn't he?"  

Jimmy admitted in a cracked voice, "Yeah, C.K.  I thought 
he was a friend...and all his other information seemed to 
pan out.  He must've been in on it all along, just 
pretending to be my friend.  He tricked me."  

Clark sympathized with his young friend, patting him on his 
shoulder.  "It's okay Jimmy; we were all tricked.  Now what 
are we going to do to stop them?"  

Lois added, "If I hadn't been so gullible and believed 
them, I wouldn't have called for Superman and we wouldn't 
be in this mess."  She, too, was feeling responsible for 
the dire situation.

Clark knew they needed to snap out of this mood.  It wasn't 
going to solve anything.  He stepped closer to Lois and 
rested a hand on her shoulder in reassurance.  "Why 
wouldn't you believe them, Lois?  You thought Jimmy's 
source was legit.  It's not anyone's fault."  

Lois scrutinized Clark as he attempted to console them both 
about how they had been conned.  Was this the caring man 
she thought stole a story from her?  And did she actually 
think that he would tell scandalous bedroom stories behind 
her back at her expense?  A man who also knew other 
personal things about her, including her history with 
Claude, and had kept her secrets to himself, not telling 
anyone?

Lois smiled at Clark, seeing the man in front of her 
without all her fears clouding her vision.  Lois suggested, 
"The really big story is going to be who's going to find 
those warheads. It's a shame we don't have Lucky Leon's 
forwarding address."

Jimmy snapped his head up with a thought.  "What about the 
reverse?"

Lois and Clark stared at him, puzzled.

"I mean, what if he went to an old address?  One you'd 
never think he'd go to, like the old factory where he first 
started?"  Jimmy paused, uncertain.  "It's stupid, right?" 
he mumbled.

Lois and Clark glanced at each other as they realized the 
idea wasn't so bad after all.

----------

"...You have the 900 million?"  Lucky Leon asked as he 
munched on a bunch of grapes.

"Certainly, but first I'd like to inspect the merchandise."

"Absolutely!" Lucky Leon said as he escorted his buyer 
inside the warehouse.

Watching from behind a mass of old machine parts in a dark 
corner of the warehouse, Clark, Lois, and Jimmy watched 
Lucky Leon show one of the warheads to Mr. Darryl from 
Intergang.  Leon carefully lifted the panel cover off, 
exposing the arming mechanism.

"Okay, we've seen enough," Clark whispered.

"We can't leave now.  It's just getting good," Lois 
complained softly.

"Famous last words," Clark warned.

"When people say that..." a strange voice said from behind, 
prompting the three to turn around abruptly.  The voice 
belonged to Gregor, no longer disguising his Russian 
accent. He stood there with several other men with guns, an 
evil smile spreading across his face.  "...it usually never 
comes true.  But today's your lucky day."

----------

"What about them?" Mr. Darryl inquired, indicating Lois, 
Clark and Jimmy.  

The three were chained around a large piece of machinery in 
the warehouse, each facing out in different directions.  
Lucky Leon and his guests made plans as the warhead sat 
ominously between the criminals and three unlucky snoops. 

They could hear the criminals map out their fate in the 
distance.  "Either we leave them to starve, or we shoot 
them," Lucky Leon suggested with a sneer.

"Lois?"

"Clark?"

They both called out to each other almost simultaneously.  
Clark spoke first.  "Lois, there's something I have wanted 
to tell you for a long time, that I need to tell you.  I 
certainly wanted to tell you before..."  He hesitated, 
realizing Jimmy could hear.  "You know, with what happened 
on our date last night."

"What happened on your date, C.K.?"  Jimmy wondered what 
could have happened on their date to prompt a need for C.K. 
to reveal something at this moment.

Clark directed his slightly irritated response to Jimmy, 
"Later, Jimmy."  He wished he could speak to Lois 
privately, that he could tell her everything right now with 
no reservations.

Lois jumped in, anxious to say something to Clark too.  
"Clark, I know.  I'm sorry I've been so crazy over things 
today.  I've been so afraid of another Claude incident, 
afraid of trusting my own judgment.  But I kept forgetting 
you're Clark--not Claude.  I kept imagining things, I..." 
she choked out.

Jimmy's eyes widened with understanding as Lois spoke.  She 
talked of comparing Clark with Claude, and according to 
rumors, Claude had slept with Lois and turned around to 
betray her.  Jimmy swung his head around to look at Clark.  
That meant Lois and Clark... had really hit it off last 
night.  

Clark's focus was on Lois as he confessed further, "Lois, I 
want to tell you so much... I promise I will when we... and 
we will get out of this, Lois, but I want you to know how 
much I love you.  Please believe me, I love you."  His 
voice was filled with emotion.

"Oh, Clark, I believe you.  I love you, too," she cried.

In the distance, Clark saw the men start to lift the 
warhead off the stand.  He had to do something fast, but 
what could he do without revealing himself.  Maybe it 
didn't even matter anymore.  If the three of them died, 
none of it would matter.  Then he had an idea.  He zoomed 
in on the warhead itself as the men were lifting it to pack 
up in the van.  He x-rayed the panel covering the arming 
mechanism and focused a beam of his heat vision, burning 
through a micro-circuit.  The timer beeped and the clock 
started counting down, just as he expected.  

The men with the warhead set it back down in alarm.  "Come 
on, let's get out of here," they shouted in panic as they 
ran out of the warehouse.

"Get the truck!" Lucky Leon yelled after them, running with 
Mr. Darryl in their escape.  The truck pulled away before 
Lucky Leon and Mr. Darryl could get on, so they continued 
to run after it.  "Wait!  Wait!"
 
In all the commotion, Clark quickly snapped the padlock, 
freeing the chains around them, acting like it was actually 
the cutting disks on the machinery that had severed the 
lock.  "Run to the Jeep.  Run."

Jimmy and Lois ran towards the Jeep, with Clark right 
behind them.  After a few steps though, Clark double backed 
from their retreat and ran back into the factory in a red 
and blue blur.  

As Lois and Jimmy approached the Jeep, Lois finally noticed 
Clark wasn't with them.  In a panic, she shouted to Jimmy, 
"Get it running.  I have to find Clark."  She tossed him 
the keys as she ran back towards the warehouse, not waiting 
for a response from her younger companion.  She called 
frantically, "Clark!"  

----------

Superman quickly, but confidently, stepped up to the bomb 
to disable it.  "Piece of cake."  With his heat vision he 
quickly zapped the timer, but the mechanism continued 
counting down.  He x-rayed the interior and saw a second 
clock beneath the top one, but with a lead casing he 
couldn't see through.  "Uh oh" he said.

Lois stopped running as she found Superman examining the 
bomb.  "Uh oh?!" Lois repeated.

Looking up from the bomb, Superman asked, "Lois, what are 
you doing here?"

"I couldn't find Clark," Lois said anxiously.

"You have to get out of here now," Superman insisted.

Lois took a cautious step forward.  "Can't you stop it?"

"I tried, but there is a lead shield on the backup timer.  
I can't read it, so I can't stop it," he explained.  

"Twelve seconds," Lois read the timer worriedly.

"Looks like it's time for a field goal," he said, with a 
smile.

He carefully set the bomb on the floor of the warehouse 
near the wide open door, took two steps, and kicked the 
ticking bomb high and out.  It exploded safely in the sky 
as they watched its trajectory.

Lois excitedly cheered, filled with relief they had averted 
disaster.  And she knew Clark was safe, too--wherever he 
was.

----------

Clark, Jimmy and Perry laughed as Lois finished telling how 
Superman had caught the real culprits, Lucky Leon and Mr. 
Darryl.  She always loved to bask in the thrill of a 
completed investigation that put the bad guys out of 
commission and righted all the wrongs.

"...then Jimmy came back," Lois continued as she leaned 
against her desk.

"And we loaded them into the Jeep and drove them to the 
police.  We found C.K. about a half mile down the road," 
Jimmy added with a chuckle.

"I guess I got a little lost in the dark," Clark offered.

"Everyone else has been rounded up," Lois added.

"Plus, the Pentagon has cleared Superman of any wrong 
doing," Jimmy said.

Clark sighed with relief.

"I'd give my eye teeth to know how he got duped," Perry 
said with a chuckle.

Lois bit on her lower lip, feeling guilty.  "Wouldn't we 
all," she said, Clark smiling at her.  "But we wouldn't 
have thought of that old factory if it hadn't been for 
Jimmy," Lois said.

Perry beamed and slapped Jimmy on the back.  "That was 
inspired, Jimmy.  I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Chief."  Looking over at Lois and Clark, he added, 
"And thanks, you guys, for clearing my name."

They nodded.

"Now, Jimmy," Perry said as he put his arm around the young 
man and guided him across the floor towards his office.  
"Let me tell you about something I noticed the other day.  
Remember when I was talking about Elvis' cape?  Well I 
forgot to mention that a lot of people think that Superman 
got his idea for his cape from Elvis..."

"See?" Clark said, turning back to Lois.  "Sometimes men 
can be direct."

"And sometimes men say what they mean," Lois added as she 
smiled.

Slightly confused at her words, Clark asked, "I thought you 
didn't trust what men said?"

"Some men I trust," replied as she gazed into Clark's eyes. 

Clark gently reached for her hand while holding her look, 
aware of the bond again opening between them, the heat 
between them palpable.

Perry stuck his head out of his office door as he appraised 
the situation.  "Hey, you two, why don't you get out of 
here!  Jimmy and I'll put the paper to bed."

Clark looked at Perry, calling out, "Thanks, Chief.  We 
promised Mayson Drake we'd stop by her office as soon as we 
could and give her our statements.  We're already late."

"All right, beat it then," Perry said, closing his door and 
disappearing back in his office.

Lois lifted her briefcase onto her shoulder.  "The one 
thing I can't understand is how Lucky Leon killed Borges.  
Or even knew that the clues he was feeding us were 
working?"  She said, thinking aloud.

She picked up the Desk Friend and handed it to Clark.  
"Here, I want you to have this back."

"No, we made a fair trade," Clark said, pushing it back 
into her arms.

"No, really, Clark," she insisted as she placed the Desk 
Friend back in his hands.

"No, Lois, please," Clark repeated, but losing his hold on 
it, the Desk Friend fell to the floor and cracked open.  He 
picked the wreckage off the floor, examining the broken 
pieces.  "Uh-huh, digital satellite uplink and remote 
control camera," he said, turning the small parts over with 
his fingers.

He peeked up at Lois as she watched him.  "Let's just say 
it's a good thing you didn't keep the Bath Friend," he 
teased with a waggle of his brow.

Lois blushed before finally laughing.

----------

As they left the Planet, Clark paused at the door.  "Lois, 
let's walk from here.  It's a nice evening and it'll give 
us a little time to talk."

Lois looked at Clark and realized that it was long past 
time for talking.  After their confessions at the 
warehouse, they needed to talk this out; *she* needed to 
talk this out.  At least they could start their 
conversation on their way over to Mayson's office.  She 
smiled at Clark and held out her hand in reply to his 
invitation.

Clark took her hand and stepped close as they made their 
way down the sidewalk.  After a few moments of quiet, Clark 
asked, "Jimmy said you ran back into the warehouse looking 
for me.  Why did you do that?  I mean, you were running 
back into an atomic explosion."

"I know.  It doesn't make too much sense, does it?"  Lois 
looked over at Clark, noting his confusion.  "I just 
couldn't leave you there.  I couldn't bear to lose you."

"All day you have been treating me like I abandoned you 
this morning on purpose, that I wanted to leave without a 
word, hurt you..."  Clark tried to hide his own wounded 
feelings.  "Even steal a story from you."

Lois listened to the turmoil in his voice and thought 
carefully.  "That was a mistake, Clark.  I know you didn't 
steal from me.  I don't know where you got the tip from.  
Yet.  But I know you wouldn't do that," she said with a 
smile.  After a few quiet moments, Lois continued, "Last 
night you awakened emotions in me, feelings I've had for 
you a long time.  And I felt out of control, scared."  Lois 
suddenly felt vulnerable with her admission.

"I know last night you said something about thinking you 
had been falling in love with me for awhile.  Exactly how 
long is awhile?"

Lois smiled.  "I think I've had feelings for you way before 
I was willing to admit them.  But I think I was first aware 
of it during my wedding to Lex," she revealed.

Clark was now totally baffled.  Before her wedding to Lex, 
he had opened his heart to her, told her that he loved her 
and asked her not to marry Lex.  Then it felt as if she had 
slapped him in the face when she told him she didn't feel 
that way for him, that she only loved him as a brother.  

Lois saw the uncertainty playing across his features.  "Did 
you know that I said 'no' to Lex before Perry arrived with 
the police?  *I* stopped the wedding, not the police."

Clark was surprised.  No one had ever told him that.  He 
had assumed that the police had interrupted the wedding.  
"You did?  Why?"

Lois threaded her fingers through Clark's and tightened her 
grip.  She gazed into his eyes before she began to speak.  
"Because all the while I was getting ready for the wedding 
and while I walked down the aisle in the church, I never 
once thought of Lex, the man I was supposed to be marrying.  
I could only think of one man--you."

Clark stopped in place.  "Me?"

"I couldn't marry Lex.  Not after realizing how important 
you were to me," Lois explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Lois took a step and, prompting Clark to walk close along 
side her, continued on their way to the DA's office.  "I 
almost did," Lois admitted, looking ahead.  "That day 
outside the Planet when you took back that you loved me."

Clark frowned.  He should have let her speak first that 
day.  It could have saved them months.  "I always did love 
you, you know," he finally said.

"I sort of figured that," Lois mumbled, looking up at 
Clark.  "Later."

Clark started to understand a bit more of why last night 
happened.  They both had been holding back their feelings, 
not revealing to each other the extent of their growing 
love.  Their love had been developing for a long time, 
hidden from each other.  They had been afraid to 
acknowledge their love, either to each other or themselves, 
and when their feelings for each other had been revealed 
last night...  Still, he felt bad that he had let intimacy 
develop so fast between them.  "I'm sorry, Lois, for 
rushing things between us last night."

"I wanted last night, Clark, as much as you did," Lois 
said.  She couldn't let Clark take the blame for how fast 
things happened between them.

"But I should have realized how your past relationships 
would affect you, that you might have needed more time to 
trust me."  Clark knew he should have restrained himself.  
After all, it had been their first official date.  He 
should have given her the time, instead of listening to 
what his hormones were telling him.

Lois stopped, turning to face Clark.  She had to make him 
understand.  "Clark, I do trust you.  I just needed to 
realize you were the same man I had grown to trust as my 
best friend.  My fears took over this morning, and my mind 
and heart have been at war all day.  Now I really do 
recognize that you are the same Clark Kent I've known for 
nearly two years--my best friend and partner, and now..."  
Lois looked at him shyly as she continued, "The man I love.  
Not Claude.  I know Clark Kent."

Clark glanced down as he felt a sudden stab of guilt at 
what she didn't know.  Looking back up into her eyes, he 
said, "I still have something to tell you, you know."

"The thing you mentioned back at the factory?"

Clark nodded.  "Yeah."

Lois bit her lower lip as she thought a moment.  "Clark, 
how about telling me later?  If you couldn't tell me around 
Jimmy, let's wait until we're somewhere more private... 
with no interruptions this time."

Clark closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't want to put it 
off too long, Lois."

"Maybe after giving our statements, we could go back to my 
place and talk," she suggested.

Clark opened his eyes, smiled and replied, "That would be 
perfect."  Almost imperceptibly, Clark inched forward and 
gently captured her lips.  Then he pulled her close in a 
passionate kiss, pouring all the love he felt into the 
embrace.  He hoped and prayed that telling her this secret 
would not cause him to lose her. 

Lois' arms slipped around Clark's neck, her heart pounding 
as their kiss deepened.  The last word Clark had spoken, 
'perfect', echoed in her mind.  It described exactly how 
she felt in his arms.

The sound of a ticking echoed in the back of Clark's mind, 
reminding him of how short his remaining time with Lois 
would be before she knew the truth--before she would hate 
him and never want to see him again... or maybe not.  Yet, 
he had to tell her.  He should have told her everything 
before now.  Clark again noticed the ticking sound and this 
time realized it was real.

Clark broke the kiss in a daze and, turning his head 
towards the sound, realized he was hearing a bomb ticking 
down.  He broke away from Lois and ran towards the sound 
around the corner.

As he turned the corner, he saw Mayson in her car and made 
the connection in an instant.  In a panic, he called out, 
"Mayson!  Noooooo!" as he ran across the street towards 
her.

Halfway across the street, the explosion shook and Clark 
fell backwards with the force of it.  "Mayson!" he shouted 
as he rose from the pavement and ran around to the driver 
side of the burning car.  Yanking on the car door, it 
pulled off in his hands and he tossed it aside.  He turned 
back to Mayson and tenderly lifted her from the wreckage.

"Mayson?" Clark urged.

Mayson stirred in Clark's arms and she opened her eyes, 
looking up at his soot-covered face.  She reached a hand up 
to his cheek.  "Clark," she moaned as her hand slid down 
over the front of his suit and stopped at his chest.

Clark looked down at where her hand lay.  Somehow, in the 
explosion and his attempt to remove Mayson from the burning 
car, his shirt had been ripped, exposing the suit 
underneath.  His eyes followed along her arm back to her 
eyes that were looking directly at the red and blue 
material.

Mayson gazed back up into his eyes.  "Clark, so that's what 
you've been hiding," she mumbled as she almost lost 
consciousness.  

"Mayson!" Clark called out again, trying to keep her awake.

She concentrated and looked up at Clark once more, 
caressing his hidden suit with her fingers.  
"Resurrection," she whispered as she looked up into his 
eyes with a warm, weak smile.  Cradled in Clark's arms, she 
died.  

He should have been able to save her.  He was Superman.  
She shouldn't have died.  He brushed aside the hair 
tenderly from her face.  She died knowing his secret, but 
never understanding what Superman stood for.  She died on 
the very day that he had finally told her she could never 
be anything but a friend, that he loved Lois.  How could he 
ever live with what happened?

Clark laid her gently on the pavement just as Lois ran up 
from behind the car to witness the horrible scene.  "Oh my 
God!"

Clark pulled his coat closely around him to hide his torn 
shirt and the exposed suit underneath, numb from the pain 
of her loss of life and his failure to save her.

----------

Lois rode the elevator up in the Daily Planet building, 
still feeling empty and cold from the night before.  Being 
witness to such a thing, especially the death of someone 
you knew, was devastating, no matter how you felt about 
them.  Clark had taken it very hard, having arrived at the 
car just moments after the explosion.  They hadn't been 
able to leave the scene until much later when they had 
given their statements.  By that time Clark had effectively 
withdrawn from her, not even able to look at her much less 
say anything.  

When the elevator doors dinged open, she stepped out and 
made her way down the ramp.  Automatically, she glanced 
towards Clark's desk, but she noticed he wasn't there yet.  
The computer was off and his desk was just as he had left 
it the night before.  She set her briefcase down at her 
desk and slipped the jacket off her arms to drape over her 
chair.

She looked over again at his desk and felt herself drawn 
there, as if touching it and the things on it would help 
her to deal with this tragedy better.  She stepped over to 
the desk, looking for clues that he had been there while 
softly running her fingers over its edge as if somehow that 
would provide Clark with the support he needed to get 
through this tragedy.

Perry stuck his head out of his office and yelled, "Lois.  
My office.  Now."

His booming voice shook Lois from her thoughts as she 
raised her head.  "Right away, Chief," she replied half-
heartedly.

When she had closed the door behind her and faced Perry as 
he sat at his desk, she saw the softened look on his face.  
"Lois, you didn't have to come in so early.  I know you and 
Clark were up late at the police scene last night."

Lois looked away and fiddled with her fingers in front of 
her as she started pacing.  "I'd rather be here, Perry, 
working on this thing.  Besides, Clark needs my support.  
He was a real wreck last night," she started.

"That's another thing I wanted to tell you, hon."

When Lois looked up in anticipation, Perry continued, 
"Clark called early and asked for a few days off.  He said 
he wanted to get away to sort things out.  Anyway, I gave 
him the time.  If you need any help on your stories, I've 
already talked to Steve about being available to you.  And 
of course, there's Jimmy, too."

Lois stared at her boss, her mouth slightly gaping open as 
she took in what he was telling her.  Moisture gathered in 
her eyes, blurring her vision as she tried to hold back her 
tears.

Noticing that Lois was upset, Perry rose from his chair and 
walked over to her, putting his arm around her.  "Hon, it 
won't be that bad.  It's only for a few days," Perry said, 
trying to convince her to put up with the temporary 
circumstances.  He knew she didn't care for Steve that 
much.

What Perry didn't realize, Lois mused, was that she wasn't 
upset about Steve.  She was upset about Clark leaving like 
that without even telling her.  Maybe he sent her an email.  
That was it.  She hadn't checked her email yet.  He surely 
wouldn't take off without saying anything.  She wasn't 
thinking straight.

Lois, anxious to