Strangers V: Kissing Friends By Missy Gallant < zoomer71@hotmail.com > Rated: PG-13 Submitted: January 2004 There are so many things I need to say now that we've come to the last story in the Strangers series. This whole series has come about because I needed to rewrite the very first story I'd ever written - 'When Two Hearts Collide'. I was new to L&C fanfic in January 2000, and like a lot of newcomers, decided to write my first story. I had never written a word of fiction since college, and it was my first attempt at writing *anything* in twenty years. After writing several sections over a period of a couple months, through the comments and tutelage of the readers and my new beta- readers, I decided I needed to rewrite the story. A simple two-page introduction, turned into the first story, "Strangers", and rewriting the original story had become a challenge to me. I wanted to include as much of the original story as I could. Throughout the whole series, there are bit and pieces of the original story. I saved what I could, and scraped the rest. But the reason this story, Kissing Friends, is so special to me is that it contains the scene I had written - in frustration from writing too much A-plot - which prompted me to start over. This scene has been through many edits and changes, but the premise remains the same - Kal and Lois' first kiss. It had been almost four years since beginning this series and I'm so satisfied to have finally completed it after all this time. I'd like to thank my beta readers and sometimes co-conspirators, Carol Moncado, Meredith Knight, Marnie Rowe, and Avia Titkosky for their support, ideas, and friendship. Most of all, I want to thank the readers for sticking with me for four years as I played around with this universe - THANK YOU!!!! ***** Lois Lane slammed the receiver down on its cradle and grumbled to herself - another dead-end lead. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a couple of new interns speeding up as they passed by her desk. Yes! Her reputation of Mad Dog Lane was still preceding her. After he had talked to her old editor in California, Perry had proudly let it slip a few days after Lois had started that she had been dubbed 'Mad Dog Lane' at her previous newspaper, and it had made the circuit around the newsroom like wildfire. She suspected that the gruff old editor had done it to help her cause after the fiasco of her first morning at the Planet. Now months later, she secretly enjoyed living up to that notoriety. She could avoid Clark like the plague and have a good excuse to be grumpy, not only to him, but everyone else she came into contact with. A good offense was far better than having to come up with a weak, on-the-spot defense. Yet, it was rather lonely, she admitted to herself, even if she was climbing her way up to the top of the food chain at the Daily Planet. The idealistic dreams she'd had the first day she'd started, both personal and professional, had been dashed when Cat Grant had dredged up the past and assumed that she was sleeping with another top reporter. If the unknown truth had been revealed instead of being covered up - that she *had* almost slept with Clark the night of their rescue - then she would have probably moved on again to another newspaper, another town. She didn't think her reputation could take another hard hit. But as it stood, it was only an allegation, one in which the fires had been doused in the days following the fiasco. The strain between her and Clark had been practically tangible, but it had taken care of the gossipmongers. A lot of hidden sexual tension thrown in with a good dose of manufactured hostility had everyone giving them both wide berths when they were seen in the same room. Credit to Kent, she grimaced inwardly, that he'd completely accepted all the responsibility for the risque position under the table that was captured on film the night of the White Orchid ball. He had used some silly excuse, like she had been helping him find his glasses under the table and had rebuffed his advances. The staff didn't believe a word of it, she was sure; she was the newcomer at the time, and Clark was the conquering hero. Still, it was a nice gesture on his part to try to protect her, not that she'd ever let him know that. The worse of it all was that she was still completely and hopelessly in love with Clark, and seeing him everyday was bittersweet. It was too late to turn back the hands of time. Clark had not wanted anything to do with her since their breakup. They had agreed to keep their distance, and he had done just that. Aloofness had turned to almost hostility, and whether that stemmed from being bitter after all this time, she didn't know. In the beginning, all she had to do was give him the word, and he would be there for her. But now, so much time had passed by that she wasn't sure he even *liked* her anymore much less the unfinished 'I love you's' that he tried to tell her a couple of times. Now, it was only wishful thinking to want more. She'd lain awake many nights dreaming of being in his arms again, of tasting his lips and feeling his hard male body as it lowered down onto hers, but she didn't even have the satisfaction of having completed the act of love. She had been a tease and a disappointment to Clark by throwing herself at him that night. She had fallen asleep on his chest as he was trying to tell her something, probably an attempt to let her down gently. She did recall that he mentioned that things had been happening too fast between them and that they needed to slow down and talk. If she closed her eyes and allowed herself to remember, she could feel his warm skin next to hers and the soft vibrations coming deep from his body as she drifted off to sleep. No, she shook herself mentally; permitting herself to think about what could have been between them was too hard. The first month after they'd parted, she'd picked up the phone to call him several times but couldn't go through with it. She didn't think she could bear to hear him turn her away. It was all her fault anyway. If she hadn't tucked her tail between her legs and run away from her problems, then maybe she would have had the courage to fight for what they had. But then again, she'd still be working for that rag. When she'd worked at the Metropolis Star well over a year ago, she'd been on the verge of breaking the biggest story of her young career. But a handsome French star reporter named Claude had caught her attention, and she had fallen in love with him right away. The night she'd asked his advice on her story, they had ended up in bed together. The next morning, Claude and her prize-winning story had been gone. A confrontation in the newsroom added insult to injury when Cat Grant was found hanging smugly on the arm of Claude the next day. In front of the whole newsroom of dirt diggers and half-honest journalists, Claude accused her of trying to steal *her* story by luring him into bed. No one believed her, so she had left town only to return a few months later to try her luck in Metropolis again. This time she needed to prove to herself and the world that she could make it on her own, that she didn't need to be associated with anyone in order to make it at the Daily Planet. Associating herself with the paper's top journalist wasn't going to do either of them any favors. After all, *she* knew that she was going to be the better reporter out of the two of them. The rest of the world just needed to catch up to the obvious truth. In addition to starting her dream job at the Daily Planet, the thought of trying to handle a romance was enough to send her running to the hills. It simply terrified her. So she had made the only decision she could at the time. In spite of their blossoming relationship *and* falling in love with Clark, she'd broken up with him. Thank God that Kal's friendship had been there to help keep her grounded through all this turmoil and trying times. They had established a routine over the past few months - videos and pizza at least three times a week. She'd order the pizza, he would pick up the videos, and they would settle in for an evening of easy companionship. They both drew from each other to help them cope with their real lives. Kal often came to her after a particularly difficult rescue. She would listen and help bear the load of his not being able to be everywhere all the time for everyone. His heart was so big, she mused with a tiny smile. He wanted so badly to help everyone that he failed to look past the ones he couldn't rescue to see all the good and lives that he'd saved since becoming Superman. But, she admitted, he was getting better about not taking things so hard. She just needed to continue to work on him in that area. The elevator doors opened behind her, and Lois sucked in her breath in anticipation. Clark had arrived. Out of self-defense, she had strategically placed a mirrored picture frame on her desk in order to see who was arriving in the newsroom without having to turn around. Clark had crept up on her unexpectedly in the past, and she'd been caught off guard too many times for her own good. Her composure had almost been shattered by suddenly seeing those broad shoulders and handsome face unexpectedly, and she needed to be prepared in the future. So she used the picture frame as a rearview mirror, and the problem was solved. There he was, walking towards his desk and *her*. Even in the distorted picture that the mirrored frame offered her, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. Must his every movement remind her of his sexual attractiveness? Whimpering almost inaudibly, she bit her knuckle until he moved out of view. There was just enough time to steady herself, then he should appear in her peripheral vision. By that time, her composure should be intact, and she'd be prepared for the full impact of his presence. You would think that seeing him practically everyday for months would lessen the effect he had on her, but it was getting worse. She loved the big lunkhead and didn't know what to do about the huge emptiness left inside since their heart-breaking parting of ways. A shadow fell across her desk, following by a slight coughing sound, and Lois looked to see Clark shifting uneasily in front of her. Her only acknowledgement of his presence was a cold stare. "I ran into Perry in the lobby. He's on his way up, and he wants us both in his office when he gets here," Clark said, squirming. "What does he want? Can't he see us separately?" She ripped the words out impatiently, trying to cover up the flurry of conflicting emotions racing through her. "Lo-is..." "I mean, why? Are you his messenger boy? Not getting your job done, Kent?" He rolled his eyes in frustration. "Fine! I gave you the message. Now deal with it!" Clark grumbled as he turned away. "Fine!" Papers suddenly appeared to be out of order as she shuffled them in desperation. , she sighed to herself. Clark moved out of her immediate sight but then she secretly watched as he headed for Perry's office. She knew that she needed to go wait with him - sometime. It must be something big if Perry was risking a volcano erupting in his office, but she wasn't going to give Clark the satisfaction of having ordered her around. A few minutes delay wasn't going to hurt anything. Finally, she couldn't wait any longer, checked her appearance in the picture frame then pulled her chair away from her desk with determination. Being in the same room as Clark wasn't going to be easy, but she'd better get it over with. ***** Clark fidgeted as he tried to keep from watching the door to Perry's office. Lois was taking her sweet time in arriving, her stubbornness unrivaled at the Daily Planet. Or for that matter, unrivaled from anyone he'd ever known before. It wasn't so much that he was upset with her as he was with himself. Things had gone so wrong; the spiral out of control had happened too quickly. Before he knew it, the situation was beyond repair, and Lois was telling him that she didn't want anything to do with him except what was necessary here at the office. They'd managed to keep a wide berth around each other. Even though their desks were only ten feet apart, Clark had been careful to do his work elsewhere when she was working at hers. It was easier on both of them that way. This was slowly killing him though. Day after day of seeing Lois, wanting so badly to hold her in his arms, to just touch her, and not being able to was nearly impossible. The only thing keeping him sane was his friendship with her as Kal. He'd like to believe that it had come to mean as much to her as it did to him. She was a totally different person when he was with her as Kal, relaxed and completely at ease in his company. They teased and joked with each other on a regular basis - he completely enjoyed being with her in that capacity. But, as Kal, he had withdrawn from her physically, no longer initiated simple contact. In the first few days of their friendship, there had been more casual touching between them. Now he was afraid that it would become too hard for him to keep up the pretense, or that Lois would recognize his touch as being Clark's. It killed him to have to do that, but he knew in his heart that if he didn't control himself then it could all be over in a flash and he'd be without her completely. Perry had seemed very mysterious when he'd run into him down in the lobby. From his insistent instructions that he gather Lois and wait in his office, he had assumed that the matter was urgent and that his boss would be along shortly. It had been five minutes, and neither Lois nor Perry was bothering to hurry. The door opened swiftly. Lois stared at him for a half a second, and then with a silent humph, sat down in the furthest chair from him. Two feet away. It was the only other chair in the room besides Perry's leather desk chair. Lois folded her arms tightly across her lap and stared at the wall away from her colleague, pretending to read a framed Elvis article that she had no interest in. Hearing Clark shift in his chair restlessly, she focused in on the article in an attempt to distract herself from the cosmic debris that he was sending her way. He didn't have to say a word; the silence crackled louder than any frustrated sigh or fidgeting movements. She tried to fill her head with the mindless diversion of empty words from Perry's shrine to Elvis. The title of the song 'Love Me Tender' popped out at her, and she was instantly reminded of the ending words of the song. 'For my darlin', I love you, and I always will.' She blinked hard at the disturbing thought of the night that she realized she first loved Clark. Yes, she loved Clark and always would. He had certainly 'loved her tenderly' that night. It was the most precious memory she carried with her, a memory that was so sweet, yet extremely difficult to deal with. Omigosh! She felt her invulnerability lowering its defenses and couldn't help but steal a quick look at Clark. Faint, raw hurt glittered briefly in his dark eyes as she met his glance and held it for the shortest of seconds before he turned away. Shock encased her heart. What was he upset about? He was the one who always had acted so indifferent to her. Probably didn't mean a word when he said he'd wait until she was ready to resume their relationship. His kiss goodbye had been very sweet and almost caused her to change her mind. Except for that, he hadn't protested very much when she told him they couldn't see each other anymore. If she meant that much to him, why hadn't he made more of an effort to work things out? And now he had the gall to look hurt? She sighed and turned away from him once more. Where in the world was Perry? Clark began unknowingly tapping his pencil on the arm of his chair. This silence was driving him nuts. He could hear her heartbeat pounding loudly in the room and was having a hard time turning off his hearing so he could ignore it. Yes, she was still mad at him. It was pounding as loud as he'd ever heard it and once every few seconds she'd let out a short quick breath of frustration. For the hundredth time, he chastised himself; he should have known better than to get involved with Lois before she was really ready and especially before she knew who he was. He had known she'd been running from something in her past, and now he was the most recent cause of her embarrassment and pain. He had ignored her plea to remain friends as Kal in favor of a brief fling with her as Clark. It wasn't a brief *anything* in his mind. He loved her with all of his heart but was now reaping the consequences of his actions: Lois was never going to speak civilly to him again. The door opened suddenly. Perry White appeared for an instant, bellowed briefly at the rest of the staff to stop peeking in the window of his office, then closed the door with a resounding thunk. The two reporters jumped to their feet. "Before you two start using this for an OK Corral shootout, I've got some things I'd like to say to both of you." Lois opened her mouth to protest, but Perry held a warning finger up to silence her. "Both of you have been feuding in my newsroom since day one, and I haven't said a single word until now. Good competition between reporters is not a bad thing most of the time; it keeps the quality up. I've let you go, hoping you would work things out. Now we have a situation where I need to know if you two can be on your best behavior, and I need your promise that there won't be a scene." "Not a problem for me, Perry," Clark said calmly, but silently panicking inside. No telling what situation they were going to be thrown into. "Perry, I don't think that Kent..." she injected at the same time as Clark. "Fine! What is it?" "I've nominated the story that you two did on the bust-up of Luthor's drug ring and his downfall as mayor to the Kerth awards, and it made the short list. I think it has a damn good chance of sweeping the awards, but I want to know if there is going to be a problem with you two over this." "Kerth award?" she asked surprised and turned to Clark. "We're nominated for a Kerth?" Lois flung herself into his arms in a spontaneous embrace. Clark looked back at her as an elated grin slowly crept up on his face. "I told you we were good together." The words were hardly out of his mouth before he registered their double meaning and was met with an icy glare from Lois. She dropped her arms in shock, cursing herself silently for the slip in her armor, and also Clark for bringing back the thrill she felt at being in arms one more time. Clark turned to Perry, trying to will his emotions back into order once again, wondering if the brief letdown of Lois' guard was a sign that it wasn't as strong as she had led him to believe. Perry watched the exchange in amusement, feeling very pleased. Just maybe there was a chance after all for those two. He'd just love to have the opportunity to see what kind of stories they'd put out together now that Lois was on her way to becoming a polished reporter. And those two kids weren't fooling him. They were so much in love with each other that they could barely see straight. He'd have to see what he could do to further help the situation. ***** Later that evening, the sun had just gone down as Clark hovered outside Lois' window. He was a bit hesitant to visit her tonight after the strange exchange in Perry's office but needed to reconnect with her as Kal. He peeked through the curtains and saw her sitting on the sofa. She was wearing an old robe, eating ice cream, and looking quite forlorn. Clark knocked gently on the windowpane. Lois looked, and smiling, waved him in. "Hey! What's with all this?" he asked gently. "Another sad movie? A bad day at the Planet?" Lois regarded him for a second, then answered, "I'm bored. I'm bored and tired, Kal, and feel like I never have any fun." She sighed then took another scoop of ice cream. "Is this what my life is coming to?" Waving the spoon in the air, a couple of drops of ice cream flew off and landed on her cheek. Clark wiped them off with his index finger and stuck it in his mouth. "You mean my little visits aren't cutting it any more? That *I'm* boring?" He knew that they always had a good time whenever they got together and Lois had told him on more than one occasion how much she enjoyed his visits. So it seemed fairly safe to tease her a bit to try to lighten her mood. "Oh, Kal, no! You're definitely not boring, but maybe I'm getting tired of just movies and the same old pizza. I think we need a bit of variety." "Variety? I can do variety. A song from Gershwin? How about some authentic Chinese or Italian? I can bring back..." She cut him off. "Kal, that's exactly what I mean. I don't want to wait here while you fly off and do stuff. I want to go with you." "Lois, you know the danger that presents. We're already taking risks by my coming here so frequently. You know how much I would love to take you, but..." "You don't want to take the risk," she interrupted, finishing his sentence. "Kal, I face danger frequently in my job. I've gone up against some really nasty goons and criminals, and handling one more isn't going to matter much to me. And don't let me get started on taxi drivers! Besides, who says we're going to get caught? Just this one time." Clark sighed and cocked a tentative eyebrow at her. He felt terrible about the way his relationship with her as Clark was going, and after today's scene in Perry's office, he was even more remorseful than ever. Maybe this was some way he could make up for being Clark. He grinned at her and asked, "So what are you waiting for? Get dressed and let's go. I think that old robe is going to drag us down with air friction." "Really? I can go?" She practically threw down the spoon on the coffee table in her haste to scramble to her feet. Ice cream splattered all over her magazines. "I know you've always been adamant about not being seen in a public place with me, but I just had to try." Kal laughed at her while super speeding to rescue the ice cream bucket from rolling off the table. "Go on and I'll put this away." Clark watched her scurry off to her bedroom, then ambled towards her kitchen. Lois had come a long way since the time they'd first met. He looked around her new apartment on Carter Street. She'd finally finished decorating, though some of the furniture was rather, well, rigid. Her mother had given her most of the furniture right after she'd moved in. It had been in storage for a couple of years since the last divorce her mother had from her father. Of course, he'd teased her about the matching sofa and loveseat. They were harder than sitting on a cement bench, maybe not that hard, but pretty close. He hadn't complained, but after sitting on them night after night watching movies and not getting very comfortable, he had his mother make Lois some throw pillows that at least lend the torturous devices a bit of comfort. Lois appeared at his side, and he was taken aback upon seeing her. He could hardly recognize her. Her hair was stuffed inside a baseball cap, she wore old jeans and a loose fitting sweatshirt, but the clincher was the black mustache on her face. "Lois?" She smiled broadly at him and twirled the ends of her mustache. "It's my new undercover disguise. I didn't want you having a fit every time we saw someone, and thought it would make you feel better if no one could recognize me." "Looks great, but ah... er, I think my reputation will be raising a few eyebrows in the future, that is if you're seen with me looking like a guy." "Just tell them I'm your adopted baby brother or your bookie. But if it makes you feel better, I'll stick the mustache in my pocket until we need it." He gave her a half hug, then placing his hand in the small of her back, gently nudged her towards the partially opened window. "The night awaits, my lo... friend." She turned to him and jumped into his arms. "Ready when you are! Hi ho, Super! Away!!" Still chuckling, he took a small playful step off the edge, dropped a foot, then shot straight up in the air. They flew east, and Lois enjoyed being able to fly with Kal once again. It had been too long since he'd taken her flying, and she'd forgotten how exhilarating it could be. After an hour had past and flying halfway around the world, they flew into a sunrise, very reminiscent of the first night they'd met. As the colors brightened and the horizon began to glow, Clark slowed down to enjoy the beautiful picture blossoming in front of them. "I'll never get over how beautiful this is." She looked up at Clark, and asked earnestly. "Do you ever take this for granted? You see this everyday." "Nope. Ever since I've been able to fly, before I became Superman, I was always risking being seen when I flew. Now that I can fly freely without worrying about getting caught and losing what I worked so hard for in my real life, I treasure every time I can watch the sunrise or fly over Metropolis and see the city beneath me. I know that this is exactly where I belong and where I want to be. Sharing it with someone, my best friend, just makes it so much better." His arms tightened around her slightly as he grinned down on her, "And being reminded of the time you made it possible for me to do all this is just icing on the cake." "I didn't do much, just pointed out the obvious. I'm so glad we're taking the long way around the world." They flew in silence until Clark began his descent and landed in some woods. Lois straightened out her clothing, and they walked a short way out into a small town in California. Clark escorted her into Chubb's Barbeque. Lois had put her mustache back on before entering the establishment. A few people threw glances their way, but soon the crowd basically ignored him. "I come here a lot, so I'm almost part of the furniture around here. Best, sloppiest ribs anywhere. I thought in your disguise, you'd fit right in." "People don't bother you here? I would think this would be a magnet for tabloid scum and bottom-feeders." "I rescued the owner's wife once from driving over a cliff. He's assured me that anyone who is not a regular will be watched very carefully." "So does this mean I can get sauce on my face?" "Most definitely, but it might ruin your mustache." "Eh, I'll take my chances," she smirked at him. ***** After a very filling and messy dinner, the trip back to Metropolis was another leisurely one, though much shorter. Clark stopped for a few minutes to rescue a man about to jump off a bridge. He'd set Lois down on a wide girder, and she watched in admiration as he talked the person down off his precarious perch. The man had lost his wife and was grieving, but Kal had given him hope and promised that he'd stop in to see him on occasion to find out how he was doing. After a brief flight to take the man back to visit with his grown children, he sat next to Lois on the girder and bumped her shoulder lightly. "Hope you didn't mind the side trip, but I had to stop." "You were wonderful. It sounded like you knew what it was like to lose someone you cared for. Is that from experience?" Clark shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't really matter." Of course Lois wasn't about to let it go. "Was it a past relationship?" "Lois." He sighed knowing that he'd better give her a satisfactory answer, or she'd bug him relentlessly. "No, I don't have any past relationship that's worth mentioning." Technically, Lois was still his best friend, and he considered friendship an important part of a relationship. It was just that she didn't realize she couldn't stand his real identity. But in a way, Superman was the side of himself that was more real now, at least when he was with Lois. "I've gotten to the point where I don't know if I'm ever going to find that special someone. I mean, what if she's out there, and by some turn of fate we never meet, she doesn't like me, or can't stand the alien part of myself?" Clark thought bleakly. "I seriously doubt that, Kal. You almost sound like you're going through that now. And knock it off about the alien stuff! Do you want to talk about it? Is this a present relationship?" His back stiffened in response as the old tendrils of resentment stirred from their slumber. He'd long stuffed away his feelings of rejection and anger from Lois' complete dismissal of him as Clark. He never understood the absolute turnaround of her attitude towards him since they had decided to part amicably. Although it disturbed him greatly, he'd chosen to ignore his feelings in favor of his friendship with her as Kal. Now she was asking him to dredge up those emotions without even realizing it was her that he was feeling them for. "Lois, we agreed to not talk about our real lives. Can we just let this go? Come on. Let's go flying." Lois sighed. He wasn't going to talk. Guess flying wasn't too bad of a consolation prize. She'd get it out of him someway - just wait and see. ***** The next day at the Daily Planet, Clark was working on his latest Superman rescue article when he felt he wasn't alone any longer. He looked up to identify his visitor and was greatly surprised to see Lois perched tentatively on the edge of his desk. She had a worried look on her face and was chewing on the end of a pencil. This was the first time since she had begun working at the Daily Planet that she'd approached him in such a casual manner. Yet, in order to avoid eruption of Mount St. Lois, he choose to let her speak first. He waited expectantly for what seemed like hours until she finally spoke. "You've had Kerths before, right?" "Yes, I have a couple of them." "So this is my first one. I don't know what to expect." "Well, if you win, you go up on stage, say a little speech and accept your award. Nothing to it." "I'm not talking about the actual award ceremony. What about afterwards?" "You go home." "Clark! You really were born in a barn, weren't you? I'm talking about custody." She scooted up further onto his desk and frowned. "You've had them before. You're an old hand at this sort of thing. The first one is special." "You're nervous, aren't you?" Clark stated amusedly, allowing a bit of a smile to play on his lips. At her half glare, he willed himself to play it straight. He wasn't about to risk their first civil conversation in months by antagonizing her, plus he was very curious to hear what was on her mind. "One more to your collection is not going to mean as much to you. It'll just be another thing for you to dust," she stated matter-of-factly. "How can you say it wouldn't mean anything to me? We risked a lot and worked hard for this one. In spite of what you think, if we win this award, I'll be extremely happy." "So you don't want to give it up? I think I should keep it, for the most part." Clark was beginning to see what she was getting at. She hadn't come over to share in their possible victory, but to weasel the award out of him. It would be the Kerth to mean the most to him, after all, he had been partnered with Lois. He wasn't about to let it go. "I think we should share it. One of us shouldn't have exclusive rights to something that we created together. Like you said before, I think we should share..." he said blankly, "custody." She pondered for a second, then stared pointedly at him. "Since you have so many, how about I get it ten months out of the year, and you get it two?" "How about equal timeshare? You get six months and I get six months. If I'm feeling generous, you can have it on holidays." Lois frowned. Guardianship rights over her first award wasn't something that she had bargained for. But Clark was right; it was his also. Too bad they had made a mistake and gotten tangled up together in the story that was nominated. It would be so much easier if he would just give in and bow out of it altogether. "Okay. Six months a piece, but I want visitation rights. Once a month when it's in your care. One night a month, you bring it here and I'll take it home." "Uh, uh! I don't think we should expose our award to the prying eyes of the Daily Planet. If you want visitation, then you visit it at my apartment." "If you're going to play it that way, then I want Kerth support. Awardimony!" "What are you talking about, Lois?" "You know, money for upkeep. We have to provide it with proper things: lighting, a decent cabinet to house it, and cleaning supplies." "Lois, the award's not even here yet, and we're already fighting over it. Can we give it a rest? Tell you what, *if* we win, you can take it home first." "What do you mean *if* we win, of course we're going to win. And there was no question about who was going to take it home in the first place," she retorted as she slid off his desk. "We'll see, Lois." ***** Lois returned to her desk disappointed in the way her conversation with Clark had ended. She hadn't meant to sound as irritable as she had come across. Now she had Clark on the defensive against her, and he thought she was only interested in the Kerth Award. Of course the Kerth had been a valid concern, but it was not her intention to further alienate him when she had decided to visit. Now all she had to do was to figure out if she still had a chance with Clark. Or even more complicated, figure out if she was ready to be in a relationship. Sure, she thought that she could possibly handle things now, but when it actually came down to committing to a relationship, a real relationship where she was genuinely in love with someone... She wasn't sure if she could do it. She strongly suspected that he had been having second thoughts about their budding relationship, even though he'd said that he would wait until she was ready. Since so much time had gone by, it was hard to tell what had been fabricated in her mind and what had actually happened. Why would he cut short their lovemaking if things had been going so well between them? Unless he was disappointed in *her*, especially at her skills as a lover. In any case, he had stopped them from making love that night. Why would he have done that if he honestly desired her? Wasn't that what all men wanted? Maybe what Claude had said about her was correct - that she was a disappointment in bed and a lousy lover. Clark didn't need to complete the act to know that it was true. He was simply sparing her the heartache of having to face her everyday knowing that he'd rejected her afterwards. A true gentlemen - unselfish and always thinking about her even if he didn't want her in that sense. Most men would have taken the opportunity and slept with, and then dumped her, but of course Clark wasn't most men. He had proven himself to her time and time again, even in the gentle letdown that night. He had simply held her and comforted her in the sweetest way possible. She'd felt loved and cherished if only for one fleeting night, and he never meant a single kiss. Well, maybe he'd felt *something*, but it was nothing like what she had felt. Men usually thought with another part of their anatomy, not that she assumed that Clark had; he had been the most considerate man she had ever kissed. For a while she had been fooled in to thinking that he cared for her the way she did for him, and *that* had been her biggest mistake. She'd even convinced herself that the lovely roses he'd sent the day they had broken up were a token of pity - simply a way to make up for her inadequacies. In retrospect, those thoughts had been in self-defense; it was simply a way for her to get on with her life. Recently, mostly late at night, she'd been allowing her thoughts to go over all that had happened between them. But it only left her with a lot of questions. Questions that she was beginning to need answers to. Even if he didn't think she was lacking in the love skills department, what about after the kissing was over? What about the in-between times? Would she balk and run away again? Granted that she had stuck around Metropolis to become a reporter, but looking back, she had left just the same. She'd turned tail and had run away from the man she loved. How could she ever approach him to let him know that she still loved him? And how could she ever get up enough nerve to ask him about why he stopped making love that night? Her actions were so contrary to how she truly felt; it was something she couldn't help. Her defense mode kicked in whenever she even contemplated talking to him or thought about a reconciliation. So what was her first step? She smiled as she thought of an idea. Maybe Kal could help her with it. ****** They were lounging on the couch together watching a video late that night when Lois shut the television set off and turned to Kal. "Kal, we know each other pretty well now, don't we?" Lois asked hesitantly. "I mean, I feel I can ask you something, and I know you wouldn't take it the wrong way. Friends do things for each other, right?" "Sure, Lois," Clark said, wondering where she was leading him. "If I had a problem, you'd help me with it, right?" she persisted. "You know I would, if I could." He could hear the wheels turning in her head, and it scared him. "First, let me ask you a question. Am I kissable?" Clark shot her a shocked look as she continued to thumb through a magazine. "It says here in the Metropolitan Woman's Magazine that in order to be kissable, one of the qualities you must have are full and shapely lips." She studied his reaction as she pursed her lips and waggled them at him. His eyes grew as round as saucers and he gulped, "They look fine to me." She turned her attention back to the article. "One of the worst features to have is 'lizard lips', the dry, crunchy, scaly kind that gives you paper cuts if you rub them the wrong way." "Crunchy?" "I know it sounds gross, but you know like in the wintertime, you see people whose lips look as if they're going to split wide open if they smile. I think I'm safe from having those." "No Lizard Lips Lane in here," Clark grinned at her, but was still on guard as to what was going through her head. "The best kisses are those that are memorable, but leave you *pantingly* wanting more," she read, emphasizing the text. "The language of a kiss is communication without words. At various times you want to communicate attraction, affection, love, passion, lust, and 'I'll miss you, baby'." She scrunched up her face and continued. "Pay attention to what your mate responds to, and what seems to turn him or her off, then adjust your techniques accordingly." "Why are you reading this? Does this have anything to do with that favor you mentioned a few minutes ago?" "Sort of. There's a man I know. I'm so attracted to him that I can hardly stand it. I even think my feelings have gone to a deeper level, but when I'm around him, I just freeze up and shut him out. I can't let him know how I feel. It's like there's a force field holding me back from responding to him." "Why, Lois?" Clark answered uncomfortably as his heart fell hard at her revelation of being attracted to someone else. "Somebody told me I was incapable of responding to a man, of feeling passion. I think he might be right?" "What? That's ridiculous. Who would say such a terrible thing?" His cheeks began to flush as he remembered the one night they almost made love. "A man I was involved with over a year and a half ago, in fact the only man I've ever... slept with." She wrung her hands nervously. "He said I was - it still hurts to say it - a cold fish." "Oh, Lois! You don't believe him, do you? You're the most impassioned person I know in whatever you do. I know we don't give a lot of details about our lives, but I know you, Lois, and anyone who you love is very fortunate..." Clark stopped, thinking if he continued he'd let everything slip. "Maybe it *is* true, Kal. I thought I loved this man, this jerk, but... I think there's something wrong with me. But that's what I wanted to ask you. I know we're just friends, and this is embarrassing to say so, but kissing a pillow is not cutting it anymore. I know you won't read anything more into this, so could I practice on you? If I close my eyes and pretend you're him, would you be my guinea pig? You could let me know if I was doing something wrong or awkward." "Lois, I don't know," Clark teased. "You know if a man suggested something like this it, it would come across as a big, pick-up line." Although he smiled at her, he was not sure if he could pull off what she was suggesting because she might find out how he truly felt about her *and* that he was Clark. "Believe me, this is not a ploy to kiss Superman, though I'm sure you get a lot of those. But seriously, you never answered me that night when we went flying. Was or is there anyone in your private life you love but can't be with for one reason or another?" he thought, as he shifted uncomfortably on his seat. At the sudden sadness in his eyes, she said pleadingly, "See, I knew it! I thought there might be someone; it's in your eyes now. Who is she?" "Somebody who wishes I weren't around," he said somberly, realizing he couldn't get away this time. "Oh, you poor baby!" Lois commiserated. "What's her problem? Does she know you're Superman?" "No. She doesn't know I'm Superman. She hardly knows I exist. I thought we might have a chance at first, but all of a sudden she changed her mind. I don't know what happened." He hoped that was sketchy enough; he couldn't give too many details. "Is she someone you work with? It has to be. You're always here with me when you're not out... " She gestured the flying signal with her hand. "What does she do?" "You wouldn't be trying to find out who I am again?" He grinned, trying to throw her off the subject while reaching for a cold piece of pizza. "Have you changed your mind?" "I have to admit that I'm getting curious again. Your disguise must be great if that woman doesn't know that *Superman* is in love with her," she pondered. "My mom says it's really good." "Either that, or she's galactically stupid," she persisted. Clark almost choked on his food. If she ever found out the truth, she'd kill him. This conversation was getting too dangerous. She was beginning to get interested in his identity again. It was still too soon. "I wouldn't say that she's stupid, just... focused in other areas." Although he didn't want to know, he had to swing the conversation. "So what about your, um, interest? What is he like?" "Are you sure you want to hear this? We might be here for a while. For starters, he's got a great body; maybe built... hmmm, slightly larger than yourself, and he's just gorgeous." She noticed Kal squirming a bit but didn't care. It was fun to see the big guy embarrassed once in a while. "He has the kindest heart I've ever met, one of those people who'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it." She sighed in remembrance of Clark's well-defined chest when they were trapped in the old freezer. "He's very intelligent, moral and a good person, though being a moral person is highly overrated in my opinion. I think you'd get along very well with him if you ever met." Clark thought. "So is he interested in you?" "No, like I said before, I broke up with him; now he doesn't give me the time of day. I blew it with him; it's all my fault," she said regretfully. "Lois, it's never all one person's fault, and if this guy is as intelligent as you say he is, he'll notice you." He stopped talking. It was becoming too hard to listen to Lois gush about this other man, yet there was something very familiar about her description. "So will you do it?" she asked. "Do what?" Clark said blankly. "Kiss me, you lunkhead! We've been talking about it for the past few minutes." "Oh. Lois, are you sure this man is worth all this bother? Not that kissing you would be any trouble, but..." He sighed and shifted nervously. "I don't want to see you get hurt if it doesn't work out with him. You know I just want to protect you." "I know, and that's very sweet of you; but Kal, I'm in love, for real this time," Lois moaned. "This guy is so easy to love. He has women practically falling all over him, and he doesn't know why. Why I even think I have a chance with him is beyond me, though I'd probably run away again if he ever showed any interest again. Don't do it for him; do it for me." No, it couldn't be him that she was talking about. He didn't have women falling all over themselves. Had to be someone else, he thought grimly. This might be his only time to be close to her again the way he had been dreaming, the way he remembered, before this other man woke up and realized the best thing in his life was right in front of him. "Okay. I'm not totally convinced, but if it will give you confidence." He suddenly frowned and asked worriedly, "What if this doesn't work? What if I make things worse for you? What if... " "Will you be quiet for a second? Stop obsessing. You could never hurt me. I trust you." He sighed in resignation. "How do you want to do this?" "Thanks, Kal. I knew you would understand. You're the best friend I've ever had, a big teddy bear in tights." She patted his blue clad arm and laid her head briefly on his shoulder before continuing. "Let me close my eyes. Give me a few seconds, I need to picture him in my mind, then kiss me. Just pretend I'm her, just this once. Don't hold back, okay? I want a big, sloppy wet one. Maybe if I ever get a chance with my guy again, I won't feel so scared to show him how I feel." At least she would be thinking *he* was pretending to kiss someone else. But the only pretending he would be doing would be thinking that Lois was really kissing him - Clark. She said not to hold back, and he intended not to disappoint her. He watched her face as Lois closed her eyes and settled forward in her seat toward him. he sighed inwardly. He observed how her eyelashes lay quivering on her face as she conjured up this other man's presence, a secret smile playing on her lips. Whoever this guy was, he hoped he realized how lucky he was. She heaved a tiny little sigh as he watched her daydream about this mystery man. How he wished she would open her eyes and look at him the way she was obviously gazing at this man in her mind's eye. He threw all other thoughts out of his head and captured how creamy her skin looked, how the delicate muscles in her long neck played against each other as she lifted her head in anticipation of the kiss. How much he longed to bury his face in her silky hair, and how inviting her soft lips were. His eyes closed as he leaned forward to meet them. When Lois shut her eyes, she filled her mind of Clark. Of Clark's intoxicating presence as he stood over her at her desk, his devastating, kind smile and that silly lock of hair that she longed to brush off his forehead. Of him thoughtfully holding her as she fell asleep lying skin to skin on his chest. A gentle hand on her face as he kissed her passionately in his apartment. She felt soft lips on her own, tentatively at first, then more firmly as she responded and began to kiss him back. As the kiss deepened, her senses swirled. She felt a strong arm circle around her back and a warm hand caress her face on its way to entangling itself in her hair. , she thought dreamily as she allowed her hands to encircle his neck as she pressed herself closer. They drew apart, and Lois opened her eyes to see that Kal still had his eyes closed. Just when did he become so incredibly handsome? He still had his hand around the back of her head, and she felt herself being drawn toward him again. She involuntarily pulled in a deep breath as the need to kiss her best friend swept over her. This time Clark's face was replaced by Superman's in her head as she gave herself freely to the passion of his kiss. Her arm wound its way around his neck, and she pulled him closer. Clark broke it off reluctantly when he realized Lois was gasping for air. He opened his eyes and saw the dazed look on her face. He panicked, "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "Oh no, Kal!" she said taking in a huge breath, surprised at the depth of her reaction to their most recent lip lock. "I don't have super lungs like you do, silly! Wow! You *didn't* hold back! Who taught you how to be such a good kisser?" "Let's say I was inspired." He looked at her with his eyebrows raised, trying to cover how shaky he was feeling. The second kiss just happened; he hoped he hadn't cross over the line. "She doesn't know what she's missing," she said, her breath refusing to become normal just yet. She had to keep up the conversation. It wouldn't do to let him know how he affected her, at least until this was sorted out in her head. "So how do I rate? At least I didn't poke you with my nose, or drool all over your face, or give you paper cuts. Or did I?" "No, in fact you were pretty wonderful yourself," he assured her, covering her hand that was in her lap. "Do you still believe that trash about yourself? Can I take care of the guy who told you that? A couple of hours in a nice smelly dumpster would show him how real garbage lives." "My hero." She squeezed his hand, noticing for the first time how strong, yet very gentle it was, just like the man it belonged to. "I don't know what to believe any more, but I know I felt something when we kissed." "If I can ever get my guy to notice me again, I hope I don't ruin it by freaking out. Thanks again, Kal, you're better than a shrink." "I'll be sure to send you my bill," he joked reluctantly, feeling his heart break all over again at the thought of Lois kissing another man. "I'd better get going on my patrols. Can't have Metropolis slide into high crime." "See you soon." She smiled warmly at him as he rose from the sofa. He leaned over and placed his nightly good-bye kiss on her forehead, lingering longer than usual. "Good night, Lois. Take care." "Good night, Kal. Have a safe flight." She grabbed a pillow - although she felt the unfamiliar desire to hold on to *him* again - clutched it to her chest, and settled back down into the couch with a dreamy dazed look on her face. Clark hovered outside the window for a minute, trying to gather himself before his rounds. It was one the hardest things he had to do, leaving her tonight, but if he stayed much longer he was afraid he'd blurt out everything. Much to his surprise, he heard Lois whisper softly, "Oh, Clark! How I wish..." Clark couldn't believe his ears. Was he hearing things? Why would Lois be speaking his name? Unless...no! There was no way that it could be possible. His mouth dropped open as he considered the possibilities. ****** Lois watched the curtains flutter as Kal left, feeling confused over her new feelings for him. "Oh Clark! How I wish... Best friends. Maybe that was it. This was just a freak coincidence that all of a sudden she had these strange feelings for Kal. Of course! She'd been having romantic notions for Clark, and they had transferred over to Kal. It was that simple. There was no other explanation for it. Sighing, she rose from the sofa and tossed the pillow down where Kal had been sitting a few minutes ago. Her lips still tingled from their kiss, so she decided that a distraction was needed. Ice cream was always an option as she walked to the kitchen and opened the freezer door. Nothing but a couple of trays of puny ice cubes. Darn, she'd forgotten to restock her supply of comfort food. A couple of pieces of pizza still sat in the box on the coffee table. No, she wasn't hungry. Yet, she was still restless. Sticking in a tape of last week's Ivory Tower, she plopped down in the spot where Kal had sat and tried to erase the myriad of conflicting feelings in her head. ***** After his rounds, Clark landed in an alleyway and spun into his street clothes. He didn't feel like going to his apartment quite yet and decided to pay a long overdue visit to a friend. It had been quite a while since Bobby 'Bigmouth' Cooper had provided him with information for one of his stories. It had been shortly after the Luthor bust when Bobby had called to inform him that he and his wife, Rose, were making a new start in life by quitting all of their former activities and starting a new enterprise together. For Bobby, it meant not being an informant, and for Rose, quitting her government job as a DEA agent. Clark opened the front door to The Snitch and stepped inside an upscale, but comfortable bar. Leather booths lined one side of the room, and the rest of the table and chairs were placed strategically around a small dance floor. He looked around for a moment, then walked over to the bar. A couple of waitresses were working behind the counter and Clark blinked hard when he realized what they were wearing - chicken suits! One of the waitresses nodded knowingly at him, then walked over to take his order. "Hi! My name is Karen, and I'm your cocktail waitress." She winked at him and fluffed her feathers. "Can I take your order?" *Cocktail* waitress?" Clark grinned back at her, noting that the chicken suits were more like dresses with plumage. "Don't tell me you're going to *grill* me about this costume." She held up her order pad and poised her pencil over it. "Wouldn't dream of it." Clark hesitated, then asked, "I don't suppose you serve chicken wings?" The waitress gasped, then answered, "There'd be an awful lot of my relatives running around wingless. How about some peanuts?" "Peanuts sound great. Is Bobby Cooper around? I'm a friend of his." "Yeah, he's around somewhere. Probably *discussing* things with his wife again. I'll go see if I can 'hunt and peck' him up." She rolled her eyes at Clark and smiled. Clark laughed softly. "You seem to have a lot of fun working here. Is the atmosphere always this light? And the puns so terrible?" "Pays a bit more than *chicken scratch*, but the owners are great. Do you know we finally made the top twenty list of restaurants this past week? This place has only been opened three months." "That's great!" The waitress started to leave but turned around to ask Clark, "Pardon my manners, but you'd think I was raised in a barn. Want anything to drink with those peanuts?" "Sure. I'll take whatever you have on tap." "Gotcha." Clark smiled to himself. It appeared as though the Coopers were building a name for themselves already. He looked around taking in a bit more detail this time. There were a couple of closed doors joining to a restaurant and the sign on it read "Chez Grande Bouche". The lights behind the doors were dim, but a few of the staff could be seen clearing dishes and mopping. Oh, he'd definitely have to return here in the daytime or regular business hours. Looking at the wall behind the bar, he was surprised to see in the far corner of the counter pictures of himself as Superman. There were newspaper articles and eight-by-ten pictures of his alter ego, a couple of dolls and figurines. It was a small shrine. It puzzled him to see that. He didn't think that Bobby was a big fan of Superman. He thought he'd never get used to the idol worship bestowed upon him. At first, he'd been downright embarrassed to be the focus of all the attention and commercialism that the media and public spent on him. For a couple of months after he'd become Superman, the Miracle Mania had swiftly turned into a SuperMania feeding frenzy, and he had avoided any contact with the media like the plague. Except for Lois. Once every month or so after a particularly harrowing rescue, he'd allow her a brief interview for the Daily Planet and was careful to include a couple of other paper's reporters in the interview. He hadn't wanted to call attention to Lois as being the only one able to talk to Superman. She would be an even bigger target for criminals than she was now. He had also made sure that most of the proceeds from the commercialism and paraphernalia went into a fund to help victims of disasters and other worthy causes. Yet, it kept him fairly busy trying to decide who got what, and he was now in the process of searching for a trustworthy lawyer to handle his foundation. Not an easy task by all means. The door swung open from the back of the bar, and Bobby walked out. "Hey ya, Clark! It's about time I saw ya ugly face in here!" "Hey, Bobby!" he greeted enthusiastically. "It's been a while." He held out his hand in greeting as Bobby came from around the counter and sat on the high backed stool next to him. "And before you ask, I'm sworn upon penalty of death not to snitch any more. Rose and I have decided to leave the dangerous life behind." "That's what you told me a few months ago. Don't worry; I won't get you into trouble," Clark grinned. "Speakin' of trouble... you and Lois still on the outs?" "For the most part. We're up for an award together for the Luthor story though," Clark frowned. "Guess that's something, I suppose." He felt his heart flutter a bit remembering their kiss earlier that night *and* the possibility that Lois could still care for him. "You still got it bad, Kent," Bobby grinned. "Want me to set you two up on a blind date or somethin'? Maybe all you need is good hard shove." "I don't know, Bobby. I kept hoping after all this time that she'll change her mind now that her career is going well, but she's got a brick wall set up around her now that I don't know how to break through. We've barely spoken to each other." A feminine voice interrupted. "Hi, my name's Nicole, and Karen is busy fanning herself in the back. She gets that way sometimes." Clark turned and saw another waitress in a bright yellow shirt with feathers in her hair placing his drink and peanuts on the bar. "Sounds like she's faking it," the waitress continued. "Huh?" "Your lady friend. If she didn't care, it wouldn't bother her so much to talk to you." "I seem to bother her by being in the same room," Clark said dolefully. "Aw, she'll get over it. Sometimes you just have to let things run their course. Give her time." "Time? It's been almost a year." Nicole, the waitress, scrunched up her face and responded, "Ooo! You'd better start groveling." She sneaked an appreciative look at Clark before turning around and heading to the kitchen. Bobby waited until they were alone before stating, "Glad to see ya finally startin' to talk about her. You were clamming up for a long time. What's changed?" "Don't know, Bobby. Guess it took watching her build her career and making a name for herself. For a long while, I resented being in journalism for the first time." "Ya never did say what happened. Rosie and I came up with lots of very interesting reasons." "In a nutshell, she wasn't ready to start a career and a relationship at the same time. There were some other issues, but I don't think I should get into them. But let's just say that things may be looking up." "That's fair enough, man. Wish ya luck." "Who needs luck?" Rose Cooper had come from the kitchen and surprised them. "Clark? Should have guessed it was you from the condition of my waitresses! How ya been?" "Hanging in there. Great place you have here!" "Thank ya! In spite of Bobby and I wanting to kill each other on a daily basis, we're having a good time for the most part. It beats chasing white-collar criminals around. Now all I have to chase is Bobby." "And the world is safe from Rose's cooking," Bobby declared playfully. "She's managing the bar and I supervise the kitchen. I do my best to keep her away from the knives." Rose swatted Bobby with a bar towel, and Clark could clearly see that they were happy. Rose was as relaxed as Clark had ever seen her, almost a different person from the one he'd first met. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, but she appeared softer too. "Hey! Why aren't you getting anymore Superman interviews, Clark? I've been looking for articles in the paper." She shuffled her feet, then asked almost dreamily, "What's he *really* like?" Clark tried to catch himself from blushing. "He's just another guy, only he has superpowers." "Don't burst her bubble, Clark. Rose here's been ga-ga over the man in blue from day one." Rose scowled at Bobby. "I just think it's admirable that a being of his power and abilities has chosen to use them for the good of the world." Her eyes focused on an image inside her mind. "And the fact that he's so handsome is just icing on the cake." Clark knew, without a doubt, whom the Superman paraphernalia belonged to. Seemed as though Rose, as unlikely a candidate as he would have first thought, was a huge fan of Superman. Bobby rolled his eyes and said, "It's good to know he's a regular Joe. Tell him anytime he wants to stop by, the meal's on us." "I sure will, Bobby," Clark answered, making a mental note to drop by sometime. "Same thing goes for you and Lois. We'd love to see you here - together." "You and I both, Bobby. So tell me more about your restaurant..." ***** After his visit with Bobby and Rose, Clark decided to walk home. He felt he had sufficiently placed enough distance between the time when he'd left Lois' apartment and being able to think rationally about it. They had kissed. One more time he'd kissed Lois, and it had brought back all the emotions and feelings from before, just as if it had been only yesterday. Had Lois actually been thinking of him while they were kissing, when they were supposed to be thinking of the other people in their lives? She hadn't shown any indication at work that she still had feelings for him. Matter of fact, her downright hostile attitude toward him was very disheartening. Ever since the day they'd said goodbye, she had regarded him with cold indifference. That was not the behavior of a woman who could be in love with him. How could she love him in his real identity anyway? Except for the first day and when they had said their goodbyes, they had barely spoken to each other except when necessary. She had made it perfectly clear to him that she wanted nothing to do with him. Unless she was feeling the same way he did about the situation - that it was too hard to be in each other's company without remembering the magical relationship they had started. It had been easy for him to get angry about the whole break-up. He supposed that was why they were always snapping at each other. But what about those insecurities she had just expressed to him? The ones about her freezing up whenever she was in 'this man's' presence? It made more sense to him now why she was so prickly when around him. Maybe the first step was to get her more comfortable having him around her, then all he needed to do was to wait for the right time to start a more personal conversation. He just hoped his future efforts wouldn't backfire on him. ***** After a restless night, Lois was up and in the Daily Planet before dawn, feeling as though she hadn't slept a wink. Coffee was foremost on her mind, but no one was there to make it, so she suffered through the first hour or two of working. The morning had begun to grow busier, and Lois was soon lost in chasing down a source for a story. Frustrated after another dead end, she ran her hands through her hair and leaned back in her chair. It was strange how everyone had disappeared already. She was tired. She couldn't help but to think about Clark last night and about how to let him know that she was at least willing to be friends again - if it was possible after all this time. She felt her heart tug at her insides, and she sighed. God, she loved Clark! Would it ever be the same between them again? A steaming cup of coffee suddenly appeared in front of her. She turned around to see the heart-stopping smile of her dreams. "Hey," Clark said softly. "You looked like you could use this." He produced a chocolate donut and set it on her desk. "Thanks." "You're welcome." Clark walked over to his desk and returned with a small tree-like plant for her desk. "I bought this for you, too. I hope you don't mind. Your other one looks like it's half-dead." Lois stared up into his face and was rewarded with a lopsided grin. Feeling a tiny bit nervous, she responded, "Guess you're tired of seeing me murder plants. Tell you what, you can take care of it, but if anything happens to our future Kerth, the plant gets it." "Fair enough." Clark activated his super hearing and heard her heart pounding rapidly. She *was* affected by his presence, and this time didn't seem mad at all. He felt his own heart skip a happy beat. Lois took a deep breath and said quietly, "I didn't mean it about the Kerth award. You can keep it. Just means I'll have to work harder to get my own." "No, that's okay. You keep it. That'll just mean I get visitation rights, hopefully lots of them. And I'm sure you'll be getting one by yourself before you know it." The air was suddenly charged with an undercurrent that hadn't been felt between them in months. Lois felt her insides grow weak, and she quickly looked down at her coffee cup to prevent herself from saying something stupid, or worse yet, launching herself full force into his arms. Jimmy walked up before either could speak again and slapped an envelope on Lois' desk. "This was delivered to Perry yesterday while you were out, and he told us to hash it out between ourselves. The unanimous decision was that you should get it, Lois." "Unanimous decision?" Lois demanded as she tore into the envelope. "What is it?" Jimmy grinned at Clark and crossed his fingers behind his back. "A free night at the Lexor hotel? I don't get it!" She glared at Jimmy and waited for him to answer. "Um, *we* thought, that it might improve your disposition if you had some time away for yourself. You *have* been biting everyone's head off lately." "Very subtle, Jimmy," Clark retorted, despairing at the timing of his colleague. "Improve my disposition?" Lois' face began to turn red. "There's nothing wrong with my disposition!" Jimmy backed away, making a hasty retreat as Lois turned her fury to Clark. "*You* didn't have anything to do with this, did you?" Clark lifted his hands and shrugged. "Innocent! I had no idea what was going on." Lois raised her cup of steaming coffee over her new plant and spilled a couple of drops onto the dirt. "You swear?" "I swear, scout's honor." He grinned tentatively at her. "Please put the coffee down, and the plant won't get hurt." Lois eyed him curiously, then lowered her cup. "I always figured you to be a boy scout." "No scout, just 4H. Won a few blue ribbons with my pig, Hambone." "Hambone? No, I won't even ask. Anyway, thanks for the coffee and stuff." "Anytime," Clark replied and turned to go. No sense in pushing things. It was better to quit while he was ahead. After Clark returned to his desk, Lois reluctantly looked at the contents of the envelope again. Free night, free room service and the promise of a hot tub - preferably with lots of bubbles and a glass of wine. It did sound rather wonderful. She haphazardly stuffed the brochure in the middle of her purse, then got back to work. Her co-workers hiding in the conference room silently cheered. ****** After putting in another eight hours at the Daily Planet, Lois arrived home and tossed her handbag on the coffee table. After kicking off her shoes and getting into more comfortable clothes, she collapsed on the couch and thought about her day. Clark had acted strange at work today. Even after he had brought her the coffee and plant, he continued to refresh her cup and greet her with a smile. He hadn't been that attentive to her since... before her first day at the Daily Planet - right before Cat made that scene in front of everyone, and right before she'd broken up with him and ruined everything. A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. Who could this be? Couldn't be Kal, because he usually came through the window. She hopped off the couch and padded over to answer the door. When she looked through the peephole, she was astonished to see Clark on the other side. "Clark?" Surprise rose in her voice as she opened the door. "What are you doing here?" Clark shifted nervously. "Hi! I know you're not expecting me, but I'd really like to talk to you. Do you have some time?" It was different being here as Clark instead of as Kal. He'd better not appear to be too familiar with her place. "Uh, sure, come in." She took a mental inventory of her appearance: old sweats, too big T-shirt, day-old make-up. Only Kal saw her in this kind of outfit. She hoped Kal wouldn't show up quite so soon tonight, or at least stay away while Clark was here. She couldn't handle both men in the same room tonight, not after the confusion Kal stirred up inside her with that kiss. They stood awkwardly just inside her door. "Would you like something to drink?" she asked. Maybe playing the perfect hostess would make up for the way she was dressed. It certainly couldn't hurt. "No, thanks. I'm fine." This needed to be quick. There was less chance to screw things up if he didn't stay long. Clark wasn't sure how to approach the subject. This was going to be harder than he thought. Should he ask her out on a date or try to break the ice first? Now that he was in Lois' apartment, all he felt was apprehension at being here. Lois noticed Clark was nervous. Was he going to ask her out? Looking like this? "Lois? I was wondering. We had a great start working together and getting to know one another. I know certain things have happened between us, but we don't need to get into that now." He shuffled his feet, then grinned shyly at her. "I was wondering maybe..." She mentally crossed her fingers. "I could ask..." "Perry to assign another story for us to work on together." Disappointed, but at least glad for the chance to work together again, she answered, "Sure, let's give it a try. But no funny stuff, you hear?" "I wouldn't dream of it, Lois. It'll be purely professional." Darn! She didn't mean to say that. Not a chance to get close to that wonderful chest. "Gr... good. Let's go to Perry tomorrow and see if he has anything for us. I think with our impending Kerth award coming up, he'll be more than happy to find something." "See if we can bring back the old Kerth magic." "Maybe it'll be just like the first time," Clark cleared his throat, then grinned. "I just hope we don't get stuck with a dog show." Lois scrunched up her face and replied, "I can feel the fleas biting already." She yawned and covered her mouth apologetically. "Well, it is getting late and..." He turned the doorknob and opened the door. "It's not too late, but it's been a long day," she said, stifling another yawn. "See you tomorrow, Lois," Clark said reluctantly. "Bye." Lois closed the door behind him and leaned up against it gratefully. His presence still knocked her off her feet. In spite of her shaking knees, she thought she didn't do too badly covering up how she felt. Maybe not wearing her heart on her sleeve wasn't going to be as hard as she thought, at least until the time was right. Working with Clark at last - it was a dream come true. Perhaps this time they could get it right. "I ain't finished with you yet, big fella," she whispered with a smile on her face. ***** In her dreams, Kal's kiss disturbed her. Her mind kept turning to last night. She knew she still loved Clark, but Kal was her best friend. Kissing her best friend felt wonderful, and even thinking about it now left her a bit dizzy. Even though she started off picturing Clark in her head, the second time Kal had kissed her she hadn't been pretending any longer. But the other night, Kal wasn't kissing her. He was kissing this mystery woman in his other life. A stray thought popped out of nowhere. Maybe if things didn't work out between their prospective others, she and Kal could give it a try. No! Not her and Kal! If a romantic relationship didn't work out, could their friendship survive? Scary. Or, even more frightening, what if he started seeing this other woman... *That* thought left a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. After tossing and turning a few more minutes, she got up to get a glass of milk. She realized that she wanted to go somewhere, someplace to distance herself from all these strange thoughts flying around in her head. The promo from the new owners of the Lexor hotel came into focus as it sat on her coffee table. Was it too late to see if a room was available? She snatched the brochure and flopped herself across the sofa to reach the telephone. She picked up the receiver and jabbed at the buttons on the phone. A few minutes later, she was tossing a couple of things in an overnight bag and heading out the door. ***** This was a bad idea, Lois thought as she allowed the doorman to open the room to the honeymoon suite. Here she was trying to get away from thinking about her relationships and now was being thrust into the middle of a romantic hideaway. Lois groaned. If it ever got out that she spent the night in a gaudy honeymoon suite *alone*, then she would never live it down. Good fortune had it that it was late at night. No one would be around to recognize her. She abruptly dismissed the bellman, then glanced around the room. Well, she supposed it would do, especially after spying the rather large heart-shaped hot tub in the middle of the bedroom. A long hot soak in the spa would surely go a ways towards straightening out any renegade thoughts she might have about her love life. After putting away her assortment of things and getting undressed, she slipped into the hot sudsy water and sighed in contentment, a perfect setting to regain her equilibrium. She took a sip of her wine and realized there was no escaping from it. It was time to reevaluate her relationship with Clark. ***** Her eyes had drifted shut, and she was already up to her chin in bubbles when the phone rang. "Yes?" "Hey, it's me, Kal." "Kal?" "I stopped by your place, and you weren't there." "So naturally, you got worried?" His voice grumbled in a low chuckle on the other end. "You know me so well, Lois." "How'd ya find me? Other than being Superman. I mean you couldn't have searched the whole city." "I could have done that, but when I didn't hear your heartbeat in your apartment, I let myself in. I hope you don't mind, but I saw your brochures on the coffee table and took a chance on calling you." "You're always a big worrywart, Kal, but I'm glad you called. I hope I didn't miss pizza, or takeout, or something." "No, I was just passing by. How's the view?" Lois scooted up in the tub in order to peek out the window. "It's wonderful..." She cut off mid-sentence as she observed the lights go on in the building next to her. Three men had just entered a room directly across from her: one wore a holstered gun, another was dressed in black pants, and the last man was in a suit and tie. Lois thought she recognized the last man, but couldn't quite make out his features. She leaned over the side of the hot tub to grab her binoculars out of her purse. "Lois? You okay?" "Yeah, just fine," Lois tried to focus on the room across the alleyway a couple hundred feet away. Her eyes widened as she saw the well- dressed man hand the guy in black an envelope. In response, the guy in black exchanged a smaller envelope. Lois searched in her purse until she found a small disposable camera. She immediately began clicking away. "Lois?" "Kal, I can't hear what they're saying! You've got to get over here." "Huh? What are you talking about, Lois?" "There're guys in the building next to mine! Suspicious-looking ones! Get over here quick and see what they're saying! I'm on the twenty- first floor facing the bay." Lois heard the telephone drop and five seconds later a dark figure could be seen hovering outside the office building. Kal was wearing his dark clothes from his pre-Superman days. Two seconds later, he was gone. Two men had left the room, and the only one left was the thug-looking guy in black. But soon he had turned off the lights and disappeared out the door, leaving the room dark. She heard the telephone receiver mutter something at her a few seconds later and she picked it up. "Kal? That was fast! Where did you go?" "On the roof. But I did hear something about them meeting again soon." "Meeting? Where? What else did they say?" "That was all I heard, Lois. Even superhearing can't read minds." Lois snorted in frustration. "Thanks, Kal." "You're welcome." "Lois?" "Yes?" "Why are you in the honeymoon suite in the Lexor hotel?" "Couldn't sleep. That's all, and it seemed like a good idea at the time." "If you're sure that's all," Clark waited a couple of seconds before he heard Lois answer. "It's that guy I was telling you about, Kal. I'm so in love with him I can't see straight, much less sleep." Clark closed his eyes. Please let it be him! "Lois, you need to tell him," he said softly, taking a chance. "I want to, Kal," she responded quietly. "It's something I've got to work on." "You get a good night's sleep, and don't get too wrinkled in that tub." He then added, "I hear splashing." Lois laughed. "Thanks Kal, and you won't mistake me for a prune next time you see me. I promise." "Good night, Lois." "Night, Kal." ***** The next morning Lois woke up early to choose her outfit carefully. Wouldn't hurt to be fully prepared to knock his socks off. She'd had brought four different ensembles with her just because she wasn't sure what mood she'd be in when she woke up. In spite of her plush bed, she had hardly slept a wink that night. Mostly because she was going to see Clark, and partly in anticipation of getting her photos developed. There was no telling what Perry would say when they approached him with the request for their assignment. "Dog show" was the first thing that came to mind. Clark may have been right. Surely Perry wouldn't want to risk a major story on two reporters who had started a second Cold War in his office. No, it wouldn't be anything important. Just a simple story to break the waters. That was, if they didn't kill each other first. At least they were talking civilly to one another. It was funny how the prospect of sharing a Kerth award could change your attitude about someone. Still, she needed to keep her heart on guard. Clark wasn't there when she arrived. Disappointed, she got a cup of coffee and then decided to get to work. She sat down at her desk and had made a few calls to a couple of sources when she heard Perry bellow from his office, "Lois, get in here pronto!" Frowning that she might miss Clark when he finally arrived, she hoped her editor wouldn't be long-winded. She checked her appearance in the mirrored frame just in case she ran into Clark on the way out of Perry's office. Once she entered, Clark's presence immediately threw her off-guard. He gave her a tentative smile as she sat down in the chair next to him. Perry didn't beat around the bush but went straight to the point. "Lois, Clark tells me you two are willing to bury the hatchet - just as long as it's not in each other's backs, mind you - and try to work together again. I've thought it over and decided the best way to do this and not to waste my time and yours is to put you straight into the lion's den. If you two can survive this assignment, then I think we're on the way to having a number one investigative team at the Daily Planet again." Lois turned to Clark and asked him pointedly, "Do you know what assignment he's talking about?" Clark shrugged his shoulders, then motioned for her to pay attention to Perry, who was clearing his throat. "Lois, you know those photos that you left for Jimmy to develop this morning?" "Yeah, did those come out? Where are they? And why did Jimmy give them to you?" "I recognized the guy on the top photo and pulled rank." "Oh." Perry pulled a stack of pictures from the top his desk. "Take a look at these. Seems like Senator Ian Harrington is meeting with a guy named Peter Rourke. In this picture, you can clearly see the envelope marked Top Secret. Seems like these guys could be exchanging high security documents for money." Lois piped in, "This morning I found out the offices are leased to Apocalypse Consulting. Chief? I have an idea." Perry laughed and interrupted her. "I've already beaten you to the punch. Start packing your bags. You're going on a surveillance operation." "I guess our dog show assignment is going to have to wait, Clark," she noted with a gleam in her eyes. "I smell scandal." "I'm going to give you guys three nights in the Honeymoon Suite." "Guys?" "You and Clark." "Did you say Clark?" "What do you think I was talking about before? Yes, I said Clark." Lois felt a surge of panic shoot through her stomach. "Chief, I'm not sharing that hotel suite with Clark! How would it look?" "The Honeymoon Suite? Natural." "But..." "Lois, think it through. No hotel's going to sit still for us using it as a base for spy operations. You need a cover. What better cover than honeymooners in the Honeymoon Suite? It's called 'keeping a low profile'." "But..." Perry continued to try to convince Lois. "Besides, how are you going to manage 'round the clock' surveillance all by yourself?" Clark raked a shaking hand through his hair. This was a tiny bit more than he bargained for when he asked for an assignment with Lois. She was strangely silent now and that worried him. Out of desperation, he said shakily, "It would be business, Lois, strictly business." "That's the deal. Take it or leave it." Perry sat back in his chair as a gesture of finality. Lois bit her bottom lip and then forced herself to look at Clark. He seemed just as scared as she was. She sighed. "I'll start packing." ***** "Action!" Clark stared at the bellman, then scooped Lois up in his arms. It was rather a benign scoop, but the results were the same. He was holding Lois. She had a wild-eyed doe expression on her face. Clark ignored it as he put on a show for the bellman's attention and stumbled a bit under the 'weight' of Lois. "That's it! Hoist her up, big fella! No brownies for you tonight, but I'm sure you'll get some other sweets if you play your card right," the bellman joked while videotaping Clark carrying Lois over the threshold. Lois struggled against, not Clark, but the annoying words of the bellhop. Clark put her down but placed a loose arm around her shoulders. "She's a little shy." "You'll help her get over it." The bellhop winked knowingly at Clark and bumped his shoulder, nudging him towards Lois. Clark had just dismissed the pesky bellman only to find Jimmy pushing past him carrying a large bag of surveillance equipment. His low whistle of admiration as he looked around the room caught Lois' attention. "Wow! This is some place! Too bad you have to work. That hot tub rocks!!" "Yes, Jimmy. That's why we're here. No other reason than to get a story." "Right." Clark noticed the slight frown on Lois' face and decided to listen to her heartbeat. Yep, she was definitely bothered by this situation. But he wasn't sure whether it was annoyance at the lewd bellman or at him. "Sure you don't want to stay a while and set this stuff up," she asked nervously. This was too soon, way to soon to be alone with Clark, at least in these conditions. "Uh, uh! I may like high adventure, but this operation is way too dangerous." He plopped the bag down on the floor and waved goodbye. His head reappeared from around the corner, and he quipped, "Don't forget to kiss the bride, Clark!" Clark heard Lois roar as she threw a well-aimed pillow at Jimmy's head. "Crack another honeymoon joke, and you're going to end up in a body cast!" "If you can't be good, be good at it!" Jimmy voice echoed from the hallway. Lois scowled again, then began to busy herself with setting up the equipment. This was nuts. It wasn't as if she and Clark were here for any other purpose than for gathering information for a story. He even said so. She eyed the ominous hot tub in the middle of the living room and wished she were at liberty to use it. A long hot soak helped to sooth her frazzled nerves last night. But that was out of the question, at least for now. She yanked another piece of equipment from the bag, and it tumbled to the ground in a loud clatter. Pulling at the bag in frustration caused another heavier piece of equipment to land on her foot. After she yelped in pain, a pair of warm hands covered hers briefly and took the tripod stand. "Here, let me." Lois jerked her hands away from him and sat down, letting him finish setting up the surveillance equipment. Once the job was completed, Clark sat down next to Lois and was silent for a few moments. "I know this isn't what we bargained for when we asked for an assignment together, but you have no reason to be afraid of me, Lois." Scared of what she might see if she looked into his eyes, she merely replied, "You just startled me; that's all." "Okay." Deciding not to push her any further, he stood up and moved the equipment closer to the window. "I'll take the first watch." ***** Lois stared surreptitiously at the strong back of her stakeout partner as he sat on the coffee table watching for any signs of life in the building next to them. She'd been pacing for hours now, and hardly a word had been spoken between them. She was very thankful that Clark was giving her the space she needed. It was as though he could read her mind, and the connection between them was beginning to spark once more. She longed to lay her hands on his shoulders and nuzzle his neck, or run her hands through his hair while kissing his cheek. Funny how her mind was all for it, but when it had come to the simple touch of his hands before, she'd pulled away in fright. He was so gentle, yet so dangerous to her mental well-being. But maybe she should listen to Kal's advice and try to talk things through, or at least break the tension in the room. Swallowing hard, she sat down, at a respectable distance, on the coffee table next to him. He turned his head towards her and gave her a tentative smile. "Hey." "Hey." "No luck?" She nodded her head towards the building across the way. "Not a peep. Guess tonight's not the night." "Nope." Clark straightened his back and stretched a bit, then said, "Why don't you take the bed? I'll stay up for a while and make sure they don't turn up after all." "I haven't exactly done anything. Why don't you get some sleep, and I'll stay up?" "I'm fine, really." "No, I insist! You've been sitting here for hours. Your back must be getting really stiff. Go!" She pointed towards the bedroom and managed a tiny smile. Clark decided to accept her gesture of consideration and stood up. "Thanks! I'll relieve you in a couple of hours. Wake me up if you get sleepy." "I will." Lois turned her attention to the camera and pretended to peer through it. She was pleased with herself. It was a start to trying to figure out if she could handle this relationship business. Letting Clark have the bed was one way she could show she cared. Clark watched Lois through the wall for a few minutes before turning in, or pretending to go to bed. He knew with Lois in the other room, it would be difficult to sleep. But he was happy that she'd made the offer. It was *something*. All they had to do was to get through this assignment one hour at a time. ***** Clark woke up from light sleep. It took him a couple of seconds to clear his head before remembering where he was - in the Lexor hotel with Lois. Dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, he wandered back out to the living area to see how Lois was holding up. She was sound asleep on the coffee table. Her head was resting on the wadded up equipment bag, and her feet were still hanging over the edge. She looked extremely uncomfortable and would more than likely wake up with a stiff neck if he didn't do something. He stared down at her for a few seconds trying to decide the best plan of action to take without getting himself in a heap of trouble. Leaning over the table, he slipped one arm underneath her head, the other beneath her legs, and picked her up. Her eyes fluttered opened for a second, and she gave him a sleepy smile as her arms wound themselves around his neck. He heard her whisper his name and nearly kissed her on the spot. But instead, he held her a bit closer as he picked his way around the equipment and headed for the bedroom. The bed was still turned down from his sleeping in it a few moments before, he noted as he leaned over to lay Lois down on the sheets. Her arms tightened around his neck so he stood up straight and waited for her to relax. He hoped to put her down without having to disentangle her arms from his neck and possibly even wake her up. He remembered the last time he'd held her in his arms - as Clark. He had laid her down on *his* bed as they passionately kissed each other senseless. He grew warm as he stared down at her beautiful features. Her relaxed hand slid down his shoulder and grazed his chest, coming to rest in the hollow between their bodies. He looked forward to the day when he'd be able to kiss her face, as she slept, to be able to touch her without restraint. Hopefully, that day would be soon, very soon. At last, he laid her on the bed, tucked the covers around her and returned for his night watch of the building next to them. ***** Shuffling in her pink fuzzy slippers, Lois wandered sleepily out in the living area. This was one way to create a bit of distance from Clark; let him see her at her worst, right after she woke up in the morning. If they ever got together again, she'd have to pass this particular test anyway. Better sooner than later. It was probably good to know if her appearance upon wakening would send him running to the hills in terror. Of course, if he hadn't run from her the time that she showed up at the Daily Planet in coffee-stained pants and his old flannel shirt, then he probably wasn't likely to think that this outfit was any worse. She lifted her eyes and looked for Clark. He wasn't to be found at first, then she spied a dark head of hair bobbing up and down on the floor. He was doing pushups. The muscles rippling beneath his thin t-shirt instantaneously mesmerized her. Made sense though after she watched him for a couple of moments. With a body like his, he would have to keep it up constantly. Somehow she never imagined Clark working out. He didn't seem at all like the narcissistic type. Not that all people who exercised were preoccupied with themselves. She certainly wasn't indulged with her looks. Too soon, he turned his head towards her and hopped effortlessly to his feet. He looked at her a second longer than what was comfortable, then tore his eyes away. "What?" she quietly demanded, feeling self-conscious. "Nothing." "What?" she repeated a bit more insistently. "*Nothing*. It's just that, well, you look pretty decent, for first thing in the morning." Lois felt herself blushing fiercely at his complement. Clark thought she looked decent, if you could define decent. They never had the chance to wake up together that morning long ago. He had left her while she had been sleeping to turn in the news story, which was now up for a Kerth. Did that mean she totally didn't disgust him, or that he found her pleasant to look at? Changing the subject seemed like the right thing to do. "I think we need to order room service. Are you up for breakfast? Sure you are. You're a big guy." She reached for the phone to dial room service. Clark stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and turned her gently in another direction. In her determination to do something to distract herself, she failed to see the tray of coffee and pastries sitting on a small table by the equipment. "Have a seat. I'll get you some." Clark smiled gently at her and proceeded to pour her a cup from the large thermos. "You like three pink packets and just a touch of creamer, right?" "How'd you know?" "I remember everything about you. Chocolate eclair, or cinnamon roll?" "The chocolate one, of course." She shot a puzzled glance at him, then patted the cushion next to her. She swallowed tightly as he dropped down next to her. "So do you think this is what it's like to live togeth... um, with someone? Fulltime?" "I guess. I mean, I've never lived with anyone before... fulltime." "Me neither. Fulltime." An awkward silence followed for a few moments. Clark finished his donut before continuing, "My parents made it look so easy, so I've never thought of it as being too difficult." "Mine made it look like a root canal. They were always fighting. That's why it was a surprise when I woke up this morning." At Clark's puzzled looked, she injected, "What I'm trying to say is thank you for taking me to bed last night. You didn't really have to give it up. My parents would have fought it out tooth and nail." , she wanted to add. "My pleasure." She took a nervous bite of her eclair and a bit of cream filling squirted out and dribbled on her lap. Clark immediately grabbed a napkin and began dabbing at the spot. An old familiar thrill raced through her body, causing her to still all her motions at his touch. "A bit of service goes a long way." He smiled at her when he heard her catch her breath. "Lois?" The intensity in his eyes changed, turning from warm chocolate to smoldering brown. Feeling a bit emboldened, Lois covered his hand with hers and smiled back. Drat him for his ability to turn her insides to jelly, but at this point she needed this feeling desperately. "Guess living together can be very scary. At first, I mean." "There'll be compromises." He turned their joined hands over and began twirling random patterns into her palm. "Forced intimacy..." "Sharing responsibilities..." "Never alone." "*Never* alone." Clark reached up with his other hand touched her face with his fingertips, then lifted her gaze to meet his own. Time stood still as he remembered the last time he had seen this look in her eyes. They were warm and inviting - just the same as the other night when he, as Kal, had kissed her when she was thinking of the 'other man' in her life. Lois *had* been thinking of him! There still was the truth hanging between them. He had to tell her he was Kal. But at this moment? Not when he was holding her trembling face in his hand. Not when he needed so desperately to reconnect with what they'd begun so many months ago. Her defenses were lowering, and they had to start somewhere in recapturing what was between them. His hand moved against her cheek and cupped the back of her head. "Is this too soon? I don't want to be too forward." She shook her head slowly and waited. His face drew close, and she closed her eyes. This was it! Clark was going to kiss her! The touch of his lips was a delicious sensation, soft and easy against hers, not demanding, but lingering. All too soon they left, and she felt his head rest easy against hers. Leaning back against the cushions, he tugged her close to his side as his arm wrapped around her. Her head fit perfectly in the hollow between his shoulder and neck. His lips kissed her temple, and he sighed against her hair, "Let's watch the offices from here for a while. Then there's a place I want to take you for lunch. We need to talk, Lois." She recaptured his hand and gave it a squeeze. "We sure do." ***** Clark adjusted the surveillance equipment for Jimmy and stepped back. "There. All you have to do is watch. Remember to page us at the sign of any activity." "Gotcha, CK!" Jimmy said eagerly. "You guys will be back here in a couple of hours?" "Yep. That's the plan. We're starting to go a bit stir crazy. Need to get some fresh air and stretch our legs." Jimmy looked around the room for Lois and saw her rummaging through her purse. "I guess you need to get away..." He mouthed the next words. "From *her*!" Clark started to explain that they decided to find a quiet place to talk without having to be distracted by the comings and goings of the office across the alley, but decided otherwise. It was much better to play along with Jimmy than to explain his and Lois' relationship. "Yeah, we need time alone." Jimmy rolled his eyes and smiled knowingly at Clark. He couldn't blame Clark for wanting to escape from Mad Dog Lane. Most of the time, she was a pressure cooker about to explode, and people avoided her at all costs. He was surprised that Clark had lasted this long in the ring with her. To his surprise, Clark turned to Lois and said, "You ready?" He opened the door for Lois, and she stepped through, smiling cautiously at him. Jimmy shook his head, trying to clear it. Surely there couldn't be anything else going on between them? Nah. They were just happy to get out of here. He peered through the eyepiece for a moment, then lifted his face. All seemed fairly quiet. They would never know that he had taken a soak in the hot tub. ***** Clark paid for the hot dogs and handed one to Lois. It was a beautiful day, way too nice to spend it inside a restaurant. They walked in silence around the park looking for an empty, out of the way bench to sit and eat their lunch. Finally, they found one under an old oak tree over looking the river. Lois was the first to speak up. "You know, hot dogs can be very under- rated. Sometimes the best-tasting food is simple. I wonder if it's nostalgia or eating something outdoors? What do you think?" "Could be the company?" Clark said, grinning at her. "At least it is for me." Lois suddenly squeezed her hot dog a bit too hard and chili came squirting out the side. Fortunately, it landed on the bench seat instead of her lap. "Sorry," Clark said, laughing. "What is it about you and messy food? This is the second time today." "I don't know," Lois said, half-distracted as she wiped the bench with her napkin. "Every time I get around you, I..." She looked up suddenly, as she realized what she was saying. The heat rose in her cheeks and she felt the need to back peddle. "It must be your clumsiness rubbing off on me. I swear, I've never seen a grown man struggle over stuck desk drawers and broken copiers like you do." "So you were watching me? You hadn't given me the time of day for a long time," Clark said, smiling. "I thought you considered me part of the furniture." Lois regarded him for a moment, then realized she was caught. "Okay! I did think about you just a bit these past months." "I thought about you all the time," he said quietly. She smiled hesitantly at his reply, feeling her heart warm quickly with his words. "Maybe I thought about you more than just a bit." Clark smiled, then took a bite of his hotdog. "You've come a long way since you first started at the Daily Planet. Do you feel like your career is established enough? You've certainly proven yourself in the journalism arena." "Yeah, but no Kerth to speak of, except maybe the one with you." "In the past three or four months, you've written several top-notch stories. I bet at least three of them will be nominated next year. But what's more important, how do you feel about your career? Is this the point where you wanted to be?" Lois thought for a moment before answering, "That's the key to becoming a great journalist. You should never be satisfied with where you are." "So I guess you're not ready." She saw his eyes flash with disappointment. "Oh, gosh, Clark! If you mean where I was a year ago compared to today, I'd have to say I'm happy in what I've accomplished so far. I'm sorry I shut you out of my life, but..." "Lois, no need to apologize. I understood why," Clark interrupted. His jaw set firmly, he looked her in the eye. "Most of the time." "It wasn't an easy decision," she said, her voice rising in pitch. "I know it wasn't." He lowered his face to look her in the eyes, then smiled apologetically. "So where do we go from here? Are we just calling a truce to our cold war, or are you thinking about giving us another chance?" Lois looked into his eyes and wanted to believe the gentle concern she saw staring about at her. Of course she could trust Clark, couldn't she? "Omigod, Clark! You sure know how to strike fear and panic in a woman! I guess what it boils down to is that I'm still scared. As far as relationships are concerned, I have a high freak factor. I believe I have the answer one minute, then turn around and have to rethink the whole relationship business. It's nothing that you've done, but there are things in my past that I have to let go of." She waved her hands for emphasis. "I *hate* how I'm tiptoeing around the issue, but the fact is, I just don't know. Last time, it happened so fast between us. I know you, yet I don't know you." Clark regarded her sudden panic attack and came to a decision. "Maybe we should just start over. Take it one step at a time and see where that lands us?" "Yeah, that sounds great." Clark leaned back into the bench and stretched his arms out over the top of the backrest in a casual manner. "Well, I'd say we should enjoy our lunch and make the most of this beautiful day. Hi! My name's Clark..." ****** "See! You have to throw it sideways. Sort of like a mini-Frisbee," Clark explained as he stood behind Lois at the river's bank. "It gives it a spin so it can skip across the water." He drew back his arm and flung the rock quickly. The stone skipped six times, and then sank into the water. "Impressive! Guess living on the family farm is good for all these unnecessary life skills." She turned a rock over in her hand, gripped it firmly, and let it fly. The rock bounced once on the water, then sank without fanfare. "Unnecessary, you say? You can't say that skipping rocks isn't a great stress reliever." "Okay, then. I'll just imagine that branch sticking out of the water is the latest scumbag's head and aim for that." She transferred another rock to her throwing arm and tried once more. This time it bounced two times before sinking. Clark laughed, then said, "That's not the kind of stress relief I was talking about." "You have your kind of stress relief; I have mine." Stepping behind her, he placed his hand on her wrist and led her through the motions of throwing the rock. "A little more wrist action, and then I think you've got it." "One more time," she said determinedly. After the rock skipped five times, she turned to Clark and smiled smugly at him. "Picturing Ralph's head worked just fine, mind you." "Okay, I'll give you that." Clark locked eyes with her and felt the familiar magic returning once again. But instead of acting on their emotions like they had done before, he smiled broadly and offered her his hand. "Need help up the path? I think we need to find a playground." "Playground?" she questioned. "I think you need to be pushed on the swings." "And what makes you think that?" Clark's beeper going off interrupted Lois. He frowned then looked at the number on the beeper. "It's Jimmy. Looks like break time is over." Lois sighed, and her expression grew serious once again. "Guess it's back to the grindstone. I wonder if Harrington's back." "Let's go straight to the hotel. By the time we find a phone to call..." Lois finished his thought. "Harrington could be gone." Clark nodded towards the path going up to the park, and let Lois lead the way. ***** A short time later, they were back in the hotel room peering in Harrington's office. "I swear, guys! It looked like something was going to happen. Two creepy looking men stopped by, left for a moment, and came back." Lois looked through the eyepiece and asked, "Well, where are they?" "They're gone. Left a few minutes ago." "What were they doing there?" "Just hanging out." "So you interrupted our lunch for a couple of wannabe thugs just hanging out?" Lois fumed, remembering the relaxing walk she and Clark had been taking around the park. He'd been absolutely wonderful setting her at ease. Starting over had been a good idea, and it had gone a long way to relieve some of the pressure between them. Then Jimmy had called them on Clark's beeper, and the easy mood was over between them. It had been time to get back to work. "You did the right thing, Jimmy," Clark said, trying to sound convincing. He wished he and Lois could have had a little while longer by themselves. It was so easy to use the surveillance assignment to skirt around their private issues. They had had a few unguarded moments between them, but basically the atmosphere had been quiet and business- like. He wished he knew why Lois was still so skittish around him. Something wasn't adding up. One moment she was reaching out and grabbing his hand, and the next she was pulling away and acting like he had a contagious disease. He didn't doubt that she cared about him, but breaking through her tough barriers was proving to be rather difficult. "Um, Jimmy?" Lois' voice cut through his thoughts. "Why are our towels wet?" Upon further examination, Clark noticed a wet trail running from the hot tub to the surveillance equipment. Lois' eyes had narrowed and she glared at the young photographer. "Jimmy?" she said faux sweetly. "You haven't by chance been in *our* hot tub, now have you?" Jimmy sucked in his breath, and his eyes grew wide. Clark approached Jimmy from the back and acted out an animated sniff. "Yep! Smells like fresh soap to me." "The Planet *is* paying for this! I just thought a little dip would help pass the time away." "Let me guess! So when you saw activity in the office across the alley - which you were supposed to be keeping a constant eye on - you hopped up, forgot you were wet, tracked water across our carpet, then ransacked the bathroom for towels. Is that correct?" "Uh..." Jimmy fidgeted under the scrutiny of Lois' intense gaze. "I think he used your soap. He smells like lilacs," Clark piped in. Something in the hot tub caught Lois' eye, and she knelt down and fished a candy wrapper out of the drain's strainer. "My Double Fudge Crunch bars!! You ate my chocolate stash, you little..." She lunged towards Jimmy and Clark caught her deftly around the waist. "Easy, Lois! Perry wouldn't want you killing Jimmy on company time." Lois glared at Clark a second and shrugged his arm off. "Ah, ha! No respect for personal items. Expect my bill in the morning!" "I think I'll head out now. Looks like you guys can take over again. The chief wanted me to... uh, wash his car this afternoon." Jimmy grabbed his camera and backed-up quickly towards the door. "See ya!" The door shut with a loud bang as Lois turned to Clark, wiping her hands together as though she was ridding them of something nasty. "I wasn't really going to kill Jimmy." "I know," Clark said smiling at her. "Good show!" "That'll teach him to interrupt us again." "My little Mad Dog," he said chuckling. "Oh, not you too!" She scowled defiantly at him. "I *never* thought you'd stoop to calling me that." Lois took a couple of steps toward him, and Clark could see the twinkle in her eyes. "And you're not above calling people names?" he challenged. "Of course, I'm not. I may grumble a bit, but I keep the name calling above board." "Hmmm. I seem to recall you calling me something like 'hayseed' long ago." "Hayseed? Did I call you that? I'll have to remember that one." She poked him in the chest, and Clark resisted the temptation to grab her and draw her close. He had to remember they were taking it slowly this time. Trust. He had to keep building trust. Whatever it was that was keeping Lois from letting all her walls down was still there. If he wanted to find out what it was and help her, he needed to have her complete trust. "Oh, boy! I'm quivering in my shoes," Clark retorted as he turned to the surveillance equipment. "You'd better." Lois peered over his shoulder and tried to see what he was doing. All of a sudden, Clark heard a noise and stood up straight. He peered through the door and identified who was trying to enter their room. It was the maid bringing some more towels to them! Jimmy must have tipped off the front desk on his way out. Thinking fast, he took the equipment and tossed it on the sofa behind them. Concerned flashed across his face, but he grabbed Lois by the upper arms and pushed her down on the cushions, covering her body with his own. He smothered her cry of protest with his mouth on hers as his hand snaked up her body to cradle her face hoping to reassure her. She struggled against him, her hands beating against his back, not understanding his actions. On her way to the bathroom to deliver the clean towels, the maid didn't see them on the sofa, but Clark felt he needed to keep up the pretence. The dirty towels would be in clear view when she returned. He kissed her a bit more insistently, hoping that Lois would forgive him for taking such a drastic measure to fool the maid. He deepened his kiss and felt Lois respond, her lips yielding against his. In the background, he heard the maid exclaim in surprise, but that didn't matter. Lois' arms found their way around his back, and she tugged him closer. Her hands roamed his back frantically, slipping downward to tug his shirt from his pants. Conflicting memories of two different men flashed in Lois' mind when Clark threw her on the sofa and laid his body on top of hers. The first memory, distant in time, but seeming only like yesterday, jumped to the forefront. With a sneering face and punishing mouth, he had tossed her on the bed carelessly and plundered her without feeling. She struggled against her assailant... Yet another time, one that was constantly in her dreams, was of the man she loved, and who was kissing her now, and oh, so passionately! She stopped struggling against him, and let her emotions take over. Her lips melted against his, and she tugged him closer. Suddenly the hard metal of the tripod jabbed her in the back, and the memory of being forcibly kissed on the other man's bed came flooding back. She pushed against the man on top of her and squirmed frantically against him. "Get off!" she screamed. "Now!" The maid let out a yell behind them as Clark pulled himself off Lois, jumping to his feet. Lois sat up quickly, took one look at the maid with the dirty towels in her hand and glanced back at Clark, who darted his eyes slyly to the equipment on the sofa. Suddenly she understood. Clark hadn't been overcome with a bout of passion and lust; he'd been trying to fool the maid. Within a few seconds of the maid yelling, Lois screamed herself, hoping to scare the maid out of the room. The maid jumped, dropped a towel, mumbled something in Swedish, and practically ran out the door. Clark shuffled nervously, hoping it wasn't his turn to be yelled at. Lois turned to face him, and instead of anger, he found a scared smile. He picked up the equipment and placed in on the floor, then sat next to her. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you. I only had a second to react." "I think so. And it wasn't you - just one of my many baggage compartments flying open in the middle of a flight. I'll be okay. Give me a minute." She reached over and patted him on his hand. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here," Clark offered, sensing that her perfected distancing technique was in full operational mode. "There really is no need." She leaned her head back against the cushion and closed her eyes. Clark waited for a couple of seconds, then sighed. She had closed up on him once again. At least it was a miracle that she hadn't bitten his head off for having thrown himself on her and kissing her senseless. She had been responding to him, at least for a few moments. Patience. He had to have patience. The problem being that he wasn't sure how much patience he had left when thrown into situations like the one they were just in. Having Lois mold her body to his, having her arms suddenly tighten around him, then feeling her hands on his bare skin as he kissed her brought back memories of the night they had almost made love. The time that *he* had stopped them because he believed he should be noble and tell her everything. Yes, he believed he should tell her he was Kal, but the timing never seemed right. They were on a stakeout, for goodness sakes, and he had to make sure she was ready to hear the truth. A few months ago, she hadn't wanted to know everything about his normal life. Her confidence had been so shaky in herself and relationships that she had told him as Kal that she wanted to keep their identity secret from each other. So how was he supposed to handle this situation? To his surprise as he was messing with the equipment, once again, he felt her hand on his shoulder and her voice whispering shakily in his ear, "But you're a great kisser." He turned towards her and saw that her eyes were calm once again and that she looked rather contrite for having yelled at him. Smiling, he patted the coffee table where he was sitting and scooted over so that she could have a seat if she wished. He heard her gulp rather noisily, then said, "Guess we keep taking two steps forward and one step back. Suppose it's progress though." "As long as we keep heading in the same direction." "Clark? You could be with any woman that you want, yet I've never seen you with anyone else in the past few months. Why is that? "I'm not seeing anyone because there's never been anyone else I wanted to be with except you. I told you I would wait, and besides," he leaned over to whisper in her ear trying to keep the mood light. "You're a great kisser, too." She frowned at him. "That can't be true." "Huh?" "I don't have enough experience to be considered a good kisser, but you should know better. After all, a man like you should have lots of comparisons to draw upon." "Like me? Lois, I think you have the wrong impression. I don't have a lot of experience dating because I've been waiting for the right woman to come along all my life. At the risk of pushing myself too far, I've already met her, and she's sitting next to me on a stakeout in a very gaudy hotel suite." "I don't have much experience either. Just bad ones." "Someday when you're ready, I hope to change that." Clark's face colored slightly. "I mean, the way I feel about you - I'd never want to hurt you, Lois." She looked into his face, so full of affection and warmth, and was overcome by a burst of emotion. Twisting towards him, she threw herself in his arms and leaned her head on his shoulder. His strong arms wrapped around her, and he buried his face in her hair. Sniffling, she answered, "I know that, and I'm starting to believe it - and in us." Clark threaded his fingers through her hair and held her against his shoulder. Should he even dare ask again? He had to. Lois was going through something he didn't understand. If she could only talk about it, then there might be yet another wall broken down between them. "Lois, are you sure you're okay with what happened before? You seemed pretty scared." She turned her face into his shoulder and tightened her arms around him. "I'm fine, Clark. Just hold me." He kissed the top of her head and shifted positions so that she was more comfortable in his arms. "For as long as you want, sweetheart," he whispered. "As long as you want." ****** "Clark! Get over here! I think something is happening," Lois tossed over her shoulder as she intently peered through the lens. "Clark?" Darn! He must have gone down to the lobby for some more late night snacks - again. She couldn't believe how much Clark ate, and what was even more astonishing was how good a shape he appeared to be in. After all, she had seen his wonderful chest and strong muscles. Before she could get too distracted, her attention was drawn once again to what was happening across the street. A light had come on some piece of equipment in the office. Lois focused a bit harder and recognized a fax machine as it spit out a piece of paper on its top. A possible piece of evidence! She just had to try to get it! Clark was gone for who how knows how long, and it appeared it was up to her to handle this. Checking to make sure she had her lock picking tools, tape recorder, and camera with her, she left the room. Once inside the building, she calculated the number of stories and windows to where the office would be and set to opening the lock of an office door, praying that she had the right one. The lock suddenly clicked, and Lois slowly opened the door. The office was dark and quiet, apparently unoccupied. Lois moved quickly to the back room to locate the fax paper that she saw being printed earlier. It was a long shot, but hopefully would reveal some proof that Harrington was accepting bribes. It was a dud, revealing nothing but some confirmation for some office supplies. Disgusted that her efforts hadn't yielded any results, Lois began rummaging through the desk drawers and file cabinets. Someone rattled the doorknob and startled her, sending her scurrying for cover. She dove behind the desk chair just as the door opened. Nope! She wasn't about to get stuck hiding under furniture again. She had seen enough of the underside of desks to last her a lifetime. There had to be some way to escape without getting caught. Scooting over to the window, she pushed on the window, and it swung outwards. One of the benefits of these older buildings was that they were built before central air conditioning, so there had to be a way to get fresh air circulating back then. She peeked out the window and confirmed that the ledge was really there. During the many hours that she and Clark had been keeping watch, she had planned and plotted her way out of this window so many times, it made her head spin. Yep. The ledge was secure just as she had thought. Her foot tested the stone ledge, and she eased herself through the window until she was completely outside. The traffic from the street buzzed in the street over, and she was glad she was off on a side street. Suddenly Lois felt the sensation of being watched and that she was not alone. A strong finger tapped her lightly on her shoulder, causing her to jump, and her footing on the ledge slipped. But not too far. With two hands on her shoulders, Kal set her back on the ledge and steadied her balance, then floated casually besides her. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked, folding his arms. "Don't you know you should never sneak up on a person who's sneaking around on a ledge?" she sputtered. "You're violating... the Spying Code!" "Spying Code?" Kal smirked. "May I ask you something? What laws are you violating now?" "Well, if you don't get caught, then you're not violating anything. Besides, I'm trying to do my job." She shot Kal a look, then inching her way past the window so the intruder in the office couldn't see her, Lois peered in the window to see who first interrupted her snooping expedition. It was Harrington! And he was starting to rummage frantically through the desk drawers obviously looking for something. He had the desperation of an animal being cornered as he tore through the contents of the desk, strewing everything about carelessly. "See," she whispered in Kal's ear. "You almost made me miss this: desperation at its finest." "I see you scored high on the mercy scale," he stated while placing a protective hand against her elbow. "Who needs mercy when there's a story to get. Now be quiet, and do your vision gizmo thingy. See what he's looking for." "Lo-is..." Just then the door burst open, and Peter Rourke walked in, gun in hand, and trained it immediately on Senator Harrington. Kal moved forward slightly, and Lois stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Wait! You can stop a bullet in time. Let's see what's going on." Inside, Senator Harrington stood up quickly and threw back his arms. He staggered slightly backwards, appearing a bit drunk in the process. Recklessly, he waved in the air. "You caught me, so do me in!" "Way too easy, old man. You know the deal. Now where's the money?" Rourke demanded. "You've got it all. There is *no more money*! I want the documents just like you promised." Rourke shook the gun at the Senator menacingly. "You think a bit of information like being in a convicted criminal's pocket for years is going to dry up soon? I don't think so." "It wasn't my fault! I didn't want to do it. Luthor was so persuasive!" Advancing towards the wayward senator, he held the gun with both hands and pointed towards the window. "Let's go, Harrington. After the officials pick you out of the ground, they're going to find everything they need to rule this as a suicide. Get moving!" Lois held the tape recorder up to show it to Kal. In a flash, he had Rourke tied up, and Harrington was standing shocked. "Better be careful what you say around Lois Lane, boys," he quipped. Stepping back through the window, Lois handed the tape recorder to Kal and said, "Take this and that piece of scum to the police, then get back here to bring me to the station. I have a story to write." Taking a second glance across the street, she added, "*We* have a story to write." Kal grinned and asked, "I take it you want me to contact your partner?" "If you don't mind. He's probably chewing his nails down to the knuckles wondering what is happening over here. He worries - kind of like you do." Breaking her off, Clark wasn't quite ready for her to put two and two together. He faced the two men and hoisted them up by their jackets. "Let's go, boys!" "Hey! I wasn't the one with the gun!" Harrington complained. "No, but you have some explaining to do, along with why you accepted bribes and traded top secret information." "But I was being forced! By that two-bit..." "Explain it to your lawyer, bud," he calmly replied as he flew out the window. Lois watched her friend fly away, glad that Harrington hadn't realized that *she'd* been in his office illegally. Like she'd told Kal, she was just doing her job. Technically, she hadn't been in his office, just outside on the window ledge. A few minutes later, Kal returned to fly her to the police station to wrap up the case. Lois cornered Henderson and made him promise that she would be the first journalist to get the official police report. While waiting to be released after giving her statement, she scribbled an outline of an article on a notepad she borrowed from Henderson's desk, wanting to get a head start in case she was given an exclusive right away. Lois was deep into concentration, when a soft voice said, "Hey there." "Hi, you missed all the action," she smiled, happy to see Clark. "I caught up with the action on the surveillance tape. I saw your snooping." He grinned at her horrified expression. "Don't worry. There's enough evidence collected here that we don't need it." Lois frowned at him. "What else did you see?" "On second thought, maybe it was just Superman just catching a couple of criminals. Didn't he collect you on the street and bring you up through the window? That's what I saw. You'd never break and enter." He gave her an exaggerated wink. Lois studied him for a second. "You're okay, Kent." "So are you, Lane." Clark regarded her with a side-ways smile. "I guess our little venture in the gaudy Lexor is over?" "What would you expect with a name like Luthor attached to it? But I guess we're finished," she admitted rather sadly. "Guess we'd better gather up our things and check out," Clark said reluctantly. A couple of hours later, they were finished at the police station and were on their way out the door of the honeymoon suite. Clark sighed as he locked the door for the final time. Lois stood by his side, her arms full of baggage and equipment, and reaching up on her tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek. "Bye! Thought I'd tell you goodbye here." "I'm glad," Clark replied, then leaned in and placed his lips lightly on her temple. "I guess we'd better meet our taxi. Ready?" "Ready, partner." ***** After slipping into an old pair of sweats and a well-loved T-shirt, Lois was preparing to settle down on the sofa with a book for the evening. It was obvious that Kal was busy with some sort of emergency or rescue, and he probably wasn't going to make it tonight. It was a relief to be finished with the Harrington investigation, but having it wrapped up so quickly was a bit of a disappointment. She'd wanted to set things right with Clark again. Even though they appeared to have cleared the air, it still bothered her how she had treated him. It had been an instinctive reaction to push him away so abruptly when he'd thrown her on the bed and kissed her to fool the maid. How could he have known that she would fly off the handle that way? Maybe she wasn't ready for a relationship with him. Maybe it was still too soon. No, it wasn't, she thought determinedly. She'd go to him tomorrow and drag him off so they could finish their talk - that was, after she apologized and explained why she had acted like a scared rabbit. He'd been so understanding and sweet about taking it slow. He made her feel as though she was worth the extra patience and trouble she was putting him through. She pulled the warm throw over her legs and settled into the soft pillows. The new pillows that Kal's mom had made her were so much nicer than the stiff decorator ones that she had before. One of these days, she needed to twist Kal's arm and get him to take her to meet his parents. She would love to thank his mother personally, not to mention meeting the parents of