On The Other Hand
By CarolM <carolmfolc@gmail.com>
Rated: PG-13
Submitted: February 2009

A few notes:

Thanks -- as ALWAYS -- to my *fabulous* betas: Alisha, Beth,
Nancy and CarolynK. They put in hours of hard work [or something
like that ;)] helping me brainstorm this fic. Carolyn, in
particular, put her legal knowledge to work on my behalf and
Nancy's world travels also came in very handy when I spent hours
upon hours deciding which type of plane the flights were on to
make the seating work best for me. Alisha and Beth plotted and
cajoled and encouraged in chat more times than I can begin to
recall. You ladies ROCK! And Queenie. Always Queenie ;). Even if
there's no Italians.

Thanks also go to SheilaH, who gave some great insights and
suggestions that contributed to many of the edits made to the
archive version.

And to the GE who took this on, Tricia, you are my hero,
especially for putting up with my edits while you were... editing
;).

A couple... warnings may not be quite right, but informational
tidbits perhaps.

One of the definitions M-W.com has for saga is 'a long, detailed
account'. This is one of those. It covers several years, in great
detail in places, less detail in others. And it's long. Very
long. Very, very long. And since I added at least three chapters
worth of scenes, etc. to it, this version is different than the
one on the boards. Think of it as the 'director's cut' or
something ;).

Most people have traumatic events in their lives over the course
of several years and Lois and Clark are more likely than most to
have trauma in their lives [and if you don't think so, just look
at what happed between 'Just Say Noah' when they got back
together and the end of 'Swear to God...'/beginning of 'Brutal
Youth' when they finally made it to their wedding night]. So
there is some trauma here. Some is based in things that happened
in the past, some happens here. Some is explicit, some is
implied. Some is blown out of proportion by characters, some is
practically repressed. It's all part of life. Especially life
with Lane and Kent. Er, and explicit there means that it's
spelled out and you see it and all that rather than something
'behind the scenes' or 'off camera', not like *explicit* in an N
sense :D.

But I always put my toys back where they belong, or where they
started anyway ;). I like to make them happy. Of course, what
makes them happy doesn't always make me happy, but that's a
different issue all together. ;)

Two chapters of this fic will also be available as the
stand-alone fic [insert title later :D].

This story is told in first person, something new for me, from
the perspectives of Lois and Clark.

POV changes are found between two sets of ~~~~~.

Chapters are noted: *~*#*~*.

Jumps in time without POV changes are noted by ~*~.

Month and year is noted where appropriate, either at the
beginning of a chapter or offset with ~*~*~.

<> Denotes thoughts -- not many but there are some.

><~><~>< things that might otherwise be in italics --
conversations Clark overhears, flashbacks, etc.

More notes, relating to individual chapters, can be found at the
end.

And so, without further ado...

On The Other Hand

*~*1*~*
August 2002
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

"Can you believe it, Clark? We're finally here!" Lana spun in a
circle -- arms spread wide -- after we stepped out of the truck.

"Yep. Metropolis University." I looked around before moving
towards the other side of the truck. "We're sure not in Kansas
anymore."

Lana giggled as I came to a stop behind her and wrapped my arms
around her waist. "Of course not, silly. That's the whole point
of being here. Neither one of us wanted to stay in Kansas."

"Well, now, you know I wouldn't have minded going to Midwest,
but I wanted to be where you are and Met U *does* have a good
journalism program so here I am."

Lana turned in my arms so that she could face me. Her hands
rested on my biceps until she slid them up to play with the hair
on the back of my neck. "I'm glad you came with me."

I smiled at her. "I am too." Her lips looked so shiny and I just
had to see what kind of lip gloss she had used last. I lowered my
lips to hers and kissed her. Being in public kept the kiss
unfortunately short and relatively chaste, but was more than
enough to taste her lips. "Mmmm... Raspberry," I grinned.

Lana smiled back at me. "I know how much you like raspberries."
She patted me lightly on the chest. "We better get moving if
we're going to make it to the dorms anytime today." She stepped
out of the circle of my embrace, linking her fingers with mine as
we headed across campus, following the signs to the Lane Athletic
Center where registration was being held. "I still can't believe
our parents let us come all this way by ourselves. I mean we're
both eighteen but... they're so old fashioned."

"I know. They mean well and if we hadn't spent the first night
with Aunt Opal in St. Louis and last night with your uncle in
Pennsylvania, they probably wouldn't have let us." I let go of
her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her
close to me. "They probably still wouldn't have if they'd known
you'd want to use every truck stop between here and Smallville as
our own personal make-out spot."

Lana smacked me lightly. "Hey! I only wanted to use half of
them. The other half were all you, Mr. Kent."

I laughed then kissed the side of her head. "Just don't tell
your dad, okay?"

"No problem. He'd probably fly right out here to defend my
honor."

"Your honor? What about my honor?" I held my hand to my heart
and pretended to swoon.

Lana looked me up and down, a look of what could only be
described as appreciation in her eyes. "It may need defending as
well before too long." I groaned as she continued. "As long as
these city girls keep their hands off, you'll be okay."

"What about defending me from you?"

Lana grinned wickedly. "Who said anything about defending you
from me, Kent?"

I groaned again, but my retort was stopped by the crowd of
people in front of us. "I think we're here."

Lana sighed. "Well, I'm off to the 'L' line."

I looked at it. "It's shorter than mine. It's still going to
take us hours to get through here though." We watched as the
brunette at the front of the 'L' line walked off in a huff. "One
down, two thousand to go."

"Now, Clark, it's not that bad. The faster we get done here, the
faster we can go unload the truck and get something to eat." She
gave me a quick kiss before moving to get in her line. "Now
scoot."

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a wink and a mock salute. "See you in
a bit." I gave her another kiss and then moved over to the 'K'
line. This was going to be a long afternoon.

~*~

I pulled my old truck up in front of Weller Hall and waited for
an opening. There. The Jeep Cherokee was moving. I pulled in to
the spot it vacated and hopped out. Lana had finished before me
and had said she was going to walk over here and try to check-in
and get at least one key. I wasn't sure if she'd had time yet or
not.

She hurried out to meet me. "Clark! Over here."

I walked towards her, but she held up her hands to stop me, so I
waited for her to work her way over.

"I got a key to our suite. You'll have to check in too, but as
long as we can get in, you don't need to yet."

I frowned slightly. "Are you sure that's okay? Will we be able
to get into my room or just yours and the suite?"

Lana ran a hand up my arm. "What if we can convince our
roommates to let you stay in my room?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Our parents would flip."

She sighed. "I know. But it was worth a shot." She turned. "And
yeah, we can get into all of it. They said that was fine as long
as you checked in later tonight. Let's see if we can get a cart
to load some of this on."

An hour later, we had moved all of the boxes and bags into the
main room of our suite.

I sighed as I looked at the pile. It was going to be a long
night and I couldn't speed through it -- not here. "Let me move a
couple of boxes into your room so you can get started and then
I'm going to go move the truck so someone else can get in and
then I'll come help you with all this." I picked a couple of
boxes labeled 'Lana' and moved them into the still empty room she
would share with another girl.

I set them on one of the desks and was stopped by arms wrapped
around my waist. I turned easily in them until I could look in
her beautiful blue eyes. "I'm not going to get anywhere like
this." My arms slid around her showed that I didn't really want
to leave.

"I know," she said, a husky tone to her voice. "Alone at last
and probably not for long."

I groaned as she kissed me. Strawberry this time. How many
different lip glosses did she have? By my count -- which
admittedly might have been a bit muddled by the intensifying kiss
-- this was the sixth or seventh one since we left Smallville. I
moved my hands to her hips and used gentle pressure to move her
farther away from me, as I pulled my head back from hers. Even I
needed a minute to catch my breath. "As nice as this is, honey, I
think we have other stuff we need to get doing."

"Spoilsport." She kissed me again, quickly this time.

"I liked the strawberry, though."

"You like them more than raspberries."

"I do."

She patted my chest. "Remember those words, Kent. You're going
to need them."

I pulled her back into my arms for a hug, then kissed the top of
her head. "You bet I am."

~*~

Several hours later, I lay in my bed. My roommate had been and
gone before I'd even arrived and had taken the top bunk. I wasn't
very happy about that but there was nothing I could do about it
at the moment. Maybe I could convince my roommate to trade with
me. If I hadn't gotten hopelessly lost once we neared Metropolis,
I might well have been there early enough to claim it. Lana had
offered to share her top bunk with me, but I'd known she'd only
been half serious about it. She would have let me if I'd really
wanted to, but that was taking things way too fast for both of
us, besides the fact that she had a roommate to deal with.

The last three days had been nice; spending time alone with
Lana. We'd never spent that much time together and it was nice to
know we could without killing each other. We'd left two days
before in the middle of the afternoon. The trip to St. Louis was
only about six hours and we were at my Aunt Opal's house by nine
or so. We hadn't really stopped at *every* truck stop on the way
to Metropolis to make out, but every time we'd stopped... well,
we could never linger too long because our parents were expecting
phone calls when we arrived and knew how long it should take. I
would, however, under extreme duress, admit to pushing the speed
limit a bit more than strictly necessary in between stops. The
truck stop in Independence, Missouri had been cotton candy, I
remembered.

We'd spent the night in Foristell, Missouri, just outside St.
Louis. I'd slept on the couch, but Lana had snuck down to 'get a
drink of water', she'd said, though why she'd need fresh
watermelon lip gloss to do that, I'd never know. I grinned to
myself at the memory. We'd left early the next morning for
Carlisle, Pennsylvania where her Uncle Henry lived. That was
closer to a fourteen hour drive. The truck stop in Terra Haute,
Indiana had been pink lemonade and Zanesville, Ohio had been
marshmallow and had looked kinda shimmery. We'd left Foristell
early and arrived at her uncle's house about nine in the evening.
I'd slept on the couch again, but her Aunt Jane was a light
sleeper and their room was between Lana's and the stairs, so she
hadn't been able to 'get a drink of water' that night.

That morning, we'd gotten gas in Carlisle before heading out.
Bubble gum. Carlisle to Metropolis University should have taken
about four hours, but the unfamiliar streets and highways and
even traffic had made it into a six hour, extremely frustrating
drive full of muttered expletives that would have made my mother
wash my mouth out with soap. But she'd never tried to drive in
Metropolis, I was sure. I'd have to watch that. Lana hadn't been
crazy about it either, but since she was the one who left the map
on top of the car so it could blow away, she didn't say
anything.

I missed my parents though. Part of me wished this could have
been a family trip -- though how all three of us would have fit
in my truck and been remotely comfortable was beyond me. And
Lana's parents couldn't come either so that would have been
difficult too. But, my dad's back surgery had only been a couple
months earlier and, while he was doing well, a cross country road
trip was out of the question. My mom couldn't afford to be gone
that long either. Lana's dad had a town meeting tonight and since
he was mayor and they were talking salaries, he had to be there.
Lana's mom didn't go anywhere without Lana's dad.

And so we'd been allowed to travel across the country by
ourselves. I wasn't quite sure what to make of Met U just yet,
but one thing was sure, there was no way it was going to be
boring.

~*~

I woke at precisely 6:30 a.m. That was 5:30 in Smallville, but
it was a big day and I had to be up and around early --
Metropolis time. Five-thirty in the morning wasn't completely out
of the ordinary on a farm, but I preferred to sleep a bit later
most of the time.

I could hear my roommate breathing in the bed above me. I moved
quietly, pulling a pair of shorts on over my boxers and grabbing
a shirt, socks and a pair of shoes as I went. I scribbled a note
and taped it to the door, exiting into the living area.

Lana was sitting on the couch with a cup of black coffee in her
hand.

"Hey," I said quietly.

She glared at me. "How come you're always so chipper in the
morning?"

I stood behind her on the couch and gave her a quick upside down
kiss. "It's the best time of day. Anything's possible first thing
in the morning."

She grunted a response.

I laughed. "It won't be so bad once we get adjusted to the new
time zone."

"I hope not."

"How's your roommate?"

Lana shrugged. "Fine, I guess. She got in late last night after
I was in bed. You?"

"Came in after I was asleep. Still sleeping now. I tried to be
quiet when I left."

"Boy scout."

"You love it," I grinned.

"Yeah, I guess." She yawned and stretched. "Okay, Kent, let's
figure this place out."

~*~

Lana and I managed to duck out of orientation a few minutes
early. We were sitting near a door on the side of the auditorium
and decided that leaving ten minutes before orientation ended
would give us a twenty minute head start on our suitemates --
maybe even more, depending on where in the mass exodus they would
get caught.

We'd spent the morning finding our way around campus -- finding
buildings and even some classrooms. Lana wondered idly who the
Lane family was and why they were so all-fired important that
half the campus was named after them. I reminded her that one of
the reasons we weren't at Midwest was because she'd qualified for
the Lucy Lane Memorial Scholarship. She grudgingly admitted she
was grateful for that because Midwest was just too close to
Smallville.

We made record time -- at least for us, we had no idea how long
it should actually take for someone to get from place to place on
campus -- in getting from the auditorium back to Weller Hall. The
plan had been for a bit of a make-out session because we figured
we might actually meet our roommates in a little while and, if we
spent time together as suitemates that evening, making out wasn't
going to happen.

And so we'd been kissing on the couch and things were just
starting to heat up when we heard a noise in Lana's room.

"Damn, she made it here fast," I muttered.

"Clark! Watch your mouth!"

"Sorry, Baby." I grinned at her. "I was just hoping for a little
more time with you before we got interrupted by roommates."

"I know." She kissed me swiftly. "But we have all year."

"I know." I sighed and stood up. "I'm going to take a quick
shower since I didn't get one this morning." I leaned over to
kiss her one more time then headed to the shared bathroom. I
stopped and went to my room and grabbed a few things and then
winked at her as I started to close the bathroom door behind me.
"I liked the pina colada, by the way."

Lana giggled. This was going to be some school year.

~*~

I sighed. There just wasn't much room in the bathroom for
getting dressed. I'd showered and toweled off, but space,
apparently, was at a premium in Weller Hall. I glanced through
the wall to make sure there was no one in the common sitting
area. Giggles were coming from Lana's room so I figured it was
safe to run the gauntlet to my own room. I turned my eyes that
direction. Nope. No roommate yet.

I grabbed my clothes -- old and new -- and headed to my room. I
was just getting ready to drop the towel and pull on a pair of
boxers when I heard the key in the lock. Best wait on that, I
decided. Sure, guys generally had a locker room mentality but I
hadn't even met my roommate yet. In the buff probably wasn't the
best way to do it and who knew if anyone else was there or
walking by in the hallway?

Well, here went nothing.

*~*2*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

"No. It's Lois. L-O-I-S. Not Louis. L-O-*U*-I-S. Lois." I glared
at the woman seated in front of me. "Lois Lane. Lane. As in Dr.
Sam Lane. As in Lane Hall and Lane Athletic Center and the Ellen
Lane Memorial Medical Building."

"I'm sorry for the mix-up, Miss Lane. Whoever entered your
information in the computer must have slipped and misspelled your
name."

"Well, duh. I get that. Now can we get it fixed?" I thought I
was intimidating her just a bit and tried not to smile slightly
at the thought -- it would ruin the whole intimidation thing...

Good.

A few more clicks on the computer and a new piece of paper came
out of the printer at the end of the table.

"All done. You're Lois Lane as far as the University is
concerned."

"Thank you. Now, my dorm. I specifically requested to be on the
academic floor of Lane Hall -- an all girls dorm with a strict no
men policy on the floor and enforced quiet times for studying
with a private room and bath. This says I'm in a co-ed dorm, with
a roommate and two more suite mates sharing one bathroom." Part
of me wished my father was there to straighten all this out. With
the obscene amounts of money he'd donated to his alma mater in
the years before he almost went broke, he still held some
influence and he'd used it to get me on the short list for the
dorm I wanted. The rest of me was proud of myself for handling
this on my own.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lane." I could almost see fear in her eyes.
Not... fear maybe but something. Maybe she knew who my dad was
after all. "All the dorms are full. The last two years have seen
the largest numbers of freshmen by far and since most sophomores
and virtually all freshmen are required to live on campus, we
have a bit of a shortage. That floor in Lane Hall is overflowing.
There are no private rooms there at the moment and many of the
suites actually have six residents instead of only four. I'm
afraid there's nothing I can do for you there."

"I want to talk to the head of Housing." I crossed my arms and
tapped my foot annoyingly.

"I understand, Miss Lane, but he's going to tell you the same
thing and he has a line of about..." she glanced at a group of
people behind her, "...fifty students who are in the same
predicament you're in. They're all unhappy about their dorm
assignments too. When you sign in here, you're logged into the
system. If I don't confirm your dorm assignment at the same time,
there's a chance that it may be given to someone else and you
won't have a room at all."

I sighed. "Can you at least tell me if my suitemates are males
or females?"

A few more clicks on the computer. "Female."

"Can you tell me who they are?" I knew a few girls from school
who were planning on attending Metropolis University and living
in Weller Hall and I didn't want to be room or suite mates with
any of them."

"I'm sorry, Miss Lane. Confidentiality laws forbid me from
revealing that information. You'll have to wait until you meet
them."

I sighed again, ignoring the calls of 'would you hurry up
already? There's a line here' coming from behind me. "Fine. I'll
take it."

~*~

I pulled my graduation present -- a slightly used, but still
very nice silver Jeep Cherokee -- into the unloading zone in
front of my new -- temporary -- home. After checking in at the
registration desk, Joe, my on again, off again boyfriend, met me
and began to help me move my things into my room. I was grateful
that it appeared that none of my suitemates had arrived yet.

I unpacked and took the dresser, closet, desk and bed I wanted
the most. Weller Hall was equipped with bunk beds and there was
no way I was taking the bottom bunk. I liked to be on top. I
called my dad who said he'd see what he could do, but that he
knew about the housing crunch and doubted there was anything he
could do to change things this semester, but he'd look into at
least getting me into the other dorm in the Spring.

It didn't take too long -- I hadn't brought everything with me
and most of the rest I did have in the car would come up trip by
trip. My dad's house was close enough that if I needed anything,
I could run over. For instance, I hadn't brought my winter
clothes with me. There was really no need and storage space on
campus was at a premium. My school supplies and books had yet to
be purchased and probably wouldn't be for a couple of days yet so
my desk was easy to set up. Mostly just a pen holder, a CD player
and a couple of notebooks in it to tell my roommate to back off.
And a wireless keyboard and mouse to go with my laptop, which I
wasn't about to leave unguarded until I met my roommate. My
suitcase was quickly unpacked into the drawers of one of the
dressers and most of my hang up clothes were put in the closet as
Joe and I brought them in. He'd wanted to try out my new bunk as
a make out spot but I'd shooed him away saying the sooner he got
his stuff out, the sooner we could go to dinner. I quickly made
up the top bunk and stowed the rest of my things.

Joe had finally left me to my own devices while he finished
moving in to his room three floors down -- I hadn't been very
happy that he wanted to be in a co-ed dorm, but now I guessed it
was for the best. At least he knew his roommate -- his best
friend from high school, Les.

Joe and I went out for dinner that night with Les and Peggy, his
long time girlfriend. We were out late and by the time I returned
to my room, my roommate had already moved in and was sound asleep
on the bottom bunk. I changed clothes and climbed into my bed.

The sun woke me up entirely too early and I buried my head under
the pillow. My roommate, it seemed was already up, but at least
was trying to be quiet. The door opened and closed and I heard
both male and female voices in the suite's common living room.
Great. One of my suitemates must have already had her boyfriend
stay the night.

I looked around and saw precious little to tell me about my
roommate. A non-descript gym bag sat on the desk I hadn't claimed
and a couple of boxes were visible next to the other closet. I
glanced at the alarm clock I'd put on the little shelf attached
to the top bunk. 6:45 in the morning. Even better. My roommate
was a morning person. Just what I needed.

With a sigh, I decided that it was probably best to go ahead and
get up. My dad was likely to be calling before long and it
wouldn't do for him to know I'd been out late the night before.
Even though classes didn't start for a couple of days, he
wouldn't be happy about it and now that his practice was back on
its feet, he was paying for me to be here. Well, for the little
that wasn't covered by scholarships. And gas. And spending
money.

I climbed down and noticed a note taped to the door.

"I'm heading out for the day but hopefully we'll catch up later.
Looking forward to meeting my roommate for the next year," I read
aloud. The only signature on the note was my roommate's initials
and that didn't tell me much, but it was written on a piece of
sticky note paper that proudly proclaimed the name of a high
school in some town I'd never heard of. I scribbled 'See you
later' and my own initials and left it there.

I sighed again and got dressed, grabbed my purse out of my
closet and headed out to meet Joe, Les and Peggy for breakfast.
There were two doors to the room -- one to the living area and
one to the hall. Unless I had to go to the bathroom or take a
shower, that was the door I planned on using for the duration.

~*~

It had been a long day. Even though I had a pretty good idea of
where things were on campus, Joe had insisted we actually walk
our routes so we had a better idea of how long it would take to
get from class to class. We'd walked my schedule and then his.
Then there was freshman orientation -- four hours of information
that I could have gleaned in ten minutes with a good pamphlet or
the handbook they handed out at the end of hour three. But I had
to sit there through the entire thing.

And it was so hot.

But Dr. Monroe informed us that using the handouts of the
schedule as fans would burn enough energy that we'd actually end
up warmer than if we didn't use them. The output of energy would
be greater than the offsetting breeze created by the papers.

And so there I was -- Freshman Orientation -- the highlight of
my day. I used the time to people watch, something I often did,
making up stories about the people as I went.

Like there. A redheaded girl wearing a halter top was actually
making out with her blond boyfriend who was likely on the
football team given his Metropolis University practice jersey.
They may as well have been sharing a seat.

Or there. Two science or math nerds sat next to each other.
Twins by the looks of it, complete with pocket protectors and
calculators. Both had glasses that had seen better days and dark
hair that needed a barber desperately.

Behind them were a couple of high school cheerleaders who
probably hoped to make one of the squads at Met U. I actually
almost snorted. Good luck. Competition was fierce and Met U's
cheer squads regularly placed in national competition. The
blondes with school colored ribbons around their pony tails
probably didn't stand a chance.

I looked to the other side of the large auditorium.

There was a blonde country girl -- evident by her hair and
clothes that were at least two seasons out of style and probably
not really in style then. Well, I amended mentally, probably a
small town girl. The dark haired boy next to her put his arm
around the back of her seat and whispered something in her ear.
The girl blushed. Probably whispering about what they could do in
their co-ed dorm now that they were away from Mommy and Daddy. He
looked up and straight at me. For just a second our eyes met and
then he turned back to the speaker at the front of the room.

My eyes narrowed. What was that all about?

I moved a few rows behind the couple from Podunk, Iowa.

Goths.

Behind them a few more football players and then a guy I knew
had been recruited for the basketball team. Playing 'this is your
life' with them was no fun -- it was too obvious.

Another blonde. This one was going to be a doctor.

The brown haired jock behind her was probably going to be one,
too. I could tell he was a jock, but this one was probably fairly
intelligent judging by the book in his hand. He was paying less
attention to the orientation than I was and the book he was
reading was as thick as a phone book. Squinting, it looked to be
one of the Lord of the Rings novels, but I wasn't sure.

Behind him was a mousey brunette female. Probably barely made it
out of high school and was here because if she wasn't her parents
would stop paying for her car insurance and make her get a job.

My gaze moved roamed the room again, not stopping as I noticed
the dark haired country boy glancing my way. I passed by them,
until I saw a green mohawk I'd managed to miss the first time
around. He was asleep. Real college material.

I sighed and realized that the handbooks were finally coming
around. I took one from Joe and passed the box on.

Joe put his arm around me and asked if I wanted to go out to
dinner again.

I shook my head. I needed a good night's sleep and if there were
going to be boyfriends over regularly, I was going to have to get
to my room early and stake out my space. There was no way I was
going to let my roommate keep me out with a rubber band or tie or
some such nonsense on the door knob.

Finally the meeting broke up. I was grateful my dad had bought
me a mini-fridge and a microwave and that I'd had the foresight
to have it stocked already. The food service my dad used for his
meals gladly packaged some up into single servings, but they
would only be good in the fridge for a few days. They'd last
longer in the freezer, but the freezer on that thing wasn't even
worth trying.

Joe and I separated as he found Les and they headed off for
dinner then a football meeting.

Now I stood in front of the door to my room. Someone was moving
around inside.

Here it went. Time to meet the roommate. I checked the door
again to make sure there wasn't some sign that I was supposed to
stay out and came up with nothing.

I stuck my key in the lock and turned it, opening the door as I
went.

I was taken aback by the sight in front of me.

The country boy from the auditorium was there. His hair was damp
and he was wearing only a towel.

Something in me snapped.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my room?"

*~*3*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I could feel my eyes narrow. It was the brunette who'd been
staring at me and Lana during orientation. "Your room?"

"Yeah, Einstein. My room." She glared at me. "I'll ask again.
Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my room? Do I need
to go slower?"

I glared back. Who did she think she was? "No, I understood you
the first time. I just wondered what psychiatric disorder you're
suffering from."

"Why on earth would you think I have a psychiatric disorder?"

"Because you're clearly delusional."

She scowled at me and walked all the way into the room, slamming
the door behind her. She tossed her purse onto the top bunk. "I
don't know who you think you are, standing in my room basically
naked, but if you don't get out, I will call security."

"Go for it. And then they'll tell you that *you're* the one
that's in the wrong room."

"What?"

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my room?"

"Excuse me?" I could see the color rising in her face.

"Yeah, Einstein. My room. I'll ask again. Who are you and what
the hell are you doing in my room? Do I need to go slower?"
Somehow, I couldn't stop myself. It was really a good thing my
mom wasn't here or she'd grab me by the ear and drag me off for a
good talking to. It amazed me that nothing else hurt me but one
tiny Kansas woman grabbing my ear made it prickle for days.

"So you're a parrot?" She crossed her arms in front of her.
"That still doesn't explain why you're in my room."

"This is *my* room, so why don't you get out and go find your
own?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I think you're the one who's delusional.
This is *my* room."

"Would you like to see my room assignment form? Then will you
get out?"

She held out her hand.

I sighed and moved to my desk. I pulled out the folder they'd
given me when I registered the day before and pulled out my room
assignment form. "See?"

She reached for it and I pulled it back.

"What do you say?"

"Excuse me?" It was a good thing *she* couldn't shoot fire out
of her eyes or I would have been burned to a crisp right then and
there.

"What do you say?"

She rolled her eyes and put on what had to be a fake smile.
"Excuse me, kind sir, could I please see that paper, please,
sir?"

"Much better." I handed it to her.

I saw her eyes narrow again. "This is impossible," she
muttered.

"What?"

"This is your room."

I grinned for the first time since she'd opened the door. "Told
you."

She walked to the other desk and pulled out a similar folder and
another room assignment form. She glared at me as she handed it
over.

I looked at it. Lois Lane. Could she be related to all the Lane
stuff on campus? I shook myself. What was it she wanted me to
see? I looked further. Dormitory: Weller Hall. Okay. Room
number... I looked again. "This is impossible."

"I already said that, Captain Obvious."

"You're my roommate?"

"Looks that way. For now. You'll be moving out."

I scanned the rest of the paper then handed it back. "Nope. I'm
staying. You can go."

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?"

"Well, you're local. I'm not. There are no dorm rooms anywhere
on campus and we both know it."

"I'm not local."

I'd taken note of her home address. "Pittsdale isn't that far
from here."

"It's way too far to commute."

I shrugged. "It's a lot closer than Kansas."

"You can go live with my dad and I'll stay here."

"Nope. I want to live here and my form is correct so..."

"What do you mean your form 'is correct'? Are you implying mine
isn't?"

I looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow. She really was
an attractive young lady. In another universe -- one without a
Lana -- I might have even asked her out. "You don't look like
someone who should have checked 'male' on her forms."

"What?"

I pointed to the form. "It says 'male' under gender."

She looked at the paper more closely. "I am not a male and I
certainly never checked male on any form."

"Well, I figured you're not a male. I'm not blind you know." The
blouse she was wearing certainly emphasized that -- without
flaunting it.

I was glad I was invulnerable because the look she gave me could
kill a lesser mortal.

Her face fell and she sank into the chair she'd pulled out when
digging for her folder. "The name thing."

"What name thing?"

"Um... listen, before we go on... would you mind putting some
clothes on?"

I glanced down. I'd forgotten I wasn't dressed yet. "Yeah,
sure." I grabbed my things. "I'll be right back." I was back less
than two minutes later to find her sitting at the desk with her
face in her hands. She swiped at her face before turning to look
at me.

"They had my name spelled wrong in the computers. They must have
changed my gender, too."

"Easier said than done," I couldn't help saying, earning me
another look that could kill. "Sorry," I muttered.

"They had me down as Louis instead of Lois. We got it
straightened out yesterday when I checked in at the gym. I wasn't
even supposed to be in Weller. I was supposed to be in an all
girls dorm on an academic floor, but they must have moved me
after they changed it." She sighed. "And, of course, there's no
empty dorm rooms anywhere. I asked if my suitemates were girls
and they said yes. It didn't even occur to me to ask about my
roommate."

I sat in my own desk chair. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For giving you a hard time. I shouldn't have done that."

"I started it," she admitted, still refusing to look at me
again.

"My parents raised me better than that though and I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." She took a deep breath. "But what do we do
now? One of us has to move and there's nowhere to go."

"I don't know."

"I'll call my dad. He might be able to do something."

"How could your dad help?"

She glanced at me but then returned to staring out the window
over her desk. "He's a distinguished alumnus who's donated a lot
of money to the school over the years. He has some pull."

"So you are related to all the Lane stuff around here?"

She nodded. "That's us. The Lanes. And this is just the latest
in the series of mishaps that is my life."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom and sister were in a car accident when I was a kid.
That's why it's the Ellen Lane *Memorial* Medical Building and
the Lucy Lane *Memorial* Scholarship Fund. My dad made a lot of
money on some invention to help with sports injuries and stuff."

"Wait. Is your dad Dr. Sam Lane?" I asked, incredulous.

"That's him. You've heard of him?"

"Anyone who's ever read the sports pages has heard of him."

She shrugged. "Anyway, he made a ton of money and donated a
bunch of it to the school over the years. After my mom and sister
died, he went into a deep depression and lost nearly everything
when his partner took advantage of his misery. We managed to keep
the house and cabin and enough to keep paying some employees he
had but that was about it. He went back to private sports
medicine practice and is doing very well again and even has some
other new invention, but he signed over all the rights to
everything from before without realizing he did it. Once he
realized what happened, he sued his former partner and got a
settlement -- a pretty good one -- but that's it.

"I've already been accused of getting into the journalism
program because of who my dad is and not because of my abilities,
which is a load of bull. I'm a good writer and I'm going to be a
great reporter, but that doesn't matter."

She was a Journalism major? Well, we had that in common.

"And... Anyway, a bunch of other stuff I'm not about to confide
in you that has made my life one mishap after another."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom and sister and what happened
to your dad." I really meant it.

She shrugged. "It's been a long time now. I still miss them, but
that's just part of life."

"So what do we do?"

"I'll call my dad, but I doubt there's anything he can do. I
already called him yesterday when I found out that my dorm
assignment was wrong and he said the campus is overflowing."

"That's what I heard, too."

There was a knock on the door. "Clark?" It was a girl's voice.

"Who's that?"

I groaned. "My girlfriend who happens to be one of our
suitemates."

"The blonde?"

"It was you looking at us."

She shrugged. "I looked at lots of people."

Another knock. "Clark? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come on in."

The door opened and Lana came in. I saw her eyes narrow when she
saw Lois. "Who's this?"

"This is Lois."

"What's she doing in your room?"

"Don't you mean what's he doing in my room?" Lois retorted.

"Excuse me?" The sarcasm dripped from Lana's voice.

I sighed. "There was a mix-up with Lois' paperwork and they've
got us in the same room."

"Well, Lois. It's nice to meet you and I wish we'd have the
chance to get to know you better, but since you'll be moving, I
don't guess we will." I cringed slightly at the fake sweetness I
heard coming from Lana.

"I'm not moving." She turned one of those looks Lana's
direction.

"You have to. Clark's not. We made arrangements to be suitemates
a long time ago and this is a co-ed suite floor so... that means
you'll have to find somewhere else to live."

I sighed again. "Lana, give her a break. She didn't do this. It
was a mix-up."

"And I'm not moving so you'll have to get used to me," Lois told
her.

"Well, Clark's not moving either," Lana shot back.

"Lana, can you give us a few minutes so we can straighten this
out?"

I saw her glare at Lois then she turned to speak to me. "Can I
see you for a minute?"

I walked over to the door. "What, Lana?"

"What are you going to do?" she hissed.

"What do you mean?"

"You have to get her out of here. Or better yet, she can move to
my room and I'll move in here."

I sighed. "That's not going to happen, Lana, and you and I both
know it. Our parents would flip and the money we're getting from
them would disappear."

"We won't tell them."

"I'm not going to lie to my parents." I put my arms around her.
"How's your roommate?"

"She's nice."

"What's her name?"

"Linda King."

"Linda King is your roommate?" Lois interrupted. "Oh this just
gets better and better."

Lana didn't move from my arms. "You know her?"

"We've met. So you can forget any plans that you might have to
make me move in with her so you two can be together. It's not
gonna happen."

"So you're an eavesdropper?"

"If you didn't want to be heard, you should have moved a little
farther away and whispered," Lois retorted.

"Lana," I said, pulling her farther out into the living area.
"We can't be roommates regardless. Our parents were upset enough
when they found out we were suitemates and wondered how that
happened. If they find out we requested it, they'll be even more
upset."

"So what are you going to do?"

I sighed. "I don't know, but let me figure it out okay?"

She nodded and kissed me.

I heard Lois clear her throat behind me. "Do you mind?"

I pulled back. "Why don't you go ahead and go to the cafeteria
and I'll catch up with you in a bit?"

"Fine." She kissed me again, more quickly this time. "Don't be
long, okay?"

I nodded. "I won't." I leaned in closer to her and whispered. "I
like cookie dough."

She grinned. "I know." Another quick kiss and she left.

I moved back into his room and shut the door behind me. "So what
do we do?"

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I fought to keep the tears from spilling over. This was great. I
was in the wrong dorm with a roommate of the wrong gender and
Linda King was one of my suitemates. What else could go wrong?
And it looked like I was going to have deal with Clark and Lana
sucking face every time I turned around.

"I don't know, but I can't move home right now," I told him.

"I'm not trying to say that's what you should do, but why not?"

"I just can't, okay. It's too far away and it's not going to
happen."

"Well, *I* obviously can't commute."

"No." I watched as he sat back in his chair.

He took a deep breath. "Well, there's one obvious solution,
but..."

"We share."

"Well, I was going to say we stay roommates, but... yeah,
basically."

"Do we report this to the campus people?"

"What will they do if we do?"

I sighed. "Probably make me move home and I can't do that."

"Then we won't tell them."

"We'll have to come up with some ground rules."

"Of course."

"Like no walking around in towels." That was one distraction I
certainly didn't need. Joe wasn't going to be any happier about
this than Lana was.

I watched a smile cross his face. What was that about?

"No walking around in towels," he agreed.

"Why don't you go meet Lana for dinner and we'll talk about it
later?"

He nodded. "Sounds good. I'll be back in a bit -- what about
you?"

I shrugged. "I've got some food in the fridge..."

"We have a fridge?"

"No, *we* don't. *I* have a fridge."

"Ah."

"If you ask nicely, I'll share."

He laughed and then smiled at me. "I'll keep that in mind." He
grabbed his keys and wallet and stuck them in his pockets. "Sure
you'll be okay here?"

I nodded. "Yeah. My boyfriend may be by in a while anyway."

He grinned and winked at me. "Good thing I've already got a girl
or I might be jealous."

I glared at him. "Whatever, Kent. Go find your girl and I'll see
you later."

"See ya." And he walked out the door.

I climbed to my top bunk and stared at the ceiling. At least he
seemed like a nice guy. Too bad his girlfriend and her roommate
were evil.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

How on earth was I going to tell Lana that Lois wasn't moving?

I jogged down the stairs and headed towards the cafeteria. She
was not going to be happy about it.

Neither were my parents. How was I going to explain it to them?
Actually, that might be the easier of the two. I contemplating
finding an alley or something and taking off really fast and
heading back to Kansas to talk to them, but I knew that wasn't
really an option. We'd talked about it before I left and we
agreed that any visits would have to be at night and then only
sparingly. I didn't think the second day I was here would qualify
as sparingly.

On the other hand, this was pretty big so maybe it did qualify
as worthy of a trip home. Maybe tonight, if I could get away
without anyone noticing.

Finally I made it to the cafeteria and spotted Lana. Deciding I
didn't really want to eat, I just went to sit with her and a girl
I guessed was Linda.

"Hey," I said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So is she gone?"

I sighed. "No."

"When is she leaving?"

"She's not, Baby."

"Don't 'baby' me, Clark Kent." She refused to look at me.

"She can't move home and there's no other place to live on
campus. What's she supposed to do?"

She finally looked me in the eye. "That is not your problem."

"Come on, Lana. Don't be like that."

She sighed. "You're too nice for your own good -- for my own
good -- you know that?"

I grinned at her. "It's why you love me."

She finally smiled back. "Well, one reason." She looked at the
other girl sitting at the table. "I'm sorry -- Linda, this is my
boyfriend, Clark. Clark, this is my roommate Linda."

I held out my hand and Linda took it. "Nice to meet you,
Linda."

I didn't really like the way she looked me up and down as much
as she could since I was sitting, but I realized I'd done the
same thing to Lois -- not something I would normally do, but I
was being kind of a jerk at the time. I hoped I hadn't made her
as uncomfortable as Linda was making me.

"You know," she said. "I went to high school with Lois."

"Really?" I said. My first impressions were usually pretty good
-- and had been since I was little, my mom told me -- and my
first impression of Lois, claws towards Lana notwithstanding, was
much better than my impression of Linda who seemed to be
regarding me as a piece of meat. It wasn't the first time a girl
had looked at me like that and Lana usually got very possessive,
but she didn't seem to notice this time.

"Yeah. I wouldn't recommend letting her stay your roommate. If I
were you, I'd let the housing people know as soon as you can,"
she advised.

That sort of set me on edge a bit. "I'll take that under
advisement," I told her. "But usually I like to make my own mind
up about people."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," she said with a shake of
her head.

I still wasn't sure what I'd been warned about, but one thing
was sure -- I was going to keep as much distance between myself
and Linda as I could.

*~*4*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

When he'd called, I'd told Joe that I didn't feel well, which
was the God's honest truth. Clark did seem like a nice enough guy
once he put some clothes on. Before that, he'd been kind of a
jerk, but he had apologized. And then, he threw my attitude back
in my face without being mean or anything like that. He'd make a
much better verbal sparring partner than Joe ever did.

I was lying on my stomach on my bunk reading the day's edition
of the Daily Planet when Clark got back from wherever it was he'd
gone with Cruella and Madame Medusa. I hadn't decided who was who
yet. One would skin puppies and the other was cruel to little
orphan girls and then sicced her crocodiles on them. Or were they
alligators? Eh. It didn't really matter -- they were both sick
and twisted, just like Lana and Linda.

I barely glanced at him as he walked in. "So, did the Ice
Princess forbid you from sharing a room with me?"

He sighed. I really shouldn't push him if I wanted this semester
to go smoothly and hope that he wouldn't report this to the
housing people.

I folded the paper and sighed as I sat up. "I'm sorry. I
shouldn't have said that. Linda just rubs me the wrong way and
the idea that I'm going to be sharing a suite with her for the
next year has been irritating me all night."

"For what it's worth, she doesn't seem to like you either."

I snorted. Gee, that was ladylike. "That's not surprising. She's
hated me ever since I told our history teacher she was cheating
off of me. And the same day that Paul, our editor at the paper,
asked me to Homecoming instead of her. She didn't care that I
turned him down because he was a creep."

"*Was* she cheating off of you?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I wouldn't have turned her in if she wasn't. She wouldn't know
John Adams from John Kennedy if her life depended on it. She said
something once about Henry Ford and Ben Franklin being
presidents."

"That's pretty bad, but Lana made the Henry Ford slip once too.
It's probably not that uncommon -- right last name and all. And
Ben Franklin *was* one of the Founding Fathers," he pointed out
-- just to irritate me, I was sure.

"She also said John Lennon invented Communism and Nixon was
impeached."

Clark grimaced. "Well, probably 75% of the American population
believes Nixon was impeached."

"But he wasn't," I pointed out. "Andrew Johnson and Fred Garner
*were*."

"You made your point. She has good reason to dislike you, even
if she was wrong to start with. And you have good reason to
dislike her."

"Who are you? Jimmy Carter? Don't bother trying to negotiate a
peace treaty between us."

"I won't."

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall. If I had to
be roomed with a guy, at least he was intelligent enough to hold
his own with me. Part of me wished he wasn't nearly as good
looking, but Adonis had nothing on this guy. I didn't know if I'd
ever get the sight of him in a towel out of my mind. I'd never
seen Joe in a towel, but I knew he didn't look like that.

"So, ground rules," I started. "No walking around in towels or
otherwise undressed." There. That should take care of that -- I
wouldn't be seeing that again. And that was good. Really it was.
Why again? Just because I was going out with Joe didn't mean I
couldn't appreciate a well-built guy, right? I *knew* he looked
at other girls but that he wouldn't do more than look while we
were dating. Somehow I doubted Clark would even look at another
girl while he was in a relationship.

"Sounds good. What else?"

"Lights out at ten."

He raised a brow. "Ten?"

"Ten-thirty. You want to study later than that, go to the other
room."

He nodded. "No alarms before six-thirty except for special
events of some kind."

"Not a problem."

"And no girlie stuff lying around." He waved an arm vaguely
towards the room. "No froo froo pillows or anything."

I raised an eyebrow. He could see my very not girlie navy blue
comforter set. Did he really think I was going to be hanging lace
curtains? "You might want to mention that to Lana before you get
hitched, Farmboy." I'd peeked in their room and it looked like a
cotton candy machine had thrown up all over the place. That I'd
picked the lock wasn't the point. I needed the practice.

He glared at me. "None of your business, Lane."

I rolled my eyes back. "No leaving your stinky sweat socks all
over the place."

He countered with, "No loud music."

"No girlfriends spending the night in your bed," I countered
back.

"No boyfriends spending the night in *your* bed," he was quick
to reply.

"Not that it's any of your business, but it won't be a problem,"
I assured him.

"For me either."

I wasn't sure I believed that. "Fine. Sleep in her bunk if you
must, but not in here."

He smirked. "Don't worry about it."

"Do we need a 'keep out' system?"

"A what?"

"Well, a do not disturb sign might be a bit obvious, don't you
think?"

"I guess."

I knew Joe and I weren't going to need any system, but I really
didn't need to walk in on him and Cruella going at it. "Innocuous
note on the outside white boards."

"Like what?"

"I don't know." I might do it every once in a while just because
I could.

"So, for the sake of discussion, Lana and I wanted some privacy
for some reason..."

For some reason? Surely they taught the birds and the bees on
the farm.

"...I'd write 'Call Mom' on the white boards on the outside of
both doors."

"That won't work."

"Why not?"

I glared at him. "My mom's dead, Rainman."

His face changed and he actually looked a bit sympathetic.
"Right. Sorry. How about 'Call Dad'?"

I shrugged. "That works. Real phone messages go on the inside
white board and all phone messages get written down and
delivered. No exceptions."

He raised a brow. "You think I won't deliver your messages?"

"I think you might be a little too involved in determining what
kind of lip gloss Ellie Mae is wearing to remember to write it
down."

He started. Just a bit. I was right. I'd seen three different
kinds in the bathroom and I knew that wasn't Linda's style so
they must have been Lana's. It was disgusting on more levels than
I knew what to do with.

"Do you call everyone names?" he asked.

"Only the people I like," I said sweetly. Too sweetly I knew.
"Sorry. It's been a rough couple of days and I had a fight with
Joe."

"Just Joe? He doesn't get a nickname?"

"Eh. Sometimes he's Elway, or even Farve, when he ticks me
off."

"Why Elway?"

"Joe's a quarterback, but he prefers Steve Young. He's really
not a Broncos or Packers fan."

"So the boyfriend is a jock, huh?"

"At least he knows the difference between the car guy and the
former president. And I'm sure you've never picked up a football
in your life." I stared at him. He had to be a jock so making fun
of Joe -- even if I wasn't particularly fond of him at the moment
-- wasn't really nice of him.

"I have. I played football, basketball and baseball in high
school, but I'm here on an academic scholarship."

"Whatever." I sighed.

"So, Lana and Linda get nicknames -- and I'm guessing you had a
couple others you won't say out loud too; like the wicked
stepsisters from Cinderella or something. I've gotten a couple
nicknames already and Joe gets called Elway or Farve every once
in a while. What gives?"

"He's nice to me." That wasn't the real reason.

"I don't buy it."

"It wasn't for sale."

A puzzled look crossed his face for a second. "I still don't buy
it -- for sale or not."

"Fine. Generally, I only give nicknames to people who stir up
strong emotions - when they stir up those emotions -- or who
catch me when my emotions are already stirred up."

"And your boyfriend doesn't stir up strong emotions in you?" he
asked with a raised eyebrow.

I sighed. "Not really. He's not Mr. Right. I've known that for
two years and he knows that I'm not about to get serious with
him. He wants someone to make out with on Friday nights and I
don't really want to sit at home. That's about it."

"So you make out with him just to get out of the house?"

This guy was too intuitive for my own good. "He's not a bad
kisser. He doesn't push my limits and if either one of us found
someone else, it wouldn't be a big deal at all."

"I see." He looked at me contemplatively. "Well, I hope that you
find someone who stirs up those emotions in you. Someone who
loves you for you -- nicknames and all."

I shrugged. "If that kind of love exists, maybe I'll find it,
but if not that's okay too. I have a career ladder to climb
anyway."

"What? No family?"

"I dunno. Maybe. Someday. Not till after the first Pulitzer I
win for some big expose in the Daily Planet."

"Wow, you aim high, don't you?"

"So what if I do?"

"There's nothing wrong with that." He shrugged. "Go for it. If
anyone can do it, you can."

He was right. If anyone could do it, I could.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

It was a several hours later before I could sneak away. I'd
called my folks -- just a casual call to see what they were up
to, to say hi and I missed them -- and ascertained that they were
getting ready to turn in for the night and I knew that, if I was
going, I better get there before they did that. Knowing my folks,
they were taking full advantage of me moving out. I shuddered,
while at the same time hoping that Lana and I were still like
that when we'd been married as long as they had.

I found a deserted part of campus and took off as fast as I
could, finding myself in Kansas mere minutes later. I turned my
hearing on and heard only Mom and Dad talking about their plans
for the next day, so landed quickly and knocked on the door. Mom
answered it a minute later.

"Clark! What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" She pulled
me inside quickly, glancing around nervously before shutting the
door.

I thought it was kind of funny; the closest house was nearly two
miles away after all and it wasn't like they got many unexpected
visitors this time of night. Well, except Granny Kent but I'd
landed on the opposite side of the farmhouse from the house where
she lived for a reason.

She didn't appreciate my smirk.

"Clark Kent, what are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "I needed to talk to you guys and I wanted to do it
in person. It's nothing too serious or anything, but I need some
advice and I didn't really want to do it over the phone."

"Well, come on in and sit down. Do you want a drink?" she
asked.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, thanks, Mom." I pulled her into a
big hug. "I've missed you."

She put her arms around me and hugged back. "I've missed you,
too, son, but it hasn't even been a week. And we did talk to you
fifteen minutes ago." She kept her arms around me -- a sure sign
that she'd missed me -- and looked up at me. "Why did we talk to
you fifteen minutes ago if you were planning on coming here?"

I knew my face was as red as one of her tomatoes. "I knew I was
coming, I just wanted to make sure you guys were home and not...
busy."

She laughed. "Well, I'm sure your dad's wondering who's here."

I kept my arm around her as we walked to the kitchen. I knew
Lana wouldn't understand how much I'd missed her -- and Dad, too
-- but I had. Lana also didn't understand wanting advice from my
parents either. She rarely asked hers about anything. As far as I
knew, her mom had never had *the* talk with her, and I *knew* her
dad hadn't. Thank goodness for health class or something. Me, on
the other hand, my parents had always been honest with me. I knew
far more about their love life than I would have preferred but a
big part of that was because I hadn't told them right away when I
started hearing and seeing things I shouldn't. I knew they'd been
a lot more careful once I had told them about it -- at least
until I'd gotten the strange powers under control. They had both,
however, talked to me about that kind of stuff, but I knew Lana's
parents hadn't. I guess it was part of the close relationship
with my parents that she just didn't understand because she
didn't have it with hers. I hoped that someday she'd have that
kind of relationship with my mom.

"Look who's here, Jonathan."

Dad looked up from the jigsaw puzzle sitting on the table. So
that's what they'd been doing when I called; I hadn't been able
to figure it out from the background noise. "Clark, what're you
doing here?"

Mom hated it when I turned the chairs around to straddle them,
but I did it anyway. "There's something I need to talk to you
guys about and I'm not sure what to do."

"Lana's not pregnant, is she?" Dad asked furiously.

"What?! Dad! No!" I shook my head emphatically. "We aren't
even... you know. Trust me. Lana *cannot* be pregnant!"

Dad breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."

"Besides, even if we were, you guys raised me to be a lot more
careful than that," I pointed out, not really wanting to make
this a conversation about my lack of sex life. "That's *not* why
I'm here."

"Then why are you here?" Mom asked from the counter where she
was pouring herself another cup of coffee -- decaf at this time
of night, I was sure.

"Remember I told you I hadn't met my roommate yet?"

They nodded.

"And how unhappy you were to find out that they'd put me and
Lana in the same suite?"

Mom's eyes darkened and Dad's jaw set as they nodded. Maybe it
would have been a lot smarter to not request the same suite, but
it was too late now.

"Well, there was a paperwork mix up."

"Is Lana your roommate?" Dad wasn't very good at hiding it when
he was starting to get mad.

"No!" I shook my head. "Will you let me talk and stop jumping to
conclusions?"

"He's right, Jonathan." Mom took a deep breath and I knew she
wasn't as calm as she projected. She was worried about what I was
about to say, too.

"Lana's not my roommate, *but*..." I paused wondering how they
were going to take this. "...my roommate is a girl."

"How on earth..." Dad started but Mom put her hand on his and he
stopped.

"There was a paperwork mix-up in registration. Her name is Lois,
but someone stuck a 'u' in there and made her Louis and had her
down as a male, which she obviously isn't, but there aren't any
empty rooms on campus and even though she's from the Metropolis
area, she says she can't move home." I blurted it all out and
then took a deep breath, waiting for their reactions.

There was nothing for a minute and I took that as a bad sign.

"What does Lana think?" Mom finally asked.

I shrugged. "She's not happy about it, but she doesn't have
anything to worry about. Lois seems nice, but my heart belongs to
Lana, you guys know that."

Mom sighed. "I still worry about you two being so serious so
young."

I rolled my eyes. We'd had this conversation more times than I
cared to remember. "You were this serious younger than we are,
Mom," I pointed out.

"Maybe, but somehow I don't think you're planning on waiting
until you finish college to propose to her, are you?"

I didn't say anything, but stared at the table.

"Or to get married," Dad stated.

"We're not you guys. I love her and she loves me," I said
defensively. "We're going to the same college so there's no long
distance issue and I'm not going into the Navy like Dad," I
pointed out.

"No, you're not," Mom agreed, "but still..."

I sighed. "I'm not here to discuss me and Lana. I just wanted to
let you know that I had a girl for a roommate and see what you
thought and how I should handle it."

"Well, is there any way to get another roommate?" Dad asked.

I shrugged. "I don't think so and if we bring it to their
attention, then they'd probably make her leave since she's local
and I'm not and my gender was right on my forms and hers wasn't,
even though it wasn't her fault."

Mom looked at me quizzically. "If she's local why can't she move
home?"

"I don't know. She just said that she couldn't move home. She
was in tears over it."

They shared a look before Mom spoke again. "And you always are a
sucker for tears, aren't you?"

"Well, Lana said I'm too nice for my own good."

"Now, that I believe. Are you sure she wasn't just turning on
the waterworks?"

I shook my head. "No. She was really upset. She said that her
mom and little sister had died when she was a kid -- and
something's going on with her dad but she didn't tell me what.
Her dad's a bigwig alumnus but even he couldn't get her back into
the dorm she'd originally requested. You know Lana's scholarship
-- the Lucy Lane Memorial Scholarship?" They nodded. "That's her
sister."

"That's rough, but what does that have to do with not moving
home?" Dad asked.

I sighed. "I don't know. She just said that she couldn't move
home and started crying. She didn't want me to see her, I don't
think, but I'd gone to put some clothes on and when I came
back..."

"You weren't dressed?" Mom raised an eyebrow.

I turned red again. "I'd just gotten out of the shower and went
to get dressed and she walked in before I took my towel off. It's
good she wasn't a few seconds later," I pointed out. "I don't
know what else to do. I mean sure, I could report it to the
housing people, but I told her I wouldn't and she'd have to move
home which she obviously doesn't want to do or we can stay
roommates, which Lana's not happy about..."

"Obviously."

"Obviously," I repeated. "She seems nice enough and we agreed to
some ground rules -- get dressed in the bathroom, for one. And a
couple other things. She said something about a signal on the
whiteboards on the doors if... one of us doesn't want to be
disturbed." I couldn't believe I said that. It earned me a glare
from Dad. "Hey! It was her suggestion. I didn't say I'd need
it."

"We trust you, Clark. To be responsible at the very least. And
we know you haven't told Lana everything yet and you know that
we'd be very disappointed if you didn't tell her first." That
came from Dad.

"I know. And Lana and I are planning on waiting until we get
married. I've told you that," I reminded them. "We decided that a
long time ago."

"We know that, but we also know that things change. Your dad and
I just want to make sure you know where we stand."

"I do. I have since I was like five." At my mother's
disapproving stare, I amended my statement. "Okay. Fifteen, but
still."

"We certainly didn't discuss those things with you when you were
five," Mom said, indignant.

"But you did make out in front of me all the time," I told her.

Dad gave me a look that made me wish I'd had this conversation
over the phone.

"Okay, fine. Making out is a bit strong, but it was always
embarrassing to have my friends over."

Secretly, I'd... not liked that they were half all over each
other the whole time I was growing up, but at least I never
doubted that they loved each other.

Dad took Mom's hand and looked at her the same way I remembered
him looking at her when I *was* five. "When you're married, son,
you'll understand." He raised a brow at me. "And I seem to
remember a time or two when you and Lana were a little closer on
the couch than you should have been and a few guilty looks when
we walked in."

I turned beet red, I was sure. "We never crossed the line. Any
line," I mumbled.

Mom patted my hand. "We believe you."

I stood up and flipped the chair back around. "I better get
back. Lana's probably looking for me by now."

Dad frowned. "It's a bit late, isn't it?"

I shook my head. "We don't have to be up with the roosters like
you two do." I gave them both big hugs and after a few more
minutes chatting, took off for Metropolis.

*~*5*~*
October 2002
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I slipped on my favorite pair of jeans and buttoned them. They
fit perfectly, which was part of the reason why they were my
favorites. I pulled on my favorite Daily Planet sweatshirt. It
hung almost to mid-thigh and was long enough that when I held my
arms at my sides, the sleeves covered my hands; those were just
two of the reasons I loved it.

I quickly pulled my hair back into a pony tail and put on some
lip gloss -- none of the flavored junk Ellie Mae favored, but
rather my favorite color. I didn't really care if Joe liked it or
not. Well, I cared, but I didn't really *care*.

I was ready not a moment too soon because no sooner had I
finished application, than there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, yourself, " I said, smiling at him.

He leaned on the doorframe. "You ready?"

I nodded. "Where are we meeting Les and Peggy?" I stuck my ID
and some cash in my back pocket.

"At the trail -- they're both home for the weekend." He shut the
door behind me after I pushed the button to lock it from the
inside. "Where's Dylan and Brenda?"

I shook my head. "Nice try," I smiled at him as he leaned in to
kiss me.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close as he kissed
me again.

"You don't like my 90210 reference?" he asked when he moved
back. "You have all the seasons on DVD."

I grinned. "No, I don't. They've only released the first few
seasons."

"You don't like my 90210 reference or you don't have all the
seasons or both?"

"Both." He took my hand as we walked down the hall to the
elevator. "Dylan and Brenda is a good reference, but I liked both
of them, so I wouldn't use them. I'd go with Chandler and
Janice."

"Why is that? Why not Ross and Rachel?"

I wrapped my arms around him as we waited for the elevator. "I
like Chandler but not Ross. I like Rachel but not Janice. So
Chandler and Janice are it." I kissed him lightly as the doors
opened. "What's with the questions about the nicknames?"

He shrugged. "You've been using them a lot more lately,
especially where your suitemates are concerned. Thought I'd
figure out the rules."

We exited on the main floor and I looked around to make sure no
one was around. "I like Clark, so he gets a good guy nickname. I
don't like Lana, so she gets a nickname of a girl I don't like.
Other nicknames just sort of depend on the situation."

"Got it." We walked out towards Joe's Mustang. "So what if *I*
like Lana but not Clark. Then could I use Ross and Rachel?"

I glared at him. "Not if you want a date for next weekend."

He put his arm around me and tugged me towards him. "You know I
do."

"Good. Then you won't use Ross and Rachel." I wrapped my arm
around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. No, we
weren't soul mates or anything like that, but he was a great guy
and my best friend, besides being a *very* good kisser.

"Fine, I won't use Ross and Rachel. But you never answered my
question."

"Which was?" I asked.

"Where Chandler and Janice are."

"Oh, that." I shrugged. "Not sure. She usually volunteers on
Saturdays, but I have no idea where or doing what. I think
anyway." I glanced around. "Clark probably drove her; I don't see
his truck anywhere. He was gone before I woke up this morning."

"Well, are you ready for this?" he asked as he opened the car
door for me.

I just looked at him. "You should know better than to ask me
that, Joe. We're going to practically be in my own backyard."

He laughed. "I know."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I watched as Lana sat on the floor with the four and
five-year-olds. She was totally in her element. The twelve or so
children were completely captivated with her and the story she
was reading. It was the second story of the morning and I was
sure it wasn't going to be the last.

I was leaning against one of the tables, legs stretched out in
front of me crossed at the ankles.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was beautiful and,
someday, she was going to be a great mother to our kids and a
great preschool teacher.

She turned the page and her voice changed to reflect a different
character. The kids all giggled at her rendition of an ant.
Before long, the book ended and she set it to the side. There was
a chorus of 'one more, please, Miss Lana' and she pretended to
think about it for a minute before she gave an exaggerated sigh
and picked up another book.

The kids giggled as she smiled and read the title of the book.

I pushed up from the table and headed towards the study area as
I noticed one of the older kids walk in. "Hey, Darryl," I said,
clapping him on the shoulder.

"Hi, Clark," he answered with a smile.

"How'd you do on your English paper?"

His grin got even bigger. "B+!"

"Hey! That's great!" I was genuinely happy for him. We'd spent
several hours the weekend before working on it. "I knew you could
do it."

"You helped."

I shook my head as we sat at one of the tables. "You did all the
work. I just helped guide you a bit." I watched as he pulled his
backpack out. "What are we going to work on today?"

"Geography, if that's okay."

"Whatever you need." I lowered my voice. "If I don't know how to
do something, I know how to Google."

He laughed. "Me, too." He looked over at the little kids. "My
little sister loves her," he told me, nodding at Lana.

I grinned. "Me, too." I turned back to the table. "Geography it
is, my friend."

For the next couple of hours, we covered Geography and U. S.
History. The kids rotated in and out of Lana's reading group and
she also read one-on-one with some of them, including Darryl's
little sister. I kept track of her heartbeat as I worked with
him.

When Darryl and I were finished, I hunted her down. She had just
finished a making a construction paper crown with a little girl.

"Ready?" I asked her.

She looked up at me and smiled. She leaned over and whispered
something. They both giggled before Lana put the crown over the
little girl's brown curls.

A minute later, we were headed out to the parking lot. "So what
did you tell her?"

"Who?"

"The little girl with the crown." I wrapped an arm around her
shoulders.

"I told her you were my prince." She leaned against me as we
walked.

I groaned. "As long as I don't have to wear tights or something
for Halloween so you can be some Medieval princess or
something."

She laughed. "Don't worry. I wouldn't want you to put yourself
on display like that."

I groaned again. "Thanks." I opened the door to the truck and
she slid to the middle so I could get in after her. "Where to
now?"

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Joe sat against the rock and I sat against Joe. His arms were
wrapped around me and I rested the back of my head on his
shoulder.

"You made it," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "How many times have we made this hike? And I
use the term 'hike' loosely. It's a two hour *walk* to get here."
We looked out over the nearly pristine lake in New Troy National
Forest. Les and Peggy had taken off for another area to have a
picnic and, probably, to do things I didn't want to think about.
Joe and I had already eaten the lunch we brought with us. "The
most difficult part of the trail is easy enough for a
two-year-old."

He laughed. "True."

The house I'd grown up in -- I couldn't bring myself to call it
'my house' anymore, not with *her* living there -- backed up to
the NTNF. I could never remember how many acres Dad owned, but
the back part of it was forested and melded seamlessly with the
park. We'd been looking at one of the maps provided at the
check-in station one day and realized that we could connect to
this particular trail by following one of the streams near the
back edge of the property. Since then, we'd been here many times
-- both as friends and as a couple. I wasn't sure what his
assorted girlfriend of the week would have thought about us
hiking up here together, but he was faithful to a fault. He never
cheated on a girlfriend, though most of the relationships didn't
last very long.

In fact, our relationship -- if you added up all the separate
times we'd been a semi-couple -- was probably the longest
relationship by far. A couple of others, one before me and one
after, had lasted a couple months each, but that was it.
Regardless, they'd had nothing to worry about.

"So what're we going to do for the next hour until it's time to
start back?" Joe whispered in my ear.

"What do you want to do?" I asked him, knowing his answer and
knowing he'd already know my response.

"You know what I want to do."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "And you know it's not going to
happen."

"Aw, come on." He sounded like a little boy who didn't get the
cookie he wanted. "You never want to go skinny dipping. Even when
it is just the two of us."

"First of all, it's October. And while it's a fairly nice
October, the water is sure to be way too cold. And second, I know
what you'll want to do if you ever see me naked -- to skinny dip
or for any other reason -- and you already know the answer to
that."

"So you're gonna make me wait until we get married?" he asked,
his face buried in my neck.

I snorted. "You really think we're going to get married?"

"You never know."

"Then fine. I'm going to make you wait until we get married."

"And if we don't get married?" he asked.

"Then you'll never get to sleep in my bed."

"Aw, come on. Just once, I want to sleep in your bed at the
cabin."

"Go some time when I'm not there."

"Will you at least be my back up?" he asked me, running one hand
over my arm.

"You mean if we're both forty and not married, we hook up?"

"I was thinking more like thirty-five if we want kids."

I thought about that for a minute. There were worse things.
"Okay. If neither of us is married at thirty-five, we'll get
hitched."

"Wanna kiss on it?"

I groaned. "You'd rather do a lot more than that."

"You know I would, but I also know how you feel about that."
That was one thing I'd always respected about Joe. He'd never
made it a secret that he wanted to have sex with me, but he also
never pushed once I told him no.

"We'll shake on it later. For now are we just going to stare at
the lake or are we going to get out that Frisbee?"

"I've got a better idea," he said.

"What's that?" I relaxed more against him.

"Let's make out for a while."

I laughed. "Let's do that."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I laughed. My arm rested lightly on the back of Lana's chair, my
thumb rubbing her shoulder lightly. We'd gone to Steak and Shake
for lunch and run into Ryan and Molly. Lana knew them from one of
her classes.

We'd laughed and talked about professors and wondered how
someone had turned the fountain by the administration building
into red, yellow and blue suds without anyone noticing.


Ryan and Molly left a few minutes later, but Lana and I lingered
over milkshakes.

"What's the plan for the rest of the day?" I asked her.

"I'd like to watch Friends, Survivor and ER. I taped Survivor
and ER but haven't watched them yet." She bit her bottom lip. "I
was hoping we could watch Friends on Lois' TIVO."

I shrugged. "Dunno if she'd care. I think she and Joe went for a
hike so she won't even be there. Could watch it first. As long as
we don't delete it, she won't care."

She rested her head against my shoulder. "What do you think a
show about our lives would be like?"

"Huh?"

"You know, like Seinfeld. Where they proposed a show about
nothing and really that was all they ever did. What would a show
about our lives be like?"

"Like one of those reality shows where they follow us around
with cameras?" I frowned at the idea. That would be a very bad
plan.

She shook her head. "No, if our lives were a scripted show."

"Now? Or someday?"

"Five years from now."

I thought about it for a minute. "Are we in a comedy or a
drama?"

"Drama. Not enough serious in a comedy."

"They can do serious in a comedy. Look at the Monica and
Chandler baby thing," I pointed out. "Or anytime they do one of
those 'don't do drugs' episodes. Remember the whole boyfriend who
drank thing on Growing Pains? Wasn't he played by Matthew
Perry?"

She rolled her eyes. "They only do that in a 'very special
touching episode', but dramas can have comedy more than comedy
can have drama."

I thought about it for a minute. "Well, then, I guess we'd be
married."

"In five years? We better be." She kissed me lightly.

"We will be. Do we have kids yet?"

"In five years?" She thought about it for a minute. "First one's
on the way."

"Then you're barefoot and pregnant in a preschool."

"And you're a highly successful investigative reporter at the
Daily Planet."

I raised an eyebrow. "In five years? In five years, I'll be
lucky to be writing obits and covering dog shows. Fresh out of
college, that's about the best I can hope for."

"Well, by the end of the show's run, you'll be a highly
successful investigative reporter with a few Kerths and a
Pulitzer or two under your belt."

"You have high expectations for me, Ms. Lang."

"Oh, I certainly do. You'll have to keep us fed while I stay
home with the kids while they're little. Or only work
part-time."

"How many kids are we having?" I asked.

She grinned. "At least four or five. Since it's a television
show, I'll start showing two weeks before the baby's born and be
skinny again two weeks after with no stretch marks to worry
about."

"You'll be gorgeous pregnant and after, even if it does take you
more than two weeks to get your figure back." I kissed the top of
her head as it rested against me.

She sat back and looked at me with a grin. "I know what can hook
the show so that we'd attract millions of viewers."

"What's that?"

"You can have a secret identity and be a superhero in tights."

I stared at her. The idea of a secret identity and being a
superhero had never occurred to me but it might be more real than
she knew if I ever felt the need to do that.

She looked chagrinned. "Sorry. No tights. Okay, so no
superhero."

I recovered quickly, pulling her back to me. "I'd watch any show
you were in, Baby. Superhero or not."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I yawned. The walk to the lake hadn't been a hard one -- it
never was -- but for some reason, I was extra tired today.

I shook my head slightly. At least I had a back up now. I
wouldn't end up alone for the rest of my life. That had never
been a real concern of mine. I figured when the time was right,
I'd find Mr. Right.

I crawled under the covers of my bunk. Clark and Lana were
watching ER -- which had outlived its usefulness a couple years
earlier -- in the common room. I'd set the TV on my dresser, on
top of my TIVO, so if I rolled right, I could see it without it
being too awkward. I flipped it on, scrolling through the options
until I found this week's NCIS episode and hit play. I watched as
Tony tried to decide whether he was ready for his own team and
everyone reacted to Gibbs being back permanently as they searched
for a missing Naval officer, but I wasn't really concentrating.

After it was over, I clicked the TV off and rolled onto my back,
staring at the ceiling.

What would life with Joe be like if we got married?

One thing that bothered me was the lack of commitment he'd
shown. Yeah, we were young but he'd never stuck with a girlfriend
very long at all. I didn't think it would be an issue once he was
truly committed to a girl.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought he'd be
attentive and caring. He'd want kids. I wasn't sure that I wanted
kids, but I wasn't completely set against them either. That was
something that could be decided later.

What about careers?

He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life, but unless
'the girlfriend' of Dad's cheated him out of house and home,
money wouldn't really be an issue. I mean, we'd have to support
ourselves and all that, but if we ever truly fell on hard times,
Daddy would let us live with him. And once Daddy... I couldn't
bring myself to think it. Someday, I'd probably be very wealthy.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine life with Joe. I could see
us sitting at the kitchen table in the morning eating breakfast
-- something out of the freezer, most likely because neither one
of us could cook. That wasn't hard. He'd gone with me and Daddy
to the cabin a number of times and we'd eaten breakfast together.
He'd slept in his own room though.

He'd mentioned wanting to sleep in my room at the cabin. Dad had
always said Lucy and I would be able to use it for a romantic
hideaway someday. Lucy no longer needed it of course, but I
would. I hoped I would. What would it be like spending a weekend
with Joe there? I rolled my eyes. It would probably involve a lot
of being mostly unclothed together. That wouldn't be a bad thing
if we were married, I guessed, but still made me a bit
uncomfortable -- just because it was something I didn't have a
whole lot of practical experience with.

I sighed again. It was a pretty pointless exercise at this
point. Maybe in ten years, I'd think about it in more detail, but
for now...

I wasn't getting married until after I won the first Pulitzer.

*~*6*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

"Hey," Lana said as she walked through the open door into my
room. "Anyone here?"

"Nope," I said with a grin. "Just you and me, Baby."

"Really?" she said, a slow, sexy smile crossing her face, moving
to sit next to me on my bed, one leg across my lap as I wrapped
an arm around her.

"What do you suggest we do until they get back?"

"Hmmm... I don't know. What do you think?"

"You know the longer we play this game, the less time we have to
make out," I told her as I moved to kiss her.

"Good point," she whispered before my lips came into contact
with hers.

Before long we were stretched out on my bed, exchanging lots of
gentle kisses, always cognizant of the boundaries we set for
ourselves.

The door opened and then slammed shut. Lois was apparently on a
rampage. I looked down at Lana, an apology in my eyes over being
interrupted.

"Do you two ever stop?" Lois asked us.

"Nope," I said with a grin.

She opened her closet and dug something out and then headed to
her desk, rummaging through it and pulling out a notebook before
slamming the drawer shut and heading back towards the door.

"As you were," she called over her shoulder before she left.

Lana hadn't moved except to follow Lois with her eyes. "You
didn't put a note on the door, did you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "She wasn't supposed to be back until after we
left so there was no reason to."

She nestled into my arms, her head resting on my shoulder. "She
could have been a little nicer about it."

"Why don't you like her, Baby?"

She shrugged. "It's not that I don't like her..." She didn't
continue.

"Then what is it?"

"She's a very pretty woman," she finally said not looking at
me.

"So?"

"So? She's your roommate."

"So?"

"So..."

"Lana, look at me." I used a finger to tilt her face towards me.
Tears were shining in her eyes. "I love *you*. I've always loved
you. Even when you told me never to kiss you ever again."

"I was five," she whispered. "I didn't know what I was saying."

"I know." I grinned at her. "That's why I did try again."

"You waited long enough."

"We were fifteen. We weren't allowed to go on an official date
until you turned sixteen."

"So?"

I laughed and then moved her so I could stand up. I closed the
other door before I went to the CD player and turned one of my
favorite jazz CDs on, pushing the button until I found the song I
wanted. I flipped the light off and plugged in the white
Christmas lights Lana'd put in there for mood lighting.

"Can I have this dance?" I asked, holding a hand out to her.

She nodded, tears still shimmering in her eyes, placing her hand
in mine.

I pulled her to me, her hand in mine, my other arm wrapped
around her, holding her close. She rested her head on my shoulder
as we moved slowly around the open area of the room. Nat King
Cole filled the air.

"You are unforgettable, Baby," I whispered. "I love you and only
you."

"I know," she whispered back.

"So talk to me."

She was silent for a long time as we continued to dance. "I
don't want us to end," she finally said in a voice so low even I
had to strain to hear it.

"What are you talking about? We're not going to end. Not until
we're old and gray."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I love you."

"How do you know I'm the one for you, Clark?"

"I just do," I told her.

"I've seen the way you are with her."

"What are you talking about?"

"The way you two fight."

"What about it?"

"It scares me."

I stopped moving and looked in her eyes. "Why does the way I
fight with her scare you?"

"She's smarter than I am. She knows more. You two bicker like
cats and dogs, trying to one up each other in the intelligence
department." The tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I've always
been second best, why should now be any different?"

She tore my heart out when she said that and I pulled her to me,
her tears soaking my shirt. When the torrent finally slowed, I
spoke. "I know you've rarely come in first at whatever you try,
but you are smart. You're funny. You're beautiful. You care about
people. You care about *me*. You worked hard to get through high
school when you did. You bought your own car even though your
parents probably would have because you didn't want the strings
that came with it. You always try so hard and you always do so
well, even if someone else does just a bit better."

"Second at state in the 100 and 200 meters. Vice President of
the Senior Class. Co-captain of the cheer squad. Second in the
art contest. Second in line for the Lucy Lane Memorial
Scholarship. The only reason I'm here is because number one went
somewhere else."

"You were better than all but one person. How many hundreds of
girls wanted that scholarship and didn't get it? You got a
scholarship for girls who want to make a difference in the world
and you outlined how you wanted to do that in your essay. That's
why they chose you. You love little kids and you're going to be a
great teacher. You can change the lives of those kids. You can
give those little girls approval where you didn't get any. You
can give them hope that they can be anything they want to be and
not *just* the wife and mother your parents expected you to be.
You're going to be a great wife and a great mom, but you're so
much more than that. You've always been number one to me and you
always will be," I said gently.

"How do you always know the right thing to say?"

"I know *you*. I know how much it hurt when you lost by half a
step or came in second in girls in the senior class by .01. I
know how much it hurt when your dad wasn't quite happy with
second."

"He never was."

"But I love *you*." I tipped her face to mine again. "I love
you, Lana, and I hope that over the years I can help heal the
hurt. You *are* good enough. You always have been and you always
will be."

I kissed her, hoping to convey how I really felt about her. When
I pulled back, she smiled at me.

"Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for." I brushed the tears off her face with
my fingers. "Once we get married, you'll really be family with my
folks, too."

She smiled slightly. "I know and I can't wait until I can
actually call Martha 'Mom'."

"I don't think she can either. Neither can Dad."

"I like your dad a lot better than my dad," she confessed,
resting her cheek on my shoulder again.

"I know. And listen, I know the claws come out with Lois because
you feel threatened, but, honey, there is absolutely *no* reason
for you to be threatened by her."

"My head knows that, but my heart..." She sighed. "And when
she's around, my heart wants to defend its territory and that's
you and then the snide comments come out. I'll try to do better.
I promise."

"Thank you. She really is a nice person."

"I'm sure she is and if it were other circumstances, I'm sure
I'd like her better, but since she's the one who's actually
living with you right now..."

"It's not forever. You're the one who's going to live with me
forever."

"You mean that?"

"I do," I said with a smile, remembering our conversation when
we first arrived in Metropolis.

"Remember those words, Mr. Kent. You're going to need them." She
looked up at me with a big smile.

"You better believe I am," I said just before I kissed her
again.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~

I sighed. I'd planned on staying in my room and studying or
maybe curling up on my bed for a good cry and an early bedtime,
but the Siamese Twins were in Clark's bed -- attached at the
lip.

It was just one of those days.

I'd still managed to avoid telling Daddy that Clark was my
roommate. I talked about my friend Clark but never mentioned that
he was my roommate. When he asked specifically about the person
who shared my dorm room, I avoided pronouns.

But... My shoelace broke first thing in the morning and Clark
was still asleep and I didn't want to turn the lights on to look
for a new one.

My pen ran out of ink in my first class. I managed to get one
from Joe, but he was with someone else. I wondered if he was
still planning on taking me to the party Thursday.

It had been about ten weeks since school started. Midterms were
over and there was a big Halloween toga party at one of the frat
houses. Joe was going and had asked me. He'd gone out with a
couple other girls since school started, but I didn't really
care. I studied instead and my grades were showing the effects of
that.

I'd mentioned the party to Clark who mentioned it to Lana and so
all four of us were going. Not exactly a double date but
something like that.

Of course, Joe was going to have to show up to be my date first.
I wasn't about to ask him. But if he'd suddenly decided he didn't
want to and didn't mention it to me and I got stood up, I'd never
hear the end of it from Cruella but Madame Medusa even more so.
Linda had a huge crush on Joe since we were two or something.
We'd been in the same kindergarten class and they'd done some
square dance thing in the musical and she'd been smitten ever
since. She'd liked Paul, too.

Paul she could date and I wouldn't care. Joe and I weren't
exclusive or anything like that but he was my friend and I didn't
want him to end up with her on any level at all.

On the other hand, I didn't know why I cared so much.

We weren't destined to be together like the Bobsey Twins and I
didn't *want* to 'settle down' the summer after my freshman year
in college like I suspected Clark and Lana were planning.

And then, after seeing Joe kissing Pippi Longstocking, someone
had tripped and bumped into me. I'd landed hard on my wrist and
thought that it might be sprained. Of course, it was my right
wrist so taking notes was going to be difficult. Not impossible,
but more difficult. I'd broken my right arm in both third and
sixth grades and had to learn to write left handed. I still did
every once in a while, just in case, and I was glad now that I
had.

I sighed. If Dad's girlfriend would just go away I could move
home. That would be better, but it wasn't going to happen as long
as *she* was there.

I sat on a bench outside the library for a long time -- a very
long time. Finally, I decided to head back to the dorms. If Rhett
and Scarlet were still going at it, I'd have to throw a bucket of
cold water over them or something.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

How had I let myself be talked into this? I asked myself for the
umpteenth time.

A toga party.

Seriously.

A frat party.

What was I thinking?

Oh, I knew. Lana had said she wanted to go to *one* frat party
during her college career and if we went to this one we could get
that out of the way.

I adjusted the sheet I'd draped over my shoulder and tied with a
piece of rope I'd found. I wasn't wearing a shirt, but was glad
it would be nice enough out that no one would notice.

Except Lana.

I grinned to myself. Lana would notice I wasn't wearing a shirt
and I was sure she'd comment on it. She liked my chest and my
arms and I was glad she did.

Before long we were walking across campus. I was walking behind
Lana, my arms around her, moving in tandem. I kissed the side of
her neck and she giggled.

"Well, when you leave your shoulder bare like that, what do you
expect?" I whispered.

"Sometimes I wish we could just run off to Vegas," she whispered
wistfully.

"I know. Me, too. Maybe we will someday, but not yet. I don't
even have a ring for you yet." I kissed her shoulder.

"I know, but I don't care. I just want to be your wife, ring or
no ring."

"I know, Baby. And you will be."

"I know."

The noise reached us long before we actually made it to the frat
house. I didn't think I was going to enjoy this but it was
something to fill an evening and Lana wanted to come -- just once
-- so it would be okay.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

It really wasn't my scene but I didn't feel like staying home on
Halloween. Even though it was a Thursday, I needed to cut loose a
little bit. I was sure there would be alcohol -- and lots of it
-- at this shindig but I didn't drink. I didn't know if Clark or
Lana did. Joe would probably have a beer or two, if the
graduation party we went to was any indication.

I adjusted the sheet I'd draped over my shoulder and tied it
with some bright yellow rope I'd gotten my hands on. I could have
gotten an actual toga from a costume shop or something if I'd
really wanted to, but it wasn't worth the effort. I had a tank
top and shorts on underneath the sheet. It was a decent night out
-- wasn't supposed to be too chilly -- and there were a couple of
Canadian Arctic cold fronts or something coming through in the
next couple of days so I needed to enjoy it while I could. One
was going to freeze us out and the other was going to give us
several inches of snow.

A knock on the door interrupted the adjustments I was making to
the sheet. "Come in," I called. "It's open."

"Heya, Gorgeous."

"Hi, Joe," I said frowning at my reflection again.

He moved to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my
waist. "You look great."

"Thanks. So why'd you ask me to go with you tonight?"

"I missed my make-out buddy," he said with a shrug.

Well, there were worse things. I knew he wouldn't expect me to
put out and I knew that the other girls he'd gone out with either
had or probably had, but he knew there was no way I was going
anywhere near that far with him. "Gina and Leslie weren't good
enough?" I asked.

"Oh, they were fine, but you're the best kisser I know."

"Well, that's something I guess."

"What about Dan?"

"What about him?"

"Who's the better kisser? Me or Dan?"

I shrugged. "Dan only kissed me once and when he found out he
wasn't going to get any further than that, he took off. It wasn't
long enough to really evaluate his kissing skills, but my first
impression was that you're better."

Clark opened the door from the suite's living area. "Hey, Joe.
Thought I heard you."

Clark wasn't wearing a shirt under his sheet. Joe wasn't either,
but Clark was definitely a bit more impressive.

I sighed. This wasn't going to get any better. "Is Lana ready?"

Clark shrugged. "I think so. She was tweaking her toga a couple
minutes ago."

"Well, let's go then."

Clark went to go get Lana and I wasn't surprised to see that her
toga was from a costume shop or something rather than a sheet.
She even had some sort of gold leaf crown thing on her head. I'd
just stuck my hair up in a clip.

Before long we were walking across campus. I was trying to
ignore Clark and Lana's PDA as we did. He'd told me once that
they were waiting until they got married to really be together,
but sometimes it sure seemed like they needed to go get a room
somewhere. As long as it wasn't mine. Joe had his arm draped
around my shoulders but that was as close to PDA as we usually
got.

Before long we got to the frat house where the party was held
and I soon lost track not only of Clark and Lana but Joe as well.
I sipped on my soda and looked around the room but didn't see any
of them. If I didn't come across any of them in the next fifteen
minutes, I was going home.

*~*7*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I couldn't find Lana anywhere. This was different than what I'd
expected, but I wasn't really sure what I'd thought it was going
to be like so...

Looking around some more, I thought about trying to locate her
heartbeat, but the music and loud talking -- and what I was sure
was going on upstairs -- discouraged me from trying.

Was that Lois? She was going up the stairs with Joe right behind
her, his arms around her and it looked like he was kissing her
neck as they moved in unison.

It struck me as odd because Lois had said she and Joe didn't do
the kinds of things that would lead to them walking up the stairs
like that. I shrugged. She was a big girl.

I moved through the crowded room towards the kitchen to get
another soda. I ran into Linda who told me that Lana told her she
was heading back to the dorms since she couldn't find me. I
frowned and thanked her. I started to head for the door and go
back to the dorm myself when I noticed Joe sitting on the couch
making out with a red head.

I frowned again. Then who was Lois with? I squelched the panic I
was starting to feel on behalf of my roommate. I moved quickly
towards the stairs. Once up them, the noise from the party was
muffled enough that I could try to find her heartbeat. I tried to
tune out any other sounds that were coming from the rooms around
me, but was only partially successful.

Finally, I located her heartbeat coming from one of the common
areas on the third floor. I called her name, softly then louder.
I saw someone jump up from behind one of the couches and take off
at a run. I thought about going after him, but I was more
concerned about Lois as she wasn't yelling at me. If I'd
interrupted something, she'd have been on my case.

"Lois," I called softly. I heard a groan and walked around the
couch. There she was, struggling to sit up.

A flash of something out the window caught my eye, but I didn't
see anything when I looked more closely.

"Clark?" she asked. "Is that you?"

I moved to her side and supported her as she sat all the way up.
"Are you okay?"

"I think so. What happened?"

My face was grim. "I thought I saw you go up the stairs with
Joe, but then I saw Joe downstairs and I got worried about you."

She shook her head. "I think I'm okay."

I looked around and, if possible, my face grew more serious.
"You'll probably want these," I said handing her shorts to her.

Her eyes were wide as she looked back up at me. "Was there
someone else here with me?"

I nodded. "I didn't see who it was but he took off as soon as I
got up here." I looked around for any possible evidence of what
he might have done and saw several empty condom wrappers under
the couch but had no idea if any of them were new or old or
what.

She sighed and rested again my chest. "Will you take me back to
the dorm, Clark?"

Her voice sounded kind of funny.

"Sure. Let's go."

She giggled. Lois didn't giggle. "Can you turn around while I
get dressed?"

I nodded and stood to stare out the window. A minute later, her
arm linked through mine and her head rested on my arm.

"Take me home, Clark." She sighed deeply.

I looked down at her. "Lois, look at me." She looked okay,
slightly sleepy maybe, but that was it. I grasped her lightly by
the shoulders. "Did you take a drink from anyone?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Got my own soda."

"Did you leave it alone?"

She bit her lip and frowned. "I don't think so."

"Is there any way you could have been drugged?"

"I don't think so."

I sighed. I wasn't sure I believed it. "Why don't we take you to
the hospital and see what they say?"

"No. I just wanna go to bed." She leaned into me and rested her
head against my chest. "Will you take me to bed, Clark?"

"I'll take you to the hospital."

She shook her head against me. "No. I just wanna go home."

I sighed again. I should probably just take her anyway. I
scooped her into my arms and carried her down the outside set of
stairs I'd noticed on our way in earlier. I headed towards the
Ellen Lane Memorial Medical Building. The path took us right by
the dorms.

"Clark, there's the dorm," she said as I walked past.

"We're going to the hospital. I think you should get checked
out."

She struggled against me until she managed to get to her feet.
"No, I'm not going to that building. It's named after my dead
mother and I won't go." She started towards the front door of
Weller Hall.

Resigned, I ran after her. "Fine. I won't make you go, but at
least let me get you upstairs."

"Fine."

I scooped her up again and this time she rested her head against
my shoulder immediately, snuggling down into my arms.

"You're so strong, Clark," she sighed. "Joe's not anywhere near
as strong as you are and he's pretty strong."

"Sure he is."

"And you're better looking, too, but Lana's got her claws in
you."

"Lana doesn't have claws, Lois."

"No, she has a funny looking car."

"She doesn't have a car. Well, she does, but it's in
Smallville," I told her as I managed to open the door to our
room.

"Yep. It says 'De Vil' on the plates."

"You call her 'Cruella'?" I asked, unable to keep the shock out
of my voice.

"Shhhh... Don't want her to know that. She hates me already."

"She doesn't hate you." I wondered how I could get her onto the
top bunk without floating her up there and decided it wasn't
going to happen. I sighed and laid her gently on my bunk.

"Sure she does. She told me so."

"She did?" Lana was a lot of things, but I didn't think she
hated Lois.

"Yep. Not long after we moved in together. She told me not to
get any ideas about ever seeing you naked." She giggled. "She
doesn't know the first time I met you, you were only wearing a
towel, does she?"

Okay, warning another girl to stay away from me did sound like
Lana. She tended to be kind of territorial sometimes, but I
didn't like her hanging out with other guys and I knew if the
situation had been reversed, I probably would have had a few
choice words for her male roommate. "No, she doesn't," I finally
said, pulling a chair up near the bed.

Lois sighed again. "If you ever want to drop the towel and come
up..." Her voice trailed off again.

I looked down and she looked like she was asleep. Good. She
could easily embarrass herself this way. She didn't smell like
alcohol and she said she didn't drink it, but I guess it was
possible that a beer for someone her size could have had that
kind of effect on her. She wasn't necessarily drugged and she'd
kill me if I took her to the hospital. I thought I got there
before anything happened to her.

I climbed into the top bunk. A glance through the walls on the
way in had shown that Lana was sleeping and I didn't want to
bother her. We all had class early the next morning as it was.

~*~*~
November 2002
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I tried to open my eyes, but they weren't working right. I
groaned and looked at the clock but it wasn't there.

I wasn't in my bed.

I was in Clark's bed.

So where was Clark?

I cautiously felt behind me and was relieved to discover that he
wasn't there.

I heard a creak above me.

"Clark?" I called softly.

A pair of bare feet appeared over the edge of the top bunk and
then Clark was standing there, having jumped off my bed. He moved
to sit next to me. "How're you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"My head hurts. And why am I in your bed?"

"What do you remember?"

I thought about it for a minute. "I remember walking across
campus with you and Lana and Joe. I remember getting a Pepsi and
drinking it. I couldn't find any of you and I was going to head
back here in a few minutes and then..." I struggled to remember.
"Nothing. What happened?"

Clark sighed. "I saw you going upstairs with Joe..."

"I've told you, Joe and I aren't..."

"I know," he interrupted. "But you're a big girl. For all I
knew, you'd changed your mind or something. I ran into Linda who
said Lana had left when she lost track of me. Then I saw Joe
sitting on a couch making out with a redhead and realized that it
wasn't him who you were with. I went upstairs to look for you and
found you behind a couch in a common area on the third floor."

Bile was rising in my throat as he told the story. "Was I
alone?" I whispered.

"No," he whispered back.

"Who was it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. He took off pretty fast and I
was more worried about you."

"Did he...?" I couldn't bring myself to finish the question.

"I don't know. I don't *think* so. It wasn't that long between
the time I saw you going up the stairs and the time I found you.
You weren't wearing your shorts and underwear though." He didn't
look at me as he said it. "I gave them to you and you got dressed
and I carried you back here. I tried to get you to go to the
hospital but you refused."

"Why?" That didn't sound like me. Not with a doctor for a dad
and a nurse for a mom.

He shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"What? Why didn't I want to go?" He was keeping something from
me.

He sighed. "You refused to go to the building named after your
mom."

It was my turn to sigh. "I don't like going there for that
reason, but I wouldn't not go just because it's named after my
mom if I needed to. That still doesn't tell me how I ended up in
your bed," I pointed out.

"How was I supposed to get you up to your bunk?" he asked. "You
were practically asleep when we got here."

"And you didn't take me to the hospital? You didn't think I was
drugged?" I didn't understand why he would have let me saying I
didn't want to go stop him.

"You flat out refused. I was going there and we passed the dorms
and when I told you where we were going, you actually managed to
stand up and tried to walk to the dorms. You weren't going to let
me take you."

I threw an arm over my eyes. "Well, thanks for trying."

He started to say something, but a knock on the door interrupted
him. "Come in," he called.

Great. It was probably Lana and she was probably going to have
an earful for both of us.

"Hey, hon..." She stopped mid-sentence. "Why is Lois in your
bed?"

I groaned. "Must you be so loud?"

"Hangover, Lois?" Her voice dripped sweetness. Fake sweetness.
Maybe I should call her Sweet-n-Low.

"No," I told her. "I didn't have anything harder than Pepsi last
night."

Clark had moved to her side and taken her in his arms, kissing
her lightly as he did so. It was disgusting. "I think someone
slipped her something, Baby."

And really. Baby? What kind of nickname was that?

"And you rescued her?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I saw her go upstairs with some guy and he
ran off when I found her. I don't know who he was or anything."

Lana smiled at him and patted his bare chest. "Boy Scout."

"Eagle Scout," he said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and groaned, pulling Clark's comforter over my
head and trying not to notice that it smelled like him. "Get a
room," I mumbled, knowing they wouldn't be able to hear me.

But it made me feel a little better.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I heard what Lois said, but Lana obviously didn't, so I didn't
say anything. Since Lois was now huddled under my blanket, I took
the opportunity to give Lana a much better good morning kiss than
I could with an audience.

"We better get ready for class," I finally said.

She nodded. "It's a lot colder out today than it was last night.
The first cold front already came through I guess."

I nodded. "That's what I heard."

She kissed me again. "Since we lost each other last night,
whaddya say we go to that bonfire on Saturday?"

I sighed. "I don't know if we'll be back in time."

"Back? Where are we going?"

"Lois and I are going to Bremerton, remember?" I'd told her
about it on Monday. "We're covering that Fall Fest for the school
paper. Two hundredth anniversary or something."

"Two hundred and second," came a voice from my bed. "It started
the same year the school was founded so it always gets a write
up."

"Okay, two hundred and second. Anyway, we're leaving at like six
in the morning. I'm not sure when we'll be back but it'll
probably be at least seven or eight."

Lana smiled at me. That slow sexy smile I loved. "Well, then,
it's a good thing the bonfire doesn't start until 8:30."

I smiled back. "I guess so. I'll try to make sure we're back by
eight." I kissed her again. "We'll talk about it later, but right
now we have to get ready for class." I kissed her one more time.
"You better go get dressed."

She kissed me. "You too." She turned and headed for her room.

I waited until the door shut behind her to shut our door. "You
okay under there?" I asked Lois.

"Fine."

"Are you staying under there for a minute?"

"Probably."

"Then I'm going to change real quick, as long as you promise to
stay put."

"Don't worry," came the muffled reply.

I grabbed some clothes and changed as quickly as I could. I
hated changing in the bathroom; it was just too small. Once
dressed, I sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," I said, pulling the comforter back. "Are you okay?"

She rolled back over onto her back. "Yeah. I just need some
Tylenol and some caffeine and I'll be fine. That and I need the
opportunity to read Joe the riot act for making out with someone
else."

"I thought you didn't care that much."

"I don't, unless he's on a date with me and then he better not
be kissing anyone else."

Well, that made sense. I didn't really understand their
relationship, but it worked for them. Or seemed to anyway. "Maybe
he was drunk?"

She glared at me. "Don't defend him in some sort of brotherhood
bond thing. I don't care if he was drunk. He shouldn't have been
making out with someone else while he was on a date with me and
my roommate shouldn't have been the one to rescue me -- if, in
fact, I actually needed rescuing. My date should have."

"You're right. Read him the riot act. And if you want me to
punch him for you, I will. Or I'll hold him while you do." I
smiled at her. I wouldn't really punch him and she knew it. But
if he treated her poorly, I would come to her defense if she
needed it. And she knew that, too.

Or I thought she did.

"That's okay. If he needs taking out, I can do it myself without
you holding him. I've been studying Tae Kwon Do for several years
now."

I smiled again. "Then remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Don't ever get on my bad side," she muttered. "And get out of
my way. I have to get ready."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't 'ma'am' me, Kent," she said as she moved towards her
dresser.

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a grin.

I caught the shirt she threw my way easily. She was going to be
fine.

Joe, on the other hand... Him I worried about.

*~*8*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

"Joe, wait up." I called to him as he headed out of our last
class before lunch. He was avoiding me and I knew it. And he knew
I knew it.

He stopped and waited for me. "What's up, Lo?"

I glared at him. "Where'd you go last night?"

He shrugged. "I lost track of you, Gorgeous."

"So you decided a redhead could take my place?"

"Who told you that?"

"Clark. He said he saw you making out with a redhead." My arms
were crossed in front of me, waiting for an answer.

"I was making out with someone..." he started but I interrupted
him.

"Listen, we're not exclusive. We both know that. We go out when
we both need something to do and you -- apparently -- want
someone who knows how to kiss right."

He nodded and opened his mouth but I didn't let him speak.

"That does *not* mean you get to dump me while we're on a date.
You meet someone you like while we're out together, you make
plans with her for another night. And you don't make the plans
while we're out together and you don't do it while you're trying
to count her teeth with your tongue."

"Lois, take a breath. I didn't start kissing anyone else until I
saw you going upstairs with some guy. I figured you'd found
someone else you wanted to be with, so what was the big deal?" He
shrugged as he said it.

Tears filled my eyes and I turned and stalked off. He ran after
me.

"What?"

"You have no idea, do you?" I hissed.

"What?"

"If I'm not going to sleep with you, why would I go upstairs at
some frat party?"

"I don't know."

"Clark found me. Some guy was with me and he took off as soon as
Clark showed up. He had to *carry* me back to the dorms. I was
drugged and my *date* - who has been my boyfriend off and on for
two years and my friend a hell of a lot longer than that - didn't
care enough to check up on me when he saw me doing something
completely out of character." I looked at him with disdain. "I
know we're not soul mates or anything, Joe, and that doesn't
bother me in the slightest, but I would have thought I meant a
little more to you than that. Even if it is only because I'm your
back up."

I turned on my heel and stalked off again.

He grabbed my arm before I got too far. "Look, I'd had a couple
of beers and wasn't really thinking clearly and then Jen started
kissing me. I did go look for you, I swear, but it wasn't until
probably twenty minutes or so after I saw you."

"That was too late, Joe. If Clark hadn't found me when he did,
who knows what would have happened to me."

"I'm sorry, Lois. Really. I am."

I sighed. "I know you are." I knew he cared about me. A lot.
Even if we weren't going to have happily ever after together. I
allowed him to pull me into a hug and I rested my head against
his shoulder. I felt safe with Joe. I knew he'd never push me and
he knew I'd never let myself be pushed.

"Listen, let me take you to the bonfire Saturday night." He
kissed my head. "I promise I won't leave your side all night."

I nodded. "I have to go to the Fall Fest in Bremerton, but if we
get back in time, I'd love to."

"We?" he asked.

"Yeah. Paul's making me take Clark with me."

"Should I be jealous?" I could almost see his smile.

"Nah. Didn't you see the way he and Lana were all over each
other?"

"True." He kissed my forehead. "Besides, you kiss much better
than Jen."

I smiled. "Well, that's good to know." As much time as Joe and I
had spent practicing over the last couple of years, it was good
to know that at least I'd figured something out.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I glanced at my watch again, wondering where Lois was. As low
men on the totem pole, we'd managed to grab the exceptionally
exciting story of the Fall Fest in Bremerton this weekend. How
exciting. And Lana was thrilled that I was going to be spending
eight hours in a car with the girl who'd slept in my bed two
nights earlier. That I hadn't been in it was irrelevant. I loved
her, I really did, but this possessive thing was getting a bit
old. Of course, I would have been the same way if she had a male
roommate, I reminded myself. Especially a good-looking one and
the biggest problem she had with Lois being my roommate was that
Lois was a very pretty girl. We both knew it, but that didn't
matter. I loved Lana.

Now it was nearly six in the morning and Lois still hadn't shown
up. After going to the toga party in shorts -- a lot of people
had even though it was a little on the cool side for that --
winter had come in with a vengeance. Today, I even had on my ski
coat. I couldn't wait for Lois to get here with the paper's car
so I could take it off. I didn't need it and I hated pretending
that I did.

Finally, she pulled up in the older model Ford and I was
suddenly glad that the snow wasn't supposed to start until very
late that night or even early the next day. It didn't look like
it would make it through a dusting much less the several inches
we were supposed to get. One forecast I'd heard the day before
said we could get as much as a foot, but no one really believed
it. Most forecasters were calling for three to four inches.

I figured I'd drive -- I always did with Lana even when we took
her car -- but Lois made no move to exit the vehicle after she
stopped so I climbed in the passenger side.

"Ready for a day of hilarious fun?" she asked.

"Something like that," I answered as I threw my coat into the
back seat. "Any good music in this thing?"

She shrugged. "Here in Metropolis it's not too bad, but in about
an hour we'll get about four country stations and that's it. And
the CD player doesn't work." She took a big sip out of her
Styrofoam cup of coffee. She motioned to another cup. "There's
one for you -- grand latte, full caf, whole milk, three sugars. I
know you're still on that health food kick," she said with a
large dose of sarcasm.

"Life's short, Lois. Order what you want." I took a big sip.

"Life is long, Clark. You are what you eat." She looked me up
and down out of the corner of her eye and muttered, "Most of us
anyway."

I smiled to myself. That was one benefit of coming from a
defunct planet. I could eat whatever I wanted and I didn't have
to worry about it. I pointed to her cup. "Let me guess." I closed
my eyes for a minute. "Short non-fat mocha, decaf, no foam, no
sugar, no whipped." That was her usual.

"Nope. Large, full caf with lots of sugar at this time of
morning."

The stars still twinkled down at us. Or they would if we weren't
still in the city. Maybe they'd still be out when we made it away
from the city lights.

Lois obviously knew where we were going and she quickly
maneuvered us onto I-43 North towards Bremerton.

"So are you one of those early morning drive people who talks or
is just grumpy until the sun's been up for a few hours?" she
asked.

"Oh, I'm a chipper morning person." I grinned at her. "Lana
hates it."

"So do I," she mumbled.

"Comes from growing up on a farm, I guess. There's always lots
of chores to be done before school."

"And Lana didn't grow up on a farm?"

"Lana?" I asked her, incredulous.

"Yeah, you know the blonde you're always hanging all over."

I was sure there was a wicked gleam in my eye. "You mean
Cruella?"

"What?!" That earned me one of the worst Lois looks I'd gotten
yet.

"The other night you mentioned that you called her Cruella
sometimes."

"I can't be held accountable for something I said when I may or
may not have been under the influence of mind altering drugs."

"That's good because right as you were dozing off you started to
invite me to... what was it?" I pretended to ponder.

"What?"

"Your actual words were, 'if you ever want to drop that towel
and come up...' and then you dozed off."

She turned eight shades of red. "I don't believe you."

I held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Stupid boy scout. And why did it make me want to cry?

Could I really have said that to him?

Of course I did. Clark wouldn't lie about something like that.

"You are annoyingly chipper in the morning," I finally said.
"Lana's right about that. And, no, I've never called her
Cruella." At least not to her face, I added mentally.

"That's not what you said the other night," Clark said with that
annoying smile on his face.

I turned to glare at him, knowing I was on a straight stretch of
highway with no traffic. "And how do I know you weren't the one
to slip me something?"

Ouch. The look on his face told me I'd gone too far.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "That wasn't fair. I know you wouldn't do
that." I picked up my coffee and took a long sip. "I'm still
waking up."

"Are you sure you should be driving then?"

"I'm fine for driving, but conversation before about two cups of
coffee is out. You should know that by now."

He nodded.

I decided that changing the subject might be a good plan. "So,
Lana didn't grow up on a farm?"

He shook his head. "No, she grew up in Smallville. Her dad's the
mayor and has been as long as I can remember. I think I was about
three when he was first elected. He was a teacher at the high
school before that. Big house on Main Street and all that."

"And you?" I asked quietly.

"Well," he amended. "It's a house on Tank Avenue, but you know
what I mean. Me? Typical farm, I guess. Lots of corn, a few cows,
couple horses sometimes, chickens, barn, couple of outbuildings,
big tractor, couple of trucks, Mom's art work."

"Art work?" I raised an eyebrow his direction.

He grinned. "Yeah. Mom's an aspiring artist. She has a degree in
Art from UMKC."

"UMKC?"

"University of Missouri at Kansas City. She got her degree in
Art, came back to Smallville, got married, put her art on hold
while she worked to raise me and help on the farm, and now that
I've flown the coop, she's doing some of her art again. Dad sent
me some pictures. She's done some welding sculptures over the
years that have done pretty well at the county fair and one that
one first prize at the Corn Festival."

I felt my eyebrows shoot up. "Corn Festival? Ritual crop
worship?"

He laughed. Way too chipper for this time of morning. "Something
like that. It was started in the 1800s as a way to celebrate the
end of the harvest. There's about 947 different kinds of corn --
creamed corn, corn on the cob, just about any kind of corn you
can think of. There's carnival games like the softball toss and
stuff and contests like the husk off and corn-o-rama and the
Corn-o-poly tournament and the Scarecrow Decorating Contest for
the kids, things like that. And, of course, there's the dance one
night."

"Let me guess. Two-step and Tush Push?" I asked.

"Yep. You know how to line dance?"

"Sure do. A friend of mine last year convinced me it was a good
way to meet guys."

"Was it?"

"Define guys," I said wryly. "So, crop worship. Tell me more.
It's an interesting religious topic. Maybe I'll go for my
religions class."

"Well, you missed it this year. It's the first year I've missed
since I was born." He sounded a little bit sad. "But if you ever
make it, I promise to Tush Push with you."

"What'll Lana think?"

He shrugged. "It's one dance. She gets pretty much all the rest
of them."

"Who else gets a dance with all around good guy Clark Kent?"

"Oh, my mom for one."

"Of course." Boy Scout.

"Rachel."

"Who?"

"Sheriff's daughter. She graduated with me and Lana last year.
She's going into law enforcement herself. We went to prom
together because Lana was grounded."

"Why was Lana grounded?"

It was his turn to turn eight shades of red. "Um, her dad caught
us making out one night."

"She got grounded for making out?"

"Not exactly. She was supposed to be home by ten -- and she was
-- but I snuck inside and we were on the couch in the living
room. I wasn't late for curfew or anything like that and they
hadn't actually said that I couldn't come in or anything. Mom and
Dad weren't happy about it, but technically I hadn't done
anything wrong so I got lectured about controlling my hormones,
but didn't get grounded. Rachel was supposed to go to prom with
Pete, but he had mono and couldn't go so we ended up going
together."

"Okay, so your mom and Rachel -- who else?"

"Well, Grandma Davis if she's there and her arthritis isn't
acting up. Nana. Granny Kent. My aunts. Just depends on who's
around."

"Doesn't sound like there's much time for Lana," I said.

"Well, the dance is like four hours long and it's not like I'm
going to dance slow dances with any of them. Well, maybe my
grandmas, but that's different. They can't Tush Push anymore.
Granny Kent can if she really wants to but she doesn't always.
Depends on the day."

"Well, if I ever make it to the Smallville Corn Festival, save a
Tush Push for me." I was sure it would be a cold day in... the
Sahara before I made it to the Corn Festival.

"Will do."

"Tell me more about small town life." I couldn't believe I was
actually interested, but I was.

"What do you want to know?"

"What's the most unusual thing to happen in Smallville since you
were born?"

He laid his head back on the head rest. "Well, last year's
senior prank was the best in a long time."

"What did you do?"

"Um, *someone* put a cow on the top floor of the school."

"Someone?" I asked with a raised brow. "And why is that a big
deal?"

"Well, cows won't go down stairs."

"Who knew?"

"Anyone with cows," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "That's
why they have ramps into trailers and stuff."

"That's the biggest thing that's happened in Smallville in
nineteen years?" I asked with a raised brow.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I took a deep breath. "There was a meteor shower the night I was
found."

"What? Did the stork drop you off?"

She had no idea how close she was. "No. I'm a foundling," I said
quietly.

"Oh," she said in equally quiet tones. "I didn't know."

I shrugged. "It's okay. I was found by a couple of wonderful
people and I wouldn't trade my life for anything."

"That's good."

I stared out the window as we turned off I-43 and onto US-80. A
few minutes later, we drove through the small town of Alberton. A
few miles past that I noticed Lois staring at one particular
turnoff onto a narrow strip of asphalt. The sign said 'Lane
Lane'. I wondered what that was about, but I didn't ask and she
didn't volunteer.

"Listen, I need another cup of coffee," she said. "We'll be in
Johnsonville in a few minutes. It's a one horse town, but they do
have a restaurant that makes a mean cup of coffee and decent
pancakes."

I nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"It's about an hour from there to Bremerton and then we can have
all kinds of Fall Fest fun." Her voice dripped with sarcasm
again.

"Hey, it could be fun," I told her.

"I'm sure it could."

About an hour and fifteen minutes after we stopped for coffee
and breakfast in Johnsonville, we pulled into the Fall Fest in
Bremerton.

"Well, Farmboy," she said. "Let's go have some fun."

It sounded like she believed the next few hours would be
anything but.

*~*9*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I had no intention of enjoying this. Based on the flyer I'd seen
in the Met U newsroom, it was probably going to be suspiciously
like the Corn Festival Clark had told me about.

When I'd originally volunteered to cover this, I was going to
drive to Daddy's cabin on Friday night, spend the night soaking
in the tub and relishing the quiet away from Cruella and Madam
Medusa, drive up here for a few hours Saturday and then spend
another 36 hours or so relaxing at the cabin again.
Unfortunately, Mr. 'I'm Senior Editor and Better Than Everyone
Else' Paul decided that Clark and I should do this together. I'd
told Clark that he didn't need to come and he'd still share the
byline, but he insisted that if he was going to get the credit,
he was going to come. That way he wouldn't get part of the blame
if I screwed it up, he said.

Like I'd screw it up.

We spent the first couple of hours looking at some of the craft
booths and we went through the barn to see the prize winning
heifers or whatever. As we were walking around, Clark explained
to me why one pig was better than another.

"So why aren't there any webs with words like 'Radiant' in
them?" I asked.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"The literacy rate among common New Troy barn spiders is
notoriously low. And spell check just doesn't work very well on
webs. If you want to find truly smart, sophisticated spiders who
know how to spell *without* using spell check, you have to go to
Kansas. You should come see some time." The corners of his mouth
were twitching and I glared at him.

Yeah -- the Sahara was getting warmer by the minute and the
chances of me two stepping at the Smallville Corn Festival were
getting slimmer with each breath I took.

We grabbed some hot dogs and sodas as we walked around. I was
exceedingly grateful that most of the activities had been moved
inside due to the cold weather. The high for the day was
something like 35* and that had been at midnight. It was supposed
to stay steady for most of the day in the upper-20s and then drop
into the low-20s and upper teens as the snow started overnight.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." A voice came over the loudspeakers.
"Time to grab your partners as this year's Fall Fest Dance
Contest is getting started. If you're not yet registered, you've
got ten minutes to sign up at the table. Time to two-step and
Tush Push your way to the five hundred dollar prize."

Clark looked at me with the big puppy eyes I'd seen him use on
Lana a time or two. "Come on. Let's do it."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "And what would Lana say?"

He smiled. "When I bring home $250, she won't care."

"You really think you're good enough to win this thing, Fred?"

"Fred?" he asked.

I sighed. Really. Did he not watch old movies? Ever? Maybe they
didn't have VCRs or DVD players in Smallville. "Astaire."

"Well, Ginger. Fred didn't two-step, but if you're good enough,
I know I am." Okay, he knew enough to know Fred and Ginger went
together.

I resigned myself to dancing with Clark. "Okay. Let's go."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Well, I probably wouldn't tell Lana how much fun line dancing
with Lois was. Fun, yes. Lots of fun... Probably not.

She was good at this, I noticed as we stomped and twirled our
way around the floor. After thirty minutes, it was down to us and
three other couples. Ten minutes later, it was us and one other
couple. They gave us a five minute break to get a drink before
the finals.

We sat at a little table just off the dance floor. "You're good,
Ginger."

"You're not bad yourself, Fred."

"Ah," I said. "But I was learning to two-step from Nana as soon
as I was old enough to walk. I've got quite a head start on you
but you're keeping up pretty well."

"I'd say so, Farm Boy." She took a long sip of water. "So what
are you going to do with your money when we win?"

I shrugged. "Probably save it for Christmas presents." Actually,
I'd stick it in savings for Lana's engagement ring, but Lois
didn't need to know that. "You?"

She shrugged. "The same probably."

"Okay. Teams number eight and thirty. Time to dance your tushies
off."

I stood up and grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

Ten minutes later, we stood next to the announcer with Team
Eight on the other side.

"And the winners of this year's Fall Fest Dance Contest are..."
He paused to increase the drama. All hundred people in the
building were waiting with bated breath, I was sure. Of course,
only ten of them were gathered around the dance floor and I
thought all of those were related to Team Eight.

"Lois Lane and Clark Kent!"

I broke into a big grin and Lois squealed and threw her arms
around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist and swung her
around. They handed us our trophy and asked us to fill out a
couple of forms so they'd know where to send the tax forms come
April. A few minutes after that, we each had a check for $250
tucked away.

"What else do we want to look at?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "We haven't looked at the jewelry yet."

"Looking for something for Mary Ann?" she asked.

It took a second but then the Gilligan's Island reference
clicked. "Maybe. Or my mom. Or one of my grandmas. Who knows," I
said with a wink. "Maybe I'll even find something for you." She'd
been more fun to hang out with away from campus than I expected.

She snorted. "Yeah. Right. You'd buy me a piece of jewelry. No
matter how innocuous, you'd be in Lana's doghouse until
graduation."

She had a point. I'd probably better stick with something for a
relative.

We wandered towards the jewelry and art section of the Fest. My
stomach didn't feel quite right which struck me as odd. The last
time my stomach had felt off, I was five and I threw up all over
my dad. I shook it off. I didn't want to throw up -- it hadn't
been any fun at all and I was glad I didn't feel this way often.
Surely it was a fluke of some kind and I'd feel better in a few
minutes.

Lois had moved on without me and was looking at a piece of
artwork with a green stone in the middle of a number of other
colors. As soon as I got within about ten feet of her, my whole
body began to ache. My head began to spin.

And then everything went black.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I was staring at something called 'Irish Eyes Are Killing'. The
green stone in the middle was shaped like an eye and had sort of
a glowing quality that gave me the creeps. The artist, it turned
out, had grown up in Smallville, moving about eight years
earlier. This particular green rock she'd found as a teen and had
spent a long time trying to decide what to do with it. She wasn't
sure what gave her this idea, but she was pretty proud of it. I
turned to call to Clark -- surely they knew each other if they
both came from Smallville -- when I heard a thud.

I turned to see my dance partner lying on the ground. "Clark!" I
yelled, rushing to his side. "Clark, what's wrong?"

There was no response.

The artist was with me. "Clark Kent?"

I nodded.

"He's my cousin! Clark, wake up!"

Two of the local firefighters happened to be on the scene and
rushed over. They decided to move him to the dance floor where
they'd have more room to work.

Tears were running down my face as I followed them. I shouldn't
be crying. I didn't care that much. I cared, but not that much.

By the time they laid him on the dance floor, he was starting to
groan. A minute later, he opened his eyes. "Lana?" he mumbled.

I sat next to him. "Clark, it's Lois. Can you hear me?"

He nodded. "Lois?" He looked at the artist. "Danielle? Am I
seeing things?"

The tears were flowing down her face. "No, Cuz. It's me."

"What happened?"

"I was talking to Lois here and then we heard you collapse."

He pushed himself up to a sitting position, despite the
firefighters' protestations.

"I'm fine, really," he told them. "I don't know what happened,
but I'm fine."

He spoke with the firefighters -- and the paramedics who arrived
a minute later -- but insisted that nothing was wrong with him.

Finally, he convinced them to let him go and he sat at the table
we'd used earlier. He and his cousin chatted for a few minutes
when he admitted that his head was throbbing. He turned down some
Tylenol, saying it never agreed with him.

"Okay, then. We're going to get in the car and head to the
nearest hospital."

He shook his head. "No. Let's just head back to Metropolis. I'll
be fine."

Danielle helped me help him to the car and soon we were back on
the road. I noticed with some concern that there was already a
dusting of snow on the cars in the lot. They'd said flurries were
possible this afternoon but the main storm wouldn't hit until
late tonight. We had plenty of time to get home before the worst
hit. Didn't we?

I kept an eye on Clark. He didn't seem to be getting any worse,
but he did appear to be asleep. His color wasn't right, but I
figured some rest would fix that.

I had to turn more and more of my attention to the road as the
snowflakes came down thicker and harder. I tuned the radio to one
of the country stations I'd mentioned to Clark to see if I could
find out what the weather was doing.

The storm had come in hours early I finally heard. I thought we
could make it to Metropolis before it got too bad so I kept
going, but as we neared Johnsonville again conditions
deteriorated rapidly.

Then the news came over the radio that I-43 would likely be
closed soon. I wanted to cry. Hopefully, we'd make it to Alberton
before they closed US-80, too.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I couldn't believe it when I opened my eyes and saw Danielle
there. She was my Aunt Jenny's oldest daughter and probably ten
or twelve years older than me but my head hurt too badly to
remember exactly. I hadn't seen her in several years.

My head cleared a bit and I could see the tears still running
down her face and Lois'. I must have given them quite a scare but
I insisted I was fine. The paramedics who showed up wanted to
take me to the hospital, but there was no way that was going to
happen.

I finally convinced them that I was going to be fine and they
left me alone.

"Are you sure you're okay, Clark?" Danielle looked concerned.

I smiled at her as best I could, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm
fine, Elle." I looked at Lois. "Lois, this is my cousin Danielle.
Danielle, my roommate, Lois."

Danielle smiled and shook Lois' hand, then turned to me with a
raised eyebrow. "I didn't know Met U had coed rooms."

"They don't," I told her. "There was a mix-up with Lois'
paperwork and nowhere else for her to go. Campus is full, so we
just didn't tell anyone."

"Not even your folks?" she asked, incredulous.

"No, they know."

"And Lana?"

"She's one of our suitemates. She's not happy about it, but I
wouldn't be happy if she had a guy roommate so..." I shrugged,
wincing at the pain that shot through my head at that small
movement. "What're you doing here?"

"Showing off some of my artwork. Maybe sell some of it. Tom and
I live a couple hours from here so..." She shrugged. "Here I am.
You?"

"We're covering it for the school paper." I grinned at her -- or
tried to anyway. "It's a good thing Tom isn't here."

"Why's that?" she asked, still holding my hand.

"Lois and I never would have won the dance contest if you two
had been in it." I tried to smile but could tell it wasn't a
normal one.

"You two won?" She looked back and forth between us.
"Congratulations. I heard the couple that won was really good,
but I didn't have a chance to catch any of it."

Lois finally spoke up. "Clark, do you want some Tylenol or
something?"

I shook my head. Even though I didn't have any of my special
abilities at the moment, I didn't know how medicine would react
with my Kryptonian system. "I think I just want to go."

"I'll take you to the closest hospital," Lois said, pulling the
keys out of her pocket.

"No!" I said more strongly than I intended. "I mean, if we get
back to campus and I still don't feel very good, I'll think about
it, okay?"

"That's right -- you and your hospital phobia," Danielle said.

"It's not a hospital *phobia*. I don't mind hospitals; I just
don't like to be the patient."

Lois sighed. "Fine. Danielle, would you help us to the car?"

I hated it but I had to admit that it was easier to walk with an
arm around each of their shoulders.

Finally, I relaxed into the seat and pulled my seatbelt around
me, resting my head against the window after Lois shut the door.

I had no idea how long we were on the road when I realized that
I was starting to shake a little bit.

"What's wrong?" Apparently, Lois had noticed too.

I shrugged, not bothering to open my eyes. I felt the back of
her hand on my forehead.

"Clark! You're burning up!"

Fever and chills. Great combination.

"I don't feel so good," I finally mumbled.

"Really, Hawkeye? Nice to know."

"Who?" I wasn't up to her name games right now.

"Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce. Hawkeye."

"Right. M*A*S*H."

"Yep."

"Just tell me what happened with Joe the other day. I saw you
hugging him."

She sighed. "He apologized. We're supposed to be going to the
bonfire tonight, but I don't know that we're going to make it in
time. I think we're going to be lucky to make it at all."

"What?"

"The snow."

"Huh?"

"Look out the window."

I opened my eyes slightly to see that we were in near white out
conditions. "Can you even see the road?"

"Well enough," she said, but I heard her add 'for now' under her
breath.

Great. I closed my eyes again; unable to keep them open any
longer.

*~*10*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

What was happening to him?
 
I had no idea, but I did know if I didn't get him somewhere warm
soon, it wouldn't be good.  I didn't think we could make it all
the way back to Metropolis.  No, I *knew* we couldn't make it all
the way back to Metropolis, especially if they closed I-43.  So
what were we going to do?  I squinted at the sign.  Alberton - 6
miles.  The cabin.  If we were six miles from Alberton then the
turn off to the cabin should be... I squinted again.  Lane Lane. 
Dad had thought it was funny when he stuck the sign on the
private road leading to the cabin when we were kids. I took the
turn carefully.  Okay, two more miles.
 
The snow was deeper here, even though there were trees on both
sides of the road and it was only wide enough for one car at a
time.  There hadn't been any plows or salt trucks to help ease
the drifting.
 
"Where are we?" Clark mumbled.
 
"On our way to Daddy's cabin.  There's no way we'll make it home
in this mess.  It's only about another mile.  Daddy paved the
road, but it's still pretty bad and I'm not sure we'll make it
all the way to the cabin.  We may have to walk a ways."
 
"Getting out to walk in a blizzard probably isn't the best
idea."
 
"No, but neither is staying in the car when we have somewhere to
go.  As long as we stay on the road, we'll hit the cabin soon. 
It's almost two miles from the turnoff and we've gone nearly a
mile already."
 
It was another half mile before the car got stuck in a drift.

"Clark." I reached over and shook him.

"Wha'?" He woke up slightly.

"We're going to have to walk the rest of the way."

He looked out the window. "I don't think that's such a good
idea."

"We can't stay here. No one knows where we are and we're only
half or three-quarters of a mile from the cabin.

"Too far," he whispered.

"We don't have a choice," I told him grimly.

"I can't make it. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't
think I can make it that far." His head leaned back against the
headrest.

"We have to try, Clark."

"No, someone will come."

"We're almost out of gas so we can't keep the heater going much
longer and no one knows where we are."

"Where are we again?"

"Daddy built a cabin not too far from here when we were kids. I
knew we wouldn't make it anywhere else but I thought we could
make it there."

"We'll get lost."

"No. The road is pretty narrow, and it's surrounded by forest so
if we hit the trees, we're going the wrong way. The road
literally ends in front of the cabin steps. We don't have a
choice," I reiterated.

He finally nodded. "Okay. Are there any blankets or anything in
here to help us try to keep warm?"

"I don't think so. We've both got pretty heavy coats, hats,
gloves, all that good stuff that we need to put on before we get
out of the car, though."

"Yeah."

I sighed and reached out to feel his head again. He was burning
up. That wouldn't last long once we got out of the car. The
temperature had to be in the mid to high 20s outside. I twisted
around in my seat and grabbed his coat. He'd shoved his hat and
gloves inside one of the sleeves and I pulled them out. I yanked
the stocking cap over his head. "You're going to have to help me
with the gloves."

He nodded and held out one hand. Working together we got both of
his gloves on and then I managed to get his left arm into his
coat. I realized his seat belt was still on so I took care of
that and he leaned forward so I could get the coat around him.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I could feel her breath on the side of my face. I still felt
like I'd been hit by a ten-ton truck. She was muttering under her
breath and I managed to help get my other arm in my coat. How far
did she say it was to this cabin? She pushed me back against the
seat and zipped the coat all the way up, pulling the hood over my
stocking cap and tying it in front so it covered my neck and the
lower part of my face. I leaned against the door as she put on
her own coat and stuff. How was I going to make it to the cabin?

"Okay, listen. I don't want to have to walk around the car to
try to help you out so I'm going to climb over you and go out the
passenger door. Then I'll help you out, okay?"

I nodded. I heard her muttering something that sounded like
curse words and then she was straddling me trying to get the door
open. Despite the situation and multiple layers of winter
clothing between us, Lana would not be happy to catch us like
this. The door seemed to have frozen shut but she leaned against
it until it opened. It left her off balance and she tumbled into
the snow. I reached out to try to help her up, but she was
already scrambling to her feet.

She grabbed my hand. "Come on." I managed to get out of the car,
shut the door, and she put her arm around my waist while mine
went around her shoulders.

"You're just the right height, Lane. We should do this more
often," I told her.

"Yeah, Meriwether. Getting stuck in a blizzard is something we
should do every year. It'll be like a tradition."

"I'm not Meriwether. I'm Clark."

"I know, Meriwether."

One foot in front of the other. That was all I could do. It was
cold outside and this walk was going to seem like forever, I was
sure.

I had no idea how long we'd been walking, but I knew I was
leaning more heavily on Lois. Then I didn't lift my foot quite
high enough and I landed face first in a pile of snow. I pushed
myself up to find Lois had landed next to me.

She struggled to her feet then helped me to mine. It almost felt
like the wind was working with us for a moment; like it was
helping me stay upright as I swayed and tried desperately not to
knock me and Lois over again.

"Come on," she said. "It's not too much further."

"How do you know? All the snowflakes look the same to me."

"Because if it's much further, we're not going to make it."

I tried to take a deep breath but couldn't. I had been shivering
for a while and I knew that was a bad sign. "Then leave me and
go."

"I'm not leaving you."

"At least go see how far it is."

"I'll never find you again if I do that."

"Fine, but promise me something."

"What?"

"If I fall back down and don't get up, don't stay with me. Try
to get there yourself."

"Don't worry, Casanova. I have no intention of dying because you
won't move, so let's go."

We started walking again and I counted at least six more falls
into snow drifts before she really said anything again. Each time
it took us longer to struggle to our feet. Each time, it felt
like the wind helped us stay on our feet. I wasn't sure why, but
it was reassuring.

"We're almost there."

She sounded cold. "That's what you said last time, Ms.
Conquistador," I reminded her weakly.

"I know, but we're at the clearing. It's not much further."

"Okay, McNally. Lead the way."

"McNally?"

"Yeah. Like Rand."

"Got it. Keep talking to me, Clark." She sounded weak, but not
as weak as I felt.

"Why?"

"To help you stay awake."

"Wanna sleep." I did. I could fall asleep standing up right now
but I knew what a bad plan that was.

"Not yet. Once we get inside, then you can sleep. Maybe. If
there's power so we have heat. Otherwise, you're going to have to
help me start a fire, Farmboy."

"Can't start a fire with my eyes right now," I told her.

"Of course not. But you were a Boy Scout right?"

I could feel her supporting more and more of my weight. I was
going to knock her over again before long. "Yeah. When I was a
kid."

"See? You'll have to show me how to start a fire."

"You don't know how?"

"Oh, I know how, but since I've carried you the whole way, you
get to start the fire."

"You're not carrying me," I protested with as much feeling as I
could muster, which wasn't much. "I'm walking." I shuffled
forward again as I said it.

"You're running the 200 meter dash, Michael."

"Michael?" I wasn't sure she could hear me, my question was so
quiet.

"Michael Johnson. Holds the world record in the 200 meter dash.
You're going to beat him."

"I'm sure I..." I tripped again, but this time landed on
something solid and I wasn't face first in a foot of snow.

"See. I told you we were almost here."

Steps. I must have landed on the steps of the cabin. Now to get
inside. I tried to stand up, but couldn't and collapsed again. "I
can't move," I whispered.

"Come on, Clark." She tugged on my arm and sounded close to
tears. I couldn't make Lana... no. I couldn't make Lois cry. Lana
wasn't here. Was she? "You have to help me out here."

I pushed up with one foot, trying to at least move myself up
another stair. With Lois helping, I managed to make it to the top
of the stairs onto the porch. I thought I heard keys, but that
was the last thing I remembered.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I couldn't let myself cry. The tears would freeze and that would
just make things worse. We'd made it to the cabin but Clark was
still outside. Well, first I had to get my keys out. I really
didn't want to have to break one of the windows in the door if I
didn't have to. Daddy would understand, but it would also let the
cold air in.

My teeth were chattering as I managed to drop the keys in the
snow. I'd jammed my wrist again when we fell on the porch and
just couldn't hold onto them. I smothered a scream. I was never
going to find them. I jiggled the handle. Maybe Daddy had
forgotten to lock it last time he was here. I nearly collapsed
with relief with the knob turned. "Come on, Clark." He was up the
stairs, now to get him inside. "You have to help me out here."

He managed to grab hold of the railing and I helped him stand up
and we half shuffled, half walked inside. He wanted to stop, but
I made him keep going until he finally collapsed in front of the
fire place, where I wanted him. I was going to have to start a
fire and soon. I hoped Daddy kept the fire starters stocked even
this early in the winter. I didn't think he'd been out here in a
while.

I thought about taking my gloves off, but I wouldn't have any
more dexterity if I did at this point and the protection they
offered against the rough firewood would be welcome. I managed to
put four or five pieces in the large fireplace and breathed a
sigh of relief when I found a fire starter in the bin. I pulled
one glove off with my teeth -- at least they weren't chattering
as I did that -- and, after a dozen tries with nearly frozen
fingers, managed to light the paper. I slid it in between the
logs and leaned on the mantle with a sigh of relief.

That was the first order of business.

What did I need to do next? Thermostat. Before heading to the
hallway, I flipped the switch for the blower by the fireplace.

Nothing.

I flipped it again. And again. And again.

No power, but I left it on for whenever the power did come
back.

I should have known. At least I hadn't made it all the way
upstairs to the hall first. That was too far to walk if I didn't
have to.

I looked at Clark. He wasn't unconscious, but he wasn't entirely
conscious either. His jeans were soaked through -- so were mine.
That wouldn't do.

I pulled my other glove and my coat off to find that my shirt
was somehow soaked. I had no idea how that happened with my ski
coat over top of it.

Okay, no power. No thermostat to worry about. So next on the
list.

Daddy.

Had to let Dad know where we were. I hoped the phone lines
weren't down too.

I called the house. No answer. Left a message.

I called his office. No answer. Left a message.

Called his cell phone. Straight to voice mail. "Daddy, it's me,"
I managed to squeak out. "Clark and I got stuck in the storm. We
made it to the cabin, but there's no power and Clark's sick and
I'm afraid he's hypothermic and I'm probably not far behind. I've
got a fire going but the car's stuck on the road to the cabin
somewhere and almost out of gas anyway. Can you send someone to
help? Please." I barely managed to get the last word out, but
hung up the phone. I leaned back on the couch. I had to get out
of these wet clothes and I had to get Clark out of his.

Lana would love that. I mentally rolled my eyes -- physically
doing so would take too much energy.

I started as I thought I heard something upstairs. There was a
loud cracking noise and then a crash. A limb must have fallen
outside -- or nearly a whole tree from the sound of it -- and
that must have been what I heard. It was enough to get me
moving.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered.

Before I started on his clothes, I grabbed all the blankets I
could find. I was sure there were more in the bedrooms, but that
was too far away, and there were several lying on couch. That was
odd but I didn't question it.

I don't know how long it took, but I managed to get the top of
him half undressed. As much as I hated fumbling with the tiny
buttons, I was glad I didn't have to try to pull it over his
head. One arm was completely out of his shirt. I'd have to get
him to roll over to get the other half out.

He did that for me, flopping onto his back. I breathed a sigh of
relief and pulled the other arm out of the coat and flannel shirt
-- which was as wet as mine was.

I wished desperately that I had something to wrap my wrist as it
throbbed more with nearly every movement, but I didn't have
anything handy.

Jeans.

Had to get the jeans off him.

Boots first. That was safer. I managed, with fumbling fingers,
to get his boots and then his soaked socks off.

Why was he wearing a belt with his jeans? I managed to get it
off and undo the button and zipper. I tugged until they slid down
his legs.

Well, that was one question answered. Boxers.

With one final tug, the jeans were off.

And now...

The boxers had to follow.

They were soaked, too, and clinging to his upper thighs. The
thought of a completely naked Clark wasn't entirely pleasant, but
there was no choice. I managed to toss a blanket over him and
reached under it, carefully, to pull them off. They came off
easier than the jeans did and I breathed a sigh of relief just as
I realized my teeth were chattering more violently than before.

I managed to take my own shirt, shoes, socks and jeans off
fairly easily. Well, easily compared to how difficult it was to
get Clark's clothes off. I used the tongs to put a couple more
logs on the fire that was now roaring. By the time I was done
with all that, my wrist ached even more.

I hugged myself in front of it, letting the warmth seep in, but
it wasn't enough. My legs were like rubber and I knew I wouldn't
be able to stand much longer. My own bra and underwear were
soaked, too, and they needed to come off.

Naked with Clark. I guessed there were worse things in life, but
this certainly wasn't what I'd expected to be doing tonight. I
pulled the rest of the blankets over him. He'd rolled so that he
was facing the fire, allowing me to move his shirt and coat from
where they'd been lying under him. He needed to be closer to the
fire more than I did, I knew. I stripped the rest of my clothes
off and moved behind him, arranging the blankets over the top of
me and finally wrapping an arm around his chest, hoping that
somehow, we'd warm each other up.

A small smile crossed my face and my last conscious thought was
that I was sleeping naked with Clark before Lana did.

*~*11*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Someone was trying to wake me up, but I didn't want to. Lana and
I were finally alone together. I didn't remember proposing or
getting married, but we were alone in a mountain hideaway and I
wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but I didn't think I was
wearing any clothes and there weren't any clothes on her either.
I could feel her soft, warm skin against mine, and I wanted to
stay here forever with her in my arms.

I finally opened my eyes just a bit to see dark hair spilling
over my chest and felt rough hands shaking me.

Dark hair?

Lois?

The events of the night before came rushing back to me. Well, I
guessed it was the night before; I didn't know how long we'd been
there. I remembered falling onto the steps of the cabin, but
nothing after that. She must have taken my clothes off and
started the fire I could hear crackling on one side of me.

But that voice was telling me to wake up again.

"Clark! Clark!"

I looked up to see Lois' dad kneeling next to me. The bright
sunlight streaming in the window hurt my head and I closed my
eyes tightly.

I tried to say something but nothing came out. I wet my lips and
tried again. "Dr. Lane?" I whispered. "Is she okay?"

"She's breathing," he said grimly. "Your temperature isn't as
low as I'd expect for either one of you, but still not great. Do
you remember what happened?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I wasn't feeling well. I remember
her saying we had to walk and it seemed like forever until I
landed on the steps and I don't remember anything after that."

He nodded. "That's not unusual with hypothermia."

A groan made both of us look at the head of tousled dark hair
still resting on my chest.

"Princess?" He shook her shoulder gently.

"Daddy?" she whispered. "Clark's so cold, Daddy. I don't know if
I can get all the way to the cabin with him leaning on me."

Dr. Lane's face was grim. "Lois. Honey. Wake up."

Her head moved slightly off my chest. "Daddy?"

"I'm right here, Princess. Can you look at me?"

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Daddy was here. It was going to be okay. I tried to open my
eyes, but it hurt. "No. My head hurts. Everything hurts." I felt
an arm tighten around me. Whose arm was that?

Clark!

"Clark. Daddy, is Clark okay?"

"I'm okay."

I felt the words spoken as I heard them. That must be Clark's
arm around me and I must be on his chest. But where were his
clothes? And mine?

I groaned again. "Are we naked?"

"I think so," the chest underneath me mumbled. "Any idea how
that happened, Lane?"

I held a blanket against my chest and pushed up with my other
arm, grateful that at least it seemed we'd been covered when
Daddy showed up. I kept my eyes squeezed shut as I sat up,
feeling for the couch. "Can you make sure that I didn't take all
the blankets and that you're all covered up before I try to open
my eyes again?" I asked him as I leaned against the furniture.

"Didn't get a good enough look last night?" he teased.

"I didn't look," I mumbled. "I put a blanket over you before I
managed to get your boxers off."

I felt the blankets move and then Clark's arm brushed mine as he
leaned against the couch too.

"You can open your eyes now, Aurora."

"Who?"

"Aurora. Sleeping Beauty."

I groaned. "Don't think that makes you Prince Charming, but at
least I know you're going to be okay if you're calling me names
again. Even if it is a nice one." I slowly opened one eye and
then the other.

The fire was roaring and I knew Daddy had to have had something
to do with that because I didn't think Clark and I had been in
any shape to put any more logs on.

I looked up and saw my Dad's worried face. "Are we going to be
okay?"

He nodded. "I called anyone I could think of as soon as I got
your message, but all the emergency services were busy and
couldn't get here anyway. As soon as the snow died down, I got in
the big truck and came up here. You two are actually in better
shape than I expected from your message, Pumpkin." I could tell
he was choking up. "I was afraid I wouldn't get here in time," he
whispered.

"I'm okay, Daddy." I smiled at him through my own tears, knowing
he was thinking about another time when he'd been too late -- or
thought he had. There was nothing anyone could have done to save
Mom and Lucy and he knew that. "I'm still tired and weak and I
think I'm going to be sore from carrying Paul Bunyan here to the
cabin."

"Can you walk me through it, Little Girl?" he asked. He only
called me 'little girl' when he was very emotional. He must have
not slept all night waiting for the weather to clear enough to
get up here. He looked tired.

I sighed. "I didn't realize how bad the weather was when we left
Bremerton. I heard on the radio that I-43 was probably going to
be closed soon and I didn't know how else to get to Metropolis.
Then I saw a sign and knew we were close to the turnoff. The car
got stuck in a drift about a mile and a half later. We put our
coats and stuff on and walked the rest of the way."

"I think you carried me," Clark interrupted.

"Well, sort of, but you were at least half walking because I
couldn't have carried you. You didn't actually collapse until we
made in here then you landed on the floor in front of the
fireplace. I built a fire, realized that there was no power.
Called you." I couldn't look at Clark as I mumbled through the
next part. "Managed to get Clark's clothes off..."

"And you couldn't have left my boxers on?" he asked without
looking at me.

"They were soaked. All of your clothes were soaked. All of my
clothes were soaked. I added a couple more logs to the fire, took
my clothes off and lay down by Clark with as many blankets as I
could find without climbing the stairs to get any out of the
closet, because I knew I didn't have that much energy. The next
thing I remember is waking up a few minutes ago."

I hoped they wouldn't notice my face turning red. That wasn't
entirely accurate, but I wasn't about to tell them about the
dream I'd had -- about kissing Clark, naked, in front of the
fire... I shook myself mentally, not wanting to remember the rest
of it.

"What, Princess?"

"Nothing," I mumbled.

"Well, you two are going to be fine."

"Good." I breathed a sigh of relief.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I tested my senses and realized that, while I wasn't in pain
like I had been the night before, I couldn't see or hear anything
out of the ordinary. And for me, that was unusual.

And had I really said something to Lois about starting fires
with my eyes?

"Did you leave any clothes here last time we were here?"

I guessed Dr. Lane wasn't talking to me.

"No." Lois answered the question.

"Well, the power's back on, so why don't you go take a shower
and I'll see if I have some sweats or something you can wear and
I'll put your clothes in the washer."

Lois must have agreed, because she moved.

I finally took the time to look around. 'Cabin' was a bit of an
understatement. We were in a large room easily as big as the
entire first floor of the farmhouse I grew up in, and probably a
lot bigger, with high vaulted ceilings. On one side was a large
kitchen with a big breakfast bar island and what looked to be
granite countertops. A large table was in a dining area and the
rest was filled with comfortable looking furniture arranged
around the fireplace or looking out the picture window. I
couldn't see out it from where I was sitting but I was sure the
view was spectacular.

About six feet to one side of the fireplace was a short
staircase of no more than five or six steps and that was where
Lois had disappeared. Six feet on the other side, the kitchen
side, was a full staircase and open balcony on the second floor.
I saw at least two doors up there and one set of large double
doors under the balcony. I guessed there were several bedrooms
around behind at least a couple of those doors.

"I'll see if I have anything for you to wear, too. At least
until your clothes are dry." Dr. Lane came back from somewhere --
I hadn't seen where, but all of the clothes that I'd noticed
strewn about were gone so I guessed he'd put them in the washer.

"Thanks," I said as it finally sunk in that he'd walked into the
cabin to find Lois asleep in my arms in front of a fire, naked.
"Listen, sir..."

"Please don't 'sir' me, son. Sam is fine." He sat in one of the
big chairs near the fireplace.

"Okay, Sam. I honestly don't remember anything about last night.
Not after we made it to the porch. But, I promise, I didn't take
advantage of your daughter."

Something flashed in my mind. Lois. Kissing Lois. But then the
vision morphed and I was kissing Lana. I must have dreamed about
her while we were sleeping in front of the fire.

"Well, I don't see how you can promise that, Clark. You don't
remember what happened after you got here and neither does Lois,
but for the record, I doubt either one of you had the energy to
do any taking advantage of the other one."

I nodded as another flash of Lois flitted through my mind. I
shook my head to clear it. "I'm sure you're right."

"Do you think you can walk?"

I nodded.

"Well, I won't make you climb the stairs, but my room is through
those doors and there's a bathroom off of it. There's towels and
stuff in there, if you want to go take a shower. I'll see if I
can find some clothes for you and I'll leave them on the bed."

"Thanks."

I waited until he stood up and then I made sure the blanket was
well-wrapped around me as I followed him into his bedroom.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I was sore in places I didn't even know existed, but the shower
had helped.

There was something comfortable about wearing Daddy's clothes.
There always had been.

The sweats he'd left on my bed were way too big, but that wasn't
surprising. I'd have to remember to leave a change of clothes
here just in case something like this ever happened again. Daddy
obviously did. And he must not have thought to get some clothes
for me out of the dresser at home.

At least he hadn't brought his girlfriend with him.

I sat on the bed wearing only the sweatshirt and a pair of bike
shorts I'd found and pulled my legs to me underneath it. I stared
out the window that covered nearly the entire wall. It was a
winter wonderland and if we hadn't some so close to dying, I
probably would have enjoyed it more.

The dream I'd had the night before came screaming back to me.

The cabin was incredibly romantic. I knew that. Daddy had
brought Mom here on many occasions for a weekend getaway and he'd
always said that when I was married, I'd be welcome to use it,
too. But to dream about *Clark* like that...

He was a good-looking guy. And pretty nice most of the time. He
had poor taste in women, but other than that he was a good
friend.

My face turned red just thinking about how vividly I remembered
that dream.

One thing was sure, I wasn't about to tell him what I'd dreamed
about when I was sleeping in his arms, without any clothes on
either of us.

I knew he had to be feeling better. The slight dip in water
pressure while I was in the shower meant that someone else was
running water too. I guessed it was Clark taking his own shower.

I wondered how he was going to explain to Lana that he'd spent
the night in my arms and without any clothes on at that. The
frosty atmosphere in our suite was almost hypothermia-inducing as
it was; this was sure to make it rival one of the ice caps. On an
extra cold day.

And I didn't care. I'd done what I had to do and if I had left
him in the car, he'd be dead. She should be grateful.

I snorted. Yeah, right. Grateful. Cruella was never grateful to
anyone for anything. Except maybe Clark.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

True to his word, Sam left some clothes out for me on the large
bed in his room.

The bathroom was something out of a magazine -- slate tiles,
steamer shower big enough to fit the entire senior class at
Smallville High and large Jacuzzi tub. I could see why they'd
bought the place.

Part of me was jealous. The only way I'd ever be in a place like
this was because I was friends with a rich kid.

Lois didn't act like the stereotypical rich kid, though. She was
funny and smart. She wasn't working her way through college and
probably wouldn't work over the summer like Lana and I would, but
she wasn't spoiled either. She worked hard at her studies and
would probably do an extra internship or something.

I wouldn't change my childhood for anything, but surely there
was something to be said for growing up with money.

The sweat pants were too long so I rolled the cuffs but
otherwise they fit fine. The T-shirt was actually a bit on the
snug side. Sam Lane was taller than me, but apparently, my chest
and arms were a little bigger.

I exited the room he'd been kind enough to let me use feeling
better than ever. I walked over to the large window that filled
almost the entire wall. I was right. The view was spectacular. I
closed my eyes and soaked in the winter sun. Even though it was
getting low in the sky and the window was in the way, I could
feel it rejuvenating me. I still didn't know why or how, but I
always felt better after spending some time in the sun.

"Hey, you look better."

I turned to see Sam walking through the room.

"I feel much better. Thank you," I said with a smile.

"I see the pants are a bit long and the shirt a bit small. I was
afraid of that."

"They're great. Really."

"Well, the clothes you and Lois wore here are almost ready for
the dryer, but I don't think we're going to get out of here
tonight. We probably could, but I've got a friend who has a snow
plow who can get the car out for us tomorrow or the next day."

I nodded. "At least the power's back on."

"I think it came back on not long after you two got here, at
least based on the time flashing on the clock when I got here.
You two were probably asleep for about twenty hours before I made
it here."

"We shouldn't have left Bremerton," I said shaking my head. "I
didn't think the storm was supposed to come in until late last
night."

"It came early. And was much, much worse than anticipated."

"I figured," I said with half a smile. "I really don't remember
a whole lot about it though. I just remember my head suddenly
hurt and I felt horrible." I shook myself. "I haven't really been
sick since I was five."

"Really?"

I nodded. "I've just always been healthy. But that time, I threw
up all over my dad in the back of the truck while we were
star-gazing one night. That was it. I don't get headaches or
fevers or anything. I probably could have handled it better if I
did. Since I never get sick, I don't know how to deal with it."

Sam nodded. "I'm going to go get some more firewood from
outside."

I stood up. "I'll help you."

"No, you're still recuperating. I'll get it. Would you mind to
check on Lois for me while I do? Her shower turned off a little
while ago, but she hasn't been out yet."

"Sure."

"Her room is up the steps on the other side of the fireplace by
the window."

I nodded and headed over there. Sam disappeared under the full
staircase and I walked up the short staircase. I knocked on the
door, but there was no answer.

I slowly opened the door. "Lois?" There was no answer. Slightly
worried, I pushed the door open further. "Lois?" I called again.
When the door was open far enough, I saw her lying in the middle
of a big bed in the middle of a large room. She was wearing what
I guessed was one of her dad's sweatshirts and was sound asleep.
Her legs were bare and even with the power and heat back on, she
was sure to be cold. I saw a blanket lying on one chair and I
picked it up. Laying it gently over her, so as not to wake her, I
realized how close we'd both come to losing everything.

As it suddenly hit me, I sunk down onto the bed. I wasn't
supposed to get sick. If I hadn't been sick, this wouldn't have
happened. I could have gotten us wherever we needed to go, even
if it meant telling Lois my secret. I knew I could trust her --
she'd proven that when she practically carried me a half mile or
more to the cabin. I remembered telling her to leave me and I
remembered the stubbornness in her voice when she said she
wouldn't.

It was enough to make me dizzy. I carefully lay down -- just
until the unusual sensation passed. I closed my eyes just for a
minute to try to come to grips with what had happened. When I
opened them again, there was a blanket over me and a weight
holding me down.

I looked to see that tousled dark head of hair resting on my
chest again. I really should get up and go somewhere else, but I
didn't want to wake her up. A glance out the window showed that
it was probably the middle of the night and I knew she needed her
sleep. I probably did too.

Without really making a conscious decision to do so, I fell
asleep in Lois' arms for the second night in a row.

*~*12*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

The sun was way too bright. Again. I groaned and pulled the
blanket over my head shutting out the offending light. I must
have fallen asleep after I got out of the shower and slept all
night.

I tried to roll over and face away from the window, but was
stopped by something solid and a weight around my waist.

I cautiously checked to see what it was only to find an arm
wrapped around me.

Clark.

It had to be Clark.

But why was he in my bed?

As though sensing I was awake, his arm tightened around me and I
felt him burying his face in my hair. "Morning, baby," he
mumbled. "I haven't slept that well in ages."

I ran my hand up his arm -- noting with one part of my mind that
he wasn't wearing a shirt, and praying he was still wearing pants
-- until I reached his face. I laid my hand on his cheek. No
fever. That was good.

He mumbled again. "Maybe Mom and Dad will let you stay in my
room now that you're my wife. I think I want to wake up like this
every day."

Great. He thought I was Lana.

Lana.

Had he even called her to let her know where he was? Had Daddy
thought to contact the dorms to tell them we were okay? What
about Clark's parents?

"Clark," I said quietly. "It's time to wake up."

When his only response was to tighten his hold on me and mutter,
"Don't wanna," I silenced a scream of frustration.

"Clark," I said more forcefully. "It's time to wake up."

Still no real response.

I finally lifted his arm off of me and slid away from him and
out from under the covers.

"Come back to bed, baby," he mumbled. "It's our honeymoon."

"Clark!" I said sharply, tugging Daddy's sweatshirt down as far
as I could as I did, grateful once again that it came almost to
my knees.

He sat straight up. "What?" He shook his head. "Lois?"

"Yeah. You were dreaming." I crossed my arms in front of me. "I
would like to know what you were doing in my bed though."

His brow furrowed as he thought. "I came in to check on you --
your dad asked me to -- and I felt kinda dizzy so I sat down for
a minute. I remember waking up and your head was on my chest and
I didn't want to wake you up by moving and then... now."

The blanket had fallen to his waist, showing off the broad
expanse of his chest.

"Then where's your shirt?" I asked.

He looked down. "I have no idea. I was wearing one of your
dad's, but I don't remember taking it off." His eyes took on a
wicked gleam. "You didn't take my clothes off again did you,
Princess?"

"*Only* Daddy gets to call me 'Princess' and don't flatter
yourself." I turned on my heel. "I'm going to go to the bathroom.
Could you please be somewhere else when I get back?"

I shut the door to my bathroom behind me. What would Daddy
think?

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Note to self: don't call Lois 'Princess'.

I could call her just about anything else, but not that.

I could see the pain in her eyes as she said it. I wondered what
had happened to put that pain there. Maybe it had something to do
with her mom and sister.

I flopped back on the bed with a sigh. I honestly didn't
remember taking my shirt off. I remembered sitting down because I
was dizzy and not getting up when I woke up because I didn't want
to disturb her, but that was it.

I'd had another disturbing dream. The hypothermia induced one
had flashes of being on the floor in front of the fire with a
beautiful woman who was at times Lois and at other times Lana.
That was disturbing enough. But this time...

This time, I'd been in this room, in this bed, and telling the
woman in my arms I didn't want to get up because we were on our
honeymoon. This time the woman was Lois -- only Lois. Lana was
nowhere in sight.

I didn't even want to think about what it might mean on some
Freudian psychobabble level and decided it was just because I
knew that's who I was with. Yesterday, I'd thought what a great
romantic getaway this would be then fell asleep with Lois. That
was the explanation I was going with. Nothing deeper than that.

I sat up and looked around, finding my shirt on the floor. I
pulled it on as I left the room, shutting the door behind me.

"Sleep well?"

Sam's voice came from across the large room. I sighed. So much
for hoping he didn't know.

"Um, I went in to check on her like you asked me to, but I got
dizzy and sat down for a minute and I guess I fell asleep," I
told him as I walked down the stairs.

He shrugged as he took another sip of coffee. "You're both
adults, but I don't recommend hurting my little girl." His voice
was devoid of inflection. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

"I don't intend to. I have a girlfriend I love very much and I
honestly didn't mean to fall asleep in there." I groaned as I
crossed the room. "I don't suppose you called the dorms to tell
them where we are?"

He shook his head. "No. Sorry, it didn't occur to me."

"Can I use the phone?"

He nodded. "Go right ahead."

I dialed the number for Lana's room. "Hello?"

"Lana?" It sounded like she was asleep.

"Clark! Where are you?! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, honey. Lois and I got caught in the storm on the way
back from Bremerton and holed up in her dad's cabin near
Alberton."

"You're alone with Lois in a cabin in the woods?"

"No. Her dad got here yesterday."

"So you were alone with her?"

I sighed. "Listen, baby, I'll tell you the whole story later,
but by the time we got here, we were both hypothermic. I was so
sick and she saved my life by getting me here. I don't remember
anything until her dad got here yesterday."

"So why aren't you on your way home?"

"We can't get out until a friend of Sam's gets here with a snow
plow either today or tomorrow."

"Then how'd he get there?"

"He's got a big four wheel drive, but we have to get the car out
of the snow before we can leave."

"Well, you need to call your Mom and Dad. When they couldn't get
a hold of you, they called me and I told them I had no idea where
you were."

I winced. "I'll call them." I heard Lois' door open and I
glanced over at her walking down the stairs, still wearing just
her Dad's shirt.

With the whole big room available for her to walk through, she
chose to walk right by me. What was she up to?

"Morning, Clark. Do you know where my clothes are?" Lois said in
a breathy tone as she walked by.

I glared at her then winced as Lana's sharp voice came over the
phone. "Clark, is there something I need to know?"

"No, baby. Sam loaned both of us some clothes while ours are in
the laundry."

"And since when do you call Lois' dad Sam?" she demanded.

"Since he told me to." I sighed. "Listen, I better call my
folks. I'll try to give you a call when I know when we'll be
back, okay?"

"Fine. Just tell me you didn't sleep with her."

"Don't you trust me?" I couldn't tell her I didn't sleep with
Lois, but I didn't really want to get into all of this over the
phone. With Lois and her dad in the room.

"No, I trust you. I don't trust her. Did you have sex with
her?"

"No!" A question I could answer honestly. Unless hypothermia
dream sex where the woman morphed between Lois and Lana counted,
and I really didn't think it did. And I certainly wasn't going to
tell her that I'd woken up this morning dreaming of telling Lois
to come back to bed because we were on our honeymoon in this very
cabin. "I gotta go. I love you." I meant it.

"I love you, too."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay. I love you, Clark."

I smiled. "I love you, too, Baby."

She hung up and I depressed the disconnect switch. "Is it okay
if I call my folks in Kansas? Danielle probably talked to them
and then Lana told them she hadn't heard from me so I'm sure
they're worried."

Sam nodded. "Go right ahead. And if they want independent
confirmation that you're okay, I'll be happy to talk to them."

"Thanks." I dialed Smallville, knowing it was even earlier there
than it was in Metropolis. Knowing my parents they were either up
getting ready to do chores or worrying about me.

"Hello?" Dad's sleepy voice said. Or more likely they'd stayed
up as long as they could and then collapsed.

"Hey, Dad. It's me."

"Clark! Martha, it's Clark."

Mom's voice came on the line. "Clark! Where are you? Are you
okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom." I told them the story -- leaving out the part
where Lois and I ended up naked in front of the fire; though I
wondered if Mom suspected -- and where we'd slept in the same bed
together last night and the dreams. I didn't mention the dreams.

"Danielle told us you were sick, but how did you get sick?" Mom
finally said in a very quiet voice. "You haven't been sick since
you were five."

"I know. I don't know what happened. It just came on all of the
sudden. I hurt all over and couldn't hardly stand up, much
less... anything else. Lois got me in the car and I felt better
enough that I didn't I didn't want to go to the hospital..."

"That's a bad idea anyway," Dad reminded me.

"I know, but I felt a lot better, just very tired. So we headed
back to Metropolis but ended up here instead. She said I was
burning up at one point, but I don't remember that part."

"Well, we're glad you're both okay, son," Dad said.

"Me, too." I ran a hand through my hair. "Listen, I'll talk to
you soon, okay?"

"Wait, Clark," Mom said.

"Yeah?"

"What about... are you feeling better or *better*?"

"Just better, not great. Not back to normal."

"You mean, you can't..."

"I won't be running any marathons or leaping tall buildings in a
single bound anytime soon, but I feel okay."

"Ah." That came from both of them.

"We love you, Clark," Mom said.

"I love you, too. Both of you," I told them.

"We'll talk to you soon."

"Okay. Love you," I told them one more time before hanging up.

I leaned back on the couch. "What was that all about, Lois?"

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I put on my best innocent face. "What?"

He glared at me. "You know what. Lana's gonna be all over me
about it."

"I'm sorry," I said seriously, my eyes wide. "I didn't mean to
get you in trouble with Lana. How was I supposed to know who you
were talking to? Besides, you're the one who slept in my bed
uninvited." I had to make sure Daddy knew that too.

He sighed. "I told you what happened. I got dizzy and sat down.
I woke up with you half on top of me and didn't want to wake you
up, then you woke me up this morning."

Daddy sighed. "Is all you two do is bicker?"

I smiled sweetly. "No, Daddy. Sometimes he insults me."

"You start it," Clark shot at me.

"You fight like an old married couple," Daddy told us.

Neither one of us said anything to that. I took a big bite of my
cereal, grateful I'd found that pair of bike shorts in my room
last night. I didn't even know when I left them here.

"Pumpkin, why don't you show Clark the room above yours? We're
going to be here at least another night."

"That's Lucy's room," I said glaring at him.

"Well," he said slowly. "Lucy won't be using it and it has its
own bathroom."

"So? It's not like anyone else is going to be using the other
upstairs bathroom. He can have it all to himself."

"Lo-is." His voice held a warning tone I knew not to mess with.

"Fine."

"It doesn't matter. Really," Clark said. "Any room is fine. I
can even sleep on the couch if I need to."

"Nonsense. There's five bedrooms in this place. You can have
Lucy's room. Go up the stairs and there's a half stair case on
your left. That'll take you to the room above Lois'."

I shoved my last bite of cereal in my mouth. "I'll show you," I
mumbled around my Cheerios.

I put my bowl in the sink and walked towards the stairs. "Are
you coming?"

I heard both of them sigh and Clark moved to follow me. Up the
stairs, on the left were two half stair cases -- one up and one
down. I pointed to the down one. "That leads to my room. This one
goes to Lucy's room," I said pointing to the other one. I walked
up it, opening the door when I reached the top.

I had promised myself on the way up here that I wouldn't cry.
The room was just as Lucy had left it. Mom and Daddy had never
decorated our rooms here like they were for little girls and I
was sure Clark would be grateful for that. In the middle of the
queen bed sat a little brown teddy bear. When I saw it, it was
too late. The tears came.

I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, picking up
the bear and holding it to my chest.

I didn't hear Clark follow me but he must have because before I
knew it he was sitting next to me. He wrapped an arm around me
and pulled me to his side. He kissed the top of my head --
something I certainly hadn't expected -- and then just sat there
with me.

I don't know how long we sat like that before I spoke. I didn't
move because I actually felt safe and comfortable like this. Ha.
With another girl's boyfriend. Wasn't that just the way my life
went? "I don't think I've been up here since the accident," I
finally said. "Obviously, Vicki has been. Most of Lucy's stuff is
gone, but this was her favorite bear."

"Who's Vicki?" Clark asked quietly.

"Daddy's housekeeper. She comes up here once a month or so with
her husband or family and they spend the week or the weekend or
whatever and she dusts and stuff while she's here. Otherwise,
it's a vacation of sorts for them. They use one of the other two
bedrooms above Daddy's when they're here."

We sat there for a few more minutes before I spoke again. "We
were all up here one weekend. Daddy couldn't get off work until
late so me and Mom and Lucy came up early Friday afternoon. We
were on some sort of long weekend or something -- Veteran's Day,
I think. Daddy drove up that night. Monday rolled around and we
were going home, but Dad and I were embroiled in a very serious
game of Monopoly. Mom wanted to get Lucy home before bedtime so
they left and we stayed to finish our game. The call came about
an hour later. A tractor trailer lost its brakes on one of the
downgrades and then slid on some ice, right into Mom and Lucy.
The car was crushed. There was nothing anyone could do and they
said that they died instantly."

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "How old were you?"

"Ten. Anyway, I told you how Daddy lost almost everything, but
this place and the house were both paid for so all we really
needed was money for upkeep. It's not too much here because we're
not here a whole lot so utilities aren't too high and stuff. He
was able to hang on to enough to take care of the house and keep
Vicki and her husband paid until he got back on his feet." I
sighed. "He built this with all of us in mind. They weren't going
to have any more kids. When Mom was pregnant with Lucy, it was
really hard on her physically and she had her tubes tied so it
was just the two of us. He had it built with three master
bedrooms so that Lucy and I could come up with our husbands
someday and still have some privacy."

"That's thinking way ahead."

"That's Daddy for you. He's always prepared. Plans ahead." I
picked at the bear's ear. "This was Lucy's favorite bear. I
didn't know it was still here. She must have forgotten it when
they went home." I stared at it some more. "We used to come every
year for Christmas, but Daddy and I didn't come that year or the
next. It was nearly two years after they died when I made him
bring me here because I thought it would help snap him out of his
depression. He spent the whole weekend locked in his room but he
came out of it somewhat better and things started going back
uphill."

"That's good." He shifted his head where it was resting against
mine. "Will you be coming for Christmas this year?"

I stood abruptly and walked to the large window looking out over
the mountainside.

"What?"

"Sorry." I said staring straight ahead. "I don't know about
Christmas this year. The dorms will be closed so I can't stay
there, but I don't know what the plans are. I bet that they're
probably planning on coming."

"They?"

"Daddy and his girlfriend."

"Ah. Is that why you couldn't move home?" He'd moved to stand
beside me.

"Yeah. She doesn't like me but has Daddy wrapped around her
finger." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about her." I
turned and leaned against the window, really taking in the room
for the first time.

Clark leaned next to me. "It doesn't look like a little girl's
room," he commented.

"No. The cabin always had kind of a rustic thing going even when
we were little." I looked at the four poster bed that Lucy had
loved. Made of knotty wood, it looked like something out of a
hunting lodge catalog. The rest of the furniture matched. The
bathroom door was off to the side, but I knew what was in there.
A really nice bathroom, just like mine directly below it.

I knew that someday I'd bring my husband here and we'd spend
romantic weekends and Christmases and everything else just like
Daddy had planned for both of us. There was a pang in the middle
of my heart as I realized again that Lucy wouldn't ever get that
chance.

The tears started falling again and Clark put his arm around me
once more, pulling me to his side. Before I knew it, I'd moved to
stand in front of him, my arms around him, crying into his
chest.

*~*13*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

She'd been through so much. I'd lost parents I didn't remember,
I knew that. But this was different. She'd been ten when she lost
her mom and little sister. Somehow, I didn't think she'd ever
really let it out. She'd probably tried to be strong for her dad
and never let anyone see the vulnerable little girl who was still
hurting over losing half her family.

And so when she started crying, first on the bed and then
leaning against the window, I felt compelled to comfort her, but
I hadn't expected to find myself actually holding her in my
arms.

She was shorter than Lana, one part of my mind thought. Just the
right height to rest my chin on the top of her head.

I didn't know how long we stood there, but she finally moved
back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, moving back to sit on the bed.

I smiled at her as I gingerly leaned against the window again.
"I bet that's the first time you've really let that out, isn't
it?"

She nodded. "Yeah." She motioned vaguely to the rest of the
room. "Anyway, welcome to your home away from your home away from
home for the next day or two."

"Thanks. This really is a great place."

"Yeah." She smiled. "Daddy doesn't do things halfway. There's
the great room -- which you've seen -- then this half is split
into two sides. This side has Lucy's room up here, mine in the
middle and the garage and storage area below it. The other side
has Daddy's room and above it two more, smaller bedrooms and a
bathroom."

I looked around. "I think this room is bigger than my room and
my parents' room and the guest room and both bathrooms put
together."

"Told you. My room downstairs is just as big. My room at home
isn't quite but there are a couple of bedrooms that are this size
or bigger -- besides the master suite."

"It must be quite a place," I said softly.

"It is. Long, gated drive. Three or four horses, right now, I
think. A guest house by the pool. It was Mom and Dad's dream
house -- and then some. Robin Leach's people looked at it once
but decided it wasn't quite big enough for 'Lifestyles of the
Rich and Famous'."

"Wow." That was impressive, but more importantly, "You've got
horses? I didn't know that!" I loved horses. Always had.

She nodded. "Mine's name is Strawberry. I miss her."

"Why don't you go see her more? You can't have been back more
than once or twice since the semester started."

She shrugged. "I don't want to run into the girlfriend."

"Ah."

I was going to say something else, but footsteps stopped me. We
looked towards the open door to see Sam coming up the stairs.
"Hey, kids. It's going to be two days before we can get a truck
out here to dig out the car. I need to get back to Metropolis. Do
you want to come with me or stay here and wait to drive the car
back?"

Lois spoke first. "I'll stay. I signed the car out so I'm
responsible for it."

"Well, then I guess I'm staying too. I don't like the idea of
leaving you here by yourself," I told her.

Relief was evident on Sam's face. "I don't like the idea of her
staying by herself either." He looked more closely at Lois. "You
okay, Princess?"

She nodded. "I just haven't been up here since..." He nodded
back at her. "It just hit me hard; that's all."

"It hit me hard the first time too." He clapped his hands and
rubbed them together. "Well, I'm going to be leaving here in the
next half hour or so. All of your clothes are in the dryer and
I'll get some more of mine out for both of you before I go."

"Thanks, Daddy," Lois said.

We watched as Sam left.

"You don't have to stay you know," she said as soon as he was
out of earshot. "I can take care of myself and I'm sure Lana
doesn't want you staying here with me. All alone. And I'm sure
she doesn't know we spent the night together in our birthday
suits. That would make it worse."

I sighed. "I didn't want to get into that over the phone, but
just because she's my girlfriend and I love her doesn't mean she
runs my life. I *don't* like the idea of you staying by yourself
and we were on this trip together, so I'm staying."

She stood up. "Okay. But if she gets mad at me, you get to run
interference and remind her that I probably saved your life.
Somehow I doubt she'll get past the 'Lois slept naked with my
boyfriend' thing long enough to be grateful."

"Well, I think she will be, but even if she doesn't say it, I'm
grateful and I know my parents are."

"That's something, I guess." She moved towards the door. "I'm
going to say good--bye to Daddy."

I nodded and watched as she left. She was right. Lana wasn't
going to be happy about this.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

As I snuggled under the blankets, I couldn't help but think
about waking up this morning, in Clark's arms. Even though it was
unexpected and kind of weird, it was also nice. I had never
really wanted to wake up with Joe, even if all we'd done was
sleep. And I'd never really wanted to... not sleep with him
either. He was something to get me out of the house on Friday
nights and I was someone for him to make out with and help him
look good in front of his friends.

That's all it had ever been. Oh, maybe not the first few dates,
but after that... We'd broken up several times. I went out with
Les once or twice and he went out with Julie a few times then we
dated again until he decided he wanted to go out with Debbie.
There was no real commitment or anything remotely close to what
Clark and Lana had.

Part of me was jealous of Lana. She had a great guy like Clark
completely committed to her -- to spending his life with her.

The rest of me was continuing to plan my career as an award
winning journalist. *Then* maybe I'd settle down with a guy and
start a family.

But not until then.

Though it wasn't the weekend I'd planned, it was turning out
okay. I'd soaked in the tub earlier until my fingers looked like
raisins. It had helped with the sore muscles from walking through
the snow half carrying Clark. I'd have to do that again before we
left. And another long hot shower would be good too.

I'd told Clark I was going to my room and not coming back out
until morning. Part of me felt a little guilty about it. There
was no television reception and Daddy didn't bother with
satellite for the little bit of time we were here. There were
plenty of books and I knew he loved to read so he could keep
himself occupied. There was even a copy of 'To Kill a
Mockingbird' which he'd said was his favorite.

I was completely relaxed and was asleep before I knew it. I
dreamed the same dream Clark must have been having that morning
when I woke him up -- we were married and on our honeymoon in my
room. It should have disturbed me more than it did but for some
reason it seemed right. I pondered that as I laid there first
thing in the morning, sunlight streaming in through the window.
Why was that? Must just be the emotion of the weekend.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

Clark poked his head in. "Did I wake you up?"

I shook my head and pushed myself into a sitting position. "No,
I was awake, but I finally got the bed warmed up just right and
didn't want to get up."

"Do you want some breakfast?"

"I'll just have a bowl of cereal."

"Nonsense. Your dad brought a whole bunch of supplies with him
when he came. I can whip up breakfast in no time."

I shrugged. "Fine."

"So, pancakes or bacon and eggs or both?"

I was suddenly ravenous. "Both. Did he bring stuff for biscuits
and gravy too?"

Clark laughed. "Yep."

"And you know how to make all that stuff?"

"Mom made sure I knew how to cook."

"That's good because I burn water."

He laughed again. "Breakfast in twenty."

I nodded. "Thanks."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I flipped one of the pancakes over when I heard the door to
Lois' room open. I glanced over to see her walking down the
stairs from her room. "Almost ready," I called.

I pulled the biscuits out of the oven -- making sure to use one
of the pot holders -- and checked the gravy. Almost done. I
turned the bacon and then another pancake, before scooping the
scrambled eggs into a bowl. "Have a seat. Do you want OJ or
milk?"

"Both."

I got four glasses out and set them on the breakfast bar,
filling two with milk and two with OJ. I loaded two plates with
everything and set one in front of her, then moved the rest of
the dishes to the bar where we could reach them easily if we
wanted seconds. I knew I would. "Syrup?"

She shook her head. "Powdered sugar if we have any." She pointed
to the cabinet. "It would be in there."

I pulled a bag out and handed it to her. "That's a new one."

She shrugged. "It was my mom's thing. It stuck."

I set the syrup on the bar but decided to try the powdered sugar
thing, too. "Not bad," I said after taking my first big bite.

We ate in silence, both of us very hungry. I realized we hadn't
eaten much of anything since the hot dogs in Bremerton. We'd
slept until Sunday night and we both went back to sleep pretty
quickly. Neither one of us ate much on Monday and now it was
Tuesday morning.

Lois drizzled syrup over her third pancake. "Do you think we're
missing classes or is it bad enough that the school shut down?"

I shrugged. "I need to call Lana here in a bit anyway if that's
okay. I can ask her."

She was silent after that, but continued to eat like she hadn't
seen food in a week. I guess the near death experience was enough
to give her a huge appetite. Now that I was feeling better, I
knew I'd be eating a lot more too.

I finally spoke. "So when did your dad say his friend would be
here?"

She shrugged. "I talked to him last night and he said hopefully
by Thursday afternoon, but he wasn't sure. He said it could be
Friday or Saturday."

"Wow. A full week here." I shook my head. It wasn't an
unpleasant thought, but unexpected.

"You should have gone back with my dad," she told me between
bites of biscuits and gravy.

"I didn't want to leave you here by yourself. I stand by the
decision."

"You're going to be in Lana's doghouse."

I shrugged. "I know."

She groaned.

"What?"

"It's election day."

"So?"

"It's supposed to be my first election," she said. "And I'm not
going to get to vote."

I grinned at her. "I voted."

She glared at me. "How'd you manage that? Absentee ballot?"

I nodded. "I knew I wouldn't be home to vote so..."

We spent the next twenty minutes arguing about who she should
have voted for. We didn't have any Senators up for election in
Kansas, but New Troy did. I only voted for a member of the House
of Representatives on the federal level.

Of course, I'd also helped Rachel's dad get reelected. Again.

It surprised me how much we agreed on -- and how much we didn't.
On some topics I wouldn't have thought we'd agree we did. On
those I thought we'd have similar views... we didn't.

"There's the guy who wants more of my money and the guy who
wants more of my money but not quite as much," she said between
bites. "I don't mind helping people who need help and Daddy's
always donated lots of money to charity, but it's not *their*
money..." She sighed. "They're all the same. Republican.
Democrat. There's not that much difference and most of them have
been in Washington too long to remember what real life is like."

I had to agree with her there.

"And I know every vote counts and everything, but let's be
honest, me not getting to vote isn't going to change the outcome
of this election." She sighed. "I was just looking forward to it,
you know?"

I nodded. I understood.

We finished breakfast and loaded the dishwasher. I wanted to
just hand wash them, but Lois insisted that's what the dishwasher
was for. When I asked what we were supposed to do since there was
no television, she walked over to a large cabinet on one side of
the great room.

"Here." She opened the doors wide. There, on the shelves, sat
just about every movie ever made and a bunch of board games.
"Sorry I didn't think to mention these last night, but Lucy's
room doesn't have a TV in it. Mine and Daddy's do as does one of
the other rooms."

"Wow." I moved over and looked at the collection of movies,
running my finger over the spines as I read the titles. Mel
Gibson movies. Harrison Ford movies. Bruce Willis. Comedies. A
bunch of girlie love story movies. More action adventure. Sci-fi.
Romantic comedy. I didn't see any horror movies, but they weren't
really my cup of tea anyway. I moved to the games. Board games.
Word games. Card games. "Game or movie?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Don't really care. What do you want to do?"

"Well, Webster. How about a game of Scrabble?"

"Prepare to lose, Merriam."

Maybe I should have called her Merriam. I pulled the Scrabble
game out and she grabbed one of the comedies.

"Let's go," she said shutting the cabinet and heading towards
her room.

I hesitated slightly but it made sense. If we were watching a
movie it wasn't going to be in the great room.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

What had I been thinking, grabbing a movie?

I was surprised Clark was following me.

Okay -- I knew what I had been thinking. Subtle mentions in
front of Lana about how Clark and I spent all day in my room one
day we were here. Just because I knew it would make her mad.

There was plenty of room on the floor so it wasn't like we were
going to be on my bed. There was even a table in there. And a
fireplace though it had never been used. Daddy had put them in
all the bedrooms -- for ambiance and out of necessity in case we
were ever stranded in a snowstorm. Providing we weren't
hypothermic when we arrived, of course, they should help prevent
us from freezing. Thankfully, we'd never had to use them. I'd
also figured I'd use it when I came up here for a romantic
getaway with my boyfriend or fiancé or husband some day but that
day hadn't come yet.

And Clark sure didn't count.

I left the door wide open. Not that shutting it would have made
a difference. We were the only two people there.

I put the movie in and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on as
I did so.

I sat down on the floor, my back against the footboard of my
bed. "Set it up, Farmboy."

An hour later, Clark challenged my word. "There is no such word
as 'chumpy'."

I glared at him. "It's a word."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"Use it in a sentence."

"You are a chump. That makes you chumpy."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm a chump?"

I shrugged. "Call 'em like I see 'em."

He shook his head and reached for the dictionary. He opened it
then flipped it around. "Not there."

I glared at him again and took my letters back. I sighed as I
stared at the board. Finally I stuck the 'M' after an 'A'.

Got tons of points for that one.

Clark used his last four letters to turn 'more' into 'evermore'.
"That's all of them. You get one last turn."

I stared at my c-h-u-p and then the board and then my letters
and then the board and then my letters... Finally I stuck the 'h'
above the first 'e' in 'evermore'. "I'm done."

Clark added up the final scores and subtracted points for my
c-u-p a bit too gleefully for my taste. He held up the score pad.
"So sorry, Lolo."

"Don't call me that."

"I heard Joe call you that once."

"You're not Joe."

"No, I'm not."

Together we put the game up. "What do you want to play next?"

He shrugged. "Surprise me."

I took Scrabble back out to the other room. I glanced through
the games and finally pulled a couple of boxes out.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I watched the three 'City Slickers' riding the range while
waiting for Lois to come back.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw what she had. "Poker?"

"Relax. It's not strip poker," she said with a roll of her
eyes.

Strip poker. Now there was a thought. That could be fun under
other circumstances -- and with Lana, of course. Someday. Maybe
next summer after we got married. Well, if we got married next
summer, but I thought we would.

"Fine. What're we playing for?"

She shrugged. "Bragging rights."

"That's no fun."

"Then what do you want to play for?"

"KP."

"What?"


"Kitchen Patrol. Loser makes dinner."

She snorted. "Not sure that's the best plan."

"Why not?"

"I burn water remember."

"Oh, right." Forgot about that. I looked at her contemplatively.
"Do you have any other thoughts?"

"Haul wood?"

"What?"

"Loser brings more wood in."

"Deal."

*~*14*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Clark had gone up to Lucy's room to go to bed. He'd lost the
poker game and had brought plenty of wood in. Then he'd spent
nearly an hour on the phone with Lana. At least he'd gone
upstairs so I wouldn't have to listen to him cooing at her. We'd
eaten sandwiches for lunch, played some more games, he made
dinner and then he said he was turning in.

I decided to build a fire in my room. I'd looked and there were
no obstructions in the chimney. After tossing a fire starter in,
I'd grabbed a romantic comedy and curled up in the big chair. And
since I was still starving, I made popcorn. When it was gone, I
paused the movie and made more. What was the deal with that? By
the end, I wasn't sure 'Return to Me' counted as a comedy, but I
did end up with a good cry.

I *didn't* want to be in love like Bob and Elizabeth had been
and like Bob and Grace were by the end. I *didn't*. I had college
to finish and a career to start.

I had exposes to write.

Criminals to indict.

Businessmen to hound.

Senators to harass.

Governors to hoist by the petard.

Heads of State to dethrone.

Scandals to uncover.

Corruption to reveal.

Kerths to win.

Pulitzers to be awarded.

I didn't need a man to do any of that.

I didn't.

So why was I crying even though the credits were over?

Because I loved Daddy and he loved me -- more than anything
except maybe this new girlfriend. If push absolutely came to
shove, I thought he'd choose me, but...

I wanted someone to love me like Daddy loved Mom.

Like Rhett loved Scarlett.

Like John loved Abigail.

Like Romeo loved Juliet.

Like Rob loved Laura.

Like Jacob loved Rachel.

Like Gomez loved Moriticia.

Like Marc Antony loved Cleopatra.

Like Barney loved Betty and Fred loved Wilma.

Like Ricky loved Lucy or Chachi loved Joanie.

Like...

I sighed.

Like Clark loved Lana.

But why?

Lois Lane did *not* need a man.

I didn't *need* a man, but it would sure be nice.

Someday...

Maybe if Joe ever got over his teenage hormonal thing, we could
have something good together.

Maybe if I slept with him.

That was one of the big reasons we originally broke up in the
first place.

If I was sleeping with him, maybe he'd love me like that.

One rational part of me knew that was crazy but another part of
me -- the part of me that liked waking up with someone the two of
the last three mornings -- wondered.

I ate the last of the popcorn and wondered if Daddy had brought
any chocolate ice cream.

Then the lights went out.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I was in that netherworld between asleep and awake when
something pulled me out.

Surprised, I tried to extend my hearing and, even more
surprising, it worked. I tried to float and could. I tried to
look through the wall and saw Lois feeling her way through the
Great Room.

It was her muttered curses that must have woken me up.

So where were the lights?

I watched her grab a flashlight and click it on. A glance at the
clock showed me that the power was out again. A falling tree
branch must have hit the power line.

I swung my feet over, wearing a pair of Sam's sweat shorts, but
didn't see my shirt. Shrugging, I headed down the stairs.

"Lois?" I said as I neared the bottom.

"What?" she snapped.

I wondered what had happened to make her so grumpy. She'd been
in a decent mood when I'd gone upstairs.

"Power's out again?"

"You got it, Franklin."

I sighed. Franklin experimented with electricity. Of course
she'd choose him this time. This could be a long night. "Well, I
guess I can build a fire out here and we can grab some blankets
and pillows and stuff."

She sighed. "No, I've already got a fire going in my room. You
can sleep on the floor in there."

One of my eyebrows went up. I never knew what possessed me to
say what I said next. "How about we flip for the bed?"

"Excuse me?"

She shined the flashlight at me. "I said, how about we flip for
the bed."

"It's *my* bed," she retorted. "I get the bed; I'll lend you a
pillow."

Oh, not only was she going to kill me for this, but Lana would
if she ever found out. "It's a big bed, how 'bout we share
again?"

My mom probably would too.

Lois just glared at me and stalked off towards the kitchen.

I grinned. It wasn't like I actually thought she'd give me her
bed -- and even sharing was out -- but it was too easy when she
was like this. I knew I shouldn't do it, but it was too much
fun.

"And must you walk around half-naked?" she threw over her
shoulder.

"I couldn't find my shirt in the dark." Well, I hadn't looked
very hard either, but that was irrelevant. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for ice cream." She used the flashlight to search the
freezer, pulling a tub out when she found it.

"Your dad brought ice cream?"

"He knows that there's nothing like chocolate ice cream when
I've been sick." She got out a bowl and soon had it nearly
overflowing with ice cream.

I watched her with a raised brow.

"What?" she said around the spoon in her mouth.

"Nothing. I've just never seen you like this."

"Like what?"

"Well, you had a huge breakfast, mid morning snack, two
sandwiches and a bunch of chips for lunch, a whole bag of baby
carrots with French Onion dip for an afternoon snack, a ton of
spaghetti for dinner." I looked in the trash can. "You've had two
things of popcorn since then and now you're having a big bowl of
ice cream."

She shrugged. "I'm hungry," she said around the spoon she'd
stuck in her mouth. She put the ice cream back in the freezer and
headed towards her room.

I trotted after her and found her throwing one of the king sized
pillows off of her bed onto the floor. "There's an extra blanket
on that chair."

I picked it up and a movie case fell to the floor. "'Return to
Me'? I haven't seen it. Is it any good?"

"It's a sappy romance. You probably wouldn't be interested."

"You never know."

"Well, Lana's not here for you to get all cuddly with so..." She
crawled under the covers, leaning against the headboard as she
worked on her bowl of ice cream. "You're closer to the fire so
you're in charge of making sure it keeps going all night."

"Not a problem."

I lay there, staring into the dancing flames of the fire while
she finished her ice cream. I heard her set her bowl on the side
table. "Night, Ben," she called.

"Night, Deborah." I waited to see if she'd question me on that.
I knew the great love of Ben Franklin's life was Deborah Read --
did she?

When she didn't question it, I figured she did.

I'd dozed off and wasn't sure what woke me up this time. It took
me a minute to realize that it was whimpers coming from Lois'
bed.

"No! Can' 'ave 'im! No!"

She sat straight up in bed.

"Where is he?!" she practically yelled.

I was by her in an instant. "Lois?"

She grabbed at me. "Clark! Where is he?"

"Who?"

"My baby!"

"What baby?"

"Our baby!"

Our baby? "Lois, you need to relax. I think you're having a
nightmare."

Slowly her breathing returned to normal as she crumpled against
me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shrugged. "I just dreamed that I had a baby. Not that I had
a baby, but that I was a mom and someone was trying to take my
baby away from me."

"Are you okay?"

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Was I okay?

Someone had just dreamnapped my baby. How could I be okay?

But it was a dream.

A nightmare.

But still just a dream.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

"What do you remember?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head. "I know I was married. I mean, I don't remember
getting married, I just knew, you know? Like you just know things
in dreams."

He nodded against my head. "Yeah, I know."

"So I was married and we had..."

"We?"

"Me and my husband."

"Who was your husband?"


Had I said something to him about 'our baby'? The guy in my
dream had looked suspiciously like Clark -- at least what I saw
but I never got a good look at him. "I don't know," I replied
honestly.

"Okay. So you and mystery man had a baby..."

"And someone was trying to take him."

"Who?"

I shrugged, grateful for his arms around me. "I don't know. I
just remember it being dark and running and... Someone was
chasing us. I couldn't let them get my baby. And then I woke
up."

He relaxed his hold on me and the fear suddenly rose again.

"Please don't leave," I whispered.

"Okay. Just a minute, alright?"

I nodded.

He moved so he was sitting against my headboard. "Come here."

I moved so that I was curled next to him, his arm wrapping
around me, holding me close to that dratted bare chest I'd tried
to banish the first night we shared a dorm room. If I had to have
a guy roommate, why couldn't he have been smart but ugly? Or at
least scrawny.

And why did I have to feel so safe with him?

And if I did, why did he have to be taken?

It wasn't like I wanted him to stay because I was attracted to
him or wanted to take him from Lana or anything like that. I
honestly felt safer with him than I ever had. Anywhere but with
Daddy and maybe even safer than that.

What did that say about me?

Was I secretly hoping that he and Lana would break up and he'd
suddenly realize I was the love of his life?

I almost snorted.

I was *not* hoping Clark would suddenly realize that Lana was
all wrong for him and that I was all right.

All that said -- or thought -- I did feel safe with him and I
did hope that someday I would meet a super guy who would love me
like that.

Before I knew it, I must have dozed back off.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I sighed. She was asleep, which was good. I was still on her
bed, which was not.

Well, we were grown-ups. We'd slept together twice already since
we got here and nothing had happened.

And by slept, I meant slept.

And the power was out. And we did need to stay warm.

It sounded like rationalizing to me. Even if it was true.

Of course, now that my powers were back, I wasn't in any danger,
but Lois could be if the power didn't come back on.

At some point, I must have dozed off as well because the next
thing I knew, sunlight was streaming in the window and Lois' head
was on my chest again.

It made me uncomfortable how comfortable this was.

Her hair was tousled and spilled over the top of my chest and my
shoulder. One leg was crossed over one of mine. My arm covered
one of hers as it rested on my stomach and the other was wrapped
around her back holding her to me.

The way we fit together like this, how comfortable it was,
scared me. Lana and I had never slept together -- literally or
metaphorically -- but we had lain together on my bunk or hers at
school and the couch at home and in the hayloft more than a time
or two and we always had a hard time finding the right spot. It
seemed that it came much more easily for me and Lois and I was
pretty sure I didn't want to analyze that on any level.

Of course, it was possible that it had taken us all night to
figure this out and I just didn't realize it.

I didn't want to wake her up. Somehow I knew she still hadn't
slept very well the rest of the night.

I wasn't a dad and wasn't planning on being one for quite a
while but the thought of someone trying to take my child was a
scary one. Even being dreamnapped was enough to be scary. It
would have surprised me if she'd been able to sleep well after
that and it didn't seem unreasonable that she wouldn't want to be
alone after that.

Lana wouldn't understand that though.

I sighed. How was I going to tell her about all of this?

I'd talked to her for quite a while the day before, but I still
hadn't mentioned the whole 'I *slept* with Lois' thing. I didn't
really want to do that at all, but I knew I had to. It was going
to be in person and somewhere she could yell at me without being
interrupted. I'd have to tell her the whole story -- maybe even
play up the bit where, if the cabin had been much further away, I
could have died. It didn't need much playing up -- it was scary
enough as it was -- but if I could get her grateful to Lois
first, it might help.

That bothered me. The idea that I had to censor -- or felt I had
to censor -- what I told Lana. I should be able to tell her
anything and everything and if she really loved and trusted me,
it shouldn't matter if I slept in the same bed with another woman
under extenuating circumstances.

How would I react to know that Lana had woken up in the arms of
another man three out of four days?

A knot formed in my stomach.

Not well. I knew that. But I also knew that if it came down to
life or death -- like Saturday night had been -- I would
understand they'd done what they had to to survive.

The other two nights...

Felt dizzy, fell asleep, rolled together during the night.

Don't like it; can live with it.

Lana wakes up screaming from a nightmare and I'm not there to
help her.

I'd hope that he'd do what he needed to do to help her feel
safe, especially if I knew it was a purely platonic relationship
like mine with Lois.

Still didn't mean I'd like it, but I'd understand.

Would Lana?

Did the fact that I felt I needed to edit things with her say
something about our relationship? Maybe I should fly to
Smallville and talk it over with my folks first. But would that
show them that there's a rift between me and Lana or something?

Maybe I'd talk to my dad.

That was a plan. Tell him the whole story, birthday suits and
all. Tell him why I didn't want to tell Lana everything but that
I knew I should. That I hadn't meant to *sleep* with Lois again.
And get his opinion.

That was definitely a plan.

Whether I'd follow through with it or not was another story.

*~*15*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I didn't want to move this time.

The dreamnapping was still forefront in my consciousness and
here I felt safe.

It was nice -- waking up in someone's arms when I wasn't
recovering from hypothermia and still half delirious.

It wasn't that it was Clark's arms, I told myself. It was
anyone's arms that I felt safe with.

I felt safe with Joe most of the time and I was sure that waking
up with him -- if we ever fell asleep together for some reason --
would be just as nice.

But, since I was here with Clark, I'd enjoy this. I didn't open
my eyes or make any other movement. I kept my breathing even and
imagined myself waking up in the arms of my husband in this room
like this someday.

I felt Clark shift slightly underneath me, his arms tightening
slightly around me -- one on my back and the other on the arm
that was thrown across his stomach. He was probably imagining I
was Lana.

And then my stomach growled.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

I nodded against him. "Getting there."

"Did you sleep okay?"

I shrugged. "Still felt like someone was chasing me and my baby
but not as bad." I rolled onto my back, my fingers trailing over
his abs as I did.

"That's good."

My stomach growled again.

"Hungry?"

"Starving."

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Do we still have enough stuff for breakfast like yesterday's?"

"Yep."

"Then pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, OJ and milk. If
you don't mind cooking again, of course." There was no way I
could pull that off.

"Not a problem. Why don't you go take a shower..." He paused.
"Is the power back on?"

I looked at the side table to see that my alarm clock was still
turned off. "Nope."

He frowned. "Well, the stove is gas and so is the oven, so
breakfast isn't a problem as long as I can light them, but we've
got lighters so... What about the water heater?"

"Gas."

"Good. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make breakfast?"

I nodded. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

I started to roll away from him even further, when the phone
rang. It was on my side of the bed, so I grabbed it as I sat up.
"Hello?"

"Lois?"

I cringed. "Yeah."

"Is Clark around?"

My eyes narrowed slightly and a slight grin creased my face.
"Clark," I said over my shoulder. "Are you awake enough to talk
to someone?"

I purposefully didn't look at him as I spoke. "Yeah," he said.

"Can I ask who's calling?" I asked into the phone.

"This is Lana," came the irritated voice.

"Oh, hello, Lana." My voice dripped sweetness -- I'd known who
it was. "Here he is."

Clark glared at me as he took the phone.

"I'm going to go take a shower while you make breakfast," I said
as I climbed out of the bed.

He glared at me some more before turning back to the phone.
"Hey, Baby."

I smiled to myself as I walked to the bathroom. He was going to
kill me, but it was so worth it.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Lana was going to kill me.

"What was all that about, Clark?"

"What?"

"Were you sleeping with her?"

I pushed myself up so I was sitting against the headboard. "Sort
of. The power went out again last night and she already had a
fire going in her room so I slept in here. I told her I'd make
breakfast while she took a shower."

"Were you in bed with her?" she demanded.

"It's not like that, Baby."

"So you were in bed with her?"

"Not at first." I sighed. "I was sleeping on the floor when she
woke up screaming from a nightmare. I was sitting with her for a
few minutes and we dozed off, that's all."

"Uh huh."

I ran my free hand through my hair as I heard the water start in
the other room. "I promise. That's all it was."

"Promise?"

"On the life of our firstborn child," I told her.

"Okay."  Lana sighed.  "I believe you.  So when are you coming
home?"

"I don't know yet.  Hopefully tomorrow.  As soon as Sam's friend
gets here to clear the road and dig the car out."

"I miss you," she said softly.

"I miss you, too, Baby," I told her.  "I meant to ask you
yesterday - did they cancel classes this week or are we missing a
bunch of stuff?"

"Well, we got a ton of snow here, too.  Most of the on campus
students are in decent shape as far as getting to school goes,
but a lot of the staff and professors are having a hard time
getting in so they canceled the whole week."

"At least we're not missing anything."  I heard the shower stop
running.  "Listen, Baby, I need to get up and go to the bathroom
and I told Lois I'd make breakfast."

"Do you have to share a bathroom with *her*?"

I laughed lightly.  "No.  Cabin is a bit of a misnomer.  This
place is twice as big as both our houses combined, I think."

"Then why did you sleep with her?"  I could hear the hurt in her
voice.

"Because she already had a fire going in her room and there was
no power so I was on the floor in here and then she had a
nightmare..."

"Did she really?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, she did."

"She didn't just want to get in bed with you?"

"No.  She was scared."  And I could hear her moving around in
the bathroom.  "But I really do have to go.  I'll try to call you
later, okay?"

"Okay.  I love you, Clark."

"I love you, too, Lana."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I heard Clark talking and waited until he was done and I heard
the door shut before leaving the bathroom.

Why did I say stuff like that?

Clark and Lana were the perfect, happy couple and part of me
hated that. She irritated me to no end, but I knew that Clark
loved her and he was my friend and I hated that Lana had her
claws in him. Not because I wanted him but because I thought he
deserved better than Cruella.

I sighed and pulled one of Daddy's shirts on. Surely breakfast
was ready.

I left my room sniffing the air as I did. "It smells good."

He glanced at me but didn't say anything. He must have paid
attention the morning before, because he'd dished up an almost
identical breakfast for me.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," he answered with a shrug before sitting down next
to me at the breakfast bar.

We ate in silence, unlike the morning before.

Finally, I sighed deeply. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked not looking at me.

"For getting you in trouble with Lana. For not letting you go
back to the floor last night." I poked at my scrambled eggs with
my fork before stabbing at a piece of biscuit with gravy on it.

He shrugged. "I didn't mind staying with you. You were scared."

"Still. I'm sorry I got you in trouble with Lana." I didn't look
at him again either.

"You should be. It was uncalled for."

"I know."

"So why'd you do it?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

"Sure you do."

"What?"

He shrugged again. "You know why you did it."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do. You won't tell me, but you know. I think it's
because you just don't like Lana."

"I don't."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't. And she doesn't like me
either."

"I know."

We ate in silence for a few minutes longer.

"Do you remember anything else about your dream?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Not really. Just that I was
married and I had a baby and somebody was trying to take my baby
from me -- from us. From me and my husband, whoever he was." I
wasn't about to admit to him that the more I remembered, the more
he looked like Clark.

But I didn't want to think about that.

"So what do you want to do today?" I finally asked.

He shrugged. "Watch a movie. Play games. Read a book. Whatever
you want."

"No power, Edison. But, yeah. Sounds like fun." The tone of my
voice and the words I said were exact opposites.

I speared the last bite of pancake on my plate. Fun. Right.
That's what we were having.

Clark wiped his mouth on his napkin before tossing it on the
counter. "Come on," he said.

"Where are we going?" I asked. He'd suddenly switched scripts
without telling me.

"You'll see."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I don't know what possessed me to come up with this idea, but it
was the right one.

Yeah, Lois had made me mad with the Lana stuff, but Lana was
going to be annoyed whenever she found out. It could work one of
two ways: the excitement of seeing me after a week would push her
annoyance to the background or she'd spend the next couple of
days stewing and she'd be even more annoyed when I finally saw
her.

There was nothing I could do about it now, so I was determined
to enjoy myself with a good friend in a winter wonderland.

"What *exactly* are we doing?" Lois asked as she pulled her
gloves on.

"You'll see," was all I would say.

We stomped out the front door and she sort of glared at me.

"Your choice. Snowman. Snow fort. Snow ball fight. Igloo."

She just stared at me. "Are you serious?" she finally said.

I shrugged. "Yep. So what's it going to be?" I moved out to the
walk. Or where the walk would have been if it wasn't covered by
tons of snow. I bent down and picked up a handful of snow,
packing it carefully. "Because if you don't choose, snow ball
fight it is."

She sighed. "Fine. Snowman."

We spent the next while making a snowman. We argued over whether
the base was big enough or whether it was round enough. Over who
was going to lift the second snowball onto the first. Over
whether we should try to find a carrot for a nose or use snow to
try to fashion one. What to use for buttons.

But it was fun bickering and not mean and malicious like I knew
we both could be.

We finally agreed that he was finished and started head inside.
Just before I opened the door, something cold hit the back of my
neck. I turned to find Lois looking another direction, the
picture of innocence.

Right.

Lois.

Innocent.

My eyes narrowed and before she knew it, there was snow all over
the side of her head.

"Hey!" She shook her head. "What was that for?!"

I just grinned at her.

If I didn't know she couldn't move as fast as I could, I would
have sworn she could have. Before I knew it, I was hit again.

I fired back, laughing as I did.

In minutes, we were in a full blown snowball fight, that didn't
confine itself to the small clearing at the front of the house.

For someone who didn't have the advantages I did, Lois sure knew
how to get around in deep snow.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I was hiding behind a tree when I heard the snowball hit it.

"Come on out, Lois," Clark called.

"Never," I called back.

I'd hit him good a few times, and he'd managed to hit me, too,
but so far, I'd given better than I got and he was looking for a
bit of payback, I was sure.

He couldn't see me from where he was, but I couldn't see him
either. I was almost ready to sneak back out, when a snowball
caught the back of my head. It didn't hurt, but it did startle
me.

I turned around, snowball in hand, but couldn't see Clark
anywhere.

Oh, he was good.

Afterwards, I still had no idea how he ended up chasing me with
what was essentially a snowball roughly the size of a basketball
-- much less how he managed to catch me while carrying it -- but
it probably had something to do with the snow booby trap I'd
set.

Okay -- I hadn't set it, but a bunch of snow did slide off a
tree and land on him when I'd sort of made it by pulling on a
limb as I ran by. He thought if he'd been doused in snow, I
should be, too.

Before I knew it, he'd managed to balance the snowball on one
hand and grabbed my arm before breaking it over my head.

I mentally congratulated myself for taking martial arts in high
school and before he knew it, we were both on the ground in the
snow.

And not just in the snow, but in a big ol' snow drift next to
the house. It had to have been five or six feet deep, easy.

I pushed a little harder on him, trying to sink him just a bit
deeper, as I struggled to stand up.

How I ended up flipped and flat on my back, I had no idea, but I
found myself breathing heavily and looking up at a smiling
Clark.

For half a second, maybe even a little longer, the desire to
pull him down on top of me and kiss him was very real. And for
slightly less than a nanosecond, it looked like he might want
to.

I pushed that out of my mind before glaring at him. "Nice, Kent.
Now help me up before we freeze again."

That illegal grin of his got even bigger as we struggled to get
up. I brushed as much of the snow off as I could before I
realized my teeth were starting to chatter just a bit. "I think I
need a hot shower," I told him as I stomped towards the front
porch.

"I think I do, too."

"Well, you can use the bathroom upstairs. Even though the
power's still out, the gas water heater is tankless so we don't
have to worry about one of us using all the hot water."

We managed to get inside and get our boots and coats off without
tracking melting snow all over the cabin.

And then my stomach growled.

"How long has it been since breakfast?" Clark asked, a slight
look of shock on his face.

I shrugged. "Couple hours?"

"And your stomach's already growling?"

I shrugged again. "I'm hungry."

"Well, go take a shower and I'll fix something when I'm done."

"Thanks," I said as I headed for my room and he headed towards
the stairs.

I tried not to think about the breath that caught in my throat
when we'd landed in the snowdrift and the nearly overwhelming
desire I'd had to tug him down to me and kiss him like I'd never
kissed Joe.

What in the world had come over me?

Or almost come over me?

Surely, it was just still a little bit of an unsettled feeling
left from the nightmare the night before and the fact that I'd
slept naked with Clark a couple days before and the overwhelming
emotions that had come with nearly dying.

A knock on the door shook me out of my thoughts.

"Lois?"

"What?"

"Are you okay? You've been in there a long time."

I sighed and turned the water off. "I'll be out in a minute."

I heard footsteps that told me Clark had moved away from the
door and out of my room. I dressed in one of my dad's big
sweatshirts and my bike shorts again and headed out to the
kitchen.

Suddenly, I was starving.

*~*16*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I knocked on the door and waited for it to open. Linda answered.
"Clark!" She turned. "Lana..."

She didn't have time to finish her sentence before Lana launched
herself into my arms. She held on like she hadn't seen me in a
week, because... well, she hadn't.

"Hey, Baby," I whispered in her hair.

"I missed you. And I'm so glad you're okay," she said, holding
me even tighter.

"I'm fine, too," Lois told her as she entered the common room.
"Just in case you care." She headed into the bathroom.

Lana kissed me and I kissed her back, but was always conscious
of where we were and who was around. I whispered to her, "We'll
go somewhere more private in a bit okay?"

She nodded.

We were sitting on the couch, Lana curled up next to me, when
Lois came out of the bathroom and made a beeline for our room.
When she shut the door behind her, Lana turned to me.

"Are you really okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Baby, I am."

"Was it really that bad?" she asked, settling back down next to
me.

"I don't remember part of it. I know I was burning up when we
got out of the car and I remember making it to the cabin steps,
but I don't remember anything after that until Sam woke us up the
next afternoon."

"What happened in that time?"

"Lois managed to get me inside and in front of the fire she
started." I was dreading telling her this next part. "She, um..."
I ran a hand through my hair. "We were in a really bad place,
Baby. I was unconscious and Lois wasn't far behind. We were
soaking wet and there was no power. We were both hypothermic..."

She didn't say anything and neither did I. Finally, she spoke,
but she didn't look at me. "Did she take your clothes off?"

I ran my hand up and down her arm as I pulled her towards me.
"Yeah."

"All of them?"

I nodded against her head. "Everything was soaked. She said she
put a blanket over me before..." I didn't finish. "Then she
covered me with more blankets."

Lana didn't say anything again for a minute. "What about her?"

"What about her?"

"Did she take her clothes off and get under the blankets with
you?"

I sighed. "Yeah, she did. She probably saved my life, Baby."

"So when you said you slept in front of the fire with her..."
She took a deep breath. "You were naked?"

"I was *unconscious*. I don't remember anything until Sam woke
us up."

"And she was still next to you? Naked?"

"Yeah," I said quietly. "She moved pretty quick though and we
both kept blankets and..."

"You don't remember anything about what it was like to have her
skin on yours?"

She was fighting tears. I knew she was. Lois had slept next to
me, both of us without any clothes on, and Lana felt she should
have been the only one to ever do that.

And she was right.

Once we got married, I was sure we'd sleep like that on a pretty
regular basis, but Lana wouldn't ever be the first one.

I shook my head. "No. Not really."

"Not really?"

I sighed. "I remember waking up and thinking it was you and
wondering when we got married and why your hair was dark all the
sudden. And that my arm was around her and her back was bare and
then that Sam was there telling me to wake up. I remembered what
happened -- sort of and I asked about her, she woke up enough to
ask about me and then she moved."

"Promise that's all you remember?"

"Promise," I told her, kissing her hair. I didn't mention the
dream. Part of me thought I should tell her I'd dreamed about
making love to her in front of the fire, but I also knew that my
dream woman had been Lois part of the time and I didn't want her
to know that.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

There was a knock on the door that came in from the hall.

I didn't feel like moving from my bed. "Come in," I called.

The door opened and Joe was standing there. "Hey," he said
quietly. "How are you?"

I shrugged. I wasn't feeling well at all, but didn't know why.

"Can I come up?"

"Sure." I scooted over towards the wall so he'd have more room
to sit.

But he didn't sit. He stretched out next to me, his head propped
up on his elbow. "You scared me, Lois."

"Scared you?"

"You didn't get back last Saturday. No one knew where you two
went, but Lana had heard from Clark's folks. His cousin said
Clark was sick and told them what time you guys left Bremerton.
We all realized there was no way you'd have made it back here,
but your cell kept going straight to voice mail and..."

He choked up a bit.

I reached a hand out to brush the hair off his forehead. "I'm
okay. You know there's no cell reception out there."

"I know, but still... When I finally called your house, Vicki
said that your dad had heard from you but that it wasn't good.
You were both sick and hypothermic and he was trying everything
to get someone to you but couldn't find anyone to go. He was
waiting at the on-ramp when they reopened the highway." He kissed
my forehead. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry I didn't call," I whispered. "It was a very weird
week."

"It's okay. Lana called me after she talked to Clark the first
time. I figured I was probably the last thing on your mind."

I shook my head. "No. Not the last thing. I thought about you.
Quite a bit. I don't know why I didn't call, but..." I sighed. "I
felt better, but now I feel worse again. And the whole week was
just weird."

"Come here." He settled himself on his back and I snuggled in
next to him. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"You're not the only one."

"Hey, did you talk to your Dad about the Europe trip?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He said I can go."

"That's great. Will you be my seatmate?" he asked seriously.

I laughed. "Talk about deja vu."

"It's been a long time since we rode that bus to camp
together."

"Ten years? Something like that."

"Do you know who else is going?"

I groaned. "Clana."

"Who?"

"Clark and Lana. Clana."

"Does that make us... Jois?"

I groaned again. "Okay, fine. No Clana. The Clampetts are
going."

"Ah. Well, we'll steer clear."

"Sure you won't find another girl between now and then?" I
asked, not looking at him.

"Even if I do, you're the one I'll be with on that trip. We'll
have a frienaissance."

"You borrowed my 'Friends' DVDs, didn't you?"

"Maybe." He stroked the hair at my temple with the arm around me
as I yawned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Tired, but that's it."

"Is that normal after being hypothermic?"

I shrugged. "I think so. Daddy said we might be."

"Mind if I stay here with you for a bit? You get some sleep and
I'll just stay for a while?"

I nodded. "Thanks."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Joe was lying on Lois' bunk with her when I made it back to our
room. I knew Lois had been tired and she must have fallen asleep
with him there and he didn't want to wake her up.

How reminiscent of what happened the other day.

I started to say something to him, when the phone rang. I
snagged it quickly, hoping that Lois wouldn't wake up. "Hello?" I
said quietly.

"Is Lois there?"

"She's sleeping, can I take a message?"

"This is her dad. Who's this?"

I sighed. He still didn't know we were roommates. I think he
thought Lois and Lana were. "Hi, Sam. It's Clark."

"Hey, there. How're you feeling?"

"Much better, sir. Thank you."

"What did I tell you about calling me 'sir'?"

I laughed slightly. "Sorry. My parents ingrained that deep."

"Listen, I was looking for my daughter, but you'll work. What
are you and Lana doing for Thanksgiving?"

"Um, staying here, I guess. We're not going home. We're saving
to go to Europe over break instead."

"Ah. Lois mentioned that trip. She and Joe are both going."

"Joe's here, if you want to talk to him." I winced. Should I
have said that?

"He's coming with Lois to the cabin for Thanksgiving. You and
Lana are invited as well."

Wow. "Thanks, Sam. I'll talk to Lana and let Lois know."

"Okay. Now, you both need to rest up a bit still. Take it easy a
bit longer, would you?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry. Yes, Sam."

He laughed. "That's better. Tell Lois to give me a call, would
you?"

"Of course."

We hung up and I looked up at Joe who was looking at me as best
he could without bothering Lois. "She's supposed to call her
dad?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. He asked me and Lana if we wanted to join you guys for
Thanksgiving."

"Ah. Cabin's nice, isn't it?"

I nodded. "That's the understatement of the year."

"Well, it's nothing compared to their house, but it's great."

"I haven't been over to her house yet."

"You'll be impressed."

"I'm sure I will." I started back towards the common room,
before turning back to him. "Listen, I know Lois and I have a 'no
other half spending the night' rule, but if you don't want to
bother her, it's fine with me."

I didn't look at him as I said it, but left to find Lana.

She was still sitting on the couch, staring into space.

"Hey."

She looked up. "I thought you were going to bed."

"I'm getting ready to. I just talked to Sam. He asked if we
wanted to go to the cabin with him and Lois and Joe for
Thanksgiving."

She shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"The dorms are closed. We have to go somewhere."

"That's fine then. I guess. I know Linda's going to New York
with her family so that's not an option."

"And since we're going to Europe..."

"Right."

"He also said Lois and Joe are going on that trip, too."

"Exciting."

I held out a hand and she grasped it. I tugged her to me and
wrapped my arms around her. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Something didn't feel quite right when I woke up.

Not *bad*, but not *right*.

I tried to roll over, but couldn't.

I opened one eye and saw Joe lying there, sleeping next to me.

I leaned up to see the clock and groaned. At least it was Sunday
and there was no class. If it had been a school day, I would have
missed a couple classes already. I looked towards the window and
noticed a dark sheet draped over the curtains to keep the light
out.

Joe yawned and opened his eyes to look at me.

"You've been trying to get me to sleep with you for years," I
whispered with a smile.

He put an arm around me. "I succeeded. You even asked me to
stay."

"Not all night," I reminded him.

"Clark said it wouldn't bother him if I did last night." He
shrugged with one arm. "I fell asleep and didn't worry about
it."

"Did you put that sheet up?"

"No, Clark did that when he went to bed."

"Ah."

"Your dad called to check on you. He also invited them to
Thanksgiving with us."

I groaned. "Great."

"It'll be okay."

"I know. Just promise you'll come even if your parents get back
early."

"Not a problem." He leaned over and kissed me gently. "You're
going to have a hard time getting rid of me." He kissed me
again.

He wanted more. I could tell. I could always tell when his
kisses changed.

I rested my hand on his chest and pressed lightly. "No, Joe," I
whispered.

"Can't blame a guy for trying?" he whispered, kissing my
forehead.

"Joe," I said, a warning in my voice.

"I know." He pulled me closer until I rested on his chest again.
"You sure you don't want to give us a real shot again?"

I shook my head. "That's not us. You're my best friend. Always
have been. Always will be."

"I know." He kissed my forehead. "I love you, you know."

"I know. I love you, too." And I did. Just not like that.

"So, what do you want to do the most while we're in Europe?"

I shrugged. "Find a big story and write it? Get a Pulitzer for
it."

He laughed. "Only you would think that."

"Not like I'll have any leads or anything."

"Well, I've never been to Europe and I know you've been to
Paris, Rome and London all before, so you'll have to make sure we
do the good stuff and not just the tour-y stuff."

"Yeah. Daddy and I have gone several times to all three places.
Bet we fly in a lot more comfort though."

"We'll make sure we get seats together and not in the middle."
He shuddered lightly. "We need a side seat."

"Yep. I'll even let you sit by the window."

"Thanks."

"So what's gonna be our biggest thing in Paris?"

"Well, the night we can eat wherever we want, I'll take you to
my favorite restaurant."

"Is it one of those sidewalk cafés or what?"

"It was Mom and Daddy's favorite place to eat. It's where he
proposed when they were there on a school trip."

"Ah, so nice and romantic?"

"Yep. Just promise me you won't propose to me there."

"I promise. At least not this trip."

I laughed. "Deal."

*~*17*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I wondered what the sleeping arrangements would be.

We were driving to the cabin to spend Thanksgiving with Lois and
her dad.  It seemed pointless to take two cars so we'd all piled
in Lois' Jeep and were on our way.  Of course, Joe was with us,
so that left me with the discomfort of the back seat.  Sure, Lana
was there, too, but my long legs just didn't do well back there.

Before long, Lois pulled off on to Lane Lane and I heard Lana's
intake of breath as she realized this cabin had its own private
drive.

About a mile and a half down, Lois said something about how this
was where the car had gotten stuck.  It amazed me again how far
we'd made it in a blizzard.  A few minutes later, she pulled up
in front of the large cabin and followed the drive as it snaked
around to the garage under her room.  She expertly negotiated the
winding road and pulled the Jeep inside.  That done, we headed in
from the garage.

Lana's eyes were wide as she took it all in.  Sam was already
there and welcomed me with a hearty handshake hug thing.  He did
the same with Joe, but just smiled a welcome to Lana as he stood
with one arm around Lois' shoulder.  "Clark, why don't you show
Lana to the room you stayed in last time and you and Joe can each
have one of the rooms above mine?"

I saw Lois stiffen a bit as he spoke.  It made sense.  She
didn't want me in Lucy's room and she liked me.  She and Lana
were like oil and water.  Of course she didn't want Lana in her
sister's room.  Sam, though, wouldn't understand.  I picked up
Lana's bag and she followed me up the stairs.  I'd scouted out
the other two bedrooms the last time we were here and knew which
one I wanted.  Neither were bad, but the one closer to the stairs
was more my style. I couldn't really define why but it was closer
to Lana anyway.  I set my bag in there before showing Lana to
Lucy's room.

"Here you go," I told her with a smile.  "Whaddya think?"

She looked around.  "Not bad."

I rolled my eyes.  "Oh, it's a bit better than 'not bad' and you
know it."

She sighed.  "It would be better if you could stay in here with
me."  She moved in front of me and trailed one finger down the
front of my shirt until she reached the middle of my stomach then
hooked it in between two buttons and pulled me to her.  My arms
found their way around her, holding her close to me.  "You slept
with Lois while you were here.  Why can't you sleep with me?"

I kissed her gently.  "You know why.  And you know I never
*meant* to sleep with Lois while I was here.  It just sort of
happened."

"Three times?" she said with a raised brow, before kissing me
again.

"You can't blame me for the first time - I was unconscious.  And
I was still sick the second time and the third time just sort of
happened.  I explained it all to you."

"I know, but why can't you stay here with me?  Is her dad that
much of a prude?"

"I don't think so, but Joe isn't staying with her so why should
I stay with you?" I pointed out.  "It probably didn't even occur
to him."

"So tell him."

I kissed her again.  "I can't do that, Baby."

This time she kissed me.  "Well, you could always accidentally
fall asleep up here," she said continuing to play with the
buttons of my shirt without ever actually unbuttoning one.

I smiled at her.  "I *could*, but let's just play it by ear,
okay?"

She nodded.  "Okay."

"So what do you really think of this place?"

"I think growing up with money would have been nice."  She
turned in my arms so that we could stare out the window at the
snow topped trees.

"Money doesn't buy everything, though," I reminded her quietly. 
"Both her mom and her sister died when she was just a kid and her
dad nearly lost everything.  I wouldn't trade my mom and dad for
any amount of money."

"I know, but still... it can make life a lot easier."

"You're right about that, but you still can't buy love or
happiness."

"Her dad seems to love her."

"He does."

"So why couldn't she move home?"

"She hasn't really told me too much -- a little bit but not much
-- but apparently there's a good reason."

A voice called up the stairs, telling us that dinner was almost
ready.  I kissed the side of her head.  "Ready?"

"I guess.  But if you want to accidentally fall asleep in here
with me, I'd be okay with that."

I laughed.  "I would be too."

"Then let's make it happen."  She smiled at me -- that slow,
sexy smile I loved so much.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I tossed my bag on the chair in my room and glared at the
ceiling where I could hear footsteps.

Why did Daddy have to give Cruella Lucy's room?  Couldn't Clark
have stayed in there again?  Or even Joe would have been better.

And why was I so cynical about Joe?  He was a good friend and -
toga party notwithstanding - had been there for me since I could
remember.  We'd talked about it a bit more the next day and he'd
awkwardly asked a few questions about how I was feeling that
seemed to confirm what Clark had said -- that he'd gotten there
in time. I wasn't... sore in... places and other stuff that
should have occurred to me given the birds and bees talks I'd had
with both Dad and Vicki. Even knowing how uncomfortable it made
both of us, he'd asked.

Joe was a good friend when Mom and Lucy died and had always been
a shoulder to cry on - even after we started dating but weren't
together at the time.  Like when Dad's new girlfriend moved in
and Joe was going out with Lisa for a few weeks.  The
girlfriend told me I'd best move out and I'd cried on Joe's
shoulder.  Of course, that was part of the reason why Lisa broke
up with him.  I'd called in the middle of what was apparently a
pretty heated make out session and he'd taken her home to come be
with me.

I'd planned on living on campus anyway but the girlfriend made
sure I had no choice in the matter.  Joe went for a midnight
horse ride with me that night and let me cry on his shoulder in
the middle of New Troy National Forest near the lake we often
hiked to.  But our friendship went back much further than that. 
He'd stood up to Donny Johnson when Donny tried to kiss me in
first grade.  Joe had decked him and gotten suspended for three
days defending me. Of course, I hadn't really needed defending.
Donny had caught me off-guard but if Joe hadn't hit him, I would
have.

I flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting to see
if there was some sort of tell-tale creak as the Siamese twins
started making out on my little sister's bed.

There was no creak, but that didn't mean they weren't going at
it up there.

I heard Daddy call out that dinner was ready and I decided that
I probably should put in an appearance at least.

I was glad that whatever it was from the near-death experience
that made me eat everything in sight was over. I poked at the
lasagna and finally excused myself, saying that my stomach didn't
feel quite right -- which was the truth.

I went to my room and lay down, curling up under a blanket. A
knock on the door a few minutes later, made me sit up. "Come in,"
I called.

"Hey." It was Joe. He shut the door behind him. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Not feeling all that hot. That's all."

He sat next to me and pulled me towards him. I rested my head on
her shoulder. "And it doesn't have anything to do with Lana
staying in your little sister's room?" he asked quietly.

I didn't say anything to that.

"Hey, it's me. You can tell me anything."

"I know and no, I'm not crazy about her being up there."

"I know. You think Clark'll sleep in there tonight?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care."

He grinned suddenly. "I could always sleep on the floor in here.
Because I can if you want me, too."

"What'll Dad think?"

He shrugged. "He probably thinks we've slept together already."

I shuddered. "I never told you what happened while Clark and I
were stuck here, did I?"

"No," he said slowly. "Do I want to know?"

"Well, the first night, we were both practically unconscious and
I managed to get all of our soaking wet clothes off and we slept
together under blankets in front of the fire so we wouldn't
freeze to death. The second night, I fell asleep in here and
Clark came in to check on me, got dizzy and sat down, and then
fell asleep and slept in here with me. The fourth night, the
power went out." I didn't look at him as I picked at an imaginary
piece of lint. "He slept on the floor in here and I woke up
completely freaked out by a nightmare. He came and gave me a big
hug and sat with me for a few minutes while I calmed down and we
fell asleep again."

"Should I be jealous?" I could hear the hint of a smile in his
voice.

"Nah. Yeah, he slept with me naked, but he's never kissed me."

"That's good. I'd hate to lose my make-out buddy."

"You're not going to, unless you find someone else. Then you'll
make out with her."

We settled a bit more on the bed. "You know, Lois," he said
slowly, his hand rubbing my shoulder. "I know we said a long time
ago that we weren't going to be the great love affair of the new
millennium, but sometimes I wonder if we don't end up back
together all the time for a reason."

I thought about that. "No one knows me better than you."

"And no one knows me better than you."

My voice was small as I finally voiced the thought that had been
bouncing around my head. "Would you stay with me tonight?" I
turned slightly towards him. "I really don't want to be alone.
And you're my best friend."

"Anything for you, Lo."

"Stop calling me 'Lo' and I'll even let you share the bed with
me." That was, of course, what I meant when I asked him to stay
with me and he knew it.

"No more 'Lo'," he promised, kissing the side of my head. "Sit
up for a minute." I complied and he pulled his shirt off and we
crawled under the covers.

"You do know I meant only to sleep right?"

"Don't worry. I'm not about to try anything. Not tonight. Not
when you need a friend."

"Thanks, Joe."

He pulled me close to him and I rested my head on his chest,
tears falling. "I know Clark stayed up there when we were here,
but why does the first real visitor to Lucy's room have to be
her? Any why does it bother me so much?"

He shrugged, one hand playing with the hair at my temple. "I
don't know, babe. But I do love you."

"I know." That was my last conscious thought until the sun came
up the next morning.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I pulled a shirt and sweatpants on and headed out of my room. It
was pretty early, but I ran into Joe.

Coming up the half staircase from Lois' room.

Looking rather tousled.

He brushed past me without saying anything and headed to his
room.

Interesting.

Lois had told me -- repeatedly and vehemently -- that she and
Joe weren't sleeping, or *not* sleeping, together.

I headed down the stairs just in time to see Lois, also looking
fairly tousled, coming down the stairs from her room into the
living room.

"Good morning," I said with a grin. "Sleep well?"

"Fine."

"Joe sleep well?"

"Joe slept fine." She glared at me. "What?"

I shrugged. "Was just surprised to see him coming out of your
room, that's all."

"And you didn't fall asleep in Lana's room last night?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Well, not that it's any of your business, but we were talking
and fell asleep. That's it."

She was lying about something, but I wasn't sure what. I didn't
think it was about what had happened between them, but it was
something.

"Are you making breakfast again this morning?"

I shrugged. "I can. Are you still eating as much as you were
last time we were here?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what the deal with that was,
but I've never been that hungry before or since. Must have been
the near death experience or something."

I nodded. "Must have been." I headed to the kitchen to start
breakfast while Lois grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to one of
the chairs that looked out the large picture window. I didn't
know where Sam was, but I was sure Lana was still asleep.

I wasn't paying attention to the noises behind me, so the arms
that slipped around my waist and the cheek that rested against my
back caught me a bit off-guard.

"Good morning," I felt, more than heard, Lana say. "Making
breakfast?"

"Yep." I turned to face her. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving," she said before she stretched up to kiss
me.

"Want a cup of coffee?" I asked her. She nodded and I quickly
fixed her a cup the way I knew she liked it -- black. It was
easy.

The rest of the day passed in relative peace. We had a big
traditional Thanksgiving dinner and took turns being thankful.

Sam was thankful his daughter and her friend had survived the
blizzard.

Joe was thankful he had somewhere to be because his parents were
overseas for a few weeks.

Lois was thankful to be alive and for good friends. I noticed
she didn't look at Lana when she said that.

Lana was thankful that she got out of Smallville and to Sam --
but apparently not Lois -- for the Lucy Lane Memorial Scholarship
that was helping her attend Met U.

I was thankful for new friends and old and a place to spend the
holidays away from home.

Lois said she wasn't sure why but was exhausted and took an
afternoon nap in her room. Lana, Joe, Sam and I played Trivial
Pursuit. Sam won. But it was the Millennium Edition and he'd
lived through a lot more of the millennium than the rest of us.
We didn't mention that part to him though.

Joe and I brought more wood in for the fire.

We all had leftovers for dinner. Except for Lois, who woke not
feeling much better and without much of an appetite.

Sam had bought a new TV for the great room -- a big HDTV that I
was sure cost almost as much as a year's tuition at Met U -- as
well as a DVD player, so we all watched 'Miracle on 34th Street'
as a way to get us in the holiday spirit. I noticed Joe and Lois
sitting closer together than they had been recently. Maybe things
in their world were getting better.

We only had a couple more weeks of school and then Lana and I
would be heading home for the break. I wondered what Lois was
going to do. She'd let it slip a couple weeks earlier that her
dad's girlfriend was the reason she'd had to move out and why she
really wasn't looking forward to Christmas like she usually did.

I was looking forward to going home and seeing my family and
finding a way to buy Lana a ring without anyone knowing and
talking to her dad and getting ready to propose when we went to
Europe on the school trip right before the first of the year. We
wouldn't get to spend New Year's at home because we had to leave
Metropolis December 29, but a two week trip through Europe with
Lana was worth it.

I couldn't wait.

*~*18*~*
December 2002
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

It was Christmas Break and I had to be at home.

I flopped on my bed and stared at the sheer canopies that draped
down from the four posts. Left over from my 'princess' phase when
I was a kid, I hadn't bothered to redecorate when I outgrew it.
Redecorating took energy away from more worthwhile pursuits and
was too trivial to mess with.

I looked around and noticed a few things seemed slightly off.

Had someone been in here? Maybe Vicki had cleaned up or
something. It wasn't anything I could put my finger on, but
something just seemed... off.

I sighed and curled around a pillow. Even after all the things
he'd said over Thanksgiving and even though I'd slept in his arms
and felt safe and loved, Joe had met someone new. Maybe. Well,
he'd met someone and wanted to get to 'know her better', he'd
said. Of course, I'd told him that I wasn't sure I agreed with
his assessment that we always ended up back together for a reason
so it wasn't surprising that he'd moved on.

It just meant that he'd be getting lucky over Christmas and I
wouldn't. Not that I would have if he hadn't found this other
girl, but that wasn't the point.

After he spent the night in my bed, I'd found myself wondering
what it would be like if we did... I hesitated to even think
'make love' because I loved him, but I didn't *love* him -- at
least not at this point in my life -- but I also knew that it
wouldn't be 'just sex' either -- we meant too much to each other
regardless of our romantic attachment or detachment or whatever.

What would it be like to sleep in his arms after we'd done
that?

What it would be like to do that with him?


I sighed. I wasn't going to think about that anymore. I was
going to go to sleep and try to forget that I was here with the
wicked almost-stepmother who was bound and determined to make my
life miserable.

She'd mentioned the possibility of a summer wedding the last
time I was here. Daddy hadn't mentioned it at all, but that
didn't mean anything. I was still relieved she hadn't come to the
cabin for Thanksgiving with us. The more time I spent with her,
the more I hated her and hated that she was pulling the wool over
my dad's eyes.

And now I was going to be living at home for two weeks.

Was it possible I could avoid her until then? Somehow I doubted
it. Daddy would expect us to eat together sometimes and then
there was Christmas. I was sure I was expected to get her
something really nice or something like that.

I was going to have to go shopping. And I hated shopping.
Especially when I was shopping for someone I loathed. And I had
no idea what on earth I could get her that both she and Daddy
would think was appropriate.

I closed my eyes and prayed sleep would come quickly.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I hugged Mom tight for a long moment as I stood in the kitchen
of my childhood home.

"Oh, Clark, I've missed you."

"I know, Mom. I've missed you, too." I hadn't flown home often
-- less than once a month, really, and I hadn't been back since
right after the whole thing at the cabin when they wanted to see
for themselves that I was okay.

"Did you drop Lana off on your way here?"

I squeezed her a bit more tightly, before letting her go. "Yeah.
She was anxious to get home, though she did say she wants to come
over sometime next week to see you guys."

Mom frowned. "We're going to Kansas City next week. Didn't I
tell you that?"

I groaned. "Yeah, I just forgot."

"Well, we have some shopping to do and Aunt Opal is meeting us
there and we're all going to Uncle Joe's in Excelsior Springs to
do Christmas with that side of the family one day."

"Yeah, I know. I'll call her."

"I do wish you were going to be here for more than two weeks
though," she said, as she turned back to dinner. "You've been
gone too long."

I stuck my finger in the sauce and noticed her wince out of the
corner of my eye even though she knew I wouldn't burn myself.
"Mmmm," I hummed as I tasted it. "I have *missed* your cooking.
Lois' dad has a service that makes her food, too, and she shares
sometimes, but even it's not this good. And the cafeteria is
pathetic."

"You know how to cook," she reminded me.

"I know, but where am I supposed to do that?"

"Good point."

"And I'll be home for Spring Break and I'll be here all summer,"
I reminded her. I didn't tell her I was probably going to be
getting married sometime this summer. Lana and I had talked about
it and she'd indicated more than once that she would be happy to
get married the summer after our freshman year. I felt a slight
frown crease my brow. If we moved home for the summer, as
planned, then got married in June or July, where would we live
until it was time to go back to school? The thought of Lana
moving into my room was both pretty freaky and slightly exciting
at the same time. Or maybe we could get married just in time to
go on a honeymoon before we headed back to Metropolis and maybe
just stay here for a night or two.

I stuck another finger in the sauce and the old doubts about
telling her about myself assailed me again. Would she understand?
Should I tell her before I asked her to marry me or after? I
wanted to propose in Paris because it seemed like something we'd
always remember and would be incredibly romantic and all that
stuff, but a school trip certainly wasn't the place for this
discussion. The hayloft in the barn was probably one of the best
places, unless I flew her to somewhere in the Andes or a deserted
island or something like that.

I sighed. "I'm going to take my stuff upstairs."

I could feel Mom's eyes on me and knew that she knew something
was on my mind, but I wasn't about to tell her what it was. I
knew they thought Lana and I were too serious, too young despite
their own life stories. I also knew that Mom would tell Lana
herself before we got married if I didn't tell her myself. And
Dad might disown me.

I grabbed my stuff and zipped up the stairs, anxious to be out
of her eyesight.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I'd seen Clark and Lana sucking face near the gate and was
praying that I didn't have a seat near them. I wasn't sure what
their seat assignments were but Joe and I were in the very back
row in the two seats on the left side of the plane. I'd even
promised him the window seat.

Joe had called me two days after I got home from the dorms for
Christmas. It -- whatever 'it' was -- hadn't worked out with the
new girl and he'd come running back to me. Okay, that might have
been stretching it a bit. He'd asked if I still wanted to go see
the new 'Lord of the Rings' movie that weekend. It came out the
week of finals and neither one of us had had a chance to go yet.

We'd gone and he'd apologized to me, saying that he was looking
forward to the plane ride because we could talk and asked if we
could try to get seats for just the two of us. I'd gone online to
find the best seats for something like this and on a 747 -- if we
weren't able to be upstairs like Daddy and I usually were -- the
best place was the back two seats on one of the sides. The seats
still reclined, but did have moveable armrests so I could use Joe
as a pillow, and were close enough to the side of the plane that
he could rest on it.

Because we were at the back of the plane, we got to board first
if we wanted to. I didn't. I knew we were going to be on board
the plane for eons anyway -- why get on any sooner than
necessary?

Apparently Clark and Lana didn't realize this and they were
among the first on board. Well, all of our group was in the back
of the plane, so it made sense, but I still hoped they weren't
either in front of or next to us.

As the departure time finally neared, Joe and I boarded. I
groaned aloud when I realized that Clark was going to be sitting
right across the aisle from me.

"What?" Joe asked from right behind me.

"Look who's sitting next to us," I told him, glad that we
weren't close enough to our group to be heard by any of them.

"I thought you liked Clark," he said confused.

"I do. I don't like the person sitting on the other side of him.
And they're probably going to be playing tonsil hockey over the
Atlantic."

"And we won't?" I could practically see his grin as he whispered
in my ear.

"It's possible," I conceded. "But don't hold your breath."

"I won't."

We reached the back of plane, said 'hi' to Clana -- as I'd taken
to calling them in my head since we got back from the cabin,
regardless of what I'd said to Joe before -- and stowed our
stuff.

Joe leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Do you want me to take
the aisle seat? I won't mind."

I nodded. "Thanks." Before I could slide into my seat, I heard
the sickeningly sweet voice come from across the aisle.

"Lois. Joe." I turned to see Lana smiling innocently at us.
"Would you two trade seats with us? Clark and I wanted to talk
about something and would appreciate a little bit of buffer from
anyone else."

Clark shifted in his seat, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Joe smiled at her. "Sorry, Lana. No can do. Lois and I already
have a big, long talk of our own planned and since we thought
ahead enough to get the seats..." He shrugged. "We're going to
use them. I'm sure you two will have plenty of time to talk when
we get to Europe." He paused, his brow furrowed. "Didn't you two
just drive in from Smallville? What's that? A twenty-hour
drive?"

Lana covered well, but I was sure she was furious. She just
wanted a little space to be slightly more alone with Clark.

I slid into the window seat and rested my head against the
plastic.

This was going to be a long flight.

~*~

We were well over the Atlantic before Joe took my hand in his.
"Can we talk now?"

I glanced around. Most people were either asleep or had
headphones on or both so I nodded. "Sure."

He took a deep breath. "Since Thanksgiving, and really before
that, I've been doing a lot of thinking. About us."

He'd shifted so that his back was to the aisle and spoke
quietly.

"What about us?" I asked softly.

"We've been off and on for what? Three years now?"

I nodded. "Something like that."

"Do you ever wonder why we always find our way back to each
other? I mean, I've dated other girls that I liked a lot -- who
knew how to kiss and whatever -- but I've never wanted to date
any one of them again after we broke up."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. But I never dated any other guys
seriously or anything. Barely kissed the few I did go out with.
Dan was the only one I thought might turn into something more
and... Well, you know how that turned out."

He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. "I don't want you to think
I'm saying this just to get in bed with you, I'm not. Not that I
would mind someday, but I know how you feel about that and I
don't want to pressure you into anything you don't want or aren't
ready for or anything like that."

"Well, you also know I won't let you pressure me."

"I know. And I respect that, really, I do. That was part of what
I was thinking about the last few weeks. I've slept with just
about every other girl I've dated since I was sixteen. There
hasn't been *that* many and it's not like it was ever on the
*first* date, but after a couple dates..." He looked at our
joined hands. "I don't want to get into all of my sexual history
right now and you already know most of it anyway, but I wonder if
that's not part of why we keep find our way back to each other.
That it's not just about sex with us."

I rested my head on my seat. "I guess that's possible."

"And then... you almost died. And when your dad told me what
happened... Did you know I called your house that night? He was
so scared and so was I. I don't think I've ever breathed a bigger
sigh of relief than when Lana told me you were okay. I started
thinking then and after Thanksgiving, I started thinking more
seriously. And you said you were happy the way things were, so I
left it alone and I started dating Denise, but only a couple
times because I didn't want to be with her. I wanted to be with
you.

"Could we..." He took another deep breath and almost looked
scared. "Do you think that we could try again? I mean, for real
and not just so we have something to do on Friday and Saturday
nights or whatever? I promise that I won't push you or anything,
but I realized when I was going out with her this month... I
kissed her and she kissed me back and she was willing to do a lot
more than that and I just... I had no desire to do that with her.
All I could think about was you and how I would rather be with
you watching a movie than doing... other stuff with her."

He leaned over and kissed me softly. "Think about it for a
while. I don't want an answer right away. I know it's something
we haven't talked about in years, but I would like you to think
about it and see if you think there might be a chance for us." He
kissed me again -- a long, soft, sweet kiss. Almost like our
first kiss a couple years earlier. "I've got to go to the
bathroom and then I'm going to get some shut eye, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay. And I will think about it. I promise." I stared
at the blackness out the window while he was gone, but stood when
he got back. "Why don't you take the window seat and you can lean
on it? If you don't mind me leaning on you, that is."

He smiled. "Not at all." He settled in the window seat with one
of the little airline pillows and a blanket. I handed him my
pillow and he used it, too. One arm wrapped around me as I sat
next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. We each pulled a
rough airplane blanket around us. He kissed my head. "I do love
you, Lois."

"I know, Joe. I love you, too."

"I know."

We closed our eyes and settled in for some sleep.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I wanted to shift uncomfortably, but Lana was resting on me and
I didn't want to bother her.

This flying in planes things was for the birds.

*I* was meant to fly under my own power.

Really.

Of course, no one else would understand that, but that was okay.
Lana would soon enough. We'd be in Paris and, in a couple days,
she'd be my fiancee -- there was nothing that I could think of
that would lead to her saying no -- and we'd have three days
before classes started once we got back to the States. We'd talk
about me and my alien-ness then. And then she'd understand.

And hopefully, she'd like to fly with me sometimes.

I sighed and shifted my aisle side leg slightly.

"You okay?" came a soft voice from across the aisle.

I looked to see Lois watching me, concern in her eyes.

I nodded. "I'm not real fond of flying and there's just not
enough leg room in these things. Honestly. It's worse than your
Jeep."

She smiled at that. "My Jeep has plenty of legroom."

"Only because you always drive."

"True. But Joe's Mustang has plenty of leg room, too, and I
never drive it."

"Not in the back."

"You've got me there, but I've never been in the back seat of
his car."

"Really?" I asked her, a gleam in my eye.

She glared at me.

"Sorry," I said immediately, a grin on my face. I sighed and
turned serious. "I didn't mean to listen in a little while ago
but..." I glanced around. "This isn't exactly the best place for
trying *not* to listen in."

She blushed a bit. "I'm sure."

"So?"

"So what?"

"Are you going to give it another chance?"

She chewed on her bottom lip. "I think so." She glanced up at
Joe, who was sleeping against the window, his mouth slightly
open. She smiled. "He's my best friend. He has been for a long
time."

"I'm glad. He really does seem like a good guy."

"He is."

We talked for a while longer, laughing and joking quietly as the
sky in front of us lightened. We were landing at nearly noon,
Paris time, so it would be daylight long before we landed.
Fortunately, for those trying to sleep, most of the shades were
pulled.

Lana and Joe both began to stir at about the same time, as did
just about everyone else as we started our descent into Paris.

*~*19*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I hugged the pillow to me and groaned slightly.

I was finally visiting Paris with a boyfriend who wanted to see
if things between us could turn serious again and I had the flu.

At least the faculty advisors were a little more lenient than
the ones in high school had been. As much as I wanted to explore
Paris, I'd been there before -- several times -- and right then,
my bed was much more appealing.

There was a knock on the door and I groaned again, getting up to
answer it.

"Hey," Joe said quietly.

I raised one hand and turned back to the room. I flopped on the
bed and he sat next to me.

"Feeling any better?" he asked brushing the hair off my face.

"A bit," I said, truthfully. "Not nearly as bad as I did this
morning."

"That's good." He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Any
chance you'll be up to that dinner tonight?"

I nodded. "I may not eat much, but maybe."

"Good."

We hadn't had a chance to talk since we got off the plane. I
grasped his hand in mine. "I've thought a lot about what you said
on the plane," I said, not looking at him.

"And?" he asked quietly. He sounded a bit afraid.

"I want to give it a shot..."

"But?" he prompted as my voice trailed off.

"There's a couple of things I want to be clear on first."

"Okay," he said, shifting so he could stroke the hair off my
forehead as I continued to stare at his denim-clad thigh.

"No pushing me for sex. That doesn't mean we can't talk about it
at some point in the not-too-distant future or about moving the
boundaries we've had set for the last couple years sometime soon,
but I know you're ready for that whenever I am and I don't want
you to push me. And we never make any decisions about it in the
heat of the moment or when we're not fully clothed."

"Deal."

"And..." I took a deep breath. This was the one that could be a
deal breaker eventually, I thought. "If you break up with me at
some point because I'm not ready for sex yet and you go out and
date around a bit and scratch the itch or whatever, don't expect
to come back to me like you have the last couple years. It's
different this time." I still hadn't looked at him. "If we break
up for other reasons and not that, then maybe if we can work
those issues out, but you better not cheat on me or break up with
me so you can go have sex with someone else and expect me to take
you back. If this is a serious relationship, it's a serious
relationship, not the on-again-off-again thing we've been for the
last few years."

"Deal," he said without hesitation.

I finally looked up at him. "I mean it, Joe."

"I know you do." He kissed my forehead again. "Why don't you try
to get some sleep and I'll meet you downstairs at eight? Leave me
a message if you're not up to it, but if I don't hear from you,
I'm taking you to dinner in Paris tonight."

"Well," I said with a smile. "It would be kind of hard for you
to take me to dinner in Metropolis now, wouldn't it?"

He laughed. "Yeah. That it would."

I smiled at him. "Love you, Joe."

"Love you, too." He kissed me -- for real this time -- and then
stood. "Get some rest."

I closed my eyes as he left.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~~

I set my backpack down on the floor next to my chair. I sat
where I could see the elevators because Lana was going to be
coming off of one any minute.

Instead, I found myself distracted by Lois sitting next to me
and hiding her face in my shoulder.

"Pretend we're in some kind of deep, romantic conversation or
something," she hissed.

I hadn't seen her all day. Joe said she had a bit of the stomach
flu, but she seemed fine. "What?" I whispered back.

"She can't see me." She tugged at my other arm so that my body
turned and hid her a bit more.

"Who?"

"Dad's girlfriend."

I started to turn and look, but a quick shake of her head
stopped me. "Don't look."

I could see her tracking someone with her eyes.

"Okay, now you can watch her. Blonde, high heels, shiny pink
shirt and white leather pants."

"I see her," I whispered.

"She's up to something."

"What?"

"I don't know, but..."

"She's leaving."

Lois whipped her head around. "Come on."

"What?"

"I'm following her. I'll explain later."

"Lois, I'm not following your Dad's girlfriend with you. I'm
supposed to go out for dinner with Lana, and you're not exactly
dressed for undercover operations."

She glared at me. "I'm going. Tell Joe I'll call him when I get
back, okay?"

I groaned and grabbed my backpack as she practically ran across
the lobby. "I'm coming, but we're not going to be gone long." I
saw Tom, one of the guys in our group and asked him to let Lana
and Joe know we'd be back in a few minutes and he agreed. Surely,
I'd be able to talk her out of this before we got too far.

We ended up in a cab and followed a dark sedan to the airport,
but not the main terminal.

Thanking the cabbie and paying him, Lois climbed out.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Following her," she hissed back.

I could see the blonde talking to someone who looked a bit...
hinky but that didn't mean anything. Maybe.

The guy handed her a large briefcase and I slipped my glasses
down to look into it.

Cash.

And lots of it.

There weren't very many reasons -- legitimate reasons -- to
handle large briefcases of cash at night at a deserted part of a
foreign airport.

A pallet was loaded onto an airplane and before I knew it, Lois
was dashing through the shadows.

What on earth did she think she was doing?

When no one was looking, she nimbly jumped up onto the ramp and
into the cargo hold.

Was she planning on flying with this stuff?

Were cargo holds even pressurized?

I sighed and hitched my backpack a bit higher and followed her.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I heard something behind me and a glance showed that it was
Clark. I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't quite sure what I
was doing, but I was glad I wasn't doing it alone.

"Lois," he hissed.

"What?" I hissed back.

"We have to get out of here."

"In a minute." I tiptoed through the pallets, looking for
another one to catch my eye -- away from the loading hatch where
we could be seen. Finally, I found one.

I tried to pull the lid off, but apparently, it wasn't budging.

Suddenly, Clark grabbed my arm and pulled me down.

"What?"

"Someone's coming." He held a finger to his lips as we crouched
behind the pallet.

A couple of men climbed into the hold and fastened down the last
pallet that had been loaded. As soon as they were done, they
hopped down and the loading ramp began to close.

We looked at each other -- wide eyed. "We have to get out of
here!" I whispered.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," he whispered back. "How?"

"I don't know. Are cargo holds pressurized?"

"I think so -- they ship pets don't they?"

"Yeah."

I dug around in my jacket pocket and pulled out my iPhone.

"What're you doing?"

"Looking it up."

I was glad Daddy always paid for the best services and I had
internet access on it even here. On the way to the cabin... it
had been useless, but here I had service.

Clark's hand clamped over mine before I could connect.

"What?"

"Won't it interfere with the plane's electronics? And tip them
off that we're here?"

"Does it matter if we die from exposure if we don't?"

He sighed and suddenly the whine from the engines changed and we
started to move. I toppled onto him and we landed flat.

Fortunately, there were still a few small lights on in this
area. We could hear footsteps above our heads and we stood up,
looking for a way to get to the main deck.

Clark tugged his glasses to the end of his nose. I'd seen him do
that a few times before, but had no idea why.

He grabbed my hand. "Come on." Quickly, he led us to a spot near
the front of the plane, where, incredibly, there were a couple of
jump seats.

He dropped his backpack to the ground and sat in one. I sat next
to him. "I guess if there's seats here, we'll survive the trip."

His face looked grim. "It probably won't be real comfortable
though. It'll probably be a lot colder down here than up in the
cabin."

I rested my head on the bulkhead behind me and sighed. "I'm
sorry."

He sighed, too. "I know."

"Joe was supposed to take me on our first real date since...
well, you heard us talking."

"Yeah. So you were going to see what happened with him?"

"Yeah. I told him that there were two conditions and he agreed
to them so..." I shrugged. "I thought I'd see where we went."

"What were the conditions?"

I didn't say anything for a minute. "Well, that he doesn't push
me for sex and if he breaks up with me because I'm not ready and
goes to some other girl, don't expect me to take him back."

"Good for you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? You're not going to tell me
in some sort of male bonding moment that I should just jump him
next time I see him?"

He shook his head. "No. It's not something to take lightly."

"So how long did you and Lana wait?" I didn't look at him when I
asked.

"We still are," he said quietly. "We decided to wait until we
get married."

We were both continuing to scan the area, hoping that something
would catch our eye for a way to get out of there, but we were
suddenly pressed against the backs of our seats as the whine
increased and we, apparently, took off.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I sighed. This so wasn't what I had planned. I should have been
walking along the Seine or gazing at the Eiffel Tower with Lana
and then asking her to marry me.

A plane on the way to -- literally -- God only knew where,
wasn't on the agenda.

"So why exactly did you insist on following her?"

She shrugged. "I can't explain it. She... she's not above board.
I know that. Daddy said she was going to see her family in Little
Rock, Arkansas. She shouldn't have been in Paris."

"Ah." I didn't understand, but I knew Lois and the girlfriend
didn't get along at all. I knew that she was the main reason why
Lois hadn't felt she could move back home when she found out I
was her roommate.

I dug around in my backpack and found a pack of gum. I held it
out to her. "Here. Should help with the air pressure."

She nodded her thanks as she took a piece and popped it in her
mouth.

"So what were you and Lana up to tonight?"

I shrugged. I wasn't about to tell her my real plans. "Walk
along the Seine, see the Eiffel Tower at night, kiss at midnight,
that kind of thing. You and Joe?"

"We were supposed to go to our favorite restaurant. Well, mine
and Daddy's. It's where he proposed to Mom on a trip when they
were in college."

"College sweethearts then?"

She shook her head. "High school. He proposed when they went on
a trip to Europe over Winter Break their freshman year. They got
married that summer and lived in the dorms on campus until he
graduated from medical school. I came along about five years
after they got married and Lucy three years after that."

The similarities were eerie, though neither Lana nor I were
planning on working in the medical field and I didn't think we'd
wait that long to try to start a family.

We sat for a while, each lost in our own thoughts, until a while
after we'd leveled out.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" I finally asked her.

"No," she sighed.

I'd tried to listen in to some of the conversation above us, but
I didn't recognize the language and none of it sounded like the
name of any cities I was familiar with.

She snapped her seatbelt off and headed towards the back of the
plane.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Checking to see what they've got loaded on here. We're probably
going to be here for a couple hours, we may as well look
around."

I lowered my glasses and could feel my face tighten when I saw
what was in the crates.

She carefully walked to the last pallet that had been loaded and
suddenly pulled a flashlight out of her pocket. "Can you help me
open this?"

I shook my head. "We're not opening that."

"Why not?"

Because I already know what's in it, I tried to communicate to
her without saying anything. And it's not something we want to
get involved with.

She flashed her light around and found a tool box of some kind
attached to the wall. She managed to open it and pulled a crowbar
out of it.

"Are you really going to do this?" I asked her.

"Yes."

I decided I better help her. I could probably get it open so
that I could shut it again later and no one would know that we'd
opened it. "Here." I held my hand out and she glared at me. "I'm
taller. I'll have a better angle on it."

She sighed and handed it over.

Carefully, I pried up one side enough that we could peek in.

She shone her flashlight into the crate and gasped as she
realized what I already knew.

We were in way over our heads.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I needed to call Daddy.

Not to tell him what we'd found, but to have him send someone to
rescue us whenever we got where we landed.

I scrambled back down and wandered towards the jump seats
without really paying attention to what I was doing. I guessed
Clark put the lid back on as best he could and then I heard a
slight clanging sound as he put the crowbar back.

A few minutes later, he held a bottle of water out to me.

Boy Scouts had nothing on Clark Kent.

"What do we do?" I whispered.

"Try to get out of this alive," he said, his voice grim.

I nodded. "That's a good plan."

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to his side. "I won't
let anything happen to you."

"Yeah. I know."

"Maybe we'll land in London or something and we can sneak off
the way we got on when no one's looking."

"Somehow I doubt we're headed for somewhere nearly as civil as
London."

"Probably not," he agreed, his cheek resting on my head.

"We'll figure something out."

"I hope so."

I giggled. "I figured we'd have to be seasoned investigative
reporters before we ended up in this kind of situation."

He let go of me and rested his head against the wall behind him.
"Somehow, I don't envision Lois Lane waiting for anything to
happen to her. I think she makes things happen."

"Well, it would be nice if I had a clue what was going on. I saw
that logo on some paperwork at home, but I have no idea what it
was." I pointed at the snake coiled on the side of one of the
crates.

"I think that may be a good thing."

I sighed. "At least we know what's inside and we can try to be
prepared."

"As long as they don't use them on us."

"Right."

Because they could.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I'd seen when Clark got
that lid off.

Guns.

Lots and lots of guns.

*~*20*~*
January 2003
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Lois was starting to shiver a bit.

I wondered if I could shoot a blast of heat vision at her
without her noticing.

Deciding it probably wasn't worth the risk just yet, I pulled my
jacket off and warmed up the inside with a bit of the lasers or
whatever it was that shot out of my eyes and tucked it around
her.

"Won't you be cold?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "I'm a bit warm actually. Must be the
adrenaline."

"Thanks."

I lowered my glasses and looked through the floor of the plane
and zoomed in on the ground below. It wasn't as far a zoom as it
might have been. We were over mountains. The Alps? I guessed so.
No other mountain ranges came to mind in Europe.

We didn't say much for a long time.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

I shook my head. I knew I could get us out easily and probably
unseen if I was willing to risk what I knew about myself. I knew
I could trust Lois, or thought I could. I was still worried about
what Lana was going to say when I told her. I guessed that if I
managed to get Lois out of a potentially life or death situation,
it would go a long way towards making her feel friendly towards
me.

If it came down to it, Lois and I would just disappear.
Literally. There one second and gone the next and the people
watching would never know what had happened.

Or something.

If I could make myself go through with it and hope that we
didn't leave behind any evidence that would lead to us.

Her head rested on my shoulder and, unbelievably, she dozed
off.

I sighed and used my vision again to see how far away I could
see and see if I could recognize any landmarks or anything. There
was water nearby and I thought maybe it was part of the
Mediterranean, but I had no idea. I looked around some more and
realized that there was no rising or setting sun to help me
figure out which way we were headed or anything like that.

The North Star.

I'd never tried to find it while looking through a plane and
from a different hemisphere.

No luck.

Was it really a different hemisphere or just a different angle?
I sighed. It didn't matter.

I turned my hearing back on and heard something about Latislan.
I hoped we weren't headed there. They were in the middle of some
kind of conflict with... Podansk, I thought.

It would explain the guns though.

I wracked my brain to remember what I could about the small
country in south-eastern Europe. Run by a military dictatorship.
Not a pleasant place to be. And probably not a good place to let
someone get their hands on Lois. I wasn't too worried about
myself, but for her...

An indeterminate amount of time later, we finally started to
descend.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

The wheels touched the tarmac of some foreign country. I was
sure I looked frightened. I felt it. We were in some other
country and I knew I didn't have anything but my driver's license
on me, certainly not my passport. I didn't know if Clark had his
or not.

Of course, gun runners probably wouldn't care that we were
American citizens or that we wanted to contact our embassy.

It was my fault we were in this mess; maybe I could distract
whoever I needed to, to let Clark get away safely.

He grasped my hand lightly and whispered in my ear as the sound
of the engines began to slow down as we taxied somewhere. "We'll
figure something out but don't do anything stupid."

"Do you at least have your passport with you?"

He nodded. "You don't, do you?"

I shook my head. "Here." I slipped my license in his hand. "You
keep it."

"Why?"

"I don't know. My gut feeling says I shouldn't have it on me.
They may be able to connect me to my dad's girlfriend."

"Right."

We unbuckled our seatbelts and hid as far forward in the plane
as we could.

My stomach flu decided to pick that moment to come back with a
vengeance. I managed to keep from actually throwing up, but I
wasn't sure how long I was going to be successful.

I handed him my cell phone. "I don't think I should have that
either," I whispered as the rear loading ramp began to lower.

He nodded and stuck it in his pocket.

"If you can find a way to do it without letting anyone see you,
call my dad and tell him where we are." I paused. "Do you know
where we are?"

"I think we're in Latislan," he said with a grimace. "I heard
someone say something really loud while you were sleeping."

I nodded. We'd heard murmurs and a few words here and there but
I hadn't been able to figure any of it out.

"Do you think we can send him a text message?" he asked.

"I don't think he knows how to check them."

Latislan. That explained the guns, but it wasn't good.

The pallets were being off-loaded one by one.

I whispered to him. "If you can, the phone book on there has
Dad's cell Europe on it. That'll dial him from here. Country
codes and all that. Call him over and over until he answers."

He nodded. "Can we find a way upstairs now?"

"Maybe they'll only unload half or something."

My stomach was roiling. I was going to throw up. I wasn't going
to be able to stop it next time. I knew that.

I had to do something. I couldn't let them find Clark when I
started puking my guts out again. He had to be able to get a hold
of my dad or someone.

He was squatting precariously, his backpack straps in his
thumbs.

I took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm sorry," before I shoved
him.

He made a loud clattering sound when he landed and I didn't take
the time to register the look of shock on his face before I
started making my way towards the rear of the plane.

"Help me!" I yelled.

The two men who had jumped on the plane when they heard the
noise grabbed my arms and I was sure they were immediately sorry,
when the little I'd had to eat that day decided it was a good
time to come back up.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I cursed under my breath.

What the hell was she doing?

She threw up on the two men holding her arms. She must have
still been sick and was afraid she'd give both of us away if she
threw up back here.

She was crying that she wanted to call her dad.

Call her dad.

I dug the phone out of my pocket and tried to figure it out.

I found the phone book and then the listing she'd given me.

"Hello?" came the voice on the other end of the line.
"Princess?"

"Sam, it's Clark," I whispered.

"Clark? What's wrong?"

"I can't explain now, but we're in trouble."

"Aren't you in Paris?"

"We were, but it's a long story I can't get into. We're in
Latislan." A scan of the area had confirmed that.

"What?!"

"Lois doesn't have her passport and left her ID and phone with
me when she made a break for it." Or something like that. "Can
you get a hold of the embassy and get them down here or
something? We're at the main airport in Skopje."

"Is she okay?"

"A couple of guys have got her right now. I'm going to do
whatever I can, but I wanted to call you first and have you start
working on things there. See if you can get a hold of someone to
get down here."

"I will." He paused for a second. "Take care of my little girl,
Clark."

"I will, sir."

"Be careful." He clicked off.

Hopefully, he had enough connections that he could get the ball
rolling or something.

I made sure the phone was on vibrate and stuck it back in my
pocket.

I looked through the crate to see where they had taken Lois.
They were half-dragging her towards the hanger nearby. I looked
around and no one else was close. I took the chance and snuck out
of the plane and zipped to a hiding spot near the hanger, using a
plane landing to help cover my wind gust.

They sat her in a chair in an office and were arguing over what
to do with her, I guessed.

She threw up again and one of them stuck a trash can in front of
her.

When she was done, she started talking again immediately,
telling them again that she was an American and she wanted to
talk to her embassy or her dad or the president or just about
anyone else.

The phone in my pocket vibrated slightly about ten minutes
later. Not much had changed, though I wasn't sure Lois had
actually taken a breath except for the two times she threw up
again.

Looking around to make sure I was alone, I pulled it out of my
pocket. A text message from Sam.

He didn't go into details but said that help was on the way in
the form of a member of the ambassador's staff but it would
probably be thirty minutes before anyone got to us.

I sent a message back that we were both still okay for the time
being, but that I was still hiding and watching.

I hated text speak or whatever, but found myself using
abbreviations I'd sworn I'd never use and some I doubted even
existed, but hoped Sam would understand what I was trying to
say.

Ten minutes after that, car lights caught my attention. It was
too fast to be the embassy personnel. I zoomed in and confirmed
that. I wasn't sure who it was, but he didn't look happy.

They'd tied Lois to the chair, but it wasn't the best job and
she didn't look like she was in pain.

She was looking around, probably wondering where I was and
hoping I was okay.

There was shouting from the tarmac and one of the men scampered
out of the office and headed towards the yelling man.

There was more yelling and it sounded like he was 'yes, sir'-ing
a lot in whatever language it was.

One of the men in a military uniform came into the office and
untied Lois. I breathed a quick sigh of relief until he grabbed
her arm and forced her out of the chair and towards the angry...
general it looked like.

He better not hurt her. I seriously thought about just grabbing
her and taking off, literally, but that guy had a tight grip on
her arm and I didn't want to take him with us or hurt her, so I
waited.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I didn't want them to think I was nearly as scared as I was.

"I want to talk to my embassy! I'm an American!" I shouted over
and over as the new bully dragged me out of the hanger office.

I didn't know where Clark was, but I hoped he'd gotten a hold of
my dad and that help was on the way.

"I want to talk to the ambassador! No! I want to talk to the
president! I'm an American!"

"Shut up!" The man practically spat at me in heavily accented
English.

"Will you let me call the embassy?"

"No."

"Then I won't shut up! I want to talk to my embassy. You can't
hold me like this."

He leered at me, looking me up and down and practically
undressing me with his eyes. It made me very uncomfortable and I
almost prayed that I'd throw up all over him.

"Shut up!"

One of the men I'd thrown up on said something to him that I
didn't understand.

"You've thrown up on my men, have you?"

"I'll throw up on you," I threatened.

"Are you sick?"

"Why?" He obviously didn't care about my welfare.

"You must have brought a vicious disease into my country. I'll
have to have you quarantined until it can be figured out. I think
three months should be sufficient."

He ran a finger down the side of my face, but I didn't flinch no
matter how badly I wanted to.

And then I got my wish.

I threw up all over him.

I was sure his smell didn't help because he smelled like spoiled
beets. It was his own fault.

He looked like he wanted to hit me but he didn't dare. If I was
an American and I managed to get out, it wouldn't look good.

Of course, if he managed to get me quarantined, that wouldn't
help much either.

Inspiration struck.

"I'm not sick," I told him, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. Well,
Clark's sleeve. I apologized mentally for ruining his jacket.

"Then why are you throwing up all over my country?"

"I'm pregnant. You wouldn't want to treat a pregnant American
woman poorly would you?"

It was all bluff and bluster, but it had to work.

A sinister grin spread across his face. I didn't understand why
that would please him.

"There is no record of you entering our fair country," he
reminded me.

"So?"

"You have been here for several weeks now, have you not?"

"I have not."

"Ah, I think you have. And while you were here, you..." His face
took on that leer again. "You made yourself available to me,
no?"

"No." It was nearly a whisper.

"You carry my child and in Latislan, that means I have full
custody of the child unless I relinquish that custody. You will
not be allowed to leave until the child is born and I can retain
physical custody."

I was sure the blood had drained from my face. "There is proof
that I entered Paris yesterday," I pointed out.

He shook his head. "It wasn't you. It was a friend of yours who
looks much like you." He leaned in until he could whisper in my
ear. "You could always marry me so our child will not be a
bastard."

"Never," I hissed.

I heard cars approaching and saw headlights. They screeched to a
stop nearby. Someone got out and called out, "General Navance!
That young lady is an American citizen."

He didn't move as he yelled back. "She is carrying my child. She
will remain in my custody until I can take physical custody of
the child."

"Go to hell," I whispered between clenched teeth as I brought my
knee up sharply, connecting with his most sensitive parts.

Hands grabbed me from behind before everything went blessedly
dark.

*~*21*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Pregnant?

Lois said she was pregnant?!

I knew that wasn't possible. Unless...

She had to be saying that just to avoid the quarantine.

I winced as he told her that he believed her to be carrying his
baby.

That wasn't good.

And what was that about custody?

I heard cars coming and prayed they'd be fast enough.

I heard whoever it was get out of the car and tell the man --
General Navance apparently -- to leave her alone.

He reiterated the baby stuff and Lois told him to go to hell and
then kneed him.

Even though he was a pig and I was invulnerable, I winced in
slight sympathy.

But then Lois collapsed.

"Lois!" I called without thinking as I ran from my hiding spot.

"And who is this?!" thundered the general.

"I'm an American," I told him as two of his goons grabbed my
arms. "So is she." I nodded towards Lois who was lying on the
ground.

"It does not matter," he said, a gloating look on his face. "Her
child is Latislani and that means I retain custody of her."

"It's not your baby," I told him. "We just got here."

The government official was at my side. "Mr. Kent?" he
whispered.

I nodded.

"We'll get her out of this, but don't antagonize him. That won't
help either one of you." He turned back to Navance. "If you say
she's carrying your child, shouldn't you be a bit more worried
about her welfare? She needs to get to a hospital immediately. Of
course, if you'd rather, I could take her and have one of our
corpsmen look at her."

"That is just a trick to get her to the embassy," he thundered.
"And I would never see my child!"

Boy, he was really getting into this 'she's having my baby'
thing.

She must have really pissed him off about something, but I
wasn't entirely certain what it was.

He motioned to someone off to the side. His car pulled up. "We
will take her to the closest hospital."

"I'm going with her," I said instantly.

"Someone from the embassy will ride with her in the car," the
man next to me said. "And we'll be right behind. Someone will
stay with her at all times, understood General Navance?"

Whoever the guy was, he was someone to be reckoned with.

The general gave a quick nod and one of the men climbed in the
front seat of the car as Lois was loaded in the back.

"Mr. Kent, please come with me." The hand on my arm was
insistent as I stared at the car with Lois in it.

I finally allowed myself to be led away.

I watched Lois through the car using my vision and tried to
listen to the conversation I was having.

"I'm Daniel Scardino," the man told me.


"Hi, Dan. How do we get Lois out of here?"

"It's Daniel, but that's not important now. We'll get her out."

"Sorry. Daniel."

"How far along is she?"

I shook my head. "I don't think there's any way she *can* be
pregnant. She and her boyfriend don't... you know."

"Ah. Then why did she say it?"

"He was threatening to have her quarantined for bringing a
disease in. She probably thought it was a way out."

Something kept niggling at the back of my mind.

"And you're sure she's not pregnant?" he asked again.

I groaned and closed my eyes. "She may have been raped."

"*May* have been?"

I nodded. "Halloween. She was drugged. I found her with some guy
but we didn't know if he'd managed to... you know. She refused to
go to the hospital. But that would make her... what? Three months
pregnant by now. That's a big difference from barely like he's
saying. And surely she would have suspected it by now."

He nodded. "Well, I'm sure they'll do tests at the hospital.
We'll have to make sure we get the real test results and not the
ones Navance wants us to have."

"He'd doctor them?"

Daniel sighed. "He's on a real power trip. Your friend's in a
lot of trouble."

"Why?"

"He's essentially a dictator, even though he's nominally
elected. He does what he wants. There's a law on the books that
says that any child he says is his... Well, as long as he claims
the child, it doesn't matter. Of course, it doesn't say 'Navance'
in the law -- it says the Chairman of the Supreme Council or
something like that. And in Latislan, custody always goes to the
father, except in extreme cases. And in Latislan, that custody
starts before birth." He sighed. "It's all legal and technically
legit."

"That's crazy!"

"I know. And even if we got her out of the country, as long as
he claims the baby..."

"Is there any way around it?"

"Well, if she's not pregnant, that's a start. And I've got a guy
back at the embassy looking into it. Jack," he nodded to the
front of the car, "is... security. He's already made some phone
calls."

Security. Right. CIA or something was more likely.

We pulled up to a hospital that made me cringe. I wasn't sure it
was worthy of the name. Lois was taken out of the car and put on
a stretcher.

I hurried after her. She was moaning, but not aware of her
surroundings. "Lois." I grabbed for her hand.

I was shoved to the side by someone.

Daniel put his hand on my arm. "We'll wait in the waiting room,
but he'll stay with her." He nodded towards Jack.

I trained my eyes and ears on Lois' room as much as I could. I
averted my eyes when they undressed her and started an IV but
watched everything else. Before long, a doctor came out and asked
to speak with me.

One of the men who came with Daniel was acting as an
interpreter.

"When was the last time she ate?" the doctor asked through the
embassy official.

I shook my head. "We had some water and a protein bar on the
plane a few hours ago but she was sick most of the day in Paris.
I don't know what she ate yesterday. I wasn't with her."

The doctor turned and conversed with a nurse for a moment and
she scurried off. He said something else to the translator and
then left.

"He said her blood tests should be back shortly but the baby
seems to be fine."

I sank to the chair. "She's pregnant?" I whispered.

He nodded. "That's what he said." He leaned closer and
whispered. "I don't think he's fond of Navance but he doesn't
dare cross him."

Daniel and I both nodded. "So what do we do?" I asked.

"We wait for the moment," he said grimly. "Do you have any idea
who the father might be?"

I shook my head. "No. Why?"

"If we knew who the father was, that might help with the
paternity claims that Navance is making."

"Ah."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Where was I?

I tried to lick my lips because my whole mouth felt like it was
full of cotton balls.

The room was dimly lit and there was someone over to the side.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Hello, Ms. Lane."

An American by the sound of it. Why was that a good thing?

Everything flooded back to me.

Dad's girlfriend.

The airplane.

The guns.

The airport.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jack. I work for the embassy."

"Ah. Where's Clark? Is he okay?"

He nodded. "He's fine."

I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "When can I go
home?"

He shook his head. "Not sure yet. Navance is claiming your baby.
That throws a wrench in the works."

"What baby?" I was confused. I'd told him I was pregnant but I
wasn't.

Was I?

When was my last period?

I wracked my brain but didn't remember. I knew it was after the
last semester started but...

"Halloween," I whispered.

He nodded again. "Clark told us about that. Do you have any idea
who it was?"

I shook my head. "I don't remember any of it."

How could I not have thought I might be pregnant? I should have
thought of that a long time ago -- to check to be sure even if I
didn't really think anything had happened that night. Joe and I
had talked about it and I hadn't felt weird or... sore or
anything that might indicate I really had been... I couldn't even
think about what must have happened. And what about STDs? As soon
as I got home, I'd have to get tested for those and HIV and...

Tears overwhelmed me and I tried unsuccessfully to swipe them
off before Jack noticed.

Too late.

He handed me a box of Kleenex.

But they were yucky, generic, hospital-in-a-foreign-country
Kleenex and scratched.

"So what now?" I finally asked.

He sighed. "Not sure yet. We've got people looking at Latislani
law. You're an American citizen but there's no record of your
entry into the country. He says you've been here for weeks and a
friend used your passport, and around here what he says goes.
We're trying to find a way around it."

"I can't just sneak into the embassy or on a plane or something
and get out of here?"

He shook his head. "You could but under Latislani law, he can
still claim the baby. No U.S. court would send you or the baby
back here, but the PR would be a nightmare for you and the baby
and everyone you know. Better to find a way around it that's
legal under Latislani law."

"Is that possible?" I whispered.

"We'll figure something out. If nothing else, we'll find a way
to get you out of here, but we're exploring that first."

I nodded. It made sense. "He's not the father though. Just a
sonogram showing how far along I am should prove that. My
fingerprints will be all over my hotel room in France, so it
couldn't have been a friend using my passport."

"DNA doesn't matter under Latislani law."

"That's stupid."

"That's the way it is."

"Can I see Clark? Or did he already head back to Paris?"

"I'm right here." The voice from the doorway startled me.

"I'm sorry, Clark." Tears overflowed my eyes again.

He reached into his backpack and pulled a mini-pack of real
Kleenex out.

"Boy Scout," I mumbled, taking them gratefully.

"That's me." He pulled a chair up next to me and grasped my hand
lightly. "How're you feeling?"

"Like an idiot. I'm sorry I ruined your night with Lana and got
you stuck here."

"I already talked to her. I hope your dad doesn't mind me using
your cell phone."

"He won't."

"Hopefully, we'll be out of here soon and we can get back to our
European tour."

I stared at our clasped hands. "I'm pregnant," I finally
whispered. "I didn't know when I said it..."

"I didn't figure you did," he answered quietly. "You were just
trying to keep him from quarantining you, weren't you?"

I nodded. "Halloween."

"Yeah. The doc talked to me about when the last time you ate and
stuff like that. Said you're about ten weeks along, I think."

"That'd be about right."

The tears flowed even more freely and Clark moved to sit on the
bed next to me and pulled me to him.

"Oh, Clark. What am I going to do?" I whispered between tears.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

"We'll figure something out," I whispered back as she sobbed in
my arms.

I could always fly her home as soon as the docs said she was
stable enough to be moved. If that was the only way, I'd do it.
As soon as I could get her away from everyone else, we'd just
vanish.

The door thudded open again.

"Get away from her," the silhouette thundered.

I moved away from her, as requested, but only placed myself
between her and the nearly-murderous looking general. Jack was
standing next to me.

"Move," he ordered.

"No," I said quietly.

If looks could kill...

He was obviously not a man used to having people stand up to
him.

"You will move or I will have you arrested," he threatened.

"You'll do no such thing," came a mildly amused voice from
behind him.

Daniel.

I breathed a small sigh of relief. Somehow he knew how to handle
this guy.

"Only I can say who visits my child," he said, his voice
menacing.

Why was this guy so enamored or obsessed or whatever with Lois?

"The mother is an American and entitled to visits from her
embassy regardless of what you think the status of the fetus
is."

"Are you standing in my way, Scardino? I *will* revoke your
diplomatic status."

"You'll do no such thing. You don't want to anger the Americans
after all," he said, brushing by the angry man. "How're you
feeling, Lois?"

"Better. Thanks."

"I'm Daniel Scardino. I work for the State Department and we're
going to get you home."

"Thank you, Dan."

He smiled at Lois. "Please call me Daniel."

"Thanks, Daniel," Lois said and smiled weakly at him.

I watched Mr. Latislani -- whatever his name was -- out of the
corner of my eye. He was furious.

"Mr. Scardino," he hissed in his heavily accented English. "You
know very well that the father retains custody of the child, even
prior to birth, while the mother is in Latislan."

"Still haven't proven it's your baby, General," Daniel called
back, smiling at Lois.

"I don't have to. My word is enough."

"Even if we can prove she was in Paris as recently as several
hours ago?"

"Yes." He moved a step closer to Lois and I tensed. "She's in
Latislan illegally at the moment, who's to say how long she's
been here? The imperialist American government? Who has the
French officials wrapped around their little fingers?"

"Which has," Daniel corrected calmly.

"Excuse me?"

"You said 'who has'. The American government isn't a 'who'. It's
an 'it'. So the correct thing to say would be 'which has the
French officials wrapped around their little fingers', except the
American government doesn't have fingers, so I'm not entirely
certain who, or what, you're talking about."

General Navance growled. "I do not need an English lesson!"

"Apparently, you do," Daniel replied as calm as ever.

"What I *need* is for all of you to get away from my child!" he
roared.

Lois glared at him. "I am not pregnant with your child," she
announced. I could hear her heart racing, belying the quiet tone
of voice.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," he somehow managed to thunder between clenched
teeth as he advanced towards the bed. "I say you are and that is
all that matters."

"I'm not pregnant with your baby. I'm an American, pregnant with
an American baby and DNA tests will prove that and you and your
slimy little country can fall off the face of the Earth for all I
care," she practically spat at him.

"You will not leave this country until I say you can." He moved
closer to her.

"Stay away from her," I told him, moving directly between him
and the bed.

"Or what? You can't keep me from my child," he reminded me.

He sounded like a broken record. Or a scratched CD.

"It's not your child," I reiterated quietly.

"How would you know?" he sneered.

I hoped I could project a sincerity and calm I didn't feel with
my next statement. I didn't know what was coming over me, except
that I had to protect Lois. I took a deep breath and jumped into
the deep end without checking the water.

"How would you know?" he demanded again.

"Because it's my baby."

*~*22*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

What the hell?

What did Clark just say?

The silence was deafening and apparently the smug general felt
the need to ask the same thing.

"What?" He moved a half step closer to Clark.

"It's my baby," Clark said, without backing down. "We went to a
cabin in the woods the first week of November and..." He
shrugged. "I'm sure you know how babies are made. Middle of a
blizzard, no power, fireplace, alone for a week. I'm a man. She's
a woman. Do I need to draw you a diagram?" He crossed his arms,
daring the general to contradict him.

"You are no man. You are a child."

Clark shrugged again. "I'm old enough to father her child. And I
believe you said that in Latislan the father retains custody and
controls who has access to the mother, so I think you better
leave."

Part of me wanted to strangle Clark for acting like he could
control who could and could not see me.

The rest of me wanted to kiss him for finding a way out of
this.

Well, not *kiss* him.

But hug him and thank him. And it wasn't like I'd hold him to
the paternity declaration later.

But the general was smiling. Or leering. One of the two. "I am
afraid that's not how it works, child."

"How what works?" Clark was clearly confused.

"Paternity. Are you married to this woman?"

"No."

"Then your claim of paternity..."

Another man entered the room and whispered something to him.

General Navance turned back to the rest of us. "I must go, but
there will be a guard outside the door at all times and she is
not allowed to leave."

I started to protest, but looks from both Clark and Daniel made
me shut my mouth. Somehow, they managed to convey that pissing
this guy off even more wasn't the way to go.

He spoke in whatever his native language was to the man who'd
come in and I saw him take up a post outside the door.

"What's going on?" I asked as the door swung shut.

Clark sat back down next to me and grasped my hand. "How are
you? That's the most important thing."

I pushed myself up a bit higher with my other hand. "I'm fine,
but what's going on?"

Daniel sat in one of the other chairs and ran a hand through his
hair. "In Latislan, the Supreme Ruler of All or whatever it is
Navance calls himself only has to claim paternity for the child
to be considered legally his. And in Latislan, the father retains
custody -- even prenatal custody."

"That's crazy!" Clark and I exclaimed at once.

"So even though I claimed paternity, it doesn't matter?" Clark
asked.

"And what were you *thinking* doing that?" I demanded. "Lana is
going to *kill* you!"

He shrugged. "The cabin was about the right time, even if..." He
stopped as Daniel tugged on his ear and pointed to the room.

Great. They were listening.

"Even if," Clark continued, "he claims the baby, we can prove
Lois wasn't here that long ago and a paternity test will rule him
out as the father anyway."

Daniel shook his head. "The paternity test won't matter."

"It won't?" I asked him, surprised. I knew if Clark took a
paternity test, the results would be negative, but if Navance
did... Those results would be negative, too.

Daniel sighed. "The actual paternity doesn't matter if Navance
says the baby is his."

"What kind of crazy law is that?" Clark asked. "This is my baby
and I'll be damned if he's going to get anywhere near him."

I knew Clark was playing along with the paternity ruse, but I
thought that it would be a lot nicer if I knew Clark and I really
had been together at the cabin so that he was the father of this
baby instead of some unknown frat boy. I rested my head against
his shoulder, glad he was there with me.

Daniel pulled his PDA out of his jacket pocket and typed
something in. He held it up for us to see. 'We'll figure
something out', it read.

Clark and I nodded. "I'm staying here," Clark told him.

Daniel shook his head.

Clark gave him an intense look. "I'm the father of her baby. I'm
staying."

Daniel nodded slightly. It probably would look weird if Clark
didn't at least try to stay.

"Okay," Daniel acknowledged. "Jack will stay, too."

Daniel and Jack conferred quietly in the corner. Clark shifted
uncomfortably.

I moved farther to one side of the bed so he'd have more room.

Daniel came back over and held his PDA back up. 'You're lovers
having a baby. Remember that.'

Tears sprang to my eyes. He had a point, but I wasn't sure I
wanted to pretend that kind of thing with Clark. I glanced up at
him to find that his face had blanched a bit.

His mouth suddenly set into a line. "It'll be okay," he murmured
against my hair. "Get some rest." He wrapped an arm around me
tucked me in next to him. I got as comfortable as I could with an
IV coming out of one arm.

"Happy New Year," I finally said.

"Happy New Year," he said back.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

What on earth had I been thinking?

That I had to protect my friend.

And her baby.

That -- for the moment, at least -- was also my baby.

Like my parents had protected me.

And we were going to have to pretend that we were together or at
least having a baby together.

And what had he meant by that 'married' comment?

For now, though, I had to protect Lois and the baby. I held her
slightly tighter and wondered how on earth I was going to get her
out of there.

I rested my head against hers and before long I dozed off, too.

We both woke up when a nurse came in to take Lois' vitals. Jack
had been sitting in the corner with a magazine but was still
paying close attention to what was happening.

After having her temperature and blood pressure taken, she
rested her head against me again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, barely above audible.

"I know. It's going to be okay," I said with as much conviction
as I could. It would be. Flying was still an option, after all.
"Are you going to be able to go back to sleep?"

She shook her head.

"Then it's my job to keep you entertained. I tried watching TV
in the waiting room, but it's all in some language I don't
understand."

"So what're we going to do?"

"Tell jokes," I told her.

"Jokes?" She sounded skeptical.

I leaned closer to her and whispered. "Once we get out of here,
I've got a few about Eastern European and Soviet dictators, but I
think I better keep those to myself for now."

She smiled slightly. "Probably."

"How about this one? My cousin's daughter told it to me over
Christmas. There's two muffins in a microwave and one says 'Man,
it's hot in here' and the other says, 'Whoa, talking muffin'."

She rolled her eyes. "Did you hear why the blonde got fired from
the M&M factory?"

"She ate all the 'W's."

"What do UFOs and smart blondes have in common?" she asked me.

I hesitated before admitting I didn't know.

"You keep hearing about them, but never see any."

Subtle dig at Lana? And Linda? Sure was. And aliens, too. Wasn't
quite sure how to respond to that -- given what I knew...

So I just laughed lightly with her.

"What're we going to do, Clark?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sure your dad already has a lawyer or two or two dozen
working on it," I tried to reassure her.

"What about..." She didn't say it, but instead traced Lana's
name on her lap.

"Don't worry about it." I'd talked to her and she wasn't happy
that I'd ended up stuck in a foreign country with Lois. She'd
have been even less happy if she'd known I was going to ask her
to marry me last night.

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

A knock sounded on the door and Daniel came in. "Clark, can I
talk to you for a minute?"

I nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes, *Sweetie*." I put
extra emphasis on the endearment. Lois rolled her eyes. I kissed
her forehead before following Daniel out of the room.

"How is she?" he asked quietly.

"She wants to go home."

"I bet." He sighed deeply.

"What?"

"We figured out a way for you to legally claim the baby so that
Navance can't claim him."

"Great. What is it?"

He sighed again and didn't look at me as he spoke. "Marry her."

"What?!"

"If she's married, her husband is the father, regardless of
whether Navance claims the baby or not."

I ran a hand through my hair and reached for his PDA. 'How long
would we have to stay married?'

'Long enough to get her out of the country. You shouldn't have
any problem getting an annulment when you get back to the
States.'

I nodded.

'Is there someone else who would claim the baby who we could get
here? Her boyfriend?'

I hesitated. Would Joe marry her? Would it matter if we were
just going to get it annulled once we got back? It wasn't like it
was going to be permanent. And getting Joe here would take time
-- and probably a long time. I took the PDA back. 'Any chance
we'd have to stay married?'

'I don't think so. We're still looking at it, but it's
unlikely.'

I paused for only a second. What it all came down to... I
couldn't let Navance get his hands on Lois and her baby. 'I'll do
it.'

He nodded. 'We'll make the arrangements. Don't tell her yet.'

I nodded back and sighed. Lana wasn't going to be happy about
this, but I simply couldn't let this guy get his hands on Lois.

He showed me the screen again. 'We'll get her out of here. Sneak
out in a couple days once everything's set. Needs to stay for a
while anyway. Health and baby's. Make it look good. Rings, etc.'

I sighed. I had very little cash. No credit cards or anything
like that I could use to buy something with. Getting money from
Sam wouldn't look good. I wasn't quite sure why but my gut was
telling me that we had better do this on our own so there was no
suggestion by Navance later that this had all been... scripted or
something. I only had one thing of value. I closed my eyes for a
minute and made a decision. Protecting Lois and the baby was the
most important thing at the moment. I typed into the PDA. 'Is
there somewhere I can pawn a ring for cash?'

He glanced at me, confused. 'Don't want to use it?'

I shook my head. I wouldn't give Lana's ring to Lois. And even
if I did, I wouldn't have been able to give it to Lana once Lois
gave it back. If I sold it, I was sure Sam would pay me back for
it later and I could get a similar one or maybe find one in
Metropolis I liked better. Even if he didn't pay me back though,
that wasn't the most important thing. Getting Lois and the baby
out of here and to safety was.

'Diamond?'

I nodded.

'I know a guy. Embassy Marine.'

I sighed. It was what I had to do.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I'd been sitting in the hospital for two days.

Clark had been there most of the time. He'd run a few mysterious
'errands'. I wondered what that was all about.

Navance came by two or three times a day to threaten me and yell
and scream. Clark made sure that he was there whenever Navance
was and continued to claim that he was my baby's father.

Daniel and Jack both kept reassuring me that they were working
on a plan and Clark had said something, too, but none of them
would tell me what it was.

I hadn't talked to Daddy at all. I wanted to. I wanted to talk
to Joe. I wanted to spend hours on my bunk making out with him. I
wanted to date him and see where things went, but now...

I couldn't see Joe sticking around now that I was having a baby.
That would be a ready-made family and I couldn't see Joe wanting
that.

I cried a lot during those two days.

It was the third night when something finally happened.

The American who had been sitting with me -- Martin? Something
like that -- disappeared. That scared me.

Especially when a man dressed in scrubs walked in, carrying a
syringe.

His eyes looked familiar but I couldn't quite place him.

He set the syringe carefully on the floor and held up a PDA.
'Clark is meeting you downstairs,' it read. 'Follow me.'

I nodded, wondering if this was a good guy or a bad guy
pretending to be a good guy.

He smiled slightly behind his mask and pushed a button on the
PDA and held it up again. 'Clark said to tell you to save a Tush
Push for him.'

My eyes closed for a second, in relief. There was no way the bad
guys would know about that.

He quickly disconnected my IV, but didn't remove the loop from
my arm. He plugged it up with something and handed me a bag with
some clothes in it.

I pulled the scrubs on quickly and stuck my hair in the cap.

He jerked his head towards the door and I followed him out.

We walked through the halls as nonchalantly as we could -- as
quickly as we could without drawing attention to ourselves.

It seemed like an eternity but was probably only about ten
minutes before we exited out a small side door.

"Clark's waiting around the corner," he whispered. "He'll get
you to the embassy."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Go." He pointed in the direction of an alley and I moved as
quickly as I could.

I rounded the corner and glanced around.

"Lois, over here." I heard Clark calling to me.

I turned and saw him. I practically flung myself into his arms
and he held me for a few seconds.

"We've got to get out of here," he whispered, taking my hand and
leading me down the alley.

I followed him though the streets of Skopje. More than once we
ducked into an alley or the doorway of a store, always with Clark
between me and the street -- his dark clothes covering up my
lighter scrubs.

"What's the plan?" I whispered.

"Just get to the embassy and we'll talk more there," he
whispered back.

It seemed like forever and my legs were starting to hurt by the
time we made it to a wall.

"We're going over," he said quietly, clasping his hands
together.

"What?" I just stared at him.

"We're going over the wall." He indicated his hands. "Foot in.
Let's go."

I looked at the wall. "I can't make it."

"You'll be fine." He looked around quickly. "We've got to go
though."

I put my hands on his shoulders and put one foot in his hand.

"On three." He counted as I bounced and then pushed off on
three.

I wasn't sure how I made it that high, but I did. I grasped the
top of the wall and managed to pull myself over the top, one leg
on either side. I turned to help Clark to find that he'd managed
to scale the wall by himself.

"Wait," he said, jumping down before reaching back up to help me
down. He grabbed my hand again and I followed him through the
courtyard or garden or whatever it was and into the building.

Once inside, I leaned against the wall and breathed a huge sigh
of relief. "I'm safe?" I asked, a big smile on my face, certain I
knew the answer.

His face was still grim. "Not quite. There's something else."

"What?" I asked but he was already heading down the hallway.

I hurried behind him until he stopped in front of an open door.

I looked inside and then turned to look him in the eye.

"What exactly is it that we have to do, Clark?"

He stared at the ground as he took a deep breath and blurted it
out.

"Get married."

*~*23*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

She stared at me.

Or I was sure she did. I didn't look.

Finally she found her voice. "What?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "We have to get married."

"Why? That's insane!" she hissed at me.

"I claimed the baby. That's all well and good." I leaned against
the wall by the open door to the chapel. "But Navance is claiming
the baby, too. And in Latislan, if he does, that's all that
matters."

"Right. Daniel told us all that. What does that have to do with
us getting married?" She crossed her arms and ducked slightly so
she could see my eyes.

"If you're married, the husband is the legal father no matter
what Navance claims," I told her.

Her breath hitched just a bit. "So we have to get married? Why
can't we just leave the country?"

"Because then, Ms. Lane, he can claim all kinds of nasty things
about you and the American government and taking his child from
the country because legally, in Latislan, at the moment, you're
carrying his child, and all sorts of other ugly stuff," Daniel
said, walking up.

"He could still try to claim he's the father if I'm at home and
DNA tests prove he's not?" Lois asked, stunned.

Daniel sighed. "I'm afraid so. It's on record in Latislan that
he's the father of your child. That's all that matters under
Latislani law. It doesn't make sense at all, but that's the way
it is. No American court would send you or the baby back here,
but the international relations..."

Lois interrupted him, angrily. "So you're going to disrupt my
life and Clark's life and my baby's life by making us get married
because of international relations?"

He shook his head. I closed my eyes as Daniel talked. We'd been
over all of this repeatedly and we hadn't found any other way.

"It's not just international relations, Lois. The PR is going to
be a nightmare as it is, most likely. We'll do our best to keep
all of this out of the news, but if he has a *legal* claim, even
in Latislan, he can make things miserable for you and the baby
for a very long time. Drag you through the media and the courts
and the baby, too."

I could hear tears falling down Lois' face and heard her swipe
at them.

"So we have to get married?" she whispered.

"You don't *have* to," Daniel told her. "But... it's probably
the best way to protect both of you."

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long do we have to stay married?"

I answered that one. "Just till we get home. We can get it
annulled when we get back to the States."

"If I'm pregnant and you're claiming the baby, will we be able
to get it annulled or will we have to get a divorce?" Lois
asked.

"You should be able to get an annulment when you explain the
circumstances," Daniel told her.

"What about Lana?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "She won't be happy about it, but it's not like
we're going to have sex or anything like that."

"Why are you doing this, Clark?" she asked me without looking at
me.

I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I can't let him get to you
and the baby. I promised your dad I'd protect you, but even if I
hadn't, I won't let anything happen to you." I couldn't tell her
what else Navance had said.

She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest
for a long minute. I could feel her tears soaking through my
shirt.

"It'll be okay," I told her. "We'll get you home and get an
annulment and it'll be over."

"Are you sure?" I could barely hear her.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"Okay, then." She pulled back from me and wiped her face. "Let's
do this."

"Do you want to change first or anything?" Daniel asked her. "We
got your stuff from Paris."

She sighed. "I would love to get out of these clothes and into
something of my own and..." She blushed. "I could really use some
clean underwear, too. And get rid of this IV."

Daniel nodded and motioned to a Marine standing nearby. "Will
you show Ms. Lane to her room and have the corpsman meet her up
there to get that out of her arm?" He turned back to Lois. "Don't
take long. We need to get this done before Navance shows up."

She nodded and turned to the Marine.

He smiled at her. "This way, Ms. Lane."

I watched her as she walked away. "Are you sure this is the only
way, Daniel?"

"Yeah, Clark," he answered softly. "It's the only way."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I sat on the bed and held my arm out as the corpsman removed the
IV from my arm. I held the cotton ball on the inside of my elbow
as I curled my arm, willing the tears to stay put.

He put a piece of tape over the cotton ball. "All set, Ms.
Lane."

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Mr. Scardino said to tell you that time is of the essence,"
said my escort.

I nodded. "I'll hurry."

"There's a bathroom through there," he told me, pointing towards
a door in the corner of the room. "Your suitcase and backpack are
in the closet."

"Thanks," I told him as he left.

I closed my eyes and steeled myself for what was about to
happen.

I was about to get married.

To Clark.

To protect me and my baby.

I was pregnant.

I sighed and made myself get up and opened the closet door.

I closed my eyes again at the sight that greeted me.

Clark's clothes were in there, too.

We were going to be expected to share the room -- which made
sense because we were getting married and I was sure it had to
look good until we got home at least.

I dug through my suitcase and found a pair of slacks and a
decent shirt.

I headed into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face
and used a washcloth to scrub off some of the grime I felt I had
accumulated just from being in that so-called hospital.

I changed clothes, feeling better than I had in days. It was
amazing what clean underwear could do to make a girl feel a bit
better.

I ran a brush through my hair. I didn't put any make-up on in
the interests of time and because I knew it was pointless given
the tears I was sure to be crying.

No wonder I'd been so emotional lately.

Hormones would do that to a pregnant woman.

There was a knock on the door. "Ms. Lane?"

"I'm coming," I called.

I looked myself in the mirror.

Not exactly how I pictured my wedding day.

I sighed and headed towards the door.

I followed the Marine escort back to the chapel. Clark was
sitting in one of the chairs in the front row.

"Ready?" asked Daniel.

I nodded and we walked to the front where a Marine chaplain
stood.

Clark stood but didn't look at me. His hands were stuck in his
pockets and he stared at the ground in front of him.

Jack was standing off to the side. I guessed he and Daniel were
our witnesses.

Didn't you need witnesses to get married?

"Dearly beloved," the chaplain started. "We are gathered here
this evening, in the presence of these witnesses, to join Lois
Lane and Clark Kent in holy matrimony. It is commended to be
honorable among men and not to be entered into unadvisedly or
lightly. Into this holy estate, these two persons shall now be
enjoined. If any person can show just cause why these two should
not be joined together -- let them speak now or forever hold
their peace."

I held by breath just waiting for the doors to burst open with
the Latislani army in full force.

They didn't.

We all breathed a sigh of relief as the three-count ended.

"Clark, take Lois' hand..."

He turned towards me and took the hand I held out.

"...and repeat after me. I, Clark, take thee Lois to be my
lawfully wedded wife."

After a slight pause, Clark repeated the words.

"To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse,
for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health."

Clark's voice was quiet as he said the time-honored vows.

"I promise to love, respect, honor, and protect you and keep
myself only unto you as long as we both shall live."

I could hear the hesitation in his voice. This wedding wasn't a
ceremony that was creating the marriage of a lifetime. It would
last a few weeks at most.

He must have finished because the chaplain turned to me. "Lois,
would you please repeat after me?"

I nodded and repeated the same vows Clark had.

"May I have the rings?" the chaplain asked.

I started slightly, but still didn't look at Clark. He dug a box
out of his pocket and handed it over.

"The wedding ring is a symbol of the commitment which binds
these two together. There are two rings because there are two
people, each to make a contribution to the life of the other and
to their new life together. Let us pray."

We all bowed our heads and I closed my eyes. I guessed everyone
else did, too.

"Bless, Oh Lord, the giving of these rings that they who wear
them may abide together in your peace." He turned to me and
handed me a plain gold band. "Lois, place this ring on Clark's
finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed and pledge
my life and my fidelity."

I stumbled slightly over the words, but managed to get the ring
on Clark's finger, without ever looking at him.

A minute later, he'd slipped a band on mine and said the same
thing.

"By the powers vested in me, by the State Department, I now
pronounce you husband and wife." He grinned at us. "Clark, you
may kiss your bride."

I could tell he was trying not to cringe, but he managed to
brush his lips against the corner of mine.

The tears that had been sneaking down my face picked up and I
took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"I need you two to sign the marriage certificate," Daniel said,
handing a clipboard over.

I took the offer pen and signed my name on the line indicated
before handing it to Clark. He signed and handed it back to
Daniel, who wrote his name with a flourish and passed it on to
Jack and then the chaplain.

"There you go. All legal," the chaplain said.

"Are you hungry?" Daniel asked me.

"No. Thanks, though."

"When was the last time you ate?"

I shrugged. "A while."

"Come on," Daniel said, putting an arm around my shoulder.
"We'll get something in your stomach and then let you get some
rest."

I hesitated slightly then nodded as he led me away from Clark.

My husband.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I watched Lois walk off.

Daniel was right. She needed to make sure she took care of
herself. For her sake and the baby's.

Jack and I talked a bit about the plan for the next several
days.

We had talked about trying to get us out of Dodge immediately,
but the plane that was supposed to take us was having problems
and so we were stuck. Daniel, Jack and I were hoping that we
could even wait until we were out of Latislan to get married --
or that we could get around it once we were out of the country --
but the plane wasn't going anywhere and it was going to be at
least the next morning before they could get us another one.

The four of us -- and the ambassador, who I'd met the day before
-- were the only ones who knew the true nature of what was going
on so the rest of the embassy had to believe that this was all
real -- at least until we got home and got it annulled.

We were going to go to another small, eastern European country
-- possibly Podansk, but probably not because relations between
the two were already very strained -- where it would be hard for
Navance to track us. Then we'd head back to Metropolis sometime
the next week and get back probably before the rest of our tour
group did.

And the first thing we were going to do when we got back was get
this annulled and I could try to get Lana to understand and ask
*her* to marry me.

Once I was done talking to Jack, I went up to the roof and
stared at the stars for a few minutes.

I had done the right thing. I knew I had.

I'd had two days to think it over.

I'd sold Lana's ring and paid the fees to get the certificate or
license or whatever and wedding bands for each of us.

I fiddled with the unfamiliar adornment on my finger. It was
weird. I'd imagined a ring there before, but it had always been
placed by Lana in my daydreams.

Navance was scary. The longer we were here, the more certain I
was that he hated Lois. I didn't know why he'd latched onto Lois
and the baby, but he had and then Lois threw up all over him and
kneed him where it hurt. And in front of his men, too. He wasn't
about to let go now.

And what he'd said to me in the hallway...

I shook the thoughts of that conversation out of my head.

Short of me flying the two of us out of here, this was the only
solution we'd come up with and no one else knew that was an
option. This was the only option that Daniel and his team of
lawyers or whoever he had working for him and who Sam had working
on this wherever they were had come up with.

I hoped Lana would understand. I couldn't let Navance get his
hands on Lois or the baby. I just couldn't.

I'd thought about flying home and talking to my parents, but
there hadn't been a good time when I thought my absence wouldn't
be noticed.

They had taken me in.

Two people had found a spaceship in the middle of a field with a
baby in it and had taken that baby in.

Both of them -- separately and together -- had decided that
taking care of me, adopting me, raising me with my secret and the
inherent risks that went along with having an alien for a child
-- no matter how human I looked... They had decided that I was
worth the risk. That they would protect me and love me and take
care of me, no matter what.

Marrying Lois for a few weeks to protect her and another
innocent baby was the least I could do.

Keeping Lois in the dark about the plans hadn't been easy. She
wasn't happy about it at all, but there wasn't much she could do
about it. She was in a room with microphones and the three people
who really knew what was going on weren't saying anything. I was
sure she was going to let me have it when we were alone somewhere
without microphones. I could probably figure out if there were
any in our room here at the embassy but I didn't know how to do
so without letting on what I could do. It was probably safest to
think that any and everything was being recorded until we got
home.

Our room.

It suddenly hit me.

I knew that we were going to share a room intellectually, but
knowing that Lois was likely to be there any minute, waiting for
me and that we had to put on a good show in case anyone was
listening...

Not that kind of show but the 'I'm tired and still don't feel
well' show.

I sighed.

This wasn't going to be an easy week or so until we could get
home, but then she and Junior would be safe and that was what
mattered.

I had to keep telling myself that.

*~*24*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I managed to get a little bit of soup down along with some
crackers.

Daniel walked me back to the room I was apparently sharing with
Clark for at least the rest of the night.

He was vague about what the plan was for getting me and Clark
out of Latislan. I wasn't sure if that was because there wasn't a
plan or because they weren't telling me what it was.

I'd try to weasel it out of Clark when he got back from wherever
he was.

I wanted to talk to Daddy but that wasn't happening. I didn't
know why. I think they thought all of the phones were bugged and
that the Latislanis could pull cell phone conversations right out
of thin air, but I wasn't really sure. The whole embassy was
probably bugged, though I wouldn't put money on who was doing the
bugging -- us or them.

I closed the door behind me and did my best to avoid looking at
the bed. I went to the closet and got out my favorite pair of
pajamas.

I went to the bathroom to change and stared at my reflection in
the mirror.

I pulled the waistband of my pants down slightly and pulled my
shirt up, staring at my still-flat stomach.

There was a baby in there.

A little, tiny baby who was going to be my child to take care
of, to raise, to love.

By myself.

As soon as Clark and I got an annulment, I was going to be a
single parent.

How was I going to tell Joe?

Not only that I'd married Clark -- though I'd tell him that it
wasn't a real marriage; it wasn't like I was doing anything with
Clark I'd always refused to do with Joe, but I'd also have to
tell him that I was going to be a mom. Joe wanted kids. We'd
talked about that in a Family Living class our senior year in
high school. We'd even been 'married' for one of the projects.

But to take on another man's child his freshman year in
college...

I just couldn't see him doing that.

I couldn't even see Clark doing that and it was much more a
'Clark' thing to do. He was only taking on this responsibility
for a few weeks until we could get away from this madman.

No, Joe wouldn't take this on.

If he did get a girl pregnant, I had no doubt that he'd take
responsibility for his own child, but someone else's...

I wouldn't ask him to do that.

I wouldn't ask anyone to do that.

Instead I was going to have to figure out how to do this alone,
possibly with a little help from Daddy, while trying to finish
college and start my career.

I rubbed my hand over my exposed abdomen, wondering what it
would look like in a few months.

"It's okay, Junior," I whispered, talking to him or her for the
first time. "We'll make it together. You and me."

I looked longingly at the shower and decided that, while it was
a very good idea, I didn't think I would be able to stay awake
long enough.

I put my pajamas on and exited the bathroom.

I took a pillow and rummaged through the closet until I found a
blanket. I lay down on the couch, curled up under the blanket and
cried myself to sleep.

This wasn't how I pictured my wedding night.

Not at all.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I was quiet as I entered the room I was sharing with Lois for
the night. I figured she was probably already asleep and I was
right.

I just didn't expect her to be on the couch.

The tear tracks were still evident on her cheeks.

And she had one of the pillows from the bed and a blanket which
meant she'd fallen asleep there on purpose.

I sighed.

Should I move her? She couldn't be comfortable lying there like
that.

Finally, I decided to get ready for bed myself and then make up
my mind what I was going to do with her.

I dug through my suitcase and went to the bathroom, taking a
shower and doing other getting ready for bed stuff.

I pulled on a pair of shorts over my boxers and then a
sleeveless T-shirt. I headed back out into the bedroom and sat in
one of the overstuffed chairs in the corner, watching Lois as she
slept.

This was my wedding night.

It hit me suddenly as she shifted and light glinted off the
wedding band I'd put on her finger.

I flashed back to the chapel downstairs. She hadn't looked at me
once during the ceremony, but I hadn't really looked at her
either.

I fiddled with the band on my finger again. Part of me wanted to
take it off. It wasn't real; it wasn't from Lana.

But at the same time, it meant that -- for the moment -- Lois
was my responsibility. Her and the baby. I knew she wouldn't see
it that way, but I had to do what I could to take care of both of
them.

Because she was my wife.

And this was my wedding night.

A feeling came over me I couldn't quite describe. There was an
underlying sense of... something. Trepidation, fear, awe,
responsibility... disappointment.

It was my wedding night and I wasn't making love to my wife and
my wife wasn't the woman I'd been dreaming of for years.

Part of me said that this wasn't my 'real' wedding night, but it
was my first one. I'd be a man who had been married more than
once. I'd never pictured that for myself. I'd marry Lana and we'd
grow old together. And now, even if Lana was my first -- and only
-- lover, she wouldn't have the distinction of being my first
wife.

How was I going to tell her about this?

Had I really thought this through?

I closed my eyes and saw Lana lying next to me on the quilt in
the hayloft where we'd spent so many hours together. We'd kissed
and talked and kissed and dreamed and kissed and planned and
kissed some more. Sometimes in the morning. Sometimes in the
afternoon. Sometimes by moonlight. In the heat of the summer, the
cool of the fall, the chill of the winter and the freshness of
the spring. We'd been through everything together.

I shook my head slightly and looked back over at Lois.

My wife.

And sighed deeply.

Finally, I decided that I was going to go to bed. Lois had
obviously decided that was where she wanted to sleep -- probably
so that she wouldn't make me uncomfortable, though she couldn't
have known that I'd planned on sleeping on the couch or the floor
-- and who was I to challenge her on that?

"Clark?"

I heard her sleepy voice as I was turning back the covers.

"Yeah?" I said quietly.

"Nothing," she answered. "Never mind."

I moved to her side and squatted down near her. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. We'll talk about it later."

I tugged on my ear and she nodded. So she thought the place
might be bugged, too.

"How're you feeling?" I asked her.

"Fine. Tired."

"You need to go to bed," I told her gently. "I know you dozed
off on the couch, but it can't be comfortable."

"I'm fine," she said, but wasn't very convincing.

I shifted and before she could protest, slipped my arms under
her and carried her over to the bed. I stood at the end. "Which
side do you want?"

She shrugged. "I don't care."

I took her to the side where there was still a pillow and set
her down.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"That's why I'm here, Sweetie."

She rolled her eyes at me as she curled up on her side and
pulled the covers up over her.

I moved to the couch and pulled the blanket back.

"Clark?" she called.

"Yeah."

Her eyes pleaded with me to keep up the ruse, just in case the
military dictator was listening in. "Come to bed, please. I'm not
feeling well, but I want you here with me."

A tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't mean it, not really,
but she said it anyway.

I sighed. "I'll be there in just a minute."

She nodded and settled back into the bed.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I woke up with sunlight streaming on my face.

Apparently, we hadn't pulled the curtains closed.

And someone was knocking on the door.

I looked at the other side of the bed. Clark was still sleeping.
I rolled myself up and padded barefoot over to the door.

I cracked it and saw Daniel standing there. I opened it
further.

"Good morning," he said with his annoying, ubiquitous
cheerfulness.

"Yeah," I said.

"Is Clark up?"

I shook my head.

"We have a video conference in twenty minutes. I need both of
you there."

I nodded. "Okay."

"I'll have someone knock in about fifteen minutes so you can get
downstairs."

I nodded and shut the door. I should have asked who we were
conferencing with. I opened the door to call after him but he was
gone.

"Clark," I called quietly.

He didn't move.

"Clark," I called a bit more loudly.

"Huh?" he mumbled, without moving.

"We have to leave in fifteen minutes for a video conference."

He pushed up off his stomach and turned to look at me. "With
who?"

"Daniel didn't say." I moved to the closet and pulled out a pair
of pants and one of the nicer shirts I'd brought. I didn't know
who we were meeting with but I was sure it wasn't Lana.

I headed to the bathroom as Clark rolled over and sat up. "I'll
be a few minutes if you want to change."

He nodded again as he swung his feet over the side of the bed.
"How're you feeling?"

I shrugged. "I feel fine at the moment."

"That's good. I'll holler when I'm done."

I nodded as I went into the bathroom to change.

Fifteen minutes later we were on our way to an office, led by
one of Daniel's aides.

Daniel showed us to a couple of seats at the end of a conference
table. "Navance isn't happy," he said without preamble.

"We didn't expect him to be," Clark said.

"We're going to get you two out of here today when the
ambassador heads to Podansk for talks. You'll go wheels down,
wheels up pretty quickly. You'll stay at another embassy for a
few days and then we'll get you home late next week."

"That's what you'd said."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" I demanded. "You get me
out of the hospital and are getting me out of the country -- and
I'm grateful for that, really I am -- but no one talked to me or
showed me written PDA messages or anything else to tell me we
were going to have to get married or sneak out of the country. I
did expect that we were going to have sneak out, but why didn't
anyone tell me? And what the heck does wheels down, wheels up
mean?"

"Because we were afraid of how you were going to react," Daniel
said. "We didn't want to tip off Navance. And it means that the
wheels of your plane will land there and then they'll take off
again pretty quickly."

"Oh." I slumped back in my seat. They had a point. I wouldn't
have taken the news quietly. "Who are we meeting with then?"

"Navance. We're not about to let him in the embassy and he
doesn't want to come. And we're not letting either of you go
anywhere just yet." He looked at me. "I want both of you to keep
your mouths shut and let us deal with it. Act married."

I nodded as Clark wrapped an arm around me. "Fine."

A few minutes later, the screen came to life.

The florid face of the Latislani general filled the screen. "I
want my child back," he said without preamble.

Daniel shook his head. "Mrs. Kent does not carry your child."

Mrs. Kent?

Who?

Right.

Me.

"Who?!" he bellowed, echoing my own sentiments.

"According to Latislani law," Daniel said, almost bored, "the
child a woman carries is the child of her husband."

"The mother of my child is not married."

"Ms. Lane married Mr. Kent and that makes the child his. Period.
That is what Latislani law says, isn't it?"

He sputtered, obviously caught unaware by the news. "They will
not be allowed to leave the country with my child."

"You will not order an American couple having an American baby
around."

Clark's other hand gripped one of mine, knowing, I was sure, how
much I wanted to tell this man where he could go and how he could
get there.

"This is not a real marriage," he hissed.

"It was legally performed. All the paperwork is signed, sealed.
Is are dotted and ts are crossed. This conversation is over." He
made a slashing motion across his throat to a man sitting at a
computer on the other side of the room. Colored bars filled the
screen.

He turned to us. "We're going to have to get you two military
uniforms for when you get out of here in a couple hours and see
what else we can do to disguise your appearance."

"What? Am I going to be a redhead or something?" I asked.

He shook his head. "We're not sure yet, but we better get on
it."

Three hours later, we'd made it to an Air Force jet with the
ambassador who I finally met for the first time. Apparently,
another plane was meeting the ambassador in Podansk so that we
could take this one to some undisclosed location.

I stared out the window as the plane took off into the wild blue
yonder. My first real look at the country of Latislan.

I could only pray it was also my last.

*~*25*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Daniel was wrong.

He probably purposefully misled us -- and everyone else at the
embassy, too. We didn't go with the ambassador to Podansk. The
ambassador didn't go to Podansk. We ended up on an Air Force base
in Europe somewhere. We were put in a hanger before we were
allowed to deplane.

They wouldn't tell us where we were going or when we were going
to be able to contact our families or anything like that.

For now, at least, they were keeping us completely under wraps.

In the day and age of electronic media and 24-hour news cycles,
it was probably a good idea if we had any hope of keeping our
privacy.

We were met by a dark sedan and were huddled into the rear seat
and headed towards an office building. Once there, we were met by
a media relations lady.

"Hi," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Jill. I'm with the
State Department Public Relations office. I'm going to be your
liaison for the time being." We both shook her hand and she led
us down the hall. "This isn't Latislan, but..." She tugged on her
ear. "I'll let you know where it's safe."

"Thanks," I said.

We walked into a conference room and she gestured towards the
chairs. "Have a seat. The story is starting to leak. Navance put
out a press release that Americans had helped the mother of his
unborn child leave the country. We're working on a press release
of our own saying that his claims are completely unfounded --
that the woman in question married the father of her child and
that Navance is trying to take advantage of her for some reason
we don't understand. We're doing our best to keep your names out
of the media but..." She sighed. "Hopefully, no one from your
tour group will put two and two together and decide they want
their fifteen minutes of fame."

She pulled a piece of paper from the folder in front of her and
handed it to Lois. "Look over it and see what you think." She
folded her hands on the table in front her. "I talked to Daniel.
He said the baby was conceived in very early November when you
were on a school newspaper road trip and got stuck in that
blizzard that hit Metropolis."

I glanced at Lois, but she didn't look at me. Instead, she
focused on the paper. "Yeah. Something like that," I told Jill.

Lois handed me the sheet. It was the press release that
basically said what Jill had. "It looks fine to me," I said. I
guessed that was what she was looking for -- approval from us --
but I really had no idea what I was doing. Public relations for
something like this was outside my expertise. Far outside.

"When can I talk to my dad?" Lois asked.

Jill sighed. "We're working on it. We have to get you both to a
secure line."

"What about my folks?" I asked. "I talked to my girl..." I
stopped. I couldn't call her that. Not right now. "A friend," I
amended. "I'm sure she told them something's going on."

She nodded. "We have talked to them and told them that you're
fine but that we'll let you tell them the whole story and that
you should be home next week."

"Can I talk to them soon?"

She sighed again. "It's a bit harder to get them somewhere with
a secure line because they live in such a rural area. If nothing
else, you'll be able to talk to them on the way home in a couple
days."

"So what do we do until then?" Lois asked.

"Hang out at the hotel, mainly. There's American TV, a
restaurant, game room, Internet access, though you really
shouldn't access your email or chat rooms or any message boards
you normally go to or log in anywhere or anything like that.
General surfing is okay, but we don't want to let Navance know
where you are just yet and he may have some 'net gurus around
that can trace that stuff. Things like that. You can't use your
own laptops to get online for the same reason. The rooms there
are clean." She tugged on her ear again.

We both nodded.

Lois rubbed her eyes with her fingers before running her hands
through her hair. "What about my dad? What does he know?"

"More than Clark's parents, but not much. We haven't told him
much, except that you were stuck in Latislan but we were working
on a way to get you out of there. They've all been told that
you're out of the country. Clark, your parents weren't told what
country you were in -- I don't think so anyway. I wasn't involved
in contacting them. They shouldn't connect you with the story
Navance is putting out -- not from anything we told them anyway.
Lois' dad on the other hand... He knows you were in Latislan, so
it's much more likely that he'll make the connection, even though
we're trying to make it sound like you're much older than you are
-- thirties or so rather than late teens."

"Navance didn't release our names?" I asked, a bit startled as
that hit me.

She shook her head. "No. He wants it to look like we helped a
Latislani citizen out of the country for as long as he can." She
tapped on her PDA for a minute. "Okay. That is being released to
the press."

"Where are we anyway?" Lois finally asked.

"Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany." There was a knock on the
door and Jill pushed back from the table. "We'll get you two
settled in the hotel and you can get some rest or explore or
whatever, but we'd prefer that you try to keep to yourselves and
stay at the hotel, keeping a low profile. Feel free to order room
service instead of going down to the restaurant."

We followed her to the car that had brought us to the office
building and were driven across the base. It pulled up behind an
impressive hotel and we were ushered through a back door to our
room. We were left alone at that point. Jill said she'd be in
touch and they'd get us home in a few days.

Our suitcases were already there and I quickly decided that
getting out of the uniform I'd worn out of Latislan was a good
idea.

"I'm going to change out of this," I said, unbuttoning the
uniform shirt and shrugging out of it, tossing it on the chair
before tugging the T-shirt out of the uniform pants. I dug
through my suitcase and pulled out a pair of running pants and a
long sleeve T-shirt.

I headed for the bathroom to change while Lois flopped on the
bed.

What could I do at this point to make things easier for her?

Anything?

It seemed obvious now that she'd been sick because of the baby
-- though it seemed odd to me that she hadn't been sick until
now. Didn't women get sick at the beginning of their
pregnancies?

What did I know?

But what could I do to make it better for her?

Nothing occurred to me. I'd have to ask her.

I finished changing and headed back into the room.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I flopped back on the bed. Changing clothes probably was a good
idea, but I just didn't have the energy. I was just glad I wasn't
throwing up. I was still slightly queasy and hadn't eaten
breakfast for that very reason. I wondered if there were any
peppermints around here or something.

A minute later, Clark emerged from the bathroom in a pair of
shorts and a T-shirt. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Okay."

"Stomach bothering you?"

"A bit."

He sat on the couch. "How're you dealing with everything else?"
he asked, much more quietly this time.

"Everything else what?"

"The baby."

I shrugged again from where I was lying on the bed. "It's a lot
to take in."

"I bet."

I rolled so I could look at him, asking him what had been on my
mind since the night before. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Claim the baby. Marry me."

He sighed. "Claiming the baby..." He stopped for a minute,
thinking. "He was just standing there, so smug and sure that we
were going to acquiesce to whatever he wanted. It suddenly
occurred to me that if I was the father of the baby, then it
wouldn't matter what he said. I didn't know about the whole 'I'm
the Supreme Ruler of All so unless she's married, it's my baby'
thing at the time."

"Would you have still said it if you knew?"

He hesitated slightly. "Probably. I wouldn't have thought we'd
actually have to get married -- just get you out of the
country."

"When did you know we'd have to get married?"

"Later that day."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Daniel told you why. We didn't think you'd take it well and we
didn't want to tip off Navance."

"Ah. But why did you go through with it?" I didn't actually look
at him as I asked.

He stared at his hands for a long moment before answering
quietly. "I couldn't let him get to either one of you."

"Well, thank you. I'm sure Daddy'll get us a lawyer to get an
annulment as soon as we get home."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry I got us into this," I told him quietly.

He shrugged. "It's okay. It happens."

"To me."

He smiled. "Maybe."

We were quiet for a minute.

"What're you going to do?" He didn't look at me as he asked.

"About?"

"The baby."

"Have a baby. Try to figure out how to raise a baby and go to
school."

"Not adoption?"

I shook my head. "No. I couldn't do that."

"Why not?"

I sighed. How to explain it? Should I?

"You don't have to answer that," he said before I could
respond.

"No, it's okay." I pushed myself up and moved against the
headboard. "When my parents were seniors in high school, they
broke up for a while when my mom moved from Metropolis to New
York with her family. She went out with another guy who pushed
her into having sex pretty early in their relationship -- before
she was ready. I'm still not clear on whether she and my dad had
at that point or not, but they'd known each other since
kindergarten so..." I shrugged. "Anyway, she got pregnant and
this guy said it wasn't his baby. My dad had written her and said
that he wanted to get back together, even long distance, because
he loved her. She didn't believe in abortion and neither did my
grandparents so she decided she just wouldn't tell him and put
the baby up for adoption. After Mom and Lucy died, Daddy found
out about it. She'd written him a letter to be delivered on her
death and it told him all about it. About three years ago, he
went looking for her son." Tears filled my eyes and I couldn't
continue.

"What happened?" he finally asked, handing me the Kleenex box.

"He'd died about eighteen months after Mom and Lucy. He needed a
bone marrow transplant and they couldn't find a match. Daddy
found out, somehow, that Mom and I would both have been a match.
I'd have had a half-brother. Daddy would have a son, even a
step-son. He's always wanted a son. Don't get me wrong -- he
loves me very much and he's proud of me and he loved Lucy -- but
he always wanted a son, too. If Mom had told him, he would have
married her as soon as they were eighteen and figured out a way
to get through school and raise a family together. I just
can't..." I couldn't go on at that point. The tears on Daddy's
face when he'd told me about it... That Mom had had a son. That
we could have saved him if the adoption hadn't been sealed
tighter than Tupperware, Daddy had said. I swiped at the tears
with a Kleenex.

Clark nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I would have liked to get to know him. Daddy talked to his
parents and they said that if and when we're ready, they'd like
to get to know us. I'm their son's sister, after all. But...
neither one of us were ready for that. Maybe now..." I shrugged.
"Maybe I'm ready."

He nodded. "I'm not trying to say that's the wrong decision, but
open adoptions are a lot more prevalent today."

I shook my head. "No," I whispered. "I may not know who the
father really is, but this is my baby."

"What about Joe?"

"What about him?"

"You guys just got back together."

"So? It's not like I cheated on him."

"What's he going to think?"

"It doesn't matter. If he still wants to be my friend, great. If
not... well, I can't imagine him leaving my life all together."

"But you don't think he'll still want to date." It was a
statement of fact.

"Would you take on another man's child? If you found out that
Lana was pregnant from a night she didn't remember..."

"I'd still marry her," he said quietly.

"Yeah, well Joe and I haven't been in love since we were born,"
I snapped back. "I wouldn't expect him to do that and I don't
think he would."

Clark didn't look at me and didn't react to my snarky comment,
instead choosing to focus on Joe. "You won't give him the
option?"

I shook my head. "I won't ask him to do that."

"And if he wants to anyway?"

"I don't think he will."

"Maybe you underestimate him."

I shrugged. "Maybe."

He sighed and looked over his shoulder out the window. "What do
you want to do?"

"Doesn't matter. You?"

"Are you hungry?"

"I am, but I don't think I can keep anything down."

He reached over and picked up a binder. "Let's see what they've
got that you might be able to deal with."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Lois was taking a nap on the bed so I headed downstairs to see
what the hotel at Ramstein had to offer.

I bought a cup of coffee and settled down with a magazine.

The news on the television nearby caught my attention.

"Next on ANC, why is Latislani dictator General Navance claiming
the Americans have stolen his unborn child and have we?" The
blonde anchor was replaced with a commercial about one of the
prime time shows.

I waited the requisite two and a half minutes or so until they
came back on the air.

The blonde was back. "Good afternoon. I'm Meredith Keller and
this is the American News Channel. Early this morning, General
Navance, the President of the Latislani Coalition to Govern, put
out a press release saying that the American embassy in the
capital city of Skopje helped the mother of his unborn child
leave the country against his wishes; that the child is a
Latislani citizen and can't leave without his approval. About
three hours ago, the State Department released a statement of its
own saying that the woman in question is an American citizen who
was in Latislan with the American father of the baby and the two
were married last night. Joining us is Liz Wheel, American News
legal correspondent. Welcome, Liz."

"Hi, Meredith," said the brunette who was apparently live via
satellite. I watched more closely. This was one of those
mid-morning, mid-afternoon, overnight, whatever shows that had
more opinion and such than a straight news program.

"So tell us what's going on here."

"Well, since the report came out early this morning, several of
us have been digging through Latislani law and under Latislani
custody laws, the father has custody of all children, born and
unborn."

" Isn't that unusual?" Meredith said as the shot cut back to the
studio.

" Yes, it is," Liz replied, coming back on the split screen.
"But what makes even less sense than that is how the law is
written. All the President of the Latislani Coalition to Govern
has to do to get custody of a child is claim that it's his. It
doesn't have *anything* to do with who the actual father of the
child is. Even a DNA test wouldn't make a difference and the
mother has no say in the matter. He even controls who has access
to the mother as long as she's pregnant and how much access she
has to the child after birth. The *only* way we've found to get
around that is if the mother is married, then the husband is the
father, again regardless of what the DNA says."

"So these two Americans got married last night to make him the
legal father?"

"That's what it sounds like. Navance's claims are null and void
if she's married."

"The press release from the State Department says the two of
them had only been in country for a few days and that they can
prove that. It also says that she's in her late first trimester.
How on earth can he claim that this is his child?"

"None of that matters under Latislani law."

"Wow." Meredith shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense at
all. How does he get away with it?"

Liz nodded. "It doesn't, but we also don't know who these two
people are so we can't find out anything else. Are these two
people who were already engaged? Who had been dating for a long
time or is there something else going on that would make Navance
a little more annoyed than he usually is. And, for all intents
and purposes, he's a dictator. He can do what he wants."

"Liz Wheel, thanks for your help and we'll be back with you as
this story continues to unfold. In other news..."

I tuned out whatever it was they moved on to. So they still
didn't know who we were. That was good. The American response was
pretty much the same as mine and Lois'.

He was crazy.

And that was scary.

*~*26*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

After four days of doing next to nothing in Germany, we were
finally on a flight out. We were being taken to London's Heathrow
Airport, I thought. I still hadn't had a chance to talk to Daddy
and Clark hadn't talked to his parents either. At least I didn't
think he had.

Clark sat next to me as we flew. He was still uncomfortable. He
had been uncomfortable on the way to Germany, too, but I had been
a bit preoccupied then. I still was.

We finally landed and this time we weren't rushed into a dark
sedan.

We walked into a lounge in the terminal and my breath caught in
my throat. "Daddy," I whispered as I ran towards him, flinging my
arms around his neck and crying into his shoulder.

"Little Girl." He sounded choked up and I thought he was crying,
too, as he held me tightly.

I didn't know how long we stood there, but it seemed like
forever.

And I finally felt safe.

Daddy wouldn't let anything happen to me.

Finally, I relaxed my hold on him and he let me go.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I'm so glad."

I couldn't tell him how we ended up in Latislan. That I'd
followed his girlfriend. That there were guns on the plane.

Guns.

Could that have been why he fixated on me?

To try to keep attention away from what Clark and I could have
seen there?

I'd have to mention that to someone.

Jill had come with us and handed Clark a phone. I heard him talk
to his parents for a minute, but then we were told it was time to
go already and he had to cut his conversation short.

We were loaded into a long golf cart and whisked across the
tarmac until we reached a waiting 747. Jill joined me, Daddy, and
Clark as we walked up the outside stairs to the jet way and
boarded the plane.

I breathed a small sigh of relief as we were led up the stairs
by a stewardess. Well, Jill stayed on the main level, but the
three of us went upstairs. Daddy said she'd come join us if there
was enough room, but for now she had a seat down there.

The leg room was nice. The flight to Paris had made me
appreciate First Class even more. I glanced over at Clark. His
eyes were a bit wide. Maybe he'd feel more comfortable here.

I settled into the fairly large chair next to Daddy. Clark sat
facing us and before long we were in the air.

Daddy held my hand for quite a while.

"We're going to need to get an annulment as soon as we get
home," I told him. "Can you help us find a lawyer to do that?"

He paused slightly. "Of course, Princess." He looked over at
Clark. "I haven't said thank you to you yet, Clark. Thank you for
helping her and keeping her safe."

"No problem, Sam." He smiled at Daddy. "I wouldn't let anything
happen to her if I could prevent it."

"How's Lana taking all of this?" There was a glint of something
in Daddy's eye but I wasn't quite sure what it was.

Clark sighed. "I haven't talked to her since right after we got
to Latislan. I told her we were stuck in another country
unexpectedly but I didn't tell her where. I doubt she's connected
the news stories to us."

He turned back to me. "How're you feeling?"

"Not too bad, today, thankfully."

"How're you doing?" he asked quietly and there was no doubt
about what he was talking about.

"Caught off-guard," I said honestly.

"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?" He didn't look
at me as he posed the question.

"What do you think I should do?" I had pretty much made up my
mind already, but I wanted to know what he thought.

"I think it's up to you, Sweetheart. And Clark, of course, but
I'll support you whatever you decide."

"I want to keep the baby," I told him, though I couldn't tell
him yet that what Clark wanted didn't matter. "After what
happened with mom... With my half-brother..."

"Yeah," he said.

"I think I'd like to talk to them."

He nodded. "I think I would, too."

"Can we contact them when we get home?"

"Yeah, I'll get in touch with them here pretty soon."

The stewardess came around and asked what we wanted to drink and
before long, I dozed off.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Lois fell asleep holding her dad's hand.

I glanced around the First Class upper deck cabin and was again
impressed. Having money was nice.

And I had leg room.

It was a little easier flying in a metal tube up here.

Sam and I chatted easily about the recent moves by the Monarchs
and the upcoming football playoffs, but he finally caught me
off-guard.

"Clark..." He paused. "What are your intentions with Lois?"

I shrugged. "We're planning on getting an annulment once we get
home. We only got married to keep Navance from claiming the
baby."

"Are you planning on being a father?"

I opened my mouth to tell him 'no, why would I?' when I
remembered that no one but Jack and Daniel knew that I wasn't the
father of Lois' child. We'd agreed over the last couple of days
that, for now, at least, we should probably let that assumption
live on. We hadn't talked about what we were going to tell our
parents or when.

When I didn't answer, he continued. "I know you've got a
girlfriend, or had one or whatever, but you're having a baby with
Lois. How does Lana feel about that?"

I paused again. "I haven't talked to her about any of this," I
said honestly.

He looked over at his sleeping daughter. "She's been through so
much," he said quietly. "First, losing her mom and sister. Then,
we almost lost everything when my former business partner took
advantage of my depression. We found out about her half-brother
that she never got to know. She worked so hard to get through
school and get great grades and get a scholarship so that she
wouldn't have to use my money to get through school. I can afford
it, no problem, but she wanted to do it on her own. She asked me
to help her get onto the academic floor in Lane Hall and she
never said why she didn't move home when the paperwork got
screwed up. And now... planning on being a single mom..."

He stared at their still joined hands. "I managed to get you two
an apartment on campus. Your scholarships will cover it; that's
not a problem. But that's when I thought you were staying married
to the mother of your child. I know you and Lois are friends --
good friends -- and there's a lot worse things when it comes to
the foundation of a marriage. I'd appreciate it if you would at
least consider staying married to her and trying to make a go of
it for her sake and the sake of your child."

I wasn't sure what to say. No one knew the true nature of what
was going on except me and Lois.

"Will you please just think about it?" he asked.

Finally, I nodded. I'd think about it, but not for long and the
outcome of that thinking was a foregone conclusion.

Jill chose that moment to join us in the empty seat that made up
the quartet. "Clark, your parents wanted to join us in London for
this part of the trip, but with your dad's back, they decided it
wasn't a good idea."

I nodded again. "Yeah. His back couldn't handle this." I looked
around. "Not even up here. Especially not with the quick turn
around."

Lois woke up as our meal was brought around.

We all chatted quietly about miscellaneous topics until we
started our descent into Metropolis International Airport. Once
there, I was going to have to find a way to pull Lois aside and
convince her that we needed to tell at least our parents the
truth.

No sooner had we walked in, than Jill got a phone call before
pulling Lois and I aside.

"We have a problem," she said, without further preamble. "I got
a call that it was coming earlier, but that one confirmed it."

Sam watched from the other side of the room, but didn't try to
insert himself into the conversation.

"What's that?" Lois said wearily.

"Navance."

"What's he doing?" I asked.

"He's changed the law," Jill told us grimly.

"What?!" we exclaimed in unison.

She nodded. "The law said that he can claim a child but it also
said that the husband is the father regardless of who the
biological father is."

"Right," I said. "That's why we got married. So why does it
matter if he changed it? That was the law when we got married, so
changing it shouldn't change anything for us."

"And here that's right. But in Latislan things are different. He
changed the law and it applies to you guys, too."

"What did he change it to?" Lois asked, fear in her voice. "He
can claim a baby even if the mother is married?"

She shook her head. "No. The way the law reads now, the husband
is only the biological father regardless of any other challenges
if the marriage lasts at least five years after the child is
born."

Lois' jaw dropped.

"What?" I whispered.

"Daniel thinks that's because when you left the country the baby
was legally Clark's and Navance couldn't just make a law that
said any baby he says is his is legally his regardless of
anything else. Daniel also said that you two were planning on
getting an annulment once you got back here. If you do, your
child can be claimed by Navance again. The U.S. wouldn't send
either of you back there, Lois, but he could make your life a
living nightmare if he tries to take the baby from you. And
Navance probably suspects you're planning something like that.
Five years is long enough that you won't want to stay married
just to keep away from him but not so long that his motives are
completely transparent."

I shoved my hands in my pockets, my head spinning.

"The other new part of the law is that if the marriage is solely
for the purpose of keeping him away from his child, then the
husband's claim of paternity is invalid. And he really only needs
circumstantial proof that it's only for that purpose to
invalidate that claim -- at least in Latislani courts. He also
reminded us that he has a nephew who is attending Met U this year
and that his nephew will be keeping an eye on you two and he'll
have others keeping an eye on you, as well."

Lois wiped at the tears flowing down her face as I spoke again.
"Why? Why is he doing this to us? We all know there's no way this
is his baby."

Jill shrugged. "I have no idea."

"The guns," Lois whispered.

"What?"

"I forgot about it with everything but it hit me earlier and I
wasn't sure who to tell and it's probably too late now but...
When we were on the plane that took us to Latislan, there were
crates and crates of guns. I wondered if he didn't latch onto me
and my baby as a way to distract someone from what was on the
plane."

Jill nodded. "I have no idea, but I'll make sure that
information gets to the appropriate authorities." She sighed.
"Regardless, he's going to make your lives miserable if you don't
convince him that you're committed to your marriage and it lasts
until the baby is five."

"This is ridiculous," I said. "How can he do this? Why would it
matter what a dictator from somewhere halfway around the world
says?"

"Under U.S. law, it doesn't. But the bigger concern is safety
for all of you, as well as your private lives. International
relations play a role as well, but that's not my area of
expertise. Once you two get an annulment, he can claim the baby
is legitimately his because he claimed the child while you were
under that jurisdiction and the marriage didn't last long enough
for Clark to remain the legal father under Latislani law. He can
try to take the baby by force if he wants to and if he gets him
out of the country, you'll never see him again."

The tears continued to flow down Lois' cheeks and I could feel
myself deflating as I realized what was happening.

Lois and I were going to have to stay married to protect her and
the baby.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

He was going to come back and get us.

Clark wouldn't stay married to me for five and a half years.
There was no way. He was going to marry Cruella long before
then.

Jill paused in her destruction of my life. "I'll let you two
talk about it. You don't have to decide right now or whatever,
but we just wanted you to know before you contact the lawyer
about the annulment." She opened her mouth to say something else,
before she thought better of it and turned and walked away.

"I won't hold you to it," I told him before he could say
anything. "Daddy'll get security or whatever to protect me and
the baby." Or I thought he would. Who knew what the girlfriend
was capable of convincing him to do or not do, especially if she
was connected to Navance. "I'll tell him to call the lawyer." I
turned to walk away, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"Wait."

"Let's not drag this on any longer than we have to."

"I can't let him get to you. I'm not leaving."

He didn't sound very convincing. I didn't believe for a minute
he'd want to stay married to me and how else would he keep the
insane dictator from getting got me?

"No, it's okay. We'll figure it out. You don't have to worry
about it. I'll tell Daddy the truth about the baby and he
wouldn't think of trying to pressure you into staying married to
me."

He put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him.
"Lois, I'm not going to let him get you." He took a deep breath
and tried to sound convincing. "And that means that we stay
married and do our best to make it look good until he moves on to
something else and the law gets changed or some other guy he's
ticked off takes a shot at him and gets lucky or whatever."

"I can't ask you to do that, Clark. I won't. I won't ask Joe to
be a parent to a baby that's not his even without a lunatic
involved. Why would I ask you to do this?"

"You're not asking me. I'm volunteering."

There was something more he wasn't telling me. I wasn't sure
what it was, so I finally asked him. "What aren't you telling
me?"

"What do you mean?" That didn't sound convincing either.

"You're hiding something from me and I want to know what it is."
I crossed my arms in front of me and stared at him.

He sighed. "You didn't see Navance when he was at his worst. I
can't give him any reason to be able to get at either one of
you."

"We're not your responsibility," I informed him. "I can take
care of myself and if it gets to the point where I can't,
Daddy'll help. And what are you talking about -- his worst?"

He chose to ignore the question. "You are my responsibility," he
said quietly. "I promised to protect you for better or worse. I
know we didn't really think that it was going to last, but I did
promise that before God in a chapel in front of a chaplain."

"You didn't answer my question, but you didn't mean it. I didn't
mean it and I won't hold you to it."

"I won't sign the papers. Whatever it is we have to do to get an
annulment, I won't do it."

"This isn't even your baby," I reminded him. "Why would you even
think about doing this?"

He paused. "My parents didn't have to take me in, but they did.
They protected me and I can't let another baby go unprotected
when there's something I can do to help. And I won't agree to an
annulment."

I hated that I was still bawling.

I sighed.

"I'll get an annulment anyway. There has to be a way."

"Please, Lois. Don't put yourself in danger. Don't put your
*baby* in danger when there's a way to protect both of you."

I didn't want to admit it but Navance scared me. And apparently,
I hadn't seen him at his worst.

"Are you sure, Clark? You won't see Lana in a couple days and
suddenly decide that you want out? If you want out, get out now."
There was no way that he'd be willing to do that.

"I won't change my mind."

"You won't see Lana and decide you want to leave?"

"I won't leave," he said. "I promise."

I took a deep breath. I hated what I was about to say. "Okay,
then. I won't ask you not to see her, but I do ask that you be
discrete." I hurried on. "If you're sure, then thank you."

"I'm sure."

"Can we please agree to keep all of this to ourselves then?" I
asked, more tears leaving my eyes. "Can you let her believe that
I'm actually having your baby? Can you not tell your parents? We
can't let anyone know the truth." I knew how close he was to his
folks.

He hesitated. "Okay. You're right. The best way to keep this all
quiet and away from Navance is if no one else knows. Not your
dad. Not Joe. Not my folks. Not Lana."

I nodded. "Okay, then."

"We'll stay married. We'll convince him that it's real and I
won't let him near either one of you." He sounded like he was
trying to convince himself as much as me.

I swiped at my face again. "Well, let's go then."

He nodded and after a brief second, grabbed my hand and we
headed back towards Daddy.

*~*27*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I couldn't tell Lois the things Navance had said to me when it
was just me and him.

How he'd take her and the baby and no one would ever see them
again.

How he wouldn't make her his wife -- which would offer her some
legal protections -- but would torment her and have his way with
her on a regular basis and show her just enough of her child to
make her realize how he or she was being raised until she finally
begged him to kill her.

And more.

The man was an animal.

I couldn't let him get his hands on Lois or the baby.

My heart was breaking at the same time. I'd have to break up
with Lana. I wouldn't be able to marry her this summer like I'd
planned. I was going to break her heart, even if I did tell her
the whole truth.

Except I couldn't tell her the whole truth.

I couldn't tell my parents the whole truth.

I had managed to make myself grab Lois' hand as we walked
towards her father, but Jill had intercepted us and taken us to
another room.

"This is a secure conference," she told us as we sat in front of
her laptop.

Daniel appeared on the screen. He looked tired. "I'm sorry, you
two. I knew he wouldn't be happy, but I didn't think he'd try
anything like this."

"It's okay, Daniel," I said. "You couldn't have known."

"Have you two decided what you're going to do yet?"

I realized Jill had left the room giving us some level of
privacy.

"No." "Yes."

Lois and I spoke at the same time.

I glanced at her but continued quickly. "We're staying
married."

Lois glared at me.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I hate what it's
doing to you two but it's the safest way for everyone. But that
also means you have to make it look good. I'd recommend not
telling anyone the whole truth until the five years are up unless
something happens. Let everyone believe the 'hypothermic at the
cabin' story as long as possible. That means you need to change
your name as soon as you can, Lois, and no hyphens or anything.
You should probably consider at least partially naming the baby
after someone in Clark's circle -- a family member or long-time
family friend or mentor to solidify the idea that the baby is
Clark's and that you two are serious about this. It means you
can't be seen alone with either Lana or Joe, regardless of
whether you continue the relationships on the side. And I would
strongly encourage you not to, because you never know who might
see something they shouldn't."

He looked at something over the camera out of our view. "I have
to go, kids. Your names won't be released from here. It's already
blowing over in the States so hopefully you won't end up in the
limelight."

"Thanks, Daniel."

Lois was still glaring at me.

"I wish I could have done more," he said. "Good luck and let
Jill know if there's anything you need."

Before we could say goodbye the connection was cut.

"Why?" Lois asked quietly.

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I care about you. I care about your baby. And I can
help protect the two of you from him. I won't give him any reason
to come after either one of you."

She sighed, as though finally accepting it. "What're we going to
do?"

"Stay married."

"Where are we going to live? What are you going to tell Lana?
Your folks? How do we act like it's 'real'?" She used finger
quotes to emphasize her point.

I closed the laptop. "Your dad said he'd already arranged for an
apartment on campus before he knew we were planning on getting an
annulment, so that's taken care of. Our scholarships will cover
it, he said. We won't tell anyone anything but the public story,
but we should still keep it as close to the truth as possible.
That we were together in a hypothermic induced haze at the cabin
that night, but we both thought we were dreaming." I put thoughts
of the dream I'd actually had out of my head. "You didn't know
you were pregnant until we were in Europe and we'd gotten lost
and ended up in another country." I sighed. "You didn't have your
passport with you and knowing that you were having my baby, we
decided to do the right thing and get married before we came
home."

I ran a hand through my hair. "As for pretending it's real... I
guess living together will go a long way towards that. Holding
hands. Not seeing Joe and Lana in public without each other." I
tried not to cringe. "Kissing when we see each other or one of us
leaves when we're in public."

She nodded. "I guess that's all we can do." She sighed. "Daddy's
probably wondering what happened to us."

"Probably." Should I tell her what he'd said? I probably should.
"You should probably know that while you were asleep, he asked if
I was planning on being a dad to your baby. He asked me to at
least think about staying together and trying to make this work
for the sake of the baby." I didn't think Lois would take it well
if she knew he'd also asked me to consider it for her sake.

"That doesn't surprise me," she said. She scrubbed at her eyes
with the heels of her hands. "I guess we better get this show on
the road." She pushed back from the table and stood up.

I stood up, too, and after a slight hesitation, took her hand as
we left the room.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Why was he agreeing to stay married to me?

If it was anyone but Clark, I'd say it was to get in bed with
me. Even Joe would have had that in the back of his mind.

But Clark...

If there was one thing I was sure of it was that Clark had no
desire to... Not get me into bed, because we'd slept in the same
bed more than once and it seemed likely we would again at some
point in the future.

I was sure Clark had no desire to make love to me.

I knew that if it was Joe instead of Clark, he'd want it at some
point, before too long, and if Joe was my husband, we probably
would have -- if not on our wedding night then not too long
after. But with Clark...

I couldn't explain the twinge of... something. Disappointment?
Regret? Envy? Something that knowing my *husband* didn't think
about me like that -- would never think about me like that --
stirred deep inside me. It wasn't that *I* wanted to get naked
with him, but it wasn't something I would rule out either -- now
that we were married. But I knew he didn't feel the same way.

And while that *shouldn't* bother me... it did.

I had to end up married to the one guy...

I shook my head as we neared Daddy. There was no point in even
thinking about it.

"Everything okay?" he asked as we got there.

I nodded, trying to look convincing. "Everything's fine." I
pasted a smile on my face. "Just ready to get out of here."

Clark nodded. "What do we need to do to get into that apartment
on campus?"

Daddy stared at both of us for a long minute. "I'll call
Darrell. He's the head of housing. He had a couple move out
unexpectedly and there's no waiting list for that building. I'm
not sure why. It's where your mom and I lived when we were in
college and it was pretty nice. I know it's been renovated at
least once since then, but..." He shrugged. "I'll let him know
that you two want it. You probably won't be able to get in until
tomorrow though since it's already after five." We'd started
walking towards the front of the airport, a porter pushing our
luggage on a cart. "You can stay at the house tonight, if you'd
like, rather than your dorm rooms."

I didn't look at Clark and he didn't look at me.

It was one thing when we thought this was temporary -- and he'd
slept on top of the sheet anyway -- but this was a whole new
ballgame now.

"Thanks, Sam," Clark said hesitantly.

"I don't know, Daddy," I said uncomfortably. Had his girlfriend
put two and two together yet? Had Navance or one of his minions
contacted her yet? Or had *they* put two and two together?

He got a knowing look on his face. "Tell you what? Why don't I
put you two up at the Lexor for the night? As a wedding
present?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

Clark was looking at me oddly, but I didn't want to discuss it
here. I shook my head slightly and he kept his mouth shut.

Before long we were standing in front the counter at the Lexor
and we were being checked into the honeymoon suite as Clark and
Lois Kent.

Daddy gave me a big hug and whispered, "Congratulations,
Princess." He pulled back and said in a normal voice, "I'll call
Darrell and pick you two up about eleven -- that's checkout --
and we'll work on getting you into the new place."

A minute later, we were in the elevator and I slumped against
the wall.

"Want to tell me why we're here?" Clark asked quietly.

I took the scrunchie out of my hair, running a hand through it
before pulling it back into another ponytail. "I don't really
want to spend the night all happy in front of my dad and everyone
else and we have no idea what the girlfriend knows about us -- if
anything -- and I didn't think that was going to be a good
idea."

He sighed and nodded. "Good points."

The elevator opened and let us out onto our floor. I used my key
to open the door and walked in without really looking around. My
stomach suddenly roiled and I bolted for the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Clark called a few minutes later.

I left the bathroom and settled on the big chair. "I've been
better." I pulled the throw blanket over me, hugging my legs to
me. Under the blanket, I fiddled with the still-unfamiliar
wedding band. "You?"

"It's a big adjustment," he said, stretching his legs out on the
couch.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You're right. Going to your house..."

I shook my head. "For everything. For getting on that plane. For
following her. For all of it."

He sighed. "It's not your fault. You're not the insane
dictator."

"No, but I'm the reason we were there and I'm the one who
apparently ticked him off."

"Look, we're friends right?"

I nodded.

"Okay. I wasn't going to let you go by yourself and I'm glad I
didn't. What would you have done if I hadn't been there?"

I shrugged.

"Okay, then. Let it go. We are where we are and we have to deal
with the hand we've been dealt at the moment."

"Well, the day after the baby's fifth birthday, we can file for
divorce. I doubt we'll be able to get an annulment after that
long, even if we haven't..." I waved a hand towards the bedroom.

"You're probably right."

"And I won't hold you to any paternity claims or child support
or anything like that either."

"Thanks."

"Do you want that in writing?" I asked, suddenly wondering if
he'd believe me.

"No. I believe you and that's probably not a good idea even if
we used a lawyer with confidentiality and all that." He looked
around the room. "Can I get you something to drink or
something?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm fine. Thanks."

"Do you want to play some games or something?"

I shook my head again. "No. I'm getting pretty tired and I'd
like to get the travel grime off of me."

"Why don't you go take a shower then get some sleep?"

I sighed and pushed up from the chair. "Sounds like a good
plan."

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I could hear the shower running. I'd reassured Lois that we'd
deal with the hand we'd been dealt, but I wasn't quite sure how
we were supposed to do that -- how *I* was supposed to do that.

How was I supposed pretend that I was in love with Lois when
every time I closed my eyes I saw Lana?

How was I supposed to stay married to her for five and a half
years?

How was I supposed to do this?

One day at a time was the only answer I could come up with. One
hour at a time. One night at a time.

Maybe the apartment would be big enough for a decent couch or a
fouton or at least have clean carpet so I would have some place
to sleep. Or maybe we'd have room for an air mattress.

I couldn't just float in my sleep. It would be a lot easier if I
could. Or maybe I could just say I was sleeping on the floor and
really float an inch or so off the ground. Except I'd never been
very good at intentionally sleep floating.

Before long Lois came out of the bathroom and said it was my
turn. I nodded and headed to the bathroom with some clean clothes
and assorted toiletries. After a very long, very hot shower, I
headed back out into the suite.

I figured Lois would be asleep in the very big bed but she was
nowhere to be found. I glanced through the wall and saw her sound
asleep on the couch.

I sighed. I felt slightly guilty but she actually looked pretty
comfortable. I floated myself onto the bed and stretched out. I
wasn't too sure about the whole satin sheets thing and figured
that sleeping on top of the comforter was probably the best bet.

Except I'd seen those 20/20 or 48 Hours or whatever reports on
hotel comforters and suddenly decided I'd best sleep like a
normal person. In bed. Between the sheets.

I glanced around a bit more -- my eyes resting on the
heart-shaped tub. I'd hoped I'd be able to take Lana someplace
like this for at least one night on our honeymoon. Not our
wedding night because we'd probably stay in Smallville for that
-- unless I flew us somewhere -- because I knew neither one of us
would want to wait long enough to drive to Kansas City or Topeka
or Wichita or Branson or something. We'd want to get somewhere
alone, preferably with a bed, as quickly as possible.

I closed my eyes.

I was married to Lois.

I was going to stay married to Lois.

I probably shouldn't be thinking about Lana like that anymore.

No.

I *knew* I shouldn't be thinking like that about Lana anymore.

I'd vowed before God to be faithful to Lois for as long as we
both lived. I'd mentally added something along the lines of 'or
until we get home and get this annulled' but that wasn't the
point.

And I was sure that being faithful meant I didn't think about my
girlfr... my *ex*girlfriend like that anymore.

Ex-girlfriend.

I was going to have officially break-up with her. I was going to
break her heart. It was breaking my heart.

I was going to have to tell Lois -- my wife -- that I was going
to have to see the woman I loved -- who I had loved since I was
six -- when she got back from Europe and tell her that it was
over.

For the first time in a very, very long time, I actually cried.

*~*28*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I sighed and looked around the dorm room. I'd liked it here, for
the most part, but I was really glad that we were moving out
before Cruella got back from Europe and Madame Medusa got back
from Winter Break. I was also glad I hadn't brought a whole lot
with me when I moved in. Packing wasn't going to be all that
difficult.

The apartment was furnished, which was nice. I hadn't heard
anything about that particular building, but Daddy thought it was
pretty nice so it couldn't be all bad.

I put my clothes in boxes, not caring if I did so neatly or not.
They were only going to be packed for a couple hours until we got
to the new apartment. I stripped the bedding off my bunk and
folded it more neatly into the plastic bag it had come in. I
loved it, but it would be a while before I used it again -- if
ever. Maybe my son or daughter someday...

I wondered if the apartment came with bedding and I suddenly
hoped not. The idea of sleeping on sheets someone else had... A
hotel was one thing, this was another.

Clark came in just then.

"Got it all taken care of?" I asked, shoving the pillowcase into
the bag.

"Yeah. I pulled my truck up downstairs. I figured we could load
everything in the back of it and be done in a couple hours.

I nodded. "I'm almost done. I guess we've got a fridge there?"

He shrugged. "I'd guess so but I didn't go over there yet."

"Well, I guess this can go in the truck and I'll take it home
later." I pulled a water bottle out of the fridge and took a long
swig.

He nodded. "I've got a cooler that we can put anything you want
to keep in."

I looked around. "I think I'm done."

"That was fast," he said, impressed.

"There wasn't much. Not like we're moving a whole house or
anything." I picked up a box and headed towards the cart I saw
waiting outside the door Clark had left propped open.

"Are you sure you should be moving that stuff?" he asked me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm pregnant, not an invalid. And I'll let
you move the heavy stuff."

He grabbed a box and started packing his clothes. I moved the
rest of my boxes out to the cart. It was kind of pitiful,
actually, how little there was. I knew Clark would have more, but
that was, in large part, because he didn't live close enough to
bring only one season of clothes, for instance.

"Why two carts?" I asked.

He glanced up. "Well, no one else is moving so it's not like
anyone else will need them and I didn't think one would be
enough."

I moved the rest of my boxes onto the cart and then took another
box over to my desk and started filling it. It didn't take long
and I folded the flaps over before taking it out to the cart.
"That's all of my stuff, except my hang up clothes."

He put his hands on his hips and looked around. "I'm almost
done. Why don't you sit down and rest for a few minutes?"

I looked around for a place to do so, but the only real spot was
Clark's bunk. Well, I'd slept there before and he wasn't my
husband at the time so I figured it was probably the least of our
worries. I lay down and closed my eyes. I could see the picture
of me and Joe that I'd taken off the desk. It had been taken at
the party after graduation -- when we'd been on again. We'd
looked good together.

I struggled to keep stay awake, but it was a losing battle and
before I knew it, I was asleep.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I was glad when Lois fell asleep. Packing wasn't hard, but
trying to keep my mind off of what it represented...

I could practically smell Lana's favorite perfume and if I went
through the door into the common area, I probably would be able
to, but fortunately, I'd cleaned all my things out of there when
we left for Break. I had avoided my desk, but now that Lois was
asleep, I moved to sit in the chair.

I picked up the picture of me and Lana. It had been taken at the
fair the summer before and was one of my favorites. I was
standing behind her, my arms wrapped around her and we were
smiling. The wind was blowing her hair and I remembered how we'd
kissed at the top of the Ferris Wheel. I blushed at the memory.
Both because of the memory and because I shouldn't be thinking
about it with... my wife lying a few feet away.

I sighed and tucked the picture in a box of summer clothes where
I wouldn't have any reason to find it for a while. I pulled my
wallet out of my pocket and took the picture sleeves out. My eyes
filled with tears again as I looked at the picture of me and Lana
when we were six. Our first day of kindergarten. She'd looked so
cute with her blonde pigtails. Swiftly, I removed the pictures
that had her in them, leaving only one of my parents, me and my
mom, me and my Grandma Davis, and Pete and his girlfriend. The
rest went in the box.

There wasn't much left to do and I moved the refrigerator onto
the cart before moving the rest of the boxes. I took the carts
down the elevator and loaded it all into the truck, before
returning the carts and heading back up to the room. The truck
was a bit overloaded but we weren't driving far, just a couple
blocks away.

I didn't really want to wake her, but we did need to try to get
all this done before it got too dark or cold. I shook her gently
and once she woke up, we worked together to fold up my bedding.

I glanced around as she left in front of me. I wanted to look
through the wall into Lana's room, but I didn't let myself.

I couldn't let myself.

Ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of Abby Apartments.

I was glad to see they had a cart we could use to help move
everything and soon it was loaded.

"Okay," I said with a sigh. "Let's go see this place." I handed
her the key and the paperwork folder.

The lobby and elevator looked like they'd seen better days. I
only hoped the apartments looked better.

I'd noted there were no balconies like some of the other married
housing buildings -- and even some of the regular dorms -- had. I
maneuvered the cart into the elevator and Lois pushed the fifth
floor button.

"Which one?" she asked as we got off.

"5A," I told her. I pointed to a door near the elevator.
"There's a laundry room on this floor." We walked past apartments
K through C. B was on the end on the left. A was on the right.

"Here we go. Home sweet home." She sounded like she was holding
out about as much hope as I was for this place. She stuck her key
in the lock. She had to jiggle it a bit before it finally opened.
The hinges creaked as the door swung open.

This didn't look good.

She walked in ahead of me, past the -- very small -- bathroom on
the right. I left the cart in the hall as we explored our new
home.

On the wall against the bathroom was a small loveseat and about
two feet past it, on my right, was a bed.

A small bed.

Not much bigger than the twin bed I'd had growing up.

Across from the foot of the bed was a chest of drawers that had
two more drawers than the ones we'd had two of in the dorm room,
but we were going to have to share this one it looked like.

On the other side of the dresser was a desk that butted up to
the closet that jutted out into the room. The closet extended
past its door and against the closet wall was the refrigerator.
There were beads hanging over the opening to the closet; I was
sure someone had removed the door because it interfered with the
refrigerator. The refrigerator itself looked to be older than I
was. Past the fridge was a two burner stove, a foot of counter, a
sink and two more feet of counter with a microwave sitting on it.
In the corner, between the counter and the wall, was a small
table with two chairs. There was barely enough room to pull
either chair out -- one would hit the edge of the counter and the
other would hit the sole nightstand. Above the sink was a small
window and on either side of it was a few more cabinets that all
looked like they'd seen better days.

The kitchen at home was at least three times the size of this
thing.

Heck, Lois' bathroom at the cabin was the size of the whole
'apartment'.

I glanced at the floor. It was industrial carpet -- no surprise
there, but it was ripped in places and there was duct tape over
more than one spot and a stain or two that I didn't want to
speculate on.

Lois sighed and tossed her purse and the folder onto the bed.
"Well, I guess we better get unpacked so you don't get a
ticket."

I could hear the trembling in her voice, but also the
determination underneath it. I didn't say anything but started
moving the boxes in.

"I don't suppose you have any sheets that'll fit this," she
asked without looking at me.

"No. I guess that means that you don't either."

She shook her head. "Maybe at home, but I have a queen size bed
there and I think most of the other beds are bigger than that,
too. I guess a visit to CostMart is in order."

"We'll need to get some food that you can have, too."

"Our meal plans are still intact," she reminded me.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Your stomach has been acting up a
lot lately and you think cafeteria food is going to help?"

"Good point."

I set her boxes next to the dresser as she opened the fridge.

"I'm not sure this thing works very well," she called. "It's on,
but it's not very cold."

"Is there somewhere we could put your mini-fridge?"

She looked around. "The closet? As a nightstand on that side of
the bed?" She pointed to the side by the loveseat.

I looked at that side of the bed. "That might work. There's an
outlet over there." I took the last of the boxes off of the cart.
"I'll go get the rest."

She nodded. "I guess I'll get started on this." She picked up a
few hangers and headed towards the closet as I left.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

This place was a sty.

I quickly hung up the clothes Clark had left on the bed.

The mattress looked clean enough. That was good.

It was small. Which was not.

I was sure that my dad hadn't been in the building in ages or
there was no way he'd have recommended we'd live here. I thought
about unpacking my clothes from the boxes Clark had left, but I
figured I'd at least ask him which drawers he preferred this time
around. Same with the desk stuff.

I sat on the bed and opened the folder of information Clark had
given me. Rental agreement he'd signed. Information on parking
and the campus shuttle that stopped across the street. List of
rules and regulations. I scanned through that to make sure the
mini-fridge wasn't going to violate it or anything.

Something else caught my eye.

No children.

Well, not no children specifically, but only two people allowed
per apartment and only married couples allowed to live in the
building.

We were going to have to move this summer.

I sighed and stuck it in the pile next to me.

The next sheet was a notice. It looked like we'd have to move
before summer. There was a reason why there was no one on the
waiting list for this apartment building and it wasn't just that
it was a hole. It was being closed the week after finals for
renovations that were expected to take most of the next year.

Clark chose that moment to walk back in, TV in his arms.

"Where do you want this?" he asked. "On top of the dresser."

I nodded. "Seems like the most logical place for it."

He set it up there. "We could rearrange if we wanted to, I
guess, but I don't know how."

I looked around the small room. "Me either." I held out the
piece of paper. "This is why there was no waiting list."

He took it from me and sighed. "Well, at least no one else will
have to live here."

"We'll have to figure something else out by then, I guess. See
if we can get into one of the other buildings that allow kids or
something. This one doesn't anyway."

He nodded and headed back into the hall, bringing the rest of
the boxes and the mini-fridge in. "I'm going to take this back
downstairs and move the truck."

"I'll start unpacking clothes, I guess. Which drawers do you
want?"

"Doesn't matter. Whichever ones you don't is fine. Just leave me
some space." He tried to smile as he said it.

"Don't worry, Kent. You've got more stuff than I do," I called
as the door shut behind him.

I thought about taking the bottom drawers since he was taller,
but I figured I wasn't going to be able to bend over easily to
get to them before long. I took one of the half drawers on top
and quickly unpacked my... unmentionables before he got back. I'd
just finished filling two of the drawers when he returned. I
explained why I'd taken the drawers I did and he said that was
fine with him.

I moved to unload the cooler into the mini-fridge. "How do you
want to organize the desk?" I asked him.

He looked up from where he was moving boxes to the closet.
"However you want. We've both got laptops so that's not an issue.
I can work pretty much wherever."

I unpacked my desk stuff into one of the drawers, sticking the
CD player on top with the TIVO and DVD player on the dresser. My
Friends, Dawson's Creek, 90210 and NCIS DVDs were stacked on top
of it as were the other favorite movie DVDs I'd brought with me.
The CDs were stacked in the corner against the closet.

Clark broke down another box. "That's all of my stuff except for
one box for the desk. Do you want to go get something to eat?"

I pondered that for a minute. "Yeah. My stomach feels okay right
now." I avoided looking at the bed. "Let's hit CostMart and pick
up some stuff there. We can eat at their cafe."

He raised his eyebrow at me. "The CostMart cafe? Seriously?"

I nodded. "They have the best pizza."

"Really?"

"Don't knock till you've tried it. We used to eat there every
Sunday."

He shook his head. "If you say so."

I grabbed my jacket and purse. "Let's go."

I headed out the door and heard it creak as Clark shut and
locked it behind us.

*~*29*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Lois was right.

They had good pizza.

I'd been skeptical when she said CostMart had good pizza but it
did. She'd decided to go with a chicken wrap thing instead, but a
big slice of Supreme called my name. Before long, though, we were
done and it was time to do some... household shopping.

We grabbed a cart and headed into the store.

"You know how much I cook," she told me. "So I'll trust you on
the food end. As long as we have chocolate, I'm good. And
peppermints."

I nodded. "Okay. So where do we start?"

She sighed. "Bedding, I guess. We have to have something to
sleep on."

"Well, you do anyway. I'll get an air mattress. It'll slide
under the bed during the day but there's enough room for it over
by the door at night. I can use the sheets and stuff I already
have for that." I didn't look at her as I said it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her give me an
unreadable look before she spoke. "If anyone's going to sleep on
an air mattress, it's me. I'm not letting you do that."

She had to know I wouldn't let her do that and I told her so.

She sighed. "Well, then. I guess we'll share the bed."

I grudgingly agreed. Given how stubborn we both were, it was
probably the best solution. "Okay then. Bedding it is."

She pushed the cart towards that part of the store. "Any color
preferences?"

"Nothing girly froo froo."

"You should know me better than that by now, Paige."

I looked at her quizzically. "Paige?"

"Did you never watch Trading Spaces when it was still good?"

I shook my head. "What's Trading Spaces?"

"Never mind. Colors?"

"Let's see what they have," I suggested. I made myself put my
last shopping trip for sheets and stuff out of my mind. Lana and
I had gone to CostMart in Parsons and she'd picked out pink froo
froo stuff and I'd picked the dark green, but we'd looked at
stuff we both liked -- for 'someday'.

I was glad that it didn't seem they had many of the same choices
here.

"What color do you want?" I asked as we headed into the aisle.

"Why don't you pick?" she asked. "If I don't *hate* it, get
whatever you want."

I didn't really have much of a preference as long as it wasn't
girly. I looked at all the choices before finally deciding on
one. I'd been glancing at the prices, too, and there was another
one I thought I'd like better, but it was more expensive, too.
And I still wasn't sure how we were paying for all this. I smiled
to myself. "How about that one?" I pointed to a comforter with
flowers all over it.

She glared at me. "Try again."

I laughed and pointed to a different one. "How about that one?"

She pulled it off the shelf and set it on the top of the cart
before unzipping it. The comforter had stripes of chocolate and a
slightly lighter brown. She pulled it partway out. "It feels
pretty thick and somehow I doubt the heater in that place works
very well."

"Probably not."

"It's fine with me," she said, zipping it back up before turning
back to the shelf to get matching sheets and pillowcases. "Did
you look to see if there's any dishes and stuff there?"

"There's not," I told her.

She sighed. "I guess we need some of those, too, then."

It wasn't long before there was a set of dishes and glasses in
the cart, too, along with some silverware, cups, a pot and
skillet. They were plain but functional, which was the most
important thing. We grabbed a trash can and a new curtain for the
closet 'door' -- the beads had to go. There was a silverware tray
and an iron and ironing board -- something that had been provided
for us at the dorm. We got some trash bags and a couple new
notebooks for her for the semester. Lois also grabbed some
kitchen towels and let me pick out the utensils -- spatulas,
measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowl, whisk, mixing spoons --
because she knew she had no clue what we needed. She picked out a
vacuum cleaner. That hadn't even occurred to me to get.

Lois had insisted on a couple of TV trays and a bookcase/media
shelf thing. There was enough room on the door side of the
dresser for it, but barely. She also decided that she wanted a
popcorn maker because real popcorn was better than microwaved. I
agreed with her there but it was more fun popping it with my eyes
in midair. I couldn't tell her that though. I pushed thoughts of
my... uniqueness aside as we headed toward the food side of the
store, but not before I picked up a crock pot. Lois had no clue
what we'd do with it, but I knew I could toss some stuff in first
thing in the morning and have a late lunch or dinner ready when
we were.

I had to grab a second cart before we picked out a little bit of
food to take back with us, too. A gallon of milk and some cereal
for breakfast, some Ramen noodles, string cheese and some chicken
soup for Lois. And popcorn stuff. We did grab a couple of frozen
meals -- the freezer had seemed better than the fridge -- and I
picked up barbecue sauce and some beef to make in the pressure
cooker the next day since the cafeteria wasn't open yet. I got
some spices and bread and cheese to go with it. Her dad had said
he'd keep sending some meals from his meal service so we really
didn't need too much. We didn't trust the big refrigerator just
yet, anyway. And crackers for Lois. We got a bunch of them. She
also thought to get carpet cleaner and some stuff to spray on the
bed. There was Febreeze and we agreed on a couple of scents for
candles and air freshener.

After that, just when I thought we were done, she headed back to
the paper goods to get paper towels and toilet paper and napkins
before getting dish and laundry soap, dryer sheets and color safe
bleach. She crossed back to the bathroom part of the store and
picked up a couple of soap dispensers to go with the hand soap
she'd also gotten. She also grabbed a toothbrush holder before
heading to the rugs and stuff. She grabbed a floor rug that
matched the bedding and some stuff to cover the toilet, too. She
picked up body towels -- including a couple of really big ones,
bath sheets I thought she said -- and a couple of hand towels and
wash clothes.

By then both carts were overflowing and I was starting to blanch
a bit at what was sure to be a very large total. I still didn't
know how we were paying for all of this, but that probably wasn't
something Lois had ever really had to worry about. She went a
couple aisles over and together we picked out a few area rugs,
before heading back to bedding and getting a couple of extra
blankets and new pillows -- something we both needed -- as well
as an egg crate and mattress cover. She grabbed a dish drainer
and I got some contact paper before we headed towards the front
of the store.

I was surprised at how she knew what to get. Somehow, I hadn't
figured that she'd know the kinds of little things we'd need. I
knew I would have forgotten half -- or more -- of them. Of
course, the things she would have forgotten, I'd remembered.

I refused to think too deeply about that.

We got to the checkout line and I wondered again how to broach
the subject of how we were paying for all this. Lois answered
that question before I asked.

"Dad said to get whatever we need and put it on his credit
card."

"That was nice of him."

She shrugged. "He said it was the rest of our wedding present.
He knew we'd need some stuff."

Before long we'd loaded it all in the truck and headed back to
campus. "We need to pick up your Jeep at some point. Do you want
to go do that now?" I asked.

She hesitated then nodded, reaching into her purse to pull out
her cell phone. "I'll call Dad and let him know we're on our
way."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I was glad I got to drive back to campus by myself. I'd only
seen Dad for a minute and the girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.
That was good news. He'd actually met us halfway so we didn't
have to drive all the way to Pittsdale. That was good news, too.

Shopping with Clark hadn't been bad, but not exactly fun and I
kept remembering things we'd need. I wasn't looking forward to
the rest of the evening. I thought about going straight to bed,
but I figured we'd want to toss the sheets in the washer first.
At least I would. And that meant it would be at least two more
hours before I could get some sleep. Besides that, we'd need to
get all of the purchases put away.

I glanced in the rearview mirror. Clark was still right behind
me and he looked about as serious as I felt. This couldn't be
easy for him and I still didn't understand why he'd insisted on
doing it, why he'd insisted on staying married, but he had.

I'd told him to be discreet if he was going to keep seeing Lana
and I meant it. I was okay with it -- or thought I was anyway -
if he still saw her on the side, as long as he was careful that
no one else knew. If Linda knew though... That would be bad. I'd
have to mention that to him.

The tour group would be back in two days. I'd have to talk to
Joe, but even worse, Clark was going to have to talk to Lana.
Breaking up with Joe, officially, wasn't going to be easy, but
Clark and Lana...

It wouldn't surprise me if they broke their 'wait till the
wedding night' vow; if they made love in the next couple days, I
would have no place to complain, regardless of what our wedding
vows had said. It wasn't like this was a real marriage.

I stopped at the stop light leading onto campus and fiddled with
the wedding band on my finger, staring at it.

I was a married woman.

And I was contemplating whether or not I should tell my husband
it was actually okay for him to cheat on me.

I sighed as the light turned green and I headed towards the
parking lot nearest to my new home. Clark loaded everything on a
cart and brought it inside while I started a load of laundry --
sheets along with some of my clothes that I'd brought back with
me from Europe.

He looked up from the bed where he was sitting with pieces of
the new shelving unit. I noted the Febreeze sitting out. "The
cold stuff is put up. Want to put this together?"

I shook my head. "Not if we want it to actually work when it's
done. Aren't you a farmboy? Shouldn't you know how to make
stuff?"

He laughed. "Fences? Sure, no problem. Prefab furniture? That's
a whole different ball game." He handed me the instructions. "You
read. I'll try to figure this out."

We laughed as we tried to figure it out and when the time came
to switch the laundry, it was done. There was very little room to
walk in the area near the door, but I squeezed through and headed
to the laundry room at the other end of the hall. By the time I
got back, Clark was moving my DVDs and CDs to the new shelf where
they joined the ones he'd taken out of his box of desk stuff.

He leaned back against the bed, staring at the furniture along
the wall. "Could we rearrange any of this you think?"

I sat on the loveseat and immediately regretted it. I wouldn't
be sitting there often. "I don't know," I said, looking around.
"I'm not sure how we would rearrange it, but we probably want to
before we get the rugs out and stuff."

He nodded. "What if we switched the desk and the table over
there? Or put the bookcase where the desk is and the table on
this side of the dresser and the desk over where the table is?"

I glanced next to me. "Well, the mini-fridge isn't going to work
over here. The side table can move over here, but there's not
enough room for the door of the fridge to open."

"I noticed that earlier." He moved to sit on the bed, leaning
against the wall so he could see the whole room a bit better.
"The table's pretty useless right there. Neither one of us
actually use a desk much so it wouldn't matter if we couldn't get
a chair in and out easily. What if we put the desk there, with
the bookcase on top of it? It might not be pretty..."

"But it would be more functional that way. The mini-fridge can
go on that side of the bed, but the drawers on that side of the
desk..." I sighed. "That won't work."

"We could put the fridge by the closet and whoever's on this
side of the bed could just use the desk as a night stand. We
could even turn the desk this way instead if we're moving the
nightstand." He gestured along the wall next to him. "Then we
could use the chair still and put the bookcase on top of it in
the corner so there's some space on this end for an alarm clock
or something."

I nodded and pointed to the wall across from the bed. "So table,
dresser, fridge against the closet. Desk against the same wall as
the bed with the bookcase on top. What about this monstrosity?" I
asked, patting the loveseat.

He sighed. "Unless we want to push the bed up against the wall
so that one of us is up against it, I think this is probably the
best place for the bed and loveseat."

I nodded my agreement. "Okay," I said, standing up. "Let's get
moving."

He stood up then pointed to the bed. "Sit. You're not moving
furniture."

I rolled my eyes but sat down. "Get the desk and bookcase moved
first and I'll work on getting it set up a bit better."

Clark easily moved the nightstand and table, setting them on the
bed out of the way before he effortlessly scooted the desk next
to the bed. I moved all the stuff he'd already situated on the
bookcase to the bed until he had it in place, snug against the
corner. I moved the CDs and DVDs back onto the top shelves,
stretching to reach that high. I grabbed the box with the rest of
my school stuff in it and situated a bunch of books and notebooks
and assorted other things on one of the shelves. "Want me to
unpack your box?"

He'd shoved the loveseat out of his way so he could move the
fridge, but stopped long enough to look at me. "I'd appreciate
that. Thanks."

His things went on another shelf and into the other set of
drawers. I didn't see his picture of him and Lana anywhere and I
breathed a small sigh of relief at that. By the time I was done,
so was he.

"Better?" he asked.

I sat in the desk chair. "As good as it's going to get, I
think." I noticed that he wasn't breathing heavily and hadn't
even broken a sweat. "Thanks."

He pushed the loveseat with his knee and nudged it over another
couple of inches. "Ready to unload the rest of this stuff?"

I nodded. "Let's get it done."

He pointed to the bed again. "Sit and tell me where you want
everything."

"I think we should probably wash the dishes and stuff before we
use them, shouldn't we?"

He hesitated. "Probably. I'll move all the kitchen stuff onto
the counters and we'll do everything else first."

He did so then grabbed the vacuum cleaner box. "This is probably
the best place to start." He glanced at the floor. "We'll want to
vacuum before we put rugs down." He opened the box. "Did you know
you have to assemble this?"

"Seriously?" He nodded. "You do that and I'll start on the
bathroom. How's that?"

I was working on getting the tank cover onto the pink toilet --
what were they thinking when they installed those? -- when I
heard the vacuum cleaner start. I spread the chocolate rug on the
floor and glanced at the shower. The inside of it couldn't be
more than two, two and a half feet square at most. That was going
to be fun. I hung the hooks for the robes over the door and stuck
the hooks for more towels up as high as I could reach. A couple
towels went over the rack and a couple more went above it on the
hooks. I filled the soap dispensers and arranged the rest of the
stuff. I was glad I'd remembered to send Clark back for a toilet
brush and cleanser. I was even more glad that he'd informed me
that he'd take care of it.

"All done," Clark called, as the vacuum shut off.

"Good." I handed him the ironing board hook and pointed to the
wall behind the door. "There please." He stuck it to the wall as
I set the ironing board next to it. "The iron will have to go
under the sink in the bathroom, I guess." I grabbed the pillows
and tossed them onto the loveseat so they wouldn't be in the way
when we made the bed. "Where do we stick the laundry baskets?"

"The closet?"

"One maybe, but I don't think both will fit in there. Another
over by the counter?" I sighed. "Maybe we should get a couple
hampers. That'd work better I think."

"Probably." He grabbed the biggest of the rugs. "Where do you
want this one?"

I gestured to the area between the bed and the dresser. "Right
there," I told him before grabbing two of the smaller ones and
putting one in front of the desk and one of the runners along the
'kitchen'. Clark put the other two runners between the bed and
the loveseat, lifting each corner of the loveseat to slide it
partially underneath, and the other coming straight out from the
door. I sighed. "Well, at least most of that's covered up." I
glanced at the alarm clock I'd put on the desk. "I'm going to go
get the laundry. You mind to clean the rest of this up?" I asked
gesturing to the bags and boxes lying around.

He nodded and I left the room.

*~*30*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I finished taking the trash down to the dumpster and wondered
how we hadn't run into any of our neighbors. I could hear some of
them moving around in their apartments.

Lois was struggling to get the bottom sheet on the bed. She had
already put the mattress cover on and the egg crate on top of
that. She looked up as I walked in. "I didn't put the dust ruffle
on. I didn't want to try to move the mattress by myself."

I nodded. "We can do it tomorrow." I moved to the side of the
bed and helped tug the sheet over the corners of the mattress. We
worked together to put the top sheet and then the comforter on.
She tossed me a pillowcase and I tossed her the pillow she'd
picked out.

"Which side do you want?" she asked, without looking at me. "I
mean, I know you had that side when we were in Europe but... long
term..."

I shrugged. "This is fine for now. If either one of us decides
we want to switch we can talk about it later."

She headed towards the dresser and pulled some clothes out. "I'm
going to change and then I think I'm going to go to bed."

"You should. It's been a big day. You've got to be tired."

She nodded as she headed towards the bathroom and I sunk onto
the love seat. Lois was right. It was a monstrosity. And
exceptionally uncomfortable at that.

I looked around the room. It was amazing how much we'd managed
to cram in here. I looked at the picture of me and my parents I'd
set on the nightstand that was now on what was officially my side
of the bed. I'd talked to my dad for about a minute and a half
while we were in London and hadn't told him anything except that
I was okay. I'd called again when I knew they wouldn't be home
and left a message. I knew I should talk to them, but I wanted
Lana to be the first one to know, even before them. It helped
that they were going out of town for nearly ten days.

I was going to have to tell Lois that I needed to see her when I
told her. I couldn't do this over the phone or email or something
like that.

I wouldn't say that the evening had been *fun*, but it hadn't
been too bad. We'd laughed and talked like we hadn't since we
were at the cabin and we were going to have to be friends if we
were going to make it through the next five years.

Five years.

That was a long time.

I kicked my shoes off and propped my feet up on the bed, my head
falling on the back of the seat. It was only a couple minutes
before Lois came back out of the bathroom, leaving the light on
in there, for me I was sure.

"Do you mind if I turn the light off?" she asked.

"Go ahead." I said as the room darkened and she moved to the
other side of the bed, flipping the covers back as she crawled
in. "Good night."

She rolled over to face me. "Good night, Clark. And thank you
again."

I nodded and she closed her eyes, burrowing under the covers.
After a few minutes, I went to the kitchen sink and ran the
water, filling the sink before adding soap. Lois' quiet breathing
told me that she was asleep and I sped through the dishes,
washing them as fast as I could before drying them with my eyes.
I'd have Lois help me figure out where to put most of them in the
morning.

I rested my hands on the counter and leaned against it, my head
hanging and my eyes closed. I'd imagined doing these things with
Lana, not Lois, and the image of the two of us putting together
our first apartment came unbidden to mind. I could see us
laughing and kissing and even abandoning our efforts to get
things done in the pursuit of more... interesting things. And
since she'd know about me by then, I could have had it all done
in seconds, lifting the desk over my head with one hand as I
moved it or things like that.

And I was sure Lana wouldn't wear flannel pajamas to bed.

I sighed and decided it was time for me to change and go to bed,
too.

I wasn't sure what our plans for the next day were, but it was
going to be a very long week.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I was glad we had two more days before Lana and Joe got home. I
had a feeling that it was going to hit the fan when they did. For
now, Clark was my friend and we were enjoying spending time
together -- though bed was a bit awkward -- but I was afraid that
was going to change once he came face to face with Lana again.

I was even a bit afraid that he was going to leave.

He'd never said or done anything in the five or so months that
I'd known him to give me any indication that he wasn't a man of
his word, but once he actually saw Lana again...

Clark had offered to go get our textbooks and stuff before the
crush hit. We could get decent used books -- hopefully -- because
they wouldn't be all picked through.

The phone rang and I picked it up off the desk. "Hello?"

"Lois?"

I didn't recognize the voice. "Yes?"

"This is Dr. McConnell."

"Hi," I said, surprised. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I got a call from your dad the other day and he asked
me to give you a call."

I sighed. "I need to get in to see you. I think I'm nearly
twelve weeks along."

"Well, I'm at the hospital today -- I'm covering on-call for
another doctor. Would you like to come on over and we'll take a
look and get started?"

"That would be great. When's good?"

"Well, right now, I have a couple patients here that are in
labor, but both are very early on so now would be good, if that
works for you."

"I'll be there in about fifteen minutes," I promised.

"Come on in to labor and delivery and I'll see you then."

I said good-bye and hung up. I put my shoes on and wrote Clark a
note telling him I had an errand to run before heading out. I
drove across campus and pulled into a parking spot near the Ellen
Lane Memorial Medical Building. I ran into Dr. McConnell in the
hallway and she gave me a warm hug.

Ten years earlier, she'd worked with both of my parents as she
finished medical school and she had been my mother's doctor the
last couple years of her life. We moved into an empty labor and
delivery room where an ultrasound machine was set up. I sat on
the bed and swung my legs slightly.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked quietly.

Tears sprang to my eyes. "Can you tell my dad anything that I
tell you?" I asked her. The thought of telling her the whole
truth was running around my head and had been for a couple of
days.

"No. Anything you tell me is completely confidential."

I nodded. "I don't know who the father is," I whispered, using
the Kleenex she handed me to wipe at my cheeks. "I don't remember
much of anything about Halloween. Clark found me behind a couch
in the common room of a frat house with a guy. He wasn't sure
that the guy had done anything to me, but..."

"It seems pretty likely now that he did."

"Well, I've never had sex with anyone," I told her. "Not that I
remember. I talked to..." I hesitated. "Another friend and there
didn't seem to be any evidence that he'd done anything -- I
wasn't sore or anything like that. But it had to have been then
because..."

"That's not the story your dad told me."

"I know." I wiped my nose and refused to look at her. "Did you
hear about the whole thing with General Navance in Latislan
trying to claim an American baby?"

She nodded.

"That was me. Clark was with me and he claimed the baby hoping
that Navance would leave me alone. It turned out he had to marry
me and that we have to stay married for five years or he can come
after the baby legally under Latislani law." I took a deep breath
to steady myself. "A few days after Halloween, Clark and I were
caught in that snow storm. We barely made it to the cabin and
neither one of us remember much about that night. Clark was
already sick before that. The story we're telling everyone is
that we were together in a hypothermic induced haze and that's
how I got pregnant. There's only two other people who know the
whole truth, maybe three. The ambassador to Latislan is a maybe
but two of his people do. Daddy thinks Clark is the father." I
wiped at my face again.

She squeezed my hand. "Well, you're still early enough that you
could get an abortion if you wanted to," she said hesitantly.

I shook my head. "No."

"Good. That's rarely what I would choose for any of my patients
though some do choose that route. Adoption?"

"Not after what happened with my half-brother."

She nodded again. "That's what I figured. So you're going to
have this baby and you and Clark are going to raise him or her."

"That's the plan. At least for the next five years..." I
shrugged. "After that, I guess it'll just be me."

It looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't.
Instead, she chose to continue the exam. "Why don't you lie back
and we'll take a look?" She hesitated again. "Are you sure you
don't want Clark here?"

I shook my head before I rested it on the pillow and lowered the
waistband of my pants while raising my shirt. The goop was kinda
cold but not as bad as I would have thought.

"Normally, ultrasounds are done by a tech, but I wanted to get
this one done and see how you and the baby are doing. And since
I'm just kinda hanging out here right now..." She put the wand on
my stomach. "Let's see what we've got." After a minute, she
pointed to the screen. "There you go," she said with a smile.
"There's your baby."

My eyes filled with tears again as I saw the heart beating and
what I thought were arms and legs. I could see the head and, if I
looked closely enough, the eye sockets. She clicked the keyboard
a few times and then frowned. "It appears the sound isn't working
on this machine so we won't get to hear the heartbeat without
hooking you up to monitors and I don't think that's necessary.
We'll listen when you come in for your next appointment. It
*looks* good on here."

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet. We'll do another ultrasound in a
couple months and we should be able to tell then if you want to
know."

After a few more minutes, she removed the wand from my stomach
and handed me a washcloth to clean up with before helping me sit
up.

"Here you go," she said handing me a couple slips of paper.
"Your first baby pictures."

"Thanks."

"Everything looks great. Really. I'll write you a prescription
for prenatal vitamins. You need to get plenty of rest and drink
lots of fluids." She squeezed my hand gently. "You're twelve
weeks today -- your first trimester is over. That puts your due
date at July 26."

"Wow. And I missed it completely."

She sat next to me on the bed. "I'm sorry your mom's not going
to be here to see this. She would have been a great
grandmother."

I stared at the pictures. "Yeah. She would have been. And Lucy
would have been a great aunt, too." She wrapped an arm around me
and I rested my head on her shoulder. "I told Dad I wanted to
talk to Dave's family. They said they wanted to get know me if I
was ever ready for that because I'm his sister. I think I'm ready
now."

"Your mom would like that."

"Thanks, Dr. McConnell. For everything."

"After everything we've been through, Lois, you can call me
Kristi, you know."

"I know."

"Did you know that Kevin and I are having a baby?"

I shook my head. "No. When?"

"In September."

"Congratulations. That's great."

"We'll have to have you and Clark over for dinner sometime,
okay?"

I nodded.

"And I promise, that even if I'm not on call, I'll be here when
the baby's born, okay? Even if it's three in the morning, this is
one delivery I'm not going to miss."

"Thank you," I whispered.

Ten minutes later, I was back in the Jeep and headed back to
CostMart. I picked up a few things I realized we'd forgotten the
day before -- a coffee maker and all the things that went along
with that, a couple of laundry hampers, deodorant and toothpaste,
and ice cream. The freezer seemed to work okay on the big fridge
so I thought I would trust it with some ice cream. If it didn't
melt on me, everything would be okay. I also bought new
mini-blinds for the window, as well as a set of curtains and a
curtain rod. Even though the window was small, it was entirely
too bright first thing in the morning. I even thought to get a
drill and drill bits so Clark could put it up. A step stool
rounded out the items.

When I got back to the apartment building, I pulled up in front
of it and unloaded everything into the two hampers before moving
the Jeep to the parking lot across the street. One at a time, I
moved the hampers next to the elevator. I got them into the
elevator and, one by one again, down the hall until they were
both outside the door. I messed with the lock, trying to figure
out the trick to it, when the door opened from the inside.

"Hey." Clark looked at the hamper. "What're you doing?"

"I picked up a couple more things at CostMart," I told him, more
than willing to let him manhandle the hampers inside.

"Was that the errand you had to run?"

I hesitated slightly. I wasn't sure I was ready to share the
pictures of my baby with Clark, no matter what he'd done for me.
Finally, I told him an abridged version of the truth. "My doctor
called and said she could see me this morning. I went to the
hospital to see her first."

"Your doctor called you?" he asked, sounding skeptical.

"She was a friend of my mom's. Dad called her this week."

"Ah." He set the second hamper down. "Ready to get all this put
up?"

I nodded. "I think that's everything then. I mean, I have no
idea what else we might need."

"Well, we'll see, I guess," Clark said as he started emptying
the hampers.

"Yeah," I said. "We'll see."

*~*31*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

It was our third night in our 'new' apartment.

The plane with the rest of our European tour group had been
delayed and wasn't going to get in until late. Very late.

I was glad. Under other circumstances, I would have met Lana at
the airport, but I didn't think that was a good idea. I'd left
her a message saying I'd talk to her in the morning.

"I left Joe a voice mail," Lois said suddenly from her side of
the bed.

I rolled until I was facing her, but her back was to me.

"I told him I was going to see him in the morning. I want to
tell him in person."

"Have you talked to him at all?"

"No."

"I left Lana a message telling her I'd see her in the morning,
too," I told her.

She didn't say anything for a long minute. "Well, maybe we can
walk over together."

"Maybe." I sighed. "We probably should."

"Probably." She took a deep breath. "Are you going to be able to
let her believe that you're the father of my baby?"

I was silent until I heard her breath hitch slightly. "I have
to," I whispered. "If I don't..." My voice trailed off.

"Yeah. I'm going to tell Joe the official story."

"That's probably the best plan."

"Good night," she said.

"Good night." I closed my eyes but knew sleep would be difficult
that night.

"And Clark?"

"What?"

"I meant what I said the other day. I understand if you want to
keep seeing her, really I do, but if you're serious about
protecting me and the baby at the same time, please be
discreet."

I didn't say anything and before long her even breathing told me
that she was asleep.

We didn't talk much as we got ready the next morning. Lana
hadn't called, but she wouldn't know where to call. I'd
purposefully locked the door to our old dorm room from the inside
so she wouldn't be able to get in and see that Lois and I had
moved out.

I knew I should probably hold her hand or something as we walked
across campus without speaking, but I couldn't bring myself to do
that. I was glad that Lana's window didn't face the direction we
were coming from. We still didn't speak as Lois poked at the up
button on the elevator. We got in and she punched the 'three'
button for Joe's floor and the 'six' for our old one.

The door slid open on the third floor and she paused before
exiting. "I'll see you in a bit." She didn't wait for me to
respond before she left the elevator.

I slumped against the wall. This wasn't going to be easy, but I
had to remember the look on Navance's face when he threatened
Lois and the baby -- what he'd said when it had just been me and
him.

All too soon, the elevator doors opened. I pushed myself upright
and headed down the hall, hesitating before I knocked on Lana's
door. I listened carefully and sighed when I only heard one
heartbeat. Linda wasn't back yet. That was good.

And it didn't sound like Lana was asleep.

I took a deep breath and knocked.

The door was thrown open and Lana flung herself at me.

I wrapped my arms around her and buried my head in her shoulder,
knowing we were having very different reactions to this meeting.
I could tell that her heartbeat had sped up and I knew she was
excited. We were saying hello.

On the other hand, though, I knew that we were really saying
good-bye. At least for now.

"What's wrong?" she whispered. "Where were you? I knocked on
your door last night but you didn't answer."

I sighed and moved back, heading further into her room as she
closed the door. "I wasn't there."

"Where were you?" I could hear fear in her voice. "What's going
on?"

"Lois and I had to move." I knew I should just tell her -- rip
the Band-aid off -- but I couldn't. It was going to break her
heart.

"The housing people made you?"

I sighed. "Something like that."

"But if they found out you two were roommates, why did they make
you move? Shouldn't they just have made her?"

"They didn't find out we were roommates." I stared out the
window. I couldn't look at her.

"What's going on, Clark? I don't understand why, but I'm
scared."

My head hung and I took a deep breath before I spoke again. "We
didn't move because they found out we were roommates. We moved
because we got married."

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I knocked on Joe's door and waited for an answer. It was a long
minute before it opened. It didn't surprise me that Joe was still
asleep.

"Hey!" He grabbed me for a hug and I buried my head in his
shoulder, unable to stop the tears. "What's wrong?"

I didn't say anything, but instead clung to my best friend. His
arms tightened around me and he just held me for a long time.
Finally, I moved back, putting my left hand back in my pocket and
wiping my face with my right. "Sorry," I said.

"It's okay. But what's wrong? What happened to you and Clark?
You guys just disappeared. Someone even speculated that you two
were the ones in Latislan."

I tried not to show my shock that someone had made the
connection. "It's a long story. Basically, we got stuck in
another country and I didn't have my passport."

"Ah." He sat on the bottom bunk. "That doesn't explain why
you're crying though."

I sat next to him, close but not touching. I took a deep breath.
"I'm pregnant."

He didn't say anything for a long minute. "What?"

"I'm pregnant." I wiped at my cheeks. "I don't want you to think
that I cheated on you or anything like that. I didn't go out and
sleep with someone else when I told you I wouldn't sleep with
you. That's not what happened."

"Was it at the frat party?" he asked quietly.

I hesitated. He was right but I couldn't tell him that. "No," I
finally whispered, shaking my head. "Clark's the father. We both
thought we were dreaming but apparently in the cabin, when we
were hypothermic... Our clothes were soaked and the power was
out. I built a fire and got our clothes off because Clark was
practically unconscious and it was so cold... We were under the
blankets and somehow... in the middle of the night... I brushed
it off as a dream. Clark said he'd had a dream about Lana..."

I couldn't look at him. "I'm so sorry, Joe."

He stood and started pacing the room. "Wow."

"Tell me about it."

He paced for what seemed like an eternity, thinking. Finally, he
stopped and looked at me. "Marry me."

"What?" I was confused. "Why?"

"You're my best friend. I love you, maybe not quite like that,
but I do and I could. Easily."

"It's not your baby. Not your responsibility," I told him.

"What if I want it to be? We said we were going to try again.
Whenever I've imagined myself having a family, you were always
there. I never admitted it to myself, but you were."

"It's so sweet of you to offer..." I wasn't sure what else to
say.

"Say yes. We'll get married and we'll raise the baby."

I smiled a small, sad smile at him and tried to joke. "You just
want to get in my bed."

He grinned at me. "The thought crossed my mind, but you know me
better than that."

"I know."

"And it's not like Clark's going to marry you. Is he even
acknowledging that this is his baby?"

"That's the other thing I have to tell you."

"What?"

I took a deep breath. "We got married in Europe. He wanted to do
right by me and the baby."

He looked sucker punched. "What? You married him?"

I nodded. "He's the father of my baby," I whispered. I finally
pulled my left hand out of my pocket to show him the wedding
band.

"Oh, Lois." He moved to sit by me and wrapped an arm around me.
"This isn't going to be easy for you, is it?"

He surprised me. I'd expected him to be mad or hurt, not
concerned about me. "No, it's not."

"Are you sure you really want to be married to him, though?" he
asked, rubbing my shoulder. "He's in love with Lana."

"I know. It's not going to be easy, but he promised he's going
to help take care of us and all that."

"Will he be faithful to you though?"

I hesitated. I couldn't tell Joe that Clark didn't have to be.
"I think so." I rested my head on his shoulder. "Will you still
be my friend, though? I think I'm going to need you."

He kissed the side of my head. "I'll always be your friend,
Lo."

"Thanks, Joe."

"And if you change your mind, if you and Clark decide not to try
to make it work for whatever reason, let me know. I'll be here
for you."

"Thank you," I whispered, wondering why Joe couldn't be the
father of my baby. At least I would know that he wasn't running
off with another girl. He'd never cheated on any of his
girlfriends or me. Ever. And if I was married to him, I probably
wouldn't be just about the only woman ever to give birth while
essentially still a virgin.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

She stared at me for the longest time. I wasn't able to look at
her but I knew that was what she was doing.

Her voice was strangled when she spoke. "What?"

"Lois and I got stuck in another country and she didn't have a
passport and we had to get married to get her home," I whispered,
hands in my pockets as I turned around and leaned against the
window.

"So why are you still married to her?"

"It's not real, but we have to stay married for a while," I
started, but I couldn't finish because her arms were around me
and her lips were on mine.

And then I kissed her again, as though my life depended on it,
because in some ways it did.  I wasn't quite sure how we'd gotten
to this point, but we had. I'd told her that I was married to
Lois and the next thing I knew she was kissing me.

And I was kissing her back.

My tears mingled with hers and I could taste the salt on her
lips.  "I love you, Lana.  More than anything."  I meant the
words.  I did.  Would she wait for me?  It would be five years
before we could safely divorce -- before that psycho couldn't try
to claim the baby as his own.  And by then there would be the
baby - a little child involved who would truly believe I was his
or her daddy.  How could I do that to an innocent child?  But how
could I hurt Lana like this?

If there had been any other way, I would have found it.  We'd
tried.  The only way to get Lois out of that God forsaken country
was to get married. 

I pulled her to me and held on as tight as I could.  I crushed
my lips against hers, trying to sear everything about her in my
arms into my brain. 

"Can't we be together anyway - in secret?  No one would have to
know - not even Lois," she whispered.

"I can't, Baby.  I love you, but I can't.  I promised.  I vowed
that I would be faithful to her as long as we were married and I
can't do that to her or to myself. Or to you. I can't make you
the other woman and I can't break a promise like that."

"What about me?  What about the promises we made?" Tears were
streaming down her cheeks.

"I know, Baby," I said, wiping her cheeks with my thumbs.  "I'm
so sorry.  We had no idea we'd have to stay married.  We were
going to get it annulled as soon as we got back."

"In my heart, you're my husband.  You have been..." Her voice
broke.

My heart shattered to pieces as she said it.  We'd told each
other that for years - that it was just a formality until we'd be
together for the rest of our lives.  "And in my heart, you've
always been my wife," I whispered, barely managing to get the
words past the lump in my throat.

"You promised you'd never make love to another woman."

I kissed her again, trying to leave her no doubt where my heart
truly belonged.  It was minutes before I moved away far enough to
whisper, "I'm not going to make love to her, Baby.  It's not like
that. It's temporary."

"I'll wait for you.  If you want me to."

I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Of course I wanted
her to wait.  How could I not want her to?  But was that fair to
her?

"I'll always love you, Baby, but I can't ask you to wait that
long for me."

She kissed me this time.  Desperate.  Hungry. 

"Make love to me, Clark.  Please.  Before you go.  Before we
never see each other again."

"We'll see each other, but I can't.  You know I can't do that. 
I can't break my wedding vows, no matter what circumstances they
were under."

"Aren't you already?  Just by being here with me?"

She had a point.  One I hated to hear.  "I told her I was coming
to say goodbye to you.  She knows I'm here. She's talking to Joe
right now."

"Does she know you're kissing me like this?  Like your life
depends on it?"  She kissed me again, her hands holding my face.

When she finally pulled back, she spoke again.  "Did you tell
her you were going to kiss me like that?"

Suddenly, I longed for the days when I counted the different
types of lip gloss she used.  When I wasn't kissing every inch of
her face, tasting her tears, trying to memorize it to get me
through the next five years.  Lois was nice enough, but she
wasn't Lana.  She wasn't the love of my life.  The woman I'd
known I was going to marry since I was six.  The woman who
wouldn't be sharing my bed for the next few years.  The woman who
wouldn't be having a child everyone thought was mine.

I don't know when I started kissing her again, but I had.  My
hands were under her shirt, on the small of her back.  Nothing I
hadn't felt before, but I couldn't stop myself from running them
up and down her back, realizing that she wasn't wearing a bra
under her T-shirt. 

I wanted her. 

I wanted to be with her, just once, before my life of imposed
celibacy - as opposed to the life of celibacy by choice Lana and
I had decided on until after our wedding.

But I couldn't.  I couldn't do that.  Even if I hadn't wanted to
marry Lois, I had.  I had promised her my fidelity.  I couldn't
break a vow I made in a church, before God.

I'd grown up in church - nearly everyone in Smallville did - but
I hadn't ever considered myself overly religious. And it wasn't
that my wedding vows would have been any less valid in front of a
justice of the peace in the middle of a dirt road, but something
about saying them in a chapel in front of a chaplain before God
took it to another level.

And I just couldn't break that vow.

With a groan, I pushed her away.

"I can't do this, Baby.  You have no idea how much I want to,
but I can't."  I crushed her to me, one more time, kissing her
again.  After long minutes, I pushed her away.  I leaned my
forehead against hers and closed my eyes.  I couldn't bear to see
the tear tracks and the anguish written on her face.  I finally
released her and turned to walk towards the door.  I paused with
my hand on the knob.  "I love you, Lana.  I always will.  And I'm
so sorry for what I've done to you."  I couldn't look back at
her.  My resolve would break and I couldn't do that.  "I love
you, Baby," I whispered again.

And I left.

*~*32*~*
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I'd said good-bye to Joe after one last long hug. I'd wanted to
stay with him forever, but I knew that wasn't a good idea.

And so, I'd left and headed back to the apartment, knowing that
my husband -- such as he was -- was a few floors up from where
I'd been, probably making love to his girlfriend. I figured it
would probably be a couple hours before I saw him again. At
least. Probably longer.

I tossed my purse on the loveseat -- that was about all it was
good for -- and kicked my shoes off before hanging my coat up on
one of the hooks we'd hung on the wall of the closet over the
mini-fridge. I crawled onto the bed and curled up under one of
the blankets.

I was tired. I hadn't slept well the night before knowing what
was coming. I reached into the desk drawer next to the bed and
pulled out the picture frame. Once it had held a picture of me
and Joe, but now it held two of the ultrasound pictures. I still
hadn't shown them to Clark. Even though he was claiming to be the
father, I wasn't ready to share this with him. Was that fair? I
didn't really care and I wasn't sure he would either.

I stared at the picture in the frame for a long time and didn't
even realize when I dozed off.

I wasn't sure what woke me up but I did notice that there wasn't
any light coming in from around the curtains in the kitchen. I
twisted the knob on the small lamp on the desk next to me and sat
up picking the frame up and moving to put it back in the drawer.

"When did you get those?" Clark's voice stopped me.

"The other day," I said, setting it on the desk.

"Can I see?"

I shrugged and handed it to him as he sat down on the loveseat.

"Wow," he said.

I didn't want to ask him where he'd been all day. I already
knew. With Lana. Probably wearing a lot less clothes than either
one of us were now. And as long as he didn't get her pregnant and
put my baby in danger...

I didn't care.

I didn't.

He handed the frame back. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd care. I was going to show you later."

"Why wouldn't I care?"

"It's not really your baby," I said, not looking at him. "I
mean, eventually, I thought you'd want to see them and all that,
but I didn't think it would be a big a deal to you."

He didn't say anything. And I still wasn't going to ask him
where he'd been.

"How'd it go with Joe?" he asked, changing the subject.

I shrugged. "He offered to marry me."

"Really?"

I nodded. "I wouldn't have expected him to, but he did. I think
he still would. We could get an annulment and I could marry him
instead, then he'd be the legal father and..."

Clark shook his head. "It'd never work. Navance would be all
over it."

"Probably. Anyway, he said he'd still be my friend if I ever
needed him and that there's no hard feelings or anything once I
told him how I got pregnant. I mean, the whole cabin thing so
it's not like I was sleeping with someone else when I wouldn't
with him." He'd also said he'd beat the crap out of Clark if he
hurt me, but I didn't feel the need to tell Clark that.

"I ran into him."

Or maybe Joe had told him. "Really?"

He nodded. "He really cares about you. Told me he'd beat me up
if I hurt you."

"He'd do it, too."

"I'm sure he would." He sighed. "I'm going to take a shower."

I nodded and grabbed the TIVO remote off the table, clicking the
TV on and thumbing through my more recently recorded shows. I'd
missed a couple weeks of new shows while we were in Europe and
hadn't caught up yet. I'd missed one episode of NCIS before we
left and one since the new shows restarted. I hit play on the one
from December and watched as a Naval officer was killed by her
computer-driven vehicle. By the time I reached the second
commercial break, Clark was out of the shower. I hit the 'live
TV' button and tossed him the remote. "Watch whatever you want."

He tossed it back. "Go ahead. I heard it through the door and it
sounded interesting. I watched NCIS with you a time or two last
semester, remember?"

I filled him in on what had happened as I restarted the episode.
He plumped his pillow behind him and his legs stretched out in
front of him as he leaned against the wall. Part of me was dying
to know how his conversation with Lana went, but I wasn't about
to ask. And I really didn't think he was going to volunteer that
he'd technically cheated on me earlier that day.

Neither one of us spoke until the next commercial break.

He didn't look at me when he finally broke the silence. "Don't
you want to know how it went with Lana?"

I shrugged. "If you want to tell me, you will," I said, silently
hoping he wouldn't. We watched the rest of the episode in
silence. I finally spoke again. "I'm going to take a shower and
go back to bed. I didn't realize how tired I was."

He nodded and took the remote, flipping back to live TV as I
gathered some clothes and headed towards the bathroom.

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

I rested my head against the wall. I was surprised she hadn't
wanted to know how it went with Lana. I knew I was curious about
how it went with Joe until I ran into him. Apparently, she'd done
a good job convincing him I was the father.

I reached over and picked up the ultrasound pictures. I knew
she'd gone to see her doctor -- apparently an old family friend
-- a couple days earlier, but she'd never mentioned an
ultrasound.

I wasn't quite sure why it hurt that, not only had she not asked
me to come, but she hadn't even told me about it afterwards.

She was right in the sense that I wasn't really the father of
her baby, but I was the one who had put my life on hold for the
next five years to help protect the two of them. Shouldn't I have
been there for that if everyone was supposed to believe I was the
father of her baby? Or could she have realized that her doctor
was bound by confidentiality laws and *couldn't* tell anyone and
decided to tell her the truth?

I stared at the two pictures in the frame. Could I do this?
Could I really convince Lana and everyone else that I had been
with Lois at the cabin?

I groaned inwardly.

I hadn't told her about the baby.

I'd told her that Lois and I hadn't moved because the housing
people found out we were roommates; we'd moved because we'd
gotten married but that was it before we'd kissed.

Repeatedly.

I shook my head, trying to clear thoughts of Lana out of my
mind.

My *wife* was in the bathroom. I shouldn't be thinking about
another woman no matter how we'd ended up in this situation.

I'd told Lana that I'd promised Lois my fidelity and I had. And
that meant I probably needed to keep my thoughts under control
too. At least, I was sure that was what my parents would say if I
ever worked up the nerve to tell them.

I closed my eyes, but all I could see was Lana's tear stained
cheeks as I broke her heart.

I looked back at the frame I held in my hand.

The baby.

I had to remember why I was doing this. To protect Lois and the
baby.

The water in the shower shut off and I put the picture back on
the desk -- face down, just like she'd left it.

I found an old movie on TMC and left it on.

The door to the bathroom opened but Lois didn't come out. I
could hear her brushing her hair and teeth, but I'd noticed over
the last few days that Lois liked to let the steam out as soon as
she was dressed. If we were a 'real' married couple, I doubted
she'd close the door at all.

I sighed and pulled my legs to my chest and slid the covers down
before sliding underneath them. I moved far enough down that I
could rest my head on the pillow, fingers laced behind my head as
I watched the movie. It cut to commercial and, restless, I turned
the TV off.

I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, willing myself to
banish Lana from my mind.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

It had been a very long week.

We'd talked to Lana and Joe on Monday. I hadn't seen Clark again
until fairly late Monday night. He was gone virtually all of
Tuesday and Wednesday, coming home late enough to find me
throwing up again, but that was about it. I had no idea where
he'd been -- not officially anyway. I was sure he and Lana were
making up for lost time.

Classes started on Thursday but I hadn't even made it out of bed
until nearly noon. Clark didn't make it home until I was asleep.
Friday was the same.

Saturday morning I made a comment about how glad I was to have
so spent so much time with him that week. The comment was made
with as much sarcasm as I could muster. A few minutes later, he
grabbed his backpack and headed out, saying he'd be back in a
bit. Finally feeling a little better, I decided to get some fresh
air and head to the library to get one of the books I was going
to need for my literature class.

I really did feel badly that Clark had essentially given up his
life to save me and my baby. I should apologize to him the next
time I saw him. I didn't really mean to be snarky, but I missed
my friend Clark. I knew it was hard on him but the only way we
were going to get through the next five years was to be friends
right?

I sighed as I walked across campus, hoping the book I needed was
in.

Once there, I could only stare. Okay. I knew this was the
farthest thing from a conventional marriage there had ever been,
but this wasn't exactly the most private place in the world. It
was the library, for crying out loud. And there, in plain sight
for anyone who walked by -- including me -- to see was my husband
kissing his ex-girlfriend.

And by kissing, I meant tonsil hockey. Or it would be except I
knew Lana had her tonsils out as a kid. Seriously. It was
disgusting on many levels, not the least of which was the broken
promise.

I knew that Lana would still be his girlfriend if it weren't for
the mess we'd found ourselves in and -- to be perfectly honest --
I'd walked in on a more intense make-out session a time or two
when we were sharing a dorm room and they thought I'd be home
later than I was. At least they weren't on his bed.

His bed?

Our bed.

He didn't have his own bed anymore and I didn't have my own
either. Unless you counted the one at my dad's house and it
didn't. Count that was. I didn't think so anyway. Technically, I
supposed it could still be considered mine, but it was a white
four poster with sheer canopies that spoke of my fascination with
princesses when I was younger.

Regardless, at least they weren't on -- or worse, in -- our
bed.

Had they been?

Had he taken her back to our apartment? He couldn't have. Not
yet anyway. School had only been back in for a couple of days and
I hadn't gone to class either one. But next week... they had
lunch at the same time every day, and I didn't. Maybe I'd skip
class and pop in. No... I wouldn't. Sure he'd said he wasn't
going to continue having a relationship with Lana, but it wasn't
really any of my business, was it? The only reason we were
married was to protect the baby and if he wanted to be with Lana,
there wasn't anything I could -- or should -- do about it. It was
only these hormones that were making me crazy and possessive of
something -- or someone, rather -- that wasn't really mine in the
first place.

I knew they'd promised themselves they wouldn't have sex until
after they got married, but me and someone I didn't know had
gotten both of us into a mess and now Clark *was* married -- just
not to Lana.

When he'd gone to say good-bye to her last week, I figured
they'd be together -- just once -- before he was sentenced to a
life of celibacy with what had to be the stupidest woman alive.

I mean, I must have taken a drink from someone I didn't know. I
had no recollection whatsoever of having my virginity taken from
me -- something I'd routinely denied Joe because I was never
serious enough about him to do that with him. The make out
sessions weren't bad -- they were pretty good even -- and even
when we'd gone a little bit further than that it wasn't *bad*,
but I never had any desire to let things get carried away like I
knew Clark and Lana had.

And now, I was pregnant. Married to a man who I thought could
have been a good friend, but who had barely spoken to me in the
last week; who huddled up on his side of our now-shared bed and
refused to look at me when he did say something.

I couldn't blame him for trying to stay as far away from me as
possible in the middle of the night -- I did the same thing.
Living somewhere else would have been nice, but it was the only
apartment available that our scholarships would cover. It was
furnished. It was also only one room and the bed doubled as the
couch so it wasn't like I could relegate him to the place legend
said husbands went when their wives wanted to kick them out of
the bedroom. Well, there was the tiny loveseat, but I'd sat on
more comfortable cement benches.

Maybe I would sleep on the floor after all. There were rugs on
the floor so I would be on the carpet that looked like it had
been installed sometime before the Industrial Revolution.

I finally tore my eyes from the window into the room where my
husband was kissing another woman like he was a dying man in a
desert and she was a tall glass of water.

Stupid? Maybe. A fool? Never.

Clark Kent was just like every other man. When he couldn't get
it at home, he'd go somewhere else.

I turned on my heel and stalked off. I'd stay married to him,
but only because I had to. The minute we could get a divorce, we
would. And then he could go running back to the blonde bimbo.

See if I cared.

*~*33*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Just another minute, I'd told myself when we'd hurried in to the
side room. Just one more minute. One more long, sweet kiss with
the woman I loved before I had to walk away from her.

I had no idea how many minutes ago that had been.

And then the Musak switched to an annoying country tune. People
always thought that because I'd grown up on a farm, I must love
country music. I liked it fine, but I liked lots of other music
too.

But why was I thinking about music when I finally had Lana in my
arms again?

Because it was a song I'd heard many times and the words of the
chorus were finally sinking into my kiss-addled brain.

'On the other hand,'

No. Don't listen.

'There's a golden band.'

Block it out. Lana. Concentrate on her.

'To remind me of someone'

She wouldn't care, would she? It's not like I was going to be
kissing her or making love to her if I wasn't here. She'd said be
discreet after all.

'Who would not understand.'

Damn Randy Travis! Or was it George Jones? Who cared which one
it was?

'On one hand I could stay'

Lana. I loved Lana. I had always loved her. I didn't remember a
time when she wasn't in my life. I'd spent more time apart from
her the last two weeks than I had the first nearly nineteen years
of my life. Combined.

'And be your lovin' man'

All I'd ever wanted was to be her lovin' man. There was a reason
I'd planned on asking her to marry me in Paris. And we'd always
said we didn't plan on a long engagement.

'But the reason I must go'

Go? No. I wanted to stay. This was where I belonged. With Lana.
My blonde haired, blue eyed beauty.

'Is on the other hand.'

What was on the other hand? Nothing. Lana. I belong with Lana.

Golden band.

That's what was on the other hand. An image of my dad dancing
with my mom, her hand in his -- in his left hand, with his
wedding band on it -- popped into my head.

And then there was another image.

A brunette, her hair falling forward so I couldn't see the tears
that ran down her face, sliding a gold band on to my finger.

I moved my hands to Lana's face and slowed the feverish pitch of
our kiss. We were in the library. There was a big window looking
into the study room where I'd pulled her.

Where *I'd* pulled *her*.

Not the other way around.

Something I knew I really shouldn't have done.

Even if it was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday when
there was a big game being played on the other side of campus,
anyone could walk by. Even Lois. My wife.

A few more soft, gentle caresses of her lips with mine and then
I held her face still as I moved back.

"I can't," I whispered hoarsely. "I can't do this." I rested my
forehead on hers. "I'm sorry. I never should have pulled you in
here. I can't do this and I can't ask you to."

"You're not asking me to do anything, Clark," she whispered
back. "I'm here with you because I want to be. I love you."

"And I love you, Lana, but I can't. I'm married and no matter
what else, I have a wife. I have a baby on the way and I..." My
voice broke. I wanted to tell her the truth -- that the baby
wasn't mine -- but I couldn't risk it. It was bad enough that I'd
told her the marriage wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "I
can't do this, Baby."

I felt her hands on my chest -- comfortable, comforting hands
that abruptly shoved me away.

"You have a what?" There was fury in her voice.

I looked at her and could see warring emotions in her eyes.
Pain, confusion, hurt, anger. "What?"

"You have a *baby* on the way? Lois is *pregnant*?"

I sighed. How could I have forgotten that I hadn't told her that
part? I lowered my head and closed my eyes again. I ran one hand
through my hair and shoved the other one in the pocket of my
jeans. The hand with the golden band on it. I couldn't see it. I
couldn't look at it and its accusing shine while I talked to Lana
-- who was now, technically, the 'other woman'.

And then I nodded.

"*I'm* the one who's supposed to have your babies." I could
barely hear her.

She was crying. I knew without looking that she was. I knew her
that well. Unlike my wife, who I really barely knew at all.

My wife.

The golden band.

"I can't believe she's pregnant," she said louder, stronger.

"You're the only one I want to have my babies, Lana. You know
that."

Her tone of voice changed to one of pure anger, instead of anger
tinged with hurt and everything else. "We've waited our whole
lives to be together -- literally -- and last week, I begged you
to make love to me -- just once -- before you went back to her;
to a marriage you promised me was a farce -- and you wouldn't
because you're married. I get that. I really do. I don't like it,
but I get it. And now..." Her voice became strangled. "Now I find
out, you've already been with *her*. You've kissed her and
touched her and made love to her and now she's having your baby.
And it had to have been before you got married, because you
haven't been married long enough to know if you'd knocked her up
on your wedding night in some European hotel. So..." It sounded
like something was dawning on her. "You've told me for years that
in your heart, I was your wife. Right?" she demanded.

I nodded, not sure what to say to her, but knowing I deserved
whatever she dished out.

"So you had no problem cheating on me -- who you promised
forever to first -- but you won't cheat on her because... why?
Because you actually have a wedding ring? We said our own vows to
each other when we were sixteen. Remember?"

I remembered. I remembered like it was yesterday. We weren't
foolish enough to believe that there was no chance at all that
we'd break up someday and what we'd said to each other had
reflected that. There was no 'till death do we part', but there
had been a promise to love, cherish, honor and be faithful to.
And now Lana believed I'd broken the promises I'd made her in the
hayloft on my parents' farm.

I could still see her, lying there on one of the quilts Great
Grandma Davis had made knowing she'd never see her grandson marry
my mom. It was our first real make-out session and we realized
how easy it would be to get carried away and neither one of us
was ready for that. Then and there, we'd promised each other that
we'd wait until our wedding night to consummate our relationship
but we'd also promised those other things.

I nodded again, unable to find my voice, to find the words to
tell her how it really was.

"So, your word means nothing. You've already proven that by
sleeping with her in the first place so why her and not me? Why
can you cheat on me with her, but you can't cheat on her with
me?"

"What? That's convoluted, Baby. And it wasn't like that."

Her eyes flashed at me. "Don't you *dare* call me that, Clark
Jerome Davis Kent. I am *not* your baby. Not anymore."

I winced. She didn't just middle name me; she whole named me.
Even Mom didn't 'Davis' me very often. How had I screwed this up
so badly?

Could I just blurt out the truth? No one knew that Lois wasn't
really carrying my child. Except maybe her doctor. Even Sam and
Joe believed that I was the father of Lois' baby.

"It's not my baby." I guessed I could blurt it out.

"What?" The look Lana gave me just then rivaled the worst one
Lois had ever given, and she gave some doozies. "You just said
you're having a baby. Lois, your *wife*, is pregnant, and it's
not your baby?"

Okay, she had a hard time believing it. I guess I could
understand that.

"I can't tell you anymore that that and if you tell anyone, I'll
deny it. I have to. But I swear to you, I never cheated on you.
I've never made love to another woman."

I moved to where she was sitting and squatted down in front of
her. "I promise you," I said. "That's the God's honest truth.
I've *never* cheated on you. Ever. And I can't cheat on her
either. No matter what it is I really want." I tipped her head up
with one finger hooked under her chin. "What I really want is
you, but I can't do this."

The glint caught my eye. That damn band.

"I can't," I told her again. "I love you, but I can't do this. I
can't see you outside of class anymore." My voice broke.

"We can't be friends?"

I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"Because, if we were ever alone in a room without a window, I
don't think I could stop myself from making love to you and I
can't do that," I told her as honestly and simply as possible.

"And you never made love to her? Ever?"

I shook my head. "No. I've never made love to her."

"Not even when the two of you were trapped naked in that
cabin?"

The dream I remembered from that night came flooding back --
dreaming of being in front of the fire with someone who was Lana
but was Lois but wasn't either one. Apparently it took me too
long to shake my head.

"Go." It was barely a whisper.

"What?" I needed to leave. I knew that. She knew that. But that
didn't mean I wanted her to tell me to leave.

"You're right. In our hearts, we made vows to each other, but
it's not the same a piece of paper and rings and up in front of a
church. You can't break them and you won't allow me to help you
break them -- even though I would in a heartbeat right now."

It wasn't the same and we both knew it. I looked her square in
the eyes. "I love you, Lana. I always have. And you should know
that we're telling anyone who needs to know that it was that
night in the cabin, but I swear to you..."

She sighed then nodded. "I know. I love you, too."

I leaned towards her to kiss her one last time -- this time
knowing beyond knowing that it was the last time I would be able
to until I was free again. If I ever was.

She moved away from me. "No. You have to go. Now." Her words
were soft, and I almost didn't catch them even with my enhanced
hearing.

Enhanced hearing. Oh boy. I sure hoped I wasn't about to start
floating in my sleep.

"I love you," I whispered again.

"I know. But you have to go back to your wife before we do
something all of us will regret."

I nodded and stood, turning to walk out the door. Like last
week, I couldn't turn back or I knew I'd never leave.

"I love you, Lana," I whispered and walked out the door, the
sound of her sobs trailing behind.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I sat in one of the chairs at the tiny kitchen table and glared
around the apartment. Apartment? Ha. Once again, I realized this
thing didn't deserve the name. It wasn't much bigger than our
dorm room -- maybe time and a half, but no more and probably a
lot less. The kitchenette certainly didn't deserve the name
either. A full refrigerator. A microwave and two burners.

Not that I cooked, but that wasn't the point.

Could Clark cook?

Yeah, he could. I remembered the meals he'd made when we were
trapped at the cabin. And he'd made a barbecue brisket or
something the weekend before.

We got along pretty well in our dorm room, why couldn't we get
along here?

Because the dynamics had changed. Considerably. We weren't
roommates anymore. We were married. And not by choice.

He'd much rather be with Lana. This afternoon's kiss had proven
that.

And to think, I was actually planning on apologizing to him.

But even as I thought it I knew it wasn't fair. I'd told him he
could still see her, that I'd even understand if he wanted to, so
it wasn't fair of me to be mad at him.

But I was anyway.

I sighed. Dinner was something married couples did together
right? But I was starving. I wasn't going to wait much longer for
him. It was Saturday, for crying out loud. He'd said he'd be back
in a bit when he left this morning, but didn't define what bit
was. It was nearly three hours later when I'd seen them in the
library. And it was four hours after that now. Apparently, 'a
bit' meant more than seven hours to him.

He was probably still with her, I realized again. Once he told
her we had to stay married for five years, they'd probably
decided that waiting to make love wasn't all it was cracked up to
be. And now that they knew what it was all about, they couldn't
keep their hands off each other.

I shuddered. At least they hadn't known while we were all
suitemates. Who knew what I would have walked in on then?

So why was there a huge hole where my heart should be? We'd
gotten married out of desperation, to save me and my baby from a
madman, and we'd fully intended to be well on our way to an
annulment or a divorce or something by now. Once we realized that
wasn't going to happen, I'd asked him to just please be discreet
with Lana.

And except for this afternoon, he apparently was. I knew if
Linda suspected anything, I would have heard about it in a
nanosecond.

So my *husband* was off with the love of his life, making
passionate love to her -- when I'd essentially told him it was
okay as long as I didn't hear about it -- and I was in a crummy
apartment trying to decide which of the dinners Dad had his
service still make for me -- for us -- I wanted to reheat. Was it
a Beef Stroganoff night? Or Spaghetti?

Or maybe I'd just go puke my guts out.

Whoever called it morning sickness was a twisted individual. And
whoever said the first three months were the worst and then it
would get better was sadly mistaken. My hormones had kicked into
overdrive in the last three weeks -- even before I realized why
-- and now, there was little point in eating after about three in
the afternoon.

Maybe I could stand a little bit of that soup I'd had for lunch
from the cafeteria. I opened the mini-fridge and realized that
just the sight of the leftover lasagna was too much and I bolted
towards the bathroom.

Fortunately, there was nothing but a little bit of bile to
actually come up, but dry heaves were certainly no fun.

And then, when I was so ceremoniously draped over the toilet, he
finally decided 'a bit' was up, and Clark walked in the door.

When I was done retching, I wiped the corners of my mouth with a
piece of toilet paper and asked him, "Where have you been?"

*~*34*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

What? She wanted to know where I'd been?

What business of it was hers?

She certainly didn't want to hang out here all day with me;
she'd made that perfectly clear. So I'd left. And now that it was
mid-evening, I was back. Period. End of discussion.

"I was out," I finally told her.

"Gee, Captain Obvious, I couldn't have figured that out by
myself."

It finally hit me that she was still sitting on the floor in
what passed for a bathroom in this place and I realized that she
must be having evening sickness again -- I'd noticed it the two
nights I'd been home before she was asleep earlier this week
too.

"Is there anything I can do?" I finally said.

"Tell me where you've been all day."

I shrugged and set my backpack on the floor on my side of the
bed. "I was out. Studying and stuff."

Her head leaned back against the wall and I heard her mutter,
'and stuff' under her breath. What was that about?

"Fine. I spent most of the day on an iceberg in the Atlantic. Is
that what you want to know?" Yeah. Like she'd believe it. It was
the truth, of course, but she wouldn't buy it.

"Fine. Don't tell me. You don't have to answer to me for your
whereabouts anyway."

I flopped on the bed and didn't say anything. After I'd left
Lana, I flew to the North Atlantic and spent some time melting
icebergs. It took a long time to melt a whole iceberg and I
didn't want another 'Titanic' on my conscience. It was my civic
duty to humanity.

And the tears and the huge empty spot inside me had nothing to
do with it whatsoever.

What I really needed was to talk to my parents. About all of it.
Everything. About how Lois and I got married and how long we'd
have to stay together and how the baby wasn't really mine, but I
couldn't do that. They were going to be disappointed enough when
they found out what had happened, but even if they understood and
supported the decisions that had already been made, they'd never
support or approve of how close I'd come to violating my wedding
vows, no matter why they'd been made.

Of course, I hadn't told them I was married yet either. I hadn't
really talked to them since I left for Europe. Since the very
short conversation with Dad in London, I'd left a few messages,
knowing they were at Aunt Opal's for about ten days and they
should have gotten back... I glanced at the clock. About an hour
ago. I'd told them I was back and fine but that I'd had to move
for reasons I didn't explain and left the new number.

Given that Sunday was usually the day for phone calls, I'd
probably hear from them tomorrow.

I groaned.

Except that Lana usually talked to her mom on Saturday
afternoons. And as soon as they hung up, her mom would call mine
and read her the riot act over what I'd done to her daughter.

Maybe I should just try them again.

The sharp ringing of the phone jolted me.

"I don't suppose you'd mind getting that?" she called from the
bathroom. "If it's for me, tell them I'm trying to decide if I'm
going to puke or not."

I winced. I'd seen lots of different Lois faces since I met her,
but this was the first time I'd really seen cranky, sick,
pregnant, hormonal, throwing up Lois. I didn't think I liked
her.

I doubted she did either.

I rolled towards her side of the bed, where the phone was, and
picked it up.

"Hello?" Maybe I'd get really lucky and it was a crank call or
wrong number.

"Clark Jerome Kent, what the hell were you thinking?"

Nope. That was Dad, all right. And he *never* middle named me.
Only Mom did that. And sometimes Lana. The only good thing was
that he hadn't full named me. This was not good. Not that I'd
expected it to be.

"Now, Jonathan." Good. Mom's voice sounded much more reasonable.
"I'm sure Clark has a perfectly good explanation for why he got
another girl pregnant and married her while dating Lana."

Or maybe not.

I covered my face with my hand -- the one with that band on it
-- and groaned again. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Good to hear from you,
too."

"Clark, why on Earth did we have to hear this from Laura Lang
and could you please tell us what happened?"

Oh, I didn't think Mom had been this mad at me since I was
twelve and set the living room carpet on fire. I sighed. Here
went nothing.

"Lois and I..."

Dad interrupted me. "Your purely platonic roommate Lois?"

"Yeah. Will you let me talk?"

"Jonathan, I'm sure there's a good reason why he's taken leave
of his senses. Now let him explain," Mom said.

I sighed again. "Lois and I ended up in another country while we
were in Europe. How we got there is a very long story I don't
want to get into right now but she didn't have her passport with
her." I ran a hand through my hair. "Lois was sick and ended up
in the hospital and that's when she found out she was pregnant."

"So when are we going to be grandparents?"

Subtle, Mom. Wanting to know the due date so she could do some
mental math and see if I'd been cheating on Lana before or after
we came home for Christmas.

"July something."

"I see." Yep, definitely mental math. I could practically hear
her gesticulating in Dad's direction.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that night at the cabin
would it?" Dad asked. Yep, she'd been gesticulating, all right.

"Probably." Oh, man. Why had I said that? Probably meant there
was more than one possibility. I could see them forgiving one
night of indiscretion when we were both practically out of our
minds with hypothermia. "Yeah. That night at the cabin."
Hopefully, they wouldn't notice my slip.

"Probably?" Leave it to Mom to notice.

"It was the night at the cabin, okay? Trust me on that."

"I don't think your word means much right now, Son," Dad said
quietly. I'd take loud, yelling Dad over quiet Dad any day.

"I know, Dad."

I wished I could tell them the truth. The whole truth. That Lois
wasn't pregnant with my baby. That we'd gotten married to keep
that Latislani creep away from her and get her home. That'd we'd
planned on having it annulled by now. That if we didn't stay
married for five years, he could still come after the baby under
Latislani law and if he suspected this was a marriage of
convenience, he could do the same. And that, while U.S. law might
prevent him from actually taking the baby, it would probably be a
long, drawn out, public court battle and that wouldn't be good
for anyone. But Lois hadn't told her dad or Joe the whole truth
and I didn't see how I could tell my parents without talking to
her about it first. I'd told Lana *way* too much.

"So do we get to meet our new daughter-in-law?" Mom asked.

I winced at her tone. "I don't know when we'll make it to
Smallville, Mom. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it
home for Spring Break after all."

"You're supposed to be giving Lana a ride back, Clark. How is
she supposed to come home if you're not?" Mom had a point.

I hadn't really thought about that. "I'll find a way to get her
there -- if I have to buy her a plane ticket myself. It's not her
fault. None of this is her fault," I said quietly.

"You broke her heart." That was Dad.

"I know. And I can't tell you how much I regret hurting her."

I heard a noise in the bathroom. A gasp and then Lois was
calling my name. And it didn't sound good.

"Mom, Dad. I gotta go. I'll call you later."

Lois called again, more urgently this time.

"We're not done with this, Clark," Dad said firmly.

"I know, but I gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow." I didn't wait
to hear anything else, but hung up and hurried to the bathroom.

Lois looked up at me with tear filled eyes. "It hurts." She had
grabbed her abdomen and was doubled over, grimacing as she did.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it's good." The tears finally
overflowed and made tracks down her face.


"Do you want me to call your doctor?"

She shook her head. "I think I need to go to the hospital.
Something's not right. I know it."

"Okay," I said grimly. I bent down and picked her up easily,
moving her to the bed. "What do you need?" She pointed to her
purse and her keys. Yeah, she'd probably be more comfortable in
her Jeep than my old truck. "Do you mind if I drive your car?"
She shook her head. I looked around for my wallet -- fortunately,
there weren't many places to look and it was in my pocket in an
instant. For a minute, I wished I could just scoop her up and fly
her to the hospital. We'd certainly be there a lot faster. I
shook myself mentally. I handed her the purse and keys and
scooped her back up.

"I can walk," she protested.

"I don't think so," I told her. I walked to the door and she was
aware enough to open it and then close it behind us, locking it
as she did. I carried her down the hall to the elevator where she
pushed the button and we waited.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

I didn't think I'd ever realized how strong Clark was. He picked
me up like I was nothing. I didn't really want to be this close
to him, but I didn't have much choice at the moment. Something
was wrong, I knew it was. But still... I couldn't help but rest
my head on his shoulder. I'd known he was solid, but I actually
almost felt safe again.

The elevator arrived and before I knew it, he was standing me
next to my Jeep, holding one hand out for the keys and keeping
the other arm wrapped around me. Once he opened the door, he
helped me inside, even asking if I needed help with my seatbelt.
I didn't. I could do that myself.

We weren't going too far. The hospital was on campus after all,
but it was still way too far for me to walk.

Ten minutes later we were in front of the emergency doors at the
Ellen Lane Memorial Medical Building. How fitting. Her oldest
daughter, knocked up by an unknown male and now in need of
medical care.

"Don't move," Clark told me. He needn't have worried. He pulled
a wheelchair up next to my door and helped me into it. He left
the Jeep where it was and wheeled me inside. "My wife is pregnant
and something doesn't feel right," he told the two nurses at the
desk.

His wife. That slipped out awfully naturally. Or maybe he'd been
bracing himself for it the whole way here.

One of them looked at me and handed me a clipboard, telling
Clark to go move the car and she'd help me get started. After he
left, she asked me a few questions about what was happening and
reassured me that I'd done the right thing by coming in. It was
always better to be safe, she said.

It was pretty slow in the ER, given that it was a Saturday
night, but I guessed the drunks wouldn't come in until later. As
soon as Clark returned, they took me to the little triage room
behind the desk and asked routine questions and did things like
take my pulse and my temperature and things like that. I tried to
fill out the paperwork while they did that. When they needed my
finger to check my oxygen levels, I thrust the clipboard at
Clark.

It wasn't that I wanted him to fill it out for me; I just didn't
know what else to do with it.

I didn't quite understand the look he gave me, but he started
filling in the forms. The pen hovered as they stuck a thermometer
in my mouth and he skipped over a question or two. Once they were
done weighing me, I was back in the wheelchair and he'd handed
the clipboard back to me.

He hadn't said a word.

At least I'd gotten him out of being yelled at by his parents.
At least that's what I imagined they were doing when I started to
feel weird.

I looked at the form. The first word he'd written jumped out at
me.

Last name: Kent.

Back that train up. We'd never talked about me changing my name.
I'd certainly never filled out any paperwork to do so. Maybe that
was some other obscure Latislanian law I didn't know about.

I closed my eyes as I remembered the conversation at the
airport. Daniel had mentioned that it would probably be a good
idea, but I hadn't done anything about it yet. One more thing on
this week's to do list.

I picked up the pen to fill out some of the rest of the
information -- he didn't know my Social Security Number and
hadn't filled in anything about my next of kin or emergency
contacts. Maybe he wasn't sure if I wanted to put him or my dad.
Or maybe he just didn't get to it.

Quickly I filled it in, then decisively, scratched through Kent
and replaced it with Lane, crossing through the check he'd put by
the 'Mrs.' box and checking the 'Ms.' one instead.

If he noticed, he didn't say anything.

We stopped moving in a small room. The nurse told me to keep my
bra and underwear on and change into a gown that was only
slightly thicker than paper. She also handed me a cup and pointed
me in the direction of the attached bathroom.

Great.

I hadn't kept any fluids down in hours and they wanted me to pee
in a cup. And I wasn't quiet about what I thought about that.

Clark cringed.

Who cared? He wasn't the one dealing with all of this. He was
probably just upset that he couldn't sneak off to see Lana again
tonight.

I managed to get something into the cup and changed clothes,
holding the open back of the gown closed as I made my way to the
bed.

"Okay, Lois, lay on your left side for me," the nurse -- her
name tag identifying her as Angie -- told me.

I nodded and lay down. I'd read that the left side made for
better blood flow to the baby or something. Fortunately, that
also meant my back was to the wall. That was good.

"From the sound of it, you're probably dehydrated and that can
cause cramping."

"Yeah, I read that," I told her.

She smiled at me. "You did the right thing by coming. The doctor
will be in in a few minutes and if he agrees, we'll get an IV and
some meds started for you." She set an emesis tray on the bed.
"Just in case."

Clark was studiously ignoring me, instead focusing on the
exciting pattern of spackle on the wall. Finally, he said
something. "Lois..." And then the doctor walked in.

*~*35*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

Surely I'd get a chance to talk to her in a few minutes, but for
now, I needed to focus on the doctor.

"Ms. Lane," he started.

He kept talking, but I tuned out for a minute. Lane. Well, I
guessed we'd never discussed her changing her name after Daniel
mentioned it. It shouldn't have mattered -- the marriage
shouldn't have lasted this long. And she probably just had not
gotten around to filling out the forms yet so, legally, she was
probably still Lois Lane regardless of what her long term plans
were.

I heard the doctor mention something about IVs and then he left.
I muttered something about being right back and followed him. He
stopped at the counter nearby.

"Doctor?" I asked.

He turned to look at me. "Yes, Mr. Lane?"

I cringed. "Actually, it's Kent -- Clark Kent. Lois hasn't
changed her name since we got married."

"I see. What can I do for you, Mr. Kent?"

I waved vaguely in the direction of Lois' room. "Is she going to
be okay? I mean, really. And the baby?"

He turned more fully towards me. "Has she been eating regularly?
Even if she's been sick in the evening?"

I ran a nervous hand through my hair. "We haven't been married
long and I haven't been home much this week," I said honestly.

He regarded me intently. "Mr. Kent, she's going to need your
help to get through this. She's going to be fine, and so is the
baby, but she hasn't been taking care of herself. I don't know
why the morning or evening or whatever sickness hasn't hit her
until her second trimester, but it's hit with a vengeance now.
You have to make sure she's eating as much as she can. Small
meals are better than big ones -- grazing throughout the day --
and drinking. Water is good if she's keeping food down too, but
when her stomach's upset, some flat ginger ale or Sprite might
help. Gatorade is good, but no caffeine. I've also had women tell
me that chewing grape bubble gum helps sometimes. I'm going to
tell her all of this, too, but you're going to need to make sure
she does what she needs to do."

I nodded.

"This isn't my first rodeo. I don't know what's going on with
the two of you, but she's going to need your help to get through
this, so you need to put aside whatever it is that's bugging you
and be there for your wife and baby. Got it?"

"Yeah," I said quietly, feeling -- probably appropriately --
chastised, and returned to the room. I pulled the chair over
beside the bed and sat down. "Feeling any better?" I finally
asked.

She didn't look at me as she shrugged. "They're getting me some
meds."

I couldn't help but remember another hospital where I'd actually
sat next to her on to her bed.  The standards here were much
higher and I wasn't concerned about her contracting some sort of
communicable disease in a building named after her mom. 

But times were different then.  Even though it had only been a
couple of weeks, things were very different now.
 
Then I'd held her hand and joked with her - trying to lighten
her mood.  It was easy then for her to sink into a depression and
wonder how on earth we were going to get home.  But, here, in the
safety of the good ole United States, things were actually much
more grim.  She couldn't have known it, but if it came right down
to it and there was no other way to get home, I would have flown
us.  I had no idea what the consequences would have been - would
she have looked at me like the freak alien I was? Or would she
have just accepted it as another facet of my personality? 
Fortunately, we didn't have to go that route.
 
Or maybe things would have been better if we had.  Sure, she
might have hated me or even outed me to some secret government
agency, but I didn't think so. But we wouldn't be married now. 
Though, I supposed it was possible that the Latislani creep would
still be after her even over a few thousand miles.  I don't know
how I would have - or could have or even should have -- protected
her then.

Maybe Joe would have actually married her.
 
But instead...  Now she knew she was pregnant and there was a
baby depending on her.  I think, if pushed, she'd say she hadn't
really wanted this baby, but I also think she'd say that she
wanted him or her now.
 
So why couldn't I comfort her and joke with her now?  Take her
mind off things?
 
That was easy.  She wasn't Lana.  And she knew I still loved my
girlfriend.  Ex-girlfriend, I reminded myself.  There was no me
and Lana anymore.  Not now, and somehow I thought not ever. 
There was no way she'd wait five years for me.  And I hadn't
actually said five years to her either.
 
The nurse came in then and interrupted my musings.  She emptied
a syringe of medicine into the tubing that led to Lois' arm.  It
would stop the nausea, she said, but it would probably put her to
sleep too.
 
That might not be such a bad thing.  At least she'd sleep
through the next few hours instead of us sitting here in painful,
awkward silence.
 
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
 
I pretended the medicine put me to sleep long before it actually
did. I didn't know how I was going to survive another six or
seven months of this much less another five years. And with a
baby in the mix.

I knew he didn't want to be here, but couldn't he at least
pretend not to be completely horrified by the idea of spending
the next few years with me? And we were really going to have to
work on the whole 'pretend we're in love in front of others'
thing or *he* would be after the baby -- and me -- faster than
you could say Latislan.

Hot tears stung the back of my eyelids and I willed them to stay
put. I didn't want him to see me cry.

It was all these stupid hormones. I didn't care that he didn't
love me; that he loved Lana. I didn't. I did care that he didn't
even want to be my friend anymore. That's what hurt more than
anything. I'd lost a good friend when I married him.

What could be worse than that?

~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~

It was midafternoon by the time we made it back to the room that
was supposed to pass for an apartment. The nausea had passed, but
the cramping hadn't stopped so they'd kept her for a while to
keep an eye on her.

She'd refused to let me help her out to the car or out of the
car or into the building or anything else. I knew she couldn't
have slept well while we were there -- I sure hadn't -- but I
felt like there was more to the frosty attitude than just that,
but for the life of me I didn't know what it was.

"I'm going to take a nap," she told me as I shut the door behind
us. "I know the medicine knocked me out, but I didn't really get
much sleep and I'm exhausted." As though to emphasize her point,
she yawned.

I nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. You couldn't have been
comfortable with tubes running out of your arm and nurses
checking your pulse every fifteen minutes."

She shook her head. "No, not really."

"Listen, I'll let you get some sleep." I jerked my thumb towards
the door. "I'm not all that tired, so I'll get out of here and
let you have some peace and quiet."

She was heading for the bathroom as I spoke. When I finished she
paused for a second, then continued. "Thanks," she finally said.

"Hey, Lois," I called. She stopped, but didn't look at me. "I'm
glad you and the baby are okay. Really. I am." I may not have
been really happy with things being the way they were, but I
didn't want anything to happen to either one of them.

"Thanks," she said again and she went into the bathroom.

I grabbed my backpack and left. Surely I could find somewhere to
study.

Maybe there was a quiet spot on the Great Wall somewhere.

~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~

Part of me was glad Clark had left. I could sleep in peace.

I could cry in peace.

I managed to keep it together for about ten minutes after he
left. I figured by then he wasn't coming back because he forgot
something. His backpack was gone so he was either going to study
or pretending he was going to study when he was really going to
see Lana.

The tears flowed until the pillow under my cheek was soaked.
While he was gone to get something to eat, Dr. McConnell -- I
couldn't bring myself to call her Kristi -- had stopped by and
listened for the baby's heartbeat. One hand moved protectively to
my stomach. I'd heard the heartbeat for the first time. I'd seen
it at the ultrasound she'd done a couple days after we got back,
but hadn't heard it then because of the problems with the
machine. She'd offered to wait until Clark got back, but I'd told
her it wasn't necessary -- I didn't know how long he'd be gone.
Part of me thought he probably should have been there, after all
he was sacrificing to claim the baby as his - especially after he
seemed slightly upset over the ultrasound thing -- but part of me
also felt that it was something very private to be shared only
with a man I loved someday -- when and if I was carrying his
baby. Clark should have no part of it. Maybe if he'd still been
acting as my friend but...

Something that might have been disappointment had flitted across
his face when he'd arrived just as Dr. McConnell was leaving and
she told him that he'd missed it but she was looking forward to
seeing him in her office at my next appointment. I didn't tell
either of them I'd scheduled it while he was in class.

I curled up further under the comforter -- grateful that the
heater seemed to be functioning properly in this place. It was
getting renovated starting this summer for a reason. I could only
hope it held out long enough. I couldn't deal with another night
like the one at Dad's cabin huddled up against Clark trying to
stay warm. No, I'd pile more blankets before I did that.

I didn't know how long I'd been asleep when the shrill ringing
of the phone woke me up. I reached for it.

"Hello?" I knew I sounded grumpy. I didn't care.

"May I speak with Clark Kent please?" came the voice on the
other end of the phone line.

I glanced around. "He's not home." I feigned politeness. "Can I
take a message?"

"This is Laura Lang. Could you have him call me please? He has
the number."

Great. Lana's mom. And she sounded snippy. Big shock there.
"I'll tell him you called."

"Thank you."

She hung up without saying anything else. Not that I blamed her
necessarily. I certainly didn't want to talk to her anymore. I
was surprised she hadn't given me a piece of her mind. Maybe I'd
caught her off guard when I answered the phone.

It took a while before I could doze off again, but I did. This
time, I knew it hadn't been long before the phone rang again.

"Hello?" I wasn't quite as grumpy this time -- or at least I
didn't sound it. I didn't think.

There was a hesitation on the other end. "Can I speak with Clark
please?"

"He's not in," I told her -- whoever 'her' was. "Can I take a
message?"

"Is this Lois?"

I almost groaned. Who would want to talk to me? "Yes," I finally
said.

"This is Martha Kent, Clark's mom."

I closed my eyes. "Hello, Mrs. Kent." I'd only talked to her
once or twice while Clark and I were roommates.

I could hear the hesitation again. "Please, call me Martha."

"Hi, Martha." I tried it on for size. It sounded okay. Better
than calling *me* Mrs. Kent anyway.

"How are you?"

I pushed myself up until I was sitting against the wall. "I'm
okay. Thank you for asking. Would you like me to tell Clark to
call you?"

I heard a sigh. "Yes, I would. But I'd like to talk to you
too."

Great. My first conversation with my mother-in-law. "Okay."

There was an awkward silence that I finally broke. "I'm not
really sure what to say," I confessed. "I'm sorry..." I couldn't
continue, tears getting in the way of the words. I was sorry for
ruining her son's life. I was sorry for getting us into this
mess. I was sorry that I wasn't the daughter-in-law she'd planned
on having. I was sorry that Clark's heart had broken in the
process. I was sorry that they were disappointed in Clark and I
knew how they must see him now, without knowing the truth about
what happened and I was sorry that he hadn't been able to tell
them everything. But mostly... Mostly I was just sorry.

"No. No need to say you're sorry. What's done is done and we can
move on from here."

"Yes, ma'am."

She continued as though she hadn't heard me. "Jonathan and I
would love to meet you sometime soon, but I don't know when we'll
be able to make it to Metropolis."

"I'd like to meet you, too, but I don't know..." I did want to
meet them. Sort of. But I didn't really want it to be in
Smallville. I didn't want to go there where everyone would look
at me and whisper things like 'that's the girl who seduced our
perfect Clark Kent when he had hypothermia and made him marry
her, not caring that it broke both his heart *and* our beloved
Lana's in the process'. That was how small towns were. Clark had
told me as much and I couldn't do it.

"It won't be easy for you to come here," she said quietly. "I'm
sure Clark's told you how small towns can be."

"Yeah," I said softly.

"If you are able to come here, you can always just stay on the
farm with us -- you wouldn't have to go to town if you didn't
want to. I know it's a long ways to come, but we really would
like a chance to get to know you."

"I don't know. I don't know if we can."

"Well, you are always welcome in our home. I mean that."

"Thank you." I meant it. She was being nice. It sounded like a
strained kind of nice, but nice nonetheless. She could have made
this difficult on all of us.

"You're the mother of our grandchild. You're *always* welcome,"
she reiterated then paused. "Well, maybe Spring Break. I know
Clark was planning on coming home, though last night he said he
wasn't sure."

"I don't know," I said evasively. "I was supposed to go skiing
in Vermont with Daddy, but that's out now. There's no way I'll be
able to ski in March."

"Probably not."

"So, I don't know what my... our plans for Spring Break are. We
haven't talked about it." We haven't talked about much, I added
mentally. Since we got married, we hadn't really talked about
much at all.

"Well, when you do, let us know if you can come. I'm guessing
the two of you are going to stay in Metropolis over the summer,
right?"

I hadn't even thought about that. Clark would have gone to
Smallville if we hadn't gotten married. He would have spent the
summer at home. It only made sense. I sighed. "I guess. My doctor
is here but they're closing this building the week after finals
so I don't know where we're going to go. We haven't figured it
all out yet." That was more honest than she knew.

"Well, then we'll plan a trip to Metropolis -- if it's okay with
you -- for late summer. Probably mid-August or so, before the
fall semester starts so you won't have us in your hair with
school starting. And it'll still give you a few weeks to recover
after having the baby before your in-laws show up."

"Okay."

"I have to get going, but tell Clark that he needs to call us.
We weren't done talking last night. We want to understand, but we
need to hear it from our son."

I closed my eyes. They were mad at him for something else and it
was my fault, too. Maybe telling her would help some. "That was
my fault. I'm sorry he didn't get to finish talking to you, but I
needed him."

"Well, of course you come before us. You're his wife. Was
something wrong?"

"Nothing too big, but I'd started cramping and ended up in the
ER until early this afternoon."

"That's not nothing. Do they know why?"

"Dehydration," I said simply. "I can't keep anything down these
days. I haven't been able to for a few weeks now."

I could hear the frown in her voice. "How far along are you?"
She paused. "If you don't mind my asking."

"This *is* Clark's baby," I said defensively, feeling badly
about lying at the same time. I could see the wheels turning in
her head. If I had only been experiencing nausea and stuff for a
few weeks, then she probably thought I wasn't as far along as I
said I was -- since all this went away by now for most women.

"I'm not saying Clark isn't the father. I'm just curious," she
said calmly.

"Thirteen weeks, but I've only been sick for three or four.
That's part of the reason I didn't know I was pregnant until
then." I was still defensive. "That and I've always been very
irregular. I mean, I've never even really kept track." I put my
head in my hands. I couldn't believe that I'd said that to my
mother-in-law.

"I wonder why it's hitting you so hard in your second trimester
instead of the first," she said contemplatively.

"I don't know," I replied. "But I do know how far along I am.
I've had an ultrasound to confirm it after we got back from
Europe and I heard the heartbeat when my OB stopped by the ER
this morning."

"Lois." Her voice was surprisingly gentle. "You don't have to be
defensive. Every woman reacts to pregnancy differently and every
pregnancy is different. I'm not trying to say that you conned
Clark into thinking this was his baby when he's not really the
father or anything of the kind."

"I..." I didn't know what to say.

"I know that's what you were thinking. That I was trying to find
some way to prove this isn't Clark's baby, but I trust my son.
Even if he's made some poor decisions recently, he's doing his
best to make things right and if you and he say you're carrying
his baby, I have no reason to doubt you." She sighed. "Please
don't take that the way it sounded. I don't mean marrying the
mother of his child was a poor decision. That's not it at all,
but I'm sure the situation with me and Jonathan and Lana could
have been handled better by Clark once the decision to get
married for the sake of the baby was made."

I was closer to tears than I wanted to admit. I was making their
son out to be a cheat and a liar, and he was neither -- unless I
counted that he was still seeing Lana after he told me he wasn't
planning on it, but I'd told him he could so he must have changed
his mind and just not told me about it yet. "I knew what you
meant." And I did. Sort of.

"Now, I'm glad he got off the phone with us. You and the baby
are much more important than any conversation with us. And you're
probably exhausted. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not much," I said honestly.

"Were you sleeping when I called?"

I hesitated. "I was dozing. I had... another phone call earlier
that woke me up."

"It doesn't sound like it was a pleasant call."

She was intuitive. Maybe a trip to Smallville was a bad plan for
a lot of reasons. She'd probably see right through everything. I
shrugged, even knowing she couldn't see it. "It was short."

"Can I ask who it is that called that's upsetting you?"

See. Intuitive. Clark must not have gotten away with anything
growing up. "Lana's mom," I finally told her.

I heard a noise that sounded something like a growl. "I told her
to leave you two alone. She loves Clark, has for years and loved
the idea of Clark and Lana together. But the three of you are
adults now and anything that needs to be worked out needs to be
worked out between the three of you not through parents." She
paused. "If you ever need someone to talk to, we'll be here for
you, but we're not going to fight your battles for any of you."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Clark, on the other hand, was
fighting my battles. That's why we were in this deal.

"Well, Laura has a hard time accepting that this is between you
and Clark and Lana and not her. Don't let her get to you."

"I'll try."

"Well, I'll let you rest some more. You have to take care of
yourself and that grandbaby of mine."

"Yes, ma'am." I heard a key in the lock. "I think Clark's home.
Do you want to talk to him?"

"Not right now. Tell him to call us sometime this week. He knows
our schedule."

"I will."

"Bye, Lois. It was good to talk to you."