Damages

By Folc4evernaday (folc4evernaday@gmail.com)

Rated: PG

Submitted: June 2020

Summary: Set at the end of the episode "The Eyes Have It," what
does Clark say to Lois to explain his absence for three days?

Story Size: 750 words (4Kb as text)

***

An eternity felt like it had flashed by as Lois stared into Clark
Kent's eyes, waiting for an explanation for his disappearance.
She had spent the entire weekend struggling through the trials of
helping Superman with his sudden blindness and coming to terms
with the fact that her best friend had abandoned her for the ADA
that had been throwing herself at him for the last few months.
The news had only amplified her frustration at an already tense
situation, but now she had discovered that story had been
inaccurate, and he had actually stood Mayson up.

So many emotions ran through her, but she couldn't seem to focus
on just one.

Relief.

Anguish.

Elation.

He hadn't abandoned her.

He hadn't pushed her to the side for a short skirt and heels.

But that didn't explain away the fact that he had not been there
this weekend.

His parents hadn't even known where he was.

Where was he?

"Well, what?" Lois shrugged her shoulders as she stared at him
with her arms folded across her chest, awaiting the explanation
that would justify his absence for the last seventy-two hours.

Clark was quiet. His smile still spread across his face as if
that would save him from having to explain his absence for the
length of the entire weekend. "I..." Something flashed across
his face as he grew contemplative and then pointed to the
conference room, "Just hold that thought..."

"Excuse me?" she practically pounced on him as he helped guide
her toward the conference room. A split second later, he had
closed the door behind himself, leaving her practically seething
as she awaited his response. "Oh, my God, it's worse than being
in the mountains with Mayson, isn't it?" Worst-case scenarios
began running through her mind as the wheels began to turn. "Oh,
God, what is it? You've got a gambling problem? No, you've got
a secret family...but no, that doesn't explain your parents not
knowing where you were....Drugs? Gambling? Secretly a crime
boss..."

"What?" Clark practically choked out in laughter.

"It's happened before." Lois shrugged her shoulders, stealing
a glance at him from the corner of her eyes.

"No, Lois, it's nothing like that." Clark let out a heavy
sigh.

"Then, what is it?" Lois asked. "Where were you?"

"I..." he looked down for a moment and let out a heavy sigh and
then met her gaze. "I took a few days to help out a friend."

"A friend?" Lois echoed, clinging onto the words with a scowl.
"A better friend than me or Superman who really needed you, by
the way?"

"I didn't realize either of you were in trouble; otherwise,
I'd have come back." He grew quiet. "This friend was going
through something."

"And you didn't tell your parents?" she cocked an eyebrow at
him in surprise.

"It was a last-minute thing," he answered nonchalantly.

She still wasn't sure if she believed him, but the explanation
could be plausible, and it was much better than her worst-case
scenarios. "You agreed to go to the mountains with Mayson." She
accused quietly.

"I never agreed to anything of the sort," Clark corrected,
stepping closer.

"Then why did she...?" She pointed toward the newsroom.

"It was a miscommunication." Clark cut in before she could
finish asking her question. "That's all." His gaze met hers as
he moved closer. "I'm not really interested in Mayson like
that."

"Oh," Lois bit her lower lip, wondering just what he meant by
that. She felt an unbelievable wave of relief wash over her as
she stared into his dark eyes, wondering just when she had become
so invested in the company her partner kept. For a moment, she
questioned whether there was something more to the look he was
giving her, but just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
"Well, I hope your friend is okay."

"She's fine," he responded with a smile.

"She?" her eyes widened as Clark turned to leave.

He pointed to the newsroom behind him, "I've got to go ...uh,
return a, um cat. We'll catch up later."

"But..." her eyes narrowed as she stared at the closed door,
harrumphing at the wood frame as she watched Clark disappear
toward the stairwell. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head,
"Return a cat?"

THE END