Krazyworld
by Molly <MPSL27@aol.com
Rated PG
Submitted February 1999

[Author's Note: This is just a piece of fluff...a long piece of
fluff...that I wrote because I wanted to write something where Lois and
Clark just have fun together.  This story takes place in the early second
season, probably right after "Operation: Blackout".  Lois and Clark are
still just friends, but Clark would like to be more, and Lois doesn't know
what she wants!  Thanks to Jenn, for making me finish this.  Hope you enjoy
it!]

* * * *

 "Lois, I was wondering--"

 "Yes?" Lois said, shuffling through a stack of papers.  Only when
Clark didn't answer right away did she glance up at him.  "Did you want
something?"

 "Yes, actually," Clark said nervously.  This wasn't going to be
easy.  He adjusted his tie a few times, and prayed he didn't have any food
stuck in his teeth.

 "Clark, if you've got something to say, say it," Lois said,
sounding impatient.

 "Okay.  Lois--I was wondering.  Um, do you want to go to a movie
with me?"

 Her eyebrows shot up.  "Sure," she said, trying to hide a smile, as
she quickly turned back to the papers she was sorting.  She hoped Clark
wouldn't notice the smile.

 "You do?" Clark could hardly believe it.

 She turned back to him, the smile suppressed, and tried to act
cool.  "Sure, Clark.  You and I are friends.  We're allowed to go to the
Cineplex every once in awhile.  Well, as long as you're paying," she added,
jokingly.

 "Okay," Clark agreed.  "But, Lois--I wasn't.  I mean, I didn't
really want us to go as--as friends.  I was kind of hoping this could be
like, like more of a date."

 "Clark, you're beginning to stutter," Lois said.

 "Sorry!"

 "No, it's okay!" Lois assured him.  She had to feel sorry for
Clark--the poor guy was obviously becoming something of a major wreck.
"Now, Clark, listen to me.  I'd love to go to the movies with you.  And if
you want to go as 'more than friends', that's okay, too.  But this is not a
date."

 "Well...what's the difference?" Clark was confused.

 "When two people go to the movies as 'just friends', they go to an
action movie.  When two people go as 'more than friends', they go to a
romantic comedy."

 Clark nodded.  "Go on."

 Lois continued.  "And when two people go to the movies on a date,
it really doesn't matter what they see, because they only care about one
thing and one thing only: making out in the back of the theater."  Lois
smiled, proud of her movie-viewer analysis.

 "That's very insightful, Lois," Clark said.

 "Thank you, Clark. So, when are we going to the movies as 'more
than friends'?"

 "How about tomorrow night?" Clark suggested.

 "Fine," she said, smiling.  "Now we'd better get back to work
before Perry explodes.  Not that it wouldn't be fun to watch, but think of
the mess!  It wouldn't be pretty."

 "Okay," Clark grinned, and high-tailed it back to his desk, just
seconds before Perry bellowed: "Lane!  Kent!  In my office!  Now!"

 "Uh-oh, we're in trouble," Clark muttered.  He snuck a glance at
Lois, who didn't look at all worried about the possible wrath that Perry
had in store for them.

 "Sit down," Perry ordered, and Clark and Lois sat.

 "What's this about, Perry?" Lois asked eagerly.  "Is there a
scandal?  A murder?  I need a good story," she added.

 Perry shook his head.  "I have something even better."

 "Ooooh, what is it?"

 "Some time off."

 Lois just sat there.  "You wanna run that by me again?"

 "Lois, you two have been through it all, lately.  Lois, you've
nearly drowned. You were kidnapped.  There have been bombs going off, and
villains seeking revenge...it's a miracle you two aren't playin' for the
Angels by now!"

 "Perry, I'm always getting kidnapped," Lois whined.  "It's no big
deal, it goes with the job description."

 "Lois, I just don't want you two to get burned out.  Now, I'm
giving you both *at least* a week off.  If you need it, you can have two
weeks.  What do you say, Clark?"

 "I say, 'great'!" Clark said.

 Lois glared at him, then turned back to Perry.  "Chief..."

 "Now please don't 'Chief' me, Lois!  Just go home, and relax.  I'll
see you back here soon enough."

 "But--"

 "Lois, do I need to remind you who's in charge around here?"

 Lois frowned.  "No.  But you haven't heard the last of me!" she
said, before turning and stomping out of Perry's office.

 Clark stared after her.  "Thanks, Chief," he said to Perry.  "Really."

 "No problemo," Perry said.  "Oh, by the way, on your way out, would
you tell Jimmy I need some jelly doughnuts?"

 "Sure, Chief."

 * * *

 "This is ridiculous!" Lois informed Clark as they left the Daily
Planet building.  "TAXI!" she yelled.

 "Lois, you do realize that most people in your position would be
thrilled to be getting some paid vacation?"

 "I'm happy, Clark.  Really," Lois said, not sounding at all convincing.

 "Are you sure?"

 "Totally.  This will be a fascinating week for me.  I can do my
taxes.  I can work on my tan--well, except that it's November.  I can call
my mother.  TAXI!"

 "I have a better idea," Clark said, sounding hesitant but hopeful.

 "And that would be?  Where are all the taxis?  This is Metropolis,
there's supposed to be at least one cab in sight at all times.  Metro
cabbies are so unreliable, I swear..."

 "Why don't we do something?" Clark suggested.  "As friends," he
added quickly.  "We could...take a trip."

 "A trip?!" Her eyebrows nearly shot right off her forehead.
"Clark!  You...and me?"

 "Sure, why not?  We could stay in separate hotel rooms, of course."

 She gave him a strange look, then turned away from him to consider
this.  The perplexed and thoughtful look slowly seeped off her face, and
she smiled.  "Okay."

 "Okay?!" Clark cried.

 She laughed.  "Yes!  We only live once, and Perry's right.  We
won't be around forever, not with evil villains on the loose, ready to
pounce."

 Clark rolled his eyes.

 "So," she continued.  "Where should we go?"

 "Go?"

 "You said you wanted to take a trip.  Now the question is...where?"

 "Why don't we go to Krazyworld?" Clark joked.

 "Perfect!"

 "Wha--perfect!?  Lois, I was kidding."

 "Why not?  I've always wanted to go there."

 "You have?" Clark asked incredulously.  "Boy, I learn something new
about you every day."

 She smiled sweetly at him.  "I still have *some* secrets," she
informed him.

 "Really."

 "Yes.  Really.  So it's settled then?"

 Clark just stared at her.

 She raised her eyebrow at him.  "All right, I'll call the travel
agent first thing in the morning.  This is going to be great, Clark."  She
patted him on the back.  "We'll have fun."

 * * *

 "Lois, are you *sure* you need four suitcases?"

 It was two days after Perry had given his two star reporters some
time off, and Clark had just arrived at Lois's apartment.  They were going
to take a cab from there to the airport.

 Clark set one suitcase and a small duffel bag on the floor of
Lois's living room.

 "Yes, I need four suitcases," Lois answered.   "One for clothes,
one for shoes and socks, one for hair accessories and make-up, and one for
everything else: my camera, a notebook, some reading material, some Double
Fudge Crunch Bars...wait a minute.  Did I just say that out loud?"

 "Yes you did.  Do you have the tickets?"

 "Yes!" Lois said happily.  "At least I didn't lose those in all
this mess.  Here," she said, handing them to Clark.  "They'll be safer with
you.  I've had a heck of a morning, Clark.  You wouldn't believe how many
vases I've broken."

 "Vases?"

 "Oh, you know, one thing always leads to another.  When I started
packing, I realized I didn't have nearly enough sun block.  After all, we
are going to Florida, and even in November, I think we're going to need sun
block.  Anyway, I figured I could just run to the store for some.  So I
did.  But when I got back, I realized I also needed toothpaste.  So instead
of just charging back to the store, I decided to just start a list.  That
way, I could write down everything I need and just go shopping at once.  A
list is an amazing idea, Clark, someone should have thought of doing that
sooner.  Anyway, so then I got home and tripped over an open suitcase and
broke the lavender vase, so adios lavender vase, and *then* when I was
digging through my closet, looking for my flowered sundress, I saw what
looked like an arm.  An *arm*, Clark.  I was so scared, I backed up really
fast, bumped into my night table, and knocked the clear vase off.  So, as
you can see, I've had quite a morning."

 "Breathe, Lois!" Clark begged.  "Now what were you saying about an
*arm*?"

 "Oh, it turned out to be the hose to the vacuum cleaner."

 "Those things can be deadly," he said.

 She rolled her eyes.  "Come on, let's get going.  The plane leaves
in two hours."  She paused.  "Two hours?  Aren't we being just a little bit
*too* prepared?"

 "You can never be too early for a flight, Lois."

 "Ah, ancient Smallville wisdom rears it's head.  Thank you, Clark."

 "Anytime," he said, picking up two of her suitcases.  "Lois?"

 "What?"

 "We are *never* going to get all of these suitcases downstairs."

 Twenty minutes later, after quite a bit of consolidating and
leaving behind useless items ("An electric blanket?  Lois, I think the
hotel will be providing blankets."), Lois and Clark were lugging two
suitcases apiece.  Lois's purse was over her shoulder and Clark was
struggling with his duffel bag.  Down the elevator, out the front door of
the building, and out onto the sidewalk they went.

 They had a much easier time snagging a cab that day, and made it to
the airport with plenty of time to spare before their flight.

 "I'm so excited, Clark," Lois said, as they were waiting to board
their plane.

 Clark smiled.  He was more than excited, but he wasn't going to
admit that.  Spending any time with Lois, even at work, was completely
thrilling to him.  Now they'd be vacationing together.  Sitting next to
each other on the plane.  Staying in adjacent hotel rooms.

 Could life get any better than this, he wondered?

 Their flight was announced, and Lois and Clark boarded the plane
with only the light load of their carry-ons (those pesky suitcases had been
sent to the baggage department).  Lois was elated to discover she had a
window seat, and she made herself comfortable right away.

 "Oh, look, Clark!  Look at all these magazines!" Lois exclaimed,
poking through the little pouch on the back of the seat in front of her.
"The Wall Street Journal, Hamburger Helper Monthly, The Fisherman's Guide
to Quilting..."  She looked troubled.  "Why on Earth would anyone want to
read that?" she wondered.  "Oh and look," Lois said, trying hard not to
laugh.  "The ever-handy air sickness bag.  I've never, ever seen anyone use
one of these things," she informed Clark.

 "Believe me," Clark said, taking the barf bag from Lois and burying
it behind the magazines.  "That's not something you ever would *want* to
see."

 Lois shrugged.

 When the fasten-your-seatbelts sign light turned off, Lois
unbuckled her seatbelt and stretched her arms.  "I'm thirsty," she
announced.

 "The beverage carts will be coming by shortly," said a tall, bony
flight attendant, who was passing by and had happened to overhear Lois's
comment.

 "Thanks," Lois said, rolling her eyes when the flight attendant had
left.  Clark saw that and grinned.  "You know, Clark, this feels like a
dream."

 A dream come true, Clark thought.  But all he said was, "It does?"

 "Yes.  I've never been the kind of person to do this--I mean, just
*decide* to go on a trip like this."

 "I thought you went to the Bermuda Triangle in September," Clark said.

 "No, that never worked out.  It's a long story," she added with a
sigh.  "The last time I took a vacation was a little over a year ago.  I
went on this Daily Planet ski trip, and I ended up breaking my ankle.  What
a nightmare!  Before that?  The last time I took a vacation was when I was
in college.  You?"

 Clark let out a deep breath.  "I don't even remember," he said.
"Before I came to the Planet, I traveled the world, but I wouldn't exactly
call that a 'vacation'.  Sure, I got to see the world, but I was working on
stories for various newspapers the entire time."

 "The 'Borneo Gazette'," Lois remembered, chuckling.

 "Yeah." He grinned.

 She looked at him strangely.  "Are you okay?"

 "Yeah, I just can't...seem to get comfortable," Clark said,
changing positions in his seat.  "I guess I'm not used to flying," he said,
not really aware of what he was saying.

 "It's not for everyone," Lois said.

 What's not for everyone?  Clark wondered.  Being so in love with
someone, that you can't even sit still because every bone in your body
wants you to get up and scream with joy because the woman you love is
actually sitting next to you on a plane, something you never thought would
happen, and you can't even get up the nerve to tell her how you really
feel?

 "I guess not," was all he said, and was relieved when the beverage
cart came rolling by.  He ordered coffee.  Black.  But what I really need,
he thought, is a good smack upside the head.  Lois ordered cream soda.
Clark swore to remember that she loved cream soda.  Someday, maybe, there
would be a reason for her to come over to his apartment.  Some reason other
than "there's a madman out to get me!"  And she would be thirsty, and he
would offer her cream soda, cold from his refrigerator, and she would say
"thanks, Clark.  It was really sweet of you to remember that I liked cream
soda."  And he would smile and say, "That's what friends are for..."  And
then she'd...

 "Clark?"

 "Wha-huh?"

 "If you're not going to finish that coffee, could I have it?"

 He handed her the coffee.  "It's all yours," he said.

 She took the cup and sniffed it.  He watched her, amused.  "Clark,
what's with the black coffee?" she asked.  "If I know you, you're more of a
gimme-all-the-cream-and-sugar-you've-got coffee drinker."

 "People change, Lois," he said, the whole time thinking to
himself--she knows what kind of coffee I like!  And at the same time,
wondering why the heck he had ordered black coffee, since airline coffee
tended to taste like cardboard, anyway, and besides--he hated regular
coffee.

 "Yes, people change," she echoed, sipping the coffee.

 The in-flight movie started just then, and Lois and Clark rented
headphones.  Lois eyed her headphones carefully before putting them on.  "I
hate these things," she confided in Clark.  "You never know where they've
been.  Think of all the ears that have touched these.  All those ears..."

 "Well, you really should only worry about the ears of the person
that touched the headphones the last," Clark said.  "Here, put yours on."

 She did.  He did the same.

 "Now switch," Clark said.  He removed his headphones and handed
them to Lois, and she removed her headphones and handed them to Clark.
They put on their new sets of headphones.

 "Still worried about the last pair of ears that touched your
headphones?" Clark asked.

 "Not anymore."  She smiled.  "You?"

 "Not in the least," he said, and they settled back to watch the movie.

 * * *

 "Oh, Clark, this is beautiful!" Lois exclaimed, dropping her
suitcases in the doorway of her hotel room.  "And your room is right next
door!" she said.  "There's even a door that joins the two rooms.  Quick, go
into your room and unlock your side of the adjacent door!  Neighbor," she
added, playfully.

 Clark opened the main door to his room and stepped inside.  His
room was identical to Lois's, except the furniture was set up a little
differently.  But both rooms had a queen size bed, a desk with a chair, a
sofa, and a bathroom.  Not to mention a sliding door that opened onto a
small balcony that overlooked the resort.

 Clark dropped his luggage and unlocked the door that led to Lois's
room.  She was waiting for him, and as soon as he opened the door, he was
met with a grinning Lois.

 "You won't believe this!" Lois said, taking Clark's hand and
pulling him into her bedroom.  "Look at all these souvenirs.  Soap,
shampoo, and a shower cap in the bathrooms...stationery and pens in the
desk...and a phone so we can order room service!" she cried.

 "This is great, Lois," Clark said.  "I know what you mean, about
what you said earlier. I can't believe we're really here!"

 She smiled at him, as if they shared a special secret only they
understood, and then turned toward the sliding glass doors.  "Come on,
let's see the view," she said.

 Clark followed her out onto the balcony, and they couldn't help but
gasp at the sight before them.  Sprawled out over miles and miles was the
most beautiful landscape imaginable.  Water parks, a golf course,
hotels...and, of course, Krazyworld itself.  "That's it," Lois said.
"Let's unpack later, we're wasting time here--let's get out there and start
having fun!"

 "You don't have to tell me twice," Clark said, running into his
room to change.

 Five minutes later, they met in the hallway outside their bedrooms.
Both Lois and Clark had changed into more comfortable outfits that were
suitable for the warm Florida weather.  Instead of a purse, Lois had
everything she needed in a little waist pouch.  Clark, being a guy, had
everything he needed in his pants pockets.  Lois just had to tease him
about that.

 They took the elevator to the hotel lobby, walked past the
elaborate fountains, and out the front entryway.  From there, they boarded
a tram that would take them to a dock, where they would board a boat that
would take them to Hippo Island, which was supposed to be a lot of fun.

 Hippo Island was crowded.  Screaming kids swarmed about, being
chased by frazzled-looking parents.  Elderly couples walked along, hand in
hand, lost in themselves, as if nothing else in the entire world mattered
but them.  Babies slept in strollers.  Kids begged for ice-cream.  Teenagers
ran to get in line for the wildest rollercoaster of them all: The Terrifier.
And in the midst of it all, Lois and Clark were having a blast.

 By the time the fireworks had been shot into the air and the neon
glowsticks the little kids were buying so they could twirl them in the air
were not even entertaining those kids anymore, Lois and Clark decided it
was time to call it a night.  And so they went back to the hotel and
consecutively collapsed in their own beds, and didn't wake up until seven
a.m. the next morning, when they woke up, ready to start what they hoped
would be a memorable day.

 Lois was never one to be overly concerned about her appearance.
When dressing for work, she usually wanted to look good, or, at least,
professional, but the last thing she expected was to be concerned about her
appearance while on a vacation at Krazyworld.  Yet, here she was, trying to
decide what sundress she thought Clark would like.  And at the same time,
she wondered when Clark's opinion of her had become so important.  Deep
down, she knew that no matter what she wore, Clark would tell her she
looked great.  So she threw on her dark grey Union Bay shorts and a white
T-shirt with a big yellow smiley face, and prayed that Clark wouldn't think
she looked like a freak.

 He didn't, of course.  He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and he
looked...amazing.  In fact, he looked more amazing then she had ever seen
him.

"You look good," she told him, meaning it as a friendly compliment
and not as a...well, whatever would make him think she had a thang for him
or something.  Because she didn't.  They were just friends.  Weren't they?

 Clark grinned.  "So do you."

 His smile, she thought, was also amazing.  "Thanks.  So, where to
first?"

 "How about breakfast?" Clark suggested.

 "Breakfast it is," she declared.  They found a great little
restaurant on the lower level of the hotel, that claimed to serve
"world-class, state-of-the-art, fabulous, mouth-watering pancakes."  After
breakfast, Lois and Clark sort of walked aimlessly outside the hotel,
admiring the many fountains, swimming pools, and the shrubs that had been
trimmed to be shaped like animals.

 It was a little after nine a.m., now, and the warm autumn sun was
starting to blaze down on them.  Clark, of course, wasn't bothered by this,
and Lois was grateful she had slathered plenty of sun lotion on before
leaving the hotel.

 "Why don't we go to one of the water parks today?" Clark said.
"It's a great day, and I'm guessing it's only going to get hotter."

 "Great idea," she said.

 A short while later, Lois and Clark were showing their passes at
the entrance of the water park.  They changed into their swimsuits in the
dressing rooms, stashed their stuff in a mini-locker, and prepared to get
cooled off.

 "I've never been to a water park before," Clark admitted.

 "Really?  Don't they have water parks in Smallville?" Lois teased.

 He shook his head.  "One of the few disadvantages to living in
Smallville," he said, "is that we don't have three things: professional
sports teams, huge shopping malls, or water parks."

 "Well, then I have something to tell you, too," Lois said.  "I've
never been to one either."

 "Really!?"

 "Really."

 "So this is a new experience," Clark said.

 "Yep.  Now, I'm dying to check out this wave pool everyone at the
hotel restaurant was raving about."

 Since it was still early in the day, the wave pool wasn't extremely
crowded, and Lois and Clark were able to easily make their way to
waist-level water.  Lois looked around.  "I don't get it...I thought there
were supposed to be waves.  Where are the waves?"

 "Just wait!" a man next to her said.  "The waves should come on in
a few minutes...and when they do, the waves will probably go over your
heads...this is the deep end.  If you want to brave the deep end, you
should get one of *these*," the man said, proudly showing off his blue air
mattress.

 "I'm a good swimmer," Lois informed the man.

 The man just laughed.  "Yeah right, and I'm John Travolta.  You
land lovers don't stand a chance."

 A few minutes later, music started blaring through the speakers,
and the water started to ripple.

 Clark smiled at Lois.  "Here come the waves!" he said.  "Are you
sure we're not in too deep?" he asked, sounding just a little bit worried.

 At first, the waves just came up to the middle of Lois's stomach,
but in no time, they were getting bigger and bigger.  They WEREN'T waves
like at the beach, the kind that break and make a white foam.  They were
just like very big ripples...and they were getting bigger by the second.
Each time a ripple went by, everyone in the wave pool would be bounced in
the air, and then let back down when the ripple went by.

 Mr. Air Mattress Man was standing on his air mattress and trying to
run over poor, defenseless swimmers.  "Swimmers suck!" he shouted.
"Wa-hoo!"

 Mr. Air Mattress Man was having the time of his life, but Lois was
starting to feel seasick.  "Clark, let's go to the water slides now," she
called.  "Clark?"  Another ripple went past, and she turned to look for
Clark, but he was nowhere in sight.  "Clark!?" she yelled.

 The music coming through the speakers was deafening, and another
ripple went by, this time bigger than the last...oooh, she didn't feel
good.  "Clark!" she called again as she was propelled in the air and just
as suddenly, dropped again.

 Mr. Air Mattress paddled in front of Lois and prepared to ride the
next wave.  As the ripple came up, Air Mattress Man flew right up in the
air, and came down...right on top of Lois.

 Lois was shoved under water.  Frantically, she tried to push the
air mattress off of her, but she didn't count on this claustrophobic feeling
she was getting.  She was holding her breath, but the ripples kept coming,
and just as she was sure she was going to suffer death by an air mattress,
someone grabbed her hand and pulled her to the surface.

 Lois gasped for air.  "Clark!" she cried, when she saw who had
rescued her.  "Thanks," she added, gratefully.  "That stupid guy on the air
mattress had me pinned under water--where'd he go?" she asked.  She saw Air
Mattress Man poke his head out of the water.

 "Hey, where'd my air mattress go?" he yelled, but the mattress was
nowhere in sight.  "Hey, that thing cost me six bucks!" the man yelled,
sounding very ticked off.

 Clark guided Lois to the shallow end of the wave pool, and they
stepped out of the pool. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

 "Sure, I'm fine, thanks to you," she said.  "I wonder what happened
to his air mattress, anyway?" she wondered.

 Clark just shrugged, but as they passed a garbage can, he tossed
something small and blue into it.  Lois didn't notice.

 * * *

 Back at the hotel, Lois was lying on her newly-made bed and
talking--loud enough for Clark, who was in the next room, changing his
clothes, to hear.  Naturally, he could have heard her, even if she was
whispering in the middle of a crowded room, but she didn't know that, and
he wasn't about to tell her.

 "The water slides were fun," Lois said.  "Except for that one.  I
swear, Clark, the guy at the top of the slide told me it was all clear to
go down.  How was I supposed to know there were two girls still in the
slide?  I didn't mean to run into them!  When we got to the bottom of the
slide and landed in the pool, I apologized a million times, but they looked
like they wanted to kill me.  But I swear--it wasn't my fault!"

 Clark came into the room and sat on the bed.  "I know it
wasn't...but it was funny," he said, narrowly avoiding a pillow Lois
decided to throw at his head.

 "Promise me...no more water parks?" Lois begged.

 "It's a deal," Clark said, laughing.

 "All I want to do, for the rest of the day, is just relax," Lois
said.  "But if you want to go into Krazyworld, don't let me stop you."

 "Are you saying you want some time alone?" Clark asked, not sure
what, exactly, she wanted.

 "No..." she said.  "Unless you do."

 Clark paused.  "What??"

 Lois tossed another pillow at him.  "I know this vacation was just
supposed to be for us, as friends, to take together.  But we don't *have*
to be together all the time.  I mean, we have separate hotel rooms.  And
it's perfectly fine if we do things separately.  So...do you?"

 "Do I...what?"

 "Do you want to do things separately?"

 "Not really," Clark said.  "Unless you do...I mean, I don't want
you to get sick of me," he said playfully.

 "Clark, we're partners.  We work together, day in and day out.  If
I was going to get sick of you, it would have happened a long time ago."

 "Good point," Clark said.

 "What about you?

 Clark raised his eyebrow.  "Uh...you lost me."

 "Are you sick of me?" she wondered.

 "I could never be sick of you Lois," he said sincerely.

 "That's so sweet!" she exclaimed.  "So if I'm not sick of you, and
you're not sick of me, do you think we can stand each other long enough to
go out to dinner tonight?"

 "I think that can be arranged," Clark said.

 "Good," she said, a slow smile spreading across her face.

 "What are you thinking about?" Clark asked.

 "I'm just picturing the look on Perry's face, when we get home and
he asks how we spent our vacations.  Do you think he'll die of shock when
we tell him we spent our vacations together?"

 "I think you can bet on him needing some serious CPR," Clark said.

 * * *

 The next day, Lois had big plans.  She and Clark were up early
again, and they were going to spend the entire day at Krazyworld.  The
travel agent had given Lois a mini-book, "The Idiot's Guide To Krazyworld",
which listed all the best restaurants and attractions, and in which order
they should visit them.  The book had been recycled, back in Metropolis.

 And so they were pamphlet-less and adventurous--two thrill-seekers
in the big land of Krazyworld.

 The weather had changed a bit since the day before, and now it was
cool with a chance of light rain in the late afternoon.  Clark was wearing
a pair of dark jeans, a blue T-shirt, and a flannel shirt.  Lois had on a
flattering white T-shirt, jeans, and a sweatshirt with its arms tied around
her waist.  They took the tram to Krazyworld, showed their passes at the
gate, and entered the park.

 "Where to first?" Clark asked, surveying the scene.

 "Let's play it by ear," Lois suggested.  Clark nodded in agreement.

 They sauntered down Sunny Lane, and as they did, they could smell a
million different things--lemon cakes and doughnuts from the bakery, spun
sugar and chocolate from the confectionery, ice-cream from the ice-cream
parlor...

 Clark glanced at Lois.  She looked like she was in Heaven, amongst
the chocolatey aromas.  Just being near her was better than having all the
chocolate in the world, and it felt great.  On an impulse, he took her hand
in his.  And amazingly enough, she didn't pull her hand away.

 They went across a little wooden bridge, over a sparkling blue
pond.  On the other side of the bridge was a fancy entryway.  "Come on,"
Lois said.  "I think the rides are this way.  Did I ever mention I love
rollercoasters?" She grinned.

 "I sort of thought you would," Clark said, smiling back at her as
they went through the entryway and got in line for Bazoo Bear's Thunder
Adventure.  They had to wait in line for almost a half an hour, but soon
they were being seated and strapped into little cars.  And then the ride
began.

 A few minutes later, Lois and Clark emerged from the ride.

 "What'd you think?" Clark asked.

 "It was totally lame," Lois replied, matter-of-factly.  "I'm more
of a speed-em-up, ride-em-cowgirl type of girl.  That ride?  That was a
let's-go-through-a-dark-tunnel-and-around-the-corner ride.  My grandmother
wouldn't be scared of that ride, and she's eighty-eight."

 Clark laughed.  "You're right.  But are you sure you want to go on
a roller-coaster?  I mean, we just ate breakfast."

 "Clark," Lois said.  "My stomach can handle anything.  Trust me!
Now, I hear one of the best roller-coasters here is The Exterminator.  And
my gut instinct tells me it's...that way."

 Sure enough, they reached the Exterminator, waited in line for
awhile, and got on the ride.  "This is going to be a blast," Lois told
Clark as their little coaster car started to move into the darkness.
Suddenly, they were propelled through the air, blasted into hyperspace,
spun around, dropped, tilted, shot forward, dipped, skyrocketed, and shot
like a cannon.  The ride was over so fast, Lois barely had time to scream.

 As she stepped onto the ground, she felt a little unsteady.  Clark
grabbed her arm and helped her over to a park bench.  "Are you okay?" he
asked.

 "I'll be...fine," she said, as she watched the people walking in
front of them do somersaults and other acrobatical things, before coming to
a general standstill...and yet, keep walking.  She managed a small laugh.
"You seem to be asking me that a lot, lately.  Am I all right?  Am I okay?
You remind me of someone..."

 "I do?"

 "Yes, but I'll be fine.  Let's just try a tamer ride, okay?"

 "Want to go on Bazoo Bear's Thunder Adventure again?" Clark teased.

 Lois, who didn't have a pillow to thwap Clark with this time (and
besides, her arms didn't feel like moving, let alone thwapping) suggested
they just walk around some more.  They wound up in a cheesy souvenir shop,
where Clark dragged Lois into a photo booth, where you could get your
pictures taken in a tacky Bazoo Bear frame.

 Then they went on the bumper boats, where Lois managed to plow into
Clark's boat several times (he was very good-natured about it, she
noticed), before getting bumped into, herself, by someone who looked very
familiar...

 It was Mr. Air Mattress Man, from yesterday!  And as he recognized
Lois and Clark, an evil grin cross his face as he planned his attack.

 Lois quickly steered her boat out of the maniac's path, and sped
ahead, but Mattress Man was closing in on her.  Clark saw what was
happening, and manoeuvred his boat in between Lois and Mattress Man.

 CRASH!  Mattress Man's boat slammed into Clark's boat.  This gave
Lois a chance to get away.  Clark moved his boat away from Mattress
Man, but Mattress Man followed Clark, yelling "You're gonna get it!".
However, Mattress Man was no match for Clark, who had lightening-fast
reflexes and managed to lose the guy in no time.  Except, now, Clark had
lost track of Lois, too.

 He finally spotted her across the pond, frantically trying to get
away from a kid in a yellow bumper boat.  The kid, who looked to be about
thirteen years old, had somehow managed to lock Lois in a corner, leaving
her no escape route.

 Clark sped his boat up and headed toward the boy at full speed.  As
he approached the boy's boat, Clark saw Lois point to him.  The boy turned
to see where Lois was pointing, and when the boy saw Clark heading toward
him, his eyes got very wide and he sped off.  Clark managed to slow his
boat down, and avoided hitting Lois's boat.

 "Thanks," Lois said, gratefully, just as a buzzer sounded, alerting
all boats to return to the dock: their ride was over.  "I swear, some
people can be so rude!"

 As they got out of their boats and stepped onto the dock, Lois
pointed to something. "Hey, look!"

 Clark looked.  Mattress Man and Bumper Boy were joining up with two
girls--the same two girls Lois had nearly killed (by accident) in the water
slide the day before!

 Lois and Clark looked at each other.  "Small world," they said in
unison.

 "Scary," Clark added.  He smiled at Lois, and they took each
other's hands as they walked off to find a place to eat lunch.

 * * *

 Lois and Clark ate dinner at a cutesie kiddie place in Krazyworld.
Bazoo Bear and Rickley Rabbit served them dinner.  It was all Lois could do
not to start cracking up, right as Bazoo was serving her a Chinese Chicken
Salad with extra tomato.

 After Bazoo left, Lois said, "Have you ever thought about who is
inside those costumes?"

 Clark pretended to look shocked.  "Costumes?  Lois, do you mean to
tell me that isn't *really* Bazoo Bear?"

 "Don't make me throw a piece of lettuce at you," Lois warned, laughing.

 After dinner, they walked along the boardwalk overlooking
Krazyworld Bay.  As they passed a vendor selling cotton candy, Lois just
knew she had to have some.  "I'll take one cotton candy, please," she told
the vendor.  She paid a dollar-fifty and she and Clark were on their way.

 She offered some cotton candy to Clark, and he took some, thanking
her.  Just as he did, he noticed she had a little cotton candy on her nose.

 "Lois, you have--", he said, trying to point without everyone in
Krazyworld noticing.

 "What?" she asked, sounding alarmed.  "What do I have?" She felt
her face.

 "You have some..." he began, and then started laughing and couldn't
stop.

 "Clark!" she cried, sounding exasperated and amused at the same
time.  "What is it!?"

 Helpless to the laughter that controlled him, Clark reached over
and brushed the cotton candy off of Lois's nose.  "You had this," he said.
"On your nose."

 She didn't miss a beat.  "It's a new fashion statement," she
informed him.  "Cotton candy on the nose is all the rage in Paris...or so
I've heard."

 "Really," he said, suppressing his laughter for a moment.

 "Yes, really.  Here," she said, pulling off a bit of cotton candy.
She put it on Clark's nose.  "See?" she said.  "You look great.  Very
fashionable.  Very chic."

 Clark grinned, and took some cotton candy of his own and placed in
on Lois's nose.  He pretended to look thoughtful.

 "I wouldn't say 'fashionable'," he said.  "But on you, anything
looks great."

 She studied his face, not sure whether he was joking or serious.
But she said, "Why, thank you, Clark," and took his hand as they continued
along the boardwalk, the destination: their hotel.

 * * *

 The next morning, Clark was awakened early by a steady knocking on
the door.  He got out of bed, threw on a shirt and his glasses, and
realized that the knocking was coming from the door leading to Lois's room.
He opened it.

 "Yes?" he said, raising his eyebrow at Lois, who was fully dressed
and ready to go.

 "Clark, I realized about an hour ago, while I was lying in bed,
that we only have two more days of vacation left, and plenty we still need
to do.  So," she said, inviting herself into his bedroom and sitting on his
bed, "I think we should get an early start this morning. You with me?"

 He gave in.  "Why not?"

 Her face broke into a smile.  "Great!  I'm going to go downstairs
to the lobby, to the gift shop, to get a new strap for my sunglasses. How
about if I meet you at the Pancake Shack in fifteen minutes?"

 "Okay," Clark agreed, and Lois got up to leave.  But before she
went out the door, she seemed to have an afterthought, and she turned back
to Clark.  "This has been a lot of fun," she told him, and then turned, and
left.

 Clark quickly showered and got dressed, and went downstairs to meet
Lois.  They were staying on the tenth floor of the hotel.  As the elevator
descended, two teenage girls got on the elevator at the sixth floor, and an
elderly gentlemen got on at the fourth floor. And somewhere between the
third floor and the second floor, the elevator jerked to a stop.

 "Um, what's going on?" one of the girls asked, looking annoyed.

 "Probably an electrical failure," the old man said, sounding wise.
"These things happen all the time. Very rarely do they result in a
catastrophe."

 "Very rarely?!" The girl cried.  "You mean sometimes there are
catastrophes?"

 "Calm down, Jenn," the second girl said.  "We're only on the third
floor.  If the elevator were to plummet to the ground, we wouldn't be in
too bad a shape."

 "Speak for yourself," said the old man.  "Haven't you ever heard of
an elevator catching fire?  Spontaneous combustion?  Bombs?"

 "Bombs!" Jenn yelped.

 Clark decided it was about time to intervene.  "There are no
bombs," he assured the girls, glaring momentarily at the old man.  "Now,
doesn't this elevator have a phone or something?"  It didn't.  So Clark
pressed the emergency button, and covered his ears a split second later as
an ear-deafening alarm went off.

 "Now look what you did!" the old man scolded Clark.

 Clark ignored the man and glanced at his watch.  He was supposed to
have been meeting Lois right now!  Dumb elevator.  If there weren't other
people in the elevator, he might have tried to find away to super-escape.
Then again, the elevators were probably monitored by security cameras--he
checked--yep, they were, and the last thing he needed was for a super feat
to be caught on tape.

 The alarm was shut off just then, and a woman's voice came over an
intercom.  "Don't worry," she said.  "There seems to have been a minor
electrical failure."

 "Told you," said the man, sounding very pleased with himself.

 "We'll have you out of there in no time," the voice assured them.
"Just please be patient...and stay calm!  There is no need to panic."

 Clark sighed.

 "Sarah, why do they always tell you there's no need to panic, when
there actually is a need to panic?" Jenn asked, sliding to the floor in a
sitting position.   Sarah joined her.  Clark figured he might as well sit,
too, if they were going to be there awhile.  The old man just looked ticked
off, and he made faces into the security camera.

 "I have no idea," Sarah said.  "But I have to go to the bathroom."

 The man turned slowly away from the security camera, and looked at
Sarah.  His eyes got very wide, and he turned back to the camera.  "Help!"
he hollered.

 * * *

 Lois glanced at her watch for the thirty-third time.  Where was
Clark?  Maybe he got delayed, she thought.  She decided to go back up to
their rooms to look for him.  When she got to the elevators, there were
some workers by one of the elevators.  "What's going on?" Lois asked.

 "Sorry, ma'am, the elevators are out of order," one of the workers
said.   That's when Lois noticed that there were signs pasted to every
elevator that read: OUT OF ORDER.

 Well, no wonder it's taking Clark forever to get downstairs! Lois
thought.  He had to walk down ten flights of stairs!  She went back to the
Pancake Shack to wait for Clark.

 * * *

 "We're going to die," Sarah told Jenn.  "We're going to starve to
death and then we are going to die."

 "No we're not," Clark said.  "We'll be fine."

 "That's what I thought, when I was in the war," the old man spoke
up.  "There were paint bullets flying past me, but I told myself I'd be all
right.  Then I stepped in a booby trap and fell six feet into the ground.
Broke my leg."

 "What war was this?" Clark asked, looking confused.  Paint bullets?

 "I'll have you know it was the Annual War at Camp Callerbucky.  My
team, the blue team, won five years in a row.  Until 1939, that is, when
our team was sabotaged by the red team.  God help them the next year,
though, we told ourselves.  We vowed revenge, but sadly enough, the camp
burned down that November."

 "Tragic," Clark said, glancing at his watch for the fifty-ninth
time.

 * * *

 "Clark, where were you?" Lois demanded, both angry and worried, as
Clark--finally--made his way into the Pancake Shack.

 "Didn't you hear?  The elevators got stuck.  That's where I was,"
he said, sounding apologetic.

 "You were stuck on an elevator?"

 "Between the second and third floors," Clark said.  "If you don't
believe me, you can ask Mr. I-was-in-the-war over there," he said, pointing
to the old man he'd been on the elevator with, who was being yelled at by
his significant other for being late.

 Lois studied him.  "I believe you," she said.  "Let's eat--I'm
starving!"

 * * *

 "Strike!" Lois screamed, doing a little dance.

 "Congrats, Lois," Clark said, grinning as he gave her a high-five.
"I never knew you were such a great bowler!"

 "What can I say?" Lois said.  "I guess I was born to bowl."

 "I guess so," said Clark, picking up his bowling ball and flinging
it down the lane.  He made a face as the ball rolled into the gutter.

 "Better luck next time," Lois said, giving him a playful nudge.

 "Thanks," Clark said, as he waited for the ball to come up through
the ball return.  When it did, he tried again.  This time, he knocked over
nine pins.

 Lois won, 145 to 72.

"You're such a good sport," she told Clark as
they left the bowling alley and emerged onto the crowded streets of
Krazyworld.  "I mean, if I went bowling with any other guy, they would be
all concerned about showing off.  And about winning.  You...you're just
there to have fun."  She smiled up at him.  "I like that."

 "Thanks," Clark said, returning the smile.  "You were great in
there," he added.  "A real natural."

 Lois took a bow.  "Thank you, thank you," she said.

 They sat down on a park bench, and Clark ordered Sno-Cones from a
nearby vendor.  As they ate their Sno-Cones, Lois suddenly said, "Clark,
this is the best vacation ever.  Do you think, when we get back to
Metropolis, maybe you and I could spend more time together, away from
work?"

 Clark didn't even have to think about the answer to that one.
"Definitely," he said.  And then he smiled.

 * * *

 "Step right up, win a prize!" the man in the striped shirt and
funky hat called to all passers-by.

 "Ring toss," Clark stated, eyeing the game in front of them.

 They were back at Hippo Island, and had somehow found their way to
the infamous ring toss.  They watched some people pay and throw their
rings, but no one was winning anything--until Lois and Clark stepped up.

 "Ring a stick, win a prize," the man, who was starting to sound
like a broken robot, said.  Lois and Clark handed him some money, and the
man handed them five rings each.  "If you get at least three rings around a
stick, you win one of those," the man said, pointing to a pile of jumbo
plush hippos.

 Lois threw.  She missed.

 Clark threw.  He hit the ring man in the head.  "Sorry!" he apologized.

 "Heh, heh, that's okay," the ring man said.  "Try again."

 Lois threw--she ringed a stick!

 Clark threw--he hit the ring man in the leg.

 Lois threw--she ringed a second stick.

 Clark threw--and ringed a stick.

 Lois threw--and missed.

 Clark threw--and ringed another stick.

 It all came down to this.  If either one of them ringed a stick on
their final ring, they would get a prize.

 Clark threw--he purposely missed.

 Lois threw--and she won!  The ring man handed her a giant purple
hippo.  As she and Clark walked off with their prize, Lois asked, "Do you
think this is weird?"

 "That you won and I didn't?" Clark teased.

 "No, this hippo."

 "Totally," Clark said.  "It kind of looks like a bear, not a hippo.
And the fact that it's purple, well, that sort of seals its fate as an
object of weirdness.  What are you going to do with it?"

 "Clark!" someone shouted.

 Lois and Clark both turned to see who had just called Clark's name.
Clark gasped.  "Mayson?"

 Mayson Drake ran over to Clark and hugged him.  Lois glared at
Mayson.  Mayson noticed the hippo and gave it an odd look.

 "What are you two doing here?" Mayson asked.  "I'm here on business."

 Lois didn't believe her.  "You're on Hippo Island...on business?"

 Mayson didn't take her eyes off of Clark.  "Actually, I'm in
Florida on business, and I thought I'd come here for the day, just to see
what all the fuss is about.  Have you ridden The Terrifier yet?" she asked.
"It's the most amazing roller coaster."

 Clark glanced at Lois, remembering how she'd felt about The
Exterminator.  He'd bet his salary that she wouldn't very much like The
Terrifier.

 "I don't really like roller coasters," he told Mayson.

 Mayson shrugged.  "Oh, well, that's okay, they're not for everyone.
Cute hippo, Lois...did Clark win that for you?"

 "No, actually, *I* won it for me," Lois said matter-of-factly.

 "It's...um, cute," Mayson said.

 "Yes, you said that," Lois said.

 Lois eyed Mayson like a cat that had just seen another cat cross
into its territory.  Mayson ignored this, and batted her eyelashes at
Clark.

 "So, where are you staying?"  Mayson asked.

 "Nowhere!" Lois said, before Clark could say anything.  "And it was
great to see you again, Mayson, but you know, darn...we have dinner
reservations to go to."

 "It's three in the afternoon," Mayson said.

 "It's an early dinner," Lois shot back.  "Come on, Clark."

 "Bye, Mayson!" Clark called as Lois dragged him off.

 Mayson waved.

 Clark was laughing.  "Imagine, running into Mayson Drake, of all
people...of all *places*--here."

 "This world is just so small," Lois said dryly.  "And getting
smaller," she added.  "Oh look, Clark!  The Flying Hippo ride!  We have to
go on that."

 "Flying hippos?" He grinned.  "Now there's something you don't see
every day."  He and Lois found the end of the line for the hippo ride, and
when they were almost to the front of the line, one of the ride operators
asked them, did they want to ride in one hippo or separate hippos?

 Lois glanced the purple stuffed hippo in her arms, and decided to
go with "separate hippos," just as Clark replied "one hippo, please."

 Clark stared at her.  "You want to be in separate hippos?"

 Lois shrugged and nodded. Clark tried to hide his disappointment as
he told the ride operator, "Two hippos, please."

 What's the big deal? Clark asked himself as he climbed into his
yellow hippo car.  Lois, meanwhile, was discovering that there just wasn't
room enough in her hippo car for the two of them--that was, her and the
purple stuffed hippo.  She squeezed and smushed and stuffed it,
and--although it was a tight squeeze--both Lois and the purple hippo were
able to be seated in that hippo car.

 The ride began.  Basically, the hippo cars just went up and down,
and they all went around in a great big circle.  On each car, there was a
control handle that allowed the person riding in the hippo to control how
high or low their car went.

 The problem was, that big purple hippo in Lois's car was blocking
the control handle.  She pushed it over a little, but she still couldn't
reach the handle, so she pushed the purple hippo over even more.  She
finally got a hold of the handle and made her car go as high as it could go.

 And her purple hippo chose that very moment to fall out of the car.
Down, down, down it went.  Lois dared to look down below as someone
hollered, "Ow!"

 As Lois and Clark were walking away from the ride, Clark noticed
the absence of Lois's purple friend.  "Hey, where'd your hippo go?" he
asked.

 "You mean *this* hippo?" a voice spoke up.  Lois and Clark looked down.

 It was Bumper Boy!  And he did not look happy.

 "Yeah, that would be THE hippo," Clark said, not even sure he
wanted to know how Bumper Boy had gotten it.  He found out a moment later,
though, when Bumper Boy said angrily, "This hit me on the head!  I'm going
to sue you!"

 Lois rolled her eyes.  I mean, please!  The kid barely came up to
her chin.  "It's a stuffed animal," she said.  "How badly could it have
hurt?"

 "I'm still gonna sue you," Bumper Boy said.  "What are your names!?"

 "John and Jane Doe," Lois said sarcastically.

 The kid looked smug.  "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Doe, you'll be hearing
from my lawyer!  And I'm going to keep this hippo, as evidence."

 "You do that," Lois said.  "Come on *John*," she said to Clark.

 Clark grinned.  "Coming, Jane."

 * * *

 That evening, Lois wanted to see it all.  "Clark, there's a light
show we just *have* to see.  And the fireworks!  And we still haven't been
on Splash Fountain, the Rascal Rollerderby, or the Arctic Frenzy."

 They had returned to Krazyworld (the actual park) for their
second-to-last evening of their vacation.  Neither one of them wanted to
acknowledge that tomorrow night would be their last night there.  Where had
the time gone?

 "All right," Clark agreed, as they headed toward the rides.  Just
as they were about to get in line for Splash Fountain, Clark noticed a sign
that said the line for the Go-Cars was only five minutes long.

 "Let's do that," Clark suggested, and they were soon getting into
separate Go-Cars.  Clark's car was in front of Lois's.  They hit the gas
pedals and sped off through the course.  About halfway through, they had to
slow down because there were some slow cars ahead of them on the track.

 As they slowed to almost a complete stop, someone plowed into the
back of Lois's car.  Lois turned around.  "Hey, what do you think this is?"
she shouted.  "Bumper cars?"

 The woman in the car just grinned.  She was missing two teeth.

 Lois sighed and turned back around.  The slow cars up ahead were
speeding up, and she took off.  That's when the engine of her car
just...died.  She took it personally.  "Hey, how could you do this to me?"
she yelled at the car.  "Dumb car."

 The toothless woman crashed into her.  Again.

 "Great, just great!" Lois muttered, repeatedly pushing on the gas
pedal, hoping to get *something* to happen, but the car wouldn't budge.
She looked ahead for Clark, but he and his car were long gone.

 Someone crashed into Toothless Woman.  "Hey, what's the hold up?"
the man yelled. Lois turned around to look at the man, and realized that he
looked familiar...it was the old guy--the one Clark had said he had gotten
stuck with in the elevator that morning!

 Lois shrugged her shoulders.  "My engine died!" she called to the
people that were starting to line up behind her.

 "Cars," Toothless woman was saying.  "You can never trust 'em."

 "I used to be a mechanic," the old guy offered.  "But that was back
in the war.  Now I'm a dentist."

 "Isn't that fascinating?" Lois muttered.  "How is that going to
help me NOW?" she shouted.

 "I...I don't know," Old Guy said.  "But ya don't have to yell!"

 Lois glared at the old guy.  She was trying to picture what he
would look like--toothless.

 * * *

 "Thanks for getting me out of that mess earlier," Lois was saying.

 They were back at the hotel.   They had just gotten home from
watching an amazing display of fireworks at Krazyworld, and even though it
was almost midnight, neither one of them was tired.  Lois was lying on
Clark's bed, and Clark was sitting at the desk, writing his parents a
postcard.

 "No problem," Clark said, not looking up from his postcard.

 "How did you know my car had died, though?" Lois asked.

 "It was pretty easy to figure out," Clark said.  "When I got out of
my car at the end of the course, and waited for ten minutes for *your* car
and you never showed up, I kind of had a hunch that something was wrong.
So I told one of the ride operators.  I'm glad everything turned out okay."

 Lois nodded.  "Yep.  A really cute guy named Phil came and filled
my Go-Car up with gasoline.  Phil...filled...hmmm, weird coincidence.
*Anyway*, I'm not tired at all.  Are you?"

 Clark shook his head.

 "Well, I hear the hotel arcade is open 24 hours," she said, with a
sparkle in her eye.  "What do you say...Partner?"

 "I say you better watch out, because I am an expert at pinball."

 "Well it just so happens, I am an expert at Skee Ball."

 Clark grinned.  "You're on!"

 * * *

 The next morning, Clark woke up at eight.  He listened with his
superhearing, and heard Lois breathing softly and evenly in the next
room--she was still asleep.  He didn't know if he should let her sleep in
or wake her up.  If he let her sleep in, they would waste their last
morning at Krazyworld.  Their plane back to Metropolis was scheduled to
depart in just twenty-six hours.  But if he woke her up, he was likely to
lose an arm or something.

 Finally, he decided to wake her up...but gently.  She stirred and
then opened her eyes.  When she saw him, she smiled.  "Morning, Clark," she
said.

 "Morning," he answered.  He dared to wish that someday he'd get
another chance to wake her up in the morning.  Everything about her looked
perfect first thing in the morning.  Even her hair, which was sticking out
in every direction imaginable, looked great.

 After breakfast, Clark and Lois changed into their swimming suits
and went out to relax by the pools.

 "This is nice," Lois told Clark.

 Clark smiled in agreement.

 "I'm going in!" Lois decided, after about ten minutes.  She stood
up and dove in the pool.

 "Brrr!" she said through chattering teeth when she came to the
surface.  "This water is freezing!"

 "Don't look at me," Clark said.  "I'm not going in there if it's
freezing."

 "Oh come on!" Lois said.

 "No way!"

 "You big baby," she told him, before submerging.  She came up for
air a minute later.  "Look at that," she said.  "I can hold my breath for
one minute, thirty seconds."

 "That was *not* a minute and a half," Clark challenged.

 "Fine!  You time me this time," Lois said.  "Ready?  Go!"

 When she came up for air again, she looked at Clark.  "Well, how
long was that?"

 "Forty-seven seconds," Clark answered.

 "Was not!" she cried.  "That was longer than a minute!"

 Clark shook his head.  "Sorry, Lois."

 Lois rolled her eyes.  "Clark Kent, if you don't get in this pool
right now, I'm coming out after you."

 Clark's eyes widened.  Pretending to sigh loudly, he stood up and
sort of jumped in the pool.

 "See?  I told you its freezing," Lois said.

 "Yes, it is," Clark agreed.

 "Oh no," Lois said, sucking in her breath.  "We have company."

 Clark looked.  "Oh, those are the two girls I was stuck in the
elevator with yesterday," Clark said.  The girls waved.  He half-smiled and
waved back.

 Sarah and Jenn jumped in the pool and paddled over to them.  "Hi,"
said Jenn.  "You're Clark, right?"

 "Yep," Clark said.  "How are you?"

 "Oh great, great," Sarah said, eyeing Clark.  "You look great," she
told him.

 Lois rolled her eyes.

 "Uh, thanks," Clark said.

 "No problem," Sarah said, smiling.  She looked at Lois.  "Oh, I'm
sorry, is this your wife?  Hi, I'm Sarah and this is my friend Jenn."

 Lois returned the smile.  "I'm Lois, and I'm *not* Clark's wife,
we're just friends."

 Sarah looked elated.  "Really?  So you're single?" she said to
Clark.  "Wow."

 "Yeah, wow," Jenn agreed.

 "Uh, yeah," Clark said.

 "So how old are you?" Jenn asked Clark.

 "Twenty-eight," Clark answered, glancing at Lois, as if to say:
Hey, I didn't ask them to come over here!  Lois just raised her eyebrows
and smiled.

 Jenn gasped.  "Twenty *eight*?  As in...a two...and an eight?"

 Sarah and Jenn started to paddle away.  "Well it was nice to see
you again, Clark!" Jenn called.  "We'll be seeing you!"

 "Bye," said Clark.

 When the girls were far enough away so they *thought* Lois and
Clark couldn't hear them, Sarah said, "Wow!  An older man!  Just wait until
our friends at home hear about this."

 "Hear about it!" Jenn cried.  "We need proof.  Go get your Polaroid
and all the disposable cameras you can find.  Now!"  Sarah ran off.

 Clark just laughed.  Lois, who hadn't been able to hear the girls'
conversation, gave him a strange look.  "What?" she demanded.

 "Nothing at all, Lois.  Nothing at all..."

 * * *

 "Madame Tursi knows all!  She sees all!  And she'll tell all!"

 Lois and Clark ducked as they entered a glittery purple tent and
sat down in two wooden chairs.  Krazyworld's resident psychic, Madame
Tursi, was eager to read their palms and tell their futures.

 Lois looked sceptical.  Clark looked like he wanted to crack up.
Clark handed Madame Tursi a ten-dollar bill.  "This better be good," he
whispered to Lois.

 "Well, well, well," said Madame Tursi.  "Just look at you two!"

 Lois and Clark looked at each other.

 "You are the cutest couple I've ever seen!" Madame Tursi squealed.

 "For a psychic, you're not a very good one," Lois said bluntly.
"Because we're not a couple, we're just friends."

 "But zat can not be!" Madame Tursi cried.  "I can feel a definite
chemistry going on between you two.  And you mean to tell me zat you are
just friends?"

 "Well, we're partners at work," Lois said.  "Maybe that's the
signal you're getting."

 "No, no, I definitely feel something stronger!" Madame Tursi insisted.

 "What a crock," Lois muttered.  "What a ten-dollar crock," she sad,
standing up.  Clark pulled her arm and made her sit back down.

 "Let's not waste the ten dollars!" he told Lois.  Clark turned back
to Madame Tursi.  "What else can you tell us?"

 Madame Tursi consulted her crystal ball.  "My crystal ball tells me
zat my suspicions are confirmed.  You two *are* a...uh, what do you call
it?  An 'item'!  Why is it zat you keep it a secret?"

 Lois stood up, looking like she was ready to explode.  "For the
millionth time!  We are *not* an item!  We're just friends!"  This time
when she stood up to leave, Clark didn't try and stop her.  Instead he got
up and followed her, shrugging apologetically at Madame Tursi.

 "Good luck with zat one!" Madame Tursi called.

 "Thanks," Clark replied.

 * * *

 Lois ran down Sunny Lane.  Clark didn't have any trouble catching
up with her, but when she finally came to a stop in front of the indoor
skating rink, Clark pretended to sound out of breath.  He was surprised to
see tears on Lois's cheeks.

 "Lois, what's wrong?" he cried, reaching out to her cheek to brush
away her tears.

 "Why does everyone think we're in love or something?" Lois cried.
"We're just friends!!  Aren't we?"

 "We are friends," Clark said.

 "But...we aren't anything more?"

 "We're not anything you don't want to be," Clark assured her.

 "What if one of us wanted to be something more?" Lois asked.

 "Then, I guess we'd hope that the other person felt the same way."

 "And how do you feel?"

 "I've always hoped someday you would feel the way I do," he replied
honestly.  "I don't know how I feel.  I feel...everything.  I can't help it
when I'm around you.  My tongue gets tied and I..."

 "Do you love me?" she whispered.  It was a definite question, but
she sounded hopeful.

 He hesitated.  He felt weird all over, and he knew it all came down
to this.  A moment that could break their friendship, or take it to a whole
new level.  A moment where he had to decide whether or not to be honest
with her about his feelings for her, or go on suppressing them, like
before.  Like always.

 And at that moment, he knew he couldn't do it anymore.

 "Yes."

 She hugged him.  "And I think," she said, "that it's a definite
possibility that I love you, too."

 * * *

 "Oooh, look, Clark, they gave me two air sickness bags!" Lois
exclaimed.

 "Do you think you'll need them?" Clark asked worriedly.

 "I hope not!"

 They were leaving Florida behind.  They were leaving Krazyworld,
the purple hippo, Mattress Man, Toothless Woman, Bumper Boy, Sarah, Jenn,
Madame Tursi, and the old guy behind.  They were heading back to
Metropolis--home, sweet home.  The plane looked exactly the same as the
last plane they'd been on.  Only now, they were too busy holding hands and
smiling at each other to care about renting headphones or watching the
movie, or even caring about what kind of beverage to order.

 "So, what do you think Perry will say when we tell him we're
*dating*?" Clark asked.

 "I think he'll tell us one of his infamous Elvis stories and tell
us to get to work, there's a paper to get out," Lois answered, grinning.

 "Hmmm, you're probably right."

 "You know, Clark, this has been the best vacation!  Even with all
the bizarre things that happened, I had so much fun.  Thanks to you," she
added.

 "No, thanks to *you*!" Clark said, grinning.

 "So, when we get back to Metropolis, you wanna go to a movie or
something?" Lois asked.

 "Sure," said Clark.  "But...are we going to go as 'friends', 'more
than friends', or--dare I say it--is this a date?"

 "This is a date," Lois told him.  "But you know what that means,"
she said, a naughty gleam in her eye.

 Realization hit, and he smiled.  "Yes I do, Lois.  Yes I do..."

THE END!