Chapter Twenty-One
Lois’ head was pounding and she could feel a sharp ache in her abdomen, far worse than when she had had her appendix out at age nine. She tried to sit up, only to groan and fall back against the pillows.
“Lois?”
Frowning, she turned her head to look at the figure in the doorway.
“Clark.”
He stepped forward and sat on the bed. “The doctor says you’re going to be fine.”
“Yeah? I feel like I went eight rounds with Mike Tyson.”
He nodded, his big hand covering hers. Her first instinct was to pull back, but she ignored it. His hand felt warm where she felt so cold.
“What, uh …” Her voice was husky. She cleared her throat and tried again. “What happened?”
“Well, Superman apparently showed up right when that guy Trax was about to kill you. The police turned up not long after and shot him.”
“Who? Superman?”
“No. Trax. He’s dead, by the way.”
“Oh. Good.”
Clark ducked his head. She had the feeling he didn’t exactly agree with the way the police had handled it, but was resigned to it.
She looked down at her hand. Clark was rubbing her skin gently with his thumb. He appeared thoughtful, as if there was something he wanted to say but was not sure about it.
There were so many things she wanted to say to him. Confronting someone like Trax, coming so close to being killed, had made her realise that her life could be cut short in an instant. She’d wasted so much time avoiding her feelings for Clark, reasoning that a relationship between them could never work. She was too impulsive, too hot-tempered. Not to mention the fact that he was her boss. Maybe not her direct boss, but it could still create so many problems for them.
Then there was the fact that she had a tendency to blur the lines between them. He’d had every right to get annoyed with the way she just seemed to walk all over him.
“I bet I can guess what you’re thinking,” Clark said.
“I bet you can’t.”
He smiled. “You’re trying to give yourself an out. Creating all these excuses as to why it couldn’t possibly work between us.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking,” she said. “Besides, what about Tess?”
“Tess is no longer in the picture. You were seeing Jack.”
She frowned at him. “How did you know about that?”
“He’s practically family. By the way, Uncle Jonathan offered for you to stay with them for a while. If you wanted to.”
“Thanks, but I don’t even know them. I mean, I had dinner with them, once, but I …” She trailed off, not really knowing what to say.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to push you into anything you don’t want to do.” He got up and went to the window, looking out over what she assumed was the hospital grounds. He stood there for a few moments before turning back to her.
“Lois, I don’t know what the future holds. Let’s face it, we’ve spent the last four months or so avoiding what we really feel. I only know that when I heard you’d been hurt yesterday, I couldn’t face the thought of losing you. I mean, don’t get me wrong. There are times when you drive me crazy. You’re brash, and you sometimes act without thinking, but … you accused me once of being uptight and maybe I am. Maybe I need someone like you to help me see that I don’t always have to be that way.” He sighed.
“I know I’m not perfect.”
She shook her head. “Maybe not, but … I … I guess even with you I had to put up all those walls because I … I got scared. The general used to tell me that he hated weakness and I always thought that if I let someone see that side of me then they would hurt me.”
“I never would,” he said.
“I know.” She paused, sighing. “I don’t know what this is, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you think there is something worth exploring, then I’d like to explore it with you.”
He smiled and it was as if the room suddenly became brighter. Lois smiled back a little uncertainly. Clark started to approach the bed, but before he could do so, someone came into the room.
“Well, Miss Lane, I’m Dr Hamilton.”
She frowned at the man with olive skin and wavy dark hair. She couldn’t recall having met him the day before but then again, she didn’t remember much of what had happened after Trax had thrown her through the glass pane. She had been told she had been unconscious for a while after Superman had brought her in and the rest of that time was a blur.
Dr Hamilton nodded at Clark. She wondered what that was about. She didn’t know much about body language but there was a sense of familiarity between them. She wanted to ask Clark about it, but didn’t get the opportunity as the doctor looked through her chart.
“Your vitals are good,” he was saying. “I think as long as you have someone to look after you, we can release you this afternoon.”
She bit her lip. Would Clark still want her to stay with him, even after they’d decided to explore this attraction they had? Not to mention the fact that she’d promised him she would stay put and she had broken that promise.
“Don’t worry. She’ll be staying with me.”
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble,” she said.
He shook his head. “It’s no trouble. Mom would insist on it anyway.”
It was still a couple of hours before she was released into Clark’s care. She was grateful for the support as he led her into the apartment.
“Why don’t you rest on the couch for a bit?” he suggested. “If you’re hungry I can make you something to eat.”
She shook her head. “I’m not hungry. I could go for a coffee, though. The stuff they give you in the hospital is terrible.”
He smiled. “Well, I don’t think one coffee would hurt.”
He left the room, but came back in a minute or so later, the phone in his hand.
“Mom’s on the phone for you.”
She frowned, but guessed he’d told his mother what had happened. She took the phone, wincing a little as she reached up. She’d cracked a couple of ribs in her fall.
“Lois?”
“Yes, it’s me,” she said.
“How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m okay. I’ll heal, I guess.”
“Is my son taking good care of you?” Lois heard a slight edge to the woman’s voice, as if she was upset with Clark.
“Yes, he is,” she said. “Did he do something?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, just now you sounded a little … are you mad at him?”
“Oh no, it’s just been a little stressful around here. Chloe went into labour after she heard you’d been hurt. She and Oliver are still at the hospital.”
“Oh. Clark didn’t tell me that.”
“He probably didn’t want to worry you. Don’t fret. Everything’s fine. She hasn’t had the baby yet, but that’s to be expected. Goodness knows, I was in labour with Oliver for almost two days!”
“Wow! That’s a long time,” Lois commented. She looked up as Clark came back in with her coffee. She smiled up at him and mouthed a thank you.
“Isn’t it, though? He was a big baby too. Nine pounds! But you don’t want to hear about that. I just wanted to call and check up on you. We were so worried when we heard about that horrible man. I’m so glad you’re safe.” She paused. “I should let you get some rest, sweetheart. I doubt you got much sleep in the hospital.”
For some inexplicable reason, Lois felt like she wanted to cry. Hearing the concern in the older woman’s voice made her miss her mother, even though it had been twenty years since Ella Lane had died. She bit her lip, trying not to choke on the tears.
“Okay. Do you need to talk to Clark again?”
“No, darling. It’s all right. I’m sure I’ll be calling again in a few hours when the baby is finally here. You just get some rest now.”
Clark appeared to notice her getting emotional as he sat down beside her. She was glad she was able to keep the tears back waited until Moira had hung. She cried, barely aware of him putting his arms around her. It was a long time before she felt able to get things under control again.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t normally …”
“No one will blame you for getting emotional,” he said gently. “After everything that’s happened, I’d be worried if you didn’t.”
“This is going to sound stupid, but … talking to your mom, it almost felt like my mom was here. You know?”
“That’s not stupid,” he told her, handing her a Kleenex so she could wipe her eyes. “I know when I’m feeling down or unwell, I wish my mom was right here.”
“I can’t imagine you really needing your mom. I mean, you seem so … um, together,” she said. She frowned. “That didn’t come out right.”
“I know what you meant. Believe me, I had my moments when I was growing up. Losing my dad and Ollie disappearing … that was a bad time in my life.”
“Chloe told me a little bit. What happened?”
He shrugged. “I got into some trouble at school, started acting out. Mom didn’t know what to do so she asked Uncle Jonathan to help. He got me straightened out.”
“It must have been hard, going through all that.”
She had the feeling it wasn’t the only thing Clark had gone through, but decided not to question him further.
She decided to go up to the bedroom to rest for a while. When she came back downstairs, Clark was talking to Detective Jones. The dark-skinned man smiled at her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Okay,” she replied. “Recovering.”
“Good. I was just telling Clark about the investigation into what happened with Trax.”
“What did happen?” she asked. “I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.”
“Well, it seems Trax was part of a study at LexCorp in behavioural modification. However, we think he only volunteered to join the study so he could get early release from his prison sentence.”
She nodded. “Yeah. It figures.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that the owner of the bar was killed.”
“TJ?” she said, getting upset all over again. Her friend had been murdered because of her. Trax must have really studied her.
The detective nodded. “I’m sorry. He was a friend of yours?”
“I’d known him for years. He was a friend of a friend.”
Clark’s housekeeper appeared from the hallway. Clark left the room with her. Lois continued talking to the detective, who related what had happened after Trax had nearly killed her.
Clark returned looking a little perturbed. Lois was surprised to see Lex Luthor following him in.
“Mr Luthor came to see you,” he said.
“Lois, I heard about what happened. I wanted to give you my deepest apologies. I know nothing I can say can make up for what Mr Trax did to you. I also wanted to give you my assurances that I am launching a full investigation into how he escaped from the facility.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
He stepped forward, a smile of beneficence on his face, as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.
“If there is anything I can do,” he said.
“I’ll be okay. Clark’s taking good care of me.”
Lex turned and smiled at Clark. “He’s good at that,” he said. “Even in his first day at Excelsior he was always taking care of others.”
Lois hated the man’s tone. It sounded like he was making an effort not to be condescending but it still came off that way.
“I’ll be holding a press conference in the morning. I assume it is a long shot, but if you have a way to get in touch with Superman, I would very much appreciate his presence.”
Again she had that feeling Lex was speaking the words he thought they wanted to hear but his tone implied something else.
“Why would Clark know how to get in touch with Superman?” she asked. “Usually he just shows up when he’s needed.”
“Yet isn’t it strange how the Daily Planet seems to manage to get exclusive interviews with him?” the bald man replied coolly. He nodded his head at her. “I’ll let you get some rest, Lois. Clark.”
“I’ll see you out, sir,” Mrs Adams told him.
Lois stared at Clark as Lex left the room, followed by the housekeeper.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I’ve no idea,” Clark returned.
Lois’ head was pounding and she could feel a sharp ache in her abdomen, far worse than when she had had her appendix out at age nine. She tried to sit up, only to groan and fall back against the pillows.
“Lois?”
Frowning, she turned her head to look at the figure in the doorway.
“Clark.”
He stepped forward and sat on the bed. “The doctor says you’re going to be fine.”
“Yeah? I feel like I went eight rounds with Mike Tyson.”
He nodded, his big hand covering hers. Her first instinct was to pull back, but she ignored it. His hand felt warm where she felt so cold.
“What, uh …” Her voice was husky. She cleared her throat and tried again. “What happened?”
“Well, Superman apparently showed up right when that guy Trax was about to kill you. The police turned up not long after and shot him.”
“Who? Superman?”
“No. Trax. He’s dead, by the way.”
“Oh. Good.”
Clark ducked his head. She had the feeling he didn’t exactly agree with the way the police had handled it, but was resigned to it.
She looked down at her hand. Clark was rubbing her skin gently with his thumb. He appeared thoughtful, as if there was something he wanted to say but was not sure about it.
There were so many things she wanted to say to him. Confronting someone like Trax, coming so close to being killed, had made her realise that her life could be cut short in an instant. She’d wasted so much time avoiding her feelings for Clark, reasoning that a relationship between them could never work. She was too impulsive, too hot-tempered. Not to mention the fact that he was her boss. Maybe not her direct boss, but it could still create so many problems for them.
Then there was the fact that she had a tendency to blur the lines between them. He’d had every right to get annoyed with the way she just seemed to walk all over him.
“I bet I can guess what you’re thinking,” Clark said.
“I bet you can’t.”
He smiled. “You’re trying to give yourself an out. Creating all these excuses as to why it couldn’t possibly work between us.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking,” she said. “Besides, what about Tess?”
“Tess is no longer in the picture. You were seeing Jack.”
She frowned at him. “How did you know about that?”
“He’s practically family. By the way, Uncle Jonathan offered for you to stay with them for a while. If you wanted to.”
“Thanks, but I don’t even know them. I mean, I had dinner with them, once, but I …” She trailed off, not really knowing what to say.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to push you into anything you don’t want to do.” He got up and went to the window, looking out over what she assumed was the hospital grounds. He stood there for a few moments before turning back to her.
“Lois, I don’t know what the future holds. Let’s face it, we’ve spent the last four months or so avoiding what we really feel. I only know that when I heard you’d been hurt yesterday, I couldn’t face the thought of losing you. I mean, don’t get me wrong. There are times when you drive me crazy. You’re brash, and you sometimes act without thinking, but … you accused me once of being uptight and maybe I am. Maybe I need someone like you to help me see that I don’t always have to be that way.” He sighed.
“I know I’m not perfect.”
She shook her head. “Maybe not, but … I … I guess even with you I had to put up all those walls because I … I got scared. The general used to tell me that he hated weakness and I always thought that if I let someone see that side of me then they would hurt me.”
“I never would,” he said.
“I know.” She paused, sighing. “I don’t know what this is, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you think there is something worth exploring, then I’d like to explore it with you.”
He smiled and it was as if the room suddenly became brighter. Lois smiled back a little uncertainly. Clark started to approach the bed, but before he could do so, someone came into the room.
“Well, Miss Lane, I’m Dr Hamilton.”
She frowned at the man with olive skin and wavy dark hair. She couldn’t recall having met him the day before but then again, she didn’t remember much of what had happened after Trax had thrown her through the glass pane. She had been told she had been unconscious for a while after Superman had brought her in and the rest of that time was a blur.
Dr Hamilton nodded at Clark. She wondered what that was about. She didn’t know much about body language but there was a sense of familiarity between them. She wanted to ask Clark about it, but didn’t get the opportunity as the doctor looked through her chart.
“Your vitals are good,” he was saying. “I think as long as you have someone to look after you, we can release you this afternoon.”
She bit her lip. Would Clark still want her to stay with him, even after they’d decided to explore this attraction they had? Not to mention the fact that she’d promised him she would stay put and she had broken that promise.
“Don’t worry. She’ll be staying with me.”
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble,” she said.
He shook his head. “It’s no trouble. Mom would insist on it anyway.”
It was still a couple of hours before she was released into Clark’s care. She was grateful for the support as he led her into the apartment.
“Why don’t you rest on the couch for a bit?” he suggested. “If you’re hungry I can make you something to eat.”
She shook her head. “I’m not hungry. I could go for a coffee, though. The stuff they give you in the hospital is terrible.”
He smiled. “Well, I don’t think one coffee would hurt.”
He left the room, but came back in a minute or so later, the phone in his hand.
“Mom’s on the phone for you.”
She frowned, but guessed he’d told his mother what had happened. She took the phone, wincing a little as she reached up. She’d cracked a couple of ribs in her fall.
“Lois?”
“Yes, it’s me,” she said.
“How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m okay. I’ll heal, I guess.”
“Is my son taking good care of you?” Lois heard a slight edge to the woman’s voice, as if she was upset with Clark.
“Yes, he is,” she said. “Did he do something?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, just now you sounded a little … are you mad at him?”
“Oh no, it’s just been a little stressful around here. Chloe went into labour after she heard you’d been hurt. She and Oliver are still at the hospital.”
“Oh. Clark didn’t tell me that.”
“He probably didn’t want to worry you. Don’t fret. Everything’s fine. She hasn’t had the baby yet, but that’s to be expected. Goodness knows, I was in labour with Oliver for almost two days!”
“Wow! That’s a long time,” Lois commented. She looked up as Clark came back in with her coffee. She smiled up at him and mouthed a thank you.
“Isn’t it, though? He was a big baby too. Nine pounds! But you don’t want to hear about that. I just wanted to call and check up on you. We were so worried when we heard about that horrible man. I’m so glad you’re safe.” She paused. “I should let you get some rest, sweetheart. I doubt you got much sleep in the hospital.”
For some inexplicable reason, Lois felt like she wanted to cry. Hearing the concern in the older woman’s voice made her miss her mother, even though it had been twenty years since Ella Lane had died. She bit her lip, trying not to choke on the tears.
“Okay. Do you need to talk to Clark again?”
“No, darling. It’s all right. I’m sure I’ll be calling again in a few hours when the baby is finally here. You just get some rest now.”
Clark appeared to notice her getting emotional as he sat down beside her. She was glad she was able to keep the tears back waited until Moira had hung. She cried, barely aware of him putting his arms around her. It was a long time before she felt able to get things under control again.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t normally …”
“No one will blame you for getting emotional,” he said gently. “After everything that’s happened, I’d be worried if you didn’t.”
“This is going to sound stupid, but … talking to your mom, it almost felt like my mom was here. You know?”
“That’s not stupid,” he told her, handing her a Kleenex so she could wipe her eyes. “I know when I’m feeling down or unwell, I wish my mom was right here.”
“I can’t imagine you really needing your mom. I mean, you seem so … um, together,” she said. She frowned. “That didn’t come out right.”
“I know what you meant. Believe me, I had my moments when I was growing up. Losing my dad and Ollie disappearing … that was a bad time in my life.”
“Chloe told me a little bit. What happened?”
He shrugged. “I got into some trouble at school, started acting out. Mom didn’t know what to do so she asked Uncle Jonathan to help. He got me straightened out.”
“It must have been hard, going through all that.”
She had the feeling it wasn’t the only thing Clark had gone through, but decided not to question him further.
She decided to go up to the bedroom to rest for a while. When she came back downstairs, Clark was talking to Detective Jones. The dark-skinned man smiled at her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Okay,” she replied. “Recovering.”
“Good. I was just telling Clark about the investigation into what happened with Trax.”
“What did happen?” she asked. “I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.”
“Well, it seems Trax was part of a study at LexCorp in behavioural modification. However, we think he only volunteered to join the study so he could get early release from his prison sentence.”
She nodded. “Yeah. It figures.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that the owner of the bar was killed.”
“TJ?” she said, getting upset all over again. Her friend had been murdered because of her. Trax must have really studied her.
The detective nodded. “I’m sorry. He was a friend of yours?”
“I’d known him for years. He was a friend of a friend.”
Clark’s housekeeper appeared from the hallway. Clark left the room with her. Lois continued talking to the detective, who related what had happened after Trax had nearly killed her.
Clark returned looking a little perturbed. Lois was surprised to see Lex Luthor following him in.
“Mr Luthor came to see you,” he said.
“Lois, I heard about what happened. I wanted to give you my deepest apologies. I know nothing I can say can make up for what Mr Trax did to you. I also wanted to give you my assurances that I am launching a full investigation into how he escaped from the facility.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
He stepped forward, a smile of beneficence on his face, as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.
“If there is anything I can do,” he said.
“I’ll be okay. Clark’s taking good care of me.”
Lex turned and smiled at Clark. “He’s good at that,” he said. “Even in his first day at Excelsior he was always taking care of others.”
Lois hated the man’s tone. It sounded like he was making an effort not to be condescending but it still came off that way.
“I’ll be holding a press conference in the morning. I assume it is a long shot, but if you have a way to get in touch with Superman, I would very much appreciate his presence.”
Again she had that feeling Lex was speaking the words he thought they wanted to hear but his tone implied something else.
“Why would Clark know how to get in touch with Superman?” she asked. “Usually he just shows up when he’s needed.”
“Yet isn’t it strange how the Daily Planet seems to manage to get exclusive interviews with him?” the bald man replied coolly. He nodded his head at her. “I’ll let you get some rest, Lois. Clark.”
“I’ll see you out, sir,” Mrs Adams told him.
Lois stared at Clark as Lex left the room, followed by the housekeeper.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I’ve no idea,” Clark returned.
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