SUMMARY: Oneshot/part one of a series. After receiving a fruit basket from Zod, Lois winds up in the hospital. Will a kiss from a handsome, erm, alien awaken her? Set in the ninth season, between "Conspiracy" and "Escape".
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters, nor am I in any way affiliated with the show, or with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. This story is purely for entertainment purposes.
A/N: This story was inspired by "Sleeping Lois" by writer writing (not that I read it, but the premise set my mental gears turning, so much thanks to the author).
"Delivery for Ms. Lane."
Lois Lane looked up from what she was working on to see a delivery man hovering over her desk, a clipboard in one hand and a large fruit basket cradled under his other arm. She signed for it and accepted the basket from him, then settled her gaze on her boyfriend and deskmate, Clark Kent.
"Don't look at me," he told her. "I didn't send it."
She found a card and read it aloud: "Thanks. Z."
"'Z'? I don't know anyone who- Oh, it must be from Agent Zod!"
"Zod?" Clark echoed, his face forming a scowl.
"Clark Kent, are you jealous?" Lois seemed amused by this idea.
"No, it's just," he began, trying to find an explanation he could offer without giving away his secret. When he couldn't, he finally said, "I'm not jealous," and went back to his work, as if that settled the matter.
That night, as Lois and Clark continued to work long after everyone else had gone home, Lois found herself dying of hunger. Clark offered to get Chinese, but while he was gone, Lois's gaze happened upon the fruit basket still sitting on her desk. Figuring it would tide her over until Clark returned, she grabbed a nice, juicy, delicious-looking apple and took a bite. However, when Clark returned moments later, he found her on the floor, her face mimicking peaceful sleep.
"Lois." He dropped the bags of food and hurried to her side. After failing to wake her, he noticed the apple in her hand, only one bite taken out of it.
"Zod." For a moment, his rage was focused elsewhere, but then he returned his attention to her, anguish momentarily replacing the anger. Picking her up, he rushed her to the hospital, where the doctors couldn't do anything to wake her either.
Leaving her in the care of Dr. Emil Hamilton, he went to confront the man responsible for her condition, and found Zod in the Crow's Nest above the city.
"Zod!" Clark didn't even bother to contain his rage. "What did you do to Lois?!"
"Do?"
"She got the fruit basket you sent her, and now she's in the hospital!" He barely suppressed the urge to grab Zod by his shirtfront.
"I didn't send anyone a fruit basket, Kal-El," Zod told him, feigning confusion.
"Oh, yeah?! Then why was the card signed 'Z'?!"
"It must've been someone else. Maybe their name starts with a Z. Or maybe they sent it to enrage you into going after me."
Unable to argue with that logic, Clark just stared at Zod for a moment, before informing him, "You better hope and pray I find this 'someone else'."
With that, Clark sped off, leaving Zod smirking.
When Clark arrived at Watchtower, he filled Chloe in on what had happened to Lois, anguish taking over his features once more. She took a moment to share in his concern for her cousin, before kicking into research mode.
"I can't find anything on Lois's condition," she informed him after a couple of minutes. "Except a fairy tale."
"Fairy tale?"
"Yeah, what happened to Lois sounds a lot like what happened to Snow White. Except, of course, Lois wasn't poisoned by a jealous stepmother, and there's no seven dwarves to be found. But other than that, it's the same basic story. Girl bites apple, girl falls into coma, handsome prince saves girl with a kiss."
"Wait a minute," he said, a thought dawning on him. "That's it. That could be the key!"
He sped off once more, though could still hear her calling after him, "You're welcome!"
He arrived at the hospital to find Emil still monitoring her condition. Taking a moment to marvel that even while hooked up to machines, Lois was serene-looking and beautiful to behold, Clark muttered to himself, "I hope this works."
Trusting that Clark knew what he was doing, Emil watched with mild interest as Clark leaned in and planted a tender kiss on Lois's lips, and then with pleasant surprise as Lois's eyes fluttered open dreamily.
"Lois!" Immense relief overtook both Clark's face and voice.
"Clark," she said, still groggy from her poisoned sleep. Looking around, she realized she was in the hospital, and asked, "What happened? How did I get here?"
"You mean, you don't remember?"
"No. Last thing I remember is a delivery man standing over me with a fruit basket."
He informed her that an apple from the basket had been poisoned, but neglected to mention that Zod had sent it. He wasn't sure why he left that part out, but whatever the reason, he couldn't entirely prove it was Zod anyway.
The two then lived happily ever after. Well, as happy as Clark can live with a distressing damsel like Lois.
THE END