Author's Note: I do not own the characters.
THE TROUBLE WITH TEQUILA.
Why don't I buy you a brew?
The clicks of the mouse and the tap-tap-tapping of keys echoed around the almost empty bullpen. It was approaching 8:30 in the evening and save for the occasional intern popping in and out to run errands, everybody else had finished for the day. Clark Kent had the place all to himself and it was just as well since his glum mood would be an instant buzzkill for anyone looking for conversation.
Clark had been browsing the internet and the Daily Planet's database for almost an hour now, and couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness washing over him after a long and fruitless search to find an answer for Lana's condition. She remained in hospital in a coma and the doctors had run a whole battery of tests to try and establish what the problem was. The problem of course was that Brainiac had infected her and Clark couldn't tell the doctors that, but Lana would receive medical treatment to try and stabilise and manage her condition. They'd placed her in an induced coma after the tests showed that the pain receptors in her brain were still extremely active which suggested that she was physically in a lot of pain, but she was incapable of showing it. She was still able to breathe unaided. He wondered how long she could hold out before her brain gave up.
As he continued to absent-mindedly browse for information on the problem without a solution, his thoughts returned to Brainiac. A doubt lingered in the back of his mind as to whether he'd really rid himself and the world of the machinations of the Brain Interactive Construct. Sure, he and Kara had managed to fend him off back on Krypton, but that was only by going back in time to when the planet was about to be destroyed, and when the baby Kal-el was to be sent to Earth to escape the devastation. They had to ensure that Kal-el made the trip otherwise Clark would cease to exist in the present day. Clark knew that Brainiac was capable of going to any moment in time so even if he was erased in one past, he could still show up elsewhere to wreak havoc.
He felt that he hadn't seen the last of Brainiac, and in a weird way he wished the machine would show up so that he could be dealt with finally. Getting rid of Brainiac in the present might be the only way to restore Lana. There was a light on the bleak horizon in the form of Kara. Clark's older-yet-younger cousin was still impetuous but two heads were better than one. He was pleased to have Kara back at the farm because not only did it take the loneliness out of the place, but they could use one another as a sounding board for all matters Kryptonian.
Yes, the Brainiac issue still needed to be resolved, and Clark's trip to an alternate universe where he didn't exist only confirmed the Kryptonian computer program's threat to the world. Brainiac was there in the guise of Milton Fine, and was the top aide to the President Lex Luthor - in itself a shock to the system - and the one really pulling the strings in the background. It was his scheming that gave Lex the belief that nuclear Armageddon was the right thing for the future of mankind. The man who'd developed a taste for power and control was little more than a puppet President.
But what to do about Lana? Their relationship had seen its fair share of peaks and troughs over the years, and despite the fact they were living together at the farm, it had not enabled them to iron out their differences and move forward together. Their relationship had been in stasis long before Lana wound up in her current predicament. Be that as it may, it still hurt him that he might lose the girl he loved more than any other. Somehow, the ills of the world around him all had their origins in the arrival of a baby Kryptonian in a meteor shower 18 years ago.
A familiar presence stepping into the doorway of the bullpen broke his concentration. Light blue shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Black pants. Brown hair. Tall, brash, loud and with an effortless ability to annoy the hell out of him when the mood took her. And he was sitting at her desk.
"This is a new side to Clark Kent - mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper," said Lois as she leaned against the doorframe. The words could easily be taken as part of her usual teasing banter but her tone was altogether softer and friendlier, as though she was surprised to see him but didn't mind at all that he was there.
Clark went for a cautious reply, hoping to convey that while he was in no mood for jokes or chitchat, he wasn't going to let her ride roughshod over him - something else she was effortlessly capable of doing - by decrying his current glumness as yet another pity party. It needed the subtlest hint of snark, but not so much as to suggest he didn't welcome her presence. After all, she hadn't actually done anything wrong.
"Don't worry Lois, I'm not after your job. Just borrowing the Planet's database," he replied, before laying on the puppy dog eyes which were always effective in mellowing any recipient, even the notoriously caustic Lois Lane. "Jimmy set me up here. I hope it's OK."
He thought about the Lois he'd met in the alternate universe. In many ways, she was the biggest surprise of that impromptu trip. Though he didn't get to meet his parents, he was heartened to learn that his father was still alive. He'd really hoped to see him again but as he was really a stranger in the Kent household and beginning to alarm their young teenage son 'Clark Kent', he felt it best to leave them be. He'd met Chloe too, though she didn't know who he was. She was engaged and soon to be married. He was pleased to see a happy Chloe unburdened with the need to help him protect his secret. Clark learned that Lana was alive and well, married to and living in Paris with a philanthropist named Pierre Rousseau, and that they had two children. This came as a massive relief. Everybody who knew his secret in the real world all seemed to be happier and better off in the alternate universe for not knowing him or his secret. A blessing in disguise.
Not that it was all positive. Lex being the President of the United States with Milton Fine pulling the strings had thrown him for a loop, as had the presence of Kara under the name of Linda Danvers, masquerading as the head of the Department of Domestic Security (DDS). Once he eventually got through to Kara and convinced her that he was also Kryptonian, they tried to stop the nuclear launch only to be shot with kryptonite bullets. Milton Fine knowing about and being able to recognise and target Kryptonian weaknesses had put them in that situation, and it was only Jor-el extracting Clark and bringing him back into the real world that saved his life.
Yet for all that, it was his verbal sparring buddy who'd left the biggest impression. Lois was already a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and had the familiar get-up-and-go personality but there was a total absence of the snarkiness and teasing that she usually reserved for 'Smallville'. It had been replaced by what he could only describe as love-struck. She'd clearly been bowled over and swept off her feet by him - literally in both cases - and though he'd always deny it if the subject came up, he found it adorable. He'd actually made her swoon! Why couldn't Lois be a little more like that?
"Hey, mi desktop es su desktop."
Snapping back to the present, Clark didn't even know if that was grammatically correct Spanish but he wasn't going to quibble. There was genuine warmth in her eyes as she stepped over, plopping the file she'd been carrying onto the desk and standing behind Clark, leaning over the chair as she asked him what he was looking up. Spotting the brain scan images and a link to a coma information source, she could only utter a sympathetic "Oh" as she stood back up.
"I'm no expert but I'm sure there's someone out there who can help Lana," Clark explained as he carried on reading the page.
Lois wasn't sure how to respond in this situation. Clark was obviously hurting over what had happened to Lana. Though she didn't fully know the details of how it had happened, the fact that so many specialists were baffled about what the problem was indicated that it wasn't just a coma - there was a very serious yet unknown underlying cause. Lois hadn't spoken to Lana for quite some time now, ever since she'd been kicked through the door of the editor's office by the usually soft-spoken brunette. Lois was still less than happy about that little episode but in the interim, there had been an awful lot to keep her occupied. Indeed, she'd even been shot by one of Lex's fembots while investigating the death of Lionel Luthor. She didn't wish ill on Lana in spite of their run-in in her editor's office and she hoped the doctors would find something to help Lana recover. Once Lana and Lex had become close, Lois and Lana had hardly spoken so it was unlikely the two would ever revert back to the sort-of friendship they'd once had.
She sensed Clark's mood as weary and beaten down, and it bothered her. Normally, she'd be all up in his grill whenever she saw him all mopey and brooding but there was something different about this occasion. It wasn't advice or a kick up the backside he needed, more an arm around the shoulder. Chuckling lightly, she proceeded to sit on the edge of her desk and try to summon up something - anything - that might provide a crumb of comfort. Maybe being honest about her own inability to be that friendly ear was the best way to lead in.
"You know, with all my years of watching Dr Phil, you'd think I could come up with the perfect thing to say but, uh, I'm drawing a blank." The words didn't come out quite as she'd intended and she felt her throat getting dry as she scrambled to add something meaningful. She cleared her throat.
"I don't do well with sad," she finally added, turning to face Clark.
Clark, who'd been closing the browser after yet another fruitless attempt to find something new, slowly got up head bowed and switched the computer off.
"Don't beat yourself up over it Lois. It's OK." His voice was flat and barely above a whisper.
The words were familiar to her but the manner of the delivery wasn't. In that moment, Lois recognised how lonely Clark must be feeling at the farm. Lana was in hospital, Kara had left again, and Mrs Kent was now living in Washington. How empty must that old farmhouse feel with nobody else there, surrounded by acres of farm land? The house was perfect for a small family making the usual commotion as they went about their day, so to be almost empty must really make the silence echo around the walls to a deafening degree. Clark didn't need the barn loft as his own personal space because the entire farm was fulfilling that role at the moment. She felt he needed somebody close to hear him out and tell him things would be alright, and she resolved to be that person just as he'd been for her following her break-up with Oliver.
"No it's not!" she uttered with a vehemence that surprised them both, resulting in them looking each other in the eye as she continued. "Smallville, you were there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on, and I am blowing this big time. Look, I...I just…wish I could make everything alright."
The affection in her eyes hadn't gone unnoticed as Clark had sensed the difference in her demeanour strikingly at odds with what he would have expected. In a weird way, it reminded him of his mother. The voice was soft-spoken and heartfelt even if she was making a point of telling him he ought to listen to her. He was warmed by the depth of feeling. His own frown softened to match Lois as the faintest hint of a smile traced his lips.
"You're a good friend Lois."
He absolutely meant it. No jokes, no banter, no snarkiness, just the honest truth.
There then followed a moment of awkwardness as they continued to look each other in the eye. Each realised the moment for its awkwardness and looked for a way out that continued to show gratitude. Clark widened his smile ever so slightly before returning to something resembling his earlier frown as Lois alternated between looking him in the eye and looking away, as though searching for the next beat. She settled on getting back to normal and softly punched him on the shoulder.
"Hey, you know what, why don't we…uh…go drown our sorrows," Lois began to suggest, linking her hands together and tip-toeing up and down nervously yet hopefully. Maybe it would take his mind off the problems and worries that were clearly weighing him down. For a while at least.
Clark was caught totally unawares by that. In the alternate universe, Lois had started hitting on him and had suggested they meet up at a nearly bar later where she'd buy him a drink, before she was arrested by the DDS. Lois of all people wanting to go out with him?
"Why don't I buy you a brew? You look like you could use one!" she said as she smiled.
Clark's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. It was eerily similar to what the alternate universe's Lois had said to him. For her part, Lois took his reaction to be one of surprise and felt the need to confirm that she meant it. She reached over to put an arm round his shoulder as best as she could given how much he towered over her.
"Seriously, check out your driver's licence. You're legal now."
Clark was processing this turn of events as he was led out of the bullpen and towards the elevators. Drinking wasn't something he'd ever been interested in so clubs and bars weren't placed he frequented. He came over all reticent as he answered Lois' suggestion.
"I'm not really into the whole nightlife scene."
"Well, I will have to take that as a challenge. First round is on me!" Lois assured him.
Clark sighed in resignation. Maybe he really did need to take a step back from all the matters that were occupying his time. Kara's return had lightened his burden just a little, and Lois was indeed trying to be a good friend, so what harm could it do to spend a few hours in her company and forget about his problems?