A.N: Just something short to fill in a missing piece. At first this was going to be in dialogue format, and then it was going to be in Clark's, and then Clark's and the General's and finally I just settled on the General's. I wanted to write something where he finally noticed what had been in front of him the entire day. And that's that Clark loves Lois and that he needs as much as she needs him. So it's literally 500 words of the General's Epiphany if you will. Something must have happened between the explosion and the scene in the barn between him and Clark and I thought this might fit in there quite nicely. As you can see, I'm just exercising my muse. Enjoy! :)
Almost
He'd almost lost her. When he saw the rocket's red glare shoot across the sky and in through the second story window, he thought for sure he'd seen the last of her. He closed his eyes remembering their last words to each other. They were angry with each other. He'd pushed too hard. And she'd pushed back just as hard. They were both stubborn. But if he was honest with himself it was because they both loved each other so much.
He stepped into the farm house walking behind her. She had been a little shaken up when she'd appeared in the alley. But now she walked with confidence and grace. She walked like she didn't almost die. Like this happened on a regular basis. In fact, he knew it happened on a regular basis.
Yes, he'd almost lost her. But that was the key word. Almost. Meaning not quite. He watched as she searched the house frantically. He knew who she was looking for. He felt anger bubble inside him at the mere thought that the person she was looking for might not be home after everything they'd been through that night.
When he saw the man in question round the corner he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He finally noticed the look on her face when she saw him. He was wearing nothing more than jeans and white t-shirt but you'd think he was wearing shiny armor.
General Sam Lane watched as his daughter rushed into Clark Kent's waiting arms. She ran so fiercely toward him it looked as if she were gliding across the floor. And when she jumped into his arms he wrapped himself around her like he was protecting her from the world. It was as if he knew that he too, had almost lost her that night.
But how, Sam wondered. Clark had been nowhere near the explosion.
He watched the young man hold on to the woman in his arms and found himself wondering when his little girl had grown into this woman standing before him.
He could hear Clark whispering into her ear as he held her close. "I almost lost you tonight."
"But you didn't." She'd answered.
And the General could have sworn she'd thanked him. It was faint. But it was there.
What he realized or so he thought couldn't be true. But what if it was? As he watched his daughter hold on to the man she'd given her whole heart to, he realized it didn't matter if it was true or not.
As long as The Blur was watching over his daughter he was strangely thankful.
As much as he hated to admit it, Lois was no longer running into his arms but into someone else's.
Sam realized he wasn't her larger than life hero anymore. But after everything that happened that night he was oddly okay with it. He smiled, realizing, that his little Lo was finally in very good hands.