Author's Note: With the descriptions of the workings of live television, I am totally winging it so forgive me for any inaccuracies. Also, in case readers are not aware, Mary Berry was (until very recently) a co-host/judge on the popular UK foodie show 'Great British Bake Off'. I figured that a popular US equivalent would have their own show rather than guesting on a daytime slot elsewhere, so I went with a foreign equivalent instead. I haven't seen enough of her to offer a valid comparison to Smallville's Martha Kent but the idea worked well for the story.
GOOD MORNING, METROPOLIS!
As he walked into the building, he had no idea how to handle this. He hoped it would take a bit of time to make his way down to the bullpen but no such luck. It was as if everybody in the building was out chasing a story. Oh well, if it has to be now, it has to be now.
Clark felt that he'd lost his chance with Lois when he saw how close she and Oliver still were, but he didn't realise that she'd moved on definitively from the blonde billionaire and that they would remain as nothing more than close friends. He needed to make a statement and show her how he really felt. The slow dance between them had gone on long enough and he couldn't take it anymore. If she rejected him, so be it. He'd be hurt but it would not be because he hadn't taken a chance. Chloe was right - this was about what he wanted for once.
He slowly made his way to the bullpen but stopped at the doorway. Lois was on the phone and looking at some paperwork while taking notes. She had her back to him so she didn't know he was there. Judging by her posture and the excitement in her tone, it was a pleasant phone call. Those tended to be rare as more often than not, she'd be ranting at the poor sap on the line. Put that down to a chronic lack of patience when chasing a lead. She ended the call still upbeat.
He took a deep breath then cleared his throat to announce his presence.
She turned around and smiled. "Smallville, there you are! Have I got great news for you! I just got off the phone with the producer at KZXP and guess what, we are back on. Catherine Grant had to bail out at the last minute. I guess she had another PhD to cram in."
Clark had stepped closer as she was talking but stopped a few feet away. Before he could say anything or even return to his prior thoughts, Lois had rushed up to bear hug him, continuing her mile-a-minute babbling such was her giddiness. For a moment, it felt like the time he'd returned to work after several weeks away and been welcomed back enthusiastically by his partner.
"No time to waste. They're editing our dating videos and need us to do voiceovers ready for screening on Monday. They want us in the studio in about an hour."
"S-so, you really do want to go ahead with this," stammered Clark, fighting to gain some composure.
"Absolutely! You have to make sure to maintain a media profile now because newspaper reporting isn't enough nowadays. Plus, I get to rag on Ollie for being a jackass live on TV. I still can't believe he tried to pull the rug from under me. Sure fire way to get friend zoned buddy!," Lois continued, still giddy.
To Clark it seemed as though the entire bullpen had been lit up by the smile on her face, but he still raised his eyebrows at the last statement. She was not getting back with Oliver. He did a little jig of delight inside but also had a feeling of trepidation because he'd now have to do a much better job of coming across as confident on live TV. She'd been mad at him during their audition for what she thought was the sabotaging of her new career, and even though they'd got the gig he realised he was on thin ice. Lois Lane could hold a grudge.
"Thank god for slow news days," spouted Clark as Lois grabbed her bag and jacket, and the two of them strode out of the bullpen to head to KZXP's studios.
"Two minutes everyone."
The crew were hard at work in preparation for the television debut of what the show's producer had dubbed "the new Hepburn & Tracy, or Regis & Kelly" on account of the chemistry between the pair. She had so enjoyed their bickering and obvious affection during their audition that she'd offered them the role on a 5-week trial run, covering a different day of the week each week. Although the show was going out on cable, the network still needed to appease advertisers and shareholders so the show needed to be a ratings winner. Being fronted by a highly watchable duo was seen as key to that so there were 4 other duos each tasked with the same thing, with the idea that the most popular pairing would get the gig full time based on an online poll as well as ratings after the 5-week trial period. Clark and Lois had been selected by the producer to cover the first Monday on air.
"Lois, you need to stop pacing and try to relax," suggested Clark in a supportive tone of voice, well aware of his partner's current agitation. He had a make-up girl giving his forehead a light powder coat and tidying up his hair as he sat on the snazzy couch. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a white shirt and light blue tie. Under the studio lights, it brought out his baby blues and made him look dashing, for want of a better word.
Lois on the other hand, kept sitting down, then getting up and walking about as another make-up girl fought in vain to stay with her. She had butterflies in her stomach and hadn't dared eat anything all morning lest the onset of nausea made things messy. She was wearing a light yellow dress and had accessorised with a matching set of silver earrings, necklace and bracelet. Her hair was down past her shoulders and had waves running through it. Frantic or not, she looked gorgeous.
"That's easy for you to say, but I'm not the one who can't read the autocue. This is live TV Clark and if you screw up, you can't fix it. Oh, and we've got to tell viewers about the disaster that was my date with Ollie!" she ranted. Clark smiled and noted the change in attitude to talking about her date.
The sound check guy came over and handed them both earpieces which thankfully Clark knew how to operate and test this time. The sound check guy still winced a little at the memory when again helping to set Clark up, before testing the mics that were affixed to their clothes. All clear. The assistant director came up and placed a piece of paper on the table in front of them, indicating the different cameras the pair were to look at when prompted over their earpieces, and another crew member placed an empty coffee mug on the table in front of each of them, together with a small bowl of fruit and a plate of rather stale-looking French croissants - set props to convey a morning breakfast.
A yell went up - "30 seconds. Places everyone," - as the studio was an even more hectic hive of activity with crew members dashing here and there. The director asked the novice presenters to smile and enjoy themselves over their earpieces, and everybody cleared the set and got into position.
Clark gently adjusted his tie as Lois rubbed her sweaty palms on the seat of the couch. It was now or never.
The show's intro theme could be heard and a monitor on the side showed the opening titles which included footage of both Lois and Clark from when they were posing for publicity shots. "We are live in 5…4…3…" The '2' and '1' were mere hand signals and then a green light above the main camera went on.
Lois plastered on a beaming smile and announced, "Hi, and welcome to Good Morning, Metropolis! I'm your host, Lois Lane…"
Clark chimed in with perfect timing, "…and I'm your co-host, Clark Kent."
"Together, we hope to make your mornings a little bit brighter," said Lois, getting into the swing of things.
Clark wasn't far behind. "That's right. And today, have we got a doozy of a show lined up for you." He widened his smile to hide the grimace over what he'd just had to read. Phrases like that were far from natural coming from him.
"On today's show, we'll be taking a detailed look at the positives and pitfalls of online dating," Lois continued as a monitor on the side showed a brief montage of Lois' and Clark's dates.
"Britain's Queen of Cakes - Mary Berry - will be showing me a few cheats and tips to save you time and money during the upcoming holidays," Clark followed on, as off-camera Lois hid a smirk. The montage was of Mary Berry on one of her UK shows.
"And the unusual craze that is sweeping the city right now: shiny lip balm!" Lois almost spluttered at the ridiculous idea, wondering for a brief moment where exactly in Metropolis such things caught on while also wondering how a sarcastic army brat had wound up on daytime television to utter such a phrase. A montage was played showing close-ups of different flavoured lip balms and various people on the streets trying them.
"But first, here's Jen Walker with the morning's latest. Jen?" said Clark, as the live feed cut to another studio where Jen and the news team had 4 minutes to give viewers a brief summary of the morning's headlines, plus a traffic update and a weather bulletin.
"Guys, that was a great start!" said the producer, practically running over. Both Lois and Clark smiled because it really had gone off without a hitch. "You were both bright, breezy and on point. Exactly what is needed to start the show," She walked behind them and put a hand on each shoulder.
"We're just taking a commercial break after the news segment, and then we'll be rolling with the online dating segment. You guys just have to read off the autocue when prompted, but most of it will be footage from your dates plus the voiceovers you recorded last week. A bit of banter when talking about your dates is OK too." She gave them a thumbs-up and went back to her station.
Oliver stood, hands in pockets, in the middle of his office in the LuthorCorp building having just concluded a meeting with the legal team of a construction company that Queen Industries was in the process of buying. He didn't actually care for the company as an asset but it was a strategic move to prevent one of his competitors from stealing a march on Queen Industries when another large urban development was up for tender.
He switched on the large flatscreen in the lounge area beside his office and sat down on one of the plush leather couches, sipping from a bottle of water as he turned to the channel hosting a certain morning TV show. As the opening credits rolled, he thought wistfully about how he'd wanted Lois back in his life as more than friends again, and that she'd turned him down. She did let him down gently but it still hurt. He knew about her long-held feelings for Clark and had even encouraged her to go for it over a year ago, and he bore no ill will towards Clark as he was a decent man whose heart was in the right place, and who would certainly treat her right. Clark really could offer her what she needed even though he obviously lacked Oliver's wealth, and he knew Lois was somebody Clark absolutely needed in his life. Besides, Oliver was still battling his demons and did not want Lois to have to share that burden and the aftermath of his frequent screw-ups. No, it was better this way.
He watched with interest, partly hoping it would be a disaster but mostly hoping his friends would do well, but he almost did a spit-take when he heard Clark talk about baking cakes. He'd laughed at the very notion when he'd spoken to Lois last week but now it was actually happening. He buzzed his secretary to inform her to hold all calls for the next hour as he now didn't want to miss this show. It's a shame it's only the morning otherwise this would totally be a popcorn moment!