Careless Memories Rated PG-13
Fandom: Superman Returns
Word Count: 2829
Summary: Takes place during Superman Returns and goes AU from there. A different series of events following the test launch near crash. Richard can't help but be threatened by the Man of Steel as he flies back into Lois' life.

A/N - Title taken from a Duran Duran song (cos I'm lame like that)

Chapter 1

It had been a close one.

Too close.

Clark's heart raced at the terrifying realization that he'd almost not been fast or strong enough to save Lois this time. That his first heroic deed after being conspicuously absent for five years had almost ended in utter failure. The awkward bulk of the broken plane had proved to be a worthy opponent against his powers, and he'd barely managed to get the plane stopped in time before it shattered into the ground below him. This time, he'd been lucky. Very lucky. If the point of impact had occurred other than the stadium he was currently hovering over, it would have had a very fatal and messy ending. In a crowded city street, Clark would have failed to stop the death spiral and many lives would have been lost at his hands. It had been that close - only a few feet separating utter failure from success.

And Lois would have been lost to him. For good, this time.

But he hadn't failed. That lone thought whispered through his mind as he carefully lowered the bulk of the fractured fuselage to the beckoning baseball field, making certain as he did so that the shocked ballplayers had managed to get themselves out of harms way. It wouldn't look good to have bystander casualties on the ground, regardless of how many lives he'd just saved. The public was a fickle beast and he knew that only too well.

A cloud of dust welcomed the shell of what used to be an elite and sophisticated aircraft. Over the fractured nose of the plane, Clark could see the pilots looking at each other in stunned silence as they processed what had just occurred. They'd had front row seats for the rapidly approaching earth, helpless to avert the impending impact. There was nothing they could have done to prevent their aircraft falling from the sky.

Clark studied them as the pilots removed the now unnecessary oxygen masks from their faces and acknowledged the silent gratitude they sent in his direction. In that moment, Clark was reminded why he had returned to Metropolis, and ultimately donned his suit again.

Because he made a difference in a world that needed him.

And damned if it didn't feel good to do something right for a change. How could he even have considered giving all of this up for even a moment?

This is who he was. What he was destined to do.

And he was glad he was back.

Lois let out the breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, hearing those around her doing the same.

They were alive.

Somehow, their lives had been spared.

An eternity had seemed to have passed since the first blip of the engines that had thrown them all on edge. Regret and fear had speared through the cabin as that little blip became a tangible beast, rocketing them towards orbit before spinning out of control to the ground below. In an instant, they had been thrust into a shared unity - they were all going die together and that made them strangers no longer. They shared a common fate and it was terrifying. It wasn't the first time that Lois had cursed Superman's absence but it was sure to be her last. Yet, just as that thought had flickered through her mind, a speck of blurred color had shot past her peripheral vision. What sounded like footsteps above them had her questioning her own sanity, not daring to hope that Superman had shown up after five years to save the day.

But now as she stared at the seat back in front of her, she had all the evidence she needed. They were alive. She was alive.

He was back.

And he had saved her. Again.

Oh god, he was back…

Lois could hear her fellow passengers murmuring amongst themselves and she cast a quick look around, not surprised to find the same wide-eyed wonder present on those around her. A miracle had just occurred and they had been there to witness it.

Another screech of metal had Lois jumping in her seat, her heart leaping into her throat.

And then he framed the doorway.

Superman.

Striding confidently into the plane like he hadn't been missing from the face of the earth for the last five years, he still managed to take her breath away. The look of quiet concern coloring his vivid eyes as they swept over the survivors unnerved her. She couldn't help but wonder if he even knew that she had been on that plane and if he would be as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Was this a random act of heroism or had he come to her rescue for the umpteenth time?

"Is everybody alright?" he asked in that comforting velvet voice she remembered so well. That voice… so familiar. A voice she never thought she'd hear again.

Fumbling for her seatbelt, she was on her feet before she even was aware of moving.

Their eyes met.

And she knew.

He hadn't just been saving a plane from sure disaster. He'd been saving her. Again. Precious seconds ticked by as they regarded each other, neither aware of the curious looks the passengers were beginning to give each other.

"Are you ok?"

The absolute concern in his voice paralyzed her. Oh god, why did he have to look so concerned? She realized in that instant how much she had been lying to herself.

She wasn't over him. Not by a long shot.

The swiveling of heads in front of him served to break the spell he'd been held captive under, the intensity of the moment not at all subtle. Clark was showing too much emotion and he knew it - but he was helpless to look away. After five years, Lois still had the ability to reduce him to a gawking boy rather than the contrived superhero that he'd worked so hard to develop and maintain.

Clearing his throat, Clark attempted to do damage control. He'd already screwed up and knew it. Staring at Lois like that in a plane full of reporters hadn't been the smartest thing in light of the sensation his return was sure to bring. Granted, reporters that he'd just saved from certain death, but still reporters none-the-less; who would be blind to miss the electric tension between the hero whose name was known world-wide and the one reporter whose relationship with Superman was almost legendary.

God, he'd missed her.

Lois knew she looked like a lovesick fool, gaping at Superman like she'd never seen him before, but her muscles refused to listen to any signals given by her brain.

"I hope this doesn't put any of you off flying," she heard him say in his official superhero voice. "Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel."

Oh god. If she was still under the delusion that her presence on the aircraft had been a coincidence, hearing those words uttered from his mouth put things into a whole new perspective. He had said that very thing the very first time she had met him; the very first time he had come to her aid and saved her life. Those words weren't meant to comfort the terrified passengers, they were meant for her alone.

She couldn't do this!

Just when she had finally managed to convince herself that she was over her Superman crush, he had flown back into her life with as much dramatic flair as the first time she'd met him. She still remembered that exact moment with the utmost of clarity. It was hard to forget plummeting from the roof of the Planet to meet the pavement, only to be scooped up by a strong pair of arms at the very last second. And not only had he saved her, but he had saved many on the street below from being crushed by the helicopter that had finally teetered off of the roof. It had been a day that had been forever etched in her memory. Her entire life had changed in that one moment. A man who could fly had been introduced to the world and she had been the one to introduce him.

Her life had never been the same since.

With one last searing look, Lois watched Superman turn away from her and head for the open doorway. He was leaving and she found herself flooded with emotion. Regret. Anger. Fear.

Love.

Oh god…

Panic gripped her as she realized he was getting ready to do what he did best - fly off into the sunset with little regard for the emotional aftermath he would leave behind.

Well, not this time. Lois had a few things she needed to say to him, unheeding that this was neither the time nor the place. With little grace, she shoved her way out of her seat and into the aisle, not caring that every eye was on her. Even in light of the averted disaster, her fellow passengers were captivated by this tableau and were unable to do anything but watch it play out. The question had always been 'did Superman really love Lois Lane?' Well, that question was certainly being answered.

The cheering sounds of the crowded stadium reached her ears as Lois stumbled down the aisle. She could see him framed in the doorway, larger than life as he acknowledged the cheering crowd with his standard stoicism.

Lois reached out to touch his arm, anything to prevent him from leaving her.

Again.

Before her fingers met the spongy spandex of his suit, he had taken flight and was gone.

So many repressed emotions assaulted her as she watched him fly into the sky and she found herself overcome by a nauseating dizziness that would not be ignored.

And just as she had done that first fateful night she had met him, Lois Lane fainted.

'Just fly,' Clark instructed himself, the urge to turn around nearly overwhelming. Leaving Lois again just then had been one of the hardest things he had ever done, but he knew it was necessary. He'd already shown too much emotion where she was concerned and he wasn't naive enough to think that it wouldn't be in print before the day was out.

God, he'd missed her.

Her heartbeat comforted him as he rose into the welcoming sky. Now that he'd locked onto it again, it would always be there in the background, soothing him when he couldn't be with her. A blip in the rhythm gave him pause, however and he gave into temptation and looked behind him.

He sighed deeply and cursed his fate of loving Lois Lane.

Clark could see the tiny frame of her body splayed against the loud yellow emergency ramp that he had inflated when he'd ripped the aircraft's door off. He knew that he should ignore it, that paying anymore attention to Lois would be damaging to them both. Lois had a child and was engaged to another man. She didn't need her name linked to him anymore than it already was.

Per usual, however, he was helpless to ignore his damsel in distress. The knowledge that she could be injured overrode his common sense. Without hesitation, he turned around and went back for her, carefully lifting her into his arms, knowing as he did so that he was damning them both to speculation and gossip.

It couldn't be helped.

A grim silence had transformed the newsroom at the Daily Planet. Nobody spoke and all eyes were glued to the television monitors mounted overhead. Live coverage of the disaster could be found on every channel and Richard White watched with horror as his fiancee's fate was to be determined. The plane that she was on was dropping from the radar at an alarming speed and even the news anchors were unable to stay objective or impartial. Richard couldn't even remember if he'd told Lois that he'd loved her that morning before she had rushed off to join the other reporters onboard the now doomed flight.

"Is Mommy going to be ok?" Jason whispered to him and Richard did his best to shield his son's eyes from the terrifying truth being reported. His son shouldn't be watching but Richard couldn't bring himself to turn away from the monitors. He couldn't even bring himself to lie and tell his son that his mom would be fine, the gravity of the situation leaving little doubt as to the outcome.

"The wings…" one newscaster stuttered, relaying the information she had just received. "Both wings are completely gone. There seems to be little hope that the pilots will be able to land this aircraft safely. This is a truly upsetting turn of events…"

Richard's heart clenched in his chest at the news, knowing that there wasn't anything that could be done when an aircraft lost both wings.

Nothing except crash.

Seconds seemed to take hours and Richard waited with bated breath for the final confirmation that his Lois was gone from his life forever.

The newsroom watched as the typically impartial news reporter on the screen in front of them startled at a piece of information that had just been given to her.

Eyes wide, she announced breathlessly, "I've just been informed that… Superman has been spotted and is currently trying to assist the aircraft with landing…"

Richard's breath hitched. Superman. The one man whose shadow he'd been living in since he'd first met Lois. A man who had disappeared five years ago, leaving Lois willing to take solace in his arms. A man larger than life who was now apparently back.

And he'd never been so thankful to hear that news in his life.

Live footage jumped on the monitor; the televised baseball game now covering one of the most intense situations that had taken place in years. Richard gasped at the site of the broken aircraft hovering mere feet from the ground, a tiny speck at the tip. A blue and red speck. The camera zoomed in and Richard watched as Superman carefully lowered the fuselage to the ground, this live demonstration of strength not lost on him. Richard knew all about the amazing things Superman had done before disappearing and had always watched with a sense of fascination, if not envy. But this was the first time the superhero's heroic actions had directly affected him.

The roar of the bullpen startled him as a collective cheer let loose. Not only was Superman back, he'd saved one of their own. Richard continued to watch the monitors as Superman tore off the door and entered the aircraft he'd just set down. What he wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall…

"Did Superman save mommy?"

Richard jerked his head down to look at the son he held in his arms, tears welling up in his eyes as he nodded. "I think he did."

He looked over at his uncle and could practically see the news reporting wheels spinning. This story was huge and even he knew it. He couldn't help but wonder if Superman knew Lois was on the plane but quickly decided it didn't matter. If Superman saved that plane because Lois Lane was on it, well… he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Superman had kept the plane from crashing and if Lois came out of the experience unscathed, he'd deal with his feelings of inadequacy at a later time. The sight of the superhero reappearing at the doorway and regarding the crowd was reassuring. Richard couldn't help but think that the superhero wouldn't take the time to pose like he was if there had been anybody inside who was truly injured.

"Look! There is Mommy!" Jason announced excitedly, pointing at the TV.

Framed just behind the bulk of Superman, Richard picked out Lois, relieved to see that she appeared, by all intents and purposes, unscathed. Another gasp in the newsroom was heard as Lois collapsed and slid down the emergency ramp just after Superman flew away. Along with the entire nation, Richard watched Superman return and take Lois in his arms, once again taking to the sky.

With Richard's fiancée cuddled against his chest.

"Daddy, where is Superman taking mommy?"

TBC

A/N I'd love you forever if you left a review and let me know what you think of this fic! It's not beta'd so if you see any errors, feel free to point them out. I have a tendency to leave out words in sentences and my proofreading never seems to find them! Oh and if POV line breaks are missing, i've tried a HUNDRED times to correct it and it keeps going back to having none. Grr. Hate that.