The 7 Year Hitch

A/N: I want to send a big thank you to all of you out there who are reading and now following this story, and an especially big one to those who have left messages either on the thread or privately reviewing it or telling me how you are looking forward to more! I am going ahead and posting part 2, but it might be a little bit before I post part 3. I need to work on my other fic (the Jor-El/Lara one entitled "My Life Through Your Eyes"). I'm already ahead on this one and don't want to get behind on the other one. Please keep nudging me though and I'll try to pay attention to how long I let go by before updating again.

Part 2

(Set during "Masquerade" with several lines taken from that episode.)

February, 2011 – Daily Planet, End of the work day

Lois Lane was in full blown planning mode. Nothing was going to stop her from planning this wedding now. The VRA had been repealed and even though there were still complainers and this "darkness" was still out there waiting to be fought, she was determined to make their small wedding absolutely perfect.

She was waiting for Clark to reappear to take her out to dinner, discuss wedding plans and then home…to discuss them some more. Not wanting to get started on anything that might get her stuck there late and ruin their plans, Lois had pulled out the model of the church she had built and was placing the pieces inside, trying to see how to balance out the problem she was seeing…well, one of them anyway.

Her phone rang and she tapped her Bluetooth on. "Lane," she said absently.

"Hi, sorry I'm running a bit late. Something came up," came her fiancé's voice.

Lois sighed into the phone. She had a feeling she knew what was keeping him away. "That something wouldn't happen to be an aversion to planning our upcoming nuptials would it?" she asked.

"No, of course not," Clark said, a little too quickly and too forcefully. "Besides, I'm sure that you have everything under control. Just look at how well Chloe's and Jimmy's wedding turned out." He winced as the words left his mouth. Maybe that wasn't the best example considering the groom ended up in the hospital along with many of the guests and the bride was carried off by an evil monster from another planet.

"Ok, first of all, we won't even address how that wedding ended and how the marriage turned out, but even still those were different times, Clark," Lois almost wailed.

Clark frowned as he kept an eye on the city below him. "Lois, I thought we decided to keep the wedding small because we didn't want it to get complicated. You sound upset. It's going to be fine, I'm sure. Whatever the problem is, we can fix it."

"Really? You sure about that?" Lois asked. A whole litany of problems and potential problems flew through her mind and she took a couple of deep breaths to try to calm down. 'Focus on Clark and how much you love him.'

"Try me," he challenged. "Even with everything that's been going on, nothing can stop this from happening…but maybe we could talk about this when I get there."

"Look, Clark, I want to plan this wedding as much as I want to jump off a building," she said with another sigh, placing the little bride and groom in her cardboard church.

"You know I'd catch you," he said, his tone full of love and gentle teasing.

She couldn't stop herself from smiling as she stood back up. "You're sweet," she told him. "Now stop trying to dodge this bullet, speedy pants. We've got a serious problem here. Tiny Lois has 37 possible guests on her side. Do you know how many guests tiny Clark has on his?"

"Just tiny Martha?" he quipped, trying to get her to lighten up and yet knowing his side of the cardboard church must look a little empty.

"Tiny Martha is the sign of a much larger problem," she answered back. "Sandwiching your super friends into the same place as my dad's battalion is a recipe for disaster! All it takes is one wrong person recognizing the right face, and…bam!" she rattled off in one breath as she placed miniatures of the heroes in the church on Clark's side.

"We'll find a way to make it work," he soothed. It wouldn't do any good to tell her not to worry but Clark was trying to make her worry less.

She huffed at his efforts. "It's easy for you to say when you're calling from…" she sat down at her desk and punched a key to turn off the screensaver. Frowning and shaking her head at what she saw on the monitor, she asked, "Where the hell are you?"

Grimacing briefly, Clark answered vaguely, "Just running some errands."

"Please tell me you didn't hop across the pond for a gallon of milk," Lois begged.

Clark froze. How did she do that?! How could she possibly know? He laughed nervously. "Huh, what makes you think that I'd be in England?"

"Oh, you know, 'cause I'm kinda staring at your face online."

Oh, $#!*! Clark lowered the phone and immediately zipped to Metropolis, changing his wardrobe along the way. In minutes, he was straightening his jacket and hair as he strode down the stairs to the basement, coming face to face with Lois, her arms folded across her chest. He swallowed as he came to a stop a few feet away from her. This wasn't going to be good.

"That'd better be some pretty damn good milk, Smallville," she told him.

Now he knew he was in the doghouse. Lois only called him Smallville when they were away from work, trying to keep things professional at the Planet. "'Smallville', I must be in trouble," he muttered, taking the few strides left to close the distance between them. "How bad is it?" he came over to take in what Lois was looking at on her computer.

For the next few minutes, Lois showed him the news all over the world about the Red-and-Blue-Blur, acknowledging several of his saves, but pointing out that he had been spotted. He argued that no one had seen his face and he still made the save. Going over to the file cabinet they shared, she pulled out a piece of paper.

"Well, we were lucky…this time," she said, holding up the paper.

Clark stood up and frowned in confusion. "That was supposed to go out two days ago! Why do you still have this?" he asked, taking their story from her. Technically, she was letting him have the byline since she had filed the companion piece, but they had worked on it together and she had typed it up.

Lois looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Because I realized we had missed something before I sent it up there."

"I spell checked it twice," Clark told her.

Lois would have hit him upside the head if it would have done any good. "You really don't see this?! Clark…!" she demanded, taking the paper from him and going over to his desk. Grabbing her red Sharpie, she circled the word "Heroes" and his picture right underneath. "The whole world is starting to wonder who the Blur is and you are so close to the story that you might find yourself smack-dab in the middle of it!" She jabbed at the story for emphasis and saw that he still wasn't getting it. "I think it's high time that we got you a new disguise."

Clark opened his mouth, closed it and sighed. "What do you have in mind?" he asked reluctantly.

~CK/LL~

Later that night at the farm…

"I'm not going to stop saving people."

Lois stood stunned in place as she watched Clark walk away and take off his jacket. She knew he wouldn't care for the hood and glasses but she didn't think it was that bad. And did he really think that she would ever want him to stop saving people? She, of all people, obviously had hero-worship for the man she was marrying, but he just wasn't seeing the big picture in this. She had to make him see it, even if he decided to be out there for everyone to see.

"I can't believe you could think I would want that," she told him with disbelief. "You know I know how important what you do is…not just to you, but to the whole world. Ok…" She watched him rip the hood from his jacket, her raw nerves playing havoc with her emotions. Lois was trying to plan a wedding…a future for them as a couple and, while she knew Clark enjoyed being out there saving the world, she needed him to see her point of view on this.

"Do you remember who else didn't want to wear a mask? Oliver," she pointed out.

Clark shoved his jacket into his duffle bag. "Oliver made his own choice."

She was ready to wring his neck. "And whether you like it or not, you've made one too!" He turned to face her and she felt that she finally had his full attention. "What is going to happen if people start thinking that shirt and tie Clark has what it takes to save the day? Sooner or later, someone is going to put 2 and 2 together."

"Yeah, and I appreciate your concern…" Clark started.

Lois interrupted, knowing that he still wasn't seeing how this would affect not just him, but her as well. "And I don't understand why you aren't more concerned. Oliver went from having two identities…to one…to none…and I will stand by you no matter what, ok…but is that really the life you want for yourself?"

Instead of answering, Clark just said, "You know I really should get to work."

Exasperated with his seeming lack of caring, Lois stepped in front of him, her exhaustion and anger barely reined in and making her snarky. "Oh no!" she put her hand up and smirked at him. "You do not get to whoosh your way out of this one!" When he just blinked at her, she let out a soft breath. "Why don't I just save you the trouble and I'll just super speed off all on my own, ok?" She marched down the steps, paused halfway down and threw her hands up in the air, waving them. "Whoosh!" she said and then finished storming out of the barn.

Clark sighed. He understood what Lois was saying but he really just thought she was exaggerating. People would never think that he was the Blur. Lois was just being paranoid and he was trying to keep his cool because one of them needed to. Between work, the darkness, Oliver's situation, the pro-hero support and the stress of the wedding, she had to be wearing down a little. Even the great Lois Lane couldn't do it all and not feel some stress.

~CK/LL~

Lois blinked rapidly and sniffed, attempting to keep from giving in to the tears that wanted release. Once she started, she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to stop. It was getting late and she had work tomorrow. Even though she should be in bed, trying to sleep, she knew she wouldn't be able to after everything that had happened today. This last phone call had just been the icing on the cake to a terrible day. Deciding that maybe some ice cream might help her blues, Lois tossed the phone to the side, got up from the couch and moved into the kitchen.

The little church model and tiny figurines that represented guests at her wedding was sitting on the island and she paused as it caught her attention. Lois sighed as she found one little figure dressed in army fatigues and picked it up to look at it sadly. She studied it for a minute, unable to help comparing the man it represented to the man who had left her a couple of hours ago to do what he felt was his "duty".

The quiet of the farm house was shattered by the ringing of the telephone, causing Lois to jump. She placed the small cardboard figure on the island by the church model and walked over to pick up the phone. Glancing at the caller ID, she felt a couple of tears fall. How did she always seem to call at just the right time?

Clearing her throat, Lois picked up on the third ring. "Hi, Martha," she said, hoping that she was able to keep her tone light.

"Lois! Oh, I'm so glad I was able to catch up with you. You weren't asleep were you?" the older woman's voice came over the line.

Lois yanked open the freezer and pulled out a tub of Black Forest ice cream. Reminding her of a conversation that they had shared a long time ago in which Lois had suggested that he try a "little more wild cherry", Clark had bought a container once as a gag. They both were pleasantly surprised to find that they loved the flavor.

Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, she shook her head slightly as if Martha could see her. "No, you didn't wake me. I was just grabbing a late-night snack as a matter of fact."

"Oh? And what's on the menu? Maybe if I have whatever you're eating here, I'll indulge too and we can pretend we're having a nice cozy talk on the couch," Martha suggested warmly.

Her words and tone were like a balm for Lois' soul. "Black Forest ice cream."

Martha frowned. Her soon-to-be daughter only ate that flavor, according to her son, when she was having a really great day or a really lousy one. Since Lois didn't seem to be bubbling over enthusiastically and talking a ninety miles an hour, she had to assume it was the latter. "Hmm. Not sure I have that flavor on hand but I do have some ice cream here so I'll join you. Is Clark home?" she asked nonchalantly.

Lois dropped onto the couch and scooped out a large spoonful. "Nope, he's out…chasing a special lead," she answered using one of the code terms they had developed.

"I see," Martha murmured. She heard a little bit of bitterness in Lois' tone and she prayed that the younger woman wasn't already having doubts about being the wife of a superhero. "Lois, what's wrong? Is Clark giving you problems? Because if he is…"

"No, no, nothing like that. Not really. It's just…" Lois trailed off and stuck the ice cream into her mouth, trying to figure out how to explain to Martha without saying a lot over the phone. Just because the VRA had been revoked didn't mean that they were taking any chances. With Martha being in the spotlight in Washington as a Senator and especially with her open support of the heroes, there would be no surprise to find that some branch of the government would bug her phone.

"Yes?" Martha prompted.

Deciding to give Martha part of the answer while she derived a way to explain the rest, Lois said, "I hung up from speaking with the General not long before you called. He said he found my mother's dress and it should be here tomorrow or the day after."

"Mmhmm." Martha waited patiently for her to continue.

"He also said that he's pretty sure he won't be able to make it to the wedding. Something about a special assignment which means that I take second place again to his duty," Lois blurted out, unable to keep the hurt from her tone.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Martha cooed sympathetically.

As if that had opened the floodgates, Lois found herself sniffling and the tears falling at an alarming rate. "And then there's the whole Clark-not-being-careful-and-going-to-get-caught thing we've been arguing about…" she proceeded to blubber into the phone around ice cream and sobs.

The only person other than Martha who might have been able to decipher Lois' string of babble currently pouring forth in halting, coded terms and tears, was Chloe. But even she would have had a hard time. As it was, Martha pieced the story together as best she could and sent reassuring sounds over the line, wishing she could hug Lois until it all came out. She knew that rest would go a long way to helping, but Lois was also fiercely independent and the older woman knew that she wanted to prove to everyone, especially Clark, that she could handle it all and come out still able to do more.

Martha let the young woman pour out her aching heart. When the sobs had calmed to slight hiccups and sniffles, and the words trailed off to a stop, she urged Lois to take a couple of deep breaths. "Sounds like you've been dealing with a lot. Weddings always seem to bring out all sorts of emotions, hopes and fears, including many we didn't even know were there. It can be a rough time for even the most…average couple."

"And Clark and I aren't an average couple," Lois said, continuing Martha's trail of thought. "I know. It's just…I just don't think he gets it! The fact that he even thought for a moment that I would suggest he stop…helping people is beyond absurd and makes me so angry I want to spit! But I know he didn't mean it like that. I just don't understand how he isn't worried about…someone finding out what he does with his off time. I mean, is this a guy thing or a Clark thing?"

The older woman chuckled. "You forgot the question of whether it's a Kent thing." She sighed before going on, "Actually, you know that Jonathan and I were always worried that people would find out. Our fears have proven to be well-founded in some cases, but not so in others. Pete and Chloe are perfect examples on both sides of that issue, although there were times when Clark himself wished Chloe could be free of the burden of his secret, as he would phrase it. But something happened not too long back, something he hasn't confided to me that has made him more confident and bold in what he's doing. I thought briefly that he was just feeling that way because he now has you to stand beside him, but it's more than that. I think it has something to do with…his biological father, but that's only a guess."

The women sighed simultaneously. Martha took a deep breath before saying, "The truth is, Lois, that you're both right on this. Clark shouldn't have to hide what he's doing out there. People could use a real beacon of hope leading them in the light, not from the shadows. However, that shouldn't mean that he has to give up everything he's working so hard to protect. I have to believe that his parents wanted him to be able to live a full life, one that includes love and family."

Lois grunted, finishing the last bite of the ice cream. "But how are we supposed to do that?" she groaned, unconsciously including herself in that life. Martha smiled at it but then the meaning behind the question caused her to frown again. "Too many people know Clark for him to be able to do this with an audience. Look at what happened to Oliver!"

"I don't know," Martha admitted. "But I'm sure with Lois and Clark working as a team, the solution will present itself." She then brought up something that had caught her attention in Lois' ramblings a bit ago. "As for the…costume idea, what happened to the suit I sent him?"

Her question caused Lois to drop her spoon into the empty container with a clatter and slam it onto the coffee table. "You know, I don't know what happened to that suit! I totally forgot about it until you just reminded me. I'll have to ask him what happened to it. Still doesn't solve the problem with the facial recognition, though."

"No," Martha murmured her agreement. "It doesn't, but…I don't know if I want to get into what prompted me to design it the way I did over the phone. Listen, Lois, it's getting late and I have a meeting with a committee in the morning at 9:30, so I'm going to have to go," she said regretfully.

Lois glanced at the clock and yawned, her eyes widening at the time. It was really late now. Clark would likely stay out all night. "Yeah, I should be getting to bed too. Tomorrow's story won't write itself!"

"Lois, I know you've got a lot on your plate, but you are a strong, intelligent woman with a big heart. Don't forget to try to stay balanced between independence and supporting the man you love. It's not easy to do sometimes. Stay positive. Something will break," Martha encouraged.

"Thanks, Martha. I don't know how you do it, but you always seem to know just when to call and just what to say," Lois told her warmly.

Martha's tone held warm amusement. "It's a super power you develop when you become a mom," she teased. "Give Clark a kiss for me, and then hit him over the head with those little green rocks if you need to knock some sense into his thick head. Call me whenever you need to talk about anything. I love you both, and I'll see you soon!"

After hanging up the phone and cleaning up the remains from her indulgence, Lois quickly got dressed for bed and climbed between the cool sheets. Yawning again, she looked out the window at the sky full of stars and switched off the lamp. "Stay positive. Find a balance between independence and support," she muttered to herself. "Not bad advice of course, but will it work with an intergalactic traveler?"

~CK/LL~

The next day at the Planet…

Lois marched through the basement with an intern hot on her heels. "I'm getting really tired of excuses here," she said into her Bluetooth. Jeff tried to talk to her but she held up a hand. She was at a critical point here with these people. For the fourth time, they were trying to change the appetizers on her. Something about an oil spill raising the prices on the shrimp cocktails she had wanted. "Risotto cheese bites?!" she put a hand to her head, feeling a headache coming on and fighting a bit of hysteria. "Ok, should we just serve up hot charcoal too?" she asked, disconnecting the line.

She held her hand towards the young man at her side. "What do you have for me, Jeff?"

"These just came in from Bert in forensics. Ah, he says you're lucky to be engaged to such a super guy," Jeff quoted.

Lois sighed. Jeff was like a walking recorder. He remembered everything and passed messages on verbatim, but this was one time that she wished he hadn't remembered the exact terminology. "Does he now?" she asked, swinging around to her desk.

"Mmm. Is there anything else you need?" Jeff asked. Like a well-trained retriever, Jeff was always eager to please. And in this case, Lois decided that it was time to start delegating some things. She decided to test just how well he could do a task that she assigned him.

"How would you feel about negotiating a deal across town for me?" she asked, ripping off a piece of paper and handing it to him with a smile.

His eyes lit up and he took it from her but then he looked a little confused. "This is um, a bakery."

Keeping her smile in place, Lois told him, "Yes, it is and why don't you get me a good rate on vanilla bean frosting?" She was happily surprised when he simply accepted his mission, obviously taking it seriously.

Clark came in just then and she before she could say anything, he beat her to the punch, acknowledging what happened at the crime scene and asking her if she had anything to say. Rather than start an argument at work, and trying to keep herself from winding up too tightly, Lois plastered a smile on her face and told him with only a hint of sarcasm, "Not me. Nope. I'm a positive, supportive, independent woman, and I just want to know what happened at the morgue."

Feeling a little guilty and miffed about that, Clark decided two could play the straight professionals and told her he had hit a dead end. Maybe this was the best way. Keep work at work and home at home. He just wasn't sure yet where the Blur fit in those categories. Then she one upped him again when she showed him the photos that Bert had sent over. Their usual banter had a bit of an edge to it today and both were trying to keep their tempers in check.

"Microvision?" Lois asked skeptically.

"It's my power, I can call it whatever I want," Clark told her defensively. When her eyes narrowed, he relented, letting go of his annoyance. They needed to work together on this and the way she kept him on his toes was one of the things he loved about Lois.

~CK/LL~

It was a new day and Clark was feeling good. He had faced Desaad and had come out on the other side unscathed. And he had figured out the answer to the problem Lois had been on his case about. He stood as Lois walked in with a copy of the morning edition. They met and he grabbed his bag.

"The guy who left his calling card across the globe suddenly doesn't want the credit?" she asked, acknowledging her name being under his story.

"I asked that my name be taken off," he told her, steering her towards the copy room. "You're right, Lois, I've been drawing too much attention to myself. I've been doing this all wrong."

While a small part of Lois thrilled to hear those words, her conscience stabbed at her and she started to apologize. "Clark, I am sorry. I-I should've known the pressure you're under and not made things more difficult for you."

He closed the door and turned to her. "And I should be wearing a mask," he told her. Lois tilted her head questioningly. "And fortunately, I've lived my entire life up until this point without needing one. Which is why I've been so reluctant. I mean, this is the face of the man that my parents raised…the face of the man that you love. I don't want to deny who I am when I'm out there doing what I was born to do."

Lois didn't understand exactly where he was going with this. "Then why bother with the jacket, Clark? The symbols?"

He set his bag on top of the copy machine. "When I'm out there in the red and blue and I'm saving people, that's who I really am. And I know that this is going to sound weird but it's not what I'm called that should define who I am. It's who I am that should define what I'm called. Clark Kent…it's just a name…just a word," he told her. "I am the Blur and always have been."

Lois looked at him with an expression of love and acceptance and then smiled brilliantly. "That is a pretty amazing breakthrough! And I'm really happy to hear it, but if you wanna keep doing things like, I don't know, working here and…marrying moi, I don't see how we're going to make this work."

Clark squeezed her forearm in reassurance. "By doing exactly what we talked about. The answer's literally been staring me right in the face," he told her, reaching into his bag.

Placing a hand over his to stop him, Lois darted a look around and through the blinds to the busy newsroom on the other side of the windows. "Clark! The Blur can't just whip out a new costume at work."

He blinked a little and bit back a grin. "The Blur is not the disguise, Lois," he told her, holding up a pair of black framed glasses. Her eyes caught them. "Clark Kent will be the mask."

Lois' mouth dropped in comprehension and her eyes lit up, seeing all the possibilities. Suddenly, it felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. Clark had been paying attention and he did want to be able to keep a life with her separate from his hero duties. Plus, she was a little turned on at the thought of a nerdy Clark Kent with a secret hot body that only she knew about. "Ok. Ok, but the only way that the glasses are ever going to work…"

"Is if I adjust my behavior when I use them? I know! The world needs to believe that Clark Kent is way too normal to ever be…"

"Super," Lois finished. They were both so excited and on finally on the same page about this that they were finishing each other's sentences.

"And even though we silenced Godfrey, we've shut down Granny's orphanage and buried Desaad underneath Belle Reeve, it's not the last time that we've seen Darkseid," he told her. She nodded somewhat worriedly at that. "But I'll be ready," he told her, putting the glasses on. "Hiding in plain sight."

She took a moment to acknowledge to herself how much she really appreciated the bump in his geek factor before deciding to bust his chops just a little. "So you're willing to dial back the home town hero and crank up the average Joe?" she asked a little skeptically.

"If that's what it takes to be the hero that people need…" He reached up and pushed the bridge of his glasses up on his nose with a finger and said meekly, "Yes, Miss Lane, I am."

Lois' smile grew and she bit her bottom lip as her stomach did a little flip at the act. Oh this was going to be torture at work…torture of the best kind. She decided to even the playing field a little. "Did you know that average fiancés let their ladies take them to cake tastings?" she asked, biting back a grin as his shoulders dropped and he looked defeated. "You just have to act like you're miserable though," she added salt to the wound. As she brushed past him, she almost giggled as he told her that it shouldn't be a problem for him to do.