"I - I - I have to step outside and get some air," Lois said shakily.
"Lois, please, stay here with us," Clark said. "We just learned that somebody may be trying to target us. I don't know that it's such a good idea for you to go out by yourself at night time."
"Really, Clark?" she snapped at him. "I've been by myself all day long. You weren't worried about me then, so don't start worrying about me now." Clark looked hurt by her biting words, and took a step back. He watched her walk out the door.
"Um, Lana, I'll be right back," Clark said after a moment. He headed out the door after Lois. He caught her as she hit the sidewalk. "Lois!" he called out after her. She turned around and looked at him. "Please. Talk to me."
"Talk to you?!" Lois exclaimed with irritation in her voice, and narrowing her eyes. "OK, fine. Let's talk!" Lois was raising her voice to him as her frustrations and anger over the day's events finally came to the surface. "Let's talk about the fact that your ex-girlfriend just re-entered our lives, and you invited her over to our apartment without so much as asking me, your wife, if that was OK. Let's talk about the fact that you've been giving her every ounce of your attention since she's been in our apartment. Let's talk about the fact that anytime I've asked her a question you glare at me like I shot fire out of my eyes at her! Let's talk about the fact that I wanted, no, needed my husband today, but got treated like just another citizen of Metropolis! I got more attention and affection from the new hire of the Daily Planet than I did from my own husband!"
"Don't blame me for how today went down!" Clark said, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I tried talking to you after our first encounter with Lana, and you immediately had your defenses up. You wouldn't talk to me, you wouldn't let me touch you. If I've been glaring at you it's because all you've done is snap at Lana like she's the bad guy when she's just here to help!"
"Oh, thank you, Clark! Your wife is standing here telling you why I'm upset about the ex-love-of-your-life coming back, and you're completely defending her!" Lois exclaimed.
Clark continued on. "Quit acting like you have to remind me who's my wife, and who's not, OK?! And do not throw everything I've done today in my face when earlier you told me that I did the right thing by helping that little girl! "
"That little girl did need your help, Clark!" Lois continued. "For like 5 minutes! Not the whole day."
"Maybe I'm having a hard time figuring out my role in all of this, too!" Clark yelled at her. "I can't be there for everyone all the time! I can't be with you every second, and do all the other things -" he pulled on his tie to use their secret sign for Superman- "that I need to do!"
"Yeah, let's talk about all the other - things - you've done today!" She lowered her voice to a hissed whisper as she continued on. "When I called you on the phone from the ER, you told me that you had helped a wheelchair-bound man who had fallen out of his wheelchair in Texas, and returned a cat stuck in a tree to his 5-year-old owner who was standing at the base of the tree - in California. And then on your way back to Metropolis, you stopped and helped an old lady across the street."
"I was helping people!" Clark hissed back at her in hushed tones. "I like helping people! I thought that was one of the things you loved about me! But instead of just telling me that all the other things could wait, and you really wanted me with you, you put up a wall because that's what Lois Lane does! When things get tough, you get going. We're not just in a relationship anymore, Lois, we are in a marriage, and that means something to me, and I know it means something to you, too. You can't just run from a marriage because we hit a tough spot."
"Our marriage means more to me than you will ever know!" Lois exclaimed. "And I do love that you help people. Today it just didn't feel like all those other people needed -" she lowered her voice to a low whisper "- Superman's assistance. I mean, congratulations on making a 5-year-old little girl happy by getting her cat out of a tree; but meanwhile your wife was in the ER. By herself." She took a deep breath, and Clark could hear her voice shaking. "It really would have been nice to just know that I mattered to you today." Clark's expression immediately changed at her last words. He went from being frustrated and irritated with her to genuinely hurt and concerned. He stood there silently for a brief moment.
"Lois?" he asked softly. "You- you really felt like you didn't matter to me today?"
Lois' eyes welled with tears as she turned and backed away from him. "Please, Clark" she said as she continued walking away. "I just need to be by myself."
Clark watched her walk away before he went back into his apartment looking and feeling completely deflated.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Lana asked, looking at his demeanor.
"No. I've just been an idiot," Clark said. "I've completely missed all the obvious signs that she just needed her husband today, and I was too caught up in trying to be everyone's best friend -" he gestured Lana's direction. "-And everybody's best Superman. All that meant that I have not been her best husband."
"Well, if I can give you some advice," Lana started. "Go make it right. Lois Lane might be a tough cookie, but she has a big soft spot in her heart for Clark Kent. And Lois and Clark are a pretty super couple."
"Lana, I have to ask, though. What exactly are your intentions for coming back?" Clark questioned. "I mean, Lois may have been really tough on you tonight, but part of what she questioned you for was for legitimate concerns - you coming back here could very well have led Aaron Jacobs to us. Why not just write this in an e-mail, or phone call?"
"It was way too risky," Lana said. "This man is brilliant, and he knows what he wants. He could be hacking all the e-mails and phone calls. I was serious when I said that I had traveled all over the globe before arriving to Metropolis. I wanted to make sure that nobody was following me, and that I threw him off if he was following me." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I want you to know that my coming here was purely as a friend. I have no intention of trying to get you back. You know that, right? I've known that you and Lois were meant together long before you two ever did. I just couldn't bring myself to admit it back then. I truly just came here to warn you to be on the lookout. There is someone gunning for you, and when and if he ever finds you, I fear he poses a danger to both you and Lois."
"Look, Lana, I believe you that you had no intentions of trying to disrupt my marriage. Even if you did, I would hope that Lois knows how much I love her to know that she's never been a placeholder for me," Clark said. "She and I have just had a really rough day today. I really need to find her and talk to her."
"Why don't I see myself out?" Lana asked. "I know when you find her, you two have a lot to talk about. Maybe I can swing by tomorrow and reassure her myself that my intentions here are only to help - not to hurt."
"Yeah, maybe so," Clark said distractedly.
Lana grabbed a pen and piece of paper and scribbled down a phone number. "Here's my number in case you need to reach me for any reason. Chloe and I plan on being at Watchtower most of the day tomorrow and see if we can find anything that would point us to where our Aaron Jacobs could be."
"Thanks, Lana," Clark said. "We really do appreciate you coming here to give us all this information."
"What are friends for, Clark?" Lana asked as she gave him a friendly hug goodbye. With that, she walked out the door.
Meanwhile, Lois was out walking briskly. She had to think. She had to move. "What am I doing?" Lois thought to herself. "Why am I giving Clark the cold shoulder when he hasn't done anything wrong? Sure, he hurt my feelings today, but how was he supposed to know that I wanted a doting husband today? That's not a very 'Lois Lane' thing to desire. Is he supposed to read my mind? And why am I distancing myself from this relationship, from our *marriage* at that, just because I perceive Lana as a threat? Sure, she has beauty. And Clark's same powers. And intelligence. But that doesn't mean that Clark finds that attractive….. Does it?" Lois was still dressed in her work clothes, and she realized that her heels needed a break from all the walking, so she sat down on a bench. "Come on, Lane. Pull yourself together."
"Do you know how blind I've been today?" a voice asked her from a few feet away. Lois looked up to see her husband walking towards her. He sat on the bench beside her and took her good hand in his.
"Blind? What are you -?" Lois started.
"Lana entered our lives again today. I just thought it was great. One of our old friends is back. I knew that I saw a change in you today, but I was so blind. Blind to the fact that you might see Lana as a threat; blind to the fact that you needed me so many times today; blind to how scared you were of all the information that Lana shared with us. But mostly I've been blind to the fact that I let -" Clark pulled on his tie as his secret 'Superman' sign that he and Lois understood - "other things come before you, and you were hurt by my actions. You've needed your husband today to comfort you, and reassure you, and just be there for you, and I've been too blind to see it. Lois. I need you to really listen to me when I say this to you." Lois looked Clark in the eyes as he continued. "I haven't loved Lana for a very long time. And I have never loved Lana like I love you. You are the one person who I didn't have to hide any part of myself from. You are the person that I look forward to waking up with; look forward to spending time with; look forward to going to bed with - both in a literal and figurative way. You keep me grounded, you speak your mind, but you're my soft place to fall. You are my very best friend in the whole world, and I love you more than anything, or anyone else on this planet. I am so sorry that I have made you feel like anything less than that today."
Lois smiled warmly at Clark, and a look of relief washed over her face. "Apology accepted." She leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Lois," Clark said.
Lois sat silently for a minute before speaking again. "Look, Clark, I know I've been pulling away, putting up my defenses, and maybe even treating Lana pretty harshly," Lois said. "I'm not proud of my actions. I'm not proud of the fact that as soon as a hardship enters our relationship, my first instinct is to build a wall. I know I haven't made today easy on you, and I expected you to read my mind and make it better, and that wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry, Clark."
"Apology accepted," Clark said with a big smile. "Can I ask you something, though?"
"Of course," Lois replied.
"Why are you threatened by Lana? Why are you acting as though you've been a placeholder for me the entire time?" Clark asked.
Lois took a deep breath before answering. "Because I was there for all of the Lana and Clark love saga. You were madly and deeply in love with that woman, and the only reason you ended the relationship was because being around her would have killed you. That's no longer an issue anymore." She broke eye contact with him for a brief second before her eyes met his again, and she continued on. "She's completely your equal now. She can be by your side helping you out. I mean, what can I do for you? Cook you a crappy dinner when you return home? Report the story and give you good publicity?"
"Lois," Clark started. "I was falling in love with you before Lana became lethal to me. I thought that you knew that. You're right when you said that you were there for the Clark and Lana love saga. There was so much drama, secrets, lies, and deception with Lana. Yes, I thought I was in love with her, but I was really in love with the thought of having someone to love. Once I told you everything, there were no more secrets. No more lies." He put his hand lovingly to her cheek. "And what can you do for me? Well, for one thing, you can put me in my place like nobody else can." Lois smiled and bit her lip while Clark gave her a wink and a flirtatious smile. "You can make me feel loved, and safe, and happy just when I think about being with you. You can make me remember why I go out of my way helping people - because I want a world that is safe for you to be a part of. You can satisfy me in ways that nobody, and I truly mean nobody, ever has, or ever could. You are a one-of-a-kind, Lois Lane. You don't need any kind of special ability to be my equal." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "You're my equal because you love me fully and entirely. You're my best friend. And you are my wife. Not because you were the only one I could get, or because you were better than nothing. You're my wife because I couldn't imagine my life without you being in every single part of it. You're my wife because I wanted you to be my wife; not because I just wanted a wife."
Lois smiled warmly at him. "I don't know what I've done to deserve you, Clark Kent; but I'm really glad that I have you." She leaned up and gave him a sweet kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Clark said. He felt Lois shiver in the night air.
"Let's go home," Clark said.
"I'd love that," Lois responded. Clark held her close as they walked home.