Chapter Five

The Past

"I can't believe we did it." Lois mused, standing outside Clark's apartment. "We actually did it."

Clark turned to her then, his smile radiant, making any lingering doubts fade away. He looked gorgeous, standing there in his dark suit, his tie loose around his neck and his collar unbuttoned. She had chosen a dress that wasn't over the top, just a plain cream coloured, strapless gown that clung to her curves, and flowed to the floor.

She'd thought it was more appropriate than a massive wedding dress since it had been a quick ceremony with only two other people there to act as their witnesses. Two people she had never met in her life, yet they had witnessed the most significant thing to happen in hers. Clark had taken care of all that, she didn't know how but she assumed he'd just paid them to appear.

Her life had changed drastically in the last six weeks. But she wouldn't have changed a single second of it for anything.

"Any regrets?" he asked, leaning in close and taking both her hands in his.

She thought about her father and Lucy, and knowing that the General would be furious about this hadn't deterred her at all. This was her life, and she loved Clark deeply. That was all there was to it.

She shook her head. "Nope, not one." She paused and studied him for a second. "What about you?"

His brows rose. "Do I regret marrying you?"

She let out a surprised yelp as Clark moved literally like a blur, swept her off her feet and into his arms. Staring deeply into her eyes, he smiled. "I love you Lois. And I know that as long as I live, I could never regret this day."

It seemed like there was a hidden 'but' there but Lois decided not to push it as once again she was lost in the warmth and passion of his kiss. He unlocked the door and moved inside, carrying her over the threshold. But once inside, he still didn't put her down and she looked up to see him still staring at her.

There was something in his eyes, something hidden that she thought he didn't want her to see. Although he said that this was the happiest day of his life, he seemed almost sad.

Cupping his face in her hands, she whispered. "What's wrong Clark?"

He sighed, as if in resignation. Slowly he let her slide to the floor but kept his arms around her, holding her tightly against him. He took a few moments to breathe in her scent then pulled back. "It's just…"

"What?" she asked softly.

"My parents are going to be hurt." There was a deep anguish in his voice that made Lois' chest ache. She didn't know how to help him.

"I know." She replied, playing with the tie dangling against his chest. "Maybe we shouldn't have been so impulsive and…"

"No." He tilted her chin up. "Listen to me Lois, never for one minute think that I don't want this. I need you in my life, you make all the bad stuff seem so…distant. When I'm with you I feel…I feel."

She understood, sort of. "Then we'll go to Smallville tomorrow."

"What?" Clearly that had been the last thing he'd thought she'd say.

"Tomorrow, you and I will head to Smallville and tell your parents that we're married. Together."

He tilted his head and grimaced. "Lois I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

She put a finger to his lips and then kissed him. "Clark, you need to do this. You need to forgive yourself and give them the chance to do that too."

"You don't understand, I don't know if I can…"

"I know you can. It'll be hard, but I'll be there with you. Clark they're your parents, they deserve to hear about this from you. They love you, not sure they'll be crazy about me but they'll be happy to have you back."

Clark frowned. "I'm sorry Lois, I've been selfish. I'd been thinking of my parents today but I never stopped to realise that you might've been thinking of your father."

She shook her head and smiled, but it felt stretched on her face. "Not in that way. I know he won't approve of this, us, but honestly I don't care. Is there a small part of me that wishes he would see how happy I am and be happy for me? Sure. But he's never really shown any real interest in my life, he just wants me to do whatever he has planned for me. He sent Lucy off to boarding school as soon as she was old enough to go, he dragged me around the world like a spare piece of luggage. He probably isn't even aware that I've been gone all this time."

Clark hated hearing her talk like that, surely her father missed her, wondered where she was. "I'm sure that's not true. Whatever his faults Lois I know that he loves you."

She shrugged, not wanting the subject to turn to her father. "Clark, really I'm okay. So stop worrying about me and let's focus on you, okay?"

Clark drew in a breath, feeling his chest get lighter with her words, and he wondered how she did it. How had he been lucky enough to find this woman? It seemed so unlikely, and yet at the worst time in his life, she had appeared and she'd forced him to see things from a different perspective.

Since taking off the red kryptonite ring, he'd felt emotions he'd never wanted to feel again. When he ran away from Smallville, he swore never to go back. He wanted to block out all the hurt and pain. And for a while the red k made it possible to do that. But no matter how much it helped, the pain was still there, buried deep but still there.

But somehow Lois made it easier to deal with, when he was with her, he felt as if he could handle it. And even though her tone had always been soft, she'd always told it like she saw it. Sometimes her words hurt, and others they made him see things so clearly. Which was why he'd never put the ring on again. He didn't need it, not while he had Lois.

He drew in a deep breath. "Okay, tomorrow we'll go. I just hope they'll see me."

"Don't talk like that. They'll be over the moon and you know it."

"How do you know that Lois? How could you know?"

She shrugged. "Because, to have raised someone like you, your parents must be pretty awesome."

"They really are." He fell silent as memories hit him, memories of him and his parents, laughing, enjoying life on the farm. He wanted that back. But could they move on from the pain he had caused them?

"I can't wait to meet them." Lois said, but Clark could hear the little wobble in her voice.

"Hey, there's no need to be nervous. They're going to love you."

"Well, we'll see. Not a lot of parents would be happy to come face to face with the girl that had stolen their only son away from them." She chuckled.

Lois saw a gleam appear in his eyes, dark and seductive. "You are so beautiful." He murmured, drawing her back into his arms. "Today's our wedding day."

The words caused a frisson of shock and excitement up her spine. She glanced down at her dress. "Huh, I wondered why I was wearing this ridiculous get-up."

"Oh it's many things but ridiculous is not one of them. It's sexy, I like it." His finger ran along the curve of her dress just above her breasts. Slowly her tongue came out and licked her bottom lip, making him almost groan in response. "Beautiful." He whispered, to himself more than to her.

She wriggled out of his grasp, and started to walk away, swaying her hips on purpose, chuckling at the way his jaw dropped as she said. "You should see what's underneath the dress."

Before she'd even made it to the bedroom doorway, there was another blur and the next thing she knew, Clark had her up against the wall. As soon as his mouth covered hers, heat exploded in her belly. Flames of need licked and danced along her flesh until she was whimpering against the sensual assault of his mouth.

His hands delved into her hair, holding her head as he deepened the kiss. She heard him groan with need as his hands left her hair to skim down her sides, to grasp her by the hips. The sheer power of his gaze robbed her of the ability to do anything but swallow, his eyes were so dark and she could see the desire pulsing through him, could feel it too. She grinned as she rocked herself against him, hearing his sharp intake of breath.

"Lois…" he warned, breathlessly.

She put a finger to his lips, becoming aware that she too, was trembling. Only he could do this to her, she realised. She'd never reacted to anyone this way before. The intensity of her need for him was actually a little scary. "No, don't speak. Just love me."

With a low appreciative growl, he picked her up and walked into the bedroom and, still kissing her, slammed the door shut with his foot.

Lois slowly opened her eyes the next morning, groaned and quickly squeezed them shut again. The sunlight streaming in from the open curtains was hitting her directly in the face. She flipped over onto her stomach and reached out next to her, feeling for Clark and coming up with nothing but an empty, cold space beside her. Levering herself up onto one elbow, she squinted around the room.

"Clark?" she called but there was no answer. Where was he? Last night had been the most amazing night she had ever experienced. It was like…he didn't hold back, everything he was feeling, came out through his body and she had never felt more loved. It was hard to believe that he wouldn't be here to wake up next to.

With a sigh she put her head back down on her pillow, breathing in his scent, feeling the warmth from the sun heating her bare back. It felt nice. Almost like fingers running ever so lightly across her naked skin. She frowned, actually it felt a lot like fingers. She turned her head and saw her new husband sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling down at her.

Before she could say anything, his head swooped down and he pressed a kiss to her lips. "Morning beautiful."

"Hey, where were you?" she asked, noting that he wasn't as naked as he'd been when they'd finally fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning.

"I needed some air and I heard someone in trouble so…" He tailed off with a shrug but quickly took off his clothes and climbed back into bed, gathering her close to him.

"Are you ready for today?" she asked, rubbing her palm across his broad chest. Just doing that made the heat stir within her. But she knew how nervous he was about returning to his hometown. She also knew that it was too important to pass up. He had to do this, otherwise he might never recover from what happened there. And his poor parents must be worried out of their minds by now.

His hand stroked lazily up and down her back as he gazed off into space. "I think so." His eyes met hers. "Last night was…incredible, Lois."

"I know." Tenderly, she cupped his cheek in her palm, drawing him in for a kiss.

"Mmm." Clark licked his lips as she pulled back. "I got us some breakfast. What are you in the mood for?"

"Oh I'm in the mood…" she smiled wickedly. "Just not for breakfast."

Clark grinned and pushed her back into the mattress.

This was not a good idea, Clark thought. Though he could feel Lois' hand squeezing his in support, the nerves that had been building up since he'd woken that morning were now beginning to overtake him. Standing at the end of the dirt road that led to the Kent farm, he drew in a sharp breath, the familiar scents hitting him like a truck, bringing back memories. Some were painful, most were enjoyable.

"Are you okay?" Lois said in a quiet voice beside him. He glanced down at her, longing to tell her that he wasn't, that he didn't think he could do this. But the love he saw in her eyes stopped him. She was here for him, she always would be. She looked so beautiful, he thought, her hair windblown and her cheeks rosy from the ride here. He'd wanted to take the train, anything to give him more time to prepare, but he hadn't been able to deny Lois when she'd asked if he could run them to Smallville. And from the cheers he'd heard from her, she'd clearly enjoyed it.

That was still a strange notion to him, that his abilities could be enjoyed by someone else. They'd only ever caused the people he loved pain before. Sure he'd been out most nights, protecting people in Metropolis wherever they'd needed it but it was entirely different to have someone appreciate what he could do, enjoy it and laugh but not expect anything from it.

He offered a small smile and nodded, but closed his hand tightly around hers. "I honestly…don't know."

She rubbed his shoulder and started walking. "Come on, you can do this Clark."

He hesitated, his eyes going to the house. The back door opened and his mother stepped outside, shielding her eyes from the midmorning sun. Even from here Clark could see how tired she looked and another wave of guilt assaulted him. Lois stood waiting for him to follow, but as his mother's eyes fell on him, he was rooted to the spot. He heard a truck approaching and turned just in time to see his dad pull up behind him.

"Clark?" Jonathan Kent exited the truck, engine still running, and marched towards his son. "Son!"

The next few moments passed in a kind of haze for Clark. All he was really aware of was his father's arms wrapped around him, dragging him into a massive bear hug. His mother's frantic but excited voice screaming his name as she ran to them.

"Oh my God, Clark!" she cried, wrapping him up in a hug as soon as Jonathan released him. "We've been so worried, we didn't know what to do…"

"I'm so sorry mom." He murmured against her hair, tears stinging the back of his eyes. "For everything, the baby…"

She quickly pulled back and cupped his face. "We never, ever blamed you Clark. You're my son!"

Clark tried to swallow the lump in his throat, unsuccessfully and instead of replying, because he didn't trust his voice not to betray him, he just hugged her again, and this time Jonathan moved in and wrapped his arms around his family.

It was both heart-warming and heart-breaking to see, Lois thought as she stood back, letting them have their moment. She felt kind of awkward, not really knowing what to do. She had come to support Clark, but from the looks of it, he didn't need it and she wasn't entirely sure her being here was a good idea anymore.

Three pairs of eyes all of a sudden turned to her, one shining with love, the other two clouded with confusion and the emotion of finally having their son back.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Clark's mom, who was called Martha, if she remembered it right, spoke politely.

"Uh mom, dad, this is Lois. We met in Metropolis. Lois, my parents Jonathan and Martha Kent." Clark said, moving to stand next to her. Lois waited for him to say something else, but he stayed quiet. Frowning, she moved forward, extending a hand.

"Mr and Mrs Kent, I've heard a lot about you. You have a remarkable son."

Martha shook her hand and smiled, but Jonathan was wary. Clark had told her about his dad's fear of him being discovered and subsequently taken away from them. So his expression right now was not exactly a surprise.

"Are you a friend of Clark's?" Martha asked. Lois didn't know how to respond. She nodded slowly but felt Clark's arm drape across her shoulders.

Jonathan stepped forward and smiled politely. "Sorry Lois but this is kind of a family matter…you understand?"

"Actually dad she is family, she's my…wife."

Clark tried not to squirm under the intense gazes of both his parents as he sat at the kitchen table. His mom looked as he'd expected, hurt and shocked. But his dad, he was positively brimming with anger. Clark didn't even know where to begin. All he knew was this silence was worse than anything they would say. He just wished they would say something.

Lois was at the Talon, having made a quick escape after he'd blurted the truth out. He didn't even know why he'd done it that way, he'd wanted to sit them down and explain the situation to them, but his emotions had all been on the surface and he'd suddenly wanted them to know that she was his wife.

With the damage now done, and the silence growing thicker by the second, Clark cleared his throat.

"Look mom, dad…"

"Clark, for over two months we've been looking for you." Jonathan started. "Two months we wondered if something had happened to you. Our only peace of mind that you were even alive came from the fact that we'd read in the paper about a mysterious person with powers saving people in the city. You can't possibly understand how much you have put your mother and me through." As if for clarification, Jonathan squeezed his wife's hand. She squeezed back but stayed silent, her eyes misting over as if she was about to cry.

"I know, and I'm so sorry. I really am. I just…"

"I can understand the running away part. I can even understand why you chose the red kryptonite ring to help you. You were hurting. But son, you put us through hell. You avoided your problems and just ran away instead of facing them."

Obviously this wasn't going to be easy, but Clark had known that anyway. He just didn't know how to fix this. "What would you have done dad? To be told that you're destined to rule the earth, to rule humans. Then to find out that you were the cause of…" He trailed off, not wanting to remind his mom of the pain she'd gone through.

Jonathan's face softened, but only a little, he was still angry. "We understand all of that. And you came back to us, just like we knew you would. Eventually. But what I can't understand or even begin to fathom, is this girl…"

"Lois." Clark interjected.

"Clark, you went off and married a girl that you barely know!" His mother said, coming close to yelling. He'd never heard that tone in her voice before, anger, pain, and…disappointment. And somehow, the last one hurt worse than the others. "Marriage is sacred, I thought we at least taught you that much!"

"You did! Mom please listen, I didn't marry Lois on a whim, or because I was on red kryptonite. I took the ring off when I was with her."

The shock registered on their faces. "You mean you took it off…willingly?"

Clark nodded. "I fell in love with her, mom."

"You're eighteen, you don't know what love really is. If you did, you wouldn't have done this. God Clark, you married her!"

"Yes, I married her, because I love her!"

Jonathan slammed his fist down on the table. "Enough! Clark, did you tell this girl your secret? Does she know about you?"

He met Jonathan's gaze, refusing to look away. "Yes, she knows everything."

To say his father was unhappy to hear that would be an understatement. His face turned a deep shade of red and his mouth opened and closed as if he didn't even know how to respond.

Placing his palms flat on the table in front of him, Clark stared at them instead of his parents. It was time to tell them the whole story. "I was so lost in Metropolis, just doing whatever I wanted, taking whatever I wanted. I'm not proud of the person I was there. I did a lot of things that I knew were wrong. But then I met Lois, and something changed. She was like me…lost, unsure what to do with her life. She didn't have anywhere to stay so I invited her to stay with me because I didn't want her to sleep in her car."

"Well we raised you to do right." Martha said grudgingly, but she was at least listening and for that Clark was grateful.

"And she agreed to just…stay with a stranger?" Clark could hear the disparaging note in his father's voice and for a moment irritation at his suggestion of Lois surged up. But he pushed it back down.

"I kinda talked her into it. I made sure she knew that she was safe with me. Over the next few weeks we began to get really close, we talked, shared a lot about ourselves and yes, for some reason, I told her my secret. I was just so tired of the lies and secrets and the pain, I just wanted someone to look at me and see me."

"And what was her reaction?" Martha asked.

"She thought I was lying, that maybe she'd walked into a serial killer's apartment." He smiled at the memory of her wielding a frying pan at him. "But then she asked me to prove it, so I did."

"And how do you know she isn't just biding her time to go public with this?" Jonathan asked, a muscle twitching in his jaw.

Clark shot him a glare but quickly schooled his features into a mask of politeness. "I know she isn't. You don't understand, you couldn't possibly understand what she's done for me. She loves me, not because I can bench press a tractor, or because I can run to any country in the blink of an eye. She loves me for me. And she accepts all of me. I've never had that before."

"You had that from us." Martha said sadly.

"I know that Mom, but this is different. Lois never let me forget about Smallville, after I'd told her what had happened, she talked about it with me, and she didn't judge, she just supported me. She convinced me that it was time to come home. To face my fears. So if you are angry, be angry with me, not her. None of this is her fault."

Jonathan bristled. "I just find it very convenient that she happens to find you in a big city, alone and…"

"Dad, I wasn't vulnerable. I was in trouble. Don't you get it? Lois…she saved me."

His parents shared a quick glance before turning back to him. Martha leaned forward and covered his hands with hers over the table. "We're just happy to have you back. What happened in the past, none of that matters anymore. You're home, where you belong."

Clark smiled, feeling a little relieved, then he frowned. "And what about Lois?"

"I'm assuming you won't go for an annulment." Jonathan asked.

Clark shook his head, amazed that his dad still didn't understand how important Lois was to him. "Can't get an annulment dad."

Jonathan gasped. "You mean you consummated the…?"

That wasn't what he'd meant to imply but Clark nodded anyway, feeling his cheeks heat a little. "Lois and I are married, for better or for worse. She's my wife, and I hope that you can respect that."

Martha shook her head, clearly still unsure about the whole thing. "I think I would like to meet this girl, properly this time."

Clark grinned. "That can be arranged."

"I'm serious Clark! What if they hate me? Your dad must still be pretty angry." Lois argued later that evening. It had been one heck of an afternoon, Clark thought. First with his parents, then finding out that Lois had a cousin, who lived in Smallville and was none other then his best friend, Chloe Sullivan. Talk about a small world.

They'd met at the Talon and after getting over the initial shock of seeing her cousin, Chloe was happy and spent most of the afternoon catching up with Lois. At least until Clark arrived. Then her whole demeanor had changed. She was glad he was back but she made no secret of the fact that she hated him for just leaving her like that. He didn't know how he could make that right again, but he knew he had to try.

He also knew at some point that he would have to tell her that he and Lois were married and he wasn't looking forward to her reaction.

Right now though, he had bigger problems. He paused at the front door of the farmhouse and turned to face his wife. The sun was beginning to set, and the image of her there with a glowing orange background would be seared into his mind forever.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, which he realised were shaking, he leaned in and kissed her softly. "Lois, I dropped a pretty big bomb on them today and they still want to meet you. I think that says a lot. Come on, you'll be fine I promise."

He led her inside and into the living room where his parents were standing, Jonathan's arm around Martha's shoulders, mirroring the way she and Clark were currently standing. Could she dare to hope that they would turn out like that? Like Clark's parents, with so much love that it was obvious for anyone to see. She hoped so.

She bit her lip nervously as Martha stepped forward. "Don't look so nervous Lois, we don't bite."

Lois managed a smile and felt Clark's hand squeeze her shoulder. "I'm uh…I'm sorry that we did what we did. Getting married like that…" Her eyes widened. "Oh God, I mean…I'm not sorry that I married Clark, I could never be sorry for that but I'm sorry that we were so secretive about it. But if it makes you feel any better I didn't invite my family either. Not that I really have much of one but you know…"

To her surprise, Martha's face crinkled as a grin broke out and she chuckled. "Lois, you're rambling." Then she took a deep breath and sobered. "I won't lie, I'm not happy that you two got married at such a young age. But Clark clearly loves you and from what I can see, you love him too."

"I do…" Lois nodded vehemently. "Very much so."

Martha nodded. "That's good. Because my son deserves the best."

An odd expression appeared as Martha seemed to be studying her, as if looking for something hidden, though Lois had no idea what it could be. She felt exposed, like she was on trial for something and she was only dimly aware of her husband at her side, supporting her. She shook her head, it was supposed to be the other way around. She had dragged him here, promising that she'd support him and yet what had she really done?

She cleared her throat, not wanting to, but knowing she had to clear something up. "Listen Mr and Mrs Kent, I just want you to know that I will never betray Clark's secret to anyone."

She noticed that Jonathan flinched at the mention of Clark's secret, but he stayed silent. "I know you must be worried but you really don't need to be. I mean, he's special and he has the biggest heart I've ever known, and I would never want anything bad to happen to him because of me. So I give you all my word, right here, right now, that I will take his secret to my grave."

Clark was impressed, not only because his wife was the most amazing person he'd ever met, but because her speech had not only gotten his mother actually smiling with warmth at her, but also because his father was starting to melt too. He could see it from his expression, Jonathan was starting to feel a little calmer about Lois Lane. Kent. Clark frowned, would she want to take his name? They hadn't really talked about what she'd call herself. But there was time for that. They had the rest of their lives together to figure it out.

Jonathan stepped up next to his wife. "Lois…"

There was a brief pause during which both Clark and Lois held their breath.

Then the tension seemed to slowly ebb away as he nodded and a ghost of a smile appeared. "You can stay with us, in Clark's room of course. He'll take the sofa." He said pointedly just as Clark's jaw dropped. Clark nodded, of course his parents wouldn't let them sleep in the same room.

"Thank you Mr Kent, I appreciate that."

"What about your parents Lois? Won't they be concerned about you?"

Feeling a little raw, Lois shook her head, chuckling mirthlessly. "I doubt it, my mom's dead and my father…well he's a General so…you get the picture."

Jonathan frowned. "I'm sorry about your mother. But I'm sure your father must be wondering where you are."

"Probably, but I highly doubt he's looking all that hard." She regretted her words as soon as she saw the frown deepen on Jonathan's face. It really wasn't something she wanted to get into. She shrugged and wrapped an arm around Clark's waist. "It doesn't matter anyway. I have all the family I need right here."

Something strange happened then, and Clark couldn't work out why but his mother had tears in her eyes as she moved forward and put her arms around Lois. After hesitating for a few minutes, Lois slowly relaxed into the hug.

Clearing her throat, Martha stepped back and smiled. "Well since I was deprived of attending my own son's wedding…" she added a chuckle to lighten her words. "Please tell me there are at least photographs for me to look at."

Lois breathed a sigh of relief and sagged against Clark, who held her up with a strong arm around her waist.

"Don't worry Mom, we got plenty of those." He replied, wondering exactly where he'd left them.

"Excellent. Well I'll get started on dinner and you can get Lois settled in your room then wash up."

"Thanks Mom." He grabbed Lois' hand and led her up the stairs, feeling much better than he had in a long time. Once they reached his room, he closed the door behind him and watched as Lois walked around, taking in everything. Even some things he didn't want her to see.

"You have an Elmer Fudd nightlight?" she asked, barely holding back her laughter.

"It was a present." He said defensively. "And…it's my favourite."

"Uh-huh." She nodded, not at all convinced but not pressing the issue either.

Clark moved away from the door and turned her towards him. Then before she could say anything, he brought his head down and pressed his lips to hers.

She quickly pulled away, placing both hands on his chest. "Clark! Your parents are downstairs."

"So? We are married."

"That doesn't mean I want them to know what we get up to."

Clark groaned disappointedly as she extracted herself from his grasp then watched as she looked in his closet.

"Wow, that is a lot of flannel." She chuckled. "So you're like…a regular farmer Joe huh Smallville?"

His brows flickered. "Smallville?"

She shrugged, grinning. "I like it, it suits you."

Shaking his head, Clark opened the door. "Lois, we should go downstairs now."

"How come?"

"Because if I am alone with you much longer, I won't be able to keep my hands to myself, and I'm really trying."

Clark had the satisfaction of seeing her blush for a second before she nodded. "Okay then, let's go."

"What do you think?" Martha asked her husband as she started getting some ingredients together in the kitchen. Jonathan stood leaning against the counter, that frown still there.

"I don't know sweetheart, I really don't. I don't like what she said about her father. Surely she knows he must be worried."

"Something tells me that's a complicated relationship."

"And what about our son? What kind of relationship is she going to have with him?"

Martha shot him a reproachful glance. "Jonathan, it's hardly the same. They're married whether we like it or not. I'll admit they're young but at least they've been honest and told us. And I believe that they are in love. Couldn't you see it?"

He shook his head, her husband was so stubborn sometimes. "Honestly? No I couldn't."

"The only girl I've ever seen him look at was Lana Lang and I never once saw him look at her the way he looked at Lois today. We have to face facts Jonathan, Clark has changed and Lois is a big part of that change."

"Maybe so but I still don't like this situation."

"We don't have to like it honey, we just have to accept it. Because if we don't…I fear we could lose Clark for good."

The weight of her words hung thick in the air around them, creating a silence that neither wanted to break.

To Be Continued...