Promise
A few hours after his parents' new houseguest had gone upstairs to lie down, Clark, Lana, and Chloe were still awake, talking about the events of the afternoon. Though he'd long ago offered to take his fiancée home, she'd been understandably intrigued by Lois's claims and had insisted she stay to do what she could to help.
Not that they were really getting anywhere. All they really knew for certain was that a woman was alive when she was supposed to be dead. They'd come up with a number of possible theories in the past few hours to explain her presence, but none of them seemed likely. Furthermore, her assertions that she knew them all would seem like the rantings of a lunatic if so many of the things she said weren't true.
None of it made sense, but while they discussed the issue, Clark heard a noise on the stairs and turned to watch Lois as she trudged into the kitchen. He was surprised to see her so soon – with as exhausted as she appeared, he'd expected her to sleep for several hours. Instead, she lowered herself into a chair at the kitchen table and rubbed her face wearily with her hands. When Chloe silently placed a full mug of coffee in front of the exhausted woman, she offered her thanks and closed her eyes as she took a deep swallow of the strong black liquid.
When she finished drinking and placed the mug aside, he watched as her gaze traveled around the group, finally resting on the woman at his side. "Lana," she said, a wry smile on her face. "You look as lovely as ever. Can't say I ever expected the two of us to be in this situation again."
That was a strange, somewhat enigmatic comment, and Clark wondered what it meant. Lana, however, responded by asking, "So we are supposed to know each other?"
Lois lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug and ran a fingertip lazily around the rim of her mug. "You could say that," she said, once again sounding weary. "So, I suppose you've been told what's going on?"
Lana answered Lois's wry smile with one of her own. "I think that might be an exaggeration. They told me that you say you know all of us, but you seem a bit…confused about certain details. Oh, and you're supposed to be dead."
"Well, that's cheery," Lois responded with a slight scowl. Then, as she crossed her arms on the table in front of her, she gazed around at them all with a determined look. "Okay, so…we need to start thinking outside the box, here. Chloe, do you think the meteor rocks could have caused this?" she asked, turning to her cousin.
Chloe looked at her in puzzlement. "The meteor rocks? You mean those stupid little green rocks that are attached to every chintzy souvenir Smallville has to offer? Why would they have anything to do with this?"
"Chloe!" Lois cried, gazing at her cousin in stupefied exasperation. "Come on! I know something strange is going on here, but this is absurd! You know as well as I do – better, even – what those rocks are capable of. I mean, you spent your entire high school career investigating everything paranormal in this town! And most of those things could be directly attributed to those innocuous looking pieces of meteorite."
Chloe sighed in resignation and shook her head. "Lois. I don't know where you got that idea, but believe me when I say that I didn't investigate anything in high school that didn't directly pertain to you."
Leaning back in her chair, Lois huffed, "Great. I can't believe this. There's probably never been anything more suited to the Wall of Weird than the last couple of days have been for me, and…what the heck is this? Some sort of alternate reality, where everyone but me has gone stark raving mad?"
"Lois, you talk like Clark and I – and everyone else, for that matter – have some sort of strange amnesia and don't remember the past. You don't seem to realize that we do. Or, at least, I do; I can't speak for Clark. There are no inexplicable blackouts in my memory, no lapses, no fogginess. I remember going to Metropolis Junior High (a little too well, actually), I remember the years I spent in high school, and I have a pretty good memory for everything that's happened after! You aren't in any of them, and it's not because those memories aren't there. It's because you weren't! I want to believe you, Lois, but how can I, when you clearly don't know much about me?"
As Chloe talked, Clark found himself studying the woman who was still such an enigma. It was remarkable, but he believed her. Not because he wanted to, or because he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. He believed her because he couldn't do anything else. It made no sense, because she was clearly ignorant of many aspects of his life – and Chloe's as well. She had obviously been surprised to find that he was planning to marry the love of his life, that he had a debilitating injury, that he wasn't quite the man she thought she knew.
But there was just…something…about the way she looked at him. He couldn't explain it; he couldn't even understand it. He just believed in it.
Suddenly, Lois's suggestion, while sounding like something from a bad sci-fi novel, seemed to have merit. "Could it be? An alternate reality, I mean," Clark interjected suddenly, cutting off Lois when it looked like she was preparing to grill her cousin's memories of her formative years. All three women around the table looked at him incredulously, and he shrugged. "You just said it, Chloe. That would explain everything."
Lois shook her head. "Clark, we were being facetious. I think we can all agree that the idea that the suggestion of alternate realities is more than a little farfetched. I mean, there's strange, and then there's impossible."
Raising his eyebrows at her, he replied, "Really? Because I was under the impression that you told me just yesterday that you were friends with a man who could fly. That seems pretty impossible to me." He didn't flinch from the scathing glare she shot his way; he had a point, and he knew that she would have a hard time denying it. "Look, I know it seems crazy. But we've been talking in circles for a while now, and we don't seem to be getting anywhere. You're certain that everything you say is true, and we're just as certain that it couldn't possibly be. Do you have a better explanation for any of this?"
She shook her head. "No. But I don't care. There has got to be one, and we need to keep working at it until we find it!"
Lana huffed impatiently and interjected, "You know, Lois, if you really are from an alternate reality somehow…and, yes, I think that's in insane suggestion too…then it's not like we can simply wish it to be something else. Either you are or you aren't. We really don't have any control over it."
"I don't care!" she cried, jumping to her feet. "There has to be another answer! Damn it!" In frustration, she whirled on her heel and stormed out of the room. Clark winced when he heard the front door slam, and he looked around at his companions in silence long after the sound had faded. When he realized that they looked as baffled as he felt, he slowly rose to his feet and followed Lois outside. He knew she probably wanted to have a moment to gather her thoughts, but he also knew that she was eager to find answers to the mystery as soon as possible. Knowing that, he didn't understand why she had been so adamantly opposed to his suggestion; he knew it sounded insane, but, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to fit.
He found Lois standing on the front porch, gripping the railing as if her hold on it was the only thing anchoring her to the Earth, when he came up behind her. With a soft sigh, Clark turned towards her and leaned heavily against the banister, offering her the opportunity to approach the subject when she felt ready to do so.
He waited, knowing it wouldn't be long before she opened up to him. As he did, he had to reflect how he could possibly be so certain that she would do so. If his theory was correct, he couldn't know anything about her at all, not really. And she couldn't really know anything about him.
His patience was rewarded, however, when she broke her silence. "It can't be true," she said finally.
He was silent for a while longer, then he replied gently, "Lois, you're talking to a man who was born several solar systems away. I'm not entirely sure we can say with any certainty what is or isn't possible." Narrowing his eyes, he watched her closely. "I know how it sounds, but…it fits. Lois, can you think of anything else that would explain why you honestly believe that everything you say is true, if you're not crazy?"
With a snort of humorless laughter, she suggested, "Maybe the rest of you are?"
"All of us? Not to mention your father, sister, fiancé, friends…" He let his voice trail off, knowing she got the point.
After a moment, she grudgingly agreed. "Okay. So it's possible. Anything's possible. I just don't want it to be true." Turning towards him, she explained anxiously, "Don't you see? If there's another explanation – any explanation at all – then I know we can fix this. I know it. It doesn't matter if it's mind control, meteor freaks, hallucinations, or a massive head trauma. We can get to the bottom of it, and I can get my life back.
"But if this theory is correct…? How do I fix that, Clark? How do I get back to where I belong? Is there a magical multi-dimensional transportation device around here that I don't know about, because otherwise, how do I get home?"
He didn't answer her. How could he? He didn't have the answers any better than she did, but he watched as she turned to gaze across the fields again, a faraway look on her face. "Clark...He must be so worried about me. My fiancé. If this theory is correct – if I've been taken away from him, and all his memories are unchanged – he must…I can't even imagine what he must be going through, not having any idea what happened to me, or where I went, or if I'm okay."
He stepped forward to comfort her, but the sorrow on her face when she looked up at him again took his breath away. "How do I get back to him, Clark? Believe me when I say that there's a lot I can handle, but I'm not sure I can take this. Six days! I'm supposed to get married to him in six days! If I'm in an alternate dimension…what if I can't get back there in time? What if I can't get back there at all?"
"Lois," he murmured, "I know this sounds impossible. But we will find a way to get you home. I promise you, we'll find a way."
She gazed at him for a long moment, as if searching for something in his face. Finally, however, she said, "I really wish I could believe that, Clark."
Clark grabbed her hand to give it a reassuring squeeze as he offered her an encouraging smile. "Come on…do you really have so little faith in me?"
"If you were the Clark I know, I'd have every faith in your ability to keep that promise. But you're not," she replied sadly as she turned away from him again, wrapping her arms tightly over her stomach and bowing her head.
When he saw the forlorn line of her body, he couldn't stop himself from trying to comfor her. "Don't give up so easily, Lois," he demanded, though his voice was still soft. Taking a step towards her, he continued, "I know things seem impossible right now, but we can find a way to fix this. We'll find your way home. You can't just give up now."
Silence fell between them for a long minute, and he wondered if she'd even heard him. However, after a moment, she turned around swiftly and tilted her head back to meet his eyes. There was a steely determination in both her gaze and voice that he hadn't noticed before when she said, "You're absolutely right, Clark. Self-pity never got anyone anywhere, and I never was very good at it anyway. I will find my way back to him; I don't care what it takes. I am not going to give up on him so easily, and I know he won't give up on me."
"He sounds like a very lucky guy, your fiancé," he said softly, and he meant it. It was clear that the woman in front of him would go to any lengths to get back to the man she loved. He knew he probably shouldn't, but he felt a twinge of envy for the man waiting for her return. It had to be an incredible thing, being loved that much – and by a woman as amazing as Lois Lane. Clark didn't know her that well, but he could tell already that she was a force of nature: untamable, unstoppable, and completely breathtaking. "Tell me about him, Lois. What's his name?" he asked as he released her hand and took a step back. He didn't know where that thought had come from, but it would only lead him into trouble.
He could tell Lois was taken aback by the question, which surprised him in turn. When she didn't immediately answer him, he considered asking if there was a reason she seemed so reluctant to reveal too much about the man waiting somewhere for her. Before he could do so, however, she bit her lower lip, threw him a peculiar look, and replied, "Jimmy. Uh...James. His name is James Olsen."
