CHAPTER 11: LEAVING FOR BASIC TRAINING

Sunday morning

"Breakfast is ready," he calls out to Lois.

"I'll be right down," she calls back.

Clark is pouring some milk into a couple glasses when she finally comes downstairs. "No coffee?" she asks as she sits down.

"Sorry," shrugging his shoulders; then handing her one of the glasses.

She frowns for a moment; taking the glass from him and setting it down on the table. "I'm not really thirsty," she remarks; picking up her fork and pushing the food around the plate.

He sits down and begins to eat, but puts his fork down when he notices her not eating. "Are you feeling okay?" he asks her; a touch of concern in his voice.

"I'm not really hungry," she replies.

"You really should eat something Lois. After all you are..."

"Eating for two," finishing his thought. "I know that Clark," a touch of annoyance in her voice. She gets up from the chair. "Maybe I'll have something later," walking towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?" he asks her; also getting up from his chair and walking over to her.

"I'm a little tired so I'm gonna take a nap," giving him a peck on the cheek, then climbing the stairs.

"Oh Lois," he calls out.

She stops mid-way; turning around to look down at him. "Yes Clark?"

"Since you're going to bed, I'll just go into town and run a few errands - okay?"

"Sure," she says. "Don't forget about that catering bill. I haven't gotten around to paying it yet."

"Alright," he replies. "Where is it?"

"It's on the desk next to the phone."

"Okay," walking over to it and picking it up. Then he grabs his jacket and super speeds out of there.

He forgot to clean up the kitchen. She starts to go back down the stairs when there's a sudden breeze on her face, then it disappears as fast as it appeared. She looks around the kitchen and sees it's already been cleaned. Can he read my mind or what? shaking her head in amusement as she climbs the rest of the stairs...

Downtown Smallville

Clark opens the door; the bell ringing as he enters the shop. "Hello?" he calls out. "Is anyone here?"

"I'll be right out," a voice calling out.

Clark walks around the shop; looking at the various items on display. Then a couple minutes later, a man comes out from the back room and walks up to the counter. "I'm Gary. Can I help you?"

"Yes you can," Clark replies; walking up to the counter. "I'm here to pay this bill?" handing him the piece of paper.

He looks it over carefully. "This is for a party I catered about a week ago," looking up at Clark.

"That's right," Clark says.

Gary stares at Clark for a moment. "Oh now I remember you," it finally coming to him. "You were the couple who didn't show up for their own engagement party - aren't you?" looking again at Clark.

"Something came up at the last minute and we couldn't make it," Clark tells him; not wanting to tell him the truth.

"Uh huh," Gary replies. He walks over to the computer and keys in some information. "And how will you be paying for this?" waving the bill at Clark.

"With this," handing over a credit card. He takes it from Clark and runs it through; waiting for the approval code to come through before handing Clark back his card. Then he marks the invoice 'paid' and hands it back to Clark.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asks Clark.

"Actually," Clark begins to say, "My fiancée and I talked it over - and we've decided that since we loved the food, we would love it if you would cater our wedding."

"Really?" looking curiously at Clark. "Well...before I can say yes, I need to know the exact date - just to make sure I don't have anything scheduled on the same day."

"We're getting married in two months - January 10th to be exact."

"Let me check my calendar," pulling out one of the drawers behind the counter and taking out a calendar. He looks up the month of January. "I don't have anything scheduled for that week so there shouldn't be any problem," smiling at Clark.

"Great," Clark replies. "My fiancée will be very happy," smiling back at him.

Gary is about to say something when the phone rings. "Could you give me a minute?" picking up the phone. "Gary's Catering. How may I help you?" he answers. "Hi," he replies. "Yes, I'll see you tonight. I love you too. Bye," hanging up. "Sorry about that," he says. "That was my Aunt Louise. Once a week she insists on having me over for dinner because she feels that since I cook for a living, that someone should cook for me for a change," shrugging his shoulders.

"I think that's sweet," Clark says. "I wish I had an aunt who would do that for me," he says a little wistful. "You're really lucky to have someone like that in your life."

"I am," he says. "She's like a second mother to me," smiling again. After a moment, he says, "So when do you want to discuss the menu for the wedding?" he asks Clark.

"Well I have to go out of town for two weeks - so it'll have to be after that. But in the meantime, could you give me a couple menus or something?"

"Sure. No problem. "Let me get a few of them for you," pulling out another drawer and taking out some menus; handing them to Clark as well as a business card.

"Thank you," taking them from him. "We'll call you in a couple weeks when I get back and we could meet then."

"That's fine," Gary replies; watching as Clark walks out the door. I don't buy that 'something came up at the last minute' excuse; he thinks to himself as he returns to the back room...

Sunday evening

"I still can't believe you have to leave tomorrow morning," Lois remarks; curled up on the couch next to Clark with her head on his shoulders.

"I know," his arm around her. "It's only for two weeks. It's not as if I were going overseas," kissing her on the top of the head.

"I could just kill him!" she says through clenched teeth. "He knows I'm pregnant with his grandchild and yet he does something like this. I would love to give him a piece of my mind."

"I know, but antagonizing your father is not the best course of action right now. We'll just have to ride out the storm," sighing a little.

"Yeah," sighing herself.

They sit there in silence for a while. "So did you talk to the Chief about the situation?" she asks him.

"I did," he says. "Mr. White was pretty understanding about the whole thing - that is, after he stopped fuming about losing one of his star reporters for two weeks."

She lifts her head up and looks over at him. "What about your alter ego?"

He looks at her curiously. "What about him?"

"How are you going to continue as 'Superman' while you're going through basic training?" she asks him.

"I won't be able to," he replies. "I talked to Oliver and he said he would contact the rest of the league about taking over for me while I'm gone."

"Well that's good," laying her head back down on his shoulder; closing her eyes.

"Umm," pulling her closer to him. "I'm gonna miss this," he murmurs.

"Me too," her hand resting on his chest. "I've gotten so used to having you lying next to me at night that it's going to be weird not having you there."

"You know what I'm gonna miss the most?" he whispers.

"What?" she whispers back.

"The sound of your heart beating next to mine. It helps me to sleep."

"Really?" turning her head to look up at him. "That's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard," raising her lips up to his.

"I'm gonna miss that too," he quips; kissing her again.

Her hands come around his neck as his hands find their way under her shirt; his fingers gliding over her now slightly rounded stomach.

"Umm," she sighs as his fingers caress her bare skin; beginning to feel that all too familiar tingle in her belly.

In response, her hands move from his neck and glides down his back; pulling his shirt out. He sighs as her fingers find their way to his back; lightly skimming across his bare skin.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" he whispers in her ear.

"Very much," she replies as he lifts her into his arms; standing up and carrying her up the stairs to their bedroom...

A couple hours later...

"So are you gonna miss me?" Clark asks her as they lay in bed after having made love.

"Very much," slipping out from beneath him and crawling on top of him.

He looks up at her with a smile; his hand reaching up to stroke her cheek. "So how much will you miss me?" he asks; his eyebrows raised.

"This much," her hand reaching down to stroke 'Clark Jr.' up and down.

"Umm," he sighs. "That much huh?" he says teasingly.

She smiles down at him. "That's only the tip of the iceberg there Smallville," lowering her mouth...

Monday morning

"Come on Smallville, chop chop," she calls out to him. "You don't want to miss the bus."

"I'll be right down," he calls out. A moment later, he half-runs down the stairs; carrying a duffel bag.

"So do you have everything?" she asks him as they leave the house and walk over to the truck.

"Yep," he replies; opening the passenger side door and climbing in. She gets behind the steering wheel and starts the engine; pulling out of the driveway and onto the road.

"I don't understand why you can't just super speed to Fort Riley instead of taking the bus," she remarks as they continue down the road.

"Because this bus is just for those who are going to basic training. If I don't take it, they'll get suspicious."

"I guess that makes sense," frowning a little as she puts on some speed.

They sit there in silence for a little while. Then she says, "Have you thought about what we talked about the other day?" she asks him.

"You mean about whether or not to tell your father my secret?"

"Yeh," she remarks; glancing over at him while still keeping her eye on the road.

"I have been thinking about it. And I don't think it's a good idea. At least not right now. I'm not going to tell him my secret just to get him to like me. Besides, it could make things worse. He could think I'm dangerous or something."

"You're right. So we won't tell him for the time being," still concentrating on the road. "So what about the physical and the haircut?"

"When I get there, Dr. Hamilton will be waiting for me," he replies; leaning back in his seat. "I wish there were another way to do this without kryptonite, but there really is no other choice. Believe it or not, I actually considered talking to Jor-El about taking away my powers temporarily."

Lois looks over at him with an surprised expression on her face. "So why didn't you?"

"Because I was afraid that if he took them away, that he might not give them back. He's done it before," he replies; a small frown on his face.

Lois nods in agreement as they enter downtown Smallville. As she's looking for a parking space, she notices the bus parked at the bus depot. "That must be it," finally pulling into a space and shutting off the engine.

They both get out of the truck; Clark carrying his duffel bag. They're walking over to the bus when the door opens. A man dressed in an Army uniform steps out; holding a clipboard in his hand. "Are you Clark Kent?" he asks him.

"That's me," he replies. Then he turns to Lois; taking her hands in his and lightly kissing her fingers. "Well...this is it," he says.

"Yeah," she says; a sad expression on her face.

He pulls her into his arms and holds her for a moment; briefly nuzzling her neck. Then he lowers his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. "Umm," he sighs; then finally pulling away to look deep into her eyes. "I'll see you in two weeks."

"Okay," a small smile on her face. He starts to climb into the bus when she calls out after him. "Clark?"

He turns around to look at her. "Yes Lois?"

She climbs up to meet him and whispers in his ear, " I left something for you in your bag," lightly kissing him on the neck before stepping back out of the bus. She winks at him, then turns around and walks away. As she climbs back into the truck, she says "I love you Clark."

"I love you too Lois," watching her from the bus as it pulls away...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Coming up next: First day of Basic Training