A/N: First I want to say SORRY for the long wait, but I PASSED my Nursing Exam!!!! Yeah me, now onto the 2nd half of my first year, and soon 2nd year of Nursing!!! Thanks to EVERYONE for their good lucks and words of encouragement and thanks so much for keeping the story alive, n bumping it and pressing me to get another chapter up. Thanks so much for all the reviews guys!!!
Special Thanks: To lovinredclark she gave me the idea for Lois' dream sequence part and I sorta ran with the idea lol. Thanks so much and again for that part, hopefully I did it justice. lol
Also since it's two days before Christmas I want to wish Everyone a Merry Christmas (2008), Happy Holidays, a Happy, safe and Fun New Year (2009)!!! Peace and Love :)
Now:go use the bathroom, grab some popcorn or something to eat a litter of soda or something to drink, sit in the most comfortable chair you own cuz this is going to be a long and hopefully interesting ride. Enjoy!
Ding!
The silver elevator doors slid open, Erica was first to push pass the two to get off in a hurry. Oliver being bumped out of the way from Lois as she rushed between them.
"I think she's starting to warm up to me." Oliver smirked, but truly not believing what he said.
"Thanks for trying to get along." Lois said, allowing him to hold her hand as they stepped from the elevator. "I know the picnic didn't go the way you had in mind..."
Oliver stopped in front of her. "Are you kidding me? I think it was a huge success."
Lois quirked up her brow at him. "Well, if your plan invovled getting poison ivy then, yea, I guess so."
"I still don't know why she isn't itching too and she's the one who gave them to me." Oliver trying to keep his hands from itching furiously at his neck and looked down at Lois' hand entwined with his. "Or you for that matter. I've been holding your hand since we stepped onto the elevator."
"I've had some kind of freakish immunity against it since I was a little kid. Wierd, I thought I was the only one." She waved off after a puzzled glance toward Erica.
"Look, Oliver, I'm sure she didn't know that the three pointy leaf plant was poison ivy." Lois said to the curious face he was making at the girl.
"Yea, but I do remember asking for flowers, not leaves." Oliver retorted, and then stuffed his hands in his pockets giving up. "It doesn't matter. Did you have a good time?"
Lois stopped herself from looking away guiltily as she stepped up closer to him, her hand smoothing up his suit-clad chest. "It was interesing...."
Oliver's face dropped at the polite answer Lois gave and she let out a small chuckle at the look as she pressed her body up closer to his.
"Besides we can always try again...alone...next time."
"Cousin Clark!" Erica shouted in delight as she launched herself into Clark's waiting arms, he lifting to settle her on his hip with ease.
Oliver noticed how Lois quickly stepped away from him like some dirty little secret, while his hand instinctively fingered the edges of Erica's picture deep in his pants pocket.
"Smallville." Lois greeted a bit caught off by Clark suddenly standing there. A look of unease on his face at witnessing the two trying to get close had her swallowing hard and feeling uncomfortable, like she was cheating or something.
Lois rocked on her heels, and jumped into a rant of conversation, seeing how the others weren't being verbal and Clark stood there with unreadable, piercing blues staring her down along with Erica and her hazel orbs.
"As you can see, Smallville, she's still in one piece." Lois nearly chocked out, her throat surprisingly dry in his presence. "I'm not as bad with the wee ones as I thought."
Oliver's eyes studied the two, the looks on their faces were telling things a child couldn't even miss. And believe him, Erica wasn't missing one single signal. His eyes fell on her, the picture spoke volumes but her face confirmed it all. How any of it was even possible was another matter he couldn't even begin to phantom.
Yet, the way Erica smiled and kept her eyes glued on Lois, as if blinking would all make it disappear, wrenched the knife in his gut that much more deeper, that what he had in his pocket was the real thing.
Clark nodded giving a curt smile as he looked from his daughter in his arms to his daughter's mother. "Thanks again, Lois, you really helped me out today."
Lois shrugged indifferently and smiled. "You're lucky that I like you're cousin so much, but really did you have to go break up a fight between the cows or something?"
"I'm offended!" Chloe said in mock defense, stepping up behind the two. "You called me a cow?"
Lois twirled around at the sound of her cousin's voice, a huge grin on her lips andnot letting another secondgo by before she had her arms firmly wrapped around the younger blonde. "Chloe, oh my God, you're here!"
Chloe barely had time to prepare herself for the tackle and actually kept from falling on her rear-end. "Geesh, I should stay away more often."
Lois smacked her hard on the arm and watched as she laughed and rubbed her offended part. "Ever since you moved to Gotham and interned at the Gotham Banner, I don't see you anymore."
The blonde gave her older cousin a pointed look and laughed. "Lois, we speak on the phone everyday."
"It's not the same." Lois gave a fake scold before returning back to previous excitement. "Come on you have to tell me everything and no skimping on the details, either."
"Maybe you should start off with your relationship with Bruce." Clark teased, allowing Erica to slip down to her feet.
Lois' eyes went wide as she rounded on her cousin. "As in Bruce Multi-Billionaire Wayne?"
Lois gave another hard blow to Chloe's arm again. "Owwww!"
"When were you planning on telling me this?" Lois smirked. "When I was at your wedding?"
Chloe nibbled guiltily on her lip and tried to find a new subject and noticed the basket in Oliver's hand. "So, you guys went out on a picnic, huh?"
Lois gave out an irritated huff at how Chloe was avoiding the question. "Long story short me and Oliver are back together and we went out for a lovely picnic in Metropolis Park."
Oliver almost gave a snort of protest on the 'lovely' part but was able to keep the sound from coming out his throat.
"He got poison ivy." Erica piped up not caring that her lips were in a smugged smile.
Chloe noticed the slightly inflamed skin on Oliver's neck and his twitchy hands trying to keep from scratching, and took a step away from him.
Oliver slightly glarred at the girl as a fake sweet smile claimed his lips. "Yea, thanks for the present munchkin."
"You're welcome." Erica replied back smartly and was bumped by Clark who just gave an uneasy smile to Oliver.
Chloe gave a mischievous glare to Clark for spilling the beans on Bruce as a wicked smile came over her lips. "She is so adorable Clark, this is your cousin?"
Clark gave a glare of warning, as his tightly-closed jaw flexed as he spoke. "Yeah."
"Funny, she reminds me so much of someone." Chloe noted, eyes skimming to Lois quickly before looking back at Erica. "Wonder, who?"
Erica giggled behind her hand wrapped around her mouth at the inside joke, that was lost to the other two, or so she thought, as Clark's eyes cut even more at her favorite Aunt.
"So, this is the important thing you had to do?" Lois asked giving an accusing look to Clark. "You were visiting Chloe and you didn't even tell me?"
Clark's jaw dropped as he looked at her exasperated that it never failed that he would endup on Lois' bad side one way or the other. He was really in the fire right now, it seemed like everyone was trying to throw some kind of fault at him. Erica watched in amused interest, grinning widely at the mess her dad always wound up in.
"Don't be so harsh on him, Lois." Chloe said and quickly thought up an explanation in his defense. "Clark is actually the reason I'm in Metropolis. He's been telling me how much you were missing me, so, here I am."
Clark eyed Chloe at what she said, it wasn't a total lie, not really, before looking to Lois and smiling widely with agreement that what Chloe said was right. He wasn't particularly liking the fact that they weren't telling Lois the whole truth, especially lately with him knowing what he did.
"Exactly." Clark agreed allowing his own smugness through.
Lois brows furrowed as she was stunned by the thoughtful gesture. They were friends and she knew he cared as a friend for her, with the countless times that he saved her butt from the frying pan. But, it was always the small things that Clark did that made her wonder just how deep his 'caring' lied.
"Thanks, Smallville." She took a step in front of him andbefore she knew what she was doing her lips were on his cheek, leaving behind a soft kiss.
'What the hell was that?" Lois thought as realization of what she just did flooded her senses.
The others weren't too far behind in being stunned by her actions as well. Chloe mouth gaped open as she stared wide-eyed from her Cos to Oliver, to her surprise wasn't as shocked or upset as she expected him to be. He stood there a calculating expression on his face and slowly nodding knowingly at what had happened. Almost, as if, he knew something.
Lois stepped back awkwardly from Clark's cheek, still not believing what she had done, and noticing her hand lying on his chest not knowing exactly when she placed it there. She gulped as her eyes fluttered up to stare into blues that were hypnotized by the gesture, and a look of strong feelings deep down inside of him were coming toward the surface.
It scared her to a degree to see it so clearly there on his face, but shockingly she wanted more, and it puzzled him that 'she' could bring it out of him so easily. They stood there transfixed by each other and not knowing, and truely, not wanting the moment to end.
"Well, why don't we leave you ladies to catch up on some girl talk." Oliver announced clapping his hands and rubbing them together, breaking the spell between the two.
Lois bit on her lower lip, eyes wide, but clearing her face as she turned around to her 'boyfriend', a plastered smile on her lips. "Yea, Chlo, we have lots to catch up on."
"I'd say." Chloe smirked bemusedly at Lois' behavior toward Clark, but clears her throat at the look being directed her way. "I mean yea...we do...lots."
Lois slipped to Oliver with an innocent smile as she leaned in giving him a lingering kiss as if trying to prove who she really was with, but to Lois it seemed like herself was the main person she was trying to convince. Clark pulled at his tie, trying to control the itchy feeling under his skin that he couldn't reach to scratch at seeing Lois that way with Oliver.
He looked up to see Chloe with a raised brow at him and her lips moving in a silent whisper. "Jealous much, Clark?"
Clark cut his eyes at his best friend, and couldn't deny the release of tension as Lois stepped from Oliver, who stood there not affected by what she just did, like it meant nothing. Clark barely had a whole kiss session with Lois when he played the fake Green Arrow, and if it wasn't for the years of control he had over his powers a building would have definitely been burning down in the alley that night.
"Coffee?" Lois rasped out and locked her arm with Chloe as she quickly ushered her cousin to the elevator doors.
"Yea, sure." Chloe replied and looked over her shoulder at the three left behind as she was nearly pulled away.
Clark glanced awkwardly toward Oliver as they stood there in silence, the look of coy knowing never leaving his face. Oliver didn't seem bothered by the lack of conversation, or maybe Lois was just rubbing off on Clark too much, because the lack of exchange of words was killing him. Clark rocked on his heels his hands stuffed in his pockets much the same way Oliver was, but his lips were pursed as he stared Clark down as if waiting for him to do a trick or suddenly confess it all; everything Oliver knew he knew.
Clark cleared his throat, giving a sheepish grin as he was at a lost of what to say. "I'm...I'm gonna go fax some reports."
He started off to do just that, Erica trialing in suit behind him followed by Oliver who coolly pursued after the two. "Mind if I have a word with you, Clark."
"Um, sure go ahead." Clark couldn't get out straight, his hands picking up some stacks of paper left on his desk after Lois' beta-ship on them.
He stood there a moment, waiting for Oliver to start. "Maybe somewhere alone. You know guy talk?"
"Sure." Clark almost replied grudgingly, his gut telling him this had to do with something about Lois, and it wasn't going to be pretty either.
Clark nodded him toward the direction of an empty room, taking the lead as Oliver followed behind him. Erica flopped down in her mother's chair with a huff that she was always kept in the dark about things.
"Not like I can't use my super-hearing." She mumbled exasperatedly to them not willing to speak in front of her.
"Don't you dare." Clark warned low enough for her ears only as he made his way to the room. Oliver behind him and not seeing as his lips slightly moved.
Erica groaned how could she forget her dad had super-hearing also. Duh! She felt like whacking herself in the head at her own stupidity and slipped further back into the chair.
"I mean it, Erica." His voice came to her ears again. "Listen on Lois, but keep those ears from this room."
"It's not ok to spy on you but you're telling me to do it to-it's mom by the way."
"Look, whatever...just keep a look out for her." Clark tried to make her understand. "That thing could be anywhere, and I want Lois to have as much coverage as we can give her."
"Okkkaaaay!" Erica dragged out, not too happy by the idea that she would be missing out on juicer talk and trained her ears through the bull pen toward her mom off somewhere getting coffee with her Aunt Chloe.
"Enough sugar, don't you think, Lo?"
"Oh crap!"
"Lois are you ok?"
"I don't know, Chlo. It feels like I'm going insane."
"Lois, you're scaring me."
"I should be the one scared, here."
"Lois...you're not...you're not pregnant are you?"
"Yes, Chloe, 6 weeks to be exact."
"Lois! That so wasn't funny."
"Please, me and Oliver never got around to playing the horizontal mambo. Not like we didn't come close, very close. He was always off being the Gre-busy."
"I can see why you're crazy."
"No it's not the sex, Chlo!"
"You sure?"
"Chloe! Wait are you and Bruce..."
"I'll never teeeeellll."
"Chloe!"
"No, well not yet anyway. But back to you, if no sex isn't the issue, what's wrong?"
"It's....I dunno....it's like....I-I can't explain it..."
"Lois, spit it out!"
" Clark, OK!"
"Lois, you're not making sense......oooooooh!"
Erica's hearing faded from the two as the realization of what her mom was trying to get across to her Aunt, hit home to her as well too.
"Oh boy!"
Oliver closed the door to the communications room as Clark fumbled nervously with loading the fax machine while in his nervousness he kept pushing the wrong buttons.
"Guy talk?" Clark started, banging the side of the machine a few times like that would help. "Is that the secret code now when you want to talk anything hero business related?"
Oliver walked over to an empty chair at the long conference table, regarding Clark with smooth eyes as he lounged back as if still waiting for Clark to break down into a confession any minute now.
"I'm thinking about taking Lois with me to Moscow." Oliver said, as what he expected from Clark happened, he instantly turned to face him with the hint of concern in his features.
"Russia?" Clark asked as he looked at Oliver who only nodded as his hands were busily toying with what look like a small square paper.
"Yea, I think I might have a few leads on where Lex could be and what he might be up to." Oliver shrugged and held the crumbled white square still in his hand. "I figured it would be nice for Lois to truly get to know me at the same time."
Clark's heart was doing double time in his chest at the thought of Lois not being around, for his own selfish reasons, if he was going for honesty, and because of the fact that he had no idea where the hell that being was that wanted her dead.
His instincts and emotions got the best of him as he dragged his hand through the thick strands of his head and instantly blurted out.
"You can't!"
Oliver nodded as if knowing he would get that answer. "I thought you would say that."
Clark gave him a puzzled look not sure what he meant. "I mean, don't you think it's dangerous dragging Lois into the middle of it all?"
"You can drop the facade, Clark." Oliver slid the square paper in his hand down the table, the paper which really was a picture came to a stop in front of Clark. "Just when I thought I knew everything there was to know about you."
Clark reached out picking up the picture, his hand shaking and he didn't know why until his eyes set firmly upon what it had to show off. There his blues saw exactly what Oliver saw moments earlier. The familiar yellow farm house in the background, in front stood his mom and dad, but they were....older?
They were standing with him and Lois, it would have been like other pictures they had before, yet this one stood out like a sore thumb from all the rest because unlike all the others they owned. Erica wasn't in any of them younger then what she was now, being held lovingly in his arms as not only on his finger but Lois' as well, a solid gold wedding band.
Like Oliver before his heart gave a hard jerk in his chest at the most significant feature on the picture, down in the right hand corner was a time stamp that showed the date Aug 19, 2008.
"From the look on your face, I'm guessing this is your first time seeing it?" Oliver questioned, as this wasn't one of the things he expected. "Yet, you're not as shock as you should be."
"I don't know what to say."
"What is there to say?" Oliver dismissed, and shrugged painfully. A blow on his face at discovering something that changed everything and Clark couldn't help but see the sadness in his eyes. "The picture tells it clearly. Erica isn't from this time, Lois is your wife or soon will be and me...I'm just in the way."
Clark sighed out heavily, it wasn't suppose to happen like this. Oliver really cared for Lois and though Clark knew how the story would play out, the last thing he wanted was to hurt his friend...both of them.
"Oliver, I'm sor-"
"Sorry, Clark? Not only did you kiss my girlfriend, but you end up marrying her." Oliver laughs out dejectedly not holding a trace of hard feelings toward him.
Not much he could use against Clark anyway. The truth was right there, Erica was here, the picture was real he had no doubt about that. The future he planned or thought he would have with Lois just wasn't going to exist. Not if he didn't use deceit and steal his way into her life, but he was just not that kind of person.
"The funny thing is I can't say I'm really surprised about any of this."
Clark took a step toward his friend and leader of the JLA, worried to asked but it came out anyway as he stuffed his hands deep into his pockets. "What are you plan on doing?"
Oliver looked up to lock eyes with his. "Something that needs to be done."
An hour later Clark and Oliver emerged from the room, a pound of knowledge like dropped bricks on Oliver shoulders as he tried to keep up his usual appearance. Erica swivelled around in her mom's chair toward the two as they made their way over to her at the desks her parents shared.
"Pleasure seeing you again, Erica." Oliver said as he stood before the girl. "I really enjoyed having you at the picnic today."
Erica eyes slowly looked up, an uneasy glaze in her eyes as she fidgetedin the chair. Oliver seemed different, like he got the wind knocked out of him or received the worst news in his life. It made her stomach drop and heart constrict in her chest at the solemn mood her uncle appeared to be in now.
"Sorry about the poison Ivy." She said in a small voice, feeling bad for her uncle's mood.
"Long forgotten." Oliver replied a sincere smile beaming back to her, before squatting to his ankles in front of her.
"Take care of your mom, Erica." He told her and got a slight nod as she didn't quite understand. "Lois, is lucky to have you. The both of you"
Erica's eyes went beyond wide as the words struck home, they went from Oliver to her dad behind him. He wasn't shock at all and this let her know that the hour or so alone was spent explaining her story. Oliver raised back to his feet, passing a quick glance to Clark and patting Erica's head before walking to the elevators to leave.
She turned around after following Oliver's leave with her eyes, a look of shock on her face as she stared at her dad. Clark stepped closer to her handing back the picture that belonged to her, making everything clear. Erica looked up her eyes conveying the pain she felt inside at the mistake she unintentionally caused.
"What did I do?"
Oliver didn't see as he threw his items unceremoniously into the open luggage on his bed, he didn't care if it was a mess instead of being organized. His mind was elsewhere and no amount of alcohol was going to take the sting away of the choice he had to make.
No, he didn't have to. He could be a selfish man and take Lois like he planned on doing. Steal her away and cheat, she wouldn't be none the wiser. Come on, who could believe their daughter came from the future in a time where traveling in portals to the past was possible, to save the life of her mom where she couldn't in the future.
Like any living thing, Erica's story relayed by Clark tore at his heart and before he even heard it, the picture alone told him there was no room in Lois' life other then being a friend. The hick from Smallville and the big city girl Lane became what everyone saw written in the stars, what he could even see in the first few days meeting the two together in action; being themselves around each other.
Yet, here he was packing up his bags to leave, because as selfish as he thought himself to be, he couldn't be the type of bastard to do such a thing. Clark had become a good friend, who saved his ass countless times and Lois though he cared for her more then she would ever know, he knew deep down inside the feeling wasn't mutual.
Lois made herself known as her brown heals clapped against his marble floor. Oliver looked up at the vision that could always capture his breath, casual in a matching tan jacket and long skirt a white blouse peeking through that hugged her body like skin. Her hair up in a pony tail, the light chestnut color with the blondish highlights that always made her look far too young for how mature she really was. The dark chocolate of her natural hair color fit her far better as he compared her to herself in the future in Erica's picture.
"I was going to come by later anyway..." Lois' voice hesitant to speak as she held her hands together. She could feel the tension in the air, being a reporter after all, but didn't know the reason for it. "...but you wanted to see me now?"
Oliver tore his eyes away from her as he went back to his closet to grab his clothes on hangers and throw them in a suit bag, rumbled and in a disarray, not at all like him. Lois couldn't help but see, and it made the unease she was feeling all the more stronger--something was wrong.
"We're going somewhere?" Lois voiced, proud she kept her words steady. "You should have said so when you called, I could have started packing before I left."
"Lois..." Oliver breathed out heavily and slumped down in his chair, rubbing his hand down his face before looking up to pierce her with his eyes.
She stood their in anticipation and almost a dread of what he would say, but he didn't say anything. He got to his feet and walked past her as he left from the room, she behind on his trail. Oliver walked up the stairs to the platform where the huge clock like-face was used as a wall to hide his Green Arrow identity and gadgets. It slid open with a push of a button, his hands went busy taking items from the wall to expect them closely.
"I'm going to Moscow." He finally spoke, his back facing her as if he couldn't stand the sight of her right now. "I'm leaving tonight...I don't know how long I will be there."
"JLA, business?" Lois replied knowingly as she slowly ascended the stairs to where he was. "If you're asking me, the answer is yes. I don't care how long it is. I want to go."
"I'm not asking you, Lois." Oliver's voice an edge, as he gave her a hard glance over his shoulder. "We both know it's not what you really want."
"What the hell do you know about what I want?" Lois fumed, her brows in angry arches. "I'm here, Ollie, aren't I? I've always been here, even when you tried to keep me at arms length with being the Green Arrow. Even when I found out, nothing changed the way I felt about you."
"Lois, you were the one who broke up with me the second time, on this little-go-round." Oliver accused, not meaning the harshness in his words.
"I didn't want to share, I didn't think I could, and I tried to convince myself I wasn't some selfish bitch because I couldn't stand to see my man being pulled away from me when the world needed him more." Lois wiped furiously at her eyes, and that's all it took for Oliver to close the distance between them and wrap her in his embrace.
"I still haven't gotten the chance to prove it." Lois mumbled in his chest before wiping her face against his shirt and laying her cheek into his shoulder. "Don't do this, Ollie."
Oliver kissed the top of her head, he didn't want to, God knows he didn't, but his fate wasn't with her. "You're not selfish, Lois. You're afraid...you're afraid to let me go...not because you love me...I know you care, but it's different..."
She pulled from his arms, anger etched on her face as it turned red with hidden fury, her eyes cutting like steel. "...you're afraid to be alone and the real reason you don't want me to leave."
Oliver's head jerked to the side followed by a loud whack as Lois' palm connected with his face, he tasted blood and just nodded as he went back to the room that held his alter ego. "You always did have a mean right hook."
"You ass!" Lois screamed, and paced in hard-to-contain-anger, back and forth on the platform. "Two days! Two days after I so willingly wanted to give you--to give us another shot and now...now you're leaving?"
"It's for the best-"
"The best for who? You?"
"No, you!" Oliver shook his head angrily, as he threw a few things into a black duffel bag. "It's best that I leave, that we stop pretending that we want more from each other."
"Who said I was pretending?" Lois spat out and stalked toward him, grabbing his arm so he would face her. "I want you...I want us!"
He turned to her, cupping his hand over her check and kissing her forehead. "No...you want Clark."
Oliver walked past her leaving her stunned for once in her life with no retort or objection back as she slid, weak-kneed, onto a bench in his Green Arrow room. Tears were burning her eyes again and she didn't bother to wipe them away; she didn't have the strength to hide it anymore. He was right, the fight of trying to cling to Oliver was in her way battling what she really was feeling and she hated herself for putting Oliver in the middle of it, for using him.
"You're crazy." Was her only feeble attempt to battle what he was saying.
"You might not know it now, but you will soon...you're in love with him...I think you always have..." Oliver continued as he went over some files in his laptop, making sure his flight and certain things were set for his long stay in Russia. "...but in true Lane fashion it spooked the hell out of you to really feel something like that, especially toward Clark of all people. So you hid it, and fought it tooth and nail every step of the way."
"I really do care about you, Ollie, I really wanted this to work." Lois whispered, her voice rough, looking away from him as he came to stand in front of her.
"I know you do, Lois, but I want more..." Oliver answered truthfully. "...I am selfish."
"So this is it? You really are dumping me...again." Lois stated, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.
"Yea, I guess I am." He replied sadly, and handed her a Manila envelope.
She looked up confused, her eyes showing so to him as she took it from his hands. "What's this?"
"Talk to Clark, before you open this. It will give you the answers..." Oliver looked around and gestured widely. "...to all of this."
"Clark? What does he have to do with anything?" Lois snapped and tried to rip open the tan-ish envelope, but his hands upon hers stopped her proceedings.
"Everything." Oliver said, his eyes boring straight into her hazels. "Just wait until you to talk to him."
"Ollie, please." Lois found herself almost begging but quickly cut to stern words of warning. "If you leave this time, there won't be anymore chances...I will not give you another one."
Oliver placed his finger under her chin, his thumb smoothing over her bottom lip. "I'm not going to need it."
Lois closed her eyes at the feel of a gentle kiss from his lips upon hers that stayed but briefly as she felt him pull away and heard the clap of his feet on the marble floor as he left her...for good.
Shelby's head perked up from the porch step as Clark's truck came to a crunching stop on the gravel in the driveway next to the yellow farm house. He barked and ran to meet his masters, tail wagging and tongue happily hanging from his mouth.
Clark squatted down to recieve the golden, shaggy pooch. "Hey, boy, missed us?"
His blues looking up as Erica walked passed without even acknowledging Shelby or himself. Her head was down and she was quiet the whole ride back from Metropolis. She was so silent that he thought she was sleeping but she wasn't, she was just sitting there staring out of the window.
He got to his feet, brushing off his hands on his thighs before super-speeding to the front of the door. "What's with the long face?"
Erica, caught herself from almost walking into him, and huffed as she step away and took a seat on the top of the steps. "He's going to break up with her, isn't he?"
Clark dropped down next to her, Shelby making himself comfy between them as Clark rubbed his hands together like he had a terrible itch that wouldn't go away. Erica didn't need to hear the answer, his non-verbals were enough to tell her the truth and the guilt sliced right through her. More then anything she wanted her mom to be with her dad, not with Oliver, they were so wrong for each other, but it wasn't suppose to happen this way.
"It's my fault." Erica sighed out bitterly. "Mommy is going to be hurt because of me. I didn't even know the picture was missing from my pocket."
He reached out placing his large hand on her shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. "It's not your fault, Erica. He would have found out, if not by this way, then by me telling him."
"You were going to tell him. When?" Erica asked turning toward him, her interest piqued by the idea.
"It wasn't going to be soon, but he was planning on taking Lois to Moscow..." He said stroking Shelby's shaggy coat. "...I couldn't let him do that..."
"So you told him, but I bet he kinda already knew something was up, since he saw the photo." She replied, her own hands petting Shelby between his ears.
"Come on, I'll make us some of my mom's famous hot cocoa." Clark got to his feet and held the door open for Erica as she walked in.
Erica jumped and spun around to the window as a loud boom rung in the distance, with her super-hearing it could have been a nuclear blast the way it sounded. Followed by the loud roar a constant thudding dropped as the heavens opened up and a heavy shower poured.
"It's just a storm." Clark told her over his shoulder as he fetched a couple mugs out of the cabinet and the cocoa powder.
She stepped up close to the window, watching as in an instant everything became soaked and dreary. "I hate the rain...in my time it hasn't stopped raining since....you know..."
Clark watched the girl intently in silence as he allowed the words to wash over him, knowing she was probably thinking about the day Lois died. Giving a moment of silence for the dead that he couldn't change in the future and silently promising he wouldn't allow it to happen to 'his' Lois in this time.
Erica's head turned as she caught him walking and opening the kitchen door. "What are you doing?"
"To show you how much fun the rain can be." He said and nodded his head for her to follow, which she did quickly, so much for the saying curiousity killed the cat.
"When I was a little boy, I use to play this game during the rain." He said as clashes of thunder faded into the air. "I would see how fast I could move without a single drop touching me. If it did I knew my mom would know I was out in the rain and she wouldn't be so happy."
"Isn't that kinda hard?" Erica asked and looked around as the very air seemed to be wet with the down pour. "There's so many drops and they're all falling at different times."
The smile on his lips grew wide, a playful mischief in his eyes. "That's the point of the game....Ready..."
Erica gave her own charming Kent smile back and nodded. "Set..."
"Go!"
Ripples of waves moved around their bodies as they went into super-speed mode and Erica could see a different world as time stood still all around. The rain, it didn't completely stop but it fell like snails slinking against the ground inch by inch. It was a beautiful sight, the drops were like diamonds and if the sun was out it would have been a spectacular display of colors, and sparkles bouncing beams from one drop to the other. But there in the moon, it was like a million gems or a billion stars were falling from the sky in slow motion.
They took off in a blur but all around to them things were frozen, a stand still as they carefully made their way through the obstacle of droplets shimmering around them. Erica held out her out a finger and plucked at a drop that flew like a piece of dust on the wind. Clark laughed and shook his head at his daughter, she in turn blew at the water drops toward her dad as if they were no more then seeds on a dandelion. They floated toward him like bubbles, but he was fast and zipped off with Erica hot on his tail.
Lois slammed the door to her apartment as she walked into the lonely dark room, a picture or some type of glass clashing to the ground from the force. She just scolded the mess and let out a loud huff as she stalked into the kitchen throwing off coat, heels and purse on the way as they laid there a mess upon the floor.
She stopped in front of the answer machine, blaring out obscenities as she pressed the button to listen to her messages. Rolling her eyes as a few collector voices blared on the machine reminding her of the fact she was behind on a few bills. A glass went flying and splattering into a million pieces as Oliver came on, apologizing again and hoping they could still be friends.
"Fat chance." Lois smirked between clenched teeth. "In fact, no chance at all."
Her head perked up and smiled at the sound of Chloe's voice but it quickly disappeared...
"Hey, Lo, it's Chloe...I know we really didn't get a chance to hang out...and I know I just came back today, but I need to get back to the paper. A reporter's life, you know how it is. I'll call you when I get home, and maybe we can schedule a weekend off together...Talk to you later, babes...Love ya, bye."
Lois leaned her elbows on the the counter her hands scrubing through her hair and groaned. "Chloe, if there was ever a day I needed you."
One last fuss of her fingers combing through her hair, her hazel eyes fall on the Manila envelope Oliver gave to her and her car keys next to it. A bunch of jumbled thoughts bounced in her head before she grabbed the envelope and the keys jingled in hand as she left out the door.
"Do you have any sevens?" Erica asked that little tease of a smile on her lips Clark knew to associate with trouble.
He looked up from his deck, his brow arched high as he slid the three sevens he had against the table to her. "I think you're cheating."
She gave a fake gasp, her eyes wide making Clark laugh. "I did not!"
"You beat me four times in a row and every card you called, I had." He said accusingly, the smile still betraying his amusement.
"You're fault, you're the one who taught me to look through the cards." Erica shrugged and shuffled the cards to start a new round.
"I did that?" Clark asked not sure if he should believe her.
Erica nodded and passed him five cards then herself. "Yup, you were really peed that mommy kept beating you in cards and being so smugged about it. So, you decided to teach her a lesson. She didn't know I developed x-ray vision yet so you taught me how to play. It's the reason why now all our playing cards are lined with lead."
"I-We...I mean...Lois and I..." Clark was stuttering and he knew he was, badly, and cleared his throat to try and gain back his composure. "...we really care for each other?"
Erica smiled at his nervousness and understood the reason for it. "You guys love each other, very much."
The tension in his shoulder seemed to slack out at her words and he smiled brightly at her.
"You still can't believe it, can you, that you and mommy are together?" Erica asked, placing the likes in her set together.
"No, I mean, I just didn't think she thought of me in that way..." He replied staring absently at the cards in his hand.
Erica dropped her face and gave him a pointed look, one that said he was really slow on the up-take. How couldn't he see that her mom was just as crazy about him as she knew that her dad was crazy for her mom. Everyone saw it! They were just too darn stubborn for their own good and too proud to take the first step.
"You have any threes?" Clark asked, changing the subject and smiled as she cut her eyes at him
"Who's cheating now?" She smirked, flinging the two cards over to him. Her head dropping as a thought came over her. "How long do you think it will take before mommy shows up?"
"Oliver called...said she was on her way to her apartment." Clark answered and tried to keep from using his x-ray vision again. "She might not come. We might have to think of another way to get her over here."
"She'll come." Erica said assuredly, not a single doubt was written on her face.
His brows furrowed and before he could say anything, a knock broke through the noise of the continue thudding from the rain on the kitchen door. Clark took a quick glance at Erica before rising to his feet and walking to the door. Opening it, he saw Lois standing there, the drenched locks and soaked clothes weren't the only things down on her.
"Lois." Clark greeted holding the screen door as she stood there soaked and downcast, but showing a brave front despite the fact she looked a mess.
"Hey, Smallville." She said through clearing her throat. "I don't mean to bother you...it's just...Chloe went back to Gotham..."
"Lois."
"...and it's quiet around the apartment...and Oliver and me just broke up..."
"Lois, this is your home too. You're always welcomed here." Clark interrupted to stop the run of her mouth and stepped out of the way for her to enter.
"Lois! You wanna join us in Go fish?" Erica asked excitedly as she spotted her from the kitchen counter.
Lois' hazels gave Clark an amused look at the game he was playing with Erica, and gave second thoughts about him not have a nurturing side.
"What?" He asked suspiciously to her smile.
"Nothing." She replied innocently and shared a secret smile with Erica.
"Hey, Short-Stack, I don't know about playing cards. I was more thinking on the lines of sinking my misery away with a nice hot bath and sleeping the rest of the night away."
Erica made a pouting face, her eyes sadly looking down. She being so good with the baby-face practice she had with her dad in the future that she actually got her eyes to tear up some. Clark smiled wickedly, she was a good little actress and folded his hands over his chest looking at Lois with raised brow.
Lois placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head, not impressed at all. "You so don't know who you're trying to fool. I'm so not buying..."
Small hazel eyes looked over to ocean blues that quickly looked away and sneaked glances to exact copies of the smaller hazel orbs but just bigger that rolled in fake annoyance. A giggle or two sounded as the anticipation rose to it's highest point, as eyes continued to look from one to another.
"Read em' and weep!" Erica shouted laying out the cards in front of her folded legs.
"No way. A queen, a jack and three aces?" Lois asked in suspicion, the corner of her lips in a smirk as she held hidden pride for the girl inside. Shaking her head in disbelief, her wet chestnut strands sticking to the back of the plaid shirt she borrowed from Clark.
He slanted his eyes in warning to his child who just answered by giving a wide smile back. He knew she was using her ability to read the cards and he wasn't finding it amusing especially with what she bet from him.
"I'm glad you only bet me for my mini snicker bar." Lois said with amusment and tossed the candy to Erica.
The girls turned their eyes to Clark who was more then hesitant to give what he owed as Erica laughed and Lois held up a teasing brow to him.
"Come on Smallville, don't be shy." Lois taunted behind a handful of popcorn.
Clark glared at Erica and whispered only loud enough for her to hear. "This isn't funny."
She only shrugged her shoulders, laughed more and said out loud. "Yea, come on Smallville."
Clark grabbed at the collar of his dress shirt that he got use to wearing with suits and ties at the Daily Planet, the button coming out as his fingers begrudgingly worked on undoing the others.
Lois let out a belly of laughter as Clark threw his maroon dress-shirt, it splatting Erica in the face, her laughter soon died into dry coughing as her eyes fell on the bare chest of Clark Kent. She forgotten how potent the sight of his body could be, and hers was doing a number of reacting especially since he was sitting right next to her. All valleys and tight, hard, smooth skin that she caught herself more then once fantasising about.
"Umm, my turn to shuffel." Lois swallowed hard and quickly snatched the deck of cards from Erica's grasped, hoping her cheeks didn't look as heated as they felt.
"Alright, I'll start off the bet." Clark smirked, his toned pecks and abs moving with the slightest of movement, that had Lois glancing more then once when she thought she was being subtle.
"I'll bet you for your mini snickers bar." Clark pointed to Erica who gave a fake, crying pout.
"Nooo, mine." She said in a fake whine, hugging the piece of candy to her as if it was a precious baby.
Clark laughed and shook his head, his eyes falling to Lois who quickly looked away from eyeing his bare torso. "You, I'll bet a..."
"...Kiss!" Erica shouted, answering for him.
"What?!" Clark and Lois choked out together and looked awkwardly at each other before turning their eyes to glare at the small girl.
Clark's face flushed red, the look of strangling Erica was written deep inside those blues as she laughed uneasily. Lois shook her head as she fought to keep from looking embarrassed as her eyes glanced over to Clark only to look away seconds later.
"I bet you to kiss Shelby." Clark jumped back into the game, a smug smile on his lips trying to chase away the awkwardness in the air. "Thanks for they idea, Erica."
"Yea, thanks, Short-Stack." Lois quirked teasingly. "What happen to girl power?"
"Hey, there aren't any teams in this game." Clark said looking at the laughing girls.
His heart constricted in his chest as he watched Lois laughing freely with Erica and wonder if this is how it always was with his future-self. A beautiful wife and daughter to come home to, never alone, to always hear their laughs on air like now.
"Smallville, I really hope your not going into amnesia land, again." Lois teased at the far off look on his face as he was in heavy thought.
"Very funny, Lois." He gave a fake laugh as he came to.
"Well, one can never know with you." Lois talked around a mouthful of popcorn and laughter, along with Erica.
"Anyway, I was just betting. I bet Erica for twenty pieces of twizzlers from her bag of candy..." Lois stated and then looked at Clark with a foxy gleam. "...and I bet you for Shelby."
"You can't do that!" Clark choked out in disbelief. "You don't even like him!"
"Hey, I take offense to that! I never said I didn't like him, even though he makes me sneeze..." Lois debated, throwing a few pieces of popcorn at him. "...doesn't mean I haven't grown a soft spot for the stupid mutt. And when he becomes mine, his name will go back to being Clarkie, again."
Clark watched as she continued to give him a teasing look, proud and smugged that she was going to win. "Lois, you can't bet Shelby."
"Too late." She said in a singing-like voice. "Go ahead, Erica, your turn."
"I bet you to..."
"You better not say kiss." Clark warned in a low whisper.
Erica rolled her eyes at the words only she could hear and finished her sentence. "...to tickle Clark."
Clark in turn, rolled his eyes. "What is this pick on Clark night?"
"Nope, it's pick on Clarkie night." Erica giggled, and high-fived Lois who shrugged her shoulders and plopped more popcorn into her mouth.
He leaned his head toward Lois and with a fake scold. "Stop infecting my cousin."
"What can I say? She has good taste."
"Right." Clark scoffed and received a punch to the arm from Lois, his skin felt like lighting stuck it from her touch, and looked down from the spot to her smiling face and couldn't stop from returning the smile back.
"I'm not finished." Erica huffed. "Clark, I bet you for your pants."
Clark choke on his spit, his eyes bulging from his red face. "Erica!"
"Kidding!" She yelled in her defense as she giggled, her dad not at all finding it amusing.
"See I knew we should have played strip poker." Lois quipped.
"Don't encourage her." Clark glared, and pressed her on with his eyes for her to deal.
"Alright...alight, I'm dealing." Lois fingers sliced through the deck like a hot knife in butter, pulling them in a waterfall before dishing out the needed amount to each player.
"Cards with the soldiers, Lois?" Clark noted at her talent.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She said mysteriously, and gave him a teasing wink.
Cards were switched, secretive glances passed and snickers sounded for over fifteen minutes and even Erica being pelted with popcorn from Clark who had a hunch she was looking through the cards, before the tensed silence was broken with a shout of victory as before.
"Ha, I won again!" Erica shouted victoriously, throwing her cards to the floor and doing a little happy bounce on her bottom.
"You got to be joking?" Clark sighed out exasperated, his cards sure couldn't beat her hand. He knew she was cheating, but he sure couldn't catch her if she was using super-speed. He didn't even see her use any type of power but he knew she had to be doing something to keep the cards in her favor.
"Two jacks, a king, queen, and ace." Lois named them off, her hand only coming a few points short compared to Erica's.
"She's cheating!"
"Clark!" Lois scolded bemusedly. "She had a few good rounds, I highly doubt she's a slight-of-hand mastermind."
He wiped his hand down his face, and peeked his eyes through his fingers, catching the sight of them going to their knees.
"Oh, no." He mumbled and tired to scoot back. "This is a waste of time, I'm not even ticklish."
"Then why are you trying to run, Smallville?"
"Get him!" Erica shouted, as both girls pounced on him in a fit of giggles as Clark try to get away from their tickling fingers.
He let a loud bellow of laughter that surpised even him that he was ticklish and it was a strange sensation, he never experienced or could explain to anyone in words how it felt. The girls were relentless as they attacked every square inch on his naked flesh. Lois not realizing how far she was stretching over him, until he lost his balance falling to his back and pulling Lois on top of him.
She continued to tickle his ribs not realizing she was the only one. Erica had backed away to see where it would lead. Clark continued to laugh as Lois continued her assaults upon him. Her face hovering inches above his, when at once they both came to a stand still realizing the position they were in. Clark's hands held her hips inches above the top of the grey sweats she wore, while her body laid between his hard thighs, pressed snugly against Clark Jr.
Erica watched as their eyes connected, she could tell her mom was drowning in a sea of blue and her dad was stuck in a forest of green. They stayed like that for what seem hours, spell bound by the moment, as they allowed their senses to partake in the trans on one another. Their breaths mingling as one, fanned warmly upon their skin, sweat and inviting of greater things.
Clark's breath hitched at the slightest movement she made being pressed so snugged against his most sensitive region and especially as she made the alternative movement to bring her face closer to his. Lois was on melt down, she was feeling, she was finally allowing those feelings out for him and it was intoxicating.
"Almost!" Erica thought, no screamed in her head as she watched from the sideline.
Lois licked her bottom lip slowly, it felt so dry and hot. Clark could have groaned out loud from the sight of it, he was on fire and her mouth was right there for the taking. Ever so gently he raised his head, meeting her for what he knew were fireworks waiting to go off.
BRRRRIIIIINNGGGG!
Both jumped apart as if someone poured a bucket of ice filled water upon them. They sat there a few minutes panting heavily and starring at each other not knowing what to say or do at first, until another ring came out and broke the trans once again. Clark jumped to his feet and rushed into the kitchen to answer the phone.
Erica gave out a loud groan of frustration and threw herself on her back at such timing the freaking phone and whoever was calling had, to interrupt such a good plan she made up.
He came back a few minutes, making sure not to make eye contact with Lois. "It was my folks they said their coming back tomorrow."
Erica bit at the inside of her cheek as she felt the awkwardness that swallowed the room, her eyes going back and forth between the two.
"Another round?" She suggested, saying anything that would ease the tension that fell on her parents.
Lois checked her watch and got to her feet patting off her bottom. "It's pretty late...I'm going to head off to bed."
"Yea, it is pretty late." Clark agreed and nodded.
Lois turned to her side, in a light doze when she felt the presence of eyes upon her. She opened her own slowly to see Erica drowning in Clark's football Jersey, her suitcase being lost by the airport, standing inches from the bed hugging a worn, pink piglet with a curly tail, tightly to her chest.
She rubbed at her eyes sleepily to focus them clearer on the girl who didn't look too good. "Erica, you ok?"
The small dark-haired girl gave a squeek and a slight jump as another roar of thunder beat the sky followed by blinding flashes of lighten.
"I...I can't sleep." Erica whispered, and cuddled the piglet closer to her body. "I can't sleep in storms...I hate the rain.....it's..."
Lois gave the girl a sleep-filled scowl, reading between the lines that Erica was scared and she couldn't keep up the scowl any longer. She put up a good front but there was no way she could send Erica back to the Kent's lonesome bedroom to shed tears off in the night at the sound of the storm. Her heart wrenched at such a thought and before she knew it, she was sliding over in the bed and pulling back the cover for Erica to hop in.
"Alright, if you promise to go straight to sleep, Short-Stack." Lois yawned, holding her hand over her mouth.
Erica hopped onto the bed on her knees, leaning over and giving a quick kiss to Lois' forehead before settling down between the heavy covers. Lois' lips slipped into a warm smile as she looked upon the girl who was already drifting off to sweet dreams. Her hand of its own accord reached out to swim into the raven-chocolate locks of her daughter's hair.
She laid back into the waiting pillows ready for sleep's embrace herself, but her body tensed at the feel of Erica turning to her and wrapping her arm over her quilt-clad stomach. Slowly she relaxed as Erica laid her head against her shoulder, allowing the comfort of the petite child snuggling against her to drift her off fitfully to sleep...
White....it was all around....so bright that it was nearly blinding and painful to her eyes. It seemed alive, pulsing to it's own rhythm of heartless beating that seemed to spread...to grow...like it would swallow her. It was thick, the whiteness so full, she could swim in it, covering her body like clothes or better yet like her own skin.
She didn't know where she was going but she needed to be somewhere this she felt, this she knew as the white room pulled her to go forward. Yet, whether she went forward or backwards the scene didn't change, it all looked the same. The white mass of light breathing and pushing her to walk ever onward to some unseen destination.
"We need to tell her."
"She's not going to believe us. It's too much for anyone to believe."
Lois came to where the whiteness made way for a room....Clark and Erica stood there in front of a huge full-length mirror decorated in strange symbols that filled her mind with it's meaning. They were Kryptonian for 'Life' and 'Death', 'Beginning' and 'End'. She never saw the language, never even heard of it, but it was as if she was reading her own English language, she understood what those cryptic words meant.
"You're scared! You won't even try!" Erica shouted as she stood in front of Clark, defiant fists clutched by her sides.
"She won't understand. We'll just scare her away." Clark replied placing his hand sorrowfully on her shoulder as she turned away from him to face the mirror.
"You don't understand...you weren't there, I can't loose her again." Erica whispered diamond-tears falling from her hazel gems.
"Loose who again?" Lois spoke up, her voice sounding strained to her own ears as if she was out of breath.
Instantly a brighter shade of white then she ever seen, even from the white room came from the mirror, so much that she held her arm up to shield her eyes. Her head perking up at the sound of her own voice but she wasn't taking, her mouth was far from moving. She watched in frighten-wonder as the mirror showed what could only be described as her life being flashed before her eyes.
"Wh-What is this?" Her voice whispered.
"It's everything that's happened and will happen in your life with daddy." Erica's voice trans-like and wooden.
"Daddy?" Lois sounded shocked, her eyes dropping to the child in bewilderment, before the mirror caught her attention again.
Lois stepped closer, stopping next to Clark as it started from the beginning with her meeting Clark for the first time in the cornfield all those years ago. One by one clips of her times living with the Kents showed, and yeas more flashed by of every case she and Clark ever were invovled in during her life in Smallivlle. Then came the scenes of her life in Metropolis where she lived for a few years working at the Daily Planet with Clark. Every scene was of her and Clark....her and....Clark...
"Smallvile?" Lois shouted when Erica's words finally sunk in. "Clark isn't your cousin? He's your dad?"
Erica nodded smiling strangely, as if she wasn't understanding Lois' shock of this knowledge. Lois shook her head in confusion, puzzled by the fact that Erica was Clark's daughter.
She turned to look at Clark who stood there like a statue, all seemed frozen except for his eyes that showed fear and pain of rejection but also love for the women who stood before him. Lois turned back to Erica shaking her head as if her mind just couldn't get was being said.
"You're Clark's daughter?" Shock still apparent in her voice and shown so on her face.
Erica gave out a little giggle as she gave her mother an angelic smile. "Yours too, mommy."
The mirror flashed again its blinding light, bringing all attention back as the voices of Clark and herself played again. This time it showed Lois and Clark at the Daily Planet, they were teasing each other and laughing. Clark looked nervous then, and with good reason as he asked Lois to dinner. Lois in the mirror smiled and stalled to make him sweat bullets waiting for an answer until she finally spoke and agreed to go out with him. Her hair was shorter and she kept her natural color.
A smile kissed at Lois' lips in front of the mirror, her eyes glancing next to Clark beside her who smiled back warmly. Loud bells rung from the mirror and Lois watch with amazment as a spectaculor wedding wheeled upon the glass and gasped with shock as she saw that the lovely bride and hansome groom was her and Clark!
The year fast forward on their life as husband and wife, the times were good and bad, the good always outweighing the bad as they watched clip after clip of their happy life together and not believing in her wildest dreams that she could be this happy with Clark, but here was her proof flashing right before her very eyes.
A cry ringed out and she wasn't sure whose it was till she leaned over with pain, clutching at her own stomach as she watched on the mirror as her future-self leaned against the wall as her water broke and a frighten Clark rushing to her side in abnormal speed from her screaming. The pain intensified as she looked to Clark standing next to her with worry etched upon his face.
"What are you?" Lois panted between clenched teeth as pain she had never felt in her life ripped through her body as if she was being spilt in two.
"I'm Kryptonian...My Birth name is Kal-El..." Clark answered and instantly all that he was, all that he was capable of doing flashed with bright lights across the mirror, before the pain returned to Lois and the birth of Erica came back to the mirror...
Along with the decite Clark and Bruce planned so Lois would never give birth to a child again, for her own good according to Clark. She felt the vile hate and mixed love she felt for her husband in those three months she ran away, kidnapping her own child from her father to hide away in different locations but never staying long in the fear of Superman finding her.
"Superman?" Lois questioned, the blue and red of his uniform lit her eyes with awe.
"The hero you helped daddy to be." Erica replied with pride in her voice. "The angel of Metropolis."
The three months flashed by of Lois' solitude with a newborn Erica Mara Kent, her lonely heart withering into nothingness with each day without being in her husband's strong arms or around the Kents who she'd come to call parents. It almost killed her not being able to know or feel their love because her stubborn pride for revenge egged her on.
She screamed out with her future-self seeing Clark as Superman foolishly making his way to the house she lined with kryptonite wind-chimes to keep him a way. Every inch draining his life until he fell almost lifeless to the porch and she ran out to him tearing and throwing all the chimes as far as she could.
The years kept on flying by, showing the life of the the three of them as one big happy family. The joys and the sorrows as their family grew, welcoming in new marriages and cousins for little Erica to grow up with in their very large extended family and saying goodbye to grandparents Martha and Jonathan Kent in a double funeral. That had more then the future Lois balling her eyes out in stricken grief.
Lois looked down from the mirror at the feel of Clark squeezing her hand, her own hand finding its was to entwind with his during the events in their life together and it felt right; her hand in his.
"I hate this part right here..." Erica whimpered hoarsely, as tears glazed over her round hazel eyes.
Lois watched as a perfect morning breakfast took place in what appeared to be in their home in Metropolis...A morning she always imagined having with her family one day. The day played out not skipping a head of time like the other, something was important on this day then any other and Lois got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach...
She was at the planet talking to Chloe, there were fires breaking out all around, and Clark was away as this Superman helping the fire department and the police with containing them. Her daughter, Erica was at school in a group of other children that were her cousins. She watched in awe as her child seemed to be the most respected among them as they look to her for advice.
"So young..." Lois thought sadly at seeing the weight that Erica felt she carried on her shoulders.
She watched in horror as the meeting with her main contact Barnes ended badly even found herself screaming "Watch out!" as she saw the needle plunge into her future-self neck like she was at the movies watching an edge-on-your-seat horror movie.
Then came the rain and fears of why Erica hated the rain so much, and she looked down to small, round hazels that mirrored her own hazel ones, but these one belonged to a little darked-haired girl with a tear-stained face and rosey wet cheeks from crying.
"What happened?" Lois found herself sobbed out as she squeezed her nails into the back of Clark's hand.
Erica face flooded more as the tears in a will of their own fell harder. "You left me!"
Lois head jerked up as she watched in horror as the scene came to life of that fateful day...at the moment she died...
Erica watched as her mom grabbed at her vest, taking wires within hand as she pulled them free with intention of taking that monster with her. Flames surrounded around her in a burst of heat and light, but in the mist Lois' face was serene, her eyes boring love as they locked onto her daughter taking her image as the last thing she would ever see.
Erica could feel herself helplessly reaching out for her mom, the heat singeing tears from her cheeks as the blast cradled her body and threw her through the opening in the wall. The look of her mom smiling, glazed eyes filled with wordless love she couldn't express forever burned into Erica's retinas. The pull of gravity, she was in it's mercy as her body free-fall, but her mind was still stuck in the room seeing as the orange flames swallowed her mom whole and the look of love that never left her face in the mist of it all.
Lois looked down at her own body she was engulfed in flames, a searing heat licking her skin, but no burn was made just intense heat and pain. She cried out from the intensity and the terror as in the middle of the mirror a huge black-hole opened up in a whirling roar.
"You have to survive!" Erica shouted grabbing out and latching onto Clark's free hand as the black-hole tried to suck them both in and away from her.
Lois tried to hold onto them, tears blurring her vision as they poured from the threat of loosing them and the consuming fire on her body. She felt Clark's fingers slipping from hers and let out an hysterical cry and plea all into one as she didn't have the strength to hold on any longer.
"Don't leave me!" She begged as she fought through the pain of the burning flames to keep a hold of her family.
"Survive!" Clark screamed a final warning echoing through the room as his fingers fell away from hers and they both were sucked toward the twirling black abyss...
Lois woke up with a start her body jerking straight up in the bed, drenched from head to toe as if someone thrown a bucket of water upon her during her sleep. She trembled, wiping the beads of sweat from her eyes with hands that trembled worse then the fault of California during an earth quake.
It seemed so real, everything, and she wasn't never one to act or recall a dream so vividly. She could feel it all, the paines, the joys, everything she saw displayed in that damned mirror of her future-self, she too experienced as if living it herself at that moment instead of watching what would soon happen.
She was confused, trying to wrap her head around a dream, and her pounding heart and heavy breath agreed along with it-it was real.
"No, it was just a dream." Lois breathed out heavily, feeling the painful thud in her chest as her heart banged wildly.
'But it felt so real...no dream could be that real'
Lois dropped back into her damp pillows, shivering in cold chills all over despite the heat that the night had brought and it was still hours before the sun would rise spiking the humidity even more. She grabbed at the quilt bringing it to her neck to chase away the coldness that had everything to do with that crazy dream she had.
"Mommy." Erica whispered in her sleep, feeling something was wrong but too lost in slumber to realize what she said or what the matter was as she curled against Lois like a lazy cat.
Lois swallowed hard her mind too muffled and still so overwhelmed with shock to know what to believe anymore. The only important thing was to comfort the petite child and protect her with her life as she felt the strong attachment seep its way deep down inside of her. An attachment, a connection, that felt...familiar...
"Shhh..." Lois whispered into Erica's ear, her hands smoothing down the girls wild, soft locks. "...it's ok baby."
A/N: Hoped you enjoyed this really long chappie....leave me some inspiration and REVIEW, please. Thanks for Reading!!! Merry Christmas, ya'll have a good one. Peace and Love!!! :)