Chapter Forty Nine

"Clark? Can you hear me?" Lois asked, kneeling down in front of the couch where Oliver and Jimmy had put him.

He was still unconscious and his wounds didn't appear to be healing. She'd never seen him like this before, it made her so angry and sad at the same time.

Every time he went out, she never really had to worry because he was almost invincible, he had advantages, but she worried anyway. Because he was her husband and to lose him would be to lose everything good in her life. She couldn't imagine her life without him now.

She brushed her fingers against his forehead, feeling how cold he still was. "Please say you can hear me." she whispered, moving closer to his head. She pressed her lips to his temple and heard him groan.

"Lois…" he whispered, a pained expression forming on his face. She looked up at Oliver.

"Something's wrong Ollie, he should be healing by now."

Oliver nodded and moved towards him. "Help me get him undressed, there may be Kryptonite on his suit."

"Jimmy, run into the bedroom and grab me as many blankets as you can." Lois ordered as she and Oliver got to work.

Carefully, Oliver lifted him up, and Lois began stripping his suit off. She gasped as she peeled it off of his back. In the centre, just below where his lungs would be, was a gaping red mess of a wound.

"Oh God." Lois cried out. She looked a little closer, something green was glowing inside there.

"Ollie, it's in there. I have to get it out. Lay him on his stomach."

Oliver did as he was told, then ran into the kitchen to get something to pull it out with.

"Here," He handed her a pair of pliers and she took them with a shaky hand.

"This is gonna hurt Clark, I'm sorry honey." She grimaced as she dug the metal into the wound, feeling around the edges of the Kryptonite, but Clark didn't make a sound. He was still out cold. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing right now.

"I can't get it." she said, her hand now trembling. Oliver gently pushed her aside and took over.

"Keep him still," he said.

She lowered her head so that she was on the same level as Clark's face and grabbed hold of his hand. His face was contorted in pain and she didn't know how much more she could take.

Then finally, Oliver called out that he'd got it. He showed her the piece of glowing green rock, made into the shape of a dagger, someone meant to do Clark some serious harm.

As Oliver rushed out of the room to dispose of it, Lois pushed the rage back down, it would do her no good here. But she wanted to kill Lex Luthor so bad. How could one man be the sole cause of so much pain?

"Clark, please talk to me sweetie." she whispered in his ear, stroking his face. "Please."

He let out a quiet groan. "Lois?"

"Yeah, I'm here Clark, I'm here."

"Fortress…" he mumbled, and started trembling. Jimmy swooped in with the blankets and covered him up.

"Jor-El knew you were in danger. He sent me back."

"Shouldn't…have…too…dangerous." he said, his teeth chattering. Lois rubbed his arms, torso, legs, anywhere to try and generate some heat. He was freezing. But his face appeared to be healing now, slowly.

"He had no choice Clark, I didn't give him one." She kissed him softly on the lips. "Now, ssh, get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Ph…Phoebe."

"She's safe, with your mom at the Fortress." As soon as she said that, he drifted off and she got up and threw back all the curtains in the room, trying to allow as much natural sunlight in as she could.

It would be the only thing that would help him now. He wasn't in immediate danger now, but he was still weak, he needed to gain strength from the one thing she knew would heal him. The sun.

"I'm just gonna go call Chloe and check on her. Will you be okay?" Jimmy asked as Lois kneeled back down on the floor in front of the sofa.

"Yeah, I think so." she replied, looking at her sleeping husband. "He'll be fine."

"I meant…never mind. I'll be back in a few."

Lois didn't hear him leave, or Oliver return for that matter, she was too engrossed in watching Clark. The steady rise and fall of his chest, the way his eyelids flickered but never opened.

"He could've died out there Ollie," she whispered, knowing Oliver was standing nearby. "I could've lost him today."

"I know." Oliver replied, there wasn't really much else he could say.

"I almost lost my invincible husband," she chuckled dryly. "Isn't that just ironic?"

"He's gonna be okay Lois."

"I know but it's still hard, seeing him like this. I never thought this could happen."

She stood up and wiped the tears from her face. Then she turned and looked at Oliver and his expression was like a kick to the gut. He looked so sad. So she did the only thing she knew to do, she hugged him.

"We're gonna find Kara, I promise." she said, holding him tightly. He squeezed her back, as if needing the comfort.

"I miss her so much, Lois. I need to know that she's okay. I just need to know that."

She cupped his face in her hands and forced eye contact from him. "I know, this has gone on long enough. Listen to me Ollie, I have a plan."


"No! Absolutely not, no way!" Chloe yelled, angrily.

"Chlo, just listen to me…" Lois tried to reason with her cousin but she wasn't having any of it. She stormed around her monitors, tapping here and there at Watchtower, clearly angry even at the suggestion of Lois' plan.

"No, I'm not doing it. It's a stupid idea Lois, one that will most likely get you kidnapped or worse. I can't do that, I'm sorry."

"Look, we don't have a lot of options here Chloe. We're running out of time, Kara's running out of time."

Chloe shook her head, vehemently and glared at Oliver, who was standing nearby looking sheepish. "And you agree with this idea?"

"No, not at all. But we have to do something Chloe. I mean, are you any closer to finding my wife?"

Chloe sighed and shook her head again. "No, I'm not. But that doesn't mean that we're gonna send Lois into the line of fire. Firstly, Clark won't allow it. Secondly, I won't allow it."

Lois grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her to the side, away from Oliver and Jimmy so it was just the two of them.

"Chlo, you know this is the only way." she said softly. "We have to find Kara. This way is the fastest way."

"Lois, you want me to put a tracking device on you, and let you get yourself kidnapped. What if Lex doesn't want you? What if you're expendable to him? If Phoebe's not with you, he won't go for it. And there is no way in hell that I'll let my niece anywhere near that monster."

"What, you think I'd put my own daughter in danger?" Lois demanded, angry and a little hurt at the insinuation.

"No, of course not. But you know what I mean, he will never go for just you."

"He will if he thinks I have Phoebe with me. Look, I'm not saying it's a foolproof plan, but Oliver will be two steps behind me, waiting to jump in when we find out where they're taking me. You know this is the only way Chlo…"

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. And just what am I supposed to tell your husband when he wakes up?" she asked, glancing at Clark, who was still asleep but now on the sofas in Watchtower. He was lying in a beam of direct sunlight, coming in from the very large window in the centre of the room.

Lois looked over at him, knowing that when he woke up, he would be angry. But this had to be done.

"When he's strong enough, tell him. He'll come for me."

"Please, don't do this Lois, we'll find some other way to get to Kara." Chloe said, this time her tone pleading, which Lois knew meant that she was wearing her down.

"There is no other way. We've been looking for too long. We don't have a choice. Do it Chloe, please."

Eventually, the petite blonde nodded and moved silently away to begin her task.

"Are you sure about this Lois? I don't like it." Oliver said, moving over to her.

"No, but what else can we do? We can't sit around waiting, Lex wants those babies and I don't think he's inclined to wait the full nine months. We have to do something, now."

Oliver nodded grimly, and Lois knew that he hated this idea as much as Clark would when he woke up. She really didn't relish the thought of having that conversation with Clark, but it would come. She just had to make sure that her plan didn't backfire on her first.

"Okay then. Here we go." She took out her cell phone and dialled the number that Toby had called her from.

"Toby?" she asked, when the phone clicked, but no one answered. "Toby, it's Lois. Is that you?"

"Lois?" Toby's voice came through, shy and quiet. She wondered where he was.

"Listen to me very carefully Toby, Clark's missing. I need your help. I know you were the last one to see him. Please Toby, please tell me where my husband is."

"You shouldn't come Lois. Too dangerous for you." he replied.

"I know you didn't want to hurt Clark, but he needs help. Where did they take him?"

There was a few moments of silence and Lois looked over at Chloe, who was busily trying to trace the call but it was harder to do with a cell phone.

"I never meant for any of this Lois. I never meant to hurt anyone, especially not you." To Lois' surprise, Toby started crying. Yet she felt no sympathy whatsoever. He didn't deserve any.

Holding back her anger, she spoke softly into the phone. "Then tell me where he is. Please."

"Down by the docks at the edge of Metropolis. But you may be too late Lois. I think they were going to kill him. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Look, I'm heading there now, can you meet me there? Show me where he is?"

"Sure, okay."

"Great, thanks Toby. I'll be there in about half an hour."

"Okay Lois." he replied, a little more eager than before and for a split second she wondered if he knew what she was up to. But this was Toby, he couldn't know.

She hung up and turned to Chloe. "I think we're good to go."

Chloe walked over and handed her a small device about the size of a quarter. "For the record, I'm still against this."

"Noted."

"Okay, this one is a decoy, they'll most likely search you and if they do, they'll find this and throw it away. This one, however…" She placed a smaller black piece of plastic on Lois' hand. "This one, you'll swallow. That way, they won't suspect anything else on you and I can still track you."

"Okay," Lois took a deep breath and then swallowed the tiny tracker. "Thanks Chloe, I really appreciate this."

Chloe did not look impressed. She folded her arms and gave Lois an icy look. "Just don't go getting yourself killed and we'll be cool."

Lois nodded and walked over to the sofa. Hunching down on one knee, she brushed Clark's hair away from his forehead and kissed him. "Please don't be angry with them. It was my idea. I have to do this Clark. I love you."

She stood up and nodded to Oliver. "Ready?"

"I don't know. Are you?" he replied.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go get your wife."

To Be Continued...