I decide to go with Chinese food for lunch. Beef and broccoli, to be exact.

I give a few pieces of the latter to Snowy. She could use some green though I'm sure that she would rather have the meat.

I don't blame her but she's technically already getting a treat, since I rarely give her people food.

Well, I am kind of talking about dogs so I guess I'll tell you what happened to Iris. She, as I think you remember, was Aunt Violet's yellow lab.

I actually hate to tell you but here goes. Uncle Jeff "accidentally" hit her with his truck a little more than a year and a half ago.

I don't think that I'll ever forget Aunt Violet's scream on finding out her dog was dead. That and her cry.

At least the story does have a happy ending. That was the same day I bought Snowy.

I remember the look on Aunt Violet's face on seeing her. How she tentatively asked if she could hold her.

My dog's a very good girl. She licked the rest of Aunt Violet's tears away, which slowly brought a smile to her face then she called her what I just told you she is.

Yes, she did wash her face soon after and I can't exactly blame her for that but still. You've got to admit that what Snowy did was sweet.

You're not made of stone, now are you?

I didn't think so.

Now, if you want a little more about that story, I said my dog misses nothing. She's always been very observant.

My Dad thinks that's good because, well, I'm half blind. He obviously makes a bigger deal out of that than I do.

I swear, if I had a dollar for every minute he's spent fussing over me, I'd be rich.

Wait a minute.

I probably do have that much money, maybe more.

Ew. That sounded kind of like something my Mom's side of the family would say.

Don't get me wrong, I do like my grandparents on that side okay.

It's just that affection from them feels forced. They think all problems can be solved with money.

I don't really feel that way.

Yes, it can come in handy but the free things in life are good. I'm sure that any member of my Mom's side would disagree with the last bit of what I just told you.

I can't say that I care.

I put my thoughts aside then finish my food and handle my trash.

Lois calls my name as I'm about to sit down.

"Yeah?"

She tells me that she found a copy of an article about the fire.

My eyes widen a fraction but I quickly regain my composure. "Why were you digging?"

I surprise myself a little bit because that was in a whisper.

Then again, I am kind of stunned.

"No, wait, I already know. You're Lois freaking Lane and, by God, you will find out the truth about whatever you have in mind, consequences be damned! Well, I don't want to see that article!"

She reaches out one of her hands, maybe to put it on my shoulder or something, but I'm feeling too angry to accept that right now.

I grab it with my right hand then flip her to the floor, which causes Clark's and Jimmy's eyes to widen.

Oh, crap. I don't think I should have done that.

Lois gets up then looks at me. "Here I thought I was good at fighting, being an Army brat*. Where'd you pick that up?"

I somewhat nervously run one hand through my hair.

Jimmy looks at me. "Yeah, that seemed like a hero skill."

I scoff. "Me? A hero? You've got the wrong girl. I only wear T-shirts with their symbols on them. You guys know that."

I'm about to say more when my left leg seizes up. I clench my teeth but a hiss of pain does come from between them.

I definitely shouldn't have done that flip move.

Clark, his eyes full of concern, gently helps me to my chair then, once I'm in it, asks if there's anything he can get for me.

I blink back tears because, man, my leg freaking hurts.

Steve shows up and looks at me, just as I'm about to answer. "What did I miss?"

Man, where the hell were you?

Snowy barks at him.

He laughs at that. "I think your dog just told me off."

Clark looks at him. "Well, her owner just so happens to be in pain right now so they're not the only ones who want you to skip the wisecracks."

He raises his eyebrows. "Damn, Kent, you're taking action. Things must be serious."

I roll my eyes. "Hey, schmuck, weren't you listening to him? He just told you something important."

He rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry."

Jimmy looks at me. "Does this mean that you'll be okay?"

I rub my leg. "Well, I could use some Percocet or Icy Hot but, yeah, I should be fine."

Clark's eyes widen. "You have a prescription for Percocet? That's an..."

I interrupt him, feeling angry again, mainly due to my pain. "Opioid. I know, okay? I saw the Last Week Tonight videos!"

I breathe out slowly, calming myself down. "You probably already know, like me, that it has the same effects as morphine."

His eyes fill with concern for the third time today. "And you were on a drip of that at age three because of your burns. Your doctors turned you into an..."

I interrupt him again, rolling my eyes. "Clark, I'm not an addict. I don't use Percocet that often. The prescription doesn't get filled much. I obviously use Icy Hot more. Yes, I'm aware that defending myself like that is something an addict would do but I just told you I'm not one."

I'm kind of starting to hate his concern but I don't tell him that.

I mean, I've told him that getting pain in my left leg is something I'm used to. I'm not a masochist but I think that my point still stands.

Yes, I think it's a sucky thing to be used to also.

I'm distracted from my thoughts by the sound of someone calling my name.

Oh. It's Lois.

She has a familiar looking box in her right hand.

Yes, it's Icy Hot cream. That has to be the proverbial olive branch.

She smiles at me. "I'm sorry that I was looking into your life." She extends her right hand. "Are we good?"

I take the box as I fight not to grit my teeth then nod.

Steve laughs. "Lois Lane apologized for looking into something?"

Yes, I don't think that is something that happens very often either but I'm not going to say that.

I've got another thing in mind.

I open the box, then after taking the tube** of cream out, put it on my desk.

There's no way that she could have known but I was running kind of low on this. I've had some rough years.

Anyway. The tube.

I open it then get some out and gratefully rub it into my sore leg.

Man, that feels good.

I was actually told once that it stimulates opioid receptors, which is kind of funny given Clark's reaction to the the fact that I have a prescription for Percocet.

I got it from Mom's side of the family. I had just started high school and the campus was so much bigger than I was used to.

All the walking I had to do would have me coming home in tears because my leg was in a lot of pain.

I mean, I also had to carry heavy textbooks. Not only that I had started learning to fight because the bullies were a lot crueler.

There were these three girls who gave me so much crap. I don't want to tell you their names.

Anyway, a little more than three months into my freshman year, Grandma Victoria gave me a box. Inside was that prescription I mentioned and my first bottle of what you know it's for.

She told me that I can get more anytime I want. That she made sure of it.

I don't think that I'll ever forget the first time I tried one of those pills. The feeling that it gave me.

Say what you will, but they helped a lot.

I'm pretty sure it's why I got angry and defensive over the fact that I take them. That and I don't really feel like he's in a position to judge me.

Well, back to the cream. I've always liked that it starts working fast.

I close the tube then put it back in the box and, after closing that, put it in my hoodie pocket.

I get up then go wash my hands and come back to my desk, thanking Lois for the cream.

Her smile widens. "No problem, Spark. I hope that you don't take this question the wrong way but do you want to at least know who wrote the article I found?"

Persistent, isn't she?

I run one hand through my hair. "Kind of, yeah." I tell her about my wondering.

She laughs. "Well, you work at a newspaper. There's records here. It's how I found the article. Perry wrote it."

I raise my eyebrows and my eyes widen.

I mean, sure, I knew that he has been working here for a long time but that, as you likely figured out, is a surprise and I can see that it's not just one to me.

I whistle. "Guy knows me pretty well then. I guess, since the article's more than 20 years old, that's why I got the bit about me being related to the Stuarts."

That's kind of funny. He's just shown up.

That's good. I want to ask him about the article and I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one.

He wants to know what's going on.

Well, he can wait a little to find out.

I breathe out slowly. "I'm going to change the subject. I was wondering if the date of April 4th, 23 years ago, means anything to you?"

He looks at me. "What brought that up?"

Lois gives the article to him.

*This is canon.
**I don't know if it actually looks like a tube but work with me here