The flight to Smallville Airport was taken in near silence. Lois sat on the edge of her seat beside Superman, whose unconscious body was sprawled across two seats. Richard was up front. They had been avoiding each other for most of the trip. Richard was desperately trying not to lose it. His family was disintegrating before him and he could do nothing about it. Finally he could take the tension no longer. He put the plane on autopilot and walked to the rear of the plane.
"How's he doing?" Richard asked, concernedly.
"He's still unconscious." Though she'd spoken only three words, he felt the undertow of their meaning tear through his heart.
"What do you hope to find in Smallville?"
"Lois?"
"I'm sorry, Richard. I'm so sorry for everything."
"Just tell me one thing, did you ever have any intention of marrying me?"
She didn't know how to answer his question without hurting him. "Richard, please."
"I have a right to know, Lois. We've been dancing around this subject for weeks. Tell me. Was I just a guy in waiting until the man you loved came to his senses?"
"I love you, Richard. Please believe that. I never meant to hurt you. This…" she gestured towards Superman, "is so complicated."
"I'm not coming with you, Lois. When we land, I'm going to help you take him wherever it is you're going, but then I'm heading back to Metropolis."
Then, he choked, "What happens to Jason?"
The question was left hanging in the air, too painful to put the answer into words. She couldn't broach this subject with him, not yet.
Neither spoke to the other for the remainder of the flight. The tension in the air was suffocating, tempered only by the colorful sunset they witnessed on the approach to Smallville Airport. The pink and orange rays scattered across the sky, framing the setting sun. The ground below, what little could be seen, was a landscape dotted with farmland and trees, with a few clusters of small towns interspersed in between.
The airport was nearly dark, with a lone stretch of lights outlining the small runway. One tiny building was the only structure on the ground, which must have served as a terminal. The plane touched down smoothly, and Lois quietly wished all things in her life could be so serene and simple. In the distance, a pair of headlights shown brightly from an old pickup, and Lois could make out the shadow of a figure standing beside it.
Richard opened the cockpit door for her as the pickup pulled up beside them.
The woman quickly approached them. Lois was struck by her fragile appearance.
"Lois Lane?" Lois nodded and helped her up the steps. She immediately broke into tears upon seeing her son passed out on the seat.
"Oh, my boy!" She kissed his forehead.
Behind her, Richard and Lois looked on. "How long has he been like this?"
"Since this afternoon. He spoke briefly a couple hours ago." Lois said, "Mrs. Kent?"
"Martha, please. Come here." The older woman wrapped her arms around Lois. Being in her arms, Lois was overwhelmed by the compassion this woman emanated. She'd been uncertain how Clark's mother would react to her, and she wasn't disappointed. Five years ago, after discovering she was pregnant, she thought about seeking her out, to ask her one simple question, why? But she didn't, and she found Richard, and in him all the help she needed.
"Martha, this is, uh, Richard." He was shocked when Martha pulled him into an embrace and whispered, thank you.
Richard helped move Superman into the truck. As they parted, Lois gave him a chaste kiss and he watched as the truck pulled away, waiting until it disappeared into the horizon. Then he started up the plane and flew away.
Riding along in Martha's truck, Lois remarked how quietly reassuring it was to be in Martha's presence. Underneath her delicate appearance there was a quiet, steely resolve about her that reminded her of Clark. Her immortal son was unconscious in her backseat, but still she managed to keep her focus. Lois wondered what other trials she had been put through over the years.
Martha glanced in the rearview mirror to check up on her son, who was floating in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherently.
"Do you think he'll be all right?" Lois asked shyly.
Martha looked at Lois and smiled. "Clark can handle anything. He'll pull through." Lois looked out the window as they drove on, noting how little different the landscape looked from the air.
Meanwhile, Clark wasn't sure where he was. He could hear his mother and Lois talking about him, but that wasn't possible, was it? His cluttered mind wandered over conversations they had in the last couple of weeks. The cruel words, avoided questions, her not wanting to discuss their "relationship." Could Lois have remembered? He blacked out.
Lois awoke late in the night, her neck sore. She'd been decked out on a large sofa chair in Clark's bedroom where she'd fallen asleep. Her body was feeling the strain of helping the half-awake man into the house. She thought about how on so few occasions she had actually seen him asleep. During their relationship, Lois would usually wake up alone after a night with him. She knew it was one of the prices she had to pay to be with him.
A soft knock at the door startled Lois out of her reverie. Martha came in holding a tray with a single teacup and bag.
"Thank you." Lois said softly.
"Is there any change?" Lois shook her head. Martha placed a hand on her shoulder. As much as she wanted to keep vigil over her son herself, she knew he was in good hands.
As Lois' eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed stars on the ceiling. The constellation brought a slight glow to the room, and she could just make out Clark's sleeping form. At the center of the ceiling she noticed a larger star, one with a deep red hue. The red sun of Krypton. She wondered how many nights he had stared up at the ceiling like this, wondering, hoping.
Tomorrow, everything was going to be different.
Clark awoke to the sweet aroma of bacon. As he opened his eyes, it took him a moment to realize where he was. He had a massive headache. The last 24 hours came rushing back to him, the awful things he did, the people who needed his help but he didn't save. The guilt was too much. He could only hope that the world would forgive him for his temporary insanity.
Then he remembered Lana. She had done this to him. He almost couldn't believe it. As a teenager, he'd been love struck by her. It wasn't until he moved to Metropolis and met Lois that he realized he'd mistaken infatuation for love.
But Lana's possession of kryptonite meant that she knew who he was, and that the mind wipe didn't work. He had done it to her because he realized, almost too late, that he would never be able to trust her with his secret. Then, his eyes opened wide with horror. If it didn't last on Lana, it probably didn't last on Lois. How much did she remember? And how long had she remembered? One thing was clear, his mother and Lois were in the kitchen talking, right now. He feared that the nightmare that been yesterday was just a preview of things to come.
All conversation immediately ceased the moment Clark entered the kitchen. His mother was cooking bacon and eggs; Lois was sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee. If not for the circumstances for which it was brought about, this moment would have been one he'd never want to forget.
"Oh, Clark!" His mother rushed to him, drawing him into a tight embrace. It felt so good to be in her arms. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." She cupped his face in her hands, exploring for any sign he wasn't fully recovered.
"Really, I'm fine." He smiled warmly and took her hands in his.
"I cooked some breakfast. Perhaps the two of you would like to share."
He looked over at Lois, who avoided his gaze. His mother gave him a pleading look. If Clark expected help from his mother in this situation, he was gravely mistaken.
"Well, I'd better get moving. Ben is coming over in an hour. We're going to the Corn Festival. Perhaps we'll see the two of you over there later today?"
Clark looked over at Lois, painfully aware that his glasses were back in Metropolis. Lois stood up from the table and walked towards him.
"Here we are," she said quietly.
He couldn't believe that she was standing there, in front of him, in his own home. He looked at his feet as he softly replied, "Yeah."
TO BE CONTINUED