First, I'd like to give a gigantic shout out to those who left me reviews. You guys rock, and keep me going when I should be doing other things, like sleep. If I knew you I'd give you fresh baked cookies. And by fresh baked, I mean the kind you get where the dough is ready and made into cookie shaped globs to put in the oven. Because if you knew me, you'd know I can't really bake but I like giving presents.

And for those who read and don't review, I hope you're liking this just as much!

An Understanding: Part 3

Lois was sure she hadn't passed out. They hadn't been going that fast, and the stump not large. But she still let her head lie in the airbag for a moment, head swimming in and out of light and color. She knew this trip was a bad idea from the start. But did anyone listen too her? Of course not.

As the airbag slowly deflated, she sensed movement next to her. Suddenly a familiar hand was on her neck leaning her back into the seat.

"Lois! Lois! Are you all right?"

"Nuhhh." Her head hurt, and she suspected other parts would soon pledge annoyance as well.

"Lois?"

"Was I dreaming, or did we almost have a head on collision with a cow?"

"It's not your imagination I'm afraid."

Lois let out a small, coughing laugh. "Good thing we hit the stump instead. Stupid rental. Must be the tires or something." Slowly she turned her head towards the driver's side of the car, and noticed almost immediately that Clark's airbag hadn't deployed. Her head snapped around the rest of the way, expecting to see quite the steering wheel impression on Clark's face. But as he looked at her with deep concern, the only difference to his appearance was tousled hair and no glasses, which had snapped in two and landed in his lap. Her hands leapt to his face, fingers on his cheeks, thumbs going around his forehead, nose, and chin.

"Lois, I'm fine," Clark assured her, but she ignored him like she would ignore Jason if he had fallen off of the slide. How was it possible that he hadn't been hurt? It was impossible? No normal person would be able to withstand that impact if…

"Lois?" He was failing to get her attention, more concerned with finding out her well being then his own. He took his own shaking hands, loosely grabbed her wrists, and brought them to rest on the parking break with his own.

Lois took a deep breath and let it out. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply again, hoping that her brain could reset somehow, ask useful questions. But when she opened her eyes again, she saw Superman's face. Not in a cape, not saving her again, but as Clark. And in her eyes, Clark could see the pieces falling into place, like a picture being brought into focus. He wondered if she's ever actually seeing him again.

She wrenched her hands away. "Oh my God."

"Lois, there is a perfectly good reason for…" He wanted to explain, but Lois was frantically trying to get out of the car, punching and pulling at her seatbelt which had been slightly mangled in the crash. Clark reached over to help, and she immediately sprang away, pressing herself against the door, looking terrified. He released her with easy, and she scurried out of the car. He exited on his own side and started to walk over to her, but she motioned him away.

Lois walked about ten yards. She knew that putting the car between her and Clark logically made no sense, but at the moment it made her feel a little more secure. Lois squatted down, put her arms on her knees, and her head in her hands. At that moment the truth wasn't so much sinking in as being cruelly injected into her veins, and it hurt like hell.

Clark kept his distance, but made his way to the hood placing both hands palms down, rocking a bit just to hear the soft metal pop in and out. Of all the cinereous he had played out in his mind of Lois finding out his deception, he's never, ever, predicted something like this. And consequently, he was at a loss for what to do.

She stood up and turned to him, hands on hips, heart in throat. "So you're Superman?"

"Yes."

Lois nodded. "All this time…"

"I'm sorry. Things weren't meant to be this way."

"Things never are," she whispered to herself.

"I think we should talk about this."

"No."

"But…"

"No. No Clark. No Superman. You know what; I'm not ready to talk. You don't get to decide when we talk about this. You've been making the decisions for our relationship a lot with hiding this from me. But I'm taking control for now, I think I deserve it."

"Look, I really am sorry, but I'm not sure that right now we should be fighting."

"Fuck you!"

She walked back to the car and glared at him, breaking eye contact only to grab her purse. Clark remained rooted to the spot, more shocked then angry at her outburst. Superman had battled criminals far and wide, but at that moment Lois showed more anger in her eyes then all those combined. "Here's what were going to do. Two tires are busted, so we're not driving out of here, and my cell phone is useless. You're going to get our bags out of the trunk, and then we're going to walk to town, where we can check into our crappy-ass motel. And the whole time we're not going to talk. I need the time to think, and you should consider doing the same. Got it?"

Clark nodded. If he were braver, he'd ask if she wanted to fly there instead, but he knew this wasn't the time. Without complaint or hesitation he slung her computer bag over his shoulder and put a suitcase in each hand. He joined Lois by the road where she stood staring at the horizon, heels already in hand. Normally he would try to help her by mentioning that not wearing shoes was probably a bad idea, but Clark had the distinct feeling that if he opened his mouth, he was just asking to be slapped.

Instead, he hung his head and followed her lead down the road into Oneida, and, quite possibly, several days of Hell.

To Be Continued…

That's all for now folks. I know I've been cranking out this story pretty fast, but things might slow down for the next day or two as I look for a job. Expect a looooong chapter next time though. Lois and Clark have a lot of things to figure out. And don't worry; we will eventually get to the fair! Woo!