Chapter 5 - Start Spreading the News
Clark and Lana were hand-in-hand as they walked out of the Kawatche caves. Their bodies were pressed so tightly together that their clasped hands had to be held slightly in front of their bodies. Their moods, mirror images of each other, were happy, but subdued. The thought of the high price that had been paid for their happiness quelled any tendency they might've had to race around town celebrating their engagement.
Clark and Lana were going to go ahead and attend to the election rally/victory party. They had enough time to get ready and still make it on time. Clark sped Lana to his house where her SUV and her change of clothes for the party were both located. Since their unexpected pow-wow with Jor-El had taken much of the afternoon, Lana hadn't been able to go to the Talon early and help Lois decorate. So while Lana was taking her garment bag into the Kents' house, she called Lois on her cell phone to apologize for the no-show.
Lois didn't answer, which surprised Lana since she vaguely remembered Lois was planning on staying at the Talon after finishing the decorations so she could keep tabs on the early election returns while waiting for the party to start.
Clark took the first shower, even though he had gallantly offered it to Lana. Lana pointed out that he could shower quickly and then dress in his room, while she'd need to use the bathroom mirror to get ready after showering, so he should go first.
As Clark finished towel-drying his hair with a burst of super-speed, he could hear the water running in the shower, and he smirked when he realized that having Lana naked in his shower had been a hormonal teenage fantasy of his that had now come true. Of course, those thoughts led to other, related, thoughts and soon, Clark was seriously considering acting on those thoughts for the first time since his death. Now's not the time for that, he thought, but sometime soon, it will be.
Lana took her time getting ready which was something Clark never begrudged her, because the results were always so spectacular. When she finally appeared, she was just pulling on her blue-gray double-breasted overcoat. Once she adjusted her white wool scarf and grabbed her purse, she was ready to go.
Lana was impressed to see Clark looking sharp in a dark blue suit, light blue oxford shirt, and a white-and-blue-striped red silk tie. He pulled on a black wool overcoat for show, and escorted his lady to her SUV.
By the time they made it to the Talon, the early arrivers were already celebrating the first set of official returns which showed Jonathan in the lead. Because this night belonged to Jonathan, and because Raya's death dampened their excitement, Clark and Lana were trying to go low-key with the news of their engagement. Not seeing the Kents yet, the newly engaged couple searched out a few important friends and quietly broke the news.
Chloe was first, and she was flabbergasted at the news. It was a rare occasion when Chloe Sullivan is caught speechless, but this was one of them. Her mouth hung open like a fish gasping for air as she flailed away in her mental dictionary, desperately trying to find the right words. The only thing she managed to utter, however, was a shriek…and then Lana showed her the ring.
That brought her out of her funk and she said, "Shut up! You two did not just get engaged," as she pulled Lana's hand in close for a proper inspection. Her characteristic snark came back full force as she said, "Hey, Clark, this ring is great! It doesn't even look like you got it out of a vending machine."
Clark gave Chloe the evil eye while Lana rolled her eyes. Clark's glare had no effect on her as she fired an ear-to-ear grin at her two best friends. "It was only a matter of time for you two. I'm so happy for you both."
Chloe then launched herself at Lana for a bearhug. She knew much of what Clark and Lana had gone through to reach this point in their lives, and she was genuinely thrilled for them. With her mouth near Lana's ear, Chloe asked, "So, are you ready to take on this big lug?"
Also whispering, Lana replied, "Yes, Chloe, both sides of him. The humble man that I love, and the super-powered hero that I admire."
When Chloe heard this confirmation that Clark had finally grown himself a brain and let Lana in, she gave Clark a big thumbs-up behind Lana's back. After the girls stepped back, Clark asked Chloe if she had seen Lois yet this evening.
"No," Chloe replied, "and that's strange. With her mouth, I should be able to hear her if she was anywhere near this place tonight."
Becoming concerned, Lana said, "I tried to call her earlier to apologize for missing out on the decorating, and she didn't answer her cell. Maybe something's wrong. She's worked too hard to miss this party."
"Yeah," Clark replied, "when was the last time Lois missed a party?"
Clark decided to start at the obvious location, her upstairs apartment. He trotted up the steps with Lana and Chloe close behind. When a sharp knock on the door went unanswered, he used his x-ray vision and immediately found a body lying on the floor of the apartment. Clark charged inside and picked an unconscious Lois up off of the floor. Chloe was already on her cell phone calling 911, and Lana was checking Lois for any obvious injuries after shutting off the water in the sink.
Minutes later, Lois was awake but somewhat groggy as the paramedics rolled her into the ambulance for the short trip to Smallville Medical Center. Just before she was pushed into the waiting ambulance, she saw the ring on Lana's finger and grinned. She picked Clark's face out of those crowding around her and cracked, "So, Smallville, you finally nutted up and took the plunge. How sweet!"
The Kents pulled up just as the ambulance was leaving. They had been out for a quiet dinner before heading over to the Talon. Not seeing any panicked faces, Jonathan's first inclination was to ask 'Who died?' but then he remembered that death was a touchy subject with Clark right now. Before he could think of a new way to phrase his question, Martha asked, "Who's in the ambulance and what happened to put them there?"
Chloe rolled her eyes and said, "Danger-prone Lois knocked herself unconscious in her apartment. We found her just a few minutes ago."
"Is she going to be all right?" Jonathan asked concernedly.
"Don't worry, Mr. Kent…or should I say Senator Kent? Lois' head is much harder than whatever she hit."
As everyone moved back inside, Clark and Lana waited for the crowd to disperse a bit before approaching his parents. They didn't know anything about what Clark had planned, much less the shocker that Lana had added to his schedule, so they were stunned to see a diamond ring sparkling from her ring finger as she strategically placed her left hand on Clark's chest.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent," Lana said. "I know that this is as much of a surprise for you as it is for me."
"Does this mean what I think it does?" Jonathan asked. Martha didn't waste her time with stupid questions, she just made her way forward to get a closer look at the ring, and to welcome Lana to the family.
"Yes, Dad, all of it." Clark shook his head in wonder. "She knows, and yet, she's still wearing my ring." The four of them spent several moments in heartfelt congratulation until the crowd quieted to hear the local TV station declare a winner.
When the crowd finally became silent, the four of them could hear the news anchor say, "…Jonathan Kent has just been elected to the Kansas State Senate in a staggering upset over corporate mogul Lex Luthor."
The Talon erupted in cheers, and congratulations were coming in fast from the crowd of Kent supporters. When Jonathan's cell phone rang and he moved off to answer it, that reminded Clark of one more person he needed to inform of his engagement tonight. He needed to get on the cell phone and call long-time friend Pete Ross. Pete was safe in Wichita these days, but they still kept in touch, and this was one piece of information Pete would definitely want to have.
Clark had no sooner dug out his phone than Lana's phone rang. She checked the caller id and saw it was Lex. She looked at the iridescent blue of her phone's screen for several long seconds before putting her phone away. Too much pain came of answering his call last time, Lana thought. I know he's hurting right now, but I can't take that chance. I'll talk to him tomorrow…by phone.