See first post for disclaimer.
Thanks for the great response. Here's the next part.
Part 2
The day's events finally caught up with Lois; she fell asleep before the tears could dry on her cheeks. Martha released her hold on the girl, laying her down on the couch and covering her with a nearby afghan. Being as quiet as possible, Martha tidied the kitchen and slipped upstairs to prepare for bed.
The sun hadn't peeked over the horizon yet when Martha was startled from her sleep at the sound of a door opening and closing. Her initial thought was that Lois had woken up and decided to head home to her own bed but the rustle of movement on the main floor spoke of another presence altogether. She wrapped her robe around her sleepwear and trekked downstairs.
"Clark?" She whispered hoarsely.
"Hi Mom. Sorry we were trying not to wake you." Clark shrugged sheepishly.
Martha looked passed him to the beautiful blonde by his shoulder. Her face was placid and expecting of the new environment she found herself in. "That's okay. I have to be up soon away. I just wanted to tell you to keep your voice down so you didn't wake Lois."
"Lois is here?" Clark frowned. "She didn't steal my bed again did she?" Martha smiled at his teasing tone; beside him the blonde raised an eyebrow.
"She fell asleep on the couch." She glanced over her shoulder into the living room where she could see the outline of the body underneath a blanket then turned back toward the mysterious woman.
"Oh Mom, I want you to meet Raya." Clark stepped aside giving Martha a full view of the young woman. "Raya, this is my mother, Martha Kent."
Raya smiled at the woman and nodded her head. "Kal-El has shared much with me about you. Lara would have been pleased to know her son has been so well cared for."
It struck Martha for the first time that the woman in her kitchen had known Clark's biological parents well. She had been with them in the final days before they sent their son out into the universe. The idea was equally intriguing and unnerving but she couldn't deny the happiness that radiated from her son's expression, thus was quick to give the young woman an encouraging smile and ingratiate her into her home.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Raya."
"You have a beautiful planet Martha; quite different than Krypton," Raya offered politely.
"Thank you." Martha tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Would either of you like some breakfast? You must be hungry."
"Actually Mom, Raya and I were going to head to the Fortress. She has knowledge of Kryptonian technology and may be able to fix it," Clark explained.
"Kal-El informed me that other craters were made when we escaped the Phantom Zone. If others escaped Jor-El's Fortress of Knowledge will be the best bet for tracking them down," Raya expounded. "Kal-El, needed to stop and get his father's crystal."
"I'll be right back," he nodded at the stairs and moved at a normal pace to his room.
"Can I get you anything to drink Raya?" Martha moved around the counter while Raya inched toward the living room.
"A glass of water would be wonderful if it's not too much trouble." Raya glanced into the darkened living room and took stock of the woman asleep on the sofa.
"You must have had a lot to acclimate to since you've been here," Martha conversed with the girl.
"I was able to understand much of your culture from a visit to the library. But there are many things that remain a mystery to me." She stared into nothingness as she was regaled once more by questions about humanity.
Martha chuckled softly, "You're not the only one." She handed the woman a glass of water and watched her down it in one.
Clark traipsed down the stairs, careful to avoid the few steps that groaned. He sent a furtive eye toward the living room, stopping short on the last step when a few fingers of kitchen light shone on Lois' tear stained cheeks. His lips pursed and his eyes crinkled in worry for his friend.
"What's up with Lois, Mom?" Clark asked softly, so as not to wake the sleeping girl in question.
"I think it would be best if I allowed Lois to talk to you herself." Martha shifted uncomfortably.
Clark swung around to look at the darkened end of the house again. "Is she alright?"
Martha laid a reassuring hand on her son's arm, nodding her head. "She'll be fine Honey. For now she just needs some rest." Her calming explanation settled Clark's troubled expression.
"Kal-El, we should go to the Fortress," Raya called to him gently. She smiled breezily at Martha, "Thank you for your hospitality."
"You're welcome back any time," Martha returned with an upturn on her lips.
Lois was hot. She kicked a leg out to escape the warmth that was cutting into her unconscious. Behind closed lids, her eyes shifted, setting off a thundering stampede in her head. The blanket ended up wrapped in her feet, doing nothing to alleviate her increased temperature; she eventually succumb to her body's rousing state and forced her sticky lashes to part. There was no mistaking the ocular edema that accompanied an evening of complete emotional dissolve.
Swing her legs to the hardwood floor; she let the blanket slip away grasping at her head rather than the time-softened wool. On the wall across from her the weathered clock proclaimed the late morning hour in case she had missed the brilliance of the sun as it approached its zenith.
With elbows resting on the tops of her thighs and her eyes cast down, she was afforded the taunting view of her midsection. Nothing looked particularly different; all her pants still fit and without her clothes she could still see the outline of her abdominal muscles. But if she were honest, she had to admit to her breasts feeling heavier and a pull at her hips as though they were widening. Her arms came off her knees to run through her disheveled hair, reaching into her pocket for an elastic, she tied back the dark blonde tresses.
Standing up from the couch, she fixed her twisted shirt and made her way into the kitchen. Honing in on the sounds around her, she recognized the common noise of rural life but no other movement in the house. A lone piece of paper on the countertop drew her attention; the top proclaimed her name, however any other name on the note would not have stopped her from reading it.
Lois,
Had to meet with the counsel on education.
There are some files I need you to go through on the table.
And try to relax – we'll figure everything else out.
Love, Mom
Bless Martha Kent. Lois couldn't think of anyone she would rather have in her corner than the soft spoken, deceptively intelligent lady who had listened to her, soothed her and most importantly, believed her. Martha gave her the chance to stay away from the office and not suffer through a day that would surely be spent distracted but left her something to occupy her mind rather than stew over her plight. She smiled at the moniker on the note, folded it and tucked it into her purse for safe keeping.
It was late afternoon and Lois was hunkered down at the Kent's kitchen table flipping through one of the files. She sighed in frustration at her trouble concentrating; she had spent the last ten minutes trying to get through one paragraph without having to scold her brain into paying attention to the letters on the page.
Deciding to give her mind a bit of a break, she shifted her focus to the laptop beside her arm on the table, intending to check her email. At the point that she needed both hands to type in her password, she realized her left hand had drifted amidst her work and was anchored on her abdomen. Her hand flew as though scalded all the while cursing the evolutionary instinct that drew her to wonder at the unseen changes she was undergoing in that moment.
With aching slowness long fingers twitched at her side and she watched as her traitorous hand floated to rest at her hip. Planting her palm at the edge of the bone the roguish phalanges continued their unhindered journey back toward the bottom portion of her stomach.
Knock, Knock.
Her hand sought to hide its weakness, swinging up and away – the sudden flailing sent her knuckle smashing again the lip of the hardwood surface, her spine jolting to rigidity and her teeth sinking into her plump bottom lip in a battle to stymie her howling curse. Her uninjured hand crashed down onto the table top in futile retaliation for the pain the object had dealt her. Hazel eyes cut to the window of the door shrouded by curtains; she wanted to deal with whoever was on the other side of the door like she wanted a rusty nail driven into her ear.
Knock, Knock.
Standing up from the table, she scowled. "I got the point from the first knock," she muttered under her breath. Clearing her throat of the emotional knot, she flung open the door with visible annoyance. On the other side was the beautifully wide grin of Oliver Queen. When Lois made no effort to greet him, his smile shifted to a smirk and he quirked an eyebrow.
"Hi, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for my beautiful girlfriend. I went by her place but she wasn't there." He continued to smile. "She's about yah tall," he held up his hand, "dark blonde, doesn't have much of a knack for cocktail party conversation." He got no response from his good-natured teasing.
"Hey, it's not my fault that the people you associate with are political mind fields," she defended.
"You're preaching to the converted. I happen to think it's charming." He took a step toward causing Lois to back up. Intrigued by her behaviour, he moved the rest of the way into the house and surveyed her attire. "You look like you slept in your clothes," he joked.
Lois glanced down at herself, crossing her arms protectively across her chest. "I did sleep in these." She shrugged. "I was over here last night going over some Senate depositions and passed out on the couch," she paused. "What made you come and look for me here?"
"You weren't at work and you weren't at your apartment so it stood to reason that the only other place you'd be is here." He tilted his head to the side. "You look tired."
Lois huffed, "I hate when people say that. Is it supposed to sound sympathetic or something 'cause it just comes off sounding like you look like crap."
"That's not what I'm saying, you just look stressed or something. I've never seen you like this." He moved closer and took hold of her upper arms. "Are you okay?"
Something impulsive screamed in Lois that she wasn't okay and that she didn't think she ever would be again. But she had no desire to share any of that with Oliver. Looking at him in the Kent's kitchen, she still saw that great looking guy who had received the brush off from her upon their first meeting; a fun guy who liked to keep things light. He was a great friend and definitely attractive - - but did that mean that she was attracted to him? They were missing something; maybe it would develop with time or perhaps it would never come but in that instant they were missing the trust and transparency that she felt any serious relationship would have.
"I'm fine. Moonlighting is starting to catch up with me probably," she dismissed the concern.
"It sounds like you could do with some down time. What about this weekend? Get away from everything and relax for a bit. What do you say? If you could go anywhere, where would it be?"
Though she knew the question wasn't intended as a means for her to search inside herself, she found that the inquiry unleashed a plethora or thoughts and feelings. She attempted to picture herself anywhere in the world; tried to imagine a sense of peace and comfort at any corner of the planet. Hundreds of images were readily available to her from years traveling with her father but none of them fit. None of them were where she wanted to be…because she was already there. The answer was simple; if she could be anywhere in the world she would want to be the last place she ever expected, on a farm in the middle of nowhere, in a town that wouldn't even appear on a map.
"Thanks for the offer but now's really not the best time for me to be 'getting away from it all'." Her eyes widened to emphasize her breezy comment and she drew away from him surreptitiously.
"Alright, so you're not much for spontaneous vacations." Oliver followed her movements behind the kitchen table before dropping his head to eye the floor.
"I've just got a lot going on right now," she quantified turning him down.
"About that…" Oliver shoved a hand into a pocket; his continence of the sure, young billionaire seemingly lost to him. "I never did get a chance to thank you for not printing what happened with Duncan." Lois opened her mouth to respond but Oliver beat her to it. "I know that the story would have made a pretty amazing headline."
"I wouldn't have done that to you or even Duncan. He had been through enough – I didn't think his memory needed to be dragged through mud." Lois stood behind a chair, self-consciously hiding her stomach from view. It was an inane fear that Oliver would notice but she couldn't help believing the truth was displayed for all to see.
"I know that. It's why I feel I can trust you with this," he said enigmatically.
Lois frowned; it was a bizarre sentiment for him to have considering she had just decided she couldn't yet trust him with her truths. "I don't think-"
Oliver spoke over her words as though he hadn't heard them. "It's what I wanted to talk to you about when-"
"Oliver!" Lois interrupted with greater ferocity.
"What?" He inquired.
"Before you go baring your soul I need to tell you something." She waited until he acquiesced with a sharp nod. "You're a really great guy and-"
Oliver groaned, "Nothing good ever comes after the 'you're a really great guy' opener." He tipped his back and locked his eyes on the ceiling.
"You are," she insisted. "You definitely changed my view of the trust fund kids." Her joke fell a little flat. "I have fun with you but-"
"So let's keep doing that," Oliver reasoned.
"Being at this very moment my life is anything but fun…" she explained.
"Isn't that all the more reason to spend time with me?"
Lois smiled sadly. "I wish that was the answer." She sighed heavily surprised at the lack of pain she felt at severing the ties she had been developing with the man before her. "There are some things I have to work out but I consider you a friend and I really don't want to lose that." She gave a mental cringe at her own words and sent Oliver an apologetic shrug.
Passing a hand over his lips, Oliver blinked. "Is this about Clark?"
Lois was stunned and fumbled slightly over her response. "Wha – what…Clark? What does he have to do with anything?"
"You two have this thing between you…" his hands came up to motion in the empty space in front of him.
"You mean annoyance?" She quipped.
Smiling imperceptibly, he rolled his tongue around in his mouth. "I mean that when you guys are in the same room together it's like you're talking without saying anything. I don't know, maybe it's just a feeling but you and Clark seem to fit."
"The only thing Clark and I fit together would be straight jackets – we drive each other crazy." Oliver didn't appear convinced. "But it doesn't matter because he has nothing to do with this. You're a great guy Oliver – just not the one for me." There was a measured amount of relief when she admitted that to herself and him.
"You're not leaving me with a whole lot to argue with." He smirked awkwardly.
"I just hope that this doesn't colour your decision to help out Senator Kent's-"
"No," Oliver rushed to assure her. "Martha's vision is a good one; Queen Industries will continue to support it."
"Good." She smiled suddenly. "Well um…I'm sure you have things to get back to in Metropolis," she hedged, feeling uncomfortable under Oliver's scrutiny.
"Yeah," he replied, coming around the table to stand in front of her. Weighing his options, he decided to swoop down and plant a kiss on her cheek. It didn't surprise him that his burgeoning relationship with Lois was over – he couldn't ever say he felt as though he truly had her full attention. "You're definitely one of a kind Lois Lane," he spoke softly. "If you need anything….you know my number." He straightened up and headed for the door. "Take care of yourself."
A sad twinge played at her heart making her reconsider her impulsive decision to cut Oliver loose. But she had been raised to trust her instincts and they were screaming incessantly at her, that for all of Oliver's qualities, he was not the one for her. And the longer she stayed with him, especially considering her current predicament, the more difficult and messy the end would be.
"Hey Oliver!" She called to him when his hand was on the doorknob. "That whole Clark thing – you were just pulling my leg right." Though she tried to keep her tone light, there was an undercurrent of wonder intermixed.
Rather than answering, he merely smiled and shook his head with dismay before closing the door behind him.
What was once the bright, icy interior of Clark's Fortress sat silent and dim. The warmth that the crystal's light had bathed the palace of frozen peaks had disappeared with the essence of Jor-El. Hours passed in the quiet isolation as Clark and Raya attempted resurrect the intelligence from the structure.
"This doesn't make sense. You should be able to bring the Fortress back online. It was designed to respond to your genetic code." She traced the symbols with a careful gaze to ensure she hadn't missed anything. A beeping sounded from Clark's direction to the surprise of both.
"What'd you do?" Clark moved to stand over her shoulder.
"Nothing. It's not coming from the Fortress. It's coming from you." She pointed to him.
Looking down at his person, Clark blushed in embarrassment as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. "Chloe sent me a text message." He read the screen, "Apparently there has been a string of disappearances leading on a path from the site of one of the craters toward the mid-west. It's someone from the Phantom Zone," he implored; his eyes boring into hers in earnest. "I have to find him and stop him before he does any more damage," he announced and moved away.
"I'll come with you Kal-El." Raya stepped toward him.
"No, stay here."
"You don't know what some of these people are capable of. There's a reason your father made sure that they couldn't escape the Zone," she reasoned.
"Which is why I need you to stay here and see if you can't get the Fortress up and running. I'm likely going to need it." He took off at top speed before she could argue her point further, not bothering to remember Jor-El's crystal in his haste.
Shortly after Clark had taken off, Raya grew to realize the task of bring life back to the fortress was futile. She picked up the crystal intending to leave the snowy abode and find Clark.
The house was beginning to close in on Lois after much of the morning and afternoon working at the kitchen table, leading her to seek out the alternate refuge of the barn. Pleasant weather and sunlight mocked her tenuous composure. She had felt as though she were on the cusp of an anxiety attack since leaving the medical center the day before. Her lungs pressed against her ribs, straining with tension on every inhalant and her pulse beat a thunderous score with the sharp staccato of a snare drum. Escaping the house suddenly did not hold the same appeal.
Resting on the rustic steps on the barn, she focused on the tractor on the other side of the open space in an effort to calm her laboured breaths. Just as Lois felt some sense of control return to her, a lightening quick movement caught her eyes and a soft wind blew over her. When she blinked again a blonde woman was standing in the barn, oblivious to her shocked presence. Jumping to her feet, she created enough noise to draw the blonde's attention.
Lois' eyebrows shot to her hairline when the other woman took a step in her direction. "Whoa there Speedy Gonzales. How about you just stay right there and tell me who you are and what exactly you're doing here." The wood of the rail on the stairs cut into her hand as she gripped it.
"I'm Raya." The blonde's placid expression gave in to a quirk of her lips. "I'm looking for Kal-El. Have you seen him?"
"Ohhhh-kay…I have no idea who you're talking about." Lois shook her head minutely.
Understanding shone in Raya's eyes as she recognized her error. "I forgot that he does not use his Kryptonian name on Earth. You know him as Clark."
"Kryptwhat? You're looking for Clark." Immediately Lois' breathing grew easy and her pulse calmed; her thoughts consumed by a more imminent puzzle. "Mind telling how it is you ran in here so fast?" Seeing that the girl didn't appear to pose a threat, Lois released her grip on the stair rail and took a step toward her.
"I've only been here a short time but I assume that all Kryptonian's have these abilities on Earth. Kal…Clark," she corrected herself, "has them as you know." Raya assumed that the girl's presence in Kal-El's home the night before and his comment about her sleeping in his bed meant that she was close to the family, if not already a part of it.
Catching on quickly that Raya assumed Lois knew more than she did, she decided to go along with the blonde in hopes of getting more information out of her. "Right, I just didn't know that you were here…on Earth." A part of her was bemused at the conversation, figuring the girl was off her rocker. "Well, nice to meet you Raya. I'm-"
"Lois," Raya supplied.
Lois eyed her suspiciously. "You said you were looking for Clark…" she trailed off when she saw the woman's pocket begin to glow.
Raya noticed as well, her brow furrowing at the event. Carefully her hand reached toward the pocket but before she could complete the movement the crystal nestled within flew forward, ripping the fabric and ending up in the stunned hand of Lois. Her hand shaking, Lois turned the item over in her palm to reveal the symbol on the other side; in her grasp the crystal ceased to glow.
"What the hell was that?" Lois sputtered.
Raya's searching gaze dawned an understanding light. "I don't think Kal-El is the one I needed to find." Moving a few paces closer to Lois, Raya tilted her head to the side. "You're pregnant."
And in an instant the peaceful reprieve Lois had found in the startling events upon Raya's arrival disappeared. Once more her chest tightened and her pulse thrummed while a villainous empty hand moved to cover her abdomen. It was the final blow to push her over the edge into her anxiety, spiraling into the blanket of darkness that promised to be more forgiving than reality.
"Oh God," she sighed as her knees weakened beneath her and the floor came rushing up to meet her.
2/4
Please R&R if you get the chance.